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"I love you but you're doing wrong in a way I cannot condone" and "I hate you but you're being wronged in a way I cannot stomach" are top tier and I need more of them.

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when you're talking about the character and the person who likes the character starts typing for a long time

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mutuals even if I don't talk to you much/at all, when I see you on my dash I'm doing this

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Underrated element of where Jiang Cheng is re: wwx after everything is that they always had a sort of dual relationship. Two different relationship premises, superimposed on one another.

There's the one where they grew up together, as close as brothers, beating each other up and complaining and being one another's closest companions, sharing a bedroom as kids and eating at the same family dinner table, actively encouraged by Jiang Fengmian to interact as equals.

And then there's the one where Wei Wuxian was in service to Jiang Cheng's family. Not as a servant--Jiang Fengmian absolutely refused to do that, even if he couldn't adopt him. But as a disciple of Jiang Cheng's father and recipient of his charity, as Jiang Cheng's future right hand and most trusted subordinate.

It's a vertical relationship, intimate in its own way but with very strict expectations about what obligations flow in what directions; they are not identical and reciprocal as between friends and equals.

(It's my opinion that Jiang Fengmian's core deal was a deep-seated discontent with the hierarchies he was at the top of, without access to any way to actually deconstruct them or even coherently articulate his opposition. Wei Changze was his dear friend, and no one thinks that's a good enough reason for him to treat Wei Changze's son like his own, because Wei Changze was also his servant, and you can't make that circle square. That's not a way you're allowed to love.)

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were like brothers; Wei Wuxian served Jiang Cheng.

The personal relationship was always the most important one. To them, in their hearts. But it was the other one that was real, that had weight in the world.

And it's important to understand that neither can be held up as more factual than the other, even though they conflict. Both relationships existed, and had power.

So then when Jiang Cheng chose to hate Wei Wuxian and articulate his grudge against him, he chose to do it in the language of fealty. Because as far as he knew, his case there was secure, watertight, and it wouldn't expose him emotionally or politically.

And those are the terms in which he's been condemning him all this time: for abandoning the Sect, for ingratitude, for lack of loyalty.

For fuckups, too, and poor judgment, but some of that now turns out to have been justified and some of it was mostly the fault of enemies behaving badly, or even Jiang Cheng himself allowing himself to be pushed into making unworthy choices.

And it was all for his sake.

The thing, the thing in my opinion, about what Wei Wuxian did, about the core transfer and his silent self-destruction around keeping it secret, is that that is a hideous thing to have done between two people who love each other, as an act of love. Beautiful, but awful. As the man who was like a brother to him, Jiang Cheng has a great deal of standing to object to it.

But as an act of vassalage, it's basically perfect.

If Wei Wuxian were only what he formally was to Jiang Cheng, if he is interpreted through a lens of fealty and obligation, he did exactly what he should have done, and went beyond what duty actually required. And went to his death silently, allowing himself to be judged, taking all the burden on himself rather than let harm come to his lord.

Like, obviously Jiang Cheng was harmed by the part where Jin Zixuan got manslaughtered and Jiang Yanli walked into the line of fire in situations where Wei Wuxian was resorting to violence and probably shouldn't have, but those are one step removed from the core issue. In terms of Wei Wuxian's intentional choices around Jiang Cheng himself, at the times he was feeling betrayed and abandoned Wei Wuxian was in fact being impossibly, poetically loyal, an absolute cliche about it.

But only in terms of the hierarchical form of their relationship.

Which means that even though Jiang Cheng has a lot of reasons to still be mad at Wei Wuxian, his actual complaints that he's centered for thirteen years are basically wiped out by the revelation of Wei Wuxian's sacrifice.

Wei Wuxian was in fact doing the tragic hero loyal vassal thing, which very much includes being misunderstood and slandered by the world. (Chenqing as a name choice absolutely references this expectation, and the idea that Jiang Cheng specifically will never understand that Wei Wuxian was trying to help him first and foremost all along; he is not subtle.)

The debts Jiang Cheng has been spitefully calling in and considering defaulted were already long paid.

