#especially not in the era before Wei Wuxian's death

[morethanwonderful-archive]

Thinking about the cycles of dysfunction in MDZS, and the different brands of misguided that crop up in every clan.

The Nie family curse is single-mindedness. Nie Mingjue is too black and white in his view of the world, which makes him cruel to Wei Wuxian and unable to cope with the truth of Meng Yao. Nie Huaisang is relentless in his quest to avenge his brother's death, willing to endanger anyone and everyone in order to get his way. Once a Nie has decided what is right, he will do anything, hurt anyone, to achieve his view of justice.

The Lan family curse is too much love for people they cannot stomach. The Twin Jades' father falls in love with the woman who kills his teacher, and he can neither accept her deeds nor let her go, so he chooses to lock her away. Lan Xichen swears brotherhood to a man who does not hesitate to commit heinous acts to get his way, but he chooses to brush aside those heinous acts and assume they are justified, because he cannot bear to look at them more closely. Lan Zhan falls in love with a man who would rather die than follow a rule he disagrees with, and it takes him years—takes him until it's too late to save his life—to learn to accept Wei Ying on his own terms.

The Jin family curse is self-centeredness in the extreme. Jin Guangshan assaults countless women, abandons countless children, all for the sake of his own pleasure, but refuses to help out an old flame because it's "too much trouble." Jin Guangyao lies constantly and kills countless people, including his own young son, all for the sake of furthering his ambitions. Jin Zixuan is famously arrogant as a young man, rejecting his fiancé because he feels she doesn't deserve him. Jin Ling, even as a teenage boy, sets up countless nets that ruin others' night hunts, feeling no sympathy when confronted with how unfair this is.

And the Jiang family curse. The Jiang family curse is the inability to suffer without taking it out on those around them, even when it is deeply undeserved. Jiang Fengmian and his wife both act out their frustration with each other via their treatment of Jiang Cheng. Madame Yu also takes out her anger toward her husband and her situation in life via the abuse of Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng clings to his brother as a scapegoat when he's desperate, blaming him for the deaths of his parents and sister (and helping kill him for his crimes), and he raises Jin Ling to do the very same thing. And even Wei Wuxian, when he's pushed, comes to assume malice from everyone around him, lashing out at people like Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan that genuinely want to help.

#mdz #mo dao zu shi #and people like Jiang Yanli or Jin Zixuan that overcome their family curses? #well they don't tend to live very long #especially not in the era before Wei Wuxian's death #it's just not a society that responds well to goodness and kindness #but through wangxian's efforts and the new generation. it's getting better #lan sizhui feels an instant (familial) connection with Wen Ning (who he knows killed his good friend's father among many others) #but he copes with it quite well #and Jin Ling comes around to wwx and wn much more easily than Jiang Cheng does #the kids are alright #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #english major hours #also yeah I know this is a little reductive #and most of these characters have a lot more going on than just these problems #but I still think that the familial patterns stand

[azems-familiar]

Ok but then you obv have to do Cal, so…

My first impression

honestly i don't really remember my first impression at this point. i played jfo back when it came out, i got it as a christmas gift, and most of what i remember from back then was being annoyed we couldn't choose to join Trilla and thinking i'd be way more invested in Cal if he was a woman. the curse of lesbianism i guess /shrug

My impression now

baby boy. baby. give any Jedi a corruption arc and mental illness and i will be on top of that shit like a fly. i spend way too much time thinking about him. and writing about him. he's kind of murderous and deeply flawed and i love him so much actually

Favorite thing about that character

hmm. his determination, i think. it's definitely a double-edged sword, which is most of what Survivor was about, but even when he's almost completely lost hope he keeps going forward and doesn't let go anyway. that's not exactly always a healthy quality - i've struggled with it before myself and can confirm - but it makes him a really interesting character, and very fun to put into Situations:tm:

Least favorite thing

hm. not sure i have a least favorite thing? characters have flaws, that's what makes them good, and to take them away would be to minimize the character. i could sure have some Least Favorite Fandom Takes, but i won't go into that here, lol. and i think you know those already

Favorite line/scene

oh this is a hard one. probably my favorite bit from him in JFO is when he faces Ninth Sister on Kashyyyk - the evolution from "trash, just approved trash" to "how about a Jedi?" is really good for him starting to come into his own, and let's be real, that whole sequence is very badass. (my favorite scene in JFO doesn't really involve Cal at all, though, honestly.) for survivor.... it's harder. probably the scene where Cal confronts Denvik for the first time on Nova Garon, because it was sooo fun watching him succumb to his rage and be an absolutely cold-hearted bastard when he yanked Denvik's blaster away. also Denvik's a bitch and i was cheering.

Favorite interaction that character has with another

i really love, honestly, his whole interaction with Rayvis on the Shattered Moon when we do that boss fight and kill Rayvis in Survivor - Rayvis has some great lines and is a fascinating character and overall it's a really great way of showcasing Cal's slide down, especially the bit where he talks to BD on the way back from it, asking how he's actually any different from Dagan. really good stuff. i also love....honestly all of his interactions with Cere in JFO

A character that I wish that character would interact with more

the low-hanging fruit is Bode tbh because i just wanted to spend more time with Bode casually, outside big plot events, but honestly? i wanted to see more of him with Cere and especially Cordova in Survivor. i know Cal wasn't really in a great place to be getting mentorship from them, but it would've made Cordova's death hit harder, and i just love Cal and Cere's relationship, so of course i want to see more one-on-one scenes with them.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character

....one of my OCs from a different era of star wars, honestly. uhhh, totally different fandom, let's see... okay i wouldn't entirely say reminds me of but when i made the playlist for him and Bode i pulled a bunch of songs off my Revan playlist and my Wei Wuxian playlist, so i think. thematic similarities between both.

A headcanon about that character

i think i've probably talked about all of my headcanons for this man already, especially in my fics, but the low-hanging fruit is that he feels like fire. and the chronic pain headcanons - beyond general joint problems i have him have gone through a really bad accident on Bracca when he was 14, where he saved Prauf's life but in doing so his right ankle was shattered in multiple places and broke the skin. because he couldn't afford to get medical care, he had to splint it and wrap it on his own and then just let it heal, which means his ankle is alllll fucked up. the game, ironically, supports this headcanon, by making one of his idle animations rolling out that ankle. no i did not remember that when i gave him the injury.

A song that reminds of that character

i have an entire long spyscrapper playlist with some great songs on it but here's one of my favorites:

(if you want the playlist link itself, just send me an ask, people-who-aren't-senket, i'm happy to share it!)

An unpopular opinion about that character

hmmm. i don't like merrical and don't think they work well together romantically? that's not really about Cal though, let me see. OH! he was not ready to be knighted when he was in jfo; Cere absolutely shouldn't have done it, and didn't really have the right or authority to do it, and it's harmed him. i also don't think he actually should've gotten a kyber crystal on Ilum - the way it was portrayed in the game, he didn't have to go through an actual trial to get it, he didn't overcome his fear of failure or his survivor's guilt or any of that, he wasn't ready and it shouldn't have happened.

narratively, for the game's story as a video game, i understand why both scenes happened, and i actually like them and i think it's fun to explore the ramifications, especially of the premature knighting, but yeah. that's how i feel

Favorite picture

i like this edit i made a lot because he looks like Anakin and it felt, uh, appropriate hahaha

#asked and answered #cal kestis #jfo #jedi survivor

[mdzs-fics]

More short fiction

I've been saving a few of these for a while, and hope you find something that suits your interests among this list of ten stories.

江湖 | jianghu by dragongirlG

Explicit AU - Chinese Mythology & Folklore 7 chapters (complete) 25k words

Author dragongirlG shows us how the term 江湖 | jianghu can be defined through the lives (and deaths) of Wei Wuxian through time. Different eras in Chinese history are explored through short chapters, each complete in itself. Most of these stories do not end happily (well, Wei Wuxian dies, of course …) The diaspora story was extremely interesting.

Rainbow-Faceted Heart by DrPanda99

AU - Chinese Mythology & Folklore 5 chapters (complete) 18k words

Wei Ying approached it carefully. The snake was so still that he thought it dead until it flickered one of its long whiskers. Wait, whiskers?

He held his hand out carefully, hoping it would not bite. It flicked its tail sluggishly as he reached under it, but made no further movements. Wei Ying picked it up carefully, but when his hand went to support its head, it stiffened. He shifted his hands lower down its body and the tense muscles relaxed.

“Hey, little guy,” said Wei Ying. The snake’s strangeness was even more apparent up close—the shape of its head was not quite right. Before he could examine it further, he gasped.

There was a long, jagged gash under its neck and chest. The wound wasn’t bleeding, but its edges were bright red—still fresh.

“What kind of bird got you?” asked Wei Ying.

The snake didn’t reply.

A snake is found and rescued. A martial brother arrives and discovers Wei Ying was disabled during the last war. A scholar arrives asking for shelter from the rain. And there is war in the heavens.

Step by step by apathyinreverie

Modern AU 1 chapter, complete 12K word [Must have an account with Archive of Our Own in order to read. An invitation is readily provided on the website.]

Maybe some of the people present had been hoping Lan Zhan might have misspoken or maybe that they themselves might have misheard what he said.

Either way, with the confirmation of his objection to a deal they have apparently been working on for months now, everyone seems at an impasse of how to proceed. Especially since it is no secret in their circles that, as much as Xichen might be the actual heir to their family’s medical empire, the one who makes the decisions regarding their company, his brother would never do something he knows Lan Zhan disapproves of where their family is concerned. It’s a fact.

His brother always puts family first.

This Time With Lanterns by ChaoticAndrogynous

6k words

In which there is a wedding.

"He’s reminded of a mother hen, if it was made of black smoke and the desire for vengeance. So, a mother goose, maybe."

What Do You Want To Be Now? by KayCeeBabe

2k words

In which there is a confession.

“Wei Ying, what do you want to be now?”

I Wanna be Fluent in Your Love Language by KayCeeBabe

1k words

In which Words are Spoken.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says. “I will always love you. No matter what.”

You in me, you are mine, my everything by BriaPia

24k words

In which Hanguan-Jun is a member of the Baixue Temple sect when the events start at Mo Manor

“Do you trust him?”

“With my life,” he replied instantly, he knew Song Zichen would accept his request, but he needed to make clear the amount of trust he deposited on Wei Ying. To either his own sect leader or the rest of the world, Lan Wangji didn’t care, but he would make sure no doubt about that particular topic ever arose.

【为梦想而战】for this dream, i'll fight by paradisetrain [restricted]

27K words

In which Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian play Cultivation Arena professionally. Jin Guangyao is evil.

Lan Wangji thinks about it. He opens his mouth, then closes it. He wonders, why has no one thought of this before?

It's fear, he decides. Fear of deviating from the norm, fear of venturing into something never done before. Fear of being the first. All the current CultArena pros are too scared of failure. Of the mockery that awaits them when their leap of faith turns into freefall.

Wei Wuxian had never hesitated to take that leap.

Seasons of Falling Flowers by merakily

40K words

In which Lan Qiren changes his opinion of Wei Wuxian. It is not a simple thing. [Post-Guanyin Temple.]

“Will you rejoin your sect?” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Lan Qiren regrets his wording.

He is not surprised when Wangji’s eyes narrow, flashing with offence. “There is no need to rejoin what one has never left. I did not turn my back on my sect. My sect turned their backs on me.”

into the dark by xxshigurexx (Shunou)

Alternate AU 32k words

This is a series of 9 short tales, each continuing along the same theme: Wen Ying grows up as the Third Young Master of the Wen.

Each story may be read separately. Highly recommended for another view of life among the Wen and the other cultivation sects. The stories cover the time from Wen Ying's discovery in Yiling through the aftermath of the burning of Lotus Pier.

It starts with what haunts the dark

The furrow in Wen Ruohan’s brow grows deeper, until the tiny thing speaks with its unmistakably childish, pitiful voice, “You should not be here, Mister. It is not safe.”

Wen Ruohan laughs, confusing the rest of his entourage who are standing stiff with dread. “Who told you that, boy?”

The boy, his robes tattered and caked with a thick layer of dirt, walks closer and stops in front of Wen Ruohan. Such bravery, or perhaps it is born out of fearlessness, out of having nothing more to lose. “The shadows,” the boy answers dutifully.

