#Jiang Cheng deserves and gets nice things

[incarnadinedreams]

This isn't really new or anything but the more I reread random passages the more convinced I am that there's something very unique about the way Jiang Cheng reacts to Wen Ning and it's just so interesting!

I'm convinced it's more than just being angry. It's more than just hating him, or blaming him for Jin Zixuan's death or his sister's life. It's more than being a Wen, and it comes long before so many of those tragedies unfold anyway.

There's a sort of urgent, visceral reaction to Wen Ning's presence that just has this different feeling to it than how he reacts to any of the other characters. Even characters he has strong emotional responses to, it's never with the same panic or recklessness. It's not the same as the whole "vengeful wrath, fathomless hatred, or raving ecstasy" situation he's got going on with Wei Wuxian (sexy as that might be).

When it's Wei Wuxian, it's all "...well, well. So you're back?" and "Haven't you got anything to say to me?" Even when he's not being very nice, even when he's throwing teacups and furious at Wei Wuxian, there's still an edge of calmness in the way he lashes out. He's fucking mad but he's had more than a decade to think about this and he's got things to say and he's trying so hard to get a reaction from Wei Wuxian that he just won't give him.

But he can't tolerate having Wen Ning anywhere near him. Much of the time he instantly lashes out, physically, in ways to create space between them. He's mean to Wen Ning, but he doesn't really have much to say to him; he just wants to get away from him.

It really stuck out to me how instinctive and instantaneous and emotional that reaction is when I was reading this passage from chapter 81 (ExR translation since I've got it on hand in digital text form), when Jin Ling returns Zidian and rushes back into the fray during the Second Siege:

When Jiang Cheng was unaware, he stuffed Zidian's ring back into his hand and sprinted toward the crowd, all the way up to the most dangerous area before the mouth of the cave. Jiang Cheng was about to chase after him when he managed to slice a few corpses, staggering. He felt that Sandu was no lighter than hundreds of pounds. Two female corpses threw themselves at him from both directions.

Jiang Cheng cursed. As he lifted his sword again, another pair of hands tore the two corpses into pieces, "Sect Leader..."

Jiang Cheng lost his temper as soon as he heard the voice. He kicked Wen Ning away and cursed, "Get the fuck away from me!"

Obviously that is not very nice and poor Wen Ning didn't deserve a kick for being legitimately helpful there, but the point is that not only does he lash out - the reaction happens even when he's clearly got higher priorities going on in a chaotic situation. Throughout that entire event he reacts in a somewhat more even-keeled way to almost everything except Wen Ning being in his vicinity.

And it's not just after Wen Ning's death, not just after he became Wei Wuxian's greatest weapon, not just after he was forced to kill Jin Zixuan - it's specifically a pattern established from the moment he woke up in the Supervisory Office without a core:

Before he could say anything, those sun robes reflected against Jiang Cheng's eyes. His pupils suddenly shrunk.

Jiang Cheng kicked Wen Ning, toppling over the bowl of medicine. The black liquid all spilled onto Wen Ning. Wei WuXian wanted to take the bowl of medicine. He pulled up Wen Ning as well, who had been shocked speechless. Jiang Cheng roared at him, "What's wrong with you?!"

At this point he doesn't even know how he was rescued, since he was unconscious for all of that, and thinks they're in a Wen trap and likely going to die (or worse). But there's so many echoes of that interaction again, and again, and again between them.

And combined with Wen Ning's remarks during the scene just before this, where he tells Wei Wuxian about the discipline whip injuries and how Jiang Cheng 'should have other injuries as well', the way the narrative is so deliberately ambiguous on what exactly occurred, it all makes me want to crawl up the walls and gnaw on the light fixtures wailing WHAT DID YOU SEE, WEN NING?! WHAT DID YOU SEE?

At a minimum, Jiang Cheng knows that Wen Ning was there at Lotus Pier prior to his capture by the Wen guards, because they'd both seen Wen Ning examining Jiang corpses on the training field before they fled for Meishan.

But everything after that is only implication and subtext and suppositions and speculation, not directly stated in the text. But based on his reaction, you can pry my headcanon from my cold dead hands that that Wen Ning probably witnessed all or much of what happened to Jiang Cheng after he was captured, and Jiang Cheng knows it.

I've also posted before how I think there's an at least nonzero chance that Jiang Cheng was never directly told that Wen Ning wasn't actually there with Wen Chao when they saw him early on, but came later to try to help (because when Wen Ning gives Wei Wuxian that information Jiang Cheng isn't conscious, and nobody tells Jiang Cheng anything. I don't think that headcanon changes much either way, but there is a slight difference, at least emotionally, between 'I helped you while I was there to slaughter your clan and destroy your life' and 'I came when I heard my crazy cousin was slaughtering your clan and tried to help you' and I think it's a juicy thing to add to the pile of misunderstandings they each have of the other's motivations and actions).

Which, if I go with these two ideas together, really drives home what a bespoke and specific nightmare the way the Golden Core reveal played out - not only the substance of the reveal, but the fact it was Wen Ning who revealed it.

He was already furious that they were even there at Lotus Pier, particularly Wen Ning. But the way it all happens it feels like it's not just echoes of the amplified emotions of the confrontation with Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian in the Ancestral Hall, it's not just Wen Ning being a Wen, or even Jin Zixuan's death, the way the narration calls out. It feels like there are deeper layers to it.

I also feel a bit stupid for not noticing before this probably extremely obvious to literally everyone else who isn't a dumbass like me parallel of Wen Ning getting a gruesome scorching whip mark across his chest at Lotus Pier in the course of saving Wei Wuxian (more or less, sort of - we know as readers Jiang Cheng was intentionally trying not to hurt them with Zidian, but I don't think Wen Ning knew that when he jumped in).

Jiang Cheng looked to find that the uninvited guest was Wen Ning. Immediately, he raged, "Who let you inside Lotus Pier?! How dare you!"

He could manage to tolerate others, but definitely not Wen Ning, the Wen-dog who put his hand through Jin ZiXuan's heart and ended both his sister's happiness and her life. Just a look, and he felt the urge to kill him right there. How dare he step foot on the earth of Lotus Pier—he really was looking for his death!

Because of the two lives and many other reasons, Wen Ning had always felt guilty, and so he'd always been somewhat scared of Jiang Cheng, consciously avoiding him all the time. Right now, however, he blocked Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi as he faced him, taking the hard lash. A gruesome scorch climbed across his chest, but still he didn't flinch.

I don't know that it actually means anything but it's making me FEEL THINGS incoherently at this specific moment, so. Also I find it legitimately sad that Wen Ning has to live with guilt over things that happened when he was controlled by someone else, though the scene before the Ancestral Hall when Jin Ling starts crying on the boat is probably a better example of that. Anyway.

It's just there's so, so many layers to how uniquely horrible it is for Jiang Cheng that he not only finds out about the Golden Core transfer this way, but also that Wen Ning, specifically, directly witnessed this life-shatteringly huge deception and sacrifice too - while Jiang Cheng was unconscious, no less.

And, well, we know how everything got capped off in that scene...

Obviously the shock of the information was going to get a huge reaction no matter what, no matter who or how he found out. Even without the Wen Ning element, it already hits every one of his deepest weaknesses and insecurities and fears.

