Genuinely one of my least favourite fanon things that people often believe (or just say) about MDZS is the idea that Lan Wangji was waiting for Wei Wuxian in those thirteen years. Like, I know it's fun for jokes and all but one of the most crushing parts about all of that time is that Wei Wuxian literally was dead for thirteen years and there was literally no conceivable hope of him returning.
Like, by no means am I trying to weigh up the MXTX love interests' separation periods (as I like to think of them), but Hua Cheng had hope that he would find Xie Lian - he had so much hope that he actively searched for eight hundred years for him before he found him. Luo Binghe was able to bring Shen Qingqiu back, was in the midst of doing so when the mushroom body situation happen and then (while it wasn't Luo Binghe who did it) did bring him back.
Wei Wuxian died. Like straight up, no coming back, impossible to see him again, died. And I sometimes feel like saying that Lan Wangji was waiting kind of undermines the fact that this was a soul-crushing thing, and this was just going to be the rest of his life. There literally was no fucking shot of Wei Wuxian coming back in anyone's even remote comprehension, and the fact that he did come back was a fucking miracle in and of itself.
Lan Wangji mourned for those thirteen years. Hua Cheng searched, Luo Binghe (it's been a while so call me out if I'm wrong) was almost in denial over Shen Qingqiu's death even though he comprehended the sacrifice so he planned, but Lan Wangji mourned, and was going to mourn for the rest of his life. He just had to get used to the fact that he would never, ever get to see the love of his life again. There wasn't even a body to bury. It was just the memories and the gradual, slow descent of those memories disappearing with aging.
ALSO now that I'm thinking about it, the fact that he couldn't even talk to anyone else about it. Obviously, there's this whole thing of memories being kept alive through like sharing and talking about them, but Wei Wuxian cemented himself as basically a taboo subject. A monster who is only talked about to scare people or to curse out his name. Those who remember him can't or won't talk about him for one reason or another, and that means that Lan Wangji is left all alone, mourning someone who nobody even cares to talk about, and that will be the rest of his life. He has come to terms with the fact that he will die with the faint memory of Wei Wuxian's smile and that's all.
And, once again, this isn't trying to make a competition out of the separation periods, I could just as easily talk about how Hua Cheng's despair of not being able to find Xie Lian but knowing that he is alive somewhere (or is he? Has he gone? Faded away? Is Hua Cheng just looking for a memory?). I could talk about that desperation that Luo Binghe felt at losing the only person he had ever loved and been loved by, who had sacrificed himself to save him when he needed him most, who gave so many mixed signals, and then needing to get him back by any means necessary. But this post was borne of me being tired of the 'waiting' label being applied to Lan Wangji's mourning period.
Wei Wuxian was never, ever meant to come back. Lan Wangji was going to spend the rest of his life mourning a man who nobody else would ever talk about, memories fading until it was hard to pick apart what was actual memory and what was just his idealistic daydreams. Do you think he was waiting to die, sometimes? He never would, but do you think he just...passively waited for it sometimes, when he was alone and holding those few small reminders of the man he gave his heart to? Who he failed? Anyway. Lan Wangji just makes me so very sad and so very sick and I love him dearly.
It does get me that Lan Wangji spent those years thinking he failed Wei Wuxian.
It makes it so full circle when, in Guanyin Temple, Wei Wuxian (who doesn't need protection) wholly accepts Lan Wangji's protection for the first time.
The progression of that dynamic os so well done. Wei Wuxian subtly progresses from outright rejecting it and "trying to escape" it (but honestly, was he really trying to get away? Jury is still out) to fussing about it (are you trying to show who has the thicker face here?) to being unable to refuse it (comatose after a stab wound) to being "secretly delighted" at it... to wholly accepting that this person will do whatever it takes to keep him safe and healthy and whole.
I know it was hard on Lan Wangji in the beginning, but can you imagine the relief he felt at holding this man in his arms that first night in the Jingshi? The secret wonder at simply feeling this man breath?
It was probably the best sleep of Lan Wangji's life.
Thinking once again about the 3-E students growing up and becoming parents
Back in the day, I had multiple lists of fankids and headcanons associated with them to go with the various different fics I wrote (all of them AUs pretty much). Like, imagining how the events of a series impacted its characters in their later lives and how that affected their later generations is something I've always been interested in. And while I don't really make fankid lists so much these days, I do still have that interest. Hence me now musing once more about what 3-E would be like as parents, when that time comes.
(To clarify, I should state that I do not think that all the 3-E students would become parents. In fact, I headcanon a few as actively not wanting that at all, and that is something that's fine too. I just want these guys to have happy lives. )
Anyway, this list isn't really about specific characters or couples within 3-E. I also don't think every single item on this list would apply to every single character who could become a parent, because there'd be other things impacting their parenting too (obviously) which would influence that. Though, I do pick out some specific characters as examples for some of the bullet points. What that means is this is overall a very general list of various possibilities.
