Thread by @lanergeges

wangxian au where wwx is a conman astrologer and things are fine until he actually ends up summoning a real life djinn, who happens to be his assigned bodyguard, and he learns that he, in fact, does have powers and is not entirely human after all.

wwx comes from a very influential family that was once the ruling dynasty of a completely different realm separate from the human realm but there was a war and his family perished and there are new rulers now. they think wwx's entire family is dead, but wwx is very much alive.

he doesn't remember anything about his past, so the djinn he summoned, his bodyguard, lwj, tells him about the war that he served in, that ended up killing his family. that the people in their realm deserve to have wwx be their emperor.

but ofc it's not easy with the new family, the wens, who have been wreaking havoc since the day they overtook the throne from the immortal sanrens. lwj and his entire family, the lans, have always been the most trusted protectors of the sanren family.

they're all but wiped out too. lwj has spent years in nothingness, not knowing who he is or where he is, not since the war. it was only wwx summoning him that brought him back from wherever he was. and now, he must take wwx back home.

bc back home there are a lot of people who need wwx's help, an entire army of rebels who are planning to overthrow the wen rule, to put an end to his tyranny. it is a lot to ask of wwx, who didn't even know of this entire existence before, but lwj has to get him back. he has to.

there is little wwx can do to resist, esp since his conman ways are getting to him and people are out for his blood in the human realm. it's not like he liked fooling people either, but when you're hungry enough, you need to do something to eat. which is what he did.

just as it is, he has nowhere else to go, so he agrees to go with lwj. but the things lwj tells him... they're not pleasant. it seems to wwx that even his family, even lwj's family, all their principles... they're bigoted.

wwx can never live in a world where everyone does not have the same rights, and it is clear to him that things in the djinn realm are far from right. the casteism is prevalent in everything lwj talks about and it breaks wwx's heart.

he wants to hate lwj who talks about these things as if it's normal, as if oppression is something that's right... but he can't... because this is how lwj has grown up. no one has ever told him any better. he's been a soldier, a weapon since he was a child.

it's no surprise that he doesn't question things. his entire upbringing has been only to take orders, to protect, to *kill*. and in that moment wwx's heart breaks for lwj too, because this sort of ignorance, it can only be present after years of honing.

he wonders how many generations of lwj's family have been like this - quiet, never speaking, only taking orders, only following rules. never questioning authority. it's an oppressed way of living too, even if lwj does not understand it.

and wwx wants to make him understand, make him see. bc he's sure... he knows, if someone talks about it, explains it to lwj, he will understand. he will know he's been wrong, that his family has been wrong, that the royal family they've protected have been wrong.

it's not easy for lwj, but the more he listens to wwx talk, the more it makes sense to him. it changes lwj's entire world. his entire life has been a lie, and he cannot come to terms with just how cruel and vile he's been. he's disgusted with himself, ashamed of his existence.

but wwx makes him see that yes, he was at fault, but he literally did not know any better, and now that he does, he's trying to change, to accept what's been wrong. and that's not enough, not everything... but it is definitely a very good start. it can only get better now.

getting lwj out of his self loathing mindset is not easy for wwx. months later, and they're still on the road, still trying to get home, and lwj is still ashamed. he's ashamed when they finally do reach the djinn realm and the rebellion becomes more organized.

he's ashamed as he fights on the forefront of a war yet again, even as he knows that this time his cause is right, that he knows better. yet, he still kills. and that disgusts him. but, at the end of everyday, there is wwx, who is holding him, assuring him.

telling lwj that he deserves to have a life, that he does not need to be so ashamed, that he is making amends and that is enough for now. that he'll keep making amends even after and one day, things will be good.

they win the war, wwx kills the wen overlord, wen rouhan, himself. he is crowned as the rightful emperor of the realm. every faction of djinn rejoices. wwx brings big reforms, overwrites the entire social hierarchy. he's met with a lot of resistance for it.

the same people who fought by his side in the war turn against him in an instant. rebellion brews once again. it's the jins leading it this time, with jin guanshan at the helm. wwx does not have as many supporters as he'd desire.

lwj stands by his side through it at all and when war comes once again, afraid and tired of the mindless killing, he takes wwx and runs with the few supporters they have. they find a remote village, away from the fighting and settle there.

with wwx away, jin guangshan takes over and the people suffer once again. wwx lives in guilt of abandoning his people, but lwj makes him see that it wasn't his fault. these are the same people who allied themselves with the jin over him. it is a consequence of their own actions.

this is not wwx's fault. wwx did everything right. he tried to help the people, but maybe the people are beyond help now. they valued their egos more than peace and harmony. for that they will have to pay and wwx can do nothing bc it was not his fault.

it's not ideal but they find some sort of semblance in this new life, away from the all politics of the djinn realm. wwx asks lwj to marry him and lwj immediately says yes. they adopt a-yuan, a child of one of the few people who had supported wwx but had died in the war.

the djinn realm continues to burn with changing dynasties as everyone fights over the throne, but away from all the bloodshed, wangxian make a life of their own, happy with their mundane and boring days, surrounded by friends nd family.