sect-leader-jiujiu

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

I came across a post once a long time ago that said that Xichen's philosophy in life is to not ask pertinent questions so he can believe that everyone is Right and Good and my personal reading of him is...yes, but actually no?

I think that it's less of a philosophy than something of a compulsion? Trauma response? There is a very real mental block that says 'The matter is complex' and becomes uncomfortable/unwilling to take a hard-line stance one way or the other when he is confronted with 2 people/sides/arguments that he cannot completely fault. Yes, he doesn't delve into it, ask the questions that would need to be asked to know every detail. Some of that is trust, some of that is willful blindness and the line is fuzzy.

And yet, I don't think that he sees anyone as Right and Good; that's not the point of the response. He very acutely sees everything in shades of gray. His mother was kind and funny and sweet and she loved them so much--she also killed someone and no one else that he trusts will talk about it. His Clan helps people, devotes their time to fighting monsters, is so esteemed that other Clans send their kids to learn morals and stuff--they also locked his mother up, away from him and Wangji except for one day a month and then lied about where she was to the rest of the world.

He doesn't twist himself into knots trying to justify that either of these things are 100% Morally Right; he's just very honest about not knowing what Morally Right is. Except that he's also the leader of the Morally Right Sect and his Uncle's very real project of making a Responsible-And-Upstanding-Clan-Leader-Unlike-Qingheng-Jun-Thanks-For-Nothing-Bro. With all these pressures, he does shockingly well by not being neither entirely rigidly adherent to the rules, nor so much of a worried hand-wringer about not knowing who to trust. He tries to give grace everywhere he possibly can.

When Wuxian asks why his mom killed his father's teacher, Xichen very frankly and calmly says, 'I don't know.' There isn't discomfort in his face or tone;

In fact, he tosses it out with an almost studied nonchalance. He's very clearly thought about this before but he has either never asked or (more likely, in my opinion) has been dissuaded from asking about it quite vigorously at some point in his life and has been convinced that pursuing this further won't actually lead to any useful information for him.

He loves his mom. He loves his Clan. Something fucked up happened--but what else is new? He can do what he can with the power that he has and the responsibilities that comes with. Poking old wounds that have been dealt more than 2 decades ago don't really factor into anything; he can just draw his own conclusions and try not to make the same mistakes.

Like...he does his best with the trauma that he has been handed (his own and others).

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

sorry the fandom got a hold of your blorbo and flattened him into a one dimensional paragon of purity and virtue. yeah, they erased the time he sliced the flesh off his living enemy and force-fed it to him. yeah, the part where he raised the corpses of people’s ancestors and made them slaughter entire families is gone too. sorry, the bullheaded arrogance that led to deaths of thousands is now a praise kink. all that’s left is a loudmouth twink with a rape fetish. oh, yeah they’re fine with that part.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

what the water gave us

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

Jiang Cheng is stronger than me because if some guy I hated decided it was his responsibility to discipline my child and did so by magically silencing him I would have attacked him right then and there.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

Common misconception, but the murder twink obsessed with revenge is actually Nie Huaisang. Jin Guangyao is a murder twink obsessed with self preservation first, Lan Xichen second, and the betterment of society through public works of infrastructure third.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

jiujiu and a-ling 💜💛

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

Jiang Cheng: God has let me live another day, and I'm going to make it everyone's problem.

Wei Wuxian: Why are you just looking at me?

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

People say that Jin Ling takes after Jiang Cheng, and I don't know how much I agree with that.

Here's what I do know, though; I hope Jiang Cheng believes it.

I hope Jiang Cheng sees how alike he and Jin Ling are. I hope he sees how Jin Ling has a temper like he does, is prideful like Jiang Cheng, and has a sharp tongue like his jiujiu. I hope Jiang Cheng sees how Jin Ling's anger covers up his insecurities, I hope he sees how Jin Ling tries so hard because he feels like he has to prove himself. I hope Jiang Cheng sees how Jin Ling is reckless and impatient and sensitive like his jiujiu.

I hope Jiang Cheng sees everything and realizes it's not so hard to love Jin Ling at all; in fact, all those qualities and more make Jiang Cheng love him more than anything in his life.

