#also this is my first time drawing Wen Ning!

[illuminchim]

MDZS Kingsman AU.

Is Wen Ning third wheeling? Yes, of course… someone save him

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

At your side [End of Season 2]

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[bipirate]

you know i had to keep up the 'wei ying, the lesbians' tradition, even though hanguang june just ended here as of an hour ago. i hope you all had a happy pride month!

this is based on a scene from the movie Pride :) i imagine lwj and wwx just returned from a long trip/night hunt and the lesbians have missed him a lot

[lgbtlunaverse]

Fandom is so nice to Jiang Cheng's inferiority complex because in reality every single thing he gets accused of is something Wei Wuxian is better at than him.

Jiang Cheng killed Wei Wuxian? Nope. Didn't even get close. Wei Wuxian's own spirits tore him apart before jc could even get there. wwx:1 jc:0

Jiang Cheng tortures people? We get two and a half rumours and a mention from jin ling that jc has 'captured' demonic cultivators before, but who is also apparently confident that just letting wwx run off will kill the issue even though those earlier rumours said ~no one who sandu shengshou captured was ever seen again~

The word jiang cheng uses when he tries to talk big game about 'beating the truth' out of Wei Wuxian's is a word that carries the context of pestering someone to do their homework. Doesn't exactly strike fear into my heart.

Wei Wuxian? Excellent at torture. A prodigy. Did you fucking see what he did to Wen Chao? Dude didn't have fingers anymore because wei wuxian made him eat them. He ripped out his hair, burned his skin off, and then stalked him for several days just to prolong the pain. He forced Wang Lingjiao to bite Wen Chao's dick off and then made her shove a stool leg down her own throat! 10/10, no notes. Absolutely horrifying.

Meanwhile Jiang Cheng's idea of torture is getting a dog to bark at Wei Wuxian for a few seconds. Weak, unoriginal, I bet fairy was literally wagging her tail the whole time. 2-0

Jiang Cheng made the entire cultivation world believe Wei Wuxian was up to no good on the burial mounds and ultimately orchestrated his downfall? lol. lmao, even

It's a big thing in certain corners of the fandom to really zoom in one one particular phrase at the end of chapter 73, where after wwx and jc have their staged duel to make the world believe they hate each other jiang cheng tells everyone wwx has defected and become "a public enemy'' or "an enemy to the cultivation world" or whatever the translation you're familiar with decided upon.

(As an aside, something I really like about this line is that the last half of it is almost exactly the same, like verbatim, as what wwx told him to say. like, the chapter is really hammering home just how much jc is speaking from a script here. wwx tells jc to say "今后魏无羡无论做出什么事，都与云梦江氏无关." and jc says "今后无论此人有何动作，一概与云梦江氏无关" the only meaningful difference is that he says 'this person' instead of wwx's name)

I've seen it said that this bit, the use of 'enemy' was said without wei wuxian's approval, that jc deviated from the script just to hurt his ex-shixiong for leaving him. And that this is what caused all the other clans to turn against wei wuxian. Regardless of if this is what jc and wwx discussed, or if jc had malicious motivations for it (considering my conclusions above, you can guess where i fall) it doesn't really matter, because the novel tells us when the clans completely freak out and become convinced wei wuxian is out to get them (though of course they've been wringing their hands about it since the literal day wwx ran off with the wen, months before jiang cheng visited) very neatly in chapter 75!

It's when they find out about Wen Ning.

And how do they find out about Wen Ning?

Because Wei Wuxian took him on nighthunts! And they kicked ass!

...Wei Wuxian, my man, why are you on nighthunts??? Why are you showing off your incredibly cool sentient fierce corpse buddy, who is way better and stronger than all the other fierce corpses, in front of the whole cultivation world??

Whatever his motivations (extra money, maybe?? they were strapped for crash) I can only draw the conclusion wwx had already given up on appearing calm or non-threatening and didn't care if the clans thought he was a threat, because they'd believe whatever they wanted anyway. Which he seems to clearly be aware of the whole time.

Regardless, we know that this is what created the myth of the Yiling patriarch. It's literally when the title first shows up!

Even if you really believe jc was secretly plotting against wwx in chapter 73, he's clearly doing a shit job of it because nothing he said made anywhere near as big an impact as this. Flopped!