But to come from the guy who'd witnessed his family being slaughtered, who'd witnessed who-knows-what humiliations heaped on him (who also happens to be the same fucking guy that Wei Wuxian thought it was worth leaving Yunmeng Jiang for, breaking his promise for...), the guy he blames for his sister's tragic fate (whether that blame is misplaced or not), the guy he exhibits a panic response towards even decades later, and goddamn.

There are just so many layers to this perfect little nightmare reveal on so many different levels aren't there?

There's just SO much meaty stuff for these two to dig into post-canon and all we get is an extra with a 'oh yeah sometimes Jiang Cheng yells on night hunts and Wen Ning is there' about it?!

I should probably just shut up and go read some Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning focused fics or something (whether romantic or platonic that's probably an area I really haven't explored enough vs. the amount of sheer interesting hints and material the novel gives to work with! If by some miracle anyone made it to the end of this beast feel free to drop any recs that explore them, especially that 'what did Wen Ning see?!' aspect of the whole situation because that is the current little brain worm haunting me right now).

#thinking too much about jiang cheng yet again #and wen ning too #the brainrot is back in full force #warning: this is unnecessarily long and I'm not entirely sure I have a point other than gnawing on feelings over these two #and either I'm stupidly reading too much into things or this is all super obvious and I'm dumb for pointing it out #the unbearable self-consciousness that comes with rambling about characters in books I guess

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Pride!!!! Living Blood or Lady Mo please!

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

Xuanyu disrobes unashamedly, hesitating only at the last second with the sleeve covering her left arm.

Jiang Yanli laughs. “Bit late to be modest, I think.”

“Modesty is overrated,” she returns, which is something that Zixuan would say and A-Yao would think. She slips the rest of the robes off and steps into the steaming bath, letting out a deep sigh of satisfaction.

The changes her body has undergone are even more obvious without the thick layers of the robes obscuring her form. The extra weight seems to have settled in ideal places, not only thickening her waist and limbs but settling heavily along her hips and breasts, which hadn’t exactly been small to begin with.

She sits behind Xuanyu, filling a bowl with water and then pouring it over her hair to rinse it of blood and dirt that had been hidden by her dark hair. Acting as a bathing assistant is far below her station, but Xuanyu had sent all the servants away and she doesn’t mind, really. Xuanyu is her sister, likely the only one she’ll ever have considering A-Cheng’s track record with matchmakers, and she’s been worried about her. This gives them time to speak alone. “How has your marriage with Lan Wangji been? Has he been kind?”

Xuanyu pulls a face, which isn’t encouraging. “I guess. He mostly left me alone, and then we had a couple fights and he was a jerk, and now I think he’s trying to make up for being a jerk, but it’s a little – well, it’s nice that he’s making an effort. I suppose.”

Not as good as she’d hoped, but not as bad as she’d feared. “Sect Leader Lan seems fond of you.”

“Oh, Lan Xichen is great,” she says easily. Better than reaction to Lan Wangji, but still not what Jiang Yanli had been hoping for. Then her eyes light up. “Sizhui is wonderful! I’ll give Wangji one thing, he’s raised a good kid. He’s so sweet, and a great cultivator, and he’s always trying to help out everyone around him. I’m glad Jingyi’s always hanging around – without him, I think everyone would just take advantage of Sizhui’s good nature.”

Well, that’s something. Surely Lan Wangji can’t resist Xuanyu’s charms for long, not when she dotes on his son and gets along with his brother.

“What trouble did you get into on the road?” she asks, running her hand over the wound on Xuanyu’s shoulder. It looks nearly fully healed already and there’s another mostly healed wound on her hip, a thin slice on her left arm, and the shadow of various bruises that were likely much worse a couple hours ago. It’s of course a good thing that Xuanyu has a strong golden core, but Jiang Yanli can’t help a moment of wistfulness.

Her own core never lived up to her mother’s expectations, or her own. If she’d had a stronger core, she could have given A-Ling siblings. A child should have siblings. She would have had a calmer childhood without two little brothers underfoot, but a lonelier one too.

Xuanyu shrugs, lazily scrubbing herself down. “Looks like Xiao Xingchen picked up the girl, A-Qing, while he and Song Lan were separated and was trapped in this place that was basically a ghost town.” How could he be trapped by a place that had no people? “And I’d heard some rumors so when we ran into Song Lan I helped him find Xiao Xingchen, but there was a bit of a fight with someone who didn’t want him to leave. I just happened to get caught in the crossfire, so to speak.”

She’s stretching the truth to outright lying. Before Jiang Yanli can call her on it, her stomach growls.

“Didn’t get a chance to eat on the road?” she teases.

Xuanyu flushes, ducking briefly beneath the water to hide her flaming cheeks before resurfacing. “Things were a little hectic. It may have slipped my mind.”

How has she managed to put on weight while also forgetting to eat? Perhaps Lan Wangji deserves more credit.

“I think I have some candies in my room, if you want something before the banquet,” she offers. “I know the speeches take forever.”

Her eyes light up before dimming and she slumps in the bath. “Thanks, Yanli-jie, but I better not. Sizhui gave me some on the road and I usually love them but just putting it in my mouth almost made me sick. It was awful. And weird! They’re my favorite.”

Jiang Yanli blinks then gives Xuanyu’s significantly larger chest a considering look. It could be nothing. It’s probably nothing. She hasn’t even been married a year and it doesn’t sound as if she and Lan Wangji have been seeing eye to eye.

Then again, the same could have been said about her and Zixuan.

“Can I ask you something personal, Meimei?”

Xuanyu nods. “You can ask me anything, Yanli-jie.”

“Are you and Lan Wangji having sex?”

She turns bright red and ducks beneath the water for so long that Jiang Yanli is starting to get concerned before she resurfaces, still red faced. “Um. We did once. Well – I guess, technically, it was three times, but it was only one night.”

Well. Apparently Lan Wangji has stamina on and off the battlefield.

“One moment,” she says, briefly squeezing Xuanyu’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

It takes one whispered conversation with the servant outside the hall and approximately ninety seconds before her personal healer is standing in front of her. Jiang Yanli ducks back inside to see Xuanyu out of the bath, in a thin bathing robe that’s clinging to her as she wrings her hair out. “I’d like my healer to take a look at you, Meimei.”

Xuanyu freezes, slowly standing straight with a wary look on her face. “That’s really not necessary. The wounds were just superficial and they’re basically healed already.”

“It’ll be quick,” she says, because if she’s right then she can’t let Xuanyu go down to the banquet without letting her know. “She’s very discreet – she’s been my personal healer since I was a child.”

“Jiang Xingyi?” Xuanyu asks, some of her tension draining away.

Jiang Yanli nods, trying to think of some reason that Xuanyu would know her healer’s name, or her reputation, but all the servants are terrible gossips and her health is a frequent topic of derision. “Just your wrist, okay? Your golden core has changed a lot. I just want her to take a look.”

She feels bad about lying, but Xuanyu had lied to her first.

Xuanyu relaxes even further. “Okay, Yanli-jie. If it’ll make you feel better.”

“Thank you,” she smiles, then opens the door to usher Jiang Xingyi in.

The old woman doesn’t smile, but Xuanyu grins back undeterred, and says, “Hi, Granny,” before paling and adding, “uh, um. Sorry.”

Jiang Yanli feels a familiar pang of grief go through her. A-Xian had referred to Jiang Xingyi as Granny, the only disciple both bold and beloved enough to get away with it.

Jiang Xingyi ignores her, instead reaching for her wrist and pressing her fingers against it. Xuanyu fidgets, shifting from one foot to the other, but says nothing as the moments stack on top of one another.