I did also want to add some things about how other people around the 3-E students' kids react to knowing these children. That is to say, what it's like to be a classmate or teacher or whoever of one of these kids. However, this post is already long enough as it is so...maybe I'll make a separate post about that.
Regardless, enjoy these headcanons!
I am apparently going to immediately contradict myself by starting with a point that would apply to all 3-E students becoming parents. Which is: no matter the specific parenting style and individual personalities of the kids, they're all going to be raised to be good people. To not look down on/pick on the weak, to try and do the right thing and help others and all of that. And, of course, they'll all want their kids to be happy, so they'll support their kiddos interests and goals even if it's not what they imagined for them.
The 3-E students will also highly prioritise their children's educations, but not in the same way some of their peers might do. It's not 'you need education or else you'll be a nobody' with these guys, they emphasise what education really is about-expanding horizons, opening more doors, all that.
Specifically, they'll be very big on making sure their kid develops their 'second blade' rather than focusing narrowmindedly only on one thing. They'll use that phrase a lot, and always remind their kid that assassins always need a backup plan. Yes, they'd use that phrasing too. In fact, the 3-E students are very prone to using assassination-related metaphors in their speech. It's probably one of the most first things that make the kids realise that maybe their parents aren't entirely normal...
The kids will also notice their 3-E parents getting weirdly pumped up about exams. Most parents get all stressy about them, and pester their kids to study. 3-E students hype it up, talk about it being like a battle with the exam questions being monsters to defeat, the whole nine yards.
But despite that, the 3-E parents are going to be oddly strict on the kids using phrases like "I'll kill you" or "bet your life" in a casual way. I mean, these phrases already trigger that oddly specific bloodlust in them anyway, which will have been noticed in other areas of their life. But their kids are going to get a LOT of lectures about how one should never use those phrases if they don't actually mean it.
And obviously, this should be in the metaphorical not the literal sense (though I can imagine some 3-E students forgetting to specify), but all the same, it's not something that should be chucked out there as a joke or in an half-arsed way.
To add to the confusion, for the most part they'd probably be fine with their kids playing with weapon-shaped toys like waterguns or whatever. BUT, they would also take their usage way too seriously, correcting them on how the toy is being held or used as if it's an actual weapon.
I actually have a specific scenario I've imagined around this headcanon: Basically, kiddo is playing with waterguns with some school friends in their back garden when Chiba/Hayami/both drop by to see their parent to drop something off/collect something/other vagye reason. The kid doesn't know Chiba or Hayami super well, beyond knowing that they're one of their parent's middle school friends and briefly seeing them from time to time.
But whatever, Chiba/Hayami/both spot the kid and their friends...and then come out to correct the way they're holding the waterguns and to give tips on how to better aim the water at each other and then...Chiba/Hayami/both just leave. Well, not literally, but it would seem like that to the kid. Later, when the (very astonished) friends go home, the kiddo asks the parent about this and the parent just goes "well, yeah, they were our experts, they'd know" and the poor kid is like "????"
I also think most, if not all, of the 3-E students' kids would get enrolled in self-defence classes, but have this supplemented by their own informal lessons with either the parent or some of the friends. You probably would not want to get into playground fights with any of these kids, let's just say.
If they are the type of parents to make their kids' lunches all cute and decorative, Koro-sensei faces feature. Otherwise, sometimes the notes slipped into luncboxes or stuck on the fridge or whatever also have a Koro-sensei type face. Of course, to the kid, this is just an oddly specific style of smiley face. Asking why it's so specifically odd gains different answers every time, each one equally confusing.
For example: a note popped into their bag reminding the kiddo to use suncream makes a reference to sunburnt teeth, an arrow pointing to a circle that's just been coloured in black. The parent just points to an old note with another Koro-sensei face and says "that's what happened to him when he didn't put on sunscreen, do you want that to happen to you?" Somehow, this does not explain anything.
Good luck trying to sneak past or prank these parents. It'll be very difficult to get one past these guys. Though, Karma/Manami's kid would probably be encouraged to up their pranking game, and Manami specifically sets aside time to supervise kiddo in their home lab to make potions for said pranks (number one rule is: no kids unattended in the lab)
They'll also notice their parent is particularly observant and vigilant of their surroundings, that they've got crazy reflexes, that they hold themselves in a way that's a little bit like a soldier or a spy, that they get a scary look in their eyes sometimes...if they ask if their parents were, in fact, soldiers or spies, the answers will also be annoyingly cryptic from the children's POV. Most usually, something like "Not quite, but close enough". There are times when the 3-E parents can seem quite scary to their kids, but they are somewhat aware of this and try to mitigate it when they can.