The other point people use to argue Jiang Cheng caused wei wuxian's downfall is Jin Guangyao's speech in Guanyin temple about how jiang cheng could have saved wei wuxian if only he stood by him. Setting aside that jin guangyao is trying to get into jiang cheng's head here, and isn't necessarily saying what he really believes (though it very well might be! who knows with a character like jgy. assuming he's always lying is just as misleading as assuming he's always saying the truth) the fact is, if you read the speech closely, what he's talking about is not the 'public enemy' line, he's talking about the bond between them. The fact that people wanted wei wuxian out of yunmeng jiang, because the two were too powerful together.

He's talking about that one time Jiang Cheng very publically kicked wei wuxian out of the sect!

Which, unbeknownst to Jin Guangyao, was in fact Wei Wuxian's idea the whole time.

final score: 3 for you wei wuxian, you go wei wuxian! And nothing for Jiang Cheng bye.

[littlesmartart]

The Man From Y.I.L.I.N.G.

Chapter 1: First Impressions Are Tough

by @eleanorfenyxwrites (with help from @little-smartass)

Mature, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao/Nie Mingjue, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Jiang Yanli & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Yanli, Lan Qiren, Mo Xuanyu, Jin Guangshan, Wen Ruohan, Wen Ning, Wēn Qíng, Luo "Mian Mian" Qingyang, Jin Zixuan, Qín Sù

The Man From U.N.C.L.E AU, Spies & Secret Agents, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, but make it mid-1960's cold war China, but handwavey, listen sometimes historical accuracy matters and other times it doesn't, we're just here for a good time, Jin Guangshan's A+ Parenting, The homoeroticism of falling in love with your mark, and also your unwanted mission partner who irritates the shit out of you, please please please don't factcheck anything I say about nuclear technology, we're here for vibes and a good time before anything else

Lan Wangji - well-respected nuclear technology researcher and engineer - has disappeared without a trace and with all of his research in tow. Now, a year after his disappearance, he's been spotted in the company of the mysterious Yiling Laozu, a dark horse in the tenuous field of nuclear weaponry and a name to be feared as the world is at the height of Cold War tensions. As part of an unlikely alliance between their employers, rival special agents Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue must work together to find and rescue Lan Wangji (with his research) and hunt down the Yiling Laozu to put a stop to his work at all costs - but is that really all there is to the story? [A 1960's spy action thriller based on Guy Ritchie's 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.']

you guys I am SO excited to introduce you to the AU that started the friendship between myself and AJ! I was watching TMFU for about the billionth time in january 2023 and as usual my brain was in Make It About Your Blorbos mode, so I wrote up a bullet point summary of how a 3zun AU for the film's narrative could work. I knew I didn't have the historical research chops to pull off what the story deserved, but then I remembered there was someone in the fandom who not only was very comfortable writing long-form fic, but also was excellent at writing fic with a really vivid sense of the time period it's set in - so I sent the AU plot outline to AJ with a message that was more or less, to use The Old Tongue, "free plot bunny to good home". if I remember rightly I think AJ actually went and watched the film that very evening and enthusiastically accepted custody of the AU - since then, they've done the writing, and I've been delightedly cheerleading and drawing art for it. I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as we've enjoyed working on it!

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 10/?

Wei Wuxian was called the Yiling Patriarch during the Sunshot Campaign

Rating: FANON – CONFLICTING

There is, understandably, a bit of confusion about when Wei Wuxian started to be known as the Yiling Patriarch. For convenience's sake, he's often called by this title throughout many fanwork depictions of the Sunshot Campaign, and/or the period in which he was coreless. This makes sense from an aesthetics perspective, as during this point in his life he was already adopting the persona associated with the Patriarch brand, but in canon, the title was only given to him after he liberated the Wen prisoners.

Put simply, it's not possible for Wei Wuxian to have been called the Yiling Patriarch during the Sunshot Campaign, because by definition the title must have been given to him once he was based out of Yiling – after he liberated the labor camps and set the Wen settlement up in the Burial Mounds. Although Wei Wuxian had been thrown into the Burial Mounds by Wen Chao, ostensibly drawing that connection before the Sunshot Campaign, nobody else (besides some of the Wens) knew at the time.

