#Why should Wei Wuxian have all the fun?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Flashback, warm nights.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#Poorly Drawn MDZS #MDZS #Season 1 #wei wuxian #lan wanji #jiang cheng #should I have a teen tag? for all the flashbacks? Maybe I'll add it later #Linking the song for its 80's vibes + flashback melancholy + I think its fun #We have finally arrived at the cloud recess flashback! Dramatic first meetings under the moonlight! A sword fight! acknowledgement of skill #Its like everything you see in a 'No Homo' martial arts story that makes you go 'hold on that's a little...' #except we rejoice; for these bitches do be nurturing plot relevant homoromantic tension #I have to give a shout out to 15 year old wwx for in all honesty he had no way of knowing who he was facing #on day *one* of cultivation Christian summer camp! talk about bad luck #ok some other notes: I wanted to give non mxy!wwx distinct features while still looking somewhat consistant #and i think im happy with it! Softer bangs + mole + different hair tie ain't much but it works for me #they'll soon all be in white with small accents so I gotta do what I can #What im not happy about is my paneling B*/ theres no excuse for why I went back to the bad 3 square format other than I was lazy #Sadly I do these in batches so my bad habits stick around for a little longer

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

The Sculptor

Chapter 3 - Of Wives and Men

[Masterpost] [AO3]

-/-

Lan Wangji, to Wei Wuxian’s immense surprise, actually comes back. He isn’t sure why he’s so shocked considering they’ve only known each other a day and Lan Wangji is already clearly a very steady and reliable sort of person, but still. He spent all last night thinking about the way Lan Wangji had gotten so flustered just thinking about undressing for him at some amorphous point in the future and he’d thought for sure that he wouldn’t see the man again, even in passing.

“You’re back!” is the incredibly smooth and not-at-all-rude exclamation that slips out of his mouth when Lan Wangji lets himself into the studio at 9:30am on the dot Wednesday morning, as promised, and Lan Wangji stops in the middle of removing his hat to blink at him.

“Should I not be?”

“No no no, that’s not what I meant!” Wei Wuxian laughs to force the butterflies to quit rattling around in his stomach. “I just - ah never mind, you’re here and I’m happy about it. Get comfortable, Lan Wangji, we’ve got another long day of sketching ahead of us!”

Lan Wangji looks at him dubiously for another moment before he continues taking off all the outer layers that make him look so buttoned up and Wei Wuxian watches rather shamelessly when he shrugs out of his suit jacket - dove gray today - and pulls his long, jet-dark hair free of his collar with a graceful swish of it across his shoulders to fall down his back. He’s forgone the waistcoat and suspenders today and his shirt seems like it’s a slightly looser fit, Wei Wuxian thinks as he watches him roll the sleeves up just as neatly as he’d done the day before.

“How do you feel about laying down for a bit today?” he asks when Lan Wangji is more comfortably underdressed and heading for the bench again. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I’m still just working on getting a sense of you more than the commission, but just keep it in mind okay?”

“Mn.” Lan Wangji settles in on the bench again, though thankfully not in such a rigid posture as he’d started out with yesterday. Wei Wuxian had sketched him quite a few times like that, sometimes focusing on details - like the mostly-hidden contours of his muscles or the way his hair falls so perfectly behind his shoulders - and sometimes on him as a whole, all the lovely perfect lines of him creating such an elegant figure. But he’d like a little more movement today. More visual interest.

(More reasons to look.)

Wei Wuxian quickly falls into the familiar, business-like pattern of sketching though, Lan Wangji’s beauty not quite enough to distract him completely once he gets into his flow, eyes flickering between his model sitting so still he might as well be a statue already and the loose sketches of him coming alive under Wei Wuxian’s hands. They don’t talk as he works, and Wei Wuxian finds he doesn’t mind. The silence is companionable at least as far as he can tell, and he already knows Lan Wangji is a man of few words even when they’re having a conversation. He amuses himself for a little while thinking of how Lan Wangji’s lectures must be - does he sit at the front of the room and stare his poor students down with those hawk eyes of his? Does he drone on in a monotone that would put even the only slightly-drowsy to sleep? Does he come alive with passion for his subject, gesturing with his beautiful hands as he translates the great classics?

Wei Wuxian gets lost in thought as he sketches Lan Wangji’s hand poised just in front of his face, the tip of his index finger pressed soft as a whisper against the plush curve of his bottom lip, the rest of his fingers curled in relaxed and loose towards his palm. He’s still sitting upright but he’s leaning ever so slightly, elbow propped up on the arm of the bench and hand posed so temptingly, so delicately in front of his mouth…

When Wei Wuxian shakes himself out of the almost-trance he typically falls into when he draws he’s startled to find that he’s filled two entire pages of nothing but Lan Wangji’s hand and his mouth, his other features occasionally making it into the sketches but the focus always right there, centered on that damned featherlight touch against his lip.

“Lunch?” Wei Wuxian offers after a delicate clearing of his throat and he suddenly finds his throat is dry. He ignores the way Lan Wangji judges him with those incredible eyebrows of his when he takes a swig of water from a nearby jar covered in dried paint - it’s one of his painting jars, yes, but it’s not paint water yet so he’s not going to be persnickety about it.

“Mn,” Lan Wangji hums after a beat. “My wife prepared enough food for both of us, if you would like.”

Wei Wuxian very firmly, very absolutely, very strongly does not let his heart break on the word ‘wife’. In this day and age, in this quaint suburban town, what handsome man wouldn’t have a wife? Well, Wei Wuxian doesn’t but that’s because he doesn’t want one, for what he feels are painfully obvious reasons (as do many other people in town, it’s a whole Thing. He tries not to think about it). But of course someone as stunning and put-together as Lan Wangji has a wife. God. Wei Wuxian’s luck is somehow both incredible and the worst in the world, and both sides of that coin somehow dealt him Lan Wangji.

“That sounds great,” he says with a smile to mask his disappointment. He tucks the morning’s sketches into his ‘in progress’ folder and sets the easel up with a fresh sheet for after their break before he washes his hands clean of graphite dust. Once they’re ready he follows Lan Wangji outside to head for the park a couple blocks over, a cloth-wrapped lunchbox dangling from Lan Wangji’s hand between them.

“So - your wife, huh?” Wei Wuxian can’t resist asking, like poking at a sore tooth with the tip of his tongue.

“Mn. She is a professor as well.”

“No kidding? That’s great,” Wei Wuxian says, and he really means it! He’s all for that, it’s the part where she’s Lan Wangji’s wife that gets a little…sticky. He reminds himself that he’s only known the man for less than 24 hours and he’s being ridiculous, which is a lot easier to keep in mind when he’s facing forward, watching cars pass them by and people going about their normal lives. It’s a lot harder to remember when he glances at Lan Wangji beside him and realizes he’s still as stoically handsome as ever.

“I was told to impress upon you very firmly that this is not an everyday occurrence,” Lan Wangji intones once they’ve picked a bench near the pond and he’s balanced the parcel in his lap to begin carefully unpicking the knot he’d hooked his fingers under to carry it. “She was preparing meals to deliver to her brother and had enough left over to pack this for us.”

“Well that’s still nice of her anyway,” Wei Wuxian says with a laugh that’s only slightly jittery. He sits on his hands to keep them from doing something weird, like shaking as he watches Lan Wangji unwrap the layered wooden container with those careful, elegant hands of his (he bets they never shake, not even when Lan Wangji is flustered). “Tell her I appreciate the trouble, I’d hate for her to think I’m some ungrateful heathen. Is she as polite and put-together as you?”

Lan Wangji looks at him out of the corner of his eye and Wei Wuxian could swear he looks amused. “I have it on good authority that she is…intimidating.”

“So that’s a yes, then,” Wei Wuxian laughs. “Ah, it sounds like you’re a good match! Unfortunately for you, I’m not so easily intimidated by you stuffy academic types.”

Lan Wangji glances at him again curiously, but the expression is gone before Wei Wuxian can ask him what he said to cause it. He tugs one of his hands out from under his thigh to accept the shallow dish of rice and sauteed vegetables Lan Wangji passes to him - and then has to tug the other one free too to juggle his half of the meal as well as the chopsticks Lan Wangji hands him next.

“I do not wish to intimidate you,” Lan Wangji reassures him before he settles in with his own food to eat in peaceable silence.

It’s pretty plain fare, as far as Wei Wuxian is concerned - but it’s homemade, which is always a bonus, and clearly well-made even if a bit bland. Plus, of course, he’s never one to turn his nose up at free food. And it was nice of Lan Wangji’s wife to make enough for him to have as well. Not that he’s in any hurry to meet the woman, but if he does he’ll make sure to be extra nice.

He can behave normally about this. Just because it’s the 70’s and they live in a (relatively) free-thinking area doesn’t mean that any man willing to walk into another man’s studio to pose naked for him is there for what Wei Wuxian would like him to be there for - in a very non-professional way. He can manage his own expectations just fine.

They finish eating and Wei Wuxian stands up to stretch his arms above his head first and then behind his back while Lan Wangji gets the empty container all squared away again for the walk back to the studio.

“Want to lay down for me now?” Wei Wuxian asks as he putters over behind the easel again, ruffling his hair up into a sloppy ponytail to get it out of his way. Lan Wangji pauses where he’s returning the lunch box to his satchel beside the door, but after a moment he nods with his typical, “Mn.” that Wei Wuxian is already becoming inordinately fond of.

