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songofclarity · 4 years

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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

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bewareof12metersfrogs · 3 years

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Warning: long rant. Probably messed up grammar. Not LXC-friendly.

So Pinterest gave me this:

And I was like

Ah yes, Lan Xichen.

I mean, I love that guy, but oh gosh that man is BLIND. Like, man's so blind Xue Yang could use him to slaughter people.

(I'm so sorry for that joke)

I really loved him when I first read the book, esp pre-Nightless City, but then I read it for the second (and third) time and that love turned into "uhh, I guess I kinda like him?"

I mean, in Sunshot Campaign arc, NMJ just got freaking tortured. He just got beaten, made to watch his men die, and his former deputy "betrayed" him -- and then LXC was just like, "oh da-ge CALM down, this is all part of OUR plan, A-Yao's our spy lol put Baxia away don't shout at him smh"

Why didn't LXC say to NMJ that the whole thing had been orchestrated? Okay, I get it, maybe he couldn't risk JGY getting caught, but couldn't he just tell NMJ, "hey, this is the plan. You're gonna get caught at Yangquan by WRH and our spy will take care of the rest of it" ? I'm pretty sure NMJ was angrier about his men getting slaughtered than himself getting beaten. NMJ is kinda like WWX; they were both idiots, but they cared about their people. Pretty sure he cared more about his men than himself. If he knew about the "plan", he'd most likely bring the disciples who were ready to die.

THEN LXC just went to NMJ like, "Hey let's be sworn brothers!". Xichen, dude, his wounds aren't even healed. I mean, it's a bit insensitive right?? I think it is. The whole sworn-brotherhood-right-after-shunshot-campaign thing still bothers me. To me, it seems like no one cared about NMJ. I mean, he was the leader of SC, people used his skills, his men, his everything, and then he was just, like, casted aside?? Pretty sure man's got PTSD. Also, qi deviation. Oh gosh I forgot about qi deviation.

Anyway, yeah, LXC was blind throughout the novel. I won't talk about the scene where Wangxian tried to tell him that A-Yao = bad, but I will talk about the scene where NHS decided to "use" his er-ge to kill his san-ge. Was it intentional? Perhaps. Was NHS lying? Maybe. Was it bad? Absolutely. Was it expected? Of course.

Let's put ourselves in NHS' shoes for a second. Your big bro, who is also the one who raised you and the only family you have left, died. People are quacking "oh it's the Nie curse, and isn't it such a tragedy?" BUT NO! One day you be minding your own business and then BAM you found out that da-ge'd been murdered and mutilated AND betrayed. So you started scheming for like a decade. Everything was going great, as great as a 10 years revenge plan could ever be. You just gotta wait for a few more hours, you just gotta listen to your nemesis' retelling his sad background story, you just gotta endure the pain of seeing your dead big bro wrecking havoc, and you'd have your revenge.

Then of course your er-ge, your big bro's best friend, gotta help your big bro's killer. He just gotta treat his wounds, huh? Pretty sure NHS was unstable. He was desperate and maybe even full of wrath. I understand that, at least, the same way I understand that maybe LXC tried to treat JGY's wounds because he still saw him as his brother -- he didn't want to lose another brother. But how about NHS? He was watching the man whom he thought was his brother treating the man who betrayed and murdered his actual brother. NHS was being a dick, yeah, but it was expected.

Think about this for a second. NMJ's corpse was still right there (and gosh, NHS had to sew his big bro's corpse by himself). NHS was RIGHT there, and LXC had the audacity to tend to JGY's wounds after the man himself admitted to his crimes. I think it's understandable if NHS felt at least insulted.

Also, he was perhaps sick of people not thinking that his big brother was as important as other people, that he was also a human being instead of just a war machine or even a mere tool that can be casted aside whenever they want to. Why did his brother have to die because of other people's greed and selfish decisions? Why did he have to lose the only family he had left forever and why did he have to just sit back and accept it?

Most importantly, LXC had been too blind for more than a decade too long.

Also, the bit about "You're Wangji's only mistake":

Bruh.

