#mo dao zu shi interview | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

withthewindinherfootsteps · 2 years

Text

Rejected, or simply unexpected? Aka debunking self-sabotaging Wei Wuxian takes, part three

People have talked a bit about this before, but fanon!Wei Wuxian has a peculiar habit of not accepting any help from others. This happens in every single scenario — even when he knows the person offering it is capable, even when it comes at no cost to them, even when not accepting said help would actually hurt other people under his care. This ties into his low self-esteem, low self-worth, believing he’s nothing but a burden to others, believing he doesn’t deserve anything… all of which is decidedly not true for Wei Wuxian in canon. But that point of view is very common in fandom circles, and it plays into a perception that Wei Wuxian doesn’t just find it hard to accept help – he doesn’t believe he deserves nice things in general.

Before we fully get into that, I think there’s one quote that encapsulates Wei Wuxian’s attitude towards help very well:

He wasn’t scared of falling. All these years, he’d fallen many times. But falling on the ground still hurt, after all. If someone was there to catch him, it’d be more than wonderful.

- Chapter 87, EXR translation

This is from the scene where Wei Wuxian climbs the tree at Lotus Pier, and is struck by a sudden urge to fall and see if Lan Wangji will catch him, so admittedly, there are a lot of emotions surrounding Lan Wangji himself that could possibly affect this. That's actually quite likely, considering how flustered he gets every time Lan Wangji does something romantic for him ("you can't say things like that, Lan Zhan! "). But I think this moment echoes what’s true throughout the book – Wei Wuxian may not expect help, but when it’s offered, he’ll take it gladly. He doesn’t he sees himself unworthy of it.

And there are a lot more moments where this pattern is repeated. He doesn’t insist on letting Lan Wangji rest the whole time in the Xuanwu’s cave despite being injured, he doesn’t feel conflicted when accepting help from Wen Ning and Wen Qing when they’re sheltering him from the rest of the Wens or when the Golden Core transfer is taking place, he doesn’t reject or feel guilty that Lan Wangji decides to stay with him after his identity is revealed! He asks if he’s sure he wants to help him, but after he confirms that he never feels horrible of that Lan Wangji made the wrong choice! Again, he didn't expect that help, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to feel bad about getting it – quite the opposite.

It’s not just accepting help, either. Particularly with Lan Wangji, he doesn’t just accept help, he actively asks for it at times (while giving the opportunity to turn it down), and that’s completely fine with him! And this isn’t with small things either, in one of these instances he’s straight up asking Lan Wangji to possibly risk his life with him at the Second Siege of the Burial Mounds:

Suddenly, Wei WuXian spoke up, “HanGuang-Jun!” Lan WangJi turned around to look at him. Wei WuXian took in a breath, “I want to do something.” The eyes of the others were led over by the conversation as well. Wei WuXian, “Will you do it with me?” Lan WangJi gazed at him. He answered, firm and articulate, “I will.” (...) Wei WuXian, “Later, when the second wave of corpses breaks in, I’m going to lead them towards the blood pool, and HanGuang-Jun will be responsible for killing them. Here,” he patted his chest, “is a target. They won’t pay any attention to you all. Don’t engage in battle, just run outside as fast as you can.”

- Chapter 82, EXR

(Though Wei Wuxian is undoubtedly confident in his and Lan Wangji’s abilities here, there is genuine danger, and it’s the corpses of the Wen Remnants that allow them to not be harmed, something he couldn’t have predicted. And I do believe he would have been able to judge the danger of the situation correctly – this wave of corpses is “bigger than the last”, and it took many more people than just Lan Wangji to fight off the smaller, previous one. Additionally, the aim here is to get everyone else out safely, not necessarily to just kill all the corpses.)

Again, there is no guilt here! And no hesitation in that, either – yes, he takes a breath before telling Lan Wangji, but because the breath is before “I want to do something” and not “will you do it with me?”, it’s safe to assume that it’s a slight pause before committing himself to putting himself in mortal danger, not because it’s hard for him to ask Lan Wangji to help him.