However, the title was not given to Wei Wuxian immediately after settling in the Burial Mounds. We can actually pinpoint the exact turning point when Wei Wuxian "became" the Yiling Patriarch:

After Wei Wuxian defected from the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng and became the Yiling Patriarch, he’d been in significant conflict with the Lan Clan of Gusu, especially in the months prior to his death. (Seven Seas Ch. 4)

Wei Wuxian was only known as the Yiling Patriarch after his split with Jiang Cheng and the Yumeng Jiang Sect. This means there was a period of time in between the formation of the Wen Settlement and Wei Wuxian's defection, in which Wei Wuxian was living in the Burial Mounds but was NOT yet publicly known as the "big bad evil cultivator" Yiling Patriarch.

We also know the first time the words "Yiling Patriarch" are mentioned chronologically:

None of the fierce corpses Wei Wuxian had ordered to patrol the foot of the mountain actively attacked anyone—the most they did was hurl them away with teeth bared in a snarl. No one was ever hurt. And so, more and more people crowded at the foot of the Burial Mounds. Wei Wuxian once saw a long pennant in the distance, emblazoned with the title “The Supreme Evil Yiling Patriarch,” and spat out an entire mouthful of fruit wine at the sight. (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

This implies that the title of "Yiling Patriarch" was formulated not by anyone in the cultivation world who saw Wei Wuxian as a threat, but by the common people who idolized him. The title could have then spread to members of cultivation sects, who adopted the common name.

In fact, the next time we see a reference to the title is when the Jiang siblings secretly meet with Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning, and Jiang Cheng uses it to tease Wei Wuxian:

“Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were still standing inside the courtyard. Jiang Cheng raised his bowl. “To the Yiling Patriarch.” “Hearing the title reminded Wei Wuxian of that long pennant fluttering shamelessly in the wind, and his mind was filled with its huge dazzling words: “The Supreme Evil Yiling Patriarch.” “Shut up!” he said.” ... He finished the rest of his soup in a single mouthful and stood. “Impressive. Amazing. As expected of the Yiling Patriarch.” Wei Wuxian spat out a piece of bone. “Are you done?” (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

Meaning while the title spread incredibly fast, it was not taken seriously (by Wei Wuxian, at least) for at least a short period of time while the rumors surrounding Wei Wuxian were building up. Notably, Wei Wuxian does not associate himself with the title.

My interpretation of why this happened is that during the period that Wei Wuxian was still part of the Jiang Clan, his actions were seen as representative of – or at least the responsibility of – the Jiangs. Regardless of whether the cultivation world knew he was working alone, as it were, he was still beholden to a sect who had power over him. Wei Wuxian would not have been seen as a "patriarch" in his own right.

After the defection, however, Wei Wuxian was an unknown in terms of affiliation, and thus a potential threat. With the rumors about him already beginning to paint him as evil and unstable, combined with the fact that he was going on public night hunts with Wen Ning, he quickly became notorious:

After stealing the show at several Night Hunts, quite a few people came knocking, drawn by admiration of his reputation and in hopes of joining the “Grandmaster” to become disciples under his banner. (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

Thus, the title of "Yiling Patriarch" would have only been popularized once it was assumed that Wei Wuxian wanted to start his own sect. This would have only exacerbated the hypothetical threat that Wei Wuxian was to the cultivation world as well, and contributed to his mythologizing as a quintessential sort of boogieman. This is actually an excellent example of a major theme in MDZS, of how quickly rumors can cause severe harm.

In the end, regardless of how or by whom the title was created, Wei Wuxian was only (unwillingly) given the title of Yiling Patriarch after he defected from the Jiangs.

[gravitywonagain]

Jack of All Trades

(a Fresh Powder in the Pine Trees story in three vignettes)

Sometimes when you’re working at Juniors’ Club, you’re actually doing any number of other jobs around Cloud Recesses.

~

Ski Patrol

Sometimes, you’re just faster than Ski Patrol...

.

“Lan Zhan!”

Wei Ying waves his free arm around, flagging down Lan Zhan who, to his credit, skis directly over to him. 

