Lan Wangji

Lan Wangji

the basics

full name • Lan Wangji
nicknames • Lan Zhan as a nickname/reincarnation name with people he is very close to who know him very very well, which isn't many people
age • nineteen
birthday • January 23, 2001
occupation • student (junior), major: double in Religious Studies (focus on Chinese religions) and Music (concentration in Music History, Theory and Ethnography), minor: Ethics In Society
relationship status • no
gender • male (he/him)
sexuality • demisexual, demiromantic, gay
has memories • yes

the appearance

face claim • Wang Yibo
height and weight • 182 cm (5' 11.6"), 77 kg (170 lbs)
identifying features • He currently has no piercings or tattoos, he has pretty much perfect skin, he always wears a bracelet on a white ribbon that has a cloud symbol made of silver on it.
overall appearance • Lan Wangji is relatively tall, and has basically perfect posture. He tends to have a stony look on his face at any given time, and many people say that he looks stern. He has rather long, black hair, just past his shoulders in a ponytail, which is how he usually wears it out and about. While he's most comfortable in hanfu, he generally wears slacks, button down shirts or turtlenecks and sometimes cardigans out and about because he is less comfortable having to discuss his clothing choices with people than he is with wearing clothes he likes less. Most of his clothing is white or pale blue. He rarely makes eye contact with people, but his eyes are an unusually pale, golden-brown.

the personality

likes • Music (playing and listening and teaching), the library, things making sense, peaceful places, practicing martial arts (especially sword)
dislikes • Sudden loud noises, people yelling (especially at him), unexpected disruptions, unfairness
strengths • Academics, Trustworthiness, Loyalty, Tenacity
weaknesses • Not handling change well, Social situations, Stubbornness, Anxiety, Anything too spicy (where that's... most spicy things)
dreams • To teach music (he's probably going to get a MAT after undergrad)
fears • Losing (more) people he loves
overall personality • Lan Wangji is shy, awkward in social situations, and generally kind of anxious about things that he can't control. This leads to him coming off as serious, aloof, and hard to get to know. Once he makes close friends with someone or bonds with them, he is incredibly attached and protective of them. He struggles with getting to know people and making friends though, and mostly is close with a few of his relatives. He's very responsible, and adults (especially teachers) have always thought highly of him, but he's not sure how that will translate as he becomes an adult.

the history

father • Lan Qingheng, deceased, concert flute player
mother • Lan Changmei, deceased, concert viola player
uncle • Lan Qiren, 44*, philosophy professor*
older brother • Lan Xichen, 24*, graduate student*
cousin • Lan Jingyi, 16, student (college freshman), major: anthropology (culture and society)
hometown • Palo Alto, CA (was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, but moved to Palo Alto before he remembers)
overall history • Lan Wangji was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China to two musicians who both played in international level concert orchestras. When he was a toddler, before he really remembers, they both got offers to play with orchestras in the Bay Area and relocated to Palo Alto, CA to live with his Uncle Qiren who was a philosophy professor at Stanford.
He was very close to his mother, learning to play both viola and guqin from her and rather distant from his father and awkward with his uncle. Other than his mother, he was incredibly close with his older brother who doted on him.
His mother passed away when he was about six years old, shortly after he started elementary school. She'd been very unhappy in the US, and while the car accident was never shown to be anything other than an accident, there were whispers surrounding it in their community for a long time, which Lan Wangji always hated. He missed his mother a lot, and the parallels of the situation along with the Lan family's ways of connecting with their past caused him to regain his memories of past lives to an extent (he does keep finding new ones).
The Lan family in many ways kept to their old religious teachings, though the rules had been very thinned down over the years, a historical artifact to be considered and studied. They were still a very strict household. All of the children of the family were encouraged to study the ancient instruments, learn to meditate, and learn martial arts, especially swords. They regularly attended temples. This was the one area where Lan Wangji was able to connect with his Uncle after his mother passed away, and Lan Qiren did very much help him through the rush of regaining his memories younger than strictly recommended.
His father passed away a few years later after getting suddenly very sick. He'd not been the same since his wife's death though, and had been even more distant from the boys. Both Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen ended up having their Uncle as their guardian. It was a strict childhood to grow up in, but Lan Wangji didn't really question it that much: he liked rules and predictability.
When he was in high school, his younger cousin (Lan Jingyi), moved in with the family, and kind of idolized him, which perplexed him immensely, but he does have a fairly positive relationship with the younger boy. They superficially have a decent amount in common (people guess they're related by appearance, they were both very advanced in school), but they have very different personalities (Jingyi is very loud, this confuses Wangji). He was a supportive person for Jingyi recovering his memories during their teens.
No one was surprised by Lan Wangji going to Stanford, but his family was sort of surprised when he decided to live in the dorms. He still goes home very regularly, but he wanted the chance to actually get better at functioning in society. He doesn't have many friends though and is still struggling to figure out how to interact with his peers.

the role player

alias • Etienne
age • 30
pronouns • he/him
code • chenqing
which version did you see • novel/drama
other characters • Lan Jingyi (though I'll be making him next)