And yes, this is all with Lan Wangji, so you could say this is a special case because of the feelings he has towards him. I disagree, however, because there’s nothing in the rest of the novel to suggest this is the case, and he has accepted help from Wen Ning and Wen Qing, who he hardly knew at the time, with no problem. But the reason I bring this up is that so many of these Wei-Wuxian-is-hesitant-to-accept-help include Wei Wuxian being hesitant to accept help from Lan Wangji too, which is not only a problem because that’s not at all the case in the novel (see above), but also because it’s so contradictory to Wangxian as a relationship. It’s a relationship so immensely built on trust, on that being so mutual that there don’t have to be ‘thank you’s or ‘sorry’s between them, on believing and trusting in the abilities of both the other person and themselves, and simply in the other person and themselves – that having Wei Wuxian not willing to accept any help or feeling like a burden or anything in that vein, completely breaks that apart.

––

Now we’ve established that Wei Wuxian has no problem accepting help, let’s look at the two main examples people usually cite as him rejecting it. I don’t think there’s any need to mention the aftermath of Nightless City, because Wei Wuxian there is extremely traumatised and not even fully conscious.

Firstly, there are the 'examples' people talk about most — saving the Wen remnants alone, and not telling anyone about his Golden Core being gone.

Saving the Wen remnants is a curious example, because there isn't actually a moment when he rejects help, or stops himself from asking for it. The closest you can get is when he is tells Jiang Cheng to tell the world he's defected from the Jiang sect. But let’s take a closer look at that scene:

Jiang Cheng, “You burn this corpse right now and return to them all these leftovers of the Wen Sect. That’s the only way to make the subject die!” As he spoke, he raised his sword again, preparing to attack. However, Wei WuXian clenched his wrist, “Are you joking?! If we return Wen Qing and the others to them, they’d meet nothing but a dead end!”

(...)

A while later, 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 YunmengJiang Sect.”

- Chapter 73, EXR

That’s not rejecting help, because help was only being if he handed in the Wen Remnants and left them to die. That’s protecting innocents – something we know Wei WuXian very often does do.

And conditional though it was, this is the only semblance of help that was even offered! The Jins and Nies certainly aren’t going to offer anything, the Lans aren’t going to make a move, and the only person who really defends him (Mianmian) does it when he’s not even there. Lan WangJi eventually decides to stand by him, but by then it’s much too late, and Wei WuXian never gets a chance to consciously accept permanent help from him here either – though it’s important to note that he had absolutely no problem with Lan WangJi helping him when he visited him in Yiling. You can’t reject help if none’s offered!

Hiding his Golden Core, meanwhile is even easier to find a likelier explanation to, because the reason is given to us! Wei Wuxian states outright that the reason he didn’t tell Jiang Cheng about the transfer was that he didn’t want him to react how he eventually did when finding out in canon. And if we want to ask why he didn’t tell him some other way and lie about the circumstances... they’re in the middle of a war right now. Not having a Golden Core is an extremely big weakness that people could and would exploit if the information somehow got out, which wouldn’t be impossible – is Wei Wuxian really going to risk that when he can hide it instead? Even after the war ends, it’s the same situation. Wei Wuxian is not stupid in any sense of the word, he’s entirely the opposite. He knows he’s in a socially vunerable position, he knows people have very negative opinions of him because of his use of guidao, he knows any ‘respect’ they show towards him is due to fear. He also knows there are people like Jin Guangshan who’d probably like to use that power for themselves (situation with the Yin Tiger Tally, anyone?), and very much not for good, so he’s not letting that happen. Telling anyone about his Core being gone and risking the information getting out means people can and would exploit that information and take advantage of it, so there’s an extremely good reason for not doing so, that does not have any connection to the act of accepting help. And in addition to that, the loss of his core is painful to dwell on – he admits that in his thoughts at the Guanyin Temple. Why force yourself to talk about it when there’s the opportunity to just... not? And if we’re talking post-timeskip, that information is pretty much irrelevant to anything going on, so there’d be no reason to bring that up at all.

So I think it’s safe to say that in both these situations, the act of accepting or rejecting help isn’t really a factor – or at least not one large enough to consider.

(And if anyone has any other situations where it seems Wei Wuxian is rejecting help and there’s not a clear alternate explanation as to why, please reblog or send me an ask with your thoughts. The whole point of analysis is discussion!)

––

So at last, let’s get to the underlying ‘issue’ – that Wei WuXian, apparently, doesn’t believe he des

Since this is a belief and not a reactionary trait, it’s a bit harder to find anything directly proving or disproving it. However, we can infer from the way he acts that this is not the case. Take a look at what he does in canon:

He frequently flirts friendlily with others, almost always as a way to get something for himself , whether it’s loquats, medicinal perfume pouches, or something else (I say almost always because Lan Wangji exists, of course)*.