He watches Lan Zhan take in the scene as he approaches: Wei Ying, one foot strapped into his board, holding a child and their board in his arms, a small amount of blood running down the child’s leg. There is, also, an adult skier sitting nearby looking suitably chastened. Lan Zhan is smart, he’ll put it together.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan. I need you to watch my students. Take them back to JC, I’ll meet you there. I need to get this little guy to Wen Qing and that guy,” he jerks his head at the skier, ignoring the eight-year-old’s protests at being called ‘little,’ “needs to come with me.” He keeps his voice calm and light, but his face, he knows, shows his anger. 

“Can you wait for Ski Patrol?”

“Lan Zhan. There's blood on the snow and these kids are eight. No. I cannot wait for Ski Patrol.”

“Are you--”

“Lan Zhan.”

“Yes. I will meet you at Juniors’ Club.”

Thank the Heavens for Lan Zhan and his fucking serenity. Wei Ying draws on it for the briefest of moments before he moves again. He feels steadier when he does. 

“Thank you. Here,” he hands Lan Zhan the child’s snowboard, “take this, too.” 

Lan Zhan nods at him and takes it.

Wei Ying turns to the students who are all still sitting so nicely on the snow. They really are being absolutely perfect. Lan Zhan will figure out how to compensate their parents for the truncated lesson, but Wei Ying will make them all extra hot chocolate or something when he gets back to JC. 

He adjust his grip on the kid -- eight-year-olds are not light.

“Okay guys. This is Lan Zhan. He’s a skier, but he’s going to bring you guys back to the Clubhouse and hang out with you until I get back. Don’t worry, he’s super cool. You won’t even know I’m gone. Did you guys know he used to race?”

With that new distraction in place, Wei Ying shares another quick nod to Lan Zhan and skates over to the skier sitting on the snow. The man looks appropriately guilty so Wei Ying doesn’t feel the need to yell at him again. He steps his right foot into the binding -- kicking the straps out of the way with the toe of his boot, resolved to ride like he skates -- kid still in his arms, and nods.

“Come on. Let's go tell Ski Patrol what happened.”

The skier stands and follows him. He’s not quite as incompetent as he seemed when he hit Wei Ying’s student and they make it down the hill relatively quickly. 

It’s awkward as hell, snowboarding with fifty pounds of eight-year-old in his arms. His center of gravity is so off and he can’t quite gather the speed he wants, both because it’s a green run and because he can’t let the skier out of his sight. But they make it to the clinic. The skier stays with him. Everything is fine. 

-

Wen Qing yells at him for not waiting for Ski Patrol to stabilize the child’s leg before moving him. She waits until the kid is safe with his parents and the skier has been dealt with and is gone, of course, but it’s still loud. 

“It’s just a laceration, Qing-jie. Ski Patrol would have freaked out my students and taken forever to get there.”

“A-Ning would have been there as fast as he could, and you know that.”

It’s true. Wen Ning has always been Wei Ying’s friend, but for the last few months, he’s been weirdly attentive. You get a nosebleed and pass out one time and suddenly your EMT friend comes sprinting whenever you call. 

“As fast as he could is still not instantaneous.” 

“Wei Ying --”

“I’m first aid certified, Qing-jie. He’ll be okay.”

“If he has so much as a sprain…” She points a finger at him, accusatory and threatening. 

“If he has a sprain, he got it when the fucking skier hit him, not when I carried him down the mountain.”

“Okay.” Wen Qing seems mollified by this. “You’re dismissed. I want a copy of that incident report for my records.” 

“Yes, Wen-daifu.”

“Don’t put that on me,” she says, exasperated but fond. The accusatory finger is back. “You have to wait!”

She’s starting her bachelor’s degree this summer and then med school. Wei Ying is so fucking proud of her. 

-

Lan Zhan is sitting on one of the tiny benches when Wei Ying walks into the Clubhouse. It’s adorable. He does not fit at all, knees practically up to his ears. He’s surrounded by Wei Ying’s class and they’re all drawing or asking him questions or drinking hot chocolate and Wei Ying can’t help but smile at the scene. Lan Zhan, for his part, looks entirely comfortable. He has a purple mountains’ majesty crayon in his hand, poised above the paper in front of him while he answers one of the junior’s questions about rail slides on skis. 

Wei Ying absolutely does not want to disturb any of this. But, alas, it is his job that Lan Zhan is doing and, no matter how outwardly calm he looks, Lan Zhan is probably very tired of eight-year-olds and their inexhaustible curiosity. 

