#Wwx Has a Good Shidi

[ddthebreadboy]

Wei Wuxian has one Good Shidi Pt. 1

Jiang Cheng, "..., No matter who they are, with a surname of Wen they have committed a most heinous crime! And those who protect the Wen are at risk of being condemned by everyone! All the people loathe the Wen-dogs so badly that the worse they die the better. Whoever protects them is against the entire world. Nobody would speak for them, and nobody would speak for you either!" ---MDZS Ch. 73

Meanwhile in reality, a few days ago in Jinlintai:

Lan XiChen responded a moment later, "I have heard of Wen Qing's name a few of times. I do not remember her having participated in any of the Sunshot Campaign's crimes."

Nie MingJue, "But she's never stopped them either."

Lan XiChen, "Wen Qing was one of Wen RuoHan's most trusted people. How could she have stopped them?"

Lan Xichen spoke for Wen Qing, the so called Wen Dog whom no one willing to speak for.

Still, in the same occasion, Lan Wangji:

Lan WangJi sat with his back straight, speaking in a tone of absolute tranquility,

"I did not hear Wei Ying say this. I did not hear him express the slightest disrespect towards Sect Leader Jiang either."

Lan Wangji spoke for Wei Wuxian. Thwarting Jin Guangshan's deliberate slanders toward Wei Wuxian, embarrassing a Sect Leader in his own banquet, just to defend Wei Wuxian.

Of course don't forget one more person:

Suddenly, a careful voice interjected, "It's not killing indiscriminately, is it?"

...

The woman seemed as if she was scared. She was even more careful, "No... I don't mean anything more. There's no need to be so agitated, everyone. I just feel that the words 'killing indiscriminately' isn't really suitable."

...

The woman tried hard to protest, "The Sunshot Campaign is a battlefield. In the battlefield, would it mean that everyone is killing indiscriminately? Let's consider this as it stands. I really don't think it's right to say that he killed indiscriminately. After all, there is a reason. If the inspectors really abused the prisoners and killed Wen Ning, it wouldn't be called killing indiscriminately anymore, but rather revenge..."

...

The woman said, "The other inspectors are scared that they'd be responsible for abusing the prisoners and killing people. Of course they'd insist that he fell off on his own..."

3 People Spoke for both Wen Dogs and Wei Wuxian.

2 of them even people with high status.

So much for "No one spoke for them. No one spoke for you" huh...

Jiang Cheng is really a very good Shidi🙂🙂🙂 A good Shidi who will tell his Shixiong that "Everyone else is against you".

[beartes22]

Constantly thinking about how WWX thinks about JC how he thinks JFM thought about YZY but mostly as how he denied and yet carelessly commented JFM thinks (disregards) about JC

It is so, so, so fucked up and one of the reasons why chengxian is so doomed by the narrative bc no matter what JC does or says, WWX already "knows" what is about. Bc JC is his shidi and WWX knows best. And still, pre masacre, pre core exchange, it could have work. It could have, because they love each other so much but JC lost his core. WWX thinks he chose his parents. He thinks Jc choose the dead bodies of his parents, a filial duty, over survival, over him. And he never forgave Jc for it.

Bc now is WWX turn to assume the consequences of his shidi actions, now it is his turn to bear the pain for him. And he does not do it with reluctance, he does not, he does it bc he loves Jc so so much, but still. Still. The hurt it caused it. The hell it send to him. The hopelessness.

And then to see his shidi thrive were he can’t no longer. To see him shine when he is but a shadow. To see him reach for the impossible time and time again as if it was not WWX who never gave up before, who rallied his shidi over his (small, imagined, greedy) woes. To see all that and know envy, envy he had denied his whole life and envy he will repress into resentment, into sth useful bc WWX is not like yzy or Jc he is not, he does not hurt the ones he lives with his jealousy and sense of inferiority. Bc how can he not envy, when one says his dad doesn’t love him but he still has a dad? When one says he is not enough for his sect when he has such a inheritance, such a clear path at life. And WWX never cared never ever ever, how could he? He loved his shidi best, in spite of all the bad things.

And somehow, Jc himself is a thing he has to be loved in spite of. And it’s heartbreaking.

[mamoonde]

thinking about a canon div au where lwj goes to yunmeng jiang the summer after gusu lectures, walks in just in time to see a sweaty half-naked wwx, his dirtied training robe left hanging around his waist where it's tucked into his trousers and belt, tousling with equally sweaty and dirty junior disciples (only a handful of them are in equal states of undress).

wwx spots him half a minute later, right after demonstrating the proper archery stance to another disciple. the moment he does, he blinks, then brightens, dropping the bow to make his way towards lwj.

all six feet (how is he suddenly so tall?!) of him, sunkissed skin, toned chest and stomach bare and gleaming with sweat.

lwj can hardly breathe. his right hand is a tight fist behind his back. he imagines his frayed tether to his sanity in his desperate grip.

wwx is in his usual teasing lwj mode, especially now that he's a solid 2 inches taller than lwj (for at least the summer), back turned to his silly shidis shooting kites, revelling in lwj's attention—

his hand moves before he can think, snatching the arrow in midair an arm's length from them.

lwj had been so preoccupied he hadn't even noticed it before wwx had suddenly turned and seemingly plucked it out of thin air.

wwx clicks his tongue. "watch it, guys; i can't have lan zhan thinking i'm a crappy teacher!" he chucks the arrow as though it were a spear, where it lands dead center at a target.

lwj desperately recites the gusu lan precepts about restraint and proper conduct in his head. mostly, he would like to – needs to – lie down.

"but you are a crappy teacher!" one of the disciples retorted. "you all but left us for dead the moment you saw some handsome gongzi!"