He frequently takes things from the stalls around Lotus Pier, which he’s allowed to do... because the money is paid by Yunmeng Jiang instead. He knows this, and he knows he’s allowed to, and does he ever feel guilt? No! Quite the opposite, actually:

Wei WuXian took a bite, “Back then, I didn’t even have to pay when I ate at the dock. I grabbed whatever I wanted, ate whatever I wanted; ran after I grabbed, walked as I ate. A month later, the vendor would get the reimbursement from Uncle Jiang.”

Chapter 86, EXR

He takes Lan Wangji’s money and uses it to buy things for himself on more than one occasion – and the first few times it isn’t even given to him, he just takes it!

In addition to this, in his early childhood he always used to give a “genuine smile that showed how happy he was” whenever somebody gave him a bun or something else to eat, according to a comment by MXTX . None of those point to him not believing he should have nice things, he takes them for himself all the time! And just like when he’s offered help, he’s happy when they’re offered to him!

Now, there is a period people could use in an argument against this, and that’s when Wei Wuxian first arrives at Lotus Pier, so let’s talk about that. Because yes, he is shy, he is very hesitant. And that could easily be interpreted as young Wei WuXian struggling to accept the he’s been given. But in the same comment, MXTX actually talked a bit about that period of his life, and this is what she said:

“Then at Lotus Pier, for the first month, he daren’t use too much water for a bath. He wouldn’t dare to eat too much, afraid that he’d be too expensive for JFM. Then afterwards…

He completely let go and went wild.”

To me, that sounds more of a case where he’s scared he’ll get thrown out of Lotus Pier if he’s too difficult for Jiang Fengmian, and so acts in a way to prevent that happening. And when he’s confident it won’t happen? He stops doing that, and starts acting like... well, himself. It’s an emotionally driven tactic, not a case of feeling unable to accept the nice things that are happening (and adjusting to an entirely new place with entirely new people must have played a role in it, too).

I think the confusion here comes from “believing good things/help/etc are deserved” being mixed up with “expecting good things/help/etc to be given”. Wei WuXian doesn’t expect nice things, or at least nice things given freely and unprompted – and really, why would he? But that does not mean he has trouble accepting them, and it does not mean he believes himself unworthy of them. There are no self-esteem issues at work here, it’s simply him expecting what was a pattern from the entirety of his childhood.

Finally, I want to speculate a bit about what Wei Wuxian’s attitude towards help actually is, and why it is that way. Because there was a quote that stood out to me recently, when reading through the Cloud Recesses arc for this meta, and that’s Wei Wuxian’s reaction when Nie Huaisang offers to copy his lines for him:

Nie HuaiSang quickly spoke, “I’ll copy for you! I’ll copy for you!” Wei WuXian, “No good person does favours for others out of the blue. Tell me, what do you want me to do?”

He defaults to seeing help of any sort as an exchange: people may offer help, but they won’t give it freely. And that's treated as a simple fact of life, not tied to any self-based issues, because that’s simply the way things have always been for him – he’s never been freely given help with no strings attached. Even when he’s taken off the streets by Jiang Fengmian, a close friend of both his parents whose life was saved by one of them, that means he’s indebted to Yunmeng Jiang, it can’t exist as a kind action in and of itself.

And the sad thing is that, most of the time, he’s right. He was right in this scenario, he’s right about how things are in the cultivation world at large, because the world of MDZS isn’t a nice place, and it’s definitely not nice to the so-called “son of a servant”.

That’s why I specified not expecting help given freely and unprompted. Because he isn’t especially surprised at help, with strings attached – to an exchange of favours. Even flirting with people for loquats has the same roots: he gives them his charms and flattering words and a smile, and they give him what he asked for in return.

And that’s why he’s so surprised and happy when people like Lan Wangji offer that kind of help to him, where nothing is expected in return – where he’ll simply be caught if he falls, with nothing else tied to it. That’s one of the reasons he’s so happy in a relationship with him, because there are no ‘pleases’ and ‘thank-you’s and exchanges.

Wei Wuxian likes being helped, he likes being pampered and treated well – there’s no element of “I don’t deserve this” in there. He just simply hasn’t been given enough chances to expect it.