So if at this point Jiang Cheng keeps pursuing that same line of rhetorical attack, now that he knows, he'll be putting himself morally in the wrong, and he knows it. But if he pivots to something else, he'll both be signalling the shape of that secret to the entire world and looking like a prize idiot.

Which is already how he feels.

To actually address the remaining grievances between them, which are considerable, would require releasing those safe, open grudges to Wei Wuxian's face and then reclaiming him as a loved one. Which is, one could fairly say, more than anyone could expect.

Which is why Wei Wuxian told him he didn't have to.

Which leaves Jiang Cheng at something of an impasse.

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in the recesses of my main blog, I rediscovered these screenshots of Zhu Zanjin getting into his JGY feelings while watching Fatal Journey, and I thought everyone should see if they haven't.

(also, if anyone has a link to the video these came from, PLEASE add it, because my past self didn't save it!)

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Weilan Appreciation Post: Vol 3

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Exposing SVSSS Fanon: 14/∞

ALL DEMONS NATURALLY HAVE MARKS ON THEIR FOREHEADS

Rating: FANON - CONFLICTING

In SVSSS, heavenly demons like Luo Binghe, Tianlang-jun, and Zhuzhi-lang have a vermillion mark on their forehead. In fanworks, other demons such as Sha Hualing and Mobei-jun are also depicted as having such a mark.

This conflicts with canon, as the mark is exclusively a symbol of the Heavenly Demon Bloodline, rather than all demons:

“You are no simple demon,” Shen Qingqiu said. “That mark on your forehead is a mark of sin—the mark of the demons who fell from the heavens." (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

I have often seen this mark referred to erroneously as "huadian (花钿, literally "flower ornamentation")." Though there are similarities in color and location between the two, huadian is a type of traditional-style makeup worn with hanfu, while the mark on a heavenly demon's forehead is 罪印 （Zuì yìn，literally "criminal seal" or "seal of guilt”), translated to english as "mark of sin."

It is a very specific, distinctive feature that heavenly demons have-- one that is most likely well-known to both demons and cultivators alike.

The mark of sin can be repressed, however it will reappear when angry:

For a split second, Luo Binghe’s expression was puzzled, causing his face to appear to soften, just a little. But soon this sliver of softness dissipated without a trace. His pupils contracted, and a red mark flickered at the center of his forehead in a burst of light. (7 Seas, Ch. 10)

Or when weakened:

When he looked, though Luo Binghe’s eyes were closed, the heavenly demon mark of sin had appeared on his forehead, lines of crimson pulsing along with his breaths. The red glow flickered on and off along with it. (7 Seas, Ch. 16)

Which suggests that it takes some amount of conscious effort to suppress and conceal.

Heavenly Demons (天魔，天之魔） are somewhat set apart from the demon race (魔族）as a whole, despite both being called demons. Heavenly Demons specifically did not originate within the demon world, but instead fell from the heavens:

Legend had it that these denizens of the heavens had fallen to depravity and become demons, so they were called “heavenly demons” for short.  (7 Seas, Ch. 2)

Falling to depravity here is the same as succumbing to heart demons (心魔), which aren't altogether easy to explain, but can be thought of as mental and spiritual instabilities resulting from negative emotions and obsessions. This is the same "Xin Mo" as the name of the sword.

In the Xianxia genre, anyone can "become a demon" in this way-- a similar (almost identical, since based on similar philosophies) trope in western fiction would be in Star Wars, where one "falls to the Dark Side."

Therefore, the mark of sin or zuiyin if you wish to use pinyin, is linked to the heart demons and corruption of the heavenly demons and their descendants.

This is evident from the first moment when the seal on Luo Binghe's bloodline is removed:

Once that stream of light touched Luo Binghe’s brow, it seeped into his skin, turning into a fiery red mark. Luo Binghe was lost to his bloodlust. He didn’t know why, only that his head ached like it was about to explode, and he nearly collapsed to his knees. His entire body roiled with a desire to inflict savage cruelty.  (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

This sudden bloodlust is a result of the unsealing of his demonic bloodline-- with the mark of sin appearing along with it.