Lan Wangji returns to the bench and rearranges the pillows to his liking before he lays down carefully - flat on his back, fingers linked on his chest, and looking for all the world like a princess waiting for her knight in shining armor to come kiss her awake.

“You sure that’s comfortable enough to hold for a while?” he can’t resist checking, amused. Lan Wangji turns his head enough to give him the same raised eyebrow as the previous day.

“It is how I sleep. I will be fine.”

Wei Wuxian raises his hands in surrender but can’t stop the smile that creeps across his lips. Lan Wangji is, he is very quickly realizing, a supremely fussy sort of person. Wei Wuxian likes it more than he probably should.

“Alright, alright. You lie however you’d like, sleeping beauty, and I’ll just do my sketching.”

Lan Wangji frowns at him in confusion but doesn’t ask him to clarify, instead just turning his gaze back up to the ceiling and going nice and still for him.

Wei Wuxian loses himself in sketching again easily enough, and he thinks as he does so that married or not, Lan Wangji is nice to have around for both aesthetic and entertainment value at least. He won’t hate looking at a pretty face for three months even if that face is off-limits. Most men are, Lan Wangji isn’t really so different from any of Wei Wuxian’s other fleeting crushes. He can practically hear Nie Huaisang chastising him for getting attracted to anyone he finds outside of the usual crowd at the gay bar out on the edge of town - at least there he knows the men are interested, and safe to crush on for a few hours, so why bother getting his heart broken outside of it?

He’ll keep this professional, and at the end of the summer he’ll send Lan Wangji on his way with a perfectly polite ‘thank you for your time’. He can do that. Definitely.

#the untamed fanfic #wangxian #Wei Wuxian #Lan Wangji #I want to head off anyone who reads this and thinks 'LWJ you dingdong why are you telling WWX you have a wife?' #with a gentle reminder that he's very actively trying not to be visibly gay and having a wife is a major part of that #I also kind of wondered if I should classify this as miscommunication but it's not exactly #like LWJ very much means for people to know he's married #anyway - fun dynamics all around at least for me lol

[weiying-lanzhan-fics]

Practical Mythology by metisket

Funnest story ever! I loved this soooo much - didn’t want it to ever end. Thank you for this gem ❤️

Quotes:

“You only hurt bad people,” Lan Wangji informs him with perfect confidence. “They won’t be worried.”

“Ah, Lan Zhan,” the Yiling Patriarch says, ducking his head and smiling, but sounding sad for some reason. “If only everyone had the faith in me that you do.”

Lan Wangji frowns. Everyone should have faith in the Yiling Patriarch. The Yiling Patriarch is always fair, and that means his rules and the Lan rules can’t be that different. “Can I visit you again?”

The Yiling Patriarch beams at him so brightly that Lan Wangji’s breath catches. “Yes! Come visit me, Lan Zhan. But you have to wait until you’re grown, okay? For decency’s sake.” He laughs, and Lan Wangji isn’t sure why.

“When will I be grown?” Lan Wangji wants to be clear.

“Hmm.” The Yiling Patriarch looks skyward, rubbing his nose thoughtfully. “…Twenty? Let’s say twenty. Your uncle shouldn’t have too much of a qi deviation about that. How’s that sound?”

Lan Wangji frowns, but nods anyway. It’s a very long time, but he supposes that’s how all the Yiling Patriarch stories are. You can’t win anything worth having without fighting for it yourself. “I will be here.”

“I look forward to it, Lan Zhan,” the Yiling Patriarch, smiling and tugging gently at Lan Wangji’s hair one last time before sending him away to the other side of the barrier—to his brother and uncle.

————

It takes him a couple of hours, but he eventually finds the perfect victim. Said victim is innocently standing in a garden admiring the flowers, and has no idea what level of little brother nonsense is about to hit him. Poor thing.

“So, Xichen-ge, I hear your brother is planning to run away and marry the Yiling Patriarch,” Nie Huaisang casually declares. He’s always felt more comfortable hassling Lan Xichen than he has Lan Wangji, anyway. “What’s that about?”

Lan Xichen sighs and suddenly looks very tired. “It was cute when he was eight.”

Wow. Just wow. “How did he even meet the Yiling Patriarch when he was eight?”

Oh, that was a bad question, because Lan Xichen’s eyes just iced over like a Gusu winter. Nie Huaisang will just have to pry the details of that ugly story from someone else. “Never mind!” he cries. “It doesn’t matter. At least Senior Wei is nice.”

Lan Xichen frowns at him in confusion. “Senior Wei? Your father’s friend, Senior Wei?”

Oh good. At least Nie Huaisang isn’t the only one who didn’t know. “My father’s friend, Senior Wei, who is the Yiling Patriarch. Yes.”

He’s never seen Lan Xichen gape before. This is a shockingly exciting day in the Cloud Recesses.

T, 17.5k

Summary:

The Yiling Patriarch is a living legend—a terrifying, ancient force of nature, dispensing punishment or reward with implacable, indifferent fairness.

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, is a weird but oddly charming guy who wanders around the cultivation world making fun of people's art and mooching food from sect leaders.

It really upsets people to find out that they're the same person.

#wangxian #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan wangji #lan zhan #the untamed fic #wangxian fic rec #the untamed fanfiction #untamed fic #mdzs fic #fun fic

[robininthelabyrinth]

@thedarkline ask which disappeared:

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

ao3

Nie Mingjue blinked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nie Huaisang ignored him.

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

“Huaisang…”

“I’m serious.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What?”

“He didn’t! Wen Ning did.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Exactly.”

“But Wei Wuxian did resurrect him.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nie Mingjue gave in and started laughing.

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

[wutheringskies]

Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian aren't the same.

Jin Guangyao is one of the best written characters I've come across. A villian that doesnt look like one, doesnt act like one, is likeable, has strong motivations and a defined personality and extremely fun to read fanfics about. But what I dislike is the role that fanon gives him; specially his role in the story with allusions to Wei Wuxian, casting Jin Guangyao as someone similar to Wei Ying. The "poor children turned to forced villains" trope. This meta is about WHY that's NOT true.

The humiliation of his mother didn't give him the right to burn down an entire brothel. (personally, I found it satisfying but). The desire of acceptance from his father was a motivation for his crimes, not a factor that validates those crimes. Often, Jin Guangyao is treated as the counter part of Wei Wuxian. They both share only three similarities, however:

1. Both came from low backgrounds and struggled a lot in their childhoods. Meng Yao had food, but witnessed constant humiliation. Wei Ying had nothing, and then got tangled into the fucked up dynamics of the Jiangs.

2. Both were found to be much different than what people believed them to be. Wei Wuxian was supposed to be evil, hateful, a murderer who kills just to satisfy his blood thirst and need for power, a monster. Jin Guangyao was supposed to be the guy who worked hard and rose to the top, humble, kind, honest and pure of heart.

3. Both had their reputations destroyed from targeted rumor mill.

That is all.

Other than that, Jin Guangyao is NOT at all similar to Wei Wuxian by any measure. He had to do bad things because he desired power, and to gain, power in a corrupt world, you need to be even more corrupted. He killed all those who looked down upon him (not bodily harm him). He clenched his teeth and killed everyone who protested against him or questioned him. He silenced everybody before they could silence him. He isn't SOLELY responsible but he only played the cards that would bring HIM benefit, not the cards that were righteous, or good, or kind.

Wei Wuxian never desired power, was willing to give up a limb for the safety of his sect. When has he ever raised his sword or his flute if not in self defense? When has he ever attacked first and when has he ever killed an innocent? The only innocent he's most directly responsible for is Jin Zixuan and that was too, in an ambush, where he was asked to back down.

Not just that, everyone is always talking about the Nightless City massacre but never about the Burial Mounds Seige 2.0 where all of the cultivators WOULD have DIED, if not for Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

If your reasoning behind justifying Jin Guangyao's actions and murders is the "intention" then you come across as hypocritical if you condemn Wei Wuxian for the Nightless City massacre, ignoring everything that led to it. His prowess in cultivation, his natural genius, and his terrifying powers that he built himself even after losing a core are not crimes that he should be punished for, but he was. Because he's supposed to be just the son of a servant. How dare he be so powerful? So many attempts on his life were made and he survived them all. So many attempts to summon his soul, and they didn't work.

Is surviving a crime? For the Jiang Cheng stans who always thrust the survivor narrative onto JC, this is a question for them. Was Wei Wuxian wrong to have survived incidents in which he was being attacked? Should he have died for doing absolutely nothing wrong, other than having a different voice? For standing against a structure that always prioritizes one being above all, being the ultimate voice that cannot be questioned?

Here I'm going to quote some parts from the ExR translation of Villanous Friends:

He Su, “What was the irresistible trend? What was stirring up trouble? Jin GuangShan wanted to establish the position of chief cultivator only to imitate the QishanWen Sect in being the only ones at the top. Do you think all the world is ignorant? You frame me like this only because I spoke the truth!”

When you really succeed, all of the world of cultivation would see the true face of the LanlingJin Sect. Do you think killing me alone would put you eternally at ease? How wrong you are! We, the TingshanHe Sect, teem with talent. From now on, we’ll unite and never surrender to you Wen-dogs of another skin!”

Sounds familiar?

After a few laughs, he continued, “Sect Leader Jin, let me ask you something else. Do you think that, because the QishanWen Sect is gone, the LanlingJin Sect has all right to replace it?”