I hope Jiang Cheng sees it all and realizes it was never his fault— he hadn't been hard to love either.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

If I had a nickel for every time Wei Wuxian modified the bodies of the people he cared about without their consent because he couldn't handle his own emotions regarding their circumstances–

I'd have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

I made a baihe/Chinese GL community on Dreamwidth. Everyone is welcome to join!

Or at least take a look at the resource posts I spent far too long putting together! These are on baihe novels, baihe manhua, baihe donghua and GL live action films and dramas.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

Custody Battle: START

[First] Prev <--> Next

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

No, 'cuz like for real–

Genuinely speaking.

Is Wei Wuxian really happy post-canon? When people say, "Oh, he has a new life in Gusu," I immediately get a feeling of discomfort. Because that- those two things don't belong in the same sentence.

You mean to tell me Wei "even when I'm dreaming, I want to return to Lotus Pier" Wuxian found happiness in the most stifling clan known to man?

Debatable.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

I'm going to come out and say that the more I re-read MDZS the more I actually HATE WWX.

I know he's a protag so everything is supposed to be about "poor me I've done nothing wrong" but I can't stand those types of people. He would be a person where if he existed in real life I would not be able to be around him.

I've actually become more of a Jiang Cheng apologist (actually, no, because that implies that he's ever done anything wrong).

I read through all the main points and here are a few things that piss me off. Please add on if I missed something:

WWX is obviously favored by JFM and if JC brings up this concern, all WWX says is: "no he doesn't lol you're so silly I'm not his son" TBH WWX wasn't his child but JFM had a son and it wasn't JC

Golden Core transfer. Need I say less (and fuck you Wen Ning for saying JC didn't deserve the core and the power he had wasnt actually his. He cultivated it for YEARS to get it to where it is today. It is NOT WWXs core anymore. Fuck all yall)

WWX defecting from YMJ and going with the Wens when JC had NOTHING. No sect, no support, no family. He's a new sect leader and has no resources or money to do anything or go against anyone. And thanks WWX for defending the people that, you know, massacred his family but whatever. (I understand they were innocent but still, I can tell it would really hurt JC)

Along with the defecting, WWX and LWJ broke into Lotus Pier and BOWED TO MADAM YU AND JFM WITHOUT JCs APPROVAL. DISRESPECTFUL AS HELL I KNOW WHY JC WAS PISSED. WWX had NO RIGHT to be there after everything he had done.

WWX tells JC to leave everything in the past. As usual, he is running away and not accepting any consequences for the many, many, things he's done wrong. If I were JC, I would permanently ban him from Lotus Pier and kill on sight because if he wants to leave things in the past, then that includes WWX.

Lastly, WWX never once defends JC. Whether it be against LWJ, Wen Ning, or other people that say terrible shit to him because they're being petty. Not once does he come to his defense.

To end my rant, WWX is actually a very terrible person (and so is Lan Wangji. Fight me) with no sense and I finally realized it after re reading the book multiple times. Come at me if you want but this is my honest opinion and I get why JC is such an ass because BITCH ME TOO GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.

Hopefully I have some support here but I also know I'm going to get some hate.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

.... I mean.... Both can exist.... Which it did in this scenario. It's not impossible to be both powerless to act politically whilst also not having all the information that should have been made available to you... In fact, I'd argue that it was the latter that made things worse for him.

Wwx pushing jc away and keeping him out of the loop is part of the reason why he was powerless.... He kept him in the dark. He was going down a self destructive path. From Jcs pov, wwx was becoming a loose cannon. If he sided with someone perceived as dangerous and crazy, how would that look? What would that mean for the safety of his sect and remaining family?

Furthermore, jc was unaware of his lack of core and thought he was just parading around without a sword as a display of arrogance. Everything he was doing was reflecting badly on him and his sect. Not to mention, the jins were stirring the pot, implying that wwx lacked any respect for jc which on the surface would appear to be true.. And yet jc still had the patience to want to protect wwx and visit him regularly even after his defection.. (it's funny how you all seem to ignore that aspect of his character.. >.>)

Had he told him everything and properly communicated, they could have both come up with some sort of compromise together. Literally, the whole issue with their relationship was lack of communication. All of this could have been avoided if they had just talked and been honest with eachother. Come up with a better solution to prove to the cw that the Wens were not a threat. Jc himself acknowledges that a lot of the Wens that had been rescued were elderly and children.