#...these are getting longer and longer aren't they #debunking fanon wei wuxian the series #my meta #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #gdc #also thanks very much to grewlikefancyflowers for the link to the interview/comment!

207 notes · View notes

loustatsdivorceattorney · 4 months

Text

Roleplay partner wanted!

I am 26, so 18+ only please! I am looking for third person lit style roleplay. I like fandom rp & original characters. Queer pairings preferred!

Things I like:

Castlevania (&Nocturne)

Interview with the vampire

Hannibal

Killing Eve

MDZS

Jujutsu Kaisen

Death Note

Blue Eye Samurai

Gideon the Ninth

Dark Rise/ Dark Heir

Captive Prince

& others!

I love plot lines with demons, vampires, assassins, anything a lil dark or angsty! DM me if interested!

#iwtv #amc iwtv #dark rise #dark heir #gideon the ninth #killing eve #hannibal #interview with the vampire #castlevania #castlevania nocturne #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #roleplay request #roleplay partner search

15 notes · View notes

ms-keysha · 1 year

Text

I'm not even kidding when I find a new piece of media to entertain myself with my eyes go like a cat's who sees the christmas tree for the first time

#the umbrella academy #interview with the vampire #abott elementary #sasaki to miyano #attack on titan #heaven official's blessing #mo dao zu shi #and probably more but I don't remember

43 notes · View notes

oneiriad · 2 years

Text

Vampire Chronicles vs. MDZS

Lestat: *kills a bunch of people and prowls threateningly closer to the two men in old fashioned Chinese clothes, because do they really think a sword can stop him*

Wei Wuxian: *plays his flute*

Recent victims: *groans and rises all around*

Lestat: *falters, going WT actual F?!*

Lan Wangji: *draws sword and leaps at the distracted vampire*

#interview with the vampire #mo dao zu shi

14 notes · View notes

ofmythsandmists · 1 year

Photo

WIPs of my favourite characters for each new fandom I’ve joined in 2022

or 2022 WRAP of Favourite often Traumatized Assholes

#my art #fanart #aemond targaryen #hotd #house of the dragon #lucifer morningstar #lucifer #the sandman #jin guangyao #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #armand #interview with the vampire #iwtv

1 note · View note

galedakarios · 5 months

Note

hey did you change your username and i missed it? who did you used to be lol

yes, previously @tolkiendorcs

i had like a million sideblogs for all my side interests but then i was like fuck it let's make this all one big mess of all my interests, who has the time for sideblogs.

#so now instead of mostly tolkien #you also get:#mo dao zu shi #interview with the vampire #baldur's gate 3 #demon slayer #one piece #the witcher #stranger things (but actually just steve harrington)#assorted other animes #and literally whatever else comes up tbh

1 note · View note

fandom · 5 months

Photo

Ships

Unexpected connections happen in two places: the Ships list and Feeld—a dating app for the curious. On Feeld, finding like-minded people is as fulfilling as finding yourself. In celebration of ships, here are this year’s iconic connections.

Ineffable Husbands +17 Aziraphale & Crowley, Good Omens

Steddie Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson, Stranger Things

Destiel Dean Winchester & Castiel, Supernatural

Byler -3 Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Stranger Things

Wenclair Wednesday Addams & Enid Sinclair, Wednesday

Bowuigi Bowser & Luigi, the Super Mario Bros. franchise

Huntlow +7 Hunter & Willow Park, The Owl House

Avatrice Ava Silva & Beatrice, Warrior Nun

Hannigram +2 Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham, Hannibal

Buddie -4 Evan Buckley & Edmundo Diaz, 9-1-1

Vashwood Vash the Stampede & Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Trigun Stampede

Zelink +80 Zelda & Link, The Legend of Zelda

Lumity -6 Luz Noceda & Amity Blight, The Owl House

Ghostsoap Simon “Ghost” Riley & John “Soap” MacTavish, the Call of Duty franchise

Blackbonnet -11 Edward Teach/Blackbeard & Stede Bonnet, Our Flag Means Death

Wolfstar +8 Remus Lupin & Sirius Black, the Harry Potter universe

Merthur +12 Merlin & Arthur Pendragon, Merlin

Jegulus +25 James Potter & Regulus Black, the Harry Potter universe

Bumbleby +48 Yang Xiao Long & Blake Belladonna, RWBY

Bakudeku -4 Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Boku no Hero Academia