Wei WuXian added, “Everything has to be given to you? Everyone has to listen to you? Looking at how the LanlingJin Sect does things, I almost thought that it was the QishanWen Sect’s empire all over again.”

Wei WuXian, “Did I say something wrong? Forcing living people to be bait and beating them up whenever they refused to obey—is this any different from what the QishanWen Sect does?”

These were voices that questioned the greater powers. This is what happened to these voices:

Jin Guangyao: That’s not the way to go about things, is it? The TingshanHe Sect rebelled and schemed to assassinate Sect Leader Jin with all its forces before it was caught red-handed. How could that be called without a reason?”

Flashback to Wen Chao, asking if the disciples in the Xuanwu Cave were rebelling when they protected Mianmian who was asked to be the live bait of a monster.

Also, flashback to Wei Wuxian standing up for the Wens and being called a rebel when he stood up for the Wens who were being used as live baits to strengthen the Jin.

The ones over there cried, “Brother! He’s lying! We didn’t, we didn’t!”

Flashback to Wen Ning "losing control" at Koi Tower probably due to Xue Yang's invention. But the point to be taken away is that Sect Leader He Su's younger disciples, who are harmless, are framed as murderers. A position similar to what Wei Wuxian was put into.

He Su, “Utterly nonsense! Open your eyes and fucking look! There are nine-year-old children here! Old men who can’t even walk! How could they rebel against anything?! Why would they assassinate your dad out of nowhere?!”

Funny how the evils of society comprised of old grandmas, uncles, a toddler, a doctor, a fierce corpse, and a cultivator with no status, no core, no money, no voice living in a cave with a pool of blood, digging the Burial soil to grow some potatoes.

And not those who were sitting on their thrones, reveling in riches and ordering people around.

Jin GuangYao, “Because you made a mistake and committed murder, Young Master He Su, while they refused to accept Koi Tower’s conviction of you, of course.”

"A mistake" reminds me of the incident at qionggi path. Even if Jin Zixuan hadn't died that day, they would've kept cornering Wei Wuxian until he'd have no other choice but to go on the offensive (which is what he did.)

Turns out even being sooo powerful that he could shake mountains, he eventually died.

Yet, at such a place, nobody would listen to his protests. Sitting before him were two villains who already treated him as though he were dead. What they enjoyed was precisely his dying struggle. Smiling, Jin GuangYao leaned back, waving his hand, “Hush him up, hush him up.”

"You shut them in live?"

Xue Yang turned around, curling his lips, “Wei WuXian never used live humans, but I wanna try.”

So, Xue Yang is an actual demonic cultivator who's protected by the Jins, murdered 2 entire clans and this is the third one and godness knows how many more. Absolutely very few people give actual fucks about what cultivation methods to employ. The one who really cared was perhaps, Lan Wangji.

Jin Guangyao as you can see isn't being "forced" to kill people because he's of lower birth and nobody accepts him :(

He's killing people to silence those who speak against his and his father's (and they both are one and the same entity. he's acting on his father's orders which he could've disobeyed and run away but he would lose his sect reputation and standing.)

Why does his reputation and standing mean more than the lives of all these 70 people ?

Were they trying to kill him? No.

Did they attack him first to the point he would lose his life? No.

Would they have thrown him into a whore house? No.

Let us please not compare Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao.

MXTX wants us to know what's said and told may not be right. Wei Wuxian isn't fond of the techniques that are used to confirm Jin Guangyao's demise. He's critical of how nobody else is concerned. He's unsure of what NHS's motivations are - does he now want complete power? or did his plan only extend up to his revenge? He's critical of how only yesterday people were all over this guy and today they hate him. Critical of how society works on what is favourable and not what is true.

But he's not SUPPORTIVE of Jin Guangyao. He's sympathetic to people turning onto you, but not empathetic towards Jin Guangyao. He believes Jin Guangyao to be a cruel man.

Those are two different things.

Nobody knows better than Wei Wuxian how it feels to be set up at every step:

1. Firstly he was used as a punching bag for Madam Yu and an emotional one for JC throughout his childhood

2. The Wens completely played him up, setting him as the cause of LP's fall.

3. Then, he was played by the Jins and the cultivation world until his death by validating JC's jealousy against him, by villianizing him and estranging him, by setting up the ambush, by sending JZX, by making false promises, by not checking for validity, by controlling Wen Ning, by setting up the seige parade, by getting JYL there, and finally the seige. (even after his death disrespecting his all)

4. He was brought back to the world on the revenge plans of NHS and tossed like a tennis ball from the plans of NHS and JGY. Yi City arc? children would've died -> NHS. Burial Mound seige 2.0? everyone would've died -> JGY. if LWJ wasn't with him at every step of the way, Wei Ying would've once again been in such a spot. Without any status or authority he would've gotten no help, no aid, and been villianized once more. He would've been stabbed and captured with nobody to save him. He would've made himself the bait without anybody to fight the monsters off.

Each of us have individual capacities and also, each of us have the one thing we cannot let happen:

1. Wei Ying can't let injustice prevail and sit by the side doing nothing

2. Jin Guangyao can't take in being stripped of power and being a lowlife again.

Those are two very different things. JGY made every decision he could to escape his grand fear, which was personal. I don't condemn his motivations personally cause I find them hot. Similar to how I find his character hot. Yet, he's not the hero on the opposite spectrum. He's not the lowlife who was killed because people can't handle people from lower birth statuses being on the top chairs for making decisions - but that is also true - but is not the reason behind his tragedy. Not the sole reason and also not the most important reason.

The most important reason is as it is said: he believes himself to be different and values his life over others, similar to Xue Yang. Their personalities vary greatly, yet his "true" friends were Xue Yang and Su She. (He showed glimpses of the truth and of his reality to LXC. So, he's hiding the truth and LXC doesn't wish to dig deeper anyways thus not a true friendship.) One wished to take revenge in extremely unfair shares, a clan for a finger. A clan for a son. The entire cultivation world could die but he couldn't be badmouthed or put on trial or killed. The other - Su She, wished to be recognized by those who he equally hated, despised and considered arrogant and also was jealous and envious of. So, these two traits - great desire for revenge onto everyone who's ever said anything mean about him, and the desire for power. You may argue how this developed from his childhood trauma but you can't argue that this justifies his cold blooded crimes because it doesn't. Another thing I'd like to add is that, his friendship with Lan Xichen also shows his personality; not wanting to take the messy, big path (such as showing up to your own death planning party, or planning a death party) and his relatively calm nature. Yet just like the friendship it is fragmented and fake; a composure that is stuck onto the cold, and hot brimming desire for power.

There was one character who had to kill a large number of people or would have no other option left and it wasn't Jin Guangyao. There was one character who was hated by society solely because of his background and his desire to protect people and it wasn't Jin Guangyao. There was one character who had to give up everything for what he believed in and it wasn't Jin Guangyao. There was one character who ended up being the indirect reason for the passing of loved siblings due to the unjust society.

and it wasn't Jin Guangyao.

(but there were two characters who had confirmed sex before marriage. one of them was Jin Guangyao)

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #jin guangyao #xue yang slaughtered 2 clans and was protected by the jins #xue yang #cultivation world bullshit #jin zixuan #wei ying #burial mounds #wen remnants #my meta #my thoughts #my essays

[thatswhatsushesaid]

i think it is extremely weird that parts of this fandom have just definitively decided that the principle antagonist is an irredeemably evil monster because he has his minion burn down a brothel (where said antagonist was born and abused and watched his mother suffer and die) with people still inside it, then hires a bunch of sex workers to rape his rapist dad (who raped so many women that he lost track of who his victims were, and ended up approving of a marriage between said antagonist and his own half-sister as a result) to death

when the protagonist’s chosen means of killing the people who razed the only home he’s ever known and murdered his foster parents involves 1) choking a woman to death by forcing a table leg down her throat, 2) forcing that dead woman to bite off a man’s genitals, and 3) forcing that man to eat his own legs. this plus the protagonist’s multiple day-long murder-torture bender where he kills and tortures a bunch of other wen sect disciples in front of each other, and owns doing this because it was fun and would have been too boring to kill then quickly. like jiang cheng and lan wangji find wwx by following the trail of bodies he leaves in his wake ok, that’s pretty awful

if wei wuxian can do these things and and still be considered good, then that only makes it harder for me to understand why jin guangyao is denied goodness

fun fact: when i describe both of these characters to people who are totally canon-blind and know nothing about mdzs, cql, or any of the other adaptations, the initial response from most people isn’t “hmmm but what was the protagonist’s interiority while he was making that woman’s corpse eat that man’s junk? was he very sad about it? that will surely tell me whether his corpse desecration and autocannibalism is morally defensible or not.” most of the time what they say is “ray what the fuck are you reading, both of those guys sound like evil people, i don’t care what their motivations are! also get help”

it just seems weird!! that certain corners of this fandom have decided that goodness is not only a quality that wwx intrinsically possesses (something i don’t necessarily disagree with fwiw), but that he gets to be defined by this goodness above all else. wwx gets situated at the centre of all subsequent discourse as the moral lighthouse of the whole novel—even though he has done objectively heinous shit entirely to satisfy his own desire for vengeance. doing all of those things does not detract from his fundamental goodness, in their estimation. or if it does, it doesn’t detract enough to significantly impact his role for them as the goodness barometer in the novel.

and that’s fine with me actually! if this is where the bar for what it means to be good in this novel is set, then it should logically follow that jin guangyao’s heinous actions can similarly be ‘offset’ by paying the appropriate ‘goodness tax’ through his other canon actions (e.g., loving and remaining filial to his mother, saving and protecting lan xichen, saving nie mingjue, funding the rebuilding of the cloud recesses, caring for his orphaned nephew, etc). he has done yuckydisgusting things, yes, but so has wwx! and as we all know, wwx is not evil! so jgy isn’t evil either!