(Personally, I believe the Wens would have been screwed eitherway and more lives would have been lost if jc helped wwx (lp massacre part two..). After all, the jins had their own agenda and protecting the wens went against that. It really was a difficult situation they were in and neither were in the wrong. But I do believe jc would have been more receptive to help in some way if wwx had helped to dispell those rumours and made it more clear to jc that he was in no way disrespecting him.. Bare in mind, jc DID try to to defend wwx in anyway he could numerous times before his defection, despite it being literally politcal suicide. The situation was a difficult one. It's hard to just narrow it down to being one or the other.

Furthermore.. I'd argue that him helping to stage wwx's defection whilst visiting him regularly, keeping him updated on the cw and seeing his sister was his own way of helping wwx? Allowing him to do what he must (with the people that massacred his sect, might I add..)? Maybe he could have done a lot more had he been more informed too? Idk. But that's just my opinion.)

So yes. Both realities can exist.

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

Jiang Cheng is always the first person Jin Ling calls for whenever he is in trouble. Likewise, Jin Ling is always the first to rush to his aid, too 🥹

They will always be each other's first choice. Jiang Cheng's main part in the later part of the story was to protect and follow Jin Ling, after all! 💜💛

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

NHS: oh my god why does he have chenqing—

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

it’s simply astonishing how some fans will choose to phrase everything related to jiang cheng in this specific way strongly implying that everything was, in fact, his own fault (or a direct consequence of his flaws in some way).

it’s been months and i’m not as incensed anymore but like!! absolutely bad faith interpretations of the text. full-on distortion. on a wiki. shame.

so this is regarding the jc page on the mdzs wiki, because the way some people twist the source text is getting ridiculous.

fanfiction is one thing, free card to do whatever, but the wiki?? please don't mask your opinion as facts. it's fine if you hate jc and think that everything he did is wrong. seriously. i couldn't care less about menial thoughts floating around in your head. but PLEASE don't go out of your way to purposefully taint every jc-related event in the novel. don't base your fandom experience on hate. do you think he should have tried harder to support wwx in backing up the wens? fine! write a jc-bashing fic and vent out those feelings. but don't pretend that it would have been the responsible choice, in-context.

wwx was being selfless on his own behalf, putting himself at risk. if jc had publicly supported him, he would have been selfless on his people's behalf. he would have been risking not his own reputation, but the safety of the many people he was in charge of. think of your kids, siblings, pets, or whoever you are responsible for. would you purposefully endanger them just to get activist brownie points on the internet? just because a mutual you love tells you it's for a good cause?

remember that wwx was not responsible for anyone: he could make his own choices and deal with the consequences himself. jc, on the other hand, could only make choices on the sect's behalf, never forgetting that they would suffer the consequences. and sure, in the present timeline yunmeng jiang has influence and power, but they didn't have that after ssc. there was no influence he could use as leverage. he had no way of intimidating the other sects into not taking advantage, into not punishing them for supporting the wens. and don't even start with the "lxc and nmj wouldn't have done that!" because you know what they didn't do? help the jiang rebuild. so yeah, it was each man for their own. and jc had to act like it.

so, next time you type out

Jiang Cheng prioritizes the preservation and survival of his family and clan, and has been known to do so even at the expense of others. (source: the wiki :eye_roll:)

to twist it and make it sound like it was unreasonable of him and like he kicked wwx to the curb, please remember that not everything orbits around wwx, even if he is the protagonist. characters make choices based on their circumstances, not based on who is the narrator of the novel. jc had no moral obligation to do what wwx felt like doing at any given point. and you can think jc was wrong, but you can't say that he made that choice "at the expense of others". like what? why, pray tell, would he choose the wens over his own people??? why are the wens more deserving of protection, according to you?

and because i know that you have to clarify everything on the internet i'm going to say that no, i'm not saying wwx was wrong. neither of them was wrong. they were both protecting vulnerable people, and both cases are noble individually. they just made choices based on their responsibilities and their conscience at the time. like normal people do.

again, think and feel whatever you want, but don't spread these kinds of takes as if they are solid claims. you are wrong and i do not want to see it.