#mdzs fic recs #lan zhan #wei ying #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #the untamed

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

~*~

Hello Mojo, hope you're doing well and that you had a good break! I wanted to signal boost the MDZS May Diaspora event collection on AO3, and point out my favorite fic from there: 归心似箭 | Longing to Go Home by dragongirlG! It's both tender and bittersweet and it features such mature writing. The author got some hate for it when it initially got posted so I wanted to counter that and give it some love instead! [Who would do such a thing?!  @dragongirlg-fics I’m sorry that happened to you, and here, have *so many hugs!* I’ll try to do a thing just for the diaspora event, but meanwhile, I’ll just treat this as a follower rec.]

归心似箭 | Longing to Go Home

by dragongirlG (M, 8k, wangxian)

Summary:  The destruction of the Yin Tiger Seal does not kill Wei Wuxian; it ages him instead. He takes shelter in a cave expecting to die, but instead he lives, slowly learning to embrace life with each new day.

Thirteen years later, a young man with a Lan forehead ribbon stumbles into the cave. His name is Lan Sizhui.

~*~

Hi Momjo!!! I recently read the most *adorable* fic, and I loved it so much that it dragged me out of seclusion (read: social anxiety cave) to rec it. It's called 'Covered in Bees' by ScarlettStorm in which the Cloud Recesses is an apiary, and Wei Wuxian has suddenly found himself host to a swarm of bees. ~ @akyra-talanoa

Covered in Bees

by ScarlettStorm (T, 8k, wangxian)

Summary: “Cloud Reccesses Apiary,” says a toneless, deep masculine voice, with zero question in it. Wei Ying doesn’t care, because whoever possesses that voice is probably going to come save him from bees like a fucking hero while wearing like, a suit of armor. That’s what you wear to catch bees, right?

“I have like, so many bees outside my front door right now,” he says, mouth running out ahead of him before he can even begin to think about reining it in. “It’s like a sandstorm of bees out there. There are so many bees. I got out of my car and there were just bees and I don’t want these bees. Do you want these bees? Please tell me you will come get these bees. I can’t leave my house and I have enough food for maybe a week but then I’m gonna have to learn how to cook dry beans and no one wants that, especially not me.” Wei Ying runs out of air, takes a breath, and belatedly adds, “My name is Wei Ying. Hi.”

Or: The beekeeping AU that no one asked for.

~*~

Hi, you are a bless to this fandom. Your blog feels like a library, so thoroughly arranged and always within hand reach. [Thank you, wow!]  Recently, I was going through Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn is a Wēn tag and came across a fanfic, it has 3 chapters till now and is so intriguing that i thought to recommend it to you. I don't know if I can recommend or if you have already checked the story, The legendary Phoenix and his Dragon by Devipriya. I am in love with this story. I hope you will enjoy it too, do check it out

The legendary Phoenix and his Dragon

by Devipriya (T, 7k, wangxian)

Summary:  Wen Wuxian, the essence of who he is, he is a naughty child, a prankster, an enchanting dizi player, a graceful dancer, an irresistible lover, a truly valiant warrior, a ruthless vanquisher of his foes, a man who left a broken heart in every home, an astute statesman and kingmaker, a thorough gentleman, a righteous individual of the highest order, and the most colorful incarnation.

He has been seen, perceived, understood and experienced in many different ways by different people. Different people saw different facets of who he is. For some, he is God. For some, he is a crook. For some, he is a lover. For some, he is a fighter. He is so many things.

But the phoenix, seen from the eyes of time was just a playful man. A man who plays with his awareness, with his imagination, with his memory, with his life, with his death. An individual who does not just dance with somebody. He dances with life. He dances with his enemy, He dances with the one he loves, He dances even at the moment of his death.

To taste an essence of who is Wen Wuxian, be with me in the journey of exploration, NO! playful exploration of life of a playful man.

~*~

Hi! Thanks for running this blog, it's helped me find so many fics. For your next follower recs post, I wanted to rec "This love like a flood, a fire, a fear" by natcat5. Its summary is vague (which I suspect is why it isn't better known) but it is a beautiful retelling of canon from LWJ's POV with slight canon divergence. I love the author's characterization of him and the prose is gorgeous. It is easily my favorite fic in the entire fandom, and I don't say that lightly. ~ @nyanja14

This love like a flood, a fire, a fear

by natcat5 (M, 57k, wangxian, lan wangji & lan xichen)

Summary:  “I will love you as misfortune loves orphans, as fire loves innocence, and as justice loves to sit and watch everything go wrong.”   - Lemony Snicket

~*~

i came to this ask to rec this baseball one called "Waiting for Spring" by thievinghippo on ao3. It somehow made me care about baseball soooo 'nough said ~ @scifikimmi

Waiting for Spring

by thievinghippo (E, 131, wangxian)

Summary:  “It is a well-known fact across the major leagues that one does not smack Lan Wangji’s ass.”

Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes. Everyone smacks everyone’s ass in baseball. It’s how the game is played. Lan Wangji does not get to be exempt from this most sacred of baseball traditions.

Wei Wuxian will make sure of that.

Or, a Major League Baseball AU

~*~

hi mojo! i wanted to rec Something Good by boxoftheskyking (a loose sound of music/canon divergence au) and also MDZS: The Golden Engine by iffervescent (immortal wangxian modern au where they gotta solve a mystery and save china, featuring jiang cheng/lan xichen)

Something Good

by boxoftheskyking (T, 43k, wangxian)

Summary:  "That Wei Wuxian, you know he used to be such a promising cultivator. Head Disciple of the Jiang Clan, can you believe it? You see, juniors, the punishment for traveling the path of demonic cultivation. No golden core, not so much as a whisper of spiritual power."

As a punishment for real and imagined crimes, Wei Wuxian is sentenced to work at Cloud Recesses as the lowest of servants. When a surprising reassignment lands him with eleven children to care for, everything changes again.

A Sound of Music AU

MDZS: The Golden Engine

by iffervescent (E, 82k, wangxian, xicheng)

Summary:  In the modern era, immortals Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian return to Gusu. New evil and old friends + new friends and old evils.

~*~

Hi Mojo! First of all let me just tell you that you are amazing and this blog is like a gift from the gods! Bless you and your endless patience and hard work. [Oh, thank you so much!]  I know that you have just accepted follower recs and I have missed miserably but I still wanted to write and bring attention to a writer by the pseudo Xiao_Hua on ao3, I think they are quite good and I just recently found the account with so much content. If you do have the time to check them out, I'd rec catfish, my fox or the red ribbon.

The Red Ribbon

by Xiao_Hua (M, 21k, wangxian, TGCF crossover)

Summary:  Wei WuXian died but not before saving HanGuang-Jun and A-Yuan, leaving so much more behind than just his ribbon.

My Fox

by Xiao_Hua (E, 13k, wangxian)

Summary:  Once he headed to YiLing that all changed for him. His priorities have been mingled with and ordered in complete disarray even without him noticing as he was left heavily influenced by a creature.

Or one where Lan WangJi is a dragon-spirit and he finds his mate in the form of a fox.

Catfish

by Xiao_Hua (E, 15k, wangxian)

Summary:  Wei WuXian has a common sense that believes it has a nine-to-five job while Lan WangJi finds that incredibly hot.

Or one where two catfish realise that neither of them truly catfished.

~*~

Hi Mojo i'm recommending this amazing fic it is called song of joys and regrets. it's a time travel AU it's amazing. And your Blog is a Godsend Thank you! [Aw, you’re so sweet!]  ~ @highgoddess

Song of Joy and Regrets

by HelloKitten (not rated, 59k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:  The Archery competition at Qishan this year has hit a snag. As the Sects face the wrongs perpetrated by their future selves, Wei Wuxian finds himself adopted by half of the cultivation world who are determined to save him from himself.

Baby Wangxian suffers. Adult Wangxian's job here is done.

"I'm starting to see a pattern to all his plans..." "Do they all involve him being bait?" "Yes" came deadpanned responses.

~*~

Here’s a 2021 Reverse Big Bang entry, in time for Father’s Day; [Oops, my bad, sorry!]  Under a Blanket of Black Wings, by ChaoticAndrogynous (#31398395); LWJ, recuperating from the 33 lashes, tells A-Yuan a series of fairytales about a heroic monster and the brave little boy he befriended. Vampire! WWX (in the framing story as well as the story-within-the-story); happy ending.

Under a Blanket of Black Wings

by ChaoticAndrogynous (T, 19k, wangxian)

Summary:  Lan Wangji tells A-Yuan a bedtime story about a beautiful monster and the brave little boy who was his friend. Thirteen years later, the monster returns.

~*~

Hello Mojo! Have you read ‘Key Differences’ by Pupeez4eva? Its a MDZS!WWX meets CQL!WWX and its really good! [It’s on my list!]

Key Differences

by pupeez4eva (T, 6k, wangxian)

Summary:  “I don’t understand,” Wei Wuxian said, while his alternate self continued to stare at him with almost a look of hurt in his eyes. There was longing in there too, which Wei Wuxian would have easily recognised if he paid enough attention. “How could you not get together, after everything. What even went on in the Guanyin Temple if you didn’t confess?”

“The Guanyin Temple,” Wei Ying repeated incredulously. “You’re asking me if I confessed at — honestly, a lot went on that day. It was a life and death situation. There was no confessing.”

Wei Wuxian stared at him, appalled.

(Wherein Wei Wuxian ends up meeting an alternate version of himself who, much to his horror, never married Lan Wangji. Obviously he has to do something to fix this).

~*~

Hey Mojo i would recommend this fanfic if you already haven’t, it’s called “ take me back to a time “ by DizziDreams. It’s sooooo good

take me back to a time

by DizziDreams (T, 144k, wangxian, 3zun)

Summary:  Wei Ying has a lot on his plate right now.

It’s finals week -- which isn’t so bad. He’s never had to study much to do well in classes. But that just means that things are that much more tense with Jiang Cheng, who, as far as Wei Ying can tell, only takes study breaks long enough to glare at Wei Ying where he sits on the couch playing video games.

It’s not studies that have Wei Ying stressed out. It’s everything else. It’s the recruitment for the research trial he’s coordinating. It’s jiejie and her impending marriage to His Royal Douchebag Jin Zixuan. It’s the volunteer work at the palliative care facility. It’s Wen Ning’s worsening condition. It’s Wen Qing working herself thin to care for her brother and Wen Yuan. It’s the way Wen Yuan never seems to have enough food.

So, yeah. There’s enough on Wei Ying’s plate already, meaning it’s not entirely welcome when he comes home and finds a man standing in his bedroom. A man in extravagant white robes, a ribbon tied around his forehead, long hair gathered into a topknot, fist clutching a sword at his side, who asks him, “Where am I?”

~*~

Idk if this has already been rec’d (I’ve been off the grid for a while now), but there’s this absolutely incredible fic called Restitution by an anon on ao3 people should definitely check out!

this one?

on restitution

by Anonymous (M, 78k, wangxian, jin ling & wei wuxian, lan sizhui & wei wuxian, WIP)

Summary:  When Wei Wuxian regains consciousness, he is in a bed. A real, proper bed, not the slab he called a bed in his cave in the Burial Mounds.

Jiang Cheng is glowering above him.

Wei Wuxian doesn't die during the siege of the Burial Mounds. Rather, he is captured in secret and confined at Lotus Pier. Things change accordingly.

~*~

Hi momjo! I feel like every time I come to your blog there's twenty more new and amazing fics for me to read. Thank you for everything you do for this fandom!  [Thank you, sweetie!  And yes, I think there ARE 20 new fics every day out there in the fandom.  It’s amazing!] Today I come bearing my own rec to you. I've recently read this and it's IMO one of the best fics out there. It's called Lapsteel by carriecmoney and it's a modern stormchaser AU featuring country songs and coming home. ~ @manaika-chan​

Lapsteel

by carriecmoney (T, 42k, wangxian)

Summary:  Now and then, I think about you now and then...

It's been thirteen years since Wei Ying ran for the prairies, leaving behind a family in shambles and a secret on the Pacific wind. What happens when the storm he swirled catches up to him?