Dreamling -1 Dream of the Endless & Hob Gadling, The Sandman

Soukoku +60 Nakahara Chuuya & Dazai Osamu, Bungou Stray Dogs

Firstprince Alex Claremont-Diaz & Prince Henry of Wales, Red, White & Royal Blue

Wesper Wylan Van Eck & Jesper Fahey, the Grishaverse

Wangxian -8 Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian, Mo Dao Zu Shi

Satosugu +23 Gojo Satoru & Geto Suguru, Jujutsu Kaisen

Imodna +8 Imogen Temult & Laudna, Critical Role

Kanej +44 Kaz Brekker & Inej Ghafa, the Grishaverse

Bubbline Princess Bubblegum & Marceline, Adventure Time

Ladynoir -17 Ladybug & Chat Noir, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Twiyor +6 Loid Forger & Yor Forger, SPY x FAMILY

Loustat +43 Louis de Pointe du Lac & Lestat de Lioncourt, Interview with the Vampire

Zosan Roronoa Zoro & Vinsmoke Sanji, One Piece

Marichat -12 Marinette Dupain-Cheng & Chat Noir, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Serirei +65 Serizawa Katsuya & Reigen Arataka, Mob Psycho 100

Adrienette -21 Adrien Agreste & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Chenford +24 Lucy Chen & Tim Bradford, The Rookie

Petrigrof Simon Petrikov & Betty Grof, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

Kavetham Kaveh & Alhaitham, Genshin Impact

Griddlehark +54 Gideon Nav & Harrowhark Nonagesimus, The Locked Tomb series

Raeda -13 Raine Whispers & Eda Clawthorne, The Owl House

Tomgreg -19 Tom Wambsgans & Greg Hirsch, Succession

Hanamusa Jessie & Delia Ketchum, the Pokémon franchise

Zolu Roronoa Zoro & Monkey D. Luffy, One Piece

Narumitsu -12 Phoenix Wright & Miles Edgeworth, Ace Attorney

Sonadow +23 Sonic & Shadow, Sonic the Hedgehog

Ineffable Bureaucracy Archangel Gabriel & Beelzebub, Good Omens

Spirk +9 Spock & James Kirk, Star Trek

Ballister x Ambrosius Ballister Boldheart & Ambrosius Goldenloin, Nimona

Nandermo -42 Nandor the Relentless & Guillermo de la Cruz, What We Do in the Shadows

Jonmartin -15 Jonathan Sims & Martin Blackwood, The Magnus Archives

Punkflower Hobie Brown & Miles Morales, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

AkiAngel Aki Hayakawa & the Angel Devil, Chainsaw Man

Ronance -49 Robin Buckley & Nancy Wheeler, Stranger Things

Superbat -11 Superman & Batman, the DC universe

Shuake Ren Amamiya/Joker & Goro Akechi, Persona 5

Geraskier -48 Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier, The Witcher

Hualian -18 Hua Cheng & Xie Lian, Tian Guan Ci Fu

Sulemio Suletta Mercury & Miorine Rembran, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Sterek -5 Stiles Stilinski & Derek Hale, Teen Wolf

Gumlee Prince Gumball & Marshall Lee, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

Shadowpeach Sun Wukong & the Six-Eared Macaque, Lego Monkie Kid

Drarry -29 Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, the Harry Potter universe

Wilmon Prince Wilhelm & Simon Eriksson, Young Royals

Harringrove -34 Steve Harrington & Billy Hargrove, Stranger Things

Kazurei Suwa Rei & Kurusu Kazuki, Buddy Daddies

Lestappen Charles Leclerc & Max Verstappen, Formula 1 drivers

Zukka -5 Zuko & Sokka, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Codywan +8 Commander Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Solangelo -23 Will Solace & Nico di Angelo, the Percy Jackson universe

Catradora Catra & Adora, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Shadowgast -4 Caleb Widogast & Essek Thelyss, Critical Role

Stucky -43 Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes, the Marvel universe

Tarlos -18 TK Strand & Carlos Reyes, 9-1-1: Lone Star

Johnlock +21 John Watson & Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock

Sasunaru -24 Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Naruto

Locklyle Anthony Lockwood & Lucy Carlyle, Lockwood & Co.