"what, am i supposed to choose you stinky lot over a handsome er-gege?!" wwx snorts then turns back to lwj with a grin.

please don't notice my traitorous body, please, please, please, lwj prays desperately.

"sorry about that, lan zhan! these guys still only hit about half the kites—oh? do my eyes deceive me?" wwx leans closer, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

before lwj can step back to safety, wwx's hand grazes the tips of his ears. end me now.

"my poor dear lan-er-gege, has the yunmeng sun already given you sunburn? your ears are as red as my hair ribbon!" wwx cackles, then grasps his sleeve, tugging him towards the pavilions. "don't you worry, i'll take good care of you, lan zhan! shijie should know where to get salves to soothe the stings."

lwj swallows, wanting to collapse right there and then if that wouldn't only add to his mortification. he eyes the lakes. maybe if he could just stay there the entire summer...

[mxtxfanatic]

Heyyy !! Hope you are having a nice day. I've been scrolling through your blog for a while and I absolutely love your takes and analysis of MDZS as they pretty much match up to my interpretation of MDZS novel. I just wanted to ask you what do you think about wwx's death at the first siege?? As there was no confirmation how he died but a lot of rumors ??? Do you think he qi deviated and his corpses turn on him? Or do you think he intentionally killed himself as was implied (heck it was shown) in cql?

I'm personally of the opinion that he chose to die because all the people he was in charge of protecting died in front of him. Plus his former (sect) brother jc was leading the siege to kill the said people. Not to mention the whole cultivation world for baying for his blood. He was traumatized, exhausted (both mentally and physically) due to destroying stygian seal, grieving due to death of the wen siblings and his shijie (probably blamed himself for it all and people dying).

So what is your take?

Wei Wuxian was killed from the backlash created from trying to destroy the second half of the stygian tiger seal. I'm using the exr translation for my quotes. In the prologue, we are told this:

“The YiLing Patriarch has died? Who could have killed him?” “Who other than his shidi, Jiang Cheng, putting an end to his own relative for the greater good. Jiang Cheng led the Four Clans of YunmengJiang, LanlingJin, GusuLan, and QingheNie to destroy his “den”—LuanZang Hill.”

A couple paragraphs later, someone refutes this, saying:

“That’s merely hearsay. Although Jiang Cheng was one of the main forces, he did not give Wei WuXian the final blow. Because he cultivates the Demon Path, Wei WuXian’s powers had backfired and he was ripped to pieces.”

—and we also get this, which while spoken by the narrator is given a speculative rather than conclusive tone:

Nobody could summon Wei WuXian’s soul, which meant that his soul had disappeared. It might have been torn apart by the millions of ghosts that devoured him.

Later on, Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning have a conversation about the cause of Wei Wuxian's death:

After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian asked again, “What else have you heard?” Wen Ning whispered, “Sect Leader Jiang, Jiang Cheng, brought a siege upon the Burial Mounds. And he killed you.” Wei WuXian, “I’ll have to clarify this one. He didn’t kill me. I died from a backfire.” Wen Ning finally looked up at him, “But, Sect Leader Jiang clearly...” Wei WuXian, “Nobody can walk safely on a single-plank bridge for their whole life. It couldn’t be helped.”

—Chapt. 43: Allure

Wen Ning hears that Wei Wuxian was personally killed by Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian immediately refutes this and says he died from backlash. Wen Ning wants to argue this point, but I think, more than anything, that he is arguing that Wei Wuxian's death is Jiang Cheng's fault (the siege could not have happened without him being able to get past the corpses guarding the base of the Burial Mounds) rather than Jiang Cheng personally landing the killing blow. This is especially true since Jiang Cheng claims credit and glory for both leading the siege and "personally killing" Wei Wuxian, even though we know the latter is a falsehood.

Either way, Wei Wuxian, himself, says he died from backlash, and we know the backlash came from attempting to destroy the second half of the stygian tiger seal because that was what he was working on—having successfully destroyed the first half—when the first siege took place. Wei Wuxian did not kill himself; he knew he was on borrowed time and used it to destroy the weapon he knew the clans were really after.

[whumpbby]

Thinking that because it seems that the Demonic Cultivation was mostly something that Jiang Cheng took care of - either as a way to unload his grief or as taking responsibility of his shixiong's mess - it's possible that the Jiang disciples were the ones that were the best versed in dealing with DC.

Now I am headcanoning that - because JC seems like a man that has shit in hand and runs a tight ship - there's a group within the Yunmeng Jiang trained and experienced specifically to deal with Demonic Cultivation specifically. Like their Spec Ops. They are prepared to come in fast and hot, deal with the issue asap and start the clean-up - armed with talismans made to deflect DC, tame the corpses and help send them on.

So, like, one day WWX hears that there's some Demonic Cultivator causing problems in the area he's hunting with the Lan juniors and goes to deal with it. It still pisses him off that his only lasting legacy is not about his genius or his heroics (or even his good looks), but it's this thing he invented out of horrific desperate need and that's now used to cause chaos and hurt people. So, he feels it's his duty to go there and talk some sense into the person in question.

Except, as soon as he arrives at the scene and ascertains that yeah, the issue is serious and maybe it's better for him to send the disciples back home and call in reinforcements (Lan Zhan), because he can take the DC down, but the clean-up will be immense - when suddenly a group of cultivators land in front of them with a swish of purple robes and gets to work.

The battle is almost sad. In no time at all the fierce corpses are tamed, the cultivator thrown down and bound with talismans, and the cultivators are dispersing across the area to set up burials for the corpses and arrays meant to send the ghosts onwards.