…but this isn’t what happens in these conversations, because jgy seems to begin all fandom discourse at a goodness deficit that is depressingly reflective of the goodness deficit he experiences in the novel post-canon. (or, honestly, at the beginning of his life as meng yao.) and unlike wwx whose character gets to be defined principally by his goodness in spite of his genuinely horrendous acts of violence, jin guangyao’s whole character becomes defined by his horrendous acts of violence in spite of his goodness, even though the text demonstrates clearly that their capacity for both good and evil is evenly matched.

tl;dr it would be nice if the goodness goalposts would stop moving around so much in these discussions. maybe we should just get rid of them entirely.

#mdzs meta #salty peak sect 🧂 #jin guangyao #he did crimes??? good for him 😌 #i’m tired

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

I think the thing that bothers me about ‘extremely self-sacrificial Wei Wuxian’ takes is that they all make his reason for helping others focus somehow on himself, when it’s the opposite that’s true. His kindness is taken as low self-esteem, his righteousness as low self-worth, and his confidence (when it is acknowledged) as a hero complex. It’s always “I deserve this” or “these people are worth more than me” or “I should be the one taking everything onto me, even if other people offer help, even if accepting the help would make things easier for everyone”. It’s always because of some sort of issue with him that he ends up helping people. And maybe that’s true for some characters, and maybe that’s the case in other fandoms, but that is not the case with Wei Wuxian.

Something so many parts of the fandom seem to forget is that Wei Wuxian is someone who enjoys his life — and he enjoys it so, so much. He loves playing around and night-hunting with the Juniors and spending time with Lan Wangji just having fun. He does not want to see it end early (again). But he’s not someone who stands back when injustices happen either, and he’s not someone who will stay put and watch others suffer. And when that happens, yes, he’ll step in. But that isn’t about self-worth or self-esteem or anything, it’s because We Wuxian is a kind, empathetic person with a moral core.

The main thing isn’t the cost of the action. The main thing is the action itself. 

He put it best himself:

“Let the self judge the rights and wrongs, let others decide to praise or to blame, let gains and losses remain uncommented on.”

- Exiled Rebels translation, Chapter 75

And it’s sad that that seems to have been forgotten by so many people, because that philosophy is at the core of Wei Wuxian’s character. It’s the thing that lets him move on so easily from the (many) traumatic events of his first life, it’s what makes him able to let go of resentment rather than let it fester or drive him on (contrary to people like Jiang Cheng and Jin Guangyao), it’s the idea shared to him by his parents in one of the only memories he has of them, and the idea he lives by. 

That’s why he steps in to save people, even at cost to himself. Because he judges it to be the right thing, and he does the right thing, even if it’s hard. And he never regrets it.

And I think that’s a much more inspiring story to tell than that of someone who’s constantly throwing themselves in front of the axe to save others because they feel they deserve it.

(Part two of this discussion)

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #i think we all forget how well adjusted of a person wwx is #he has a tragic backstory yes but he is NOT an angsty character #and that’s what separates him from so many other characters in fiction i’ve consumed #and THAT’s the reason he’s my favourite character in mdzs #my meta #debunking fanon wei wuxian the series

[lvicevlk]

i wonder sometimes if people miss that when jiang cheng says "don't make me look bad" what he means is "not embarassing me in public is the only thing i have found that gets around how my mother has convinced you that you are disposable" except when he means "if the howling mob comes after you with torches and pitchforks i'll stand with you but honestly, bro, i don't like our odds."

It has taken me forever to get to this and I am so sorry. Real life was draining me and I’ve finally got some time off to recover. Thank you for your patience.

It is astonishing to me that so many people somehow fail to understand the importance of reputation in the story. It’s a damned central theme how reputation, how what people think of you or say about you directly impacts how they treat you. It’s a presiding factor in Wei Wuxian’s downfall at the end of his first life. He makes everyone scared of him and thinks that’s going to make them leave him alone, instead it terrifies people to the point that the Jin can use a base truth, that he doesn’t have much respect any authority or boundaries aside from his own, to paint him as an imminent threat to the world. He built himself a reputation as an uncontrollable and frankly heretical wildcard and it comes back to bite him in the ass when people respond accordingly.

Reputation matters hugely to the story and to the people in it. Jiang Cheng is not wrong for trying to impress this on Wei Wuxian.  Reputation is, among other things, a currency all it’s own and, if we’re focusing on the Yunmeng boys here, Jiang Cheng spends a lot of his life shelling out cash to try and cover Wei Wuxian’s debts.

When they’re kids, it’s one thing. It’s still very not good and look, for me personally, I would not chose to spend a whole lot of time with a guy who seemed to think that violating my boundaries and publicly humiliating me was prime entertainment but Jiang Cheng loves Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian loves him back, even if they do not express that in ways that are all that healthy. Wei Wuxian teases Jiang Cheng because he wants his overly serious baby brother to relax, to smile and laugh and have fun. That’s a wonderful impulse and there are times where it’s works. There are also times where it’s utterly inappropriate and Wei Wuxian is, I think often willfully, blind to that. And worse, he doesn’t listen when Jiang Cheng tells him so. I once saw someone claim that Wei Wuxian only acts like that in public so that Jiang Cheng can look good by reining him in, which would be an interesting take if it was at all supported by the text instead of being a blatant contradiction thereof. It would require that Wei Wuxian not only listen to Jiang Cheng but do as he is asked. Which he does not at any point ever. It’s kinda a massive plot point that Wei Wuxian Does What He Wants and no one can tell him otherwise.

When they get older the consequences of Wei Wuxian’s habit of dicking around and messing with Jiang Cheng go beyond pissing off Madam Yu and become a lot more pronounced. Madam Yu’s anger is understandable even if the way she expresses it is unconscionable. She knows that Wei Wuxian’s behavior is damaging both to the Sect and to Jiang Cheng’s reputations and that it will and does actively impede Jiang Cheng’s ability to stand on the political field with the other Sect Leaders. Because when they look at him they see his reputation: the less favored child, the lesser cultivator, the Sect Heir and then Leader whose own right hand constantly dismisses and undermines him. Why should they take him seriously?

#The Untamed #Jiang Cheng #Wei Wuxian #Yunmeng disasters

[darlingpwease]

my dear omega,

imagine that you are raising a little son, an alpha-like beta, but for you he will forever be a sweet angel, so similar to your deceased alpha, almost-husband, known in the world as the founder of demonic cultivation, but for you he was the best period in life — and you know that no one can ever be more yours a partner, because you can't betray the memory of him.

you are raising your son away from the world — there will be no place for him anywhere, since every school will reject him, just as it avoids you, even if no one can downplay your achievements or merits during the war, — but it does not matter to you. being a strong alpha even before the war, battles and blood hardened you even more, and, in the end, if it's not your duty to raise the "son" of a man who promised to fly with you forever and see the whole world, then whose then?

wei huanle¹, your son, is the best thing that happened in your life after your beloved, and if the whole world is against him, then you will also be against the world. there is no more fire left in you to fight with people.

... perhaps that's why it's hard for you to describe your shock when an unfamiliar omega, breathing heavily, leans against the doorway, and you vaguely recognize in it the outlines of some child you saw many years ago — only now he has become a beautiful omega, whose reason for coming you cannot understand.

after all, didn't you say back then that 'anyone who comes to you with a sword will die by the sword'? and the fact that you are an alpha, besides a war hero, should have only added authority and weight to your words, knowing that you were not put on the same level with your alpha for nothing.

it shocks you even more when omega asks to "live" with you, explaining that he somehow got home, surviving here (you can confirm this by his appearance), and that 'someone will definitely come for me, I just need temporary shelter' — and although you first want to find the reason refuse him, but your son is so infatuated with a stranger that you can't find the strength to do it, seeing his enthusiastic sparkle, the same sparkle as in the eyes of your alpha, and take him into your house for a while.

and the fact that this omega is so similar to your beloved and is clearly interested in you makes you nervous rather than happy, although wei huanle is definitely excited about the new (temporary?) a tenant with whom he finds so much in common, and you can't blame him — growing up with a single parent and superficial acquaintances and communication with others, he definitely feels a hunger for communication, and the fact that he likes a young and handsome omega in the prime of life, with whom it's fun and noisy, is natural.

... just the fact that this omega is almost desperately trying to seduce you continues to unnerve you — just like the fact that this 'omega' is your deceased beloved WEI WUXIAN, who for some reason appears to be someone else's name, somehow occupying the body of some omega, but at the same time continues to try become your mate.

after all, you swore to him that he would be the only one for you, just as he for you — what does he expect?

you feel surrounded by idiots.

¹ 唯欢乐 — Wei Huanle — 'only joy'

#🥮 — mao dao zu shi #✉.wei wuxian #🧸.omegaverse au #🧸.yandere au

[admirableadmiranda]

Hi, I'm new to this fandom and saw about your stand against Jiang Cheng and I'm genuinely curious, could I ask you why do you hate the character so much? I'm genuinely curious.

