Duplicity: App

[chaosflute]

Name: Wei Wuxian (Wei Ying)
Door: Door Pass

Canon: The Untamed
Canon Point: Episode 30

Age: 21 (approximate)
Appearance: (Reference) Wei Wuxian is tall and lanky, with a lithe build and slim waist. He keeps his hair up in a half ponytail, tied with a long red ribbon. His expression is open, usually smiling or laughing, and he has difficulty hiding his feelings. After two years in exile in a harsh environment, he is gaunt and underweight. He prefers dressing in black robes, with red accents (chiefly his under-robe and hair ribbon). He prefers close-fitting, narrow sleeves to the wide and billowy ones his peers wear.

Marks/Scars: He has a beauty mark below his bottom lip; on the left side of his chest, over his heart, there is a triangle-shaped brand with a line bisecting it. He has a variety of small scars on his arms and hands from day-to-day living. On the upper left side of his abdomen, he has a two inch-long scar that looks like a stab wound. And on his lower abdomen, below his navel, there is a long, vertical scar, as though he had been sliced open.

History (bullet points):
- Born to a rogue cultivator (Cangse Sanren) and the former subordinate of the Jiang sect leader (Wei Changze); has very little memory of them, since they died when he was very young.

- Spent time as a street kid after his parents were killed during a night hunt; found and adopted by the Jiang sect leader (Jiang Fengmian); Fengmian's wife, Madam Yu does not like him, Fengmian favors him above his own children.

- Raised at Lotus Pier alongside the Jiang children -- elder sister Yanli, younger brother Cheng. Grows up a talented cultivator with his mother's free-wheeling and happy nature. Becomes First Disciple of the Jiang Sect, happily expects he'll spend his life supporting Jiang Cheng when he becomes sect leader.

- Sent to Cloud Recesses with his siblings to attend lectures (roughly 17 years old); meets other young cultivators; meets Lan Zhan and makes it his job to annoy him so senpai will notice him; shows an interest in using the dead/negative energy as a source of cultivation power (this is Deeply Troubling to everyone else); meets and befriends Wen Ning and Wen Qing of the good Wens, antagonizes Wen Chao of the bad Wens

- Discovers the existence of the Yin Iron, promises to help find it and keep it safe, also swears to protect the weak and live without regrets.

- Gets expelled from Cloud Recesses for fighting with his sister's reluctant fiance. Instead of going home, runs off to help Lan Zhan search for the Yin Iron. (Jiang Cheng is Displeased.)

- The Wen sect throws its weight around, sacks Cloud Recesses to get the Yin Iron, summons all the sect heirs + Wei Wuxian to come for indoctrination and to be hostages.

- Wei Wuxian antagonizes Wen Chao more, sticks up for Lan Zhan and his sister's fiance against Wen Chao, winds up trapped in a cave with a giant demon tortoise which he and Lan Zhan kill; first real exposure to Yin iron and use of demonic cultivation (though he doesn't know that's what it is)

- The bad Wens come and destroy Lotus Pier, kill everyone but Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian. Madam Yu and Jiang Cheng blame him for everything; Jiang Cheng goes back to Lotus Pier, gets captured, and Wei Wuxian rescues him with Wen Ning's help. Wen Ning takes the siblings to hide with his sister and Wei Wuxian comes up with a plan to restore Jiang Cheng's destroyed golden core -- give him his, which no one has ever done before.

- Ambushed by Wen Chao while waiting for Jiang Cheng and recovering from losing his own core, Wen Chao throws him in the Burial Mounds (a place teeming with negative energy that no one can dispel) to die; he does not, he embraces the negative energy and learns demonic cultivation. Escapes after three months.

- Meanwhile, the other sects join up against the Wen sect and start a war. Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng also spend those three months looking for Wei Wuxian.

- Wei Wuxian goes full on serial killer to get revenge against Wen Chao and the people who killed his family; Jiang Cheng is okay with this because they're all on the same side; Lan Zhan is NOT. Wei Wuxian pretends like he still has a core, and is not at all traumatized by everything; he acts like a giant arrogant ass to deflect peoples' attention from his problems. It mostly works, but now not many people like him.

- The sects take on the Wen sect leader (Wen Rouhan), with Wei Wuxian's demonic cultivation turning the tide and then some. Lan Zhan keeps trying to get Wei Wuxian to let him help.