Finally, Jiang Xingyi drops her wrist and steps back. Her stern visage breaks, a smile stretching her mouth across her face. “Congratulations, Madame Lan.”

She knew it!

“Thanks,” Xuanyu answers before wrinkling her nose. “Um. For what?”

“You are expecting,” she answers. “At least a couple months along, I believe, although I’d have to do a more thorough examination to be sure.”

Jiang Yanli moves to embrace her, but Xuanyu’s face drops and she turns dangerously pale. “What? No. That’s not possible. I can’t be.”

“Three times,” Jiang Yanli reminds her, trying to goad Xuanyu into laughter.

But instead she just shakes her head. “No, no I can’t, I – this can’t be happening,” she whispers to herself, grabbing her own arms in a white knuckled grip. “It’s not. It’s impossible. I can’t be.”

She’s young, and this wasn’t a marriage of her own choosing, and it’s so new. Of course she’s surprised and nervous. Jiang Yanli touches her elbow, intending to say something soothing, but Xuanyu collapses into her arms, gripping her waist and hiding her tears in her shoulder.

“Xuanyu!” she says, hugging her back just as fiercely, her heart breaking for the younger girl’s anguish. “Meimei, it’s okay, I know this is scary, but it’s going to be fine.”

“It’s not,” she says, voice thick with tears, “A-jie, this is awful, this is – it can’t happen! It can’t, Wangji is going to be so mad, he’s going to hate me, and everything is ruined and awful, I can’t be – I can’t! I’m going to die!”

Jiang Yanli’s whole body goes cold and she grips Xuanyu even tighter against her. “You’re going to be fine,” she says, pushing her conviction into every syllable.

No matter what Jiang Yanli has to do, Xuanyu is going to be fine.

#oh wwx #our babygirl is going through it #dw everything is going to be fine #wwx is like i'm going to die before i can have this baby and kill lan zhan's baby and he's going to hate me forever #and jyl who obviously has no context for this hears that xuanyu thinks that lwj is going to kill her #which she'd think that lwj would never do but also she saw him during war and she's not the one married to him #and everyone knows he didn't want this marriage and also made a big thing about how sizhui's position won't be usurped #jyl to herself: do i have to kill lan wangji? #prompt answers #prompts are closed #asks #anon #untamed

[robininthelabyrinth]

@thedarkline ask which disappeared:

Can you do one where Huisang is upset about the loss of his best friends? After the cloud recesses and the training camp he looked forward to seeing Wei Wuxian and JC again and now they don’t even like each other and WW is so cold now. Maybe they deserve a forced vacation?

ao3

Nie Mingjue blinked.

“Oh,” he said. “I see. This is a hallucination, and I should go get checked out by the doctors.”

“Rude, da-ge,” Nie Huaisang sniffed. “Also, you should in fact go get checked out by the doctors some more. I’m still worried about you, you got out of bed too quickly after everything. But also: rude!”

“All right, I’ll concede that maybe I didn’t hallucinate and you in fact said what you said,” Nie Mingjue said. “But…why? I thought you liked Wei Wuxian!”

“I do like him! Of course I like him!”

Nie Mingjue threw his hands into the air. “Then why in the world would you want me to bring him to trial?”

“Because he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Nie Huaisang said. “It’s all a bunch of rumor and innuendo, and now Jiang Cheng had to throw him out of the sect and pretend he doesn’t like him – which is ridiculous – and we can’t all hang out the way we used to and it’s awful, da-ge! Just awful!”

“Pretty awful for Wei Wuxian stuck living on the Burial Mounds and Jiang Cheng having to rebuild his sect all by himself, but yes, by all means, let’s focus on how it affects you personally,” Nie Mingjue said dryly. “No fun hangouts with your friends. How will you survive?”

Nie Huaisang ignored him.

“My point is,” he said loftily, “if he’s found innocent after a trial, then he can come back. It’s perfect!”

“Huaisang…”

“I’m serious.”

Nie Mingjue rubbed his forehead and, reluctantly, started trying to actually think it through. Nie Huaisang could sometimes be distracted by shiny things, like a shopping trip or a new fan, but sometimes he would demonstrate his heritage by getting his teeth into something and stubbornly refusing to let up on it, ever.

It was nice to see him living up to at least some family traditions.

“Wei Wuxian did murder some Jin sect guards,” he pointed out. “He’s unquestionably guilty of that.”

“First off, no one cares about that,” Nie Huaisang rebutted. “And you know it.”

“They should. The fact that the Jin are soulless bastards isn’t exculpatory.”

“No, but also you’re wrong. The fact is, Wei Wuxian didn’t kill them.”

“What?”

“He didn’t! Wen Ning did.”

“…I’m not sure how it’s better that the Ghost General was involved.”

Nie Huaisang waved his fan at him. “Da-ge, don’t be obtuse! Wen Ning wasn’t the Ghost General at that point – he was just a fierce corpse. No consciousness.”

Nie Mingjue waited for his brother to explain his logic. He assumed there was some, anyway.

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes as if he thought Nie Mingjue was being purposefully slow just to mess with him, which he wasn’t, for once. “Da-ge. Wen Ning was a fierce corpse who had been killed by the Jin sect guards. If he’d resurrected without Wei-xiong’s help, would anyone have said anything?”

“Of course not. A murderer’s victim seeking vengeance for the crime committed against them is a classic case that calls for liberation, provided they haven’t killed anyone else in the process or gotten a taste for killing people such that they would continue doing so afterwards.”

“Exactly.”

“But Wei Wuxian did resurrect him.”

“Naturally he did! He was looking for his friend, he wanted to speak with him; he’s a demonic cultivator. What could be more natural? It’s no different from a Lan playing Inquiry to see if they can find a lost soul. How was Wei Wuxian to know that the Jin sect guards had murdered him, and that Wen Ning would therefore arise as a fierce corpse bent on immediate vengeance?”

Nie Mingjue wanted to laugh, and also possibly to suggest that Nie Huaisang consider picking up a sideline in advocacy, except that he really didn’t actually want a lawyer in the family.

“All right,” he said, suppressing his amusement. “Let’s say I’m following where you’re leading. Then why didn’t Wei Wuxian, demonic cultivator, stop the murder?”

“Da-ge, please,” Nie Huaisang cast him a horrified look. “You’re not suggesting a cultivator can be held responsible for not acting swiftly enough to stop something, are you? Imagine how much of the cultivation world might be at risk if that were the rule!”

“Mm. A good point. Didn’t I hear somewhere that Wei Wuxian had already known that the Jin sect guards had killed Wen Ning…?”

“Surely Wei-xiong would never make such an assumption about the good, upstanding people that a good, upstanding sect like Lanling Jin took on as their own. It must have been a misunderstanding. You know how young heroes are, all bluster and hot air. Are we kicking people out of sects just for that?”

Nie Mingjue’s shoulders were shaking with the effort to keep his laughter inside.

“There, you see! Perfectly logical,” Nie Huaisang concluded, throwing his sleeves up with a flourish. “Obviously the entire sequence of events that led to Jiang Cheng kicking Wei Wuxian out is simply a misunderstanding. Easily resolved!”

“Right. And the Wen sect? They were supposed to be in Jin sect custody.”

“Uh, da-ge, the Jin sect appointed guards that killed some of them, a fact we know for sure because we’ve gotten it based on the testimony of the dead – again, like Inquiry. Are you saying we can’t rely on things like Inquiry? What will the Lan sect say if they hear you suggest such a thing?”