It's all precise and quick, sure steps and short commands. A well-oiled machine with soldier-discipline cleaning the area of resentment. So unlike the usual exuberance and free-style of the Jiang.

Wei Wuxian is kinda stumped. How are these people, and why are they getting in his way? He didn't even manage to get any fun! You, baby Lan disciple, explain!

"They're the Red Brigade", the disciple explains in a hushed voice. "Jiang-zonghzu's personal guard. They hunt Deminic Cultivators."

Red? Ah, their uniforms are adorned with a red ribbon on the shoulder. How sentimental of Jiang Cheng. His shidi really missed him! (or wanted him dead, there's also that option). But no time to contemplate that, because these guys are super efficient and if WWX wants to do any investigation of his own (translate: being his nosy self) he has to haul ass before they clean up everything!

So, he goes to the leader of the pack with an intention of comparing notes! The guy is respectful, but so cold! Eh, is he even a Jiang? So much like A-Cheng! Well, he knows how to deal with people like that - everyone will fold when bothered for long enough!

So, he keeps following the leader and talking bullshit, as his brain takes notes on everything he can see around. The talismans they use, the arrays, the spells - that's all pretty high level and super interesting. Huh, even their clothes are embroidered with talismans (a page out of the Lan book, maybe? Sneaky, Jiang Cheng, sneaky!) and their they use ghost flags...

But something is strange. He can see traces of his own work here and there - and he's used to seeing is tools ironically used across the cultivation world, but these are... kind of not? There are traces of his work, but the sigils are not his, the flags are not his, the talismans are not his. Like someone engineered his work backwards and created something that was similar, but entirely different.

As if someone wanted or needed tools to deal with Wei Wuxian's creations specifically, without the risk of being used against them in the heat of battle. One of the cultivators has a qinqin strapped across her back - the strings are made from metal, so it's not for musical cultivation (huh, so that's how Jiang Cheng came up with the idea of disrupting Su She's music in the Guanyin Temple, it wasn't coincidence.). They came in prepared to counter anything a Demonic Cultivator would throw at them.

Hell, he can admit that going through them on his own wouldn't be easy (because he was always helplessly optimistic about his own skills)...

Oh, Jiang Cheng did his homework.

"Wei-gongzi, can I help you with anything? Shouldn't you be taking the Lan juniors home?"

Uh-oh, he was getting on someone's nerves. Better retreat for now.

But he wasn't about to drop the matter.

The Jiang Sect had a SPECIAL OPS! how was he supposed to leave that be?

He was invested, he wanted to discuss! He needed to compare notes!

[ultimateshixiongfuckertournament]

THIRD PLACE ROUND - Jiang Cheng vs Wen Kexing

The battle for third place is between Jiang Cheng (shixiong: Wei Wuxian) from Mo Dao Zu Shi and Wen Kexing (shixiong: Zhou Zishu) from Word of Honor

Propaganda under the cut

Wen Kexing:

(okay so the canon part is confusing. cause wenzhou are officially canon in Faraway Wanderers and are censored bromance in Word of Honor. but they're only shixiong/shidi in Word of Honor and not in Faraway Wanderers. so idk what you want to do in regards to the canonicity of their relationship)

I mean Wen Kexing is all over Zhou Zishu from day 1, though he has very complicated emotions surrounding the whole shixiong/shidi element to their relationship, he does eventually declare himself as the second disciple of Shiji Manor and publicly acknowledges Zhou Zishu as his shixiong. anyways if you know anything about Wen Kexing you know how desperately he wants Zhou Zishu, even the censorship couldn't hide the fact that Wen Kexing wants to rail Zhou Zishu to kingdom come

the utter simp that is WKX for his ZZS? No contest. None. None at all.

#WKX now actually fucked his shixiong like pls the entire book/show is about him wanting to get with him

#WKX hands down wanna fck or get fcked by his “Ah-Xu~” from day 1

#y'all have the audacity. as if Wen Kexing did baby trap is shixiong with TWO kids

Jiang Cheng:

Clinged to WWX constantly for 7+ years, wanted to have WWX as his right hand man forever after becoming sect leader, cried after WWX left, cried when he discovered what WWX sacrificed for him, was TORN APART when it got explained to him that if they were more outwardly close knit, WWX might not have died

PROPAGANDA!! to start, i'm still very bitter about how fairy lost the sentient animal poll and i want to win this badly. very very badly. current stats are 50.6 in favour of jc but that's too less of a gap for me. jc should be winning this by a landslide, y'all hear me? anyways. starting with a class act, like the clown i am->

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a few links ( because i'm chengxian trash, as always and i'd love if poll-guy could copy paste them on the og post): one, two, three, four (gif), five, six, seven (gif), eight (thoughts on different wavelengths), the absolute circles of them saving each other, the fucking golden core reveal scene. golden scene reveal part 2, jiang cheng will always forgive wei wuxian

to start with. jiang cheng is literally the picture of "i knew from the moment i met you that i'd spend a lifetime forgiving you".

the earliest dynamic of jiang cheng and wei wuxian is jiang cheng giving away his dogs (the only gift his father has ever given him, btw) because wei wuxian is scared of the dogs. tis only the start of it.

his father very obviously prefers his shixiong over him, his mother berates him for not being as good as wei wuxian and tells him his inheritance is in danger, and his sister (in my opinion) has more care for him (visibly. maybe jiang yanli doesn't show it because jc is an emotionally complicated purple grape, maybe because jc doesn't need it, or wei wuxian is traumatised but that's my opinion). but still. still. Jiang Cheng loves Wei Wuxian. so much. jealousy is like. the most tame response i can think of. and jiang cheng is proud of wei wuxian, okay? he'd believe his big brother if he'd said anything. want proof? well, here you go-> link

to paraphrase the link:

Jiang Cheng had just lost his family, his home, and his very golden core, and his older brother - his brilliant older brother who could fix anything, who could sneak wine into Cloud Recesses and defeat an ancient turtle nearly-god and make Jiang Cheng share a smile when Jiang Cheng’s mother was disappointed and furious at both of them - His big brother smiled and said, “I can fix this.”And Jiang Cheng believed him then, and believed him three months later when Wei Wuxian crawled out of the Burial Mounds (just the second miracle in three months), and believed him every day of the next seventeen(?) years until the pieces were shoved into place for him to see.

also. the circle these two go in protecting each other. (gif set by @sandushengshou), the 'if one of us is to die, then, i beg, let it be me' that they both do for one another in a seemingly neverending loop of sacrifice. via this post a la my lovely @backtoyunmeng

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jiang cheng is a cannonically ruined woman archetype, justified via the countless posts you'll get in the top posts of jiang cheng tag. he keeps chenqing, wwx's flute in perfect condition even when he hates wei wuxian, even when wwx, if only indirectly, has a part in jiang yanli's murder and oof okay someone pointed out to him that he's known to have killed wei wuxian and he almost cries. he absolutely believes, with his whole heart, that wei wuxian lives even when the world is sure he doesnt. and it always read to me like, i'd know if he was dead. he's a part of my soul, so i'd know if he was dead. he can't be dead.

this is getting too long, so, to sum up, some absolute poetry by @jiangchengsjawline

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#JC On The Other Hand Has His Entire Life Shaped By His Shixiong And Ended Up Cast As The Ruined Woman By The End

#jiang cheng though. wasn't able to fuck his shixiong but his shixiong definitely fucked with him

#hello?? the answer is Jiang cheng pls#he's the shixiongfucker or all shixiong fucker you wish you could be as pathetically in love with your shixiong as he is#chengxian

#i do not go here (chengxian) but the propaganda is incredibly correct they are insane abt each other#also sorry jiang cheng ik you're suffering but they are so funny to me#neway VOTE JIANG CHENG FOR CLEAR SKIN

#look I rarely go here#(here being chengxian)#but by GOD their lvoe compels me#they’re tragic and doomed and they love each other without knowing how to say it in words the other would understand#or in words at all because communication??? we don’t know her???

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he didn't even think about sacrificing himself, and consequently his entire bloodline, his sect, pretty much everything that depends on him for his shixiong??????????

is this not convincing->

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#had to vote jc though i have more feelings about chengxian#i think jc should have a huge gege kink

#like. jiang cheng should win the entire tournament hands down period

#jiang cheng#is the only correct answer in my gay little brain#i’m sure everyone else’s shixiong fuckers are great too#but jiang cheng is MY favorite#tumblr polls#mdzs#if chengxian fucked in canon it would make everything about their situation at least 65% less complicated you can’t change my mind

[not-rude-ginger]

*hops in* Hi! A random bunny has appeared with a question! Post canon, if zhanchengxian get together, how do you think JL reacts? I like how you write JC & JL together, so I wonder what you thought of this. Thanks for answering! Bye! *hops out* 🐰💛

Hmmm.

Hmmmmm.

I think it will depend on a few things.

Is JL aware of JC's feelings before ZCX happens - or is JC not even thinking that way and WX are the drivers of it?

How has JC been up until the ZCX? If he's been super sad, and is now super happy, JL will probably process and accept things easier that way.

What about Hanguang-jun, Jiujiu? He's been such an asshole to you remember? Jiujiu Remember??

How much does JL have to hear about it?

So I think accepting the WWX part of the equation will oddly be the easier part. JL knows his jiujiu is weird about WWX, he knows how to read JC's behaviour and knows how he expresses himself. He doesn't necessarily understand why Jiujiu lets this asshole (affectionate) back into his life but he does see that it definitely impacts Jiujiu in a positive way. Something unlocks in him. It's weird, but nice. So he's OK with it ---

Or he would be if it didn't involve LWJ, noted asshole (rude).

If he's not introduced to the whole concept at once and sees Jiujiu and WWX first he'd be like 'Jiujiu you can't carry around with a married man!' then he'd immediately pivot to 'Don't worry WWX, I can arrange a divorce in ten minutes.'

When the two awkwardly explain LWJ is also involved, or LWJ walks into the room and kisses JC on the brow, JL will keel over, die, resurrect to yell, die again, yell from the dead, and then list all the reasons LWJ should not be allowed such privileges. JC is kinda baffled he noticed all the times LWJ was rude to him, but JL has a keen memory for all slights and he can remember so many.

LWJ is increasingly uncomfortable and WWX is thinking 'wow this list is long' and torn between loving husband and moving forward and *cat's hiss* how dare you hurts the shidi!

Then it will depend on how JC is approaching things. Is he letting it all go to have something nice. Is he swallowing feelings to have this good thing while it eats him up? Whatever he's doing will determine JL's next actions.

In the end, JL will always accept what makes his jiujiu happy, but he has the nose for sniffing out bullshit so he will only accept once it's been proven solid and true and genuine. Then ... fine jiujiu can get married. Yes Jiujiu, Married. JL is not having his last living family behaving wantonly.