- The Wen sect falls, and everyone hates the Wens. Wei Wuxian finds out that the good Wens (majority old people, children, and non-cultivators) are being hunted down, enslaved, and used for sport. He starts agitating to help them and eventually mows down a prison camp to rescue them. He and Wen Qing take the Wen survivors (and Wen Ning's reanimated corpse) to the Burial Mounds in what amounts to exile.

- Wei Wuxian defects from the Jiang sect to protect his family's reputation; he and Jiang Cheng stage a fight so Jiang Cheng can denounce him and save face. He uses demonic cultivation to restore Wen Ning's will (though he's still dead) and he and the Wens eke out an existence in the Burial Mounds for a little less than three years. Meanwhile, the remaining sects view Wei Wuxian's acts as subversive and evil and believe he's creating his own sect, leading to his acquired title of Yiling Patriarch.

- Into the second year in exile, Lan Zhan visits Wei Wuxian to tell him of Yanli's upcoming marriage, and to again try and persuade Wei Wuxian to let him help. Wei Wuxian again refuses but thanks him for his company. They part ways. Sometime later, Jiang Cheng and Yanli visit Wei Wuxian in secret so he can see Yanli's wedding attire, and learn she's pregnant. Despite his love for them, Wei Wuxian parts ways with them and returns to the Wens, where he has built a small family, but it cannot replace the one he's given up.

- Estimate that roughly four years have passed since Cloud Recesses, and Wei Wuxian is about 21 years old.

Personality:
Positive Traits
- Charismatic - Wei Wuxian has a sunshine personality -- always smiling, laughing, or playing. Class distinction doesn't interest him; character does. He is friendly to everyone, so long as they don't abuse their power or show arrogance. Possibly due to his humble background, he empathizes with the regular, non-cultivator population and is comfortable around them. His easygoing ways backfire around authority figures, however, and the people in the series who don't like him are typically those in power. He inspires loyalty, too, and even people who don't like him tend to still be drawn to him.

- Loyal - Like the dogs he is terrified of, Wei Wuxian is loyal almost to a fault. Because the Jiang clan took him in off the streets after his parents died, he was able to grow and thrive. He feels everything he is is due to their generosity, and he will never be able to repay it. Most of his life, his allegiance was to the Jiangs, and especially to his adopted sister and brother. The easiest way to enrage him is to insult Yanli, or breathe wrong in her direction. His loyalty and love for Jiang Cheng drive him to give his brother his own golden core -- taking him from one of the most powerful cultivators of his generation to a nonentity almost overnight.

The only thing that overrides his affection for the Jiangs is the loyalty to his principles, which leads him to abandon his family and society to protect the Wen survivors. Partly, he feels he owes a debt to Wen Ning and Wen Qing for their help with protecting him, Yanli, and Jiang Cheng after their sect is massacred. However, he also cannot stand by and watch powerful people abuse those who are innocent or weaker.

- Bravery/Nobility - If there's a righteous cause to be fought for, Wei Wuxian rushes in headlong. Sometimes the cause is simple -- his sister's dignity or overthrowing a corrupt ruler; sometimes the cause is complicated -- fighting a demigod tortoise in order to let people escape, or turning the world against him to protect a group of pariahs.

Neutral Traits
- Survivor - When he was a child living on the streets, he dug through garbage for food and fought feral dogs to keep it. When he was thrown into the Burial Mounds and left to die, he embraced dark magic and learned to harness it in order to stay alive. He does not specifically have a death wish -- when he feels its his time to die, he'll accept it. However until then, he will make sure he lives to see tomorrow.

Negative Traits
- Reckless - Bravery and nobility are the good side of the coin. On the other side, Wei Wuxian doesn't have much regard for potential consequences of his actions. Jiang Cheng and Madam Yu call his actions "heroics" and believe he wants to be the center of attention, no matter who else gets hurt. While he doesn't act out of self-promotion, he acts out of the arrogance of self-righteousness. So he does whatever he thinks is necessary to do the right thing, and never thinks of what can happen because of what he's done.