“I’m suggesting that we still need to do something with the Wen sect.”

“Let Jiang Cheng take them and put them to work.” Nie Huaisang shrugged. “He’s got a whole sect to rebuild, hasn’t he? Anyway, they were the ones who were massacred, they should get first call on what to do with them.”

“Firstly, taking them in means that Jiang Cheng has to feed them –”

“The Jin sect can pay for that, if they’re so enthusiastic about helping deal with them.”

“Secondly, why would Jiang Cheng want the kinsman of the people who killed his parents? I thought you liked him?”

“I’m getting him back Wei Wuxian,” Nie Huaisang said. “He’s going to have to deal with the baggage Wei Wuxian picked up along the way on his own. What do I look like, someone who fixes things for people? Please, da-ge. I’m only human. There’s only so much that I’m capable of.”

Nie Mingjue gave in and started laughing.

#mdzs #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #my fic #my fics #another old one #and a theme I've hit before #maybe even posted htis one before??? #but I like this one anyway because of the stupid lawyering

[jcs-singular-slut-strand]

@sandumilfshou

Okay, I didn't really explain myself when answering my previous anon, so I'm gonna do that now as well as the new editions (warning: i am a hater)

Chengxian:

Chenxian compels me so much, childhood romance, what could've been, body mutilation on two linked occasions. What more do you want? I understand why people despise it, however I am a JC stan and honestly just want at least one person from his teen years to still be with him and love him. I think that he deserves it.

Xicheng:

I am not a xicheng enjoyer. I feel like every fanfic I read of them is just Lan Xichen taming and flattening Jiang Cheng's "bad" emotions. They dull down his character until he's nothing more than a plain digestive biscuit, and all for a man. There's also something of a running theme in Jiang Cheng ships where a lot of them are centred around WWX, and I fully believe that Xicheng is one of them. "Oh, my brother has a Lan? Well then so am I!" Guys pls let him have his own things 🙏

Zhanchengxian:

I don't really have any opinions on this other than good luck trying to write the Jiang Cheng x Lan Wangji dynamic in character whilst also making it romantic and not ooc, I feel for you. I think that this is 100% just WWX trying to tie all the people he loves to himself and never let them go again, which isnt exactly healthy but where's the fun in the ship if it is. Imo, it's 50/50 on whether or not we get diluting juice Jiang Cheng or not, which can be a bit tricky. I do however understand it for the porn. Which is nice ig.

Wangningxian:

You are a WWX enjoyer and like it when he is happy. Fair enough. I think the relationship regarding Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian (platonic and otherwise) is really under explored in this fandom along with Wen Ning's lack of agency and autonomy, which would be really interesting if worked into this trio. I'm always a bit worried about Lan Wangji and throuples, just in case Lan Xichen's curse is biological.

#i dont wanna tag it as the ships i don't like incase ppl come for mw #chengxian #the untamed #mdzs #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wen ning

[least-carpet]

Jin Zixuan, Jin Guangyao, and their Opposite Trajectories

Listen, I never thought I would give a shit about Jin Zixuan but apparently I have Thoughts and I'm tired of this post sitting in my drafts. (This was literally the first MDZS post I ever started writing.) I give up.

The thought is (loosely) that their tragedies are opposite, not in source (piece of shit rapist dad, the Evils of Society, etc.) but in the like... the shape they make? I'm using the word "trajectory" but it's not quite right either.

Firstly, I'm reaching the point where I hate it when Jin Zixuan gets blamed for his own death. Being a dickhead as a teenager should not make it OK for your wife's sect brother to kill you with a zombie, even if that sect brother is much more charming then you.

Like he's not very nice and honestly the ass-kicking he got from Wei Wuxian in the Cloud Recesses was fully deserved. But a lot of the stuff we see him do in the background indicates that he values integrity and is trying to work out what it is and how to do it (badly)—even Soup Drama is about giving credit correctly. (Does it reflect badly on him for him to have been engaged to Jiang Yanli for so long and not know jack shit about her interests? Oh yeah. Is it him fucking up a social interaction trying to do the right thing? Also yes!) So he has zero social graces and is a big loser BUT from what he does he seems like a big loser trying to figure out how to be a good person in a hot mess of a sect.

There's also no reason to assume that he didn't sincerely love Jiang Yanli, given that he dies still trying to fulfill her desire to see Wei Wuxian. Who kills him!

Jin Zixuan's tragedy is that his actual promise—not the handsomeness or the wealth, but his ongoing semi-pathetic attempts to become a good person and do the right thing—is never fulfilled because he's cut down at, like, 20. By someone he's trying to do a favour for, to add insult to injury.

Jin Guangyao on the other hand...Jin Guangyao's tragedy is it seems like he starts out pretty decent and then gets all fucked up.

One of my Jin Guangyao frustrations is the way people who hate him read his future behaviour into his past behaviour. (This also happens to Jiang Cheng.) I don't think MDZS's final version of Jin Guangyao, who during his evil monologue announces that he has committed ancient Chinese peak crime bingo¹, is the same person as the Meng Yao who enters the narrative. He gets loaded up with formative trauma, exposed to a wild amount of violence, and then enters the Jin sect, where up is down, his "family" hates and abuses him, and he's only rewarded when he does evil deeds for his shitty dad, while publicly maintaining a facade of goodness and justice. That is a scenario designed to pickle this guy's brain in evil! That's a scenario basically designed to pickle anyone's brain in evil! He gets ping-ponged furiously from one trauma engine to another and comes out all fucked up and paranoid.

Anyway if he'd died at 20 instead of Jin Zixuan, he would have died lauded as a hero. Instead he's going down in sect history as the creep who murdered his father and married his sister, and it'll be blamed on his poor mom, who he revered and loved.

I guess the uniting factor is maybe the ways in which their promise was squandered by their father and their sect, although the specific details are different. Man, the Jin sibs are all so depressing. (I include Qin Su and Mo Xuanyu in that statement.)

Footnotes:

I don't know that we're meant to take that completely literally—like some of the stuff he claims to have done he didn't do—but he certainly committed at least some of them. And omitted some other stuff that's also pretty bad, to be fair.

#I can't rotate these guys anymore #that's all she's got captain #jin zixuan #jin guangyao #jin sibs #mdzs + #least-carpet thoughts

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

hi

I'll start this by saying you can ignore this ask if it's too annoying bc valid

but I just saw some absolutely bullshit takes when I was scrolling through mdzs posts

some people claimed that:

- jin guangyao and wei wuxian are the same and both killed for revenge so if wwx isn't evil then jgy can't be either (I- excuse me??)

- jgy did so much good for people and wwx just........ saved some wens (lmaoo???)

- jgy killed nmj out of self defense (ok so why did he keep coming back and acting nice playing/poisoning him for probably weeks if not months then????????)

- (this one is just crazy) wang lingjiao was just some poor commoner woman who couldn't fight back so wwx is awful for what he did to her

....

I'm sorry am I the crazy one here because these takes sound straight up INSANE to me like did the people who wrote it read the same novel I did??

"wwx stans are so hypocritical how can they say my baby's evil while they stan this cruel murderer who doesn't let his corpses reincarnate :((((" bitch????