[symphonyofsilence]

Among the heirs of the great sects, Jiang Cheng is the most balanced one. LWJ is too rigid (and frankly a very unfortunate diplomat), NHS only fucks around, JZX is...well,...JZX. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, is responsible, serious when it comes to his sect and duties, very competent, good with politics (better than both his parents), has a strategic mind, is respectful to the people of other sects, and is a good representative for his sect, but at the same time when he's not being "a representative for his sect" and is among friends and family, he smuggles drinks to CR and gets drunk with NHS & WWX, he sneaks out of CR and goes to the nearby restaurant, he keeps bantering with WWX while at the same time being an accomplice in all his shenanigans and getting in trouble with him, he runs away from his mother along with his shixiong and their shidi into a boat and starts fighting with WWX in the waters where everyone cheers them on and they steal lotus seeds from a poor farmer.

He was really being a teenage boy before the war took that away from him. And even then this bad boy was totally okay with WWX's dark magic stuff and the black clouds and crows and rotten resentful corpses that followed WWX around.

[spriteofmushrooms]

What would be wwx reaction if he ended up in an universe where jc and jyl didn't exist or maybe wwx killed them (rumors has it)?? 🤔

Gradually, Jiang Cheng grows aware. Pain throbs through him with every pulse, highlighting every point at which the cables bind him. He steadies his breath, listening. To his left, someone is humming poorly as they shuffle objects around. Paper, perhaps?

"Do you think I don't know how you breathe?"

Jiang Cheng freezes, then lifts his chin and opens his eyes. Lightning arcs from his neck down his spine, and his breath hitches from the pain. "Who are you?" he rasps.

The stranger is young with the air of a cultivator. He's draped in black, grey, and red without any insignias; so he's either in disguise or a rogue. He's not wearing a sword, but a black dizi with a red tassel is stuck haphazardly in his belt. His eyes are red, but his expression is sweet, curious, and full of mirth.

"So it's true? Aiya, Jiang Cheng, this one is your humble shixiong, Wei Wuxian." He bows elegantly.

While Wei Wuxian's eyes are downcast, Jiang Cheng flexes his wrists against the immortal binding cables behind his back. Unfortunately, even Yu Ziyuan would find the knots satisfactory. As the stranger rises, Jiang Cheng stills.

"I am da-shixiong," Jiang Cheng offers cautiously.

"Oh, here, sure," Wei Wuxian says, flicking his hands as if batting that away. "What a sad little world you have. No me, no Baoshan Sanren."

"Baoshan Sanren gave her life to protect--"

Wei Wuxian scoffs. "That old woman was bored."

Anger rose within Jiang Cheng. Whoever the fuck this asshole was, he could go die. "My apologies for the lackluster surroundings. Feel free to leave at any time."

"Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng, you're so cute. If I leave, you know it will be with you."

"Your sad delusions aren't my problem," Jiang Cheng hisses. "If you think you're the first person to decide we're more than we are, you're mistaken. I don't fucking know you. I don't want to."

The air around Wei Wuxian shifts. He smiles. "But I know you, a-Cheng. I know everything that shaped you, and I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that we belong together. Really, I am. But I won't ever let you out of my sight again."

Jiang Cheng closes his eyes. He needs information. "Again?"

Wei Wuxian chuckles. "Will Sandu Shengshou pester the truth out of me now? Interrogate away. Yes, again. My Jiang Cheng got himself killed."

"How did he die?"

Wei Wuxian tugs on the end of his ribbon. Although it's gentle, every slight jerk lances through Jiang Cheng. "Is that really what you want to know?"

Jiang Cheng looks into Wei Wuxian's eyes. "Did you kill him?" he asks, voice flat.

"What a mean thing to say," Wei Wuxian says. "Shidi, no one will marry you if you stay like this."

"Who's my shixiong? You couldn't have been a good one since your shidi died."

Wei Wuxian slowly wraps the purple ribbons around his hand. As the tension increases, Jiang Cheng must lean closer. He ends up with his chin in one of Wei Wuxian's hands while the other wraps around his guan. "You should consider your position before you speak to me," Wei Wuxian says, brushing a thumb over his lips even as he pulls up on the guan. Jiang Cheng gasps. "Maybe you're not my Jiang Cheng, but I can make you him. It won't be that hard; you're both such brats. All we need is time..."

As he speaks, his expression grows distant. His touches grow gentler.

"You're hurting me."

Wei Wuxian's gaze fixes on him again. "I know. But bear it for me, alright? It's going to hurt a lot, but it's the only way."

It's not as though Jiang Cheng has a choice. He nods.

"Good boy," Wei Wuxian murmurs as he drops the ribbons and walks back to the table. He picks up a long stick that's difficult to make out in the gloom and begins whistling. As he returns, Jiang Cheng straightens, eyes wide.

The Jiang discipline whip.

"He never let me see all of the scars, but let's play it by ear."

[least-carpet]

Pursued by lesser ghosts 😭😭😭😭 are they gonna figure it out. Let JC in there

Hello, anon! Perhaps I will also link Pursued by Lesser Ghosts for context, since it took me so long to answer this ask. (You do need an AO3 account to read it.) It's wangxian with left zhanchengxian. Left in the sense that both chengxian and zhancheng had previously occurred, and they have left Jiang Cheng behind! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

In my heart, they figure it out, but I’m never going to write that because they are all in WILDLY different places and that would take... so long. This is partly what makes it interesting to rotate to me, because I think it’s a situation where the way any of the people involved would describe the facts in a relatively similar and nonchalant way, but their intellectual frameworks for the facts and emotional experience of the facts are so wildly disconnected that getting all three on the same page would be, uh, challenging. Rough character notes below.

Wei Wuxian:

Feels like JC should be mad at him, since he projects guilt about JYL already on to JC. additionally hates JFM’s treatment of JC but in total denial about both what the treatment means and how he feels about it. LWJ’s rejection and replacement of JC with WWX is going to trigger all of that BECAUSE it brings WWX's past understanding of JC into conflict with his current understanding of JC.