The mark of sin does not have one fixed appearance, either:

When he tested Luo Binghe’s forehead with the back of his hand, it was still scalding hot, and the mark in the center of his forehead was growing even redder and brighter. (7 Seas, Ch. 16)

This occurs after Luo Binghe has been injured and poisoned, and is unconscious. The change in the mark's appearance is likely due to his weakened state.

The most significant example of this, however, is at Maigu ridge, when Luo Binghe has been entirely overtaken by Xin Mo's (the sword and the internal) corruption:

The dark-red mark of sin crept over his forehead, expanding outward until marks covered the entirety of his snow-pale face, then continued spreading down his neck. Xin Mo had fallen beside them, and it seemed to respond to the marks on Luo Binghe’s body: it glowed and dimmed, its purple light and black miasma circulating endlessly. (7 Seas, Ch. 21)

By the end of this, the marks extend all the way down his arms:

Luo Binghe’s arm around him slowly tightened. As his tears continued to flow, he suddenly noticed that the marks on his arm were rapidly receding.  (7 Seas, Ch. 21)

From this we can conclude that heavenly beings succumbed to their heart demons and fell from the heavens to become the heavenly demons. Their demonic power originated not from their species alone but from their heart demons, which their descendants inherited as their own source of demonic power which is why LBH suddenly was overcome with bloodlust when his bloodline was unsealed. The mark of sin appears as a curse to mark those who succumbed to heart demons and fell from the heavens, but it can be suppressed through self control (i.e. controlling those heart demons）while it will reappear when that self-control is compromised in some way. When Xin Mo preyed on LBH's fears and insecurities, it caused him to fall entirely under the control of his heart demons-- which lead to the mark of sin spreading over his entire body.

Now that the origins and nature of the mark of sin have been explained, it's easy to say that other demons will not have such a mark, since they are not from that same cursed bloodline.

Of course, does that mean that everyone who draws Sha Hualing and Mobei-jun with marks on their forehead is drawing them incorrectly?

No, not necessarily.

The only thing this tells us is that ordinary demons do not naturally have this mark, and it will not have the same features (such as glowing, spreading, responding to emotional state, etc.).

It is entirely possible and believable that demons, especially demon nobility, would paint or apply a mark to their foreheads as part of their fashion and a status symbol.

For an explanation of this, let's go back to the huadian. While the exact origins of huadian ornament and makeup are unknown, there is a folkloric origin story to it. In this origin story, a plum blossom was blown onto the forehead of a princess while she was out on a walk (or alternately, fell onto her face while she was taking a nap). Afterwards, she was unable to wash it off, but because it looked strikingly beautiful on the princess, it became a new popular fashion trend for women to apply flower ornamentation or makeup to their foreheads.

Something similar could have happened with demon culture.

Of course, the ancient heavenly demons from whose lineage Luo Binghe hailed were the most elegant and traditional of the demonic bloodlines—equivalent to the Demon Realm’s blue blood nobility. (7 Seas, Ch. 6)

The heavenly demon bloodline is the most noble and high-ranked in the demon realm, with heavenly demons considered princes and princesses：

As the future princes of demonkind, their bloodline was first-class. (7 Seas, Ch. 2) Tianlang-Jun’s younger sister counted as something like the demon race’s princess. (7 Seas, Ch. 12)

Therefore, it wouldn't be strange for other lineages of demon nobility to attempt to imitate their appearances-- this may have something to do with noble demons appearing more humanoid as well. It could also mean that a similar thing to the huadian origin story may have happened and demon nobility took up the fashion of wearing forehead ornamentation or makeup to denote their status, perhaps even having various specific marks to denote clans or individuals.

Of course while this is a possibility, it is not something that comes from canon itself and would still be a headcanon or fanon, so it should not be used in an argument for a canonical depiction of Sha Hualing and Mobei-jun with marks on their foreheads.

While a depiction of demons wearing marks on their foreheads is not necessarily without basis or explanation, the idea that they have these marks as a natural physical feature is canonically inaccurate.