Modern AU with country music star Lan Zhan, stormchaser Wei Ying, and shared crossroads.

~*~

#wangxian fic rec #follower recs #wangxian #mdzs #the untamed #follower rec #I HAVEN'T READ THESE YET

[ohmypreciousgirl]

Xicheng Rec List

I compiled my favorite fics for @waterandsilver after they posted they were finally seeing the appeal of Xicheng. I volunteered to give them good fics to help them understand better the appeal of our ship! So, here we go!

Post-Canon Fics

A Bit of Ruthlessness 110,111 When Jiang Cheng hears that Lan Xichen went into seclusion following Jin Guangyao’s death, it’s almost as if he can see the grabby hands of a restless ghost, reaching out for something to keep him company. For something warm and living and devastated. And as history has proven time and time again, the Lans are perfect victims when it comes to giving in to ghosts.

Yeah, no. Not on Jiang Cheng’s fucking watch.

Moments of Clarity 5,201 Snapshots of Lan Huan's road to recovery with a helping hand from Sandu Shengshou. Companion piece from Jiang Cheng’s POV: A Present so Promising 

Faith 8,109 [Part 1 of the The Provenance of Hope series] Lan Huan isn’t sure he’s ready for this. (or, Lan Huan and Jiang Cheng meet on a night hunt.)

Visiting Cloud Recesses 7,566 [Part 1 of the Visiting Cloud Recesses series]   Since the sunshot campaign they haven't interacted a lot outside of sect business, but Jiang Cheng has always found the First Jade of Lan gracious and pleasant to be around. Especially in comparison to his younger brother, who would never smile at Jiang Cheng the way Lan Xichen is right now, as if he's genuinely happy to see him.

It's easier to let go (let me hold you) 24,464 Five times someone noticed something was wrong and the one time someone did something about it.

Carried on the wind 1,129 [Part 1 of the The courtship of Jiang Wanyin & Lan Xichen series] Lan Xichen’s voice is very soft when he says: “Today is the day our mother died.”

Overgrown 1,408 [Part 1 of the Coming home to you series] Jiang Cheng has better things to do than follow Lan Xichen around Lotus Pier, and yet here he is.

Regret 2,290 Lan Xichen is left standing in his garden, his garden of regret and shame and all the bad things Lan Xichen hates about himself, and suddenly he can’t stand it for one second longer.

A lovely name 3,146 [Part 1 of the Paws for thought series] Jiang Cheng doesn’t like the feeling of a curse sinking through his skin at the best of times, and now he’s a fucking cat, because Wei Wuxian thinks he’s hilarious. Well, he won’t find it so hilarious when Jiang Cheng changes back and breaks his legs.

Breaking Anew 20,389 There are different ways a person can break. It is a lesson Jiang Cheng will spend his life learning.

Under The Morning Sun  22,739 Jiang Cheng returns to Cloud Recesses to find peace and stability. Instead, he finds an unexpected romance with Lan Xichen. Sequel: Strength of Your Love 

(nothing special) (something special) 4,950 Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen both have jagged edges. But perhaps their broken pieces can fit together into something new. Sequel: won't you say you love me later

Come to Decide 2,381 [Part 1 of the Little Talks series] “This is why I lose sleep over you,” Jiang Cheng murmured. “You might think I’m pining for your touch or your voice or your gaze, but no - I’m just worrying about you being an idiot.”

Don't stop being rude 2,582 “The Hanshi,” Lan Jingyi suddenly says, effectively jolting Jiang Cheng out of his thoughts, and bowing again. 

“Please talk some sense into Zewu-Jun.”

“Oh, that I will,” Jiang Cheng promises and when a tiny spark of fear enters Lan Jingyi’s eyes, he gives him his sweetest smile before he walks off.

“Oh gods, what have I done,” he hears Lan Jingyi mutter behind him, but he doesn’t try to stop him.

Clever boy.

Don't let him win 1,685 “What are you doing?” Jiang Cheng asks him, voice much softer now, and he’s quick to carefully rub some warmth back into Lan Xichen’s hands.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Lan Xichen whispers, the same thing he always says when Jiang Cheng forces his way into Lan Xichen’s seclusion, but Jiang Cheng couldn’t give less of a fuck about this.

“Well, neither should you,” he gives back, a well-rehearsed dance by now, and Lan Xichen’s mouth twists in that all too familiar way.

Good things about Yunmeng 3,343 Or, the one where Jiang Cheng attempts the impossible.

Love Is For Other People 3,704 It wasn’t that Jiang Cheng never thought about it. About love, that was.

Listless 1,787 When Jiang Cheng came up with his list, he knew that everyone else's would be different from his. It just hurts to find out again and again that he would never be the first.

And then there's Xichen.

twinkle of a bell 7,821 Jiang Cheng and Lan Huan meet at the abandoned village, looking for at least a glimpse of a new life.

Tread 1,647 “I’m going to take him with me,” Jiang Cheng says and even though Lan Xichen can’t see them, he can feel the tension in the air.

“No,” comes Wangji’s almost immediate answer, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Not that it ever stopped Jiang Cheng before.

these tears flowing down aren't a waste 2,002 “How do I confess my love to someone?” Jin Ling asks.

“Do I look like someone who has been in love?” Jiang Cheng questions back.

Through a Storm that Never Goes Away 32,948 For all of that, for his inherent complicitness in Jin Guangyao’s crimes, for trying to maintain impartiality until he had enough evidence, Lan Xichen could understand wanting him dead.

He could even understand if there were those who still felt the need to take some revenge for what Jin Guangyao did and were dissatisfied that he was dead. Lan Xichen might look like an acceptable target.

But to target Wangji as well...

I am cursed to love you (to the grave) 39,410 Jiang Cheng can't sleep.

The Comfort of You 24,904 [Part 1 of the The Belonging series] On the eve of Jin Ling's 20th birthday, Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen take a step forward into a life that will forever be changed.

(Three years after the events of Guanyin Temple Lan Xichen asks a pivotal question of the man he's been falling in love with for the past year. Jiang Cheng has never really felt what he feels for Lan Xichen and falls apart in his hands. And that's okay.)

I Put You First 7,178 Lan Xichen gets a little jealous when the Other Boys thirst over Sect Leader Jiang. Luckily, Jiang Cheng only has eyes for one man.

Canon Era Fics

A Small Measure of Peace 122,790 With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.

There's Hope for the Hopeless 11,791 Part of being Sect Leader means going to weddings, both those important to him and those that he is convinced to attend.

5 times Jiang Cheng went to a wedding + his own.

A good night's rest 1,795 [Part 1 of the Sing for me series] Jiang Cheng is standing at the end of the pier, clad in simple sleeping robes, and he’s walking up and down, bouncing a sniffling Jin Ling on his arm. And he is singing to the boy, his voice soft and low, but clear enough to ring out over the water and carry.

Lan Xichen stops dead in his tracks and keeps still, not wanting to disturb Jiang Cheng or upset Jin Ling again. The boy is clearly fighting sleep, but the steady movement of Jiang Cheng and his lullaby are doing wonders in dragging him to sleep anyway.

Beside You 6,624 [Part 1 of the Lan Furen series]

Jiang Cheng leaves Lotus Pier behind him, giving up his position, his family and his home to start a new life as a rogue cultivator. He can't quite make himself leave Yunmeng completely though, not just yet, and as he loiters on the outskirts he comes across Lan Xichen, evidently on the run.

Together, they fret for themselves, their loved ones and each other as the Wens and impending danger draws closer.

The Desperate Search Began 2,361 [Part 1 of the Some Day I'm Gonna Make You Mine series] It starts with a fight, Jin Zixun and Jiang Wanyin bumping heads over a battle plan. The Sunshot campaign will not slow for one brush of ego, but Jin Zixun has found himself outranked by a boy that he feels of no consequence compared to a member of the shining Jin sect.

When Nie Mingjue is present, or even Jin Zixuan, Jin Zixun keeps his counsel. He does not push. Sadly, the bruise to his ego will not appear to have forgotten that while he is a valued member of their war council, Jiang Wanyin is a sect leader now. The fact that he’s a boy younger than even Jin Zixuan, rankles.

Add that they are only witnessed by Lan Xichen and Jin Zixun becomes a discredit to Lanling Jin.

remember these words i say 4,133 “Please, allow me to fix this.” Lan Xichen finds himself asking, begging. It is for his own peace of mind, but it is also for Jiang Cheng and for Jin Ling, for the people of Lotus Pier who have watched their home burn and fought hard to build it back.

“I do not know how you could.” Jiang Cheng points out.

Lan Xichen nods in agreement. “I do not know either, now, but –” Wangji isn’t the only stubborn one in the family, “I will find a way.” He promises, determined.

fill the cracks in (with your light) 2,947 [Part 1 of the moments through the years series] Lan Xichen's voice doesn't have the usual light note in it when he asks, “What are we doing, Jiang Wanyin?”

Waxing Moon 1,925 [Part 1 of Soft] After Wei Wuxian was sent home from Cloud Recesses, Jiang Cheng realizes it's pretty lonely without him. Luckily, sulking on a rooftop leads to a new friendship.

Tipsy at best 2,458 Jiang Cheng tugs Nie Huaisang along, and they are stumbling more than walking, but in their inebriated state even that is funny.

They are snickering still when they suddenly see a figure in white appear at the end of the path.

“Uh-oh,” Jiang Cheng says, and it’s entirely too loud, but he’s still too drunk to care about that right now.

Nie Huaisang, on the other hand, seems to have sobered up, because his eyes take on a calculating glint behind his fan.

“Say, Jiang Cheng, what were your requirements for a partner again?” Nie Huaisang asks and it’s enough to make Jiang Cheng stop.

it all passes someday 13,638 A week before the anniversary of Wei Wuxian’s death, there was a commotion outside Lan Wangji’s house.

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji over the years.

Punishment 5,415 [Part 1 of the The Rules of Living series] “33 lashes,” one of the Elders suddenly coldly says and Lan Xichen’s stomach turns over. “20 for his brother and 13 for daring to defy us,” he goes on and Lan Xichen bows his head in acceptance.

The same punishment Lan Wangji endured. Lan Xichen can do it, too.

And he manages, without a sound, like Lan Wangji, if only just barely.

#xicheng #the untamed #rec time #xicheng fic #jiang cheng #lan xichen

[rainbowsky]

The Wolf Reviewed

Spoiler-free section

My life is divided into two eras: ‘before seeing GG as Ji Chong’ and ‘after seeing GG as Ji Chong’. I will never be the same.

GG is magical in this series, and Ji Chong is among my absolute favorite characters of all time (I am actually in love with this character, which is heartbreaking given the fact that he’s fictional). The show also has many interesting characters and some exciting storylines, and in spite of some of its flaws this series is quite good. Highly recommended.

Of course there’s a lot more to it than that, but I can’t give a full review without spoilers. Here’s the rest for those who have already seen the series.

Spoilers under the cut

OK, where to start?

The Characters

There were so many great characters in this story and overall I found the performances of all of them well-acted and exciting to watch. I especially loved Ji Chong and Yao Ji. Both were complex, mysterious characters who stole the show every time they were onscreen.

Ji Chong was incredible. Everything about him was over-the-top amazing. I can imagine that GG must have identified a lot with Ji Chong because he has a similarly gallant, charismatic and kind personality. Seeing GG perform a character like this was mind-blowing because of the harmony between them in spite of their physical differences.

I could go on and on about how much I love Ji Chong as a character but if you’ve seen the series you already know how great he is. I truly fell in love with that man. He was everything I love in a person, and in such a beautiful package. I loved his nimble mischievousness, his rebelliousness, his fierce independence, his devotion to those he loves, and above all, his integrity.  With one exception that I’ll get into later, everything he did in that series was consistent with the image I had of him and it made my heart melt.

And it was pretty insane to see GG go from the thin, twinkish, bubbly and somewhat diminutive Wei Wuxian to the rugged, masculine, mature and level-headed Ji Chong. Not only because of the personality differences between the two characters, but also because of the physical differences. They look like two entirely different people. Ji Chong looks so tall and imposing in the series!

It’s impressive to see GG’s acting ability shine through in these roles. He has such a gift for acting, and for drawing viewers into the hearts of the characters he plays.