Hello! Welcome to the MDZS fandom! It’s a really interesting place to be.

I do think you are perhaps misunderstanding my fight, and it’s understandable, there’s a lot of history behind it. But I don’t actually hate Jiang Cheng the book character at all.

He’s a fantastic antagonist, one who has enough happen to him that he’s understandable without justifying his actions. His anger and bitterness make him incredibly active, which can help move the plot along well, and the fact that he is also Wei Wuxian’s personal antagonist makes him very fun and relevant as you need the antagonists that can make a character hurt personally for stories of this type.

As his general character archetype, I think he’s done really well. I quite enjoy him in the context he is supposed to be seen as, the younger person who grew up with the hero who instead of attempting to better himself, tore down those around him in an attempt to put everyone on the same level.

My problem (and my fight) is that the character of Jiang Cheng in Modaozushi is not the Jiang Cheng that is in the fanfics and the art and the meta and discussions.

The Jiang Cheng that you see in fanfics and metas that isn’t under the Not JC Friendly on Ao3 or #canon jiang cheng tag on tumblr is one that is no longer an antagonist or in character, but someone else entirely. Someone who no longer slots into the world of MDZS as if he were actually the person they posit him to be, the events that he is responsible for would have never happened. Quite simply they take the character I enjoy, erase all of his actual traits and then show up to scream at me for writing him wrong, or lying about the book, or not knowing how to read.

Or they are gleefully celebrating classism and homophobia with him. I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve seen that are basically “he’s right to be homophobic because Wangxian are annoying and he should hate them for that”. In a danmei fandom. About the lead couple. I already have dealt with more than enough homophobia in my daily life, why do I have to deal with it in a fandom for a novel in which the leads are a happily married queer couple?

I have been in this fandom for a year and a half. I tag my posts appropriately. When I was requested to not put character hate in the main tag (and novel quotes qualified as character hate), I did as they asked and invented my own tag. Sure it’s a little snarky, but it’s also an easy one to block and allows others like myself who enjoy the character as he is in the book to find my stuff. On ao3, I’ve written a few fics that use him in it as he is in the book and tagged it not for JC fans as they requested.

Do you know what I got?

I have anon hate for using my tag, the very tag I created in response to their request. On my fics that use him, I have people showing up to cry that he’s out of character and I can’t write. When I did all that I could do to try and enjoy a character as he is in canon and as they continually say is what they want. “You don’t have to like him, just tag your stuff so we don’t have to see it.”

I do stand against his stans. I have blocked many of them and gotten in arguments with many others. You are new to this fandom so you wouldn’t have seen this, but a year ago one of them wrote a fanfic about Lan Wangji murdering Wei Wuxian because they were mad about the very existence of the not for jc fans tag, and tagged it with romance and fluff tags so that fans of wangxian would click on it and read a horrible, deliberately hurtful fic and gleefully celebrated it on Twitter.

Why should I not stand against them? They have bullied so many people out of this fandom for not writing Jiang Cheng in the way they want. That is not okay. This is a massive fandom in places where it is very easy to filter and tag, and they try to bully and chase us out of the whole fandom because we don’t like their made up version of a character, or the fact that they are homophobic and shitty to the leads and to me and my friends and my followers.

Welcome to Modaozushi fandom, new reader. It’s a very volatile place with a long history. This is my section of it. And that is why I tag with canon jiang cheng and do not take any shit from people who have umbrage with that.

Thanks for the ask, I hope you have a really great day and at least consider my words even if you don’t agree with them. I suspect if you do, we will never have a problem with each other.

#mdzs #canon jiang cheng #asks #fandom history

[least-carpet]

Zhanchengxian or sangcheng for the ship meme?

Why not both, anon! (Also, very sorry this took so long, I'm just real slow!)

Zhanchengxian: Ship it!

What made you ship it?

I love chengxian and I'm not opposed to wangxian, so it started off as, like, sure, why not! Wei Wuxian has two hands! We can bring all the unresolved business and tension of chengxian into wangxian and see if something interesting happens!

Then I got the zhancheng brainrot real bad, so. That was that.

What are your favourite things about the ship?

I like it for a lot of the same reasons I like chengxian, namely that it pushes on Wei Wuxian's and Lan Wangji's weaknesses in an interesting way. Wei Wuxian because Jiang Cheng is a reminder of all of the suffering of his past life that he wants to escape; and Lan Wangji because he's projected a lot of his own guilt at not intervening in Wei Wuxian's first life onto Jiang Cheng. I think, for a long time, Lan Wangji has had very simple, black-and-white opinions about Jiang Cheng, which are reinforced by how partial he is to Wei Wuxian, and additionally driven by jealousy at their prior intimacy. But it's much harder to maintain these ideas about someone up close, rather than afar with minimal contact. Basically, I love it when people are forced to actually perceive Jiang Cheng as, like, a real person who was seriously damaged by his terrible life, and who has triumphed over odds that someone like Lan Wangji, beloved second son of his alive family, has never had to confront.

Also love the ways in which this triad has the potential to illuminate the people and relationships within it! Lan Wangji can see Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng more clearly in the context of their relationship to each other; I think it's a relationship where Wei Wuxian's worse qualities are often evident. (This is not a backhanded compliment! Intimacy is sometimes seeing someone you love be kind of a dink! Perceive him!) Lan Wangji, meanwhile, might be a stabilizing force for chengxian; if he can help Wei Wuxian regulate himself, Wei Wuxian might actually be able to show up and be vulnerable. I don't know if Wei Wuxian would get anything out of zhancheng except horniness, but I bet he'd have fun.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Wei Wuxian has a lot of work to do within the chengxian branch of the relationship, and Lan Wangji shielding him from that work sucks and is bad for everybody. Also, the evolution into zhanchengxian should transform and develop wangxian (for example, through insight into Wei Wuxian's childhood dynamic with Jiang Cheng, the revelation that Wei Wuxian left the Jiang rather than being expelled, etc.) not just be wangxian with Jiang Cheng grafted on.

Sangcheng: Ship it!

What made you ship it?

Sangcheng was actually my gateway MDZS ship, and Nie Huaisang was my gateway blorbo. Although the Jiang Cheng brainrot has firmly set it, I'm still very fond of Nie Huaisang.

Also, their shenanigans in the Cloud Recesses were very charming. Let them get a little silly and explore each others' bodies!!

What are your favourite things about the ship?

There are a lot of potential sangcheng flavours! Cloud Recesses-era sangcheng is markedly different from post-canon sangcheng. They both got a lot worse, for starters.

Sometimes it's nice to give Jiang Cheng a partner who has some separation from Wei Wuxian. I love him in the Wei Wuxian Suffering Vortex, but really the healthiest choice is for Jiang Cheng to have at least one relationship with someone who is just into him on his own merits. He has them!! It's not impossible!!

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I'll accept a range of Nie Huaisangs, since he is such a puzzlebox of a character, but you gotta give the guy some depth. Like, he did a multi-year revenge scheme and stabbed himself in the leg to accomplish it. He's not a simple or shallow guy.

#anon asks #ask game #shipping ask game #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #lan wangji #zhanchengxian #nie huaisang #sangcheng #mdzs + #least-carpet thoughts

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

@sasumimo

🏳️‍⚧️♨️🌌

Steam rose from the hot spring like a thin, white veil, winding upwards through the cold night air. Stars glimmered above, the sky clear, so clear that one could see the dim band of the Milky Way stretch over the horizon, a colorful gash of stardust and nebulae.

Wei Wuxian glanced up, mesmerized with the sight for a few moments before stepping into the hot water, skin prickling pleasantly at the warmth. Lan Wangji waited for him there already, eyes closed as he relaxed into the water, skin rosy with the heat. He didn't appear to have noticed Wei Wuxian about to join him, so he decided to maintain the advantage and sneak up on his husband and scare him a little.

However, though he waddled soundlessly into the water, he found himself hoisted into Lan Wangji's arms just before he pounced - all while Lan Wangji's eyes remained closed.

"I thought you fell asleep! Here I was trying to scare you, and you ruined it!"

Lan Wangji cracked an eye open. "I could pretend to be scared now."

Wei Wuxian leaned against his husband's chest, laughing. "We both know you're a terrible actor, Lan Zhan."

"Mn..."

A few moments of comfortable silence followed, the two sharing an embrace in the quiet space. Wei Wuxian's eyes drifted towards the sky again, taking in the multitude of stars.

"Lan Zhan."

"Hm?"

"When I was little, there was a legend I heard in Lotus Pier, about the stars in the night sky. It was said that the stars above are people that died but that did not want to leave their loved ones behind. So, the gods turned them into stars, so they could watch over the earth. And if you ever miss someone that's gone, you can talk to the stars and maybe your loved one is there and they'll hear you..."

Lan Zhan opened his eyes, looking to the stars himself. He had talked to them many times, but not in a tender way - he had raged to the heavens about his fate, about Wei Ying's, about A-Yuan's. He had asked why such a good man had to die in such a gruesome way, why nobody could see the truth the way he did.

He had been angry, resentful, grieving - never had it ever crossed his mind to try and seek Wei Ying among the stars. He should have, if anybody deserved to live on into the heavens, it was him. Still, Lan Zhan could only be glad he hadn't, returning instead on earth, to him.