Lokius Loki Laufeyson & Mobius M. Mobius, the Marvel universe

Supercorp -67 Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Supergirl

Piltover's Finest Caitlyn Kiramman & Vi, Arcane

Helnik Matthias Helvar & Nina Zenik, the Grishaverse

Prohibitedwish Scarab & Prismo, Adventure Time

Klance -12 Keith & Lance, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Reylo Rey & Kylo Ren, the Star Wars universe

Hanazawa Teruki & Kageyama Shigeo, Mob Psycho 100

Cockles -44 Misha Collins & Jensen Ackles, Actors

Percabeth -46 Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase, the Percy Jackson universe

Astarion x Tav Astarion & Tav, Baldur's Gate 3

Timkon Tim Drake & Conner Kent, Young Justice

Davekat Dave Strider & Karkat Vantas, Homestuck

Cynonari Cyno & Tighnari, Genshin Impact

Creek Craig Tucker & Tweek Tweak, South Park

Klapollo Apollo Justice & Klavier Gavin, Ace Attorney

Style Stan Marsh & Kyle Brovlofski, South Park

Korrasami -11 Korra & Asami Sato, The Legend of Korra

Bill x Frank Bill & Frank, The Last of Us

Nick x Charlie -51 Nick Nelson & Charlie Spring, Heartstopper

Dreamnotfound -50 Dreamwastaken & GeorgeNotFound, Streamers

Dinluke -33 Din Djarin & Luke Skywalker, the Star Wars universe

Rhaenicent Rhaenyra Targaryen & Alicent Hightower, House of the Dragon

The number in italics indicates how many spots a ship moved up or down from the previous year. Bolded ships weren’t on the list last year. Explore your desires on Feeld. Within a safer, inclusive space, you can feel free to connect more intimately to yourself and others. Choose from over 20 gender and sexuality options and explore solo, or with a partner. Curious? Download the app today.

#year in review #ships #tumblr2023

8K notes · View notes

lilmethpl · 2 years

Text

Available delivery date for you when you want

#1950s #mo dao zu shi #mua #motorcycle #motorbike #motion graphics #motd #mob psycho 100 #mixed media #naruto #music #interview with the vampire #black entrepreneurship #book review #york #united states #digital illustration #house of the dragon

1 note · View note

asksythe · 1 year

Text

Dead languages and maybe Wei Ying is long-lost royalty

Today I had a discussion with @pakhnokh regarding why Wei Wuxian didn’t know the deeper layer of meaning behind the Lan forehead band. It was a long discussion on Twitter, so I figured I should just make a post here and leave this information out for anyone who might find it useful.

To start off: The reason why Wei Ying didn't know the deeper layer of meaning of the Lan forehead band was in the book. But it was written in a very opaque way, in one single throw-away line. In the book, when Wei Ying had to copy the Lan rules, he specifically complained that the rules were written in seal script.

The Useless Ye Olde’ Script

Seal script is a script that predated traditional Mandarin. It was infamous for being needlessly complex and having dozens, if not hundreds different dialects and writing methods. Some forms of seal script were entirely different languages altogether. When Qin Shi Huang united ancient China, he burned a lot of books and forced people to adopt a standard way to write, thus cementing traditional Mandarin as a singular language that is still used today, 2000 years after. A way to visualize how complex seal script was, is that there were 22 different ways to write the word 'sword'.

That is how mind-bogglingly complex it was. And worse, it was the source of much conflict in ancient times. To explain it simply, it was supposed to be one language. But if people could not even agree on how to write the same word, then how could they agree on more important things and cease warring against each other?

Language standardization was one of Qin Shi Huang’s greatest achievements, if not the greatest, as it laid the foundation for more peace and eventual unification in later dynasties.

This topic was made into an Academy Award-nominated movie, Hero by Zhang Yimou in 2002.

(the word ‘sword’ that Qin Shi Huang decided on, thus wiping out the other 20+ ways to write the same word)

Dating Mo Dao Zu Shi in real history (or, Wei Ying might actually be long-lost royalty)

In a very interesting turn of events, MXTX has confirmed in her latest interview in Subaru magazine, that the events of MDZS happened during Wei Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (commonly referred to as the Six Dynasties era by English-speaking historians, even though these two don’t perfectly line up).

Yes, the same Wei 魏 in Wei Ying 魏婴, Wei Wuxian 魏无羡.

So the events in MDZS took place in the era immediately after the fall of the Qin dynasty (caused by Qin Shi Huang’s death and his sons not being able to measure up). Therefore, Wei Ying’s generation is in a time after the language has standardized into a single form.