Yao Ji was another character that really impressed me. She had so much intensity and complexity, and her character arc was so strong. She was also just incredibly well styled and she looked breathtaking in every single frame she appeared in. The various headpieces and hairstyles she wore were stunning, and her sidekick Zi Shen was an aesthetic marvel.

I also really loved Ma Jing. Despite the fact that she was often used for comedic effect, her character was quite nuanced and multidimensional. I loved her loyalty and strength, and the depth of the love she had for Ma Zhai Xing really shone through in every scene she was in.

The entire Night Fury group was also amazing. I loved them as a team and as individuals, and the trajectories their characters went through were interesting and engaging. I was really invested in what became of them. When Wen Yan died I was gutted, and I was grateful that Hai Die and Mo Xiao had such a satisfying conclusion to their story.

I also adored Butler Shi. What a great character. He reminded me of one or two guys I know hehe. He had such a warm, endearing quality about him.

I’m realizing that I could sit here and name almost every character in this series. Despite some of the problems that I have with it, I’m reminded that the characters are exceptionally well-realized in this series.

The Story

Overall I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the story. It was exciting and engaging, and there were some very interesting side conflicts and intrigues. There was an overall sense of adventure and plenty of action, some really emotional moments and even comic relief.

When you think about it, almost every character had something deeper going on outside of the main plot, and those side/back stories were really interesting and varied. There was complexity to the characters and their motives and experiences without it overcomplicating the plot.

The romances were not my cup of tea. I’ll get into that later on. But despite being the thread that ran through the entire story, they really didn’t feel central to it and it was easy to simply enjoy the show while putting aside the annoyances I had with the romances (I did this primarily by consciously choosing to take the story at face value, and choosing to believe that Ma Zhai Xing really was through with Prince Bo).

The show did a great job of getting me engaged and keeping me interested, giving me a story that was complex without being confusing, emotional without being too sappy (with some exceptions). The action, fight scenes, battles, etc. were exciting without feeling fake and cliche. There were some well-choreographed scenes.

I really can’t complain about much. I mean, there were times when I was watching this series that I thought I hated it, but in retrospect I can see that I really loved it in spite of some of the flaws, which I’ll discuss in a moment.

The Soundtrack

The soundtrack was quite good, even if it felt repetitive when I was bingeing the show. So many songs have stuck with me since I finished the series. I especially like Backflow by Jolin Tsai (second-last song on the playlist I linked). Of course I would have loved a song or two with GG, but the soundtrack we got was memorable.

What I hated

I really struggled with some aspects of this series.

I found Bao Na mostly unwatchable. She was incredibly annoying. As a character she had all the traits I dislike. Whiny, stalker, demanding, emotionally immature, jealous... I really couldn’t stand that character for a lot of the series.

It’s true that she started to redeem herself a bit through the course of the series but she never really evolved into someone I wanted to see more of. I definitely had some moments where I liked her and sympathized with her, but mostly she grated on my nerves.

I also hated Prince Bo through most of the series, and found it insulting that I was expected to view him as the protagonist and cheer for him to win the princess’s heart. I felt that the ‘love-hate’ thing between Prince Bo and Ma Zhai Xing was overplayed to a point where I lost all sympathy with Prince Bo and desperately wanted him to die a horrible death through much of the series.

His behavior didn’t reflect someone who was in love but wanted to protect her. Much of his behavior was excessive and gratuitous, much worse than was necessary to achieve its stated goal. He was incredibly emotionally and psychologically abusive toward Ma Zhai Xing to a degree that was often really hard to watch. Especially his near-rape of her.

This is a man that I didn’t want to see redeemed. This is a man I wanted to see burned alive. No one who truly loved Ma Zhai Xing would be even remotely capable of the actions Prince Bo took.

I will admit that he did begin to redeem himself in my eyes a bit later in the series, but not to where I could ever see him with Ma Zhai Xing. I don’t think that’s the sort of treatment one can ever redeem in a relationship. He might be able to redeem himself, but not the relationship. There are some lines, once crossed between people, that one can never come back from.

I actually felt that Yao Ji was a much better match for Prince Bo than the princess was. They were true equals with similarly difficult pasts, and similarly dark deeds to redeem themselves from. They were in so many ways perfect for each other.

Ji Chong and Ma Zhai Xing were a better match because they were more natural equals in terms of personality, values and life paths. There were tremendous parallels between the two of them. Although I ended up feeling she didn’t deserve him.

So for me, it was really difficult to get invested in the love stories I was presented with. Ultimately I found them all very unsatisfying. The people I wanted to see together were treated as unsuitable for each other in ways that were completely unbelievable, and the people I was expected to want to see together had unconvincing chemistry and incompatibilities that I couldn’t overlook.

Seeing Ma Zhai Xing die in the end was an OUTRAGE. Especially when I read about the director’s rationale for that decision.

“Her thought process on killing off “Zhai Xing” was that “King Bo” had done so much for her that it was time for her to do something for him. “Her character had matured the most in the series. Dying for Wolf Boy is the best ending for this identity of hers. To me, this perfect ending is even more in line with her character’s growth.””

I found that shocking. I couldn’t disagree more with this sentiment. She wasted so much of herself and her life for Prince Bo. He treated her like crap, and he didn’t ever truly do anything to redeem himself from that behavior. He should have been the one to die.

In my opinion, REAL character growth for Ma Zhai Xing would have been to see her overcome the fixation with Wolf Boy and with Prince Bo and just move on with her life.

I will say this, though: By the time Ma Zhai Xing died in the show, her character had already been so utterly and thoroughly decimated beyond all recognition via the Prince Bo housewife trajectory that there was no point in her surviving.

The absolute worst moment for me, though, was Ji Chong ending up with Bao Na. Talk about adding insult to injury. This is the one thing that Ji Chong did as a character that ran against my understanding of him as a character.

You could have done anything at all to Ji Chong, including killing him or turning him into a villain, and it would have been less of an insult to me than putting him with Bao Na.

I do try to interpret his invitation for them to travel together in a non-romantic way (despite the fact that in the world of the show there’s no way that a princess is going to go traveling with a prince without her reputation being ruined unless they are a couple). But when I tell myself that he took her traveling to get her away from court and give her some life experience - as friends only - then it becomes less of a bitter pill to swallow. I could see him doing that for her, and I could see them developing a strong friendship through their travels.

I just can’t see them as remotely romantically compatible. Not on any level.

I found it completely unconvincing that the most emotionally mature, honorable person in the entire series who had the healthiest boundaries and a lot of worldly experience and intelligence, would have any interest whatsoever in someone as emotionally immature, childish and inexperienced (and with no boundaries whatsoever) as Bao Na.

I would have preferred it if they’d framed that whole thing as him being a sort of big brother/mentor figure to her.

I felt like I saw chemistry and compatibility between Bao Na and Fourth Prince Chu You Ze, and I would have loved to see them end up together. They were much more at an equal footing. I was expecting that to be the outcome and it would have been a sweet one. They would have made a cute couple.

Final thoughts

The romances in this story seemed fixated on unhealthy, often misogynistic power imbalances and they were really, really hard to watch. Not just in terms of Prince Bo and Ma Zhai Xing but also the ugly Ji Chong and Princess Bao Na hookup they tried to get me to swallow at the end. I hate that kind of ‘love’ story. I prefer seeing actual equals find each other in the great wide world.

However, pretty much everything else about the series was excellent. Ji Chong owns my heart and I only wish I could see more of him. GG completely blew me away and far exceeded all of my expectations.

Overall, I really love this series and will definitely be rewatching it.

#the wolf #ji chong #actor gg #review #my beloved ji chong

[songofclarity]

Since I didn’t want to bog down the other post that brought up the topic of belts, I offer a different consideration on the matter: Meng Yao/Jin GuangYao’s belt aspired to be like the one worn by Jin GuangShan:

Circular metal centerpiece, edged pieces bracketing the center, and the circular end pieces all atop dark brown leather. This style choice makes sense since MengYao/Jin GuangYao’s primary aspiration is to be acknowledged by his father as his rightful son, with all the honors and inheritance attached to it.

Of course, the belt is similar-yet-different because Meng Yao isn’t accepted as a Jin as of yet--and never, truly, will be accepted so long as Jin GaungShan has any say on the matter. Meanwhile Jin ZiXuan and Jin ZiXun do get to all wear matching belts alongside Jin GuangShan like one big, happy family:

Meng Yao only starts wearing this similar-yet-different belt after he’s accepted into a prominent position. He becomes someone important, someone worthy of notice -- because it’s Nie MingJue, not the Jin, who honors Meng Yao as someone worth more than the nature of his birth.

Note when Meng Yao meets his father the first time and when he meets Nie MingJue the first time, he’s wearing a plain fabric belt:

Very humble. Several other Nie disciples, the same ones that had been mocking him, are wearing the same style in this scene, so my understanding is that there is nothing inherently bad or low-class about this. Lan Sect disciples, including Lan XiChen, are also seen wearing this style regularly. But once Meng Yao becomes a somebody of importance, he upgrades.

But he doesn’t copy Nie MingJue:

And his belt is entirely different in style, color, and material from the other prominent Nie disciple we meet:

And at no point, past or present, does he imitate Nie HuaiSang, despite wearing Nie HuaiSang’s childhood hairpiece while in the Nie Sect (not shown):

So Jin GuangYao does not pick a belt to identify with the Nie Sect.

He picks one which identifies him with his father and the Jin:

He wears it when he’s in the Nie Sect:

When he’s with the Wen Sect (and where he is actually, for the first time, wearing Nie MingJue-style robes, which is just kind of bizarre at this point when he’s been with the Wen as a spy for a novel-estimate of 1 - 2 years, but maybe it’s a clue-in for the viewer that he’s not actually with the Wen Sect, idk):

And when he’s with the Jin Sect, where he can match his dad as his accepted son in the public eye:

The belt stays, because it was always a Jin belt, but as we can see the robes and underbelt have changed to Jin pale yellow. Except we all know that nothing, least of all wardrobe, will help newly-named Jin GuangYao make his dead-beat dad accept him as his heir, so he ends up killing Jin GuangShan in the end. (RIP Nie MingJue and everyone from Yi City, who could have all been saved if Jin GuangYao had planned out his murders better by killing Jin GuangShan first.)

As to what happens to this belt after Nie MingJue’s death, which is the last scene it’s shown, is unclear. I would like to suggest that even though we don’t get a peek at Jin GuangYao’s waistline during his father’s rape-murder scene, that might have been the end of that belt. Jin ZiXuan and Jin ZiXun are dead so no happy family to match. No more Jin GuangShan to live up to means no more Jin GuangShan-style belt worth wearing.

So after the time skip back to the present, we see Sect Leader Jin and Chief Cultivator, Jin GuangYao, with a fancy new belt:

And it is fancy! But it’s a busy and heavy-looking thing, isn’t it? Still going with the circular motifs. Now it has several decorative pieces in green and red. Not one but TWO tassels. I appreciate the symmetry, but I don’t recall anyone else wearing two tassels, so that stands out to me.

Considering he was copying his dad for leverage, I’m led to wonder what gave him the idea for this new belt. My first thought was Lan XiChen, except:

Lan XiChen in the present is wearing a plain fabric belt again. In fact, Lan XiChen is always humble with his belts. Below is the belt we last see him wearing before the time skip to present, when he is having yet another miserable time at Koi Tower:

This belt is just a large, dark blue band and it almost looks like he’s forgotten the center piece. Compare it to the dark blue twist over the light blue band above, and the silver metal over the pale blue and white band below, worn when we first meet him during the Cloud Recesses School Arc:

Simple and elegant! I would also love to make a comment about the belt he wears after the Sunshot Campaign:

Except Lan XiChen’s Nie-style robe is too big and beautiful that it’s hard to capture a shot of his belt. More interesting than the belt, however, is that Shouyue is clearly decorated with two tassels.

Which leads me to consider this silly notion: Jin GuangYao’s two tassels are not imitating/honoring Lan XiChen, their honoring Shouyue, the sword that held Nie MingJue back when Jin GuangYao could have (rightfully) died. If that is true, it makes it all the more ironic that Shouyue stabs him in the end.