In the past, WWX’s JC feelings were positive; therefore any negative treatment by JFM had to be denied (and also Fixed by WWX).

WWX’s JC feelings are now negative, partly because of the projection and self-blame, and partly because of ongoing resentment about the core transfer (VERY traumatic plus the feeling like that degree of devotion and sacrifice was not reciprocated).

The emotional experience of REPLACING JC AGAIN is an experience that belongs to WWX’s childhood self, who loved JC and was extremely possessive and protective of him (the JZX beatdown was triggered finally by the insult about JC).

Also triggers memories of childhood > adulthood intimacies (some degree of sexual contact as teenagers that both of them “forgot about”).

WWX also terminally unable to leave shit alone, and now there’s a mystery about HIS HUSBAND and HIS SHIDI.

LWJ is just like “oh we had sex sometimes” but JC is a prude who doesn’t do that and only lets WWX touch him??? This is not a sufficient answer for WWX??? [meltdown]

CONFLICT CONFLICT CONFLICT KABOOM

Jiang Cheng:

I mean, Mr. Abandonment and Betrayal Issues got some feedback about what had happened, and that feedback was “it was duty, I never loved you like you loved me, let me go” (WWX) PLUS “now that the person who is better than you, who I really love, is here, I will replace you with him and never look back because you are Bad” (LWJ).

On one hand, closure! On the other hand, what if every childhood belief and fear about yourself all came true at once? Wouldn't that be fun? (I mean, the ones which had not already happened and left most of your family dead.)

Like he worked so hard to be good for love (root of childhood issues -> “if I am very good maybe dad will love me eventually and mom will finally be happy”) and this functions as proof that it has NEVER culminated in that love being returned.

I also don’t know how much he was aware of LWJ’s fixation on WWX before/during the time they were sleeping together. how blindsided he feels would change depending on that.

Also will blame himself for it (see childhood coping mechanisms… so abandonment by LWJ is “his fault” because he “should have expected it”).

He is. He is not doing so good. Genuinely bad to contemplate and I don’t know how you fix that, like, degree of damage.

He also Never Gives Up and JL is still alive so he’s not going to kill himself but like. it ain’t good.

Lan Wangji:

To me, this is the chewiest problem. Because he has these rigid categories of ��good” and “bad” but is also missing a lot of information about what happened between JC and WWX (such as the fake fight/removal from the sect), he's made up his mind but it's based on incomplete information.

Also like, he's not particularly empathetic (so questions like “how would you feel if someone you unconditionally trusted accidentally killed your beloved sibling?” are ones he has perhaps never contemplated?)

IMO this intersects in a pretty ugly way with his canon sadism during the period he has a sexual relationship with JC. I would have to make some decisions about how bad that was, but I don’t think it’s good. I think JC goes along with it partly as a form of self-harm and partly because JC is under a lot of stress, touch-starved, and is genuinely pretty submissive in bed? But has no standards about it (healthy!) and doesn't know how to protect himself.

Initially this is fine to LWJ because it “doesn’t count” and “JC is bad” so LWJ doesn’t have to feel bad about how he treats JC.

But if it was a multi-year intermittent thing, I think that might change? Because I don’t think LWJ is actually that cruel, just inflexible and not great at people.

So they hook up semi-often and LWJ perceives JC worrying about JL, about YMJ, and to some degree about him (offers him salve for his scars, inquires semi-rudely about family, feeds him thoughtful vegetarian foods when around each other) and they get comfortable and sometimes they spend the night together and LWJ gets a lot less mean but not any better at talking…

But even as their behaviours change, LWJ’s mental model doesn’t, so when WWX returns, he just, like, ditches JC without any discussion whatsoever.

And he gets everything he thought he wanted!! And he’s happy about a lot of it but feels Weird in a way that he can’t articulate or explain.

So to get him to the throuple, his whole understanding of what they were doing with each other and what JC’s behaviour signified would have to change. On the other hand, he is now married to the nosiest and most determined man in the world and that man is going to ask him a LOT of questions.

He just has SO far to go. I think both WWX and JC at least understand that a loss happened, but LWJ hasn’t worked that out yet. He's feeling it, but hasn't been able to articulate it to himself because of how it conflicts with his beliefs.

So getting them all to kiss would be really hard work. I think they do, though!

[grainstealingthot]

Okay so as promised. My thoughts on the first chapter of MDZS, as someone whose watched the donghua all the way through but hasn't read the novel.

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE NOVEL. VERY OBVIOUSLY I AM POSTING MY THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE NOVEL.

*please note I am also typing this on my phone. This is bound to have lots of grammar errors and typos.

Chapter 1 Reincarnation

So very iconically, chapter one begins with the announcement of Wei Wuxian's death. A very bold start, considering he is, of course, the main character.

It should be noted that here on this first page it states that barely one day has passed since the Siege of the Burial Mounds and WWX's subsequent death, but the news has already spread across the entire culti action society. This lets us, as readers, know that rumors spread incredibly fast in this world.

What follows after is a conversation between two unnamed characters discussing the nature of WWX's death, but also their thoughts on his life.

The characters can't agree on the exact nature of WWX's death (was he killed by his sect leader and Shidi Jiang Cheng, or was he torn apart by fierce corpses after his cultivation backlashed on him?), but it's also interesting to note that they also cannot decide on how many people he supposedly killed (3,000 or 5,000?).

But! WWX did get some good karma for destroying the Yin Tiger Tally before his death, so there's that at least.

We also get a comment about how glorious and renowned he was in his youth. And how he was a great cultivator of a great sect. And how it goes to show that the dark path is obviously bad and the only path to righteousness is obviously the orthodox path. (I am being a little sarcastic here fyi)

There's also a mention in this chapter of him being taken in by previous sect leader of Yunmeng Jiang and being raised like a son.