One footnote: while heavenly demons do not originate within the demon realm, their bloodline would still be counted as part of the demon race-- this is evident in the fact that Zhuzhi-lang, also a mixed-bloodline heavenly demon (but half snake-race rather than half-human), has a bloodline more pure than Luo Binghe's and is able to suppress LBH's blood in SQQ's body (perhaps the fact that the demon race as a whole utilizing demonic qi instead of spiritual qi for cultivation is what creates the divide). Zhuzhi-lang is still considered mixed-heritage, though, so it is unknown where the boundaries within the demon race itself lie. It is also possible that there is an entire untold story about the origins of the demon race which would change up various arguments here, but we don't have that origin story, and therefore there is no context aside from what's in the novel-- we can only assume that demons originated within the demon realm, while heavenly demons entered it later after falling from the heavens-- but they are still considered part of the demon race despite a different origin.

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jin zixuan doesn't throw money at his problems. he throws money at his solutions.

(or, the late valentines 2024 post!)

the series tag: ★ | wallpapers: 1 | 2 | 3 | printable: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | snowglobe

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Huge fan actually of the fact that Jin Guangyao said right to Xue Yang's face: People like you aren't very scary, because if you turn against me I can freely slaughter you in broad daylight without even needing to make up an excuse. It's people with good reputations and support systems who are actually dangerous.

Like 1) excellent summary of his whole philosophy 2) he told Xue Yang exactly what he was going to do to him.

And I bet this is actually why Xue Yang, king of obsessive petty retribution, doesn't really hold a grudge about the whole getting stabbed and left for dead in a ditch, and never pursues the matter. Jin Guangyao never pretended he was going to do otherwise! He was totally up front about it! No hypocrisy here!

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i know “3zun fucking the qi deviations out of nmj” is an overdone trope but listen. just listen. look me in the eyes. actually don’t do that i hate eye contact. but listen. i want to write it anyway. i am a coward and a chicken and fool who has written fic maybe ten times since reaching adulthood but i want to write it so bad. it’s so good. i don’t even care. as descartes once said, who give a shit

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cw // NSFW, hemipenes

Zhuzhi-Lang for @selkiefluff's prompt for @SVSSSAction

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I need everyone to read what Zhu Zanjin had to say about his intentions for JGY's line delivery in the "die with me" scene... (because I occasionally see people reading it as a power move / spiteful gesture). ZZJ said he advocated with the director to let him deliver a softer line, and explained his thoughts on that scene in an interview:

[the whole interview was translated by ayu, whose twitter is currently locked, but the thread is here just in case!]

(also don't you love zzj's optimism? in the end a-yao was loved, and that gave him the strength to make the right choice!)

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If you're reading this...

go write three sentences on your current writing project.

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enough about the good things in wwx’s life, remember that time we were told how the burial mounds is nothing but a mountain of corpses where nothing living survives and wwx still lived there for 3 months and then when asked if food planted in that soil is edible he answered “when starving, people will eat anything” and didn’t elaborate? was that messed up or what

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very quickly: the expectation that jgy needs to be some kind of working class hero is :/ to begin with, and condemning him for “buying into the system of oppression” is really telling when that’s not a criticism made of anyone else

but the idea that jgy personally is refusing to use his power to uplift the common people is mind bogglingly dumb

i cannot emphasize enough that his primary project for the last decade has been trying to figure out how to get all of the other sects to do their fucking jobs—the jobs they were supposed to have been doing the whole time—so that poor people are less likely to be fucking murdered by monsters.

a concept, if you recall, that was so controversial, nobody questioned that a guy would kill his political opponent’s child over it.

this society balked at “do the jobs you signed up to do,” but it’s somehow jgy’s fault that change is going so slowly? fellas he’s the only one doing anything.

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Demonstrating the rope dart (繩標; sheng2biao1)

[eng by me]

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One of my favorite things about The Untamed is how it begins with Wei Wuxian saying ‘Lan Zhan’ and finishes with Lan Wangji saying ‘Wei Ying’

Part 1