- Martyr - Wei Wuxian puts himself in situations which harm him for the good of someone else, with no regard for his welfare or reputation. Tied to his recklessness, in that he would willingly die or be ostracized for a virtuous cause, it also comes from a deeply ingrained sense of worthlessness. He grew up making himself the black sheep of the Jiang family in order to help take pressure or criticism off Jiang Cheng; he got in trouble to help make Jiang Cheng look even more worthy of being clan and sect heir. Wei Wuxian, son of a former retainer who abandoned the sect for love, never stopped being aware of his adopted status. He internalizes the blame heaped on him by Madam Yu and Jiang Cheng for the destruction of Lotus Pier and the death of the sect -- he drew the Wens' attention, brought their wrath down on the Jiangs. So, naturally, he would sacrifice his golden core -- his pride, status, and future -- so Jiang Cheng could thrive again. And he doesn't regret it; saving Jiang Cheng is as much out of love as duty. He uses lies, tricks, and secrecy to bring it about, keeps everyone from knowing what he's done, and pretends he's completely fine when he gives up "true" cultivation for demonic cultivation, and the social stigma that it brings. And then he gives himself up to protect the Wen survivors, knowing the rest of the cultivation world will be out for his head, for no other reason than he thinks it's the right thing to do. (And just a passing mention that demonic cultivation damages the body and soul but he uses it anyway, mostly to protect others.)

- Arrogant - Wei Wuxian doesn't like compromising and doesn't have much patience for those who waste time dithering. In his opinion, he's correct, backed up by righteousness, and people who don't see it that way are hypocrites and, well, stupid. He plays and riles his teachers and elders because he's a genius and he knows it. Stuck-up and repressed people like Lan Zhan need to loosen up and live a little because that's what he does and obviously he is a lot happier than they are. He flouts rules because he is above them, because of his intelligence and skill. Cultivators shouldn't use talismans and spells in great quantities but his are practical and brilliant, so he will. No one has ever used demonic cultivation without rotting themselves from the inside and losing their minds, but that's only because Wei Wuxian hasn't succeeded yet. He refuses help from people because he insists he can control the resentful energy, he's in control of his own mind, and he doesn't need people to try and "fix" him. Society's opinion be damned -- he is able to justify everything he does to himself, and that's all that matters.

Powers and Abilities:
Chinese Wizard Stuff
- Demonic Cultivation
Wei Wuxian is able to manipulate resentful (dark) energy. His preferred method is via music -- primarily with his flute, but he can also do so by whistling; however, he is also able to physically take the energy into himself or his Stygian Tiger Seal, and then redirect it. The energy can remain as amorphous smoke-like things, or possess dead bodies and animate them. While possessed, the corpse will follow his commands. He can also use resentful energy, when paired with music, to feed on a person's fears and make them hallucinate, as well as plant suggestions for things they should do. (In one instance, he terrifies one woman into cutting up her own face and then hanging herself. In another, he kills an entire garrison by forcing them all to commit suicide in different ways, or just literally scaring them to death.)

- "Crafty Tricks"
This covers abilities not related to Demonic Cultivation, but also not considered worthy techniques for the cultivation world: the use of some talismans and spells. Wei Wuxian creates his own versions of each, from binding talismans to spells which let him freeze a person in their tracks or take control of them. He has little person-shaped paper talismans that he can animate with spiritual energy or transfer parts of his consciousness to and sneak into places he otherwise shouldn't go. (While in this form, if the talisman is damaged, it rebounds back on him.)

- Cultivation
Though he cannot practice the approved, swordsmanship-based cultivation, he is able to use techniques such as limited flight and limited levitation; and increased speed and dexterity. He just powers them with resentful energy rather than via a golden core.

- Empathy
A cultivation spell which allows the caster to connect their consciousness with someone else's and view their memories. The technique is very dangerous, as a person may be swept up in the memories and not be able to return.


Mundane Things
- Intelligence
Wei Wuxian is incredibly smart. He absorbs information quickly, can analyze and make deductions with ease. The talismans, spells, and techniques he creates in the series are typically practical and useful, and even impress his rivals and enemies.

- Six Arts
Rites (respect to ancestors, elders, etc.), music, archery, chariot racing, calligraphy (he's terrible), and mathematics. Of the six, the ones he is most proficient in are music and archery. Additionally, he is skilled in swordsmanship, though he no longer uses a sword.

Inventory: His flute, Chenqing; the Yin Tiger Seal; a lotus seed

Samples: One | Two

Handful of Headcanons:
- Because he doesn't have a golden core, he's cold a lot of the time.