I'm fairly new to the fandom and I can be wrong so can you tell me if I'm missing something (I doubt that i do tbh) but you seem very sensible and I just needed to get it off my chest

I'm not even saying people can't enjoy characters that are evil/morally gray bc some of my faves from other works are just that... but if you have to pretend these characters are some saints who didn't deserve what they got and drag down the main character just because you're salty then I don't think you like your "fave" all that much tbh

I hope you don't mind me ranting in your askbox, if you read my message then thank you for your time! Have a nice day! (I hope I didn't ruin it too much haha)

Hello anon! No I don't mind at all for this, rant away if you need to as I make my inbox open for it.

As to the idea that Wei Wuxian are similar, in terms of their status they had been born to, yes. But that's about as much of their similarity as they get. Just as how Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji are literary mirrors due to similarities in circumstance, but not mind or ideals. Yes, Wei Wuxian did kill in revenge, but he never denies this. He fully admits to this unlike Jin Guangyao, who continues to say he had no choice but to kill those that wronged him. The difference there is that, Wei Wuxian had been tortured, his guardians killed cruelly, his own sect almost was decimated by the ones he killed. Where as with Jin Guangyao, he killed many that endangered his political position or, verbally insulted him in some way. Between the two one's actions of revenge was foremost for the ones that had been wronged. For Jin Guangyao it was concerning his own ego.

Jin Guangyao never did anything for the common people. We are told several times in story that Lan Wangji, and the Lans are the outliers for this sort of thing. The watchtowers are nothing more than a repainting of the Wen's Advisory Offices and keep in mind, it was still under the approval of Jin Guangshan that they even were created. From a Jin Guangyao who wanted to please his father foremost. He also burned down a brothel of prostitute women, where in that, shows he cares for commoners of his own background?

A scum of a person, can be human and sympathetic, but it does not change that they themselves are in the end selfish, cruel and manipulative. That's what makes them terrifying, they use that sympathy to cause more hurt. Wei Wuxian never holds others hate of what he had done as unfair, just that he would not take rebuttal for what he never did and stands by what he did. Jin Guangyao never takes any sort of responsibility towards the ones he drags into his schemes and continues to say he needed to with no sympathy for the ones who had been innocent, saying that he should be the one pitied and forgiven.

You can like and enjoy an evil, just don't paint it as a saint when that is what the very work is against and criticizing. We are told that Wei Wuxian is meant as an ideal of morality, who this is still argued about and he is labeled "morally grey" and "just as wrong as the others" is just wrong from a literary and plot point of the book.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuixan #is our moral ideal and compass #no matter how bad you feel for yhe antagonists #they are still shown to be awful despite the circumstances #they had an excuse once but once they hurt innocents that's irrelevant #and Jin Guangyao would never be different as he would always be resentful since his mother still raised him #and even her memory didn't stop him from being a scum man #jin guangyao stans block me (｡･ω･｡) #i hate jin guangyao

[spriteofmushrooms]

Goofy AU but one day after everything goes down, WWX gets nibling fever and really wants to see some little baby Jiang Cheng’s running around. He managed to miss all of JL cute little toddler pouts and first swims, after everything he’s missed he deserves to see a cute little Jiang glaring at him in a little lotus outfit. So he takes it upon himself to find JC the perfect wife to have the cutest babies with. If matchmakers won’t take JC, he’ll have to take matters into his own hands and become the Grandmaster of Matchmaking! What ensues is the most embarrassing set of situations where WWX keeps making a fool of himself as he keeps getting caught between his competing desires to hold the next Jiang baby and the fact that no woman is good enough for JC. Needless to say this results in shenanigans and embarrassment for all involved before it finally gets revealed that ChengQing was canon all along and the reason she wasn’t in the main story is because she’s been in seclusion to have her and JC’s second kid. The first one has been running around getting under foot throughout the fic but WWX didn’t register them as JC’s kid. WWX is simultaneously thrilled and outraged, but is pacified by holding the latest Jiang baby who happens to have JYL’s eyes.

WWX: Stop thinking about it all the time. I know you'll never be able to, but it really feels like all of these things happened in another life.

~3 months and 1 day later~

WWX: Actually no I want to see Jiang Cheng's chubby cheeks again. Jiang Cheng, when are you going to find a nice girl and settle down?!

JC, who's with WQ because she's Mean™: Never, go fuck yourself.

#pallas.rtf #mdzs #hi anon #wq being alive and married to jc during the golden core reveal would ... cause problems #if she'd never told him #like it's devastating already to know that someone destroyed themself for you but imagine if your wife held the knife #your au is very sweet and cute but oooh we could go sooo angstyyy #anyway i'm an angst gremlin which is why i'm keeping it in the tags. but oooooooh #chengqing

[lansplaining]

About how jc didn't move on from his family's death, I think people pick up wwx's quote where he is : 'after 13 years jc didn't move on!' I know that wwx's coping machine is 'Conceal, not Feel', so I get his point, but everyone mourns in their own way! Also I think that's a nice detail to have at least one of her brother to still mourn jyl

also-- like so many things, is Wei Wuxian really correct? it wouldn't be weird if Jiang Cheng HADN'T gotten over the trauma, but also... once again... is Wei Wuxian seeing what he expects to see, or what's actually there? does Jiang Cheng keep bringing up his family because he's not over it, or because he's actively trying to provoke a reaction from Wei Wuxian about them?

also like..... yeah, the poor Jiangs deserve to have someone still care, jeez

#ask answered

[coffeeandritalin]

Sudden incoherent Jiang Cheng thoughts...

Let's get this bit off my chest first: JC can care about WWX and still be a toxic and destructive presence in WWX's life. Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Next: Compared to a lot of characters, I don't find JC's end to be all that terrible. If anything, I actually find it to be rather hopeful.

JGY's comments in the temple have forced JC to fully reckon with the fact that he is, to put it nicely, not a very nice person. With regards to WWX, he's forced to acknowledge that he has failed this person on a lot of different levels.

What's satisfying for me is that we get to see almost immediate growth in JC. As the temple fiasco is wrapping up, we get this little moment from JC:

After a moment of hesitation, his lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something else. However, Wei WuXian had already turned to Lan WangJi. Seeing this, Jiang Cheng remained silent. (ExR, ch. 110)

He isn't forcing himself on WWX for once. He isn't yelling at WWX and forcing him to pay attention to him. WWX has moved on, and JC is respecting that.

Later, JL criticizes JC for not asking WWX to stay back (presumably to make up), but JC knows there's no point in doing so. There's no point in apologizing. There's no point in telling WWX about what happened before the golden core exchange went down. Making WWX sit and listen through all of that would only absolve JC of his pain/guilt and do nothing to alleviate all of WWX's pain. Finally, JC isn't pinning all of his turmoil and emotions on WWX and is instead letting WWX have the peace he deserves.

And I am so proud of him for that!? Like, don't get me wrong. The man has been a toxic person for almost his entire life, and he has a VERY long and arduous journey ahead of him to potentially undo even a little bit of that toxicity and atone for his past behavior.

Still, it is progress! It is change! And right next to JC is JL - who JC loves and cares for, who isn't afraid to challenge and call his jiujiu out, and who will continue to be there and care for JC in return. There's actually hope that JC might change a little bit for the better, and (for me) there's a lot of hope in that potential.

#mdzs thoughts #jiang cheng

[neuxue]

May I have a WWX for the Blorbo Bleebus sheet?

you most certainly may!

The divorce is jiang cheng. neither of them is doing well about it.