The Lan rules, at least the first set and the meaning of the forehead band, were written about 500 years before Wei Ying’s generation, at the founding of House Lan. So that would put it squarely in the pre-Qin, pre-lingual-standardization era.

So by Wei Ying’s time, the Lan rules were essentially written in a dead, kinda useless, and very very hard-to-read-because-it-has-some-hundred-different-dialect language.

That’s on top of the fact that it was probably written in the highest level of 书面语 shumianyu (written language) possible. I.e. extremely condensed and truncated (with zero punctuation).

So the Lan rules are more or less a very thick law book of a different nation written in the strictest, most condensed dead language that is in no way, shape, or form still in practical use for Wei Ying (and most other people not Lan). Do you feel like reading it? I don’t.

And that is why Wei Ying never figured out the original meaning of the forehead band despite having copied the rules hundreds of times (first day in class, he was already punished and sentenced to copying the rules 100 times by Lan Qiren).

Because he was just copying the words without really reading them. This was mentioned when Wei Ying asked Lan Wangji the meaning of the Lan forehead band, and Lan Wangji replied with, you have copied the rules so many times and you still don’t know?

But isn’t Wei Ying really well-read and smart, and what about the Wen book?

1/ Wei Ying is smart and well-read. There was one throw-away line in the book that mentioned his having read all the books available to him in Lotus Pier, and that he had read all kinds of trivia (including the Thousand Sores and Hundred Holes curse that got put on Jin Zixun). But it was also stated that he favored practical things or things that interested him. Lan rules in dead, extremely hard to read language are… well… yeah…

There was never any mention in canon where he remembered specific Lan rules unless it was literally beaten into him by teenage Lan Wangji.

2/ In the novel, the Lan rules are singled out as the only materials written in seal script. The Wen books were standard issued to everyone who took part in the Wen education camp. So the chance that it was written in seal script is low to none.

Wei Ying is not the only person who doesn’t know the meaning of the Lan forehead band

Jiang Cheng didn't know either. Jin Ling didn't know either. During the Wen archery competition, when Wei Ying pulled off Lan Wangji's forehead band, he did ask Jiang Cheng what the hell was that, when Lan Wangji and other Lan members reacted like he did something shameful. Jiang Cheng replied with, how the hell would I know? Their house has so many rules. Just stop poking them.

Jin Ling didn't know until the other Lan teenagers told him. The only characters who know this in canon are all members of Lan house. The impression that Wei Ying is the only one who doesn't know is 100 percent fanon. Keep in mind both Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling are clan heirs, so their education and knowledge of other houses absolutely are not low.

In fact, the novel specifically shows that.....the rest of the cultivation world is not that clear on the actual specifics of Lan rules either. This is shown when Jin Zixun pressured Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji into drinking wine, a clear violation of Lan rules, and the rest of the cultivators in the banquet cheered him on.

These cultivators were also heads of Houses or very high-ranking members. Many of them would have studied in Cloud Recess. So again, people who have high education… still know shit all about the actual specifics of Lan rules beyond a vague, general monk-like impression.

About the only other person aside from Wei Ying (and Lan members) who knew the specific rule that Lans do not drink in that banquet was Jin Guangyao, a character whose trademark is high intelligence and extreme social savvy (plus having roomed with Lan Xichen and taken care of him for unknown amount of time right before the Sunshot campaign)

Are there secret parts of the Lan rules?

No. The Lan rules are public. The book is very clear on this. All Lan rules are carved into a massive stone placed at the foot of the mountain where Cloud Recess is, where anyone passing through or coming into House Lan can see it.

This rule stone was first mentioned when Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian met for the first time. Wei Ying complained that he didn’t know the rules and why are there so many things forbidden in the Lan rules? Lan Wangji replied with, rules are written on the stone. Go read it yourself.

The second time it was mentioned in the book, was Lan Qiren’s first class. The first thing he did was complained that even with the stone and rules being in open space, nobody bothered to read. So he will read the rules now.

The book mentioned at least two different sets of Lan rules that both need to be obeyed: 礼则篇 Lize Pian (Book of Rites) 上义篇 Shang Yi Pian (Book of Justice). Whether the rules are separated further into more sets or not is unknown.

Why are some Lan rules better known than others?

Because Lan rules are based on 克己復禮 Keji Fuli, a real-life Confucius asceticism that calls for the restraint/purge of one’s ego and to return to the core rites. This is also newly confirmed in MXTX’s new interview, though it has been more or less heavily suggested in the book itself, with House Lan being known as the House of Gentlemen.