In any case, considering the circumstances when Lan XiChen wears that dark blue outfit with it’s plain, wide-blue belt, I have to wonder if the plainness is supposed to reflect an absence of power, not just for Meng Yao but also Lan XiChen. Lan XiChen’s belts are simple and humble, but the dark blue especially so. Lan XiChen put all his efforts into keeping Nie MingJue alive, not knowing Jin GuangYao was actively betraying and undermining his efforts. All the power Lan XiChen possessed was turned against him, and Jin GuangYao ended up with a nicer belt as he rode that wave of momentum to power.

(Although that dark blue belt nicely balances the decorative design of the outer robe itself.)

After Lan XiChen, my other thought was maybe Jin GuangYao was trying to copy or more likely compete Jiang Cheng, who has a spectacular wardrobe, and yet:

Both Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling’s belts are rather plain by comparison to Jin GuangYao’s. Their belts also look like belts while Jin GuangYao’s looks like decoration. We can also confirm that neither Jin GuangYao nor Jin Ling carry on the matching, happy-family tradition of Jin ZiXuan’s era.

Which brings me to this current conclusion: Jin GuangYao simply and finally has a belt all his own. There is no one else to live up to, no one else to win over, and no one else to stand in his way. Before Nie HuaiSang and Wei WuXian sweep in to ruin him without warning, Jin GuangYao is living his best life. That final belt stands out all on its own, which in turn says a lot about Jin GuangYao and his visions of grandeur: he wants to be seen and recognized. He did, after all, make a temple and slap his mother’s face onto the statue so that she could be worshiped as a goddess. Jin GuangYao utilizes pity as power, but his pride is so fierce that he kills people for ridiculing him.

So it’s really no surprise that he ends up wearing an extra fancy belt when he reaches the top of the cultivation wold. It’s only a wonder that he didn’t accentuate his robes to match, but that would have shown that he wasn’t at all as pitiful as he led the world to believe.

#mdzs thoughts #jin guangyao #jin guangshan #lan xichen #cql #the original post activated my nie mingjue defense squad energy lol #i also went on an lxc tangent but that's normal for me #getting screenshots of nhs's waist took FOREVER #that guy somehow keeps his fan over his face #and over his waist #like it's his job! #and i only needed him for like one sentence like was it even worth it lol #the things i do for these nie brothers smh

[sssrha]

WangXian wouldn’t have been very functional pre-Wei Wuxian’s resurrection

So I was talking to @litescheme on Twitter and I decided to pour my heart out about how I hated the general fandom consensus that Wei Wuxian going to Gusu when Lan Wangji asked him to would have solved all of his problems, primarily because the idea of just straight up going to Gusu is incredibly flawed. Lo and behold, they agreed wholeheartedly. We had a great discussion and now I’m here to relay the discussion onto Tumblr in essay form uwu.

(By the way, this is based mostly on CQL with a good bit of novel added in, as well as a few hints of the donghua.)

Part One: “Come back to Gusu!” is a great romantic notion but a terrible plan of action.

First of all, one must ask the question: what on Earth was Lan Wangji’s game plan with the whole “Come back to Gusu!” thing? I think we can all agree that most of the Lan Sect hated Wei Wuxian - by the end, at least. Lan Xichen certainly had less than charitable feelings toward him. With such a hostile environment, the only way I can see Wei Wuxian surviving within the Sect is while being forced into a Madam Lan-type situation. I find that prospect more reminiscent of a horror movie than a heartwarming fic about healing.

Luckily for us, we can safely say that canon Lan Wangji would not have done that! Due to certain childhood trauma, Lan Wangji definitely would not have forced Wei Wuxian to do anything, go anywhere, or stay anywhere that he didn’t want to. That isn’t even touching on how much Lan Wangji genuinely wanted Wei Wuxian to be happy, and forcing Wei Wuxian to do anything had generally been proven to not make him happy. Good on him!

The next point: why would Wei Wuxian have gone to Gusu in the first place? Even while ignoring WangXian’s rampant misunderstandings, Wei Wuxian always actively had a reason to not go to Gusu. During the Sunshot Campaign, he was a major player and commanded a huge amount of power that probably aided the Sects greatly. During his stay in the Burial Mounds, he had a community of war prisoners to protect. How could he go to Gusu?

I’ve seen fics where Lan Wangji ensured the safety of the Wen Remnants, and while I absolutely adore the trope, I really don’t see that happening with canon Lan Wangji. First, I don’t think he’d grown as a person enough to fully rebel against his Sect until Wei Wuxian was in immediate danger, and second, I straight up don’t think that he had the sway to. Pulling that kind of stunt implies a good deal of political power within the Sect...and also implies that Lan Wangji would have had enough power to escape a punishment which he clearly never thought he deserved. However, I could be wrong on this point! Politics has never been my forte. 

Also, I don’t think anyone can bank on the Lan Sect accepting the Wen Remnants. After all, the Lan Sect participated in the First Siege of the Burial Mounds and thus, presumably, also the slaughter of the Wen Remnants.

Upon further reflection, I figured that the only time Wei Wuxian might have actually gone to Gusu was that brief period of time after the Sunshot Campaign and before he met Wen Qing. However, for him to agree, I figured that three things had to happen:

Wei Wuxian had to understand that Lan Wangji wanted to help him, not hurt him.

Wei Wuxian had to come to the (false!) conclusion that Jiang Cheng no longer needed his help or support at Lotus Pier.

Wei Wuxian had to accept that he was worth saving in the first place.

(The concept came pre-set with some delicious Yunmeng Bros angst because Jiang Cheng would almost certainly take Wei Wuxian (permanently) going to Gusu the same way he took Wei Wuxian taking the Wen Remnants to the Burial Mounds: a betrayal, a promise broken. Emotionally, of course. There definitely wouldn’t have been political pressure closing in from all sides the way there was in canon.)

I was going to expand on that concept, but then I hit a bit of a hurdle: I genuinely did not, and still do not, see any reason for Wei Wuxian to actually go to Gusu. At that point, Wei Wuxian was doing everything he felt he needed to: he protected Jiang Cheng because Madam Yu told him to (and because he genuinely cared for him, but Madam Yu’s command was his driving force) and he only left Jiang Cheng when Wen Qing - someone he perceived himself owing a greater debt to due to the golden core removal - came along. When looking at it from that regard, I don’t think Wei Wuxian would ever see a reason to go to Gusu.

So, even after clearing up the miscommunication, Lan Wangji would have to present a good reason for Wei Wuxian to listen to him. 

I don’t think Lan Wangji going up to Wei Wuxian and saying, “Please come back to Gusu, I want to protect you,” would have worked. Considering how prideful Wei Wuxian was back then - with a good bit of it justified when you consider the fact that he killed a large amount of people in a single night during the Pledge Conference (though the exact number is never actually confirmed as far as I remember) - I don’t see Wei Wuxian taking the implication that he needs protection very well. No matter how many good intentions Lan Wangji had, he would have ended up offending Wei Wuxian at that point.

Another route Lan Wangji could have taken: “Please come back to Gusu, I want to play Cleansing for you.” Again, I don’t think this would have worked. (At least, that was definitely his stance in CQL and Wei Wuxian still didn’t do anything.) In Chapter 78, Wei Wuxian mentioned that the Sound of Lucidity had no effect on him. The Sound of Lucidity is, presumably, one of the Song(s) of Clarity, of which Cleansing is the most powerful. Lan Wangji used the Sound of Lucidity at the Pledge Conference after the battle had started. I don’t exactly know why he didn’t use Cleansing when it was more powerful... Either way, after he played the Sound of Lucidity, Wei Wuxian said, “You should’ve known since long ago—Sound of Lucidity is useless to me!” Thus, Lan Wangji asking him to go to Gusu so he could play Cleansing probably wouldn’t have seemed like an especially compelling reason to Wei Wuxian.

After some thought, I figured that post-resurrection, Wei Wuxian agreed to stay with Lan Wangji in the Cloud Recesses after the mystery was solved because:

He was not as prideful as pre-death Wei Wuxian.

He saw no reason to go back to Lotus Pier since Jiang Cheng made it very clear that he was unhappy with him.

He managed to process and confess his feeling to Lan Wangji, who did the same.

Pre-death Wei Wuxian has none of this. Basically, Wei Wuxian at that point had no reason to go to Gusu for anything other than a short visit.

Now, I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but this entire time I’ve been ignoring not only the reality that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s relationship pre-death was...very bad, but also something else very important: the Stygian Tiger Seal. 

The Stygian Tiger Seal was, of course, stupidly powerful, and Wei Wuxian only kept it because it would take too much time and energy to destroy, and it was meant to deter anyone from attacking him since he already knew that so many people were against him. One of his main fears was someone else - someone with impure motives - getting their hands on it, so of course he was paranoid wondering who would try to steal it from him. Lan Wangji asking him to go to a place where Wei Wuxian would be surrounded by people who hated his form of cultivation? Yeah, that didn’t sound that great. 

(Also, can we please take a moment to appreciate this excerpt from the novel: “The Stygian Tiger Seal’s powers were considerably greater than what he had imagined. He originally wanted to use it to assist him, but its powers were almost exceeding him, its creator” (Chapter 30). Almost. He said the Seal was not as powerful as him! The Stygian Tiger Seal was, indeed, strong, but he was more so! I see a lot of fanfics paint the Stygian Tiger Seal as what made him so terrifying and...it was certainly a part of it, but he did most of it on his own! Ah, we love terrifying main characters~)

Now, I’ve acknowledged the existence of WangXian’s miscommunication, but I’ve never actually addressed it. So, here it is: I do not think Lan Wangji confessing to Wei Wuxian (even before his stint in the Burial Mounds after the Bloodbath at Nevernight) would have gone well. In Chapter 2, there is this excerpt: “Wei WuXian’s eyebrows twitched. Not only a lunatic, a homosexual lunatic as well.” This requires a bit of interpretation because it’s not exactly clear what Wei Wuxian’s eyebrow twitch means, but I’ve always interpreted it as annoyance - or even disgust - at the addition of “homosexual” to Mo Xuanyu’s profile. I’m not saying that Wei Wuxian was necessarily homophobic before the entire events of the novel, but I sincerely don’t think Wei Wuxian would have appreciated Lan Wangji - or any other man, for that matter - confessing to him. If even (immediate) post-resurrection Wei Wuxian had that attitude, I can imagine what would have gone through pre-death Wei Wuxian’s head. 

So, Sunshot Campaign, post-Sunshot Campaign, and Yiling Patriarch Wei Wuxian would all definitely not go back to Gusu, nor would they appreciate a confession from Lan Wangji. That leaves the question: what about pre-Sunshot Campaign Wei Wuxian?

Part Two: Why I really don’t think WangXian would have worked out pre-Sunshot Campaign.

From here on out, “Wei Ying, come back to Gusu!” is no longer relevant because, well, Lan Wangji never said it before the meeting in the supervisory office. (And I think I’ve made my point regarding that as well as I could.)

Starting with Cloud Recesses-era Wei Wuxian...I think that, out of all the different versions of Wei Wuxian, he would have been the one of the two most-likely to get together with Lan Wangji (pre-resurrection, of course). Even then, I don’t see that high a likelihood of that actually happening. Why? Repression! Fuck both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were so deeply repressed at that point! Lan Wangji was obviously more aware of his feelings, and Wei Wuxian...I don’t know, I haven’t read the novel far enough to actually have this be a legitimate interpretation, but looking at CQL, I don’t really think Wei Wuxian was in love with Lan Wangji at that point (but I don’t have much evidence to back that up other than my a-spec radar...).

And even if they did somehow manage to overcome their repression - and actually both had feelings for each other in the first place - they were still teenagers! Fifteen at the beginning, I’m pretty sure, and fifteen-year-olds are decidedly bad at maintaining any sort of relationship. That doesn’t even touch on the fact that WangXian was probably legitimately incompatible at that point. Lan Wangji still lived and breathed the rules and Wei Wuxian didn’t give a fuck about them. To maintain any sort of long-term relationship, they’d have to simultaneously undergo a whole novel of character development...which is doable! But! I don’t exactly see it as plausible.