The thing about Wei Wuxian is that he's absolutely the protagonist of this story as it's told, and the narrative itself plays with that concept... but if you zoom out a bit, he is also very much Just Some Guy who was chosen due to a combination of his own choices and external factors as a convenient target for society's ire. And you can see the way even that shifts with the times, and the way while he ends up tangled up in so many other people's stories, those stories are not so much centred around him as observed by him or colliding with him, depending. All of which is to say: he is the protagonist of this story only, because he is the one whose eyes we see it through.

whether he's inventing new and creative ways to torture you into insanity and death (in that order) or teaching you Talismans 101 just because he can really depends on his mood and when in his life you're meeting him. I might have been a little unfair on this one and perhaps he should be further over to the right, but I feel like I'm trying to compensate for the fact that the crueller parts of him often get sanded down in fandom.

enemy of god (in his first life); at peace with life (in his second, eventually)

oh, the hot takes. He's not the only character to inspire them, and he's not really even the worst, but yikes.

He deserves healing and peace and nice things! I'm glad he has them! But I am who I am and I like him best when he's bleeding and bitter and furious and losing his tenuous grip on who he is or who he once wanted to be.

In this case The Realisation and consequences pair nicely: the moment where it all falls apart at Qiongqidao in particular is absolutely choice. More of Wei Wuxian realising far too late that there are consequences for his actions that are no longer within his control, that moment of frozen horror right before it spirals but after the point of no return. That's the good shit.

#the man the myth the murderer #ask games #asks #221b-locked #i just don't want to touch any of the fandom tags #does the 5-tag limit still work? i guess we'll find out #mdzs

[incarnadinedreams]

What do you like about jc?

Oh my goodness what don't I love about him!

Well, first and most importantly, he has a purple lightning whip.

Secondly, you know how the elements of a tasty dish are salt, fat, acid, heat? Well he's salty, he's acidic, he's a spicy Yunmeng boy, and some sources of mixed repute claim he's got a nice fat ass. All the elements for a delicious snack are right there!!! He has the range, the depth, the complexity!

Jokes aside, a lot of it really is just based on vibes. I just... liked him pretty much immediately. My heart was won at "I'm his uncle. Any last words?" and it only got better from there. He's got most of my favorite lines in the book - whether funny or completely heart-wrenching, both directly in his dialog or about him. His sarcastic comments are always hilarious, and he's often enough actually a voice of reason and responsibility (promptly ignored). The vast majority of the time when he's not in some absurdly extreme and traumatic situation he's being pretty normal and seems perfectly likeable to me.

I enjoy that from the start he's mostly pretty practical. One of the first times we see him, he desperately wants to smack Lan Wangji but he's run the cost-benefit analysis in his mind and it's not worth it, so (grumpily) he does not. Some people point out his 'definitely don't start a petty fight unless you know you can win' reasoning as some sort of point of cowardice, but my reaction to that scene was thank god, finally someone in a fantasy novel has some common fucking sense!

Except, of course, on one very specific topic: Wei Wuxian. And then there's like a 50/50 chance all that consideration goes out the window instantly. A little pinch of unhinged obsession adds so much extra flavor! With the amount of overtime he's pulling in sect conferences he deserves a little derangement from time to time, as a treat. And that intensity goes both ways.

That fervent certainty that Wei Wuxian would be back some day, that not even death could hold him - a conviction bordering on madness, except in the end he was right? Hot.

On the other end, he's willing to sacrifice himself for Wei Wuxian and other people who loves over and over and over again throughout the story (even if he's mad about it), until he can't do that without throwing other people he's responsible for under the bus.

To the point that when we get to the big reveal after Guanyin Temple about how he was captured by the Wens... once the shock fades, you step back and think 'wait, why was that even a surprise to me at all?' The guy just took a sword through the chest for Wei Wuxian like an hour earlier (even if it was unnecessary and therefore mostly embarrassing), and was about to run back into that cave at the Second Siege with no spiritual power and a sword he couldn't even lift three days before that, and yet we're surprised he gave himself up back then?

And of course, the same goes for his nephew and I just love them so much. He doesn't hesitate for a moment to offer himself as a hostage instead of Jin Ling at the temple. He may sometimes struggle to express his love in a way that's more palatable than the prickly sharp thing it can sometimes be, but it's undeniably there. When Jin Ling is crying after the Second Siege, it's Jiang Cheng he goes to without hesitation - and that "Who did this to you?!" line, the way he doesn't hesitate to pull him away somewhere private and stick by his side.

Even things that are meant to cast him in a bad light, like his 400 spirit nets fiasco, show him also anxiously helicopter-uncling his way through baby's first "solo" night hunt, complete with undercover agents just in case, is proof that he at least cares very deeply. I think if you look beyond the surface, it's also pretty obvious why he'd spare no expense and use any method to give his bullied nephew the best debut night hunt possible in a society where talent and prestige are incredibly important to his future ability to consolidate power as the Jin heir. He wants to shield him from the same insecurities and pain he felt, especially where being overshadowed was used against him in ways that had specific negative impacts on his ability to protect people he cared about.

Another of the reasons I love him so much is because his grief is so intense that it's palpable. Those scenes post-fall of Lotus Pier where he's oscillating between numbed shock and fury, just... feel so real, and relatable, and resonate in way that's just horribly accurate. It's like his grief jumps off the page, you can feel the hurricane of horror and loss crashing into him. The scene at Nightless City, that moment where he says "Didn't you say that you could control it, that it would be fine?", where the last of his faith in Wei Wuxian shatters and the fracture is complete, like two halves of a whole have finally snapped apart and there's nothing left... I just love the intensity and desperation.

But even more, he keeps going after. He's stubbornly alive, despite it all, and I don't think he gets nearly enough credit for the fact that he's actually able to handle things pretty well, considering the situations involved. He has a breakdown about it and then he picks himself up and gets back to work. He's remarkably resilient, in ways that aren't necessarily flashy or obvious at first. Too much is made out of the ways he's broken or bitter when for the most part he's actually remarkably functional in the face of horrible traumas!

I have been trying very hard not to just spam my favorite quotes in here but this is really my favoritest favorite (from chapter 61) because it just sums him up so beautifully:

... the most laughable one was the YunmengJiang Sect, the people of which either had been killed or had scattered, leaving only Jiang Cheng, who was younger than even Lan XiChen and was still a child born yesterday, who had nobody in his hands but still dared call himself sect leader, holding up the banner of rebellion as he recruited new disciples.

Because he does the hard work, day in and day out. The boring, tedious, constant work - the endless late nights dealing with the constant problems. But he does it, and he mostly accomplishes what he sets out to do.

It's so sad that all the things he does very well get overshadowed by his insecurities, because in the end, hasn't he done incredible things? Hasn't he survived? Hasn't he gone from the youngest sect leader with nothing and nobody that Wen Ruohan could only laugh at, to "No matter which clan you choose to offend, you shouldn't offend the Jiang clan, and no matter which person you choose to offend, you shouldn't offend Jiang Cheng"?

He might be a little scarred, but isn't he succeeding all the same?

(He should probably hire a PR firm to handle the rumors his resting bitch face causes though.)

#thinking too much about jiang cheng yet again #I will never turn down a chance to talk about him #he's just so him! #late stage jiang cheng derangement syndrome on full display here

[enbyleighlines]

What your Fav MDZS Ship Says About You

(I saw one of these before and wanted to do my own version. No offense meant, this is all for shits and giggles.)

