I may just be having too many “hey, remember when you used to watch sports anime (namely KNB)” feelings today, but, uh… is it just me or is MDZS totally ripe for a High School Sports Anime Modern AU? My PROOF:
- The Juniors are not the children of the earlier generation, but rather the equivalent of first-years stumbling blind onto some INTENSE High School Sports Drama. Lan Jingyi, crouching down to touch the floor of the gym, in a soft voice: “Something bad happened here. And no one will FUCKING TELL US except when dealing out dramatic revelations in the middle of a match.”
- I have no idea what to do with the courtesy names. Courtesy titles and other titles are 100% still a thing though. For the Drama. Spectators: *gasps* “It’s the GHOST GENERAL.” *points at acne-covered teenager Wen Ning*
- Gusu has some special summer training camp operation going on, which Lan Qiren regrets every single day of his life. Lan Qiren will burn the school down himself before he lets his nephew convince Wei Ying to transfer to Gusu and join their team. (Sizhui: “He will not. He doesn’t hate Senior Wei that much.” Jingyi: “Haha, you sure, though?”)
- Lan Wangji, with heartfelt longing: “Wei Wuxian, come to Gusu.”
Wei Wuxian, tragically: “Lan Zhan, I can’t. Not after what happened.”
(Jingyi: “Okay, but what the fuck happened, though?!”)
- PAST: The Qishan team used to completely dominate the sport, until they were finally defeated. And maybe shut down? And Wen Ruohan and his shitty sons were arrested?? SENIOR WEI, WHAT HAPPENED???
Wei Wuxian: “Lots of people got arrested last year? I got arrested last year.”
Sizhui: “Excuse me, what???”
- Jingyi and Sizhui play for Gusu, but Sizhui is still cousins with the Wens. (Sizhui: “Cousin Ning? Is your team captain in love with my team’s vice-captain?” Wen Ning, looking like he wants to start smoking only so he can take a long drag of a cigarette right now, “Oh, yeah.”)
- PAST: Unfairly hot, rival team captains with a persisting childhood friendship, Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue. It was a legendary time in high school sports.
- Gusu opponents: “I can’t believe we got completely obliterated by the most beautiful man alive. Lan Xichen smiled the entire time and thanked us for the match afterwards, I haven’t been able to think about anything else since.”
- Qinghe opponents: “I ran into Nie Mingjue’s chest during a match once and his muscles have haunted my dreams ever since.”
(Also Qinghe opponents: “Wish he’d get rid of that stupid moustache, tho.”
Team Manager Nie Huaisang: “God, I know, right?”)
- PRESENT: Nie Mingjue has a permanent injury which prevents him from playing (Lan Xichen is still Gusu captain, in his final year, Lan Wangji is vice-captain). Nie Mingjue’s younger brother, Nie Huaisang is suddenly the new Qinghe team captain??? Cheerleader and team manager NIE HUAISANG??? Nie Huaisang acts like a total ditz and captains the team from the bench half the time, but he’s backed up by extremely loyal, extremely buff giants who will do anything he tells them, and also, like, does anyone else get the vibe he’s out for revenge???
(Sizhui: “Go to bed, Jingyi.”)
- Wei Wuxian is playing for a new school, Yiling? With that Wen kid who used to play for Qishan? Didn’t Wei Wuxian used to play for Yunmeng? Holy shit, the Yunmeng captain Jiang Wanyin looks like he wants to murder Wei Ying.
- Wen Qing, unofficial team nurse who curses the fact that she’s involved in this bullshit daily: “Wei Wuxian, if you keep pushing yourself like this, you won’t just have to miss the playoffs, you’ll have to quit the sport entirely.”
Everyone else: *gasps like this is the end of the world*
- Jiang Yanli is the team manager for Yunmeng, if team managers are a thing. I’m basing this almost entirely on Japanese anime/manga, I’m sorry.
- Yunmeng coach Madam Yu. She’s terrifying.
- Meng Yao plays for Lanling. A tragic accident injuries Lanling captain Jin Zixuan and takes him out for the season, leaving Meng Yao (who is older) no choice but to step up as team captain. (Hey, didn’t he play for Qinghe for a year? And then for Qishan for the year in which Nie Mingjue was injured??? IS HE LETTING XUE YANG JOIN THE LANLING TEAM?!)
- Lanling team manager Qin Su. Jin Guangshan is not the coach (because that’s, like, work), but he definitely “owns” the school in some fashion.
- Mo Xuanyu, goth kid, used to play for Lanling, but was driven out and has joined Yiling for REVENGE. His TRAGIC BACKSTORY with the Lanling team and Meng Yao will need to be Unlocked later in the season.
- Jingyi: “Okay, for real, how many people on the Lanling team are Jin Guangshan’s children??? Is that legal???”
- Jin Ling is a first-year playing for Lanling, caught in the middle of a viper pit, with no ideas what’s going on around him. Jin Ling is Jin Zixuan’s younger cousin and Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli are dating. The Jiangs have no choice but to “adopt” Jin Ling. Jin Ling wants to transfer and play for Yunmeng, but Jiang Cheng is like, “No, you must play for Lanling. Don’t be disloyal to your family team like that bastard Wei Ying who I will never forgive.”
- Jiang Cheng is one of those super tough characters with huge Bitch Energy who cries when his team loses. (He had to practically rebuild the team from scratch when he became captain and when Wei Wuxian left the team.)
- You take the life-or-death, horrors-of-war drama of MDZS and adapt it for a High School Sports Anime Modern AU. Only, and this is key, everyone still acts like the Drama is still life-or-death and horrors-of-war. That’s crucial to the concept here. That’s key to a high school sports anime.
- Wangxian do no less heartfelt staring and longing than canon, only it’s across a high school gymnasium most of the time. This is also crucial.