"I've been thinking a lot about Mo Xuanyu recently... I've been having these dreams that I think were his, and it's... difficult."

Lan Zhan ran his fingers through the ends of Wei Ying's hair, watching the strands dance into the water as he let go. Then, cupping some of the warm water in his palm, he gently wet Wei Ying's back, warming up the drying skin.

"I think... based off these dreams and what I remember reading in the notes I found in that shack at the Mo manor, that Mo Xuanyu wasn't a man, or at least didn't feel like one. There was makeup on my face when I woke up, and I also found some tattered clothes that I didn't think much of at the time, but now I think they were parts of dresses...I keep dreaming about being made fun of, hiding something important, feeling out of place..."

There was a pause yet again, and Lan Zhan found himself wanting to leave a kiss on Wei Ying's forehead. "You are feeling troubled by this knowledge."

"Yeah, but it's not - I don't have any problem with that, you know, I just don't know how to refer to... him? her? Them? I'm one of the very few people that still remember Mo Xuanyu and probably the only one that tries to honor their memory. And I feel like I've been disrespectful of them in many ways, even just by referring to them as a man..."

"I think they would understand. They did not reveal that information to you right away, either." Lan Zhan replied, after a long moment. "They simply summoned you with a purpose, and allowed you to live in their body as you please after that purpose has been fulfilled. But, of course, we must be mindful to refer to them in a more respectful way now that we know of this facet of their identity."

"Yeah... I just hope they didn't get too upset about being referred to as someone they were not." Wei Wuxian's eyes flitted to the sky again. "Wherever they may be."

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #mxy #this was challenging to write bc ive never written any trans characters before #i hope this is respectful #the last thing i want is to offend or insult someone #anyways i hope you like it <3 #writing attempts

[lolia21]

Wei Wuxian, Feminism and Autonomy

The title sounds way fancier than this is going to be. So sorry for that. But this is a thought I've had for a while not and i just got double-triggered. So I'm listening to this MDZS podcast that i really like while reading mdzs fan fiction. The podcast is "Podcasts are Forbidden in the Cloud Recesses" and the fan fiction is one of those cast watching the show ones. Which is one of my favorite genres for this specific media. So I'm having a good time. But then the podcasters make the same point the fan fic does as I'm reading it and it just really pissed me off? Thats the preface for this whole long-ass rant.

So Wei Wuxian in my opinion Wei Wuxian has all the worst parts of being a heroine grafted onto his character and no one seems to care. Like I know the fandom feminizes him a lot because the author does and its part of his character. But I'm talking about like how he is written and how we are supposed to engage with him as readers.

Ok so, i don't understand people who don't understand why Wei Ying doesn't know Wanji likes him. That's it that's the whole premise. Because here's the thing it is very common in media for girls to have to tolerate shitty men and look past their flaws to love them. Its commonly expected for female characters to either fix the guy or learn to look past his flaws or change themselves in some way. Its also really common in media for the problems of dating and protective sex and dealing with sex appeal to fall on teenage girls. They are the ones who should flirt less, they should dress more modestly, and they should date less to be more appealing. And I see this same mindset with Wei Ying in the Fandom and in the novel.

Lan Xichen and Nice guys

This idea came to me one day when I was rewatching the untamed and I got to the Gauyin temple scene. The one where Xichen goes on this long-ass speech about all the things Wanji has done for Wei Ying. I'm watching this scene and I think "is this how it goes in the book? Because if so this is really fucked up." I hadn't read the book in a while so I hopped online (this is before the official novelization) and re-read the last like thirty-ish chapters for fun. And it's actually worse in the book. The entire speech is how Wanji has sacrificed so much for Wei Ying and how he hasn't been grateful and hasn't noticed his brothers feelings. How long Wanji has pined for him and how he's too selfish to notice. And its just a really gross speech to me. Because it implies that Wanji is owed Wei Yings affection because he has done these things. That Wei Ying is a bad person for not noticing Wanjis feelings and returning them. But here's the thing, Wei Ying doesn't need to return shit. Like he should be thankful for Wanjis help, that's fine. Be he is not obligated to fall in love with him cause of it. And frankly, most of the kind things Wanji did either happened out of Wei Wuxians view or after he had died. And I realized that Xichen doesn't really care about Wei Ying? Like he see's him not as a person but as a thing that will make his brother happy. He only encourages their friendship because to makes Wanji happy He doesn't take Wei Yings feelings into account at all. The moment that friendship comes with heartache for Wanji Xichen stops supporting it and caring about Wei Ying. He calls Wei Ying Wanjis biggest mistake just cause he doesn't seem to like Wanji back despite how nice he's been. To Xichen them getting together is something that has to happen and if it doesn't its because Wei Ying is the problem for not liking him faster or as much. Which brings me to:

Wanjis Trauma is not Wei Wuxians Problem

I was inspired to actually get this down because of that double hit. So here's what happened I'm listening to the podcast and they just started talking about how sad and repressed Wanji is. How he hasn't learned to express himself or learn about sex and how sad that is. That WEi Ying is being the loud annoying little brat he always is. And Wanji, baby boy just can handle it. So he lashes out and is super rude and dismissive. But ohhh he's just so horny its not his fault! And at the same time in the fan fiction, they get to the scene where Wei Wuxian flirts for some free loquats and Wanji gets jealous and looks away. In the Fan fic they have older wei wuxian apologize for flirting because she should have known better? That pisses me off. Enough to make a long a tumblr rant. So much of the fandom assumes the responsibility of putting work into the relationship on Wei Wuxian. Of course, he should feel bad about flirting in front of Wanji. He's his future husband. Even though at this point Wanji as been nothing but cold, distant, authoritative and dismissive. Wei Ying has zero reason to believe he is jealous and even if he did;t that's not his problem! The idea that Wei Ying needs to learn to be less of a flirt fort eh sake of Wanji feeling comfortable is bullshit. Wei ying doesn't owe him a damn thing. Its just so common for people and the author to rush to defend Wanji was being repressed and unable to express himself. While Wei Ying is called selfish and thoughtless for not being willing to sympathize and make concessions for him. I understand that Wanji changes after the time skip. He realises that Wei Ying isn't obligated to like him or act a certain way. But at the same time he still doesn't full give Wei Ying full autonomy in their relationship in my opinion. Because he doesn't confess first. He's so afraid of rejection or Wei Wuxian liking him out of obligation that he decides to help him but not confess. He decides that if Wei Wuxian falls for him it should be by choice (I'm assuming, its actually really unclear to me). But first of all that doesn't happen! Xichen gives that stupid nice guy speech. and second, that's still fucked up. If he actually respected Wei Ying he would be upfront and tell him and deal with the fallout after that. Instead, he just helps wei ying out and while burying his feel feelings and hopes that is enough. How could Wei Ying not feel shitty after hearing that? I don't know. I just think it's reasonable for Wei Ying to be hesitant to like Wanji based on how he's been treated. It's true that both of them have issues with communication but those issues started with Wanji. He's the one who showed that he's so blindly rigged in his ways and refused to admit out loud how he felt to start with.

Side Bits

I completely forget the scene where Xichen tells his family back story to Wei Wuxian until just now. Thats so fucked up and manipulative coming from him. It's just meant to make Wei Wuxian feel bad for leaving Wanji and explain some of his behavior. No one pulls Wanji aside and explains that Wei ying spent years on the streets and then in a toxic household where the matriarch openly hated him. So he has low self-esteem and genuinely thinks his life is worth less than others. No one was like hey he's bubbly and loud because there's no other option for him. Like in the book the only people that advocate for Wey Ying are the Wens and Sometimes Yanli.

After Fenmiin and Madam Yu die they and the land Jiang Cheng gets so mad and sad he starts to choke Wei Wuxian to death. He stops and starts crying but that's so messed up. Like Wei Wuxian also closed a second pair of parentel figures just now but his body I still used as a means for a man to let out his sadness. Like he's still just a vessel for someone else's emotions. I think this actually happens a lot with Jiang Cheng. He has a habit of blowing up at Wei Ying in a way that is implied to be deserved or not that bad. But just doesn't feel great to me based on everything else I've written about.

Wei Wuxian is only able to clear his name and live a semi decent life because he gets with Wanji. Wei Wuxian success is not based off his talent or smarts alone, it is mostly based don't he fact that Wanij is willing to vouch for him and help hide him. Like I know part of it is Huasiang helping him but he would not have gotten far without Wanji helping him. Not only that but Xichen is only willing to help them even a little in their research because of his brother. And that's just a little annoying to me.

By the end of the story Wei Wuxian has no financial autonomy. Which isn't a big deal because this is ancient Chinese vampire times so as the "wife" he wouldn't have much anyway. But still not great.

Meng Yao and Wei Wuxians mothers and meng yao and Wei Wuxian are talked about in similar terms that are interesting. So both of them are "tainted" by specifically who their mothers are. Men Yao because his mother was a sex worker and Wei ying because his mother was known to be a highly wanted and playful woman. People both assume they are going to be exactly like heir parents and treat them as such. Which affects how they actually interact with people. MEng Yao knows he can't appear greedy or even like he's ambitious because he knows that as a son of a sex worker, everyone will think he's naturally greedy and manipulative. And he is those things. But they made him this way. he had to no choice but to be a sneaky asshole because the moment he showed any ambition it was either immediately squashed because of his status or people were like I know it. He is sued by his father in the same way his mother was. Wei Wuxian on there other hand has three people in his life who treat him a certain way because of his mother. Fengmain lets him get away with a lot and is openly affectionate to seemingly make of for his relationship with his parents. He doesn't spoil Wei Wuxian as much as he doesn't really expect anything of him? He just wants to see Wei Wuxian happy doing whatever he wants. He assumes Wei Wuxian is a wild and free spirit because his mother was and thats not fully true. On the other hand, Madam yu and Qiren treat Wuxian almost like a temptress. He's just a reflection of his moms wild, playful and seduction personality to them. They both think he's someone they have to actively control and suppress lest he get all the attention and make people behave inappropriately. Its that same notion I wrote about way earlier. How girls have to be the ones to control themselves and their appearances so as to not tempt the men folk with their ankles.