Then, of course, Wei Wuxian got kicked out of the Cloud Recesses and WangXian didn’t see each other until two years later, at the Discussion Conference in Qishan. I don’t really see long-distance relationships working out very well in ancient China, so I can’t imagine them properly maintaining their relationship throughout that. And, of course, Lan Wangji’s rage after Wei Wuxian pulls his forehead ribbon was also due to his repression. Considering how short the Discussion Conference seemed to be, I don’t think there was much room for a relationship to develop. 

At the Indoctrination Camp, Lan Wangji had a whole swarm of things to worry about other than his (frankly painful) pining for Wei Wuxian so, again, I don’t see a romantic relationship developing at that point in time. 

A time-frame that I think can be uniquely isolated as a very possible place to develop their relationship would be while they were trapped in the cave with the Tortoise of Slaughter. Mostly before they killed the beast, though, since afterward, Wei Wuxian had too much of a fever for any romantic shenaniganry. My reasoning is that the cave was the first time since Wei Wuxian’s punishment in the Cloud Recesses that the two of them were forced to spend a long stretch of time together, and thus could potentially open up to each other. I remember in the anime that Lan Wangji sheds a few tears as he mentions that the Cloud Recesses had burned, that his brother was missing, and that his father was...dead? Severely injured? One of those two. He was back in business-mode pretty soon afterward, but if Lan Wangji could have been persuaded to open up a bit more by an persistent and concerned Wei Wuxian, I can see a slow confession being teased out of him - there was certainly enough time!

Then again, them getting together would only happen if Wei Wuxian were both comfortable with the idea of gay men and willing to accept that he was, in fact, attracted to Lan Wangji, and if Lan Wangji were willing to let go of the rules enough to be comfortable with Wei Wuxian’s naturally rebellious nature.

After that, WangXian doesn’t meet again until the supervisory office, and I’ve already talked about all of that.

In conclusion, “Come back to Gusu!” was sweet but misguided and WangXian wouldn’t have effectively happened pre-resurrection.

Now, what does that mean for you? ...Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing. This doesn’t mean I’m forsaking all fics where WangXian gets together pre-resurrection (in fact, I absolutely love them!) and I’m definitely not trying to say that my interpretation is the only right one. I’m not trying to police what everyone thinks and decree that all fics where Wei Wuxian is open about liking men are wrong or any crap like that. Those fics are great and I love them! These are my (and @litescheme’s) thoughts on the matter that I (we) wanted to spill out into the greater world! You can agree, you can disagree, you can ignore me (us) entirely! But if you read through this meta, then I’m assuming that you found the concept interesting. That is all I was going for!

(Well, that and trying to thoroughly debunk the notion that Yiling Patriarch Wei Wuxian getting shoved into seclusion in the Jingshi by an apologetic Lan Wangji would be in any way “healing” or even “good” for Wei Wuxian, because honestly? Fuck that.)

Ahh, thanks for reading!

#is this a hot take? #you bet ya #do i care? #not anymore #litescheme i hope this lived up to your expectations ;-; #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #mdzs #mdzs meta #wwx #lwj #wei ying #lan zhan #feel free to ignore if you disagree!!! #i'm not gonna force you to read it

[biwenqing]

umm here is an au where jiang yanli becomes chief cultivator that i plotted out so... enjoy-

It all started with the death of Jin Guangshan during the sunshot campaign. The Jin clan folded in on itself in a battle of heirs, as with Jin Guangshan's death came the reveal of the other children he fathered. There were many small houses that twisted the horrors that had been faced into a grab for power.

It had little effect on the war, as the Jin were always far from the front lines.

The second change was when, after being freed by Jiang Cheng, Wen Qing picked up her own sword and joined the fight against her uncle. She could see that the only world were she and her brother would be safe was one without Wen Ruohan.

That final battle all happened the same, until it didn't. It was Wen Qing who struck the final blow against her uncle. Meng Yao still earned his status as a hero for his spy work and scurried off to enter into the debate over the Jin heir. He wasn't much seen after that.

Wen Qing invites everyone to stay at the Nightless City, to oversee as she takes power. She quickly begins healing her people and those soldiers she fought with alike, as well as helping those who had been possessed. She and Wen Ning quickly sort out the good and the bad, handling the issue justly. And she holds a banquet. Where the throne once sat, she had cleared it so there is space for each of the major clan leaders to sit together as one.

Nie Mingjue doesn't feel as wronged by the Wens, at least not these Wens, having fought side by side with Wen Qing. She has also been able, with Lan Xichen, to help a bit with the sword sickness as well. He gladly takes a seat at Wen Qing's side, Lan Xichen beside him, as they show their support of the new Wen clan leader. The Jiang come in, and it's not Jiang Cheng who walks up to the other sect leaders, but Jiang Yanli, both her little brothers watching proudly. She takes Wen Qing's other side and they exchange a small smile of understanding.

No one really expects the Jin to show up at this point, which works to make sure no one is sitting at the center of the table and make some kind of implication of superiority. But when Wen Qing stands to begin her speech about peace and reparations, there is a commotion at the door and a party dressed in Jin gold enters. Wen Ning goes to meet them, as he is closer, and Wen Qing is soon at his side.

The woman who joins the leaders at their table is not one who is known. She holds her head up high and introduces herself as Jin Su and sits at the end beside Jiang Yanli (Wen Ning is quick to find a place for her as his sister resumes her own). Wen Qing is now front and center but hopes no one reads into that, given it was not her plan. Nie Mingjue's expression, who is Wen Qing's biggest potential nay sayer, gives her a small nod in understanding.

Wen Qing's speech is well received, and Jin Su stands to speak after her. She invites them all to a Hunt, to celebrate victory and to share the goods of the Jin clan. It is a nod to the fact that the Jin did not expend as much as the other clans in the war and it is appreciated. She does not speak on what happened that lead to her becoming leader over any of the others, especially heir Jin Zixuan. But there are whispers it is a plan to save face, after all that Jin Guangshan had done, by putting a woman forward as leader.

From here people go home to rebuild, for the most part. With the Wens, there are some things still asked, such as Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian to be left to watch over Wen Qing and make sure she does not grab for power as her uncle did. This is helpful because people don't worry about something being slipped by two the war heroes. The added benefit is Wen Qing is able to use her skills to help Wei Wuxian so he doesn't get worse. In fact, due to her skill at surgery, there is a hope that Wei Wuxian's core might reform. Wei Wuxian is glad to be able to hide his struggles from his siblings, but visits as often as possible to see how Lotus Pier is being rebuilt.

When it comes time, there are a few back room deals happen at Phoenix Mount. Not that they are sketchy, per say. No, it is more to figure some "arranged" marriages that might really be more love matches. The first is to secure the Jin and Jiang clans. Jin Zixuan has been a lot better now that his dad is gone and he doesn't actually have to take over the sect. He is happy and excited to try and court Jiang Yanli and a tentative betrothal is put back in place (less public, in case it falls through, but there once more). It is possible because Jin Zixuan is not leader of his own sect. Another suggested deal comes about because Wen Qing looks Jiang Yanli and then Lan Xichen in the eye and tells them that they might as well make an arrangement because, no matter what sooner, or later Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji will become official cultivation partners, so they might as well add some political heft to the inevitable.

As the time passes clan meetings go well. Jiang Yanli gets along famously with every other clan leader, and finds herself in position of chief cultivator, despite having been told her cultivation is weak for so much of her life. The people trust her though, to look out for them and to make the choices that need to be made. She has swore brothers in Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue. She has a political marriage with the Jin. She and Wen Qing have long been allies, due to their support and help of each other before, during, and after the war. Lotus Pier, with Jiang Cheng as her right hand man, has been rebuilt. And she has a healthy baby heir in Jiang Ling.

The cultivation world settles into an era of peace and stability, under the eyes of this generation.

#jiang yanli #wen qing #qin su #nie mingjue #lan xichen #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jiang cheng #wen ning #the untamed #au #text post #a talks #what happened to jiggy? he either died or is jyl's secret spy assassin #nhs gets to live his best life and paint with nmj remaining clan leader #at some point lxc might step down and lwj take his place #if lxc is just chilling in the unclean realms with his bf that's just what they all deserve #wq might end up with mianmian in another 'political match' #this is me tossing a bunch of aus and ideas together #some my own others i have read #i wish i had the time to write the 300k fic this deserves but alas #here is 1k of me rambling instead

[mewbrilysis]

MDZS XueYang Character Analysis

XueYang is a character that only those who watched the drama would enjoy (Wang HaoXuan is cute, leave us alone ;-; ). But let’s all be honest, although he was a villain character that many of us can appreciate, he was an utterly terrible and disgusting human being (peep Chapter 118, oof).

However, what if I told you he served an interesting purpose, one that may have unknowingly affected your view of Wei Wuxian? After all, don’t they share many similar qualities? Many differences simply account for the fact that XueYang is a dark character.

XueYang and Wei Wuxian are both very smart, devious and clever; they think similarly when it comes to pulling tricks. XueYang was also the only cultivator, despite being so young, who could even come close to replicating Wei Wuxian’s demonic cultivation. XueYang’s eyes are described as red, a feature the donghua adaptation gave Wei Wuxian whenever he used demonic cultivation. On top of this, XueYang is often illustrated as having a short-temper, especially when he believed someone thought themselves above him, and he was easily pushed to violence or even to killing intent; all qualities Wei Wuxian was also described with when he began to use demonic cultivation.

This is because they are: FOIL CHARACTERS!! (at least, that is what I have come to see them as)

Foil characters are two characters who share many similar qualities but are ultimately polar opposites. Usually, authors do this because they want to reveal something, or prove a point. In a sense, I think there is a small part of MXTX that wanted to display how terrible Wei Wuxian’s life could have turned out.

Think about it: they both lost their parents at a very young age, forced to live on the streets all alone. Who is to say that if Wei Wuxian hadn’t been found and taken in by Jiang Fengmian, he wouldn’t have turned out similar to XueYang? After all, society was cruel, even to the young and innocent.

On that note, let’s talk about XueYang’s backstory and why he turned out the way he did. The story he tells is of himself getting tricked by a man into delivering a rude note with the promise of candy, ending up with him getting beaten up by not only the man he delivered the message to, but also the restaurant staff when he came back looking for the man. He then gets his finger run over by the man’s cart when he does find him, which results in the loss of his pinky. So, let��s talk about that.

This story is not enough to justify his actions, but is it enough to justify the fact that he is broken? And that is what XueYang is: broken.

The story, if you look at it from a literature perspective, could easily be taken as a microcosm of his entire childhood on the streets. He was treated like dirt, tricked, beaten, hated, and cursed out, all because he was an innocent child all by himself. No one helped him, no one came to his rescue like Jiang Fengmian did for Wei Wuxian. Ultimately, is it any surprise that he had completely lost faith in humanity? Is it a shock that he distrusts everyone? Is it crazy that he grew up so violent, seeking power so he could take revenge without pity? No one cared for him when he needed help, and no one came to help him when they saw him beaten down; from his perspective, no one is truly innocent.

Of course, this logic can be difficult for us to understand, especially in modern era. This, in no way, justifies his actions; he is still a psychopath. But this is to show that XueYang’s character is a product of society, and also how Wei Wuxian could easily have also turned out this way.

The fact that Wei Wuxian began to act so similarly to XueYang when he began using demonic cultivation only shows how true all this is; especially since a key element that drove him to become so violent was that no one believed him, even when he had done nothing wrong. He became this way because of the overwhelming amount of resentment that surrounded him due to the Stygian Tiger Seal; but, if he had grown up the way XueYang did, who is to say he couldn’t have built this resentment himself?

And to think, it was all chance that Jiang Fengmian found Wei Wuxian.

 On another note, this also explains why XueYang grew so attached to Xiao Xingchen. He was the first person who help him without any sort of underlying intent, never asking any questions, but just trusting him. XueYang had never had that before, everyone always viewing him as the orphan on the streets, and then as the trouble disciple of the LanlingJin Sect (where he was only used to achieve a goal), and then as the wanted murderer of an entire clan.

This was the first time he was ever just viewed as ‘another person to help and talk with.’ He even viewed A-Qing kindly, treating her nicely and never hurting her nor threatening her. The only reason A-Qing disliked him was because she saw how he acted when they all first met, so she knew he was hiding something. However, there are points in the novel in which she suggests there were plenty of times that she had no problem with him, even indicating that they would tease each other. She even had shown appreciation for when XueYang stood up for her and Xiao Xingchen when they were being taken advantage of in markets for being blind.