Gentlemen here is not the Western ideal of Gentlemen, but rather a Confucius ideal and set of values. Confucius is the person who created this ideal in the first place.

So it’s not that some rules are better known, but rather the entire image of Lan House is a huge pointer as to how they live their life: with great restraint.

#mxtx #mdzs #Wei Ying #Wei Wuxian #Lan House #Lan Wangji #mo dao zu shi

648 notes · View notes

fandomtrumpshate · 2 months

Text

Listed fandom fun

A bit of random data before we jump into the rankings for listed fandoms …

Since the numbers post yesterday we've had signups for nearly 60 new auctions, bringing the current total to 779. That beats the number of signups for 2016/7, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, and puts us withing spitting distance of our record last year of 819. Can we do it? Will we do it? Signal boost FTH posts and encourage others to participate. More money raised for good causes, more fanworks in the world — it's a win/win!

We posted yesterday about the state of our unlisted write-in fandoms (we've had nine new ones since then!). Time to check in with the rankings for the listed fandoms.

At the top of the pack we have:

87 K-Pop * 66 Good Omens 50 Sherlock Holmes * 44 Harry Potter * 37 Marvel * 32 DC * 31 Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed 27 Red, White, & Royal Blue 25 Star Wars * 23 Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

Our first tie is for 11th place -

22 Avatar The Last Airbender 22 Teen Wolf

And after that, nearly every other place is a tie. And which ones are ties for which places can be shifted slightly with just one signup. Or completely upended with two. Where will your fandom land?

Remember that if your fandom isn't here (or in the rest of the list below the cut), you can write it in. Signups are OPEN through Monday!

19 Supernatural 18 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star 18 Locked Tomb Trilogy 18 Stranger Things 17 All for the Game 16 Our Flag Means Death 16 Tolkien * 16 The Witcher 15 Boku no Hiro Akademia (My Hero Academia) 15 Original Work 15 Percy Jackson and the Olympians 14 Baldur's Gate 3 14 Hockey RPF 12 The Old Guard 12 Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official's Blessing) 11 The Magnus Archives 11 Star Trek * 10 Check Please! 10 Dungeons & Dragons 10 Haikyuu!!! 10 Hazbin Hotel 10 Jujutsu Kaisen 9 A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon 9 One PIece 8 Doctor Who * 8 Hades (video game) 8 Heartstopper 8 James Bond 8 Kingsman 8 Merlin 8 Naruto 8 Suits 7 Dragon Age * 7 Justified 7 Raven Cycle 7 Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast 7 The Sandman 7 Shadowhunters 7 SK8 the Infinity 6 Captive Prince 6 Critical Role 6 Final Fantasy * 6 Fullmetal Alchemist 6 Hannibal 6 Kinnporsche 6 The Maze Runner 6 Queen's Thief 6 Stargate 6 Steven Universe 6 Top Gun Movies 6 Yuri!!! On Ice 5 Alex Rider 5 Grishaverse 5 Interview With The Vampire 5 Malevolent (Podcast) 5 The Murderbot Diaries 5 Nirvana in Fire 5 The Owl House 5 RWBY 4 Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (The Husky & His White Cat Shizun) 4 Genshin Impact 4 Les Misérables 4 The Magicians 4 Pokemon 4 Witch Hat Atelier 3 Arcane 3 Disney's Descendants 3 Elder Scrolls 3 Hetalia 3 Hunger Games 3 Legend of Zelda 3 Spy x Family 3 Tian Ya Ke / Word of Honor 3 Trigun 3 Welcome to Night Vale 3 Wheel of Time 3 Young Royals 2 Benoit Blanc Mysteries (Knives Out, Glass Onion) 2 Disco Elysium 2 Encanto 2 Gundam Wing 2 The Last of Us 2 Leverage 2 Miraculous Ladybug 2 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 2 Mysterious Lotus Casebook 2 Schitt's Creek 2 Super Mario Bros. 1 Assassin's Creed 1 Attack on Titan 1 Diamond no Ace 1 Fire Emblem Three Houses 1 Homestuck 1 Stellar Firma 1 Wednesday / The Addams Family

#fth 2024 #fandom trumps hate #fanworks charity auction #listed fandoms #numbers #signups are OPEN

119 notes · View notes