WANGXIAN

Prior to reading MDZS, you were getting bored with all those one-note ship dynamics. Childhood friends? Enemies to lovers? Opposites attract? Now you have an OTP that has ALL the popular ship dynamics, and WangXian has ruined you for all other ships.

NINGXIAN

You don’t like that Wen Ning is always the third wheel, and think that he deserves to smooch Wei Wuxian, too.

WANGNINGXIAN

You do like Wen Ning being the third wheel, but you would like it even more if he got to join in.

WANGXIANYU

You have constructed an elaborate personality and backstory for Mo Xuanyu and think he deserves to be the filling in a WangXian sandwich.

XUEXIAO

You prefer ships to have one person who could at any point snap and murder the other.

NIEYAO

You prefer ships where either person could at any point snap and murder the other.

XIYAO

You just want good things for Jin Guangyao.

NIELAN

You just want good things for Nie Mingjue.

3ZUN

You just want good things for Lan Xichen. That, or you’re a former Homestuck who doesn’t understand why Auspisticism never got the same attention as the other three quadrants.

SONGXIAO

You like your ships angsty but without either of them being objectively terrible people.

NIECEST

You like your ships angsty as possible and you’re openly into incest.

CHENGXIAN

You like your ships angsty as possible but you’re in denial about being into incest.

XIANQING

You’re a heterosexual who got dragged into watching the live action and you don’t really know what’s going on.

XIANLI

You’re a heterosexual who got dragged into watching the live action and you REALLY don’t know what’s going on.

CHENGQING

You started with the live action and/or you think Jiang Cheng’s entire character could be fixed by a nice, long pegging session.

XICHENG

You think Jiang Cheng’s entire character could be fixed if he could go on double-dates with his brother.

SANGCHENG

You don’t necessarily think that Jiang Cheng’s character would be fixed by dating Nie Huaisang, but it WOULD be super funny.

XUANLI

You have a thing for tsundere characters and were willing to forgive Jin Zixuan for being a jerk to Jiang Yanli when they were kids.

MINGLI

You have a thing for tsundere characters but you were NOT willing to forgive Jin Zixuan for being a jerk to Jiang Yanli.

QINGLI

You have a thing for tsundere characters but only if they’re women.

MIANLI

You think Jiang Yanli needs to avoid tsundere characters altogether.

CHENGXUAN

Your love of tsundere characters knows no bounds.

#mo dao zu shi

[robininthelabyrinth]

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli personality reversed.

“Why are you hiding under the bed?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“Shhhh!” Wei Wuxian hissed, grinning wildly. “Get in under here! She’s coming!”

Jiang Cheng inched in with a thoroughly doubtful expression. “Did you prank jiejie again?” he asked, long-suffering. “Because you’re going to regret it.”

“Pssh, I’m not scared of shijie,” Wei Wuxian boasted. “Her bark is worse than her bite. All she’ll do is scold me.”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Yeah – that’s all she’ll do. She’ll scold you until she starts getting really upset, and then you’ll get upset because you’ve upset her, and then you’ll both come running to me to complain without letting up until I make you both something to eat.”

Wei Wuxian had to admit that this was true, which he did with a nonchalant shrug. “This one’s a really good prank, though. It’ll be worth it.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Jiang Cheng’s voice was fond, though. “I believe you.”

“You’d better believe me,” Wei Wuxian said with a grin. “I’m your ever-reliable shixiong, aren’t I?”

“I wouldn’t go that far…”

There was the sound of footsteps in the distance, along with the very distinctive and characteristic jingle of bells – they both froze.

“Didn’t you said it was going to be jiejie coming?” Jiang Cheng asked carefully, and Wei Wuxian winced.

“I thought it would be,” he muttered, covering his face. Madame Yu was going to walk straight into his trap, and then she was going to kill him. “Bring me something to eat in the ancestral hall, will you?”

“I’ll burn some incense for your departed spirit.”

Wei Wuxian sniggered. “I meant while I was kneeling, but that works too.”

“Do you want me to take responsibility?” Jiang Cheng asked. “She’ll probably not mind if it was me that did it, honestly. She’s always on my back about how I’m not assertive enough – too wishy-washy, too spineless, too weak, acting like some sort of servant…”

Jiang Cheng didn’t sound like he minded, though of course he must, and Wei Wuxian grimaced. Forget Madame Yu killing him – Jiang Yanli was going to kill him for getting her precious baby brother in trouble, and he’d deserve it. Possibly he’d be better off getting ahead of them both and just kill himself for putting Jiang Cheng in this sort of situation…

Really, Jiang Cheng was just too damn nice about these things. He only got angry on their behalf, not his own – that was why Madame Yu was always despairing about him, and probably why Jiang Fengmian was always comparing him (often unfavorably) to Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng tended to let it roll off his shoulders, but the more he didn’t seem to mind, the more it got under Jiang Yanli’s skin, and when something got under Jiang Yanli’s skin, she tended to make it other people’s problem.

“Better idea,” Wei Wuxian said. “On three, we get out and make a run for it. One, two –”

#mdzs #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #jiang yanli #my fic #my fics #alt headcanons

[fortune-maiden]

While I contemplate dubious life choices, consider:

MXTX Charas in Warriors Orochi 3

For the uninitiated, WO3 is a xover game between Koei Tecmo's 2 big Warriors series: Dynasty Warriors (the 3 kingdoms one) and Samurai Warriors (the sengoku one). And also a bunch of other characters from mythology and other Koei franchises. And Joan of Arc. The very basic plot is Orochi has thrown the multiverse into a blender and everyone teams up to defeat him.

In the third game, this takes the form of the world ending, and the last few survivors joining forces with Princess Kaguya to travel back in time, get the band back together, and set right what once went wrong.

In order to give its absurdly large cast (~150) some time in the spotlight, aside from the main plot stages, there are a bunch of side stages where various characters go off to have their own little adventure, allowing for a lot of fun combinations of characters and a lot of banter during the stages themselves. (And base camp conversations which are especially addicting to unlock)

And I just think it would be fun to have the MXTX characters join in on that whether it's just an mxtx xover or if they get to meet and hand out with the rest of the musou cast

And also I put a lot of time into thinking up Musou-style weapons and stages for at least the MDZS cast xD

WWX is summoned in his original body (possibly without timeskip memories), and MXY gets summoned in his original body which results in a lot of awkwardness for people who are used to WWX in his body and especially those who have never seen WWX's original form. MXY really does not want to be here but is also excited to meet WWX

3zun features a very reluctant alliance between NMJ (who is summoned from before JGY kills him) and JGY (who is from after he kills NMJ but before Guanyin temple. LXC is in the same boat). They have managed to put their differences aside for now on account of the world ending.

3zun's stage features NMJ dying to save the other two :D

The Redux version features JGY saving him which is what allows the truce

NHS has been missing since the whole thing began, which naturally worries NMJ a lot. His side stage involves him and another character or 2 (possibly from other series) going to find him. They find that NHS has been doing a decently okay job defending a castle under siege

NHS is in his headshaker era but subdued because Da-ge is alive again and his emotions are a bit of a mess because of this. He still plays up the act in front of JGY though, out of habit.

The time headaches are part of the fun :D

Also NHS' weapon is either his fan or bird, Maria Renard style

Jin Ling finally gets to meet his parents! :D

They are perfectly accepting of their son suddenly being ~15 years old

Meanwhile post-timeskip JC gets to reunite with his parents and the whole thing feels very awkward

Madam Yu spends her first two camp conversations still in tiger mother mode. But in the last one finally reveals how proud she is of JC

JFM is also going to reconcile with his son because JIANG CHENG DESERVES NICE THINGS!