It wasn’t until she learned who he was through Song Lan that she grew to hate him, and when XueYang realized she had been the one to reveal his secret to Xiao Xingchen (which made him hate him), he instantly felt betrayed and angered. He thought he was finally content and happy, but then within a single moment, everything had been ruined.

I would also like to point out that there could have been a chance that XueYang felt guilty using Xiao Xingchen: at one point in the novel, when XueYang reveals everything to Xiao Xingchen and how he has been using him to kill innocent people, he states that it has been “months” since they had gone on a hunt like that together. It makes you wonder whether XueYang may have actually become a semi-decent person had his secret never been revealed (however, of course, there was no way that could have lasted forever).

If anyone doubts how he grieved for the loss of his friends…are you blind? SKJBSKJDBJSKD Trust me, his grieving was inhumane, trying to raise Xiao Xingchen as a fierce corpse so he can still be there with him, and then disguising himself as Xiao Xingchen and killing the rest of the Yueyang Chang Sect for abandoning Xiao Xingchen. He even kept the last piece of candy Xiao Xingchen gave him until his death, despite the fact it had rotted away. He even maintained and preserved his body perfectly.

In his own messed up way, he cared a lot for Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing. For those few years they were together, it was probably the first time he felt like a human being and not just some annoying orphan child or a useful tool. It was the first time XueYang had friends. It was the first time XueYang had a family.

#xueyang #wei wuxian #wwx #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #xy #xiao xingchen #xxc #I am so sorry #the untamed #character analysis #i am sorry mari #anyway stan xueyang #support the xueyang twink agenda #xue yang

[red-talisman]

hey it's yunmeng bros feels anon from a while back - thanks for indulging me back then! i'm back with another Thought because i thought you might also have Thoughts on the matter: do you ever think about how jc's position as youngest sibling AND sect heir/leader is unique among his social circle? before nmj's death, none of the other sect leaders were youngest siblings, and none of the other younger siblings were raised as sect heirs. 1/2

2/2 - this means jc's particular brand of Damage(TM) is fairly unique and unrelatable to the people around him! the sect leaders mostly don't have younger sibling damage; the younger siblings don't have "raised as sect heir" damage. (and the "younger brother = sect heir" thing means his and wwx's relationship has a certain unique... ambivalence which makes it an obvious stress point for jin guangshan and co. to target. they couldn't have pulled that off with any other sibling duo! ouch.)

Hi, Anon! This took a while because I wanted to think about it and I’ve started like 3 different responses before realizing that I’m...not entirely sure what you’re asking, ahahaha.

I think I’m getting stuck on what you might mean by “sect heir damage.” CQL doesn’t exactly try very hard to situate itself in any kind of historically accurate period or setting, and it’s a fantasy genre, so you’ve loads of room for interpretation. But it’s still a fantasy genre that relies on culturally specific tropes, all of which I have zero or very limited context for. I can try to reason out what it’s like, on a personal level, to live knowing that your life isn’t your own but your sect’s and how that impacts the decisions you make, but it could still be missing information inherent to its genre.

And from what I’ve taken away from CQL, I don’t see much trauma that I would personally interpret as being rooted in ‘raised as sect heir’ (which JC and everyone else always knew he would be and it was never actually in question) so much as:

the weird ambiguity of Wei Wuxian’s place in Yunmeng Jiang itself, which is unusual in their very socially hierarchical context, being both a strength and weakness that gets heavily exploited for its political weaknesses post-Sunshot (and also just emotionally confusing, on a family member/clan member level?); I’m still confused about WWX’s exact place, he kind of exists in this odd liminal space, but I welcome clarification

family dynamics that clearly cause emotional harm to everyone involved and which the children learn to cope with in different, and sometimes actively conflicting, ways

I could see sibling dynamics coming up in some interpersonal engagement, e.g. Lan Xichen maybe accidentally being a little more big brother-like to Jiang Cheng or Nie Huaisang outside of formal, group discussion. (CAN YOU IMAGINE EVERYONE’S FACES IF THAT HAPPENED. :D )

I could see Jiang Cheng’s age and associated inexperience absolutely being factors in whether or not he’s taken seriously by older, more seasoned leaders, especially during the timeskip era, but that’s less about birth order and more about intergenerational condescension + politics, imo.

Sorry, Anon, I’m not sure what else to say. (´；ω；`) 

#Anonymous #cql

[yiling]

Untamed rewatch Episode 21

In this episode: brief spots of military strategy surrounded on all sides by Wei Wuxian’s increasingly obvious PTSD

-THIS SIBLINGS SCENE...I WILL SCREAM

-“we’ll be together forever” GOD SHUT UPPPPP

-oooh that flinch :( 

-I like that jc immediately sees nhs out once it’s obvious wwx is uncomfortable. a good brother

-this very spare arrangement of wuji is interesting

 -ugh wrh...already tired of this motherfucker

-oh my god wwx is at a banquet in his honor and all he can think about is missing lwj and his trauma. what a guy 

-hey this is the first time we hear the song of clarity!

-is it meant to be implied that wwx can hear this diegetically or what

-ah yes the conflict for the next several episodes: wwx not carrying his sword and wwx’s drinking problem

-my mom: ptsd much?

-interesting to see jyl compare chenqing to zidian. it’s kindly meant! she loves wwx and she knows everyone being on him for not carrying his sword is wearing on him. so I think she intends it as “hey, your spiritual tool can be something other than a sword and that’s fine!” but I think wwx is...less than enthused about being compared to madam yu.

-paused so I could explain the translation of chenqing to everyone 

-please talk to yanli ._.

-my sister: I love how they only show nightless city in the nighttime

-I fully believe that at least at this stage, jc would get nothing done without yanli hassling him. 

-hey the pattern on jc’s robes matches nmj’s, I wonder if he had them commissioned in qinghe

-I wonder why wwx is so distressed to see the wens being tormented here, since they’re still technically his enemies. (he’s plainly horrified even before he sees wen qing is with them, so that’s not it). My idea of what’s happening here is that when he’s this fresh off the burial mounds, he’s especially sensitized to resentful energy, and that includes the pain and distress of living people. he has to try and channel it through the music to not lose his mind, but it’s too intense to control, hence rockslide.

-this is a sexy shot with the ribbon

-holy shit the flute doubling is so bad lmao. worst thing about xiao zhan’s performance by far.

-this is where I start to get in my feelings about the plot of CQL as mental illness metaphor, and I especially have feelings about wei wuxian’s flat refusal to communicate with his family here. sometimes acknowledging that you’re suffering is so much more scary and awful than just the suffering itself, and I think that’s what his deal is here. if he were to sit down and explain what is actually happening with him, explain what happened in the burial mounds, he’d have to relive it and that’s something he’s doing too much of anyway. better to keep his mouth shut, even though it’s increasingly obvious he’s doing badly.

-wwx my guy, could you possibly have made a less supervillain-like entrance, and said less weird and cryptic shit? all these people are already annoyed with you

-I love xichen’s “what the actual fuck is your problem” expression lmao

-xichen has this discussion about morality with his brother, and i think he...kind of sows the seeds of his own sorrow, here. wangji’s obviously not there just yet, he’s really struggling with it, but he’s gonna hear “things aren’t black and white, you have to judge people as individuals” and run with it. i don’t think the twin jades ever hate or resent each other, but i’m sure that after the death of wei wuxian, after the burial mounds, after the discipline whip and three years of seclusion, their relationship is...not the same. (and frankly, i don’t think that that is xichen’s fault)

-the music that plays here is so lovely and melancholy

-oh boy a reprise of the yiling argument :/// wwx these people all love you and are worried about you

-...but that in itself is part of the problem, isn’t it? like, wei wuxian is angry at lan zhan here because they argued and wwx won’t let it go, but I think the fact that lan zhan decided to talk to yanli (which was extremely good of him, lbr, he’s trying so hard to help this boy out) is partly why wwx is so furious. jiang yanli is worried about her shidi right now, but jiang yanli will always be worried about her shidi, and being around her is one of the few things that gives wwx a sense of safety and normalcy, as raw as he is. he sees lan zhan giving her the “The Dangers Of Resentful Energy” talk as a threat to that safety! i don’t think he really gets that this is information she would like to know because she loves and is afraid for him, and her opinion of him is not going to change based on this. he is desperately, desperately trying to conceal all this from her, and he’s not happy lan zhan is not in favor of that goal!

-it’s non-obvious, since he’s so arrogant and obnoxious all the time, but I think one of the emotions wwx struggles with the most in this post-burial mounds pre-yiling laozu era is shame. i don’t think he feels that awesome about having to cultivate an unorthodox path, i think he feels pretty terrible about having had this awful thing happen to him that he doesn’t feel able to talk about, and i think he especially feels bad that he’s in enough pain that he can’t just keep it under wraps and act like everything is fine. through wei wuxian’s early life, i think he pretty consistently got told that he was a burden to his family and an obstacle to his adoptive siblings. his preferred coping mechanism for this was to smile and laugh and never take anything too seriously, and this worked up until a series of extremely horrible things happened in very short order, and now he’s not in a place where he can just hide his problems under cheerful irreverence. he’s already afraid of burdening his remaining family with his problems, since he’s the one who’s supposed to protect them, and now that people have started questioning his cultivation methods, he’s increasingly afraid that they’ll reject him outright. he’s ashamed of what he’s been through, he’s ashamed of everyone’s increasing suspicion of him, he’s ashamed that he can’t just be who he was before, and it intensifies until he goes FINE, FUCK IT, IF THERE’S NO WAY LEFT FOR ME TO BE GOOD, I’LL BE EVIL, and we get the yiling patriarch

-a lot of people have already talked about wwx baring his throat to lan zhan’s sword here but woof that sure is a call forward...if I could die by your hand...

-we talked a little bit after this about suibian and cultivators’ swords and whether the sword chooses the cultivator harry potter style

-the drama and trauma. will only increase

#cql #the untamed #untamed rewatch liveblog #mine #this set of episodes consists of me screaming WEI WUXIAN TALK TO YOUR FAMILY #while pretty deeply understanding all the reasons he doesn't feel like he can talk to his family #meta

[mewbrilysis]

MDZS Jiang Cheng Character Ending Analysis (Novel/Drama Spoilers) - BY BRI >v<

If I asked you to change the ending of mdzs, without completely impacting the actual plot, by removing one character from the story, who would you choose? Obviously, removing any major character would change the story completely, and removing a character post-reincarnation wouldn’t affect enough to change anything, since most of the cultivational world would still despise and fear Wei Wuxian, which is an important plot point. Nie Huiasang and Mo Xuanyu also carry a major role, since they are the catalysts for the post-reincarnation storyline. So now you may be considering minor characters pre-reincarnation, such as one of the clan leaders or a sibling such as Lan Xichen or Jiang Yanli. These answers, granted, would change the storyline, but they wouldn’t result in much of a better ending, if a good ending at all.

In my opinion, the sole reason mdzs arguably has a very bittersweet ending (one that leaves some readers with a sense of unfulfillment) is: Madame Yu.

The saddest part about the ending of mdzs is arguably the lost friendship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. The story begins with them as brothers and ends with Jiang Cheng being the cause for Wei Wuxian’s death during the siege of Yiling (novel pre-reincarnation ending). One of the things that makes mdzs so captivating is trying to discover why this happened (a plot point the drama highlights more than the novel). Before diving into why Madame Yu impacts this story so much, let’s review some important aspects of Jiang Cheng’s and Wei Wuxian’s character.

Jiang Cheng is born with an older sister and is destined to become a clan leader one day. At a young age, a young boy is adopted by his family and they spark a friendship. However, as they grow up, it is noticeable how different the two are. Wei Wuxian is mischievous and seeks danger and adventure, he doesn’t like listening to rules that he finds too strict or unnecessary, and he has a habit of exploiting qualities people are shy about so he can tease them about it later (good-heartedly, of course, but something that is clearly bound to get him in some trouble). Jiang Cheng, however, is more serious and respectful with a habit of joining Wei Wuxian in causing trouble, after all, he is a teenager (and the Lan Clan rules weren’t going to stop a group of teenage boys, lmao, let’s be honest).