If WWX is LWJ's only mistake, then (trusting) LXC is NMJ's only mistake. I mean, sure, WWX is as dumb and oblivious as a rock, but can you really blame him?? HE WAS TRYING TO KEEP HIMSELF, HIS FAMILY, AND THE WEN REMNANTS ALIVE, DUDE'S GOT NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT FKING ROMANCE.

Sorry, I got carried away.

Anyway, are we just gonna ignore the fact that LWJ had been acting like he hated WWX since, like, the first time they met?? I mean, I really love LWJ, but his only mistake is his communication skills (or lack thereof).

But LWJ never gave up on WWX. He learned to express himself way better. Man's got dedication and he's not afraid to learn. I really love that about him.

Also, I understand that LXC was angry because LWJ took beatings to protect WWX, but I don't think he had the right to blame WWX for that. Yes, I know WWX did plenty of things wrong; he was extremely reckless and untrusting, but he never asked LWJ to protect him. LWJ did everything voluntarily. Ffs Xichen WWX didn't even know that LWJ did that. You know why? CAUSE HE WAS FKING DYING THAT'S WHY.

TLDR: LWJ was a grown ass man.

Okay. So, do I hate LXC? No. But do I find him flawed? Yes. But that's why I like MXTX's characters, including WRH, JGY, and LXC (the only exception are perhaps JGS and MXY's fam, and I think we all know why). They all have flaws. For me, LXC is too naive and blind, JGY is too power-hungry and selfish, and NMJ is too stubborn and unyielding. NHS? Well, he's a lot of things. He's manipulative, unsympathetic, and IMO he's got a problem with obsession too. He and JGY are alike, in my opinion. The main difference is their goals: JGY seeks power, NHS seeks revenge.

Everyone has flaws. LWJ and WWX have flaws too; they're EXTREMELY flawed. Heck, even our lord and saviour Shijie also has flaws, as much as it hurts me to type that.

Then why do I get so worked up about LXC's flaws? Honestly I don't really know. Maybe it's because I'm tired of (almost) the entirety of fandom treating him like a god, maybe because I'm tired of people who treat NHS like the devil himself, or maybe because I'm disappointed in him. I mean, JGY's our main villain, but I still love him so much. Heck, I love him even more than I love LXC. Bruh, nowadays I even like WRH more. At least that guy is downright evil and he looks cool while doing whatever evil things WRH does (I'm talking about the novel and donghua mmkay).

Anyway, this is the end of my rant. I apologise if I'm offending you, this is just something that's been bothering me since the first time I re-read MDZS. This whole thing is like a plot bunny but instead of a "plot", the bunny is shaped like a "rant". This is a rant bunny. I need to get this outta my head. I've edited this thing like four times already because I keep finding errors and stuffs. I also added like two new paragraphs.

I'm sad now.

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mianmiansimp · 3 years

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mdzs au: lwj vs jc except not quite

>>sunshot never happens bc wen ruohan never happened and also there is no qishan wen >>but there is dafan wen, the healing based 5th great sect >>jgs died in jzx's youth bc he's a failure and tried to bother a nie woman (who turned out to be the not dead sect leader nie's cousin) >>so madam jin, bc the meishan yu girls are bad bitches, steps up as regent sect leader until jzx is of age >>the whole xuanli thing actually goes very well bc jzx has an excellent role model and koi tower isn't a hellhole >>unfortunately wwx and twin jades still suffer family wise bc yunmeng parents still suck at parenting and qingheng-jun is a pos >>but bc of the significant lack of shittiness compared to canon, lqr is less uh. like that. and more just a comedically strict uncle teacher >>everything is basically same as canon but like. no war + much better jin sect + wn befriends wwx as kids via archery >>when wwx is in cr, lwj does not realize the nature of yunmeng bros and assumes jc feels the same as lwj does about wwx which No but . >>oh forgot to mention that lwj and wwx actually meet as kids bc discussion conference >>so the pining has already started by the time of the rooftop fight >>but it's less fight and more lwj is exasperated wwx pls stop this nonsense >>so once lwj stops having a meltdown every time wwx is in the vicinity, he becomes determined to not let yunmeng bros. get engaged? >>who knows, the kid's jealous >>jc doesn't quite get the whole thing >>but he has seen how lwj looks at wwx ever since that first time at a discussion conference >>and has since resolved not to let lwj steal wwx from him >>so it's kinda a weird petty battle >>jc's perspective - i must safeguard my super popular and cool brother (not that i will ever admit it but ik it's true it's why everyone loves him smh) who has gotten even the stoic second jade wrapped around his finger !! >>lwj's perspective - i am in love with wei ying. jiang wanyin is in love with wei ying. this will not do. >>lwj has conversations with jyl, and hears her refer to wwx as brother >>but assumes it's like. short for brother in law. especially since jc only ever refers to wwx by name