In Conclusion

Fuck the Patriarchy, Learn Necromancy.

#mdzs fandom #mdsz #wangxian #wei wuxian #feminism? #gender roles #rant post #I'm not editing this. It's embarrassing enough I'm writing this much about mdzs. #Still listening to the podcast tho

[spriteofmushrooms]

Another late night brain blast, in a AU where JC is a reincarnated SJ, Bingge comes through on a hunt for a kind Shizun. He sees that JC is a SJ without any memories and that he acts like the kind Shizun, especially towards his young nephew. BGG tells him he’ll destroy everything unless JC comes back with him and fulfill his past life debts by taking care of him. JL and WWX are freaking out and begging that JC doesn’t do anything stupid, but it’s not like JC isn’t used to sacrificing himself to keep others safe. Maybe if his past life was as horrible as this Demon Emperor made it out to be it would be safer to keep himself away from them. He’d obviously brought to much karmic debt with him and that’s why his life had gone down hill. So BGG takes him back with him and thus starts a fraught story of JC trying to figure out what to do to keep this erratic creature from tearing him and anyone he loves apart in a fit whilst WWX goes insane trying to find away to get to and save his shidi. Maybe the center of the Burial Mounds has a Xin Mo buried in it. BGG would be swinging between being pissed that JC isn’t exactly like either Shizun and obsessed with the bits that are like them.

Anon, you simply must know that this is divine.

It wouldn't even take a moment of consideration for Jiang Cheng, would it? He's probably been obsessed with ensuring that the next Jiang-zongzhu would be well-prepared for their new role. "If I died tomorrow, would Wei Wuxian the true second-in-command in all but name during and after Sunshot Jin Ling while Jin Rusong was alive my second-in-command be able to lead the sect?" must be a question that haunts him. So Lotus Pier has been designed, and his disciples have been trained, for the inevitability of his death.

Do you think the idea of being The Worst Person Ever™ (according to PIDW Luo Binghe) would settle into Jiang Cheng's insecurities easily, nestling into his soul? I don't think he'd even need to be convinced; he would certainly not defend himself. When have Shen Jiu or Jiang Cheng ever defended themselves? ("To whom should I complain? Did I tell this, / Who would believe me?")

I think he'd ask for a moment with Jin Ling. And grasping, desperate, hungry Luo Binghe would allow it--if he can watch--so that he'd be able to observe how Jiang Cheng loves other people. So he can recognize the signs in case Jiang Cheng could ever love him.

Very fun concept. Jiang Cheng would be sooo miserable.

#pallas.rtf #mdzs #svsss #hi anon #i would read 800k about this by the way

[lurkingshan]

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

Tagged by @clara-maybe-ontheroad to start some trouble. There are a lot of these, so I'm mostly going to do quick hits and maybe expand on a few that really get me going.

The categories are:

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

It would be easier to list the BL soundtracks that are not horrible (offense intended).

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)/Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

I'm so bad at remembering specific lines of dialogue unless I think they're beautiful/heart-wrenching, so I got nothing.

Most stupid decision made by a character

In a BL?? Baby, I do not have all day.

Worst plot line

Hmmm I'm gonna give in to recency bias and say faking amnesia to get your fiancé to love you again after you iced him out and denied him sex for four years because of your tiger attack-related PTSD (no I am not making that up, never change actually Naughty Babe).

The most problematic show you've watched

Problematic is in the eye of the beholder, so honestly who can say.

A show people love but you find bad

LOLOLOL. There are. So many. Probably the one with the wildest fandom fervor :: Shan personal enjoyment ratio is KinnPorsche.

A show people find bad but you will defend

Theory of Love and y'all stay wrong about this. It is easily one of the best early Thai bls and the writing, character development, and narrative structure are all excellent, but people hate slutty characters so they can't deal with it.

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it/were horny/because of that one character

Why r u? What can I say, I'm a Fighter/Tutor girlie.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Hmmm I usually just drop it if I'm truly not having fun. I guess you could count me finishing Minato's Laundromat 2 despite knowing any hope for it was over at the end of episode 9. I just needed to see how mad I was going to be in the end (pretty damn mad).

A bad show that you would still recommend

There is too much BL nowadays to be trifling with the bad shit.

The character that ruined a show the most/most awful character that you hated

PLERN PLENG (Together With Me). cc: @bengiyo the co-president of the Plern Pleng antis.

Most awful character that you loved

Boston, a beautiful chaos demon (Only Friends).

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

Anyone played by Podd or Jimmy (it's their faces I can't stand them sorry to those men).

A hero that should have been a villain

This is an interesting one! I’m not sure this counts, but I’ll just say I did not love the way The Untamed white washed Wei Wuxian and removed his culpability for all his worst choices (I recognize this was largely due to censorship). I much prefer the more morally complex and deeply flawed version of him we got in MDZS.

A morally bad character you're into/you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

I don't believe in holding fictional characters to real life moral standards. Bad behavior makes for good stories.

The show that disappointed you the most

Let me take this opportunity to drag Plus & Minus again, a show that had all the right ingredients to be a top tier friends to lovers narrative and absolutely blew it to do some beyond clichéd noble idiocy and breakup bs that violated character and undercut the relationship to such a degree that I can never rewatch or enjoy anything about it again.

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

Hmm I do not have one. It's rare for me to not be able to find something of value in any media I consume.

Tagging @chickenstrangers @sorry-bonebag @kayatoasted @blmpff @twig-tea in case you want to play!

#tag game #bl ask game

[twinclownsoflotuspiers]

On Jiang Cheng and whether what he did was “redeemable” (why is this even an argument?)

DISCLAIMER: While I am cross-posting this from Twitter from when I wrote this in the wake of a discourse there a while back, small note that I DO NOT APPRECIATE MY META TO BE USED FOR FANWARS be it for speculations re “who is better between jc and wwx” OR “jc stan vs wwx stan”. Let’s just have fun conversations like mature people please.

Regarding whether Jiang Cheng is sensitive and an asshole sometimes, yes he is (and I love him for it) but is he only just that and not a compelling character of his own with layers? I’d argue there by saying as “questionable” as a lot of his decisions feel, he actually never went the wrong way or took wrong decisions despite everything. Controversial take? Hardly if you judge it according to the setting and the circumstances.

Was his part in the siege "problematic" and difficult to reconcile with? Yes. Is it difficult to love him for his grudge against the Wens? Maybe so. Did he hurt Wei Wuxian, whether willingly or impulsively? Also yes. Did he hate Wei Wuxian? It's more complex than hate but let's say he did. But did he also love and mourn Wei Wuxian in his own way? Absolutely. There have been several meta in the past on how Jiang Cheng’s hatred of Wei Wuxian is directly proportional to the amount of love he holds for the man so I shall not go into more detail on just how much Jiang Cheng actually loves Wei Wuxian. You guys should get it already.

Not taking into account the "morality" arguments of his actions because that's a discussion for another day, I'd say he had his reasons for what he did. Don’t know why people forget the fact that Yunmeng Jiang was the only sect to have its root clan completely annihilated AND their sect entirely plundered in the Wen attack. He LITERALLY BUILT THE ENTIRE SECT FROM SCRATCH and I'm not talking about the structure alone. I'm talking people, reputation, fighting power, making cultivators out of non cultivators, financial alternatives blah blah. A reminder that Jiang Cheng also mostly did it all alone. 

Jiang Yanli while a Jiang is ultimately a woman (always read a book according to the period it's set in). She will be married into the Jin household and will be called “Jin Furen”. Wei Wuxian during the bulk of that time was stuck in the Mounds & unable to assist in the rebuilding. Jiang Cheng had to rebuild both recruits, gather enough funds to rebuild the sect structure or merely only for enough food for all perhaps, teach them the Jiang martial arts because he is literally the last Jiang standing AND somehow convince the rest of the great sects to allow Yunmeng Jiang into the war. If we look at it from the war perspective, the Sunshot Alliance also had no reason to necessarily trust a recently destroyed sect so easily when Yunmeng Jiang literally had nothing to offer apart from one battered Jiang heir who was determined to fight, one Jiang daughter who wasn't a cultivator and a missing head disciple (more on war politics some other day because I personally love the Sunshot Era and want to discuss it in detail). 

And you'd think Yunmeng Jiang would miraculously suddenly become rich overnight right after the war? No. The Sunshot campaign continued for an approx. 3 years. That means much more resources and manpower used up. More deaths. Which also means the death of even some of the new Jiang recruits because Yunmeng Jiang was the weakest during that time, the only sect with an uneven motley of new recruits - possibly more non cultivators than cultivators because how many people even take up cultivation. Jiang Cheng would have to continue rebuilding and garnering support even after the war for the sake of his people. And Yunmeng Jiang wouldn't be credited majorly for the Campaign either - the main credit went to Gusu Lan, Qinghe Nie and Lanling Jin who ALSO formed an alliance along with the Venerated Triad (there is also geography factors in play here). Yunmeng Jiang was literally left alone and fighting to even exist.