When watching action movies/TV shows, particularly any to do with assassins, heists or even spies, the 3-E students will be picking holes in it. You know how people working in forensics may point at the screen during a crime series and say "yeah it's nothing like that" or how history afficonados will yell at all the inaccuracies in a period drama?? Yeah, that's what they're doing, just with action things. That, or they're commenting with oddly specific ideas on how they would be handling the mission or whatever shown on screen. And meanwhile the kid is just like HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT???? WHY DO YOU KNOW THAT??
If the parent is one of the more 'ordinary' members of 3-E (so, not one of the ones who becomes famous), it's going to be astonishing to the kid to realise just how astonishingly well-connected their parent is.
I mean, the kid isn't going to know EVERY single one of their parents' classmates super well. Some will be parts of their everyday lives-for example, Yoshida's kids and Hara's kids will probs grow up together like they did, and Karma/Manami's kids would count Nagisa, Sugino, Kayano and Kanzaki as aunt/uncle figures. Some, they'll know simply as their parents good friends that they see with semi-regularity, others their parents only hang out with maybe a few times a year, and there'll be other possibilities too (say, for example, that Takebayashi ends up as the doctor for some of the kids, or that Hazama is the librarian at the local library they go to).
Where Ritsu is concerned, using AIs and things is probably more prevalent as these kids are growing up, so it's not strange that their parents sometimes talk to this one. What is strange to them is how Ritsu is referred to as a classmate and even addresses the parents as such, and how advanced she seems for what would be a very old model of AI. Even for this generation, saying "oh, that AI is my family friend" is a very odd statement to be making. And the parental insistence on only making use of Ritsu, and insisting they have Ritsu on their phones too, would also be considered bizarre considering that again, to the kids she'd seem an old model.
Though for that reason, Ritsu is definitely one of the classmates that ALL the 3-E kids will end up close to. And even they prefer her help over any other AI.
Regardless, they will be connected to all these different, very interesting people...and the kid's definitely going to notice that some of these people have similar quirks to their own parents. But what they'll really notice is that, even if they don't talk or see each other that often, the entire class will rally around each other if something bad happens to one of them or one of the kids.
Like, say there's one kid who is being severely mistreated at school, and trying to solve it through conventional means isn't working. The kid's been trying really hard, the parents have been relentless in their efforts too, but nothing's working.
Next thing the kid knows is that a bunch of their parent's friends are camped out in the parent's study, with other friends in on video calls, all of them gathered around a whiteboard with pins and red string and the works, formulating an incredibly bonkers plan. And when the kid is caught spying, one of the friends asks "hey, want to help plan an assassination?" How well this goes down rather depends on both kid and parent. But regardless, knowing that both the parents and an entire group of powerful adults have one's back is going to be very reassuring for the kid.
With that being said, though they know they won't be able to account for all possibilities, these parents are going to be very careful about the schools they send their kids too. If there's a high chance of abuse or mistreatment, then it doesn't matter how good the school is, it's not even going to be a possibikity. I could also see some of them them trying to use their government connections through Karma, Irina or Karasuma to get background checks on any adult who's going to be a significant part of the kiddos' lives.
Speaking of Irina and Karasuma, they probably wouldn't have as big a role in the kids' lives as their parents' classmates do. However, they would at the very least know of the two of them as having been their parents' teachers. I think Hinano's kids would be the ones to have the closest relationship with them, as I fully imagine Hinano keeping in close touch with Karasuma and Irina even into adulthood. But there's a strong chance that one of these kids will meet Karasuma a few times, but overhear some reminsicences about 'Koro-sensei' and put two and two together to make five...that is, assuming that Karasuma and Koro-sensei are one and the same. Cue many hilarious misunderstandings.
can i be honest tho i kinda hate makeup bc i love licking my lips and rubbing my hands on my face like a cat or a fly annd i also love wiping my eyes like a sleepy infant all the time so basically i cant do it
my miis keep complaining when i give them an outfit thats a near recreation of the chracter theyre based on and every time they do i feel this image go through my head
I dreamt that there was a new meme that went, âIf I dids it, I dids it. If I didsnât, I didsnât.â There was a third line, but I forgot what it was.
âThatâs why itâs hard to make friends when youâre older,â she said. âFriendship is rude.â
Her friendâs eyes widened. âWhat?â
âThink about it! When weâre kids we decide who we like and stick by them no matter what. As adults, weâre taught to be polite.
But, friendship is an impositionâ at least, I want it to be. Call me after nine oâclock. Donât think youâll ever wear out your welcome. Overshare, show up at my door, go to the grocery store with me so we can waste another hour chatting.
Weâll never be friends if we spend all of our energy trying not to bother each other.â
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