[ main . ao3 ]

#mdzs #mdzs au #mo dao zu shi #mo dao zu shi au #cql #cql au #wangxian #the untamed au #yunmeng shuangjie #the untamed #misunderstandings #jealous lwj #jealous jc #not!fics

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chenqingssuibian · 3 years

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Can you do MXY for the ask meme? I know we don't see him a lot, but I love him and hope others also love our mystery boi

from this post!

How I feel about this character: I l o v e Mo Xuanyu. I think about him daily and I’m not exaggerating. He makes me so, so sad, in a way not even Jin Rusong, a literal infant who was murdered under dubious circumstances, can manage. Mo Xuanyu is another character that I see myself in, in that I think if I knew about a curse that would allow me to get revenge on all the people who hurt me, even at the cost of my literal soul... There is a not-insignificant part of me that would go through with it. I think the worst part is that no one, absolutely no one misses him. People who knew him don’t even realize he’s gone. This is on purpose, I’m pretty sure, so none of this is criticism of MXTX’s writing! This is what MAKES him a tragic character. Mo Xuanyu is a ghost, a wisp of a character that we only see through the eyes of all the people who thought of him with little more than disdain. Mo Xuanyu never even got to be a JIN! He was brought into his father’s home as NOTHING more than a pawn to make Jin Guangyao nervous. One single person loved Mo Xuanyu in his life, and she never makes an appearance in the novel even in name. His mother is just as much as a ghost as he is. They are tragic, and they embody my biggest fear: that when I am gone, no one will notice, and when they do, no one will care.

Romantic Ships: There are none. None that are HEALTHY, anyway. I think there is something real fucked up and angsty and full of too-much-emotion I could write about him and Xue Yang, but I am not going to do that for my mental health. Otherwise... I mean, it is technically his body that Wei Wuxian is in, so... Lan Wangji? That would also be unhealthy. Oh dear. There really is jack shit for him, isn’t there.

Non-romantic Ships/BrOTPs: EVERYONE SHOULD BE A MEMBER OF THE MXY PROTECTION SQUAD. If Jiang Yanli was alive she would’ve taken him as a new little brother before anyone could even introduce him. She would’ve found this awkward child at the foot of the steps to Koi Tower, standing with an unruly donkey, and thought “It’s Free Brother!” I also think that, in another life, he would’ve ADORED Nie Huaisang. This other life would entail: Jin Guangyao NOT doing whatever he did to make Mo Xuanyu Like That, no Nie Mingjue death, ideally no Jin Guangyao marrying Qin Su... and many other changes. I also have a fic where he is bullied adopted by A-Qing and they become Found Family with Song Lan and Wen Ning. I will finish it one day.

Unpopular Opinion: ... I think it’s safe to say we’re all pretty sad about Mo Xuanyu. I think I might be alone in feeling more for him than Wei Wuxian (Look! He speaks to my specific issues! That’s it!) Other than that... nope. Nothing. Zilch, zero, nada. Wish literally anyone had cared when they realized that a boy had died to bring Wei Wuxian back to life. I wish there was more than a passing reference to the amount of pain he must’ve been in to do such a thing. I think we All wish there had been at least one life that was worse in the aftermath of his loss, but. There isn’t that we know of. Sigh.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened in canon: Wish someone had loved him :/ no one deserved xuanyu smh

#ask game #anon #mo xuanyu #i love him so much.... im so sad at all times

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