They are obviously very close, something that the Donghua seemed to focus on a bit better than the drama. However, it is also noticeable that he gets treated differently from Wei Wuxian when it comes to punishments. There are several points that explicitly suggest that Wei Wuxian tends to receive lesser punishments from Jiang Fengmian compared to Jiang Cheng (something Madame Yu likes to bring up every argument). Jiang Fengmian also seems to praise Wei Wuxian more than his own son, and seems to compare the two more than he should (such as when he reprimands Jiang Cheng for encouraging Wei Wuxian to think selfishly about his survival rather than the lives of others). And so, Jiang Cheng has something plaguing him: inferiority. It is arguable by some people that he has an inferiority complex; after all, despite being the next clan leader, he is not head disciple and pretty much always falls short of Wei Wuxian.

However, I offer another theory: he hates being humiliated. Yes, a quality that pretty much every person on the face of the planet has. Yes, I am saying this is the underlying cause of why everything else happens.

The reason I say this is because Jiang Cheng doesn’t seem to care that Wei Wuxian succeeds, but rather that he himself doesn’t receive the same recognition when he does something similar. When Wei Wuxian along with Lan Wangji defeated the Tortoise of Slaughter, Jiang Cheng isn’t particularly mad that Wei Wuxian killed the tortoise, but rather his words reflect: 1) worry, and 2) anger at himself. He was mad because Wei Wuxian, someone who he clearly sees as a brother figure, put himself in danger because he wanted to save people, and not just in any danger, but a life-or-death situation. Jiang Cheng makes it clear that he spent days without rest or break running to get help so that he could get back to Wei Wuxian as fast as possible, even while injured from the fights with the Wen Clan, who guarded the outside of the cave and attacked everyone who escaped thanks to Wei Wuxian’s efforts (novel scene); he even passed out the second he found people to help. Yet, when they went to save Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, everyone only praised their valiance in defeating the Tortoise of Slaughter, and Jiang Cheng’s actions were overlooked.

So, why did he get so mad at himself about this? BECAUSE OF HIS HEADASS MOM, DUH, I’VE BEEN LEADING YOU TO THIS CONCLUSION!!

Imagine, you are next in line to be clan leader, yet you aren’t head disciple, and now your mother is breathing down the back of your neck because your father is praising someone who is doing better than you. On top of this, you don’t even have the chance to speak to your father about how you feel upset that he treats you differently, because every time the topic of your father being more strict and less praising of you comes up, your mother takes the reigns and doesn’t give you the chance to speak for yourself. Now, all of a sudden, your mother is yelling at your father, saying he doesn’t love his own son and he prefers your adopted brother, and she is also yelling at your adopted brother because he is better than you, and all this is happening IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES ALL. THE. TIME!!

After putting that into perspective, are we really surprised Jiang Cheng turned out the way he did? This entire ordeal must have been HUMILIATING for him, and you KNOW it happened all the time.

Jiang Cheng grew up with this happening, and Jiang Fengmian was only stricter with him because he was going to be a clan leader, and, granted, we can all acknowledge that Jiang Cheng said some shit that his dad was justified in reprimanding him for (such as the whole thing where he told Wei Wuxian he never should have put the lives of others over himself and their clan). Of course, we should also acknowledge that Jiang Fengmian had his faults, and he should have been stricter with Wei Wuxian. As much as we all love this mischievous boi, he was the head disciple of the Jiang Clan and was far too undisciplined and unruly for the position he represented, especially while he was a disciple at Gusu and during the Archery Competition hosted by the Wen Clan (novel scene). And for real, the shit he told Lan Qiren when he asked about why Wei Wuxian was like this, this boy really replied, “It’s just the way he has always been.” That type of response wouldn’t even pass in modern era!

Of course, after all this, Jiang Cheng was going to hold some resentment for Wei Wuxian.

However, the real kicker is Madame Yu’s final words before she sends Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian away… THE WOMAN TAKES A GOOD FEW MINUTES TO JUST STRAIGHT UP YELL AT WEI WUXIAN AND BLAME HIM FOR EVERYTHING!! LIKE WTF!! Look, I’m sorry, MAAM, but the Wens were kind of trying to take over the entire cultivational world, I promise you that Wei Wuxian’s existence affected that all of zero percent. She said that he was the cause for the fall of Lotus Pier, but let’s consider how, oh yeah, LITERALLY EVERY CLAN WITHIN 100+ MILES OR SOMETHING OF THE WEN CLAN WERE INVADED AND FORCED INTO SUBMISSION NOT THAT LONG AFTER; THEY WERE GONNA DO THIS NO MATTER WHAT!! Sure, the Wens may have decided to go after Lotus Pier a bit early because they hated Wei Wuxian, but it’s not as if him not being there was going to stop any of this…? They literally went after GusuLan first, I don’t understand how Wei Wuxian can be faulted for any of this.

But, of course, Jiang Cheng is not here to listen to reason, he just lost both his parents, and years of lowkey (highkey) verbal abuse finally caught up, especially since some of his mother’s last words were blaming Wei Wuxian for everything. This is the start of our downhill slope.

I would like to take a moment and review how Jiang Cheng really received no closure with his father. His father died before Jiang Cheng ever got the chance to speak for himself and just communicate with him, and after all the arguments his mother had with him, it is clear that Jiang Cheng will always carry a part of him that believes his father didn’t truly love him.

But this is something the reader can view as misjudgment. His mother seemed to use Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian as a way to argue with Jiang Fengmian, and in Jiang Cheng’s eyes, this may be viewed as his mother standing up for him; however, looking at this as a whole, the situation isn’t so straight-forward. Quite honestly, it is hard to even tell whether Madame Yu loved Jiang Cheng, or whether she just wanted a reason to argue with Jiang Fengmian. There are points in the story that say Madame Yu ‘forced’ (I use this term loosely, but this is the term the rumors seemed to hover around) Jiang Fengmian into a marriage, and this may be her way of consistently reminding him that “You can’t leave, you have a child to raise.” If anyone has the inferiority complex, I think it can be argued that Madame Yu likely has a slight case of it. BUT! The point is that Jiang Cheng viewed his mother as “the only one on his side,” in a sense, even his own sister fought tooth and nail to be able to see Wei Wuxian even when he was shunned by the cultivational world.

Now, Wei Wuxian doesn’t exactly help his case when he turns down the path of demonic cultivation.

We all know the reason he did it, and many may argue that Jiang Cheng is a fool for thinking for even a moment that BaoShan Sanran could return his golden core, let me remind you of this:

BaoShan Sanran is very mysterious, no one really knows anything about her other than that she has reached “Enlightenment” (a term derived from Buddhism to describe someone who has found the truth of life and no longer is reborn). She is described in the book to be viewed as “immortal” and once a disciple leaves her mountain, they are forbidden from returning. The only people who know anything about BaoShan Sanran are the disciples, and even the ones that have left the mountain don’t spread much information on her. So, in essence, everyone just knows she is powerful and not to mess with her. So, please, excuse Jiang Cheng for having even a shrivel of hope. I am positive that, in his mind, being able to ‘re-grow’ your golden core was just as possible as being able to ‘trade’ you golden core (both of which he believed to be outside the realm of possibility, so yeah, both sounded insane, but he had hope, and no one suggested that ‘trading’ was even an option, so ‘re-growing’ was already mind-boggling).  So, Jiang Cheng is happy because he has his golden core back, but when he goes searching for his brother, the man is gone and no where to be found for three full months, and when he does reappear, he is using demonic cultivation and is more closed-off.

Jiang Cheng has gone through the literal worst whiplash of emotions in his life: his parents and entire sect were all brutally slaughtered; he lost his golden core; he got his golden core back, but his brother was no where to be found; his brother is back, but he is using demonic cultivation and won’t discuss the reason with him.

Now, this is where the past ‘abuse’ catches up with Jiang Cheng. He has now been forced into a leadership position in the middle of a war, and now the war is over, but his brother is still…yeah. But now, the other clans are talking and saying that he should be reprimanding Wei Wuxian, but no matter how he tries, the man doesn’t listen to him. This is, no doubt, HUMILIATING for Jiang Cheng, especially when all the other clans are constantly saying he needs to take action against Wei Wuxian because the man was becoming ‘too arrogant’ and etc. When Wei Wuxian finally stands up for the remaining Wens, Jiang Cheng is so humiliated that he didn’t want to stand up for his brother because he knew he would be shunned the same if he stood by Wei Wuxian’s side, especially since it would be as an ally and not the leader in this movement. This is the ‘herd mentality,’ in which the few vocal people in the room speak up for an argument, creating a big fuss, and even though the majority actually agrees for the other side of the argument, everyone remains quiet against this front, making it seem (and, in term, making them believe) that they are the minority and should just stay quiet. It was obvious that the Lans, Nies, and Jiangs all didn’t agree with how the Wens were being treated, but with how loud the Jin clan and co. were, they didn’t want to say anything, especially when they were all still weak and rebuilding after the war. Then, the clans started encouraging Jiang Cheng to go and act against Wei Wuxian and, fueled by the humiliation of not being able to control his subordinate, that’s exactly what he did.

I would also like to point out that Jiang Cheng only ever listened to the information the other clans were feeding him in regards to Wei Wuxian, he never actually knew what was true like we, the readers, do.

AND NOW, this is why I say Madame Yu has ruined Jiang Cheng. Let’s say that she had died a year prior to the entire war. Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have her final words in his head blaming Wei Wuxian for everything; he likely would have been able to reconnect with his father and speak for himself; he would have grown closer to Wei Wuxian without his mother breathing down his neck and would go a full year without hearing an argument about why he was inferior to Wei Wuxian.

In every story, there is a ‘climax.’ In a long story like this, there can be many ‘climaxes’ especially when it comes to different characters. A climax is defined as ‘the point in the story where one decision can change the course of the rest of the book,’ or ‘the decision that alters the ending,’ as my AP English Literature teacher defines it. For Jiang Cheng, the point in the book that alters his ending is the moment he decides to trust the clans over his brother, something that makes him so clearly different from Jiang Yanli.

Yanli never stops believing in Wei Wuxian, even to her dying breath she cared for him and believed he was good. This is from the perspective of someone who literally only knew what was going on based on hearsay, never seeing Wei Wuxian and speaking with him about this. She just knew nothing was as it was told.

I truly believe that if Madame Yu had fucked off a cliff or something before the war, Jiang Cheng could’ve been just like Yanli and would have sat down and given Wei Wuxian a chance to explain his side of the story. He may have even fought alongside Wei Wuxian, because now he wouldn’t be worried about “glory” like his mother egged him to believe, but rather, he would believe more in his father’s belief that they should stand for “justice” for all people. Wei Wuxian likely would have still died, but maybe seeing the Jiang Clan fight alongside Wei Wuxian could have inspired the Lan Clan or Nie Clan to also stand with them. Imagine THAT ending, an ending in which Wei Wuxian stood alongside his brother to fight for the innocent, allying with the Lan Clan and Nie Clan against the Jin Clan, and then they win and Wei Wuxian wouldn’t have even had to die and he could’ve just gotten married to Lan Wangji right then and there and save us all the angst 200k fanfiction. LMAO, I actually think Jiang Cheng might’ve still kept his mouth shut in front of the clans, but lowkey stood up for him, and then maybe Wei Wuxian would die a different way, not by Jiang Cheng’s hand. Then he would return and everything would go as usual, but this time :((((((( Jiang Cheng is happy to see him :((((((((( and he raised Jin Ling :(((((((( like Lan Wangji raised Lan Sizhui (yeah, I think the Wens would encourage him to train him under GusuLan) :((((((((( and Jin Ling would be happy to see Wei Wuxian :((((((( and so would Lan Sizhui because he would already know he is a Wen and was raised a bit by Wei Wuxian :(((((((((( and happily ever after ;-;

You can argue that this is a reach, but I don’t think it is at all. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (novel author) created a character that was so terrible, she single-handedly ruined the ending for her own son.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #story analysis #the untamed #jiang wanyin #cql #madame yu hate squad UNITE #I am so sorry this is so long