If it wasn’t for the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng, who took him in and raised him, then Wei Wuxian would’ve been a no-name street rat in the countryside—never mind becoming anything else! The former Jiang sect leader raised him like his own son, eh? But look at him: publicly defecting from the clan, making himself an enemy of the world. He’s embarrassed the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng utterly and almost doomed them to the same fate of extermination.

This is followed by one of the characters stating that JC should have just stabbed WWX when he defected and saved everyone the trouble.

So we can obviously see what the greater public thinks of WWX.

At this point, it should be pretty obvious that we aren't supposed to take what these characters are saying as 100% truth. There's grains of truth in the rumors of course, but it's just that. Tiny little grains.

We the. Continue on with a little bit of short term foreshadowing for the next chapter. We get told that society has been trying to summon WWX's soul but are unsuccessful.

But that people are also afraid of what might happen if he does manage to take over a body.

If his spirit returned in the future…if he took over a body and was reincarnated, then the cultivation world—the entire mortal world, in fact—would be cursed to face even greater vengeance, sinking into an endless storm of darkness and blood.

Lol.

Anyways. It's easy to see how quickly rumors can spread and become the known truth. The victors get to write the history books after all.

And listen. I'm obviously not an impartial reader. Having been exposed to the donghua and the fandom, I largely know what happens in the story anyways.

I'm looking at this through the lens of someone who obviously favors wwx and knows at least the donghua version of events.

Anyways, join me soon for a review on chapter 2 lol

[xiyao-feels]

This is extremely indirect but honestly that last post also makes me think of Jin Zixuan.

The thing is I think he does, actually, have some culpability in his own death. Not because he provoked!!! WWX!!!! (facepalm), but because—

In inviting WWX to JL's one month party, he was implicitly offering WWX safe passage from the Jin. And as it turns out that's not actually something he has the power to offer WWX—not because of JGY, remember, this is literally JGS' suggestion:

Jin Ling’s full-month celebration just so happened to be near, to which Jin ZiXuan actually invited Wei WuXian. Jin GuangShan wasn’t too fond of this idea to begin with, and so he suggested that Jin ZiXun use this as an opportunity, killing Wei WuXian on his way to the banquet. This way, he wouldn’t have to come to Koi Tower either.

(ER translation, ch 76; emphasis mine)

Jin Zixuan just does not have the power to offer WWX safety from the Jin. And he should have known that. But he doesn't, because from what we can tell he's absented himself from Jin politics all his life. And like, don't get me wrong, that's an extremely understandable urge—but it's one he can only get away with because his parents are indulging him. And then because he does this he does not even realize that he doesn't have the power to safely invite WWX to JL's one month party, and with all good intent and with all total ignorance he invites his wife's shidi straight into what ends up being an ambush.

His power and privilege protect him from the consequences of his ignorance: and then they don't, and it ends up killing him.

[coresurgery]

my other jiang yanli rarepair thought is: au where jyl marries jin guangyao instead

JGS puts the idea forward; he has bigger aims for JZX now that the Jiang sect is so weak anyway, but he still wants the connection to the Jiangs and WWX, and JGY will be able to play her better than JZX would

Obviously this is also kind of an insult. But JYL at this point doesn't believe JZX loves her, she's okay with a political marriage if it will help out the Jiangs, and she isn't irrationally prejudiced about JGY's background. Maybe his situation reminds her a bit of WWX's. If Jiang Yanli is okay with it then Jiang Cheng is too. So they get married

This could be a fixit. JGY doesn't have the guilt of being a sisterfucker hanging over him. Jiang Yanli is legitimately politically savvy. As JZX's wife she would have been kept out of the loop on the demonic cultivation stuff etc but as JGY's wife she'd be much closer to it and may have a chance to pick up on what's happening before he realizes how much she understands.

(Not to say that JGY underestimates her because she's a woman or too nice or whatever - I think he'd actually get where she's coming from as a people-pleaser very well.)

And she's a favorite of Madame Jin (who is PISSED about this but not pissed at JYL specifically) so she could use that to hers and JGY's advantage.

I think also Jin Zixuan doesn't go to Qiongqi Pass if WWX isn't his shidi-in-law. So he lives.

SO - there is a version of this story where JGY has a lot more support and is softened considerably and more people make it out alive. Maybe even the Wens and WWX. He and Jiang Yanli may not be in love but there is a genuine affection between them and they could make a good team. And maybe have an open marriage once they know each other well enough to have the "i'm in love with your brother and you're in love with your sworn brothers" convo lol.

BUT there is also a version where JYL has the terrible suspicion that her husband arranged for her shidi to be killed. and she can't know for sure. he'd never admit it, and how could he have done it anyway? wwx. got himself into a lot of shit. and maybe she's not being fair, thinking the worst of guangyao the way everyone else does. he's a good husband, a good father, good for the sect and the common people, and--

she can't tell jiang cheng. she doesn't know for sure. she doesn't want them to fight. but she wonders.

what would a jin sect run by jin zixuan with JGY/JYL as a power couple behind the scenes after JGS's death look like anyway? honestly pretty good worldstate.

the good ending here is that jiang yanli is alive in guanyin temple so the jiangs + wwx like jin guangyao enough to let him and lan xichen flee to japan. (novel canon so wwx doesn't have to make sure jgy dies no matter what.)

well good ending for everyone but NHS. sorry NHS.