We can have morality based arguments regarding Jiang Cheng’s participation in the Siege, but politically it was the best decision he could have taken because it was either that or waiting for a second annihilation of Yunmeng Jiang. Had he decided to stand by Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian chosen not to defect? They would've branded Yunmeng Jiang the next "Wens" and in want for power and crushed them. Jiang Cheng had to make a choice between saving one person and saving the people he looks over and he made his choice as a GOOD leader. And Wei Wuxian understood that, which is why HE also decided to defect on his own accord.

Jiang Cheng spoke, “Wei Wuxian, have you still not realized what the situation at hand is like? Do you really need me to say it out loud? If you insist on protecting them, then I won’t be able to protect you.”

Wei Wuxian, “There’s no need to protect me. Just let go.”

Jiang Cheng’s face twisted.

Wei Wuxian, “Just let go. Tell the world that I defected. From now on, no matter what Wei Wuxian does, it’d have nothing to do with the Yunmeng Jiang Sect.” [GDC Chapter 73: Recklessness. Cr. ExR]

There is also a bit in the lower paragraphs in the same chapter where Jiang Cheng demands if Wei Wuxian has a savior complex and Wei Wuxian doesn’t answer instead insists on cutting ties so whatever he does wouldn’t affect the Sect which is followed by an inner monologue where Wei Wuxian can’t even guarantee what he himself do. (Very cool foreshadow). TL;DR: Wei Wuxian defected by his own choice because he wanted to PROTECT THE SECT TOO.

Wei Wuxian stayed quiet. A while later, he answered, “So that’s why we should cut ties right now, in case anything I do affects the Yunmeng Jiang Sect in the future.”

Or else, he really couldn’t make any guarantees on what he’d do in the future.

DESPITE it all, let me remind you, Jiang Cheng did in fact try to defend at least the Wen siblings.  He didn't have to because that could actually put Yunmeng Jiang into an awkward position yet he did. Jiang Cheng wasn't privy to the core exchange so he didn't know what they'd done and hence had no reason to be grateful to them. The most he knew was, the siblings helped shelter them and got back his parents’ bodies and he does show gratitude for it or at least tries to explain why they owe them a debt but he is cut off before he could even complete saying how and why they owe gratitude. Quoting once again:

“.....I apologize to all of the Sect Leaders. Everyone, I’m afraid you don’t know that the Wen cultivator whom Wei Wuxian wanted to save was called Wen Ning. We owe him and his sister Wen Qing gratitude for what happened during the Sunshot Campaign.”

Nie Mingjue, “You owe them gratitude? Isn’t the Qishan Wen Sect the ones who caused the Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s annihilation?” [GDC Chapter 73]

(Small addendum, but I personally believe Jiang Cheng doesn’t have to be grateful for the golden core sacrifice either but that’s a discussion I shall not touch here because MDZS fandom is not capable of nuance regarding this subject at all, and I’d just spark either Wei Wuxian hate or Jiang Cheng hate, neither of which is my goal and both of which I think is absolutely stupid. On to the rest with no more tangents.)

As for the "Jiang Cheng went around killing demonic cultivators", literally the only source is from an INN KEEPER. And MDZS at its core is a novel that talks about how the truth is so often distorted to fit the popular narrative. Did he go around killing demonic cultivators? Who the fuck knows, we headcanon as we like. But the fact remains that IT WAS NEVER CONFIRMED. I have also seen people use in argument the lines from the first Jiang Cheng appearance (I forgot the scene exactly) where there is a small POV shift and Jiang Cheng is thinking to himself “It’s alright, I have done things like this before.” which, okay, valid point and argument but it can also easily allude to atrocities done during the war. I personally find it interesting that Jiang Cheng has to personally soothe and convince himself before capturing a demonic cultivator like this at all. But anyway, my first argument still stands - it was never CONFIRMED. (I’d love to meta, albeit GOOD FAITH, on this subject just saying.)

Whether Jiang Cheng hunted demonic cultivators to find Wei Wuxian in order to "kill" him again, I don't think that's it. Or at least, I don’t think it’s so simple. Grief is multifaceted and different people deal with it differently. Lan Wangji indulged in self-destructive behavior (Branding himself with the Wen brand) in grief before gradually beginning to accept. Jiang Cheng did it in other destructive ways like being in denial of Wei Wuxian's death and masking his grief with hatred when in fact he was mourning too. The reason why he gives Chenqing in the end and the fact that Chenqing is sleek and new and obviously well cared for is symbolic to Jiang Cheng's underlying care and grief that continued to stay despite how much he tried to pretend he absolutely despises Wei Wuxian. And his "giving away" of Chenqing is symbolic to his final acceptance of things as they are. If Jiang Cheng truly hated Wei Wuxian, he would've done everything to expose his identity to the world and get him killed or killed him himself in that inn instead of questioning him about things and telling him to apologize to his parents. Quoting because I think this bit is actually pretty significant:

Jiang Cheng interrupted, “It’s just what? You can’t say it? Don’t worry, you can go back to Lotus Pier and say your excuses while kneeling in front of my parents’ graves.” [GDC Chapter 24. Cr. ExR]

THIS BITCH, FOR ALL HIS DRAMATIC INSISTENCE ON HATING WEI WUXIAN, TELLS THE VERY MAN HE CLAIMS HE HATES THAT HE WANTS EXPLANATIONS FOR WHATEVER HE DID IN THE PAST AND THAT WEI WUXIAN CAN “GO BACK TO LOTUS PIER AND KNEEL” AT THE ANCESTRAL HALL. If that isn’t just the Jiang Cheng way of saying “this is me giving you a chance. Just tell me why you did all that you did” then I don’t fucking know what else is. (He is so pathetic and has such an ironically huge heart I love him)

Jiang Cheng is bad at feelings. He’s bad at being honest with his feelings. I made another meta long back on how Jiang Cheng always addresses the hurt of people close to him but never his own hurt because he is second to even his own self but that’s for another day. It even actually took him until nearly the last chapter (102) to admit verbally he was hurt, so goddamn HURT that Wei Wuxian left him so the above quote IS in fact Jiang Cheng genuinely wanting explanations from Wei Wuxian. Quoting once again on the chapter 102 bit:

He choked, “....You said I’d be the sect leader and you’d be my subordinate, you said you’d help me your whole life, you said you’d never betray the Yunmeng Jiang Sect....you said so yourself.” [GDC Chapter 102. Cr. ExR]

A small tangent because I just think it’s interesting again but in the reveal scene in Jin Guangyao’s basement/secret room, Jiang Cheng was actually given an opportunity to directly expose Wei Wuxian yet again where he is directly addressed but he just teethered and debated with himself because “yes I already knew Wei Wuxian is back” and “I can’t agree with Jin Guangyao or else I will expose my idiot shixiong” AND “I can’t oppose him either because MY IDIOT SHIXIONG JUST PULLED OUT SUIBIAN IN FRONT OF EVERYONE”. See, that particular bit could have just easily stuck to “Jiang Cheng decided to stay silent and hence agree without agreeing outright” or any other vaguer wordings for that matter but the narrative makes it a point to show that he is in fact fucking conflicted because he still wants to protect Wei Wuxian. Quoting:

Jin Ling suddenly shouted, “Wait! Uncle, wait! D-didn’t my uncle hit him with Zidian back at Dafan Mountain? His soul didn’t get whipped out, so it must mean that he didn’t possess this body, right? And so he can’t be Wei Wuxian right?!”

Jiang Cheng’s face looked very dark. He didn’t speak as his hand pressed onto the hilt of his sword, as though he was thinking about what to do. [GDC Chapter 50. Cr. ExR]

This is turning out too long, pardon the tangents. But regarding Shuangjie’s bond, breaking and tale in its entirety, it's way more complex than deciding who is the true villain between them or who is more redeemable between them. Heck their temple talk ENDS at the fact that who should truly apologize when they both hurt & got hurt.

Suddenly, he said, “I’m sorry.”

Wei Wuxian hesitated, “....You don’t need to say sorry.”

At this point, it was impossible to figure out who should apologize to whom. [GDC Chapter 103. Cr. ExR]

To end on whether Jiang Cheng was right or is he “irredeemable” for all he did; Jiang Cheng is as much a victim as is Wei Wuxian. He was hurt as much as Wei Wuxian was. He has as much valid reasons for his actions as Wei Wuxian does. Whether or not Jiang Cheng is a good or bad guy depends on perspectives and your tastes. But I can say with confidence that he isn't irredeemable, nor is he unreasonable. And more importantly he is very deeply human in a very raw and poignant way. And humans are flawed and that's the beauty of them. Besides what is the concept of “redemption” anyway if not an extremely personal one?

Jiang Cheng was right to grieve. He was right to choose to save Yunmeng Jiang. He was right to be hurt and not pretend otherwise. Jiang Cheng is complicated and morally grey but ultimately very much relatable and understandable as a character but if only you choose to look at him without the bias that comes with the narrative perspective.

End meta/rant, OMFG THIS WAS TOO LONG.

#jiang cheng #jiang wanyin #canon jiang cheng #mdzs meta #mdzs