Whatever stage Feng Xin gets recruited on will prominently feature Liu Mingyan, Jiang Yanli, and Wang Lingjiao. For Reasons.

Not sure who would be the best fit for the final 3 who live to see the end of the world but I'm thinking Shang Qinghua, Jiang Cheng, and Quan Yizhen maybe? (idk who's filling the time machine role of Princess Kaguya yet... something something there's a door in heaven somewhere.)

If this is an xover with the rest of musou, Nie Huaisang & Liu Shan are best friends and I don't take criticism.

#mdzs #warriros orochi 3 #i just think there is so much fusion potential here #musou style scenarios and camp conversations! #characters from various points in the timeline pulled in and told to make nice #time travel and team ups! #(if you ever play a musou game in your life please let it be WO3!) #(the sheer amount of content even in just the original base game is absurd) #(though if you're going to play Ultimate ver all the way! it doubles the original story!) #(and the plot and character moments are honestly great considering this is supposed to be an excuse plot xD) #mxtx musou #<- just going to use that tag in case i come up with more nonsense for this verse

[thelurkerfox]

Okay, genuine question-

Why do people hate so much on Jiang Cheng?

Now before y'all get the pitchforks - I'm not a stan! I'm neutral to the guy.

Coz yeah, Jiang Cheng did some fucked up shit, treated Wei Ying like garbage in many cases, and is quick to throw blame around, and was willing to sacrifice the Wen remnants despite them being either innocent or having even helped them. For that Jiang Cheng deserves to get his shit rocked, abso-frigging-lutely. He's not a poor little meow meow.

But at the same time - as a character he's the perfect example of someone's pride absolutely ruining them. He's a prideful bitch, no less coz of how Madam Yu raised him, I assume. His whole characterization runs off the fact that he's too proud to admit his wrongs, and is too focused on keeping up an image, than doing the right thing. Unfortunately I know people personally like that, and the one thing they need is a wake up call and a punt to their ego.

And Wen Ning did quite a lot of damage to it with the Golden Core reveal. (Side note - so proud of Wen Ning, you go buddy, I've got your flower.) Wen Ning absolutely raked Jiang Cheng's pride against the coals. And it was so bad Jiang Cheng went into seclusion - which to me gives hope that during that time he will realize what he has done and will actually own up to his shit behavior when he comes back eventually.

So again - I'm neutral. Among the Jin Guangyao's, Jin Guangshan's and Xue Yang's in the story, Jiang Cheng isn't this evil monster. He's an asshole, granted, but an asshole who still has a chance to fix whatever he can. Nobody in MDZS is entirely innocent - the difference is how they handle it. Some apologized and attoned for their mistakes, some are fumbling about failing to see their mistakes, aaaand well some are criminal masterminds who had to pay the price. Humans are flawed, and it's nice to see all these flaws of different severities be handled and explored.

I will point out, I did only watch the Donghua and read the Manhua, so perhaps I don't have the full picture. Do feel free to maybe shed some light on things, and hey, I'm always open to see other perspectives! I'm just genuinely confused why people so agressively get mad and rip into people for liking JC (which, please don't do that, it's none of your business how someone enjoys a media, we have seen worse on this webbed site-).

#mdzs #the untamed #jiang cheng

[leatherbookmark]

no, but

seriously WHERE do people get it from that either 1/ nmj cared about meng yao so much, or 2/ they both cared so much about each other. where. was it the (added in cql) scene of banishment? in which nmj cried and didn’t execute my on the spot, so the obvious conclusion is that he’s just the biggest, smooshiest softie with the marshmallowiest heart, said heart softly plopped in the palm of my’s hand?

cql, why.

(my suspicion is that if they made nmj anything like his novel self, people would actually know and understand why jgy shanked him, and the villain wouldn’t be villainous at all lmao.)

no, but really -- “gave him a new life”? “few people cared more about jgy than nmj”? yeah i guess you could say few people cared more about wwx than lqr, going by this standard. i feel like people saw nmj defend my and immediately assumed it was because he deeply cared about his wellbeing and was sensitive to the plights of the underprivileged, which. was obviously not the case? it was IN THE TEXT that he was bein insensitive and only ensuring the soldiers would give meng yao even more shit for that? he didn’t even wait for my to actually tell him about the situation, he just said ‘follow me’! the hell would he have done if the soldiers weren’t shit-talking meng yao?! given them a goddamn stern talking to, thus making meng yao even more obviously look like a snitch!?

and then later during sunshot he once again doesn’t even consider meng yao’s actual wishes, just writes him a letter of recommendation and sends him off to the jin. like, sure, perhaps if he hadn’t done that jgy would’ve never gone off to become a spy, since he says he betrayed wen ruohan for his father, but like. the fact that he meant well doesn’t excuse the disservice! not when he has all the power to tell meng yao what to do, and meng yao has none of the power to tell him no. not to mention that in that moment, nmj is -- and he WILL do that again! -- eavesdropping on a conversation between my and lxc. NOT A GOOD LOOK, BRO

taking these incidents into consideration, imo it’s not that nmj feels particularly strongly about the fate and wellbeing of one meng yao, or even the Underprivileged layer. rather, he’s ~righteous~ -- he does what he thinks is the right thing, the morally correct thing. but he does so blindly; he doesn’t consider that a common soldier, or a poor, weak son of a sex worker might have different principles than he does. he thinks everyone is “equal”, but in a sense that they should all adhere to the same rules, not that they all deserve the same kind treatment and respect.

and then meng yao tricks him, and nmj Instantly enters the kill mode. he says he’s going to kill him the next time they meet, he constantly either finds faults in everything jgy does or tries to kill him -- how is that the behavior of someone who cares about jgy as a person? if i had to compare it to anything, i’d say he’s like a parent who had all those expectations of their child, and when said child turns out not to be daddy/mommy’s perfect little plaything, they turn to mistreatment and abuse. except nmj isn’t even jgy’s dad, he’s his PAST employer and then a sworn brother who’s supposed to help and not terrorize him.

this is not comparable to, say, jiang cheng, who’s an asshole and would rather eat his shoes than say something nice, but sacrifices himself to the wen for wwx, smuggles jyl and suggests she let wwx name her future child and gives wwx his flute back. aside from the aforementioned well-intentioned disservices, nmj doesn’t really do anything that would show that he cares for jgy as a person, that he wants jgy the person to live well rather than meng yao, the vice-envoy he’s put so many hopes in.

and it’s not like jgy was attached to him either and tried with all his might to mend their severed bond. he realized nmj doesn’t like him at best and actively wants him dead at worst, and if lxc didn’t insist on swearing brotherhood he would’ve spent the rest of his days carefully avoiding him. like yes, he felt grateful and indebted for nmj’s clumsy kindness, and because jgy was jgy, he probably didn’t necessarily want him to die even after all the times his da-ge nmj exhibited un-da-ge-like behaviors, but it wasn’t as deeply personal as people think it was. like he didn’t go from “oh, my dearest da-ge, however else can i help you” to “fuck that guy in particular” in the moment when nmj kicked him down the jinlintai stairs. he knew the relationship was unsalvageable before; that incident was just a concrete proof of it as well as proof that nmj was too far gone.

like. ugh

#shrimp thoughts