[sandumilfshou]

also does anyone else have one or multiple long ass self-insert fanfic universes that you imagine more of every night as youre falling asleep

mine is that im a far off traveler who arrives on the shores of ancient fantasy mdzs china with foreign cultivation (and a translation spell) who ends up going to the nearest cultivation sect as like a guest cultivator

i'm allowed to stay there and wwx is the one mostly running things since the sect heir and some of his disciples are out on a night hunt expected to last about two weeks, so i'm well settled into lotus pier by the time the sect heir comes back

and i make a total fool out of myself just staring like a moron because jiang cheng is so so so so so pretty why did nobody fucking prepare me for this???? and so i end up saying "sorry i was just. you're literally the most gorgeous person i've ever seen in my life"

and jiang cheng BLUSHESSSSS because obviously no one has ever said this to him and im like can we date. can i court you. please let me walk along the shoreline with you beneath the stars and hold your hand and kiss your cheeks

and jfm and yzy basically say that my foreign concept of dating isnt really done amongst gentry they usually set up arranged marriages/betrothals but they arent willing to do one with me since i'm a foreigner with nothing to my name and no dowry to bring to the marriage. so i decide then that im going to spend time in all the great sects learning from them and making a name for myself until i have a strong enough reputation that they'll give me permission to ask for jiang cheng's hand

and he's like so flustered and i gotta keep hyping him up while i'm there because like. he clearly has self confidence issues and doesn't think he's anything that impressive next to wei wuxian but quite honestly it's more impressive to me to not naturally be good at something and needing to put in hours and hours and hours of hard work and training to perfect your craft rather than just naturally being amazing at it

and wwx is on the sidelines like YEESSSS GOOD APPRECIATE MY SHIDI

[whumpbby]

So, this post about Wei Wuxian going ballistic once he hears that JC is marrying gave me a good giggle.

And it also made me think - what if he was right? What if the bride was suspicious?

And the person who brought it to his attention was no one else than JC's right hand, the Yunemeng Jiang First Disciple.

WWX is experiencing one mental breakdown after another. Double betrayal? Et tu shidi?!

Now he has to work with this duplicitous pretender to disrupt the wedding and save the Jiang Sect Leader from being fooled into marriage?! Gods keep testing him!!

[thesummerstorms]

Okay, because I just commented this somewhere else but now I need it here:

“Who else could it be? Ain’t it his shidi, the little sect leader Jiang Cheng?"- official 7S English translation

“Who other than his shidi, Jiang Cheng, putting an end to his own relative for the greater good." - Exiled Rebels', the original/first English fan translation

“Who else could it be? His disciple-brother, Chief Jiang Cheng of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan!"- Fanyiyi's partial English fan translation, and my personal favorite

“Who else could it be but his junior, the Young Clan Leader of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Cheng”- The Taming Wangxian partial fan translation

Even though they all technically express the same thing, the way they choose to word things sound so radically different. 

“The little sect leader” vs “the Young Clan Leader” in S7 vs TW.

“Ain’t” which sounds highly informal/kind of low-brow to the English ear versus... literally every other translation.

“Lan Zhan, can’t you tell what I meant by all that chatter?” “No,” Lan Wangji replied. “You can’t?” Wei Wuxian said. “I was complimenting you, tryin’ to get chummy!”-  official 7S English translation

Wei WuXian, “You don’t even know about this? I was complimenting you, trying to become more casual with you.” - Exiled Rebels', the original/first English fan translation

“Really, you didn’t know? I was kissing up to you so you’d be my friend.”-  Fanyiyi's partial English fan translation, and my personal favorite

(I unfortunately only have the first 26 pages of Taming Wangian’s version, so I don’t have this bit. If someone wants to link me to a doc... that would be great. I bought all the currently available legal versions because I believe in paying MXTX for her work; I just have translation preferences.)

But again, it’s a matter of small bits of word choice making a big difference, at least for me personally. 

First off, why is Wei Wuxian dropping his ending “g”s? Like, I know that’s a real life thing; I’m Texan and talk that way IRL. But they do this here (and with the “ain’t” above and the repeated use of “li’l”) and it just comes out sounding jarring to me? It isn’t as if WWX has a specific English-speaking accent to transcribe. 

Is this a tone/dialect thing in Mandarin that the 7S team is trying to localize? I wouldn’t know, but if so, why doesn’t it show up in any of the other translations? And if it isn’t are they trying to make the speech sound more “colorful”? Because for me, it’s just distracting.

Also, the word chummy. Again, there’s a difference in formality levels, but I also just kind of hate this word (which is used four times in 7S’s edition). It might be because in my daily life, I’ve only ever heard this word being used sarcastically- “I saw them getting really chummy with X” is always used with a negative connotation. And I just think there were smoother ways to render this?

Wei Wuxian had wanted to shuffle closer and get chummy to loosen him up, but when he couldn’t and was snubbed, he still wasn’t upset.- 7S

Wei WuXian wanted to get closer to Lan WangJi so that it was more convenient for him to flatter the other. Even though he couldn’t go over and was given the cold shoulder, he wasn’t angered at all.- Exiled Rebels

Initially, Wei Wuxian had wanted to move closer to Lan Wangji so that it would be easier to talk to him and worm his way into a friendship. But not only was he prevented from approaching the boy, Lan Wangji’s responses also offered no amusement. However, Wei Wuxian wasn’t angry. - Fanyiyi

Again, I can’t read any Mandarin whatsoever, so I can’t make meaningful comments about how the different translations relate back to the original text. I will say that as an English speaker, I just flat out don’t enjoy a lot of 7S’s translation choices when seen in the frame of comparable fan translations. Their diction is distracting and odd in too many places.

(And of course, this is not to say you can’t like or prefer or support the 7S version if you so choose. This is my personal opinion.)