It’s almost time for their parents to come pick them up, anyway. Wei Ying will just sit there with them until it’s time. Maybe he’ll take them back out to the practice hill, but getting all of their gear back on sounds fucking exhausting. 

One of the kids notices him and yells out, “Wing!” effectively ending the calm. The table turns to him, big smiles on the kids’ faces, something almost soft on Lan Zhan’s. Surprisingly, nobody spills their hot chocolate. 

Lan Zhan raises an eyebrow and mouths, wing? at him, which is fair, but they’re eight and he only has them for like four hours so what are you going to do? 

“Hey guys!” Wei Ying smiles brightly at Lan Zhan and the pack of juniors. “See, I told you you wouldn’t miss me. Lan Zhan’s pretty fun, isn’t he?”

A quick survey of the various hot chocolate levels in their cups leads Wei Ying to decide to spend a little bit longer inside. He settles himself down on the bench across from Lan Zhan, straddling it and dropping his knees almost to the floor, and starts engaging with the juniors. One of the kids shows him their drawing. Another very nearly spills their hot chocolate, but Wei Ying catches it just in time. He brushes off questions about their missing classmate and steers the conversation back toward snowboarding. 

He looks up to see Lan Zhan’s eyes on him again, or maybe still, and suddenly the room is way too warm. 

“Who wants to go out to the hill and get a few more turns in?”

The kids start jumping up, excited to go back out to the snow. Wei Ying busies himself with helping them gear back up for the cold. Lan Zhan helps, too, and soon everybody is ready to go. 

On their way out the door, Wei Ying stops Lan Zhan and says, “You know you don’t have to stay with us, right? I’ve got it from here. I’m sure this isn’t how you expected to spend your afternoon.”

Lan Zhan nods, but it’s a confirmation of Wei Ying’s ability, not an agreement. “I will stay,” he says, “I need to speak with their parents anyway.”

Which is a totally valid reason and Wei Ying tries not to notice the way his stomach swooped at Lan Zhan’s easy “I will stay.”

Wei Ying leads the line of juniors out to the practice hill and gets the Magic Carpet running again. The rest of the hour passes easily: Wei Ying child wrangling and filling out report cards, Lan Zhan helping to catch kids and soothing parents’ concerns with promises of free lessons or ticket vouchers or something. 

It’s easy, working with Lan Zhan. Too easy. Wei Ying could get used to how easy this is. 

It’s a shame, really, that Lan Zhan mostly sticks to adult lessons. He’s so good with the kids. Bullying Lan Zhan into taking more JC lessons seems a bit out of Wei Ying’s self-appointed mission for this season, though. Maybe it’ll be his goal for next year. 

Next year.

Wei Ying smiles to himself at the thought before an approximation of his name pulls him back to reality and he jogs to the top of the hill to help one of the juniors clear ice out of their toe clip. 

-

“Someday you’re going to tell me how you got a bunch of eight-year-olds to sit and color for an hour,” says Wei Ying once they’re finally back inside.

“I told them it was useful for developing fine motor skills.”

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow, “And that worked?”

“I may have implied that refined fine motor skills would improve their reflexes in the terrain park.”

Wei Ying puts down the bright green vest in his hand and turns to Lan Zhan. “You told them coloring would make them better athletes?”

“I did.” 

“I… I don’t know enough about childhood athletic development to dispute it.”

There’s a hint of a smile curling Lan Zhan’s lips, “Neither do I.”

.

[Next: Hot Chocolate Machine Whisperer]

[sasukimimochi]

So WIP's of my MXY, part 2 hello! I decided "Sleep? What is that" tonight, and i wrote out the entire backstory for MXY in my fic "Ghost of Mine" for the past idk how many hours instead, i have absolutely lost all sense of time tonight LMAO anyway i hope u guys like my progress, i'm leaving out the details on his backstory bc i plan on his backstory going somewhere in the fic. However if something changes and i can't add it or make a small fic on the side i'll post the details about him later. To clarify though 27 is the age mxy sacrifices i believe so that last drawing is his final look before wwx comes into the picture. I continued sketching in Drawpile cuz i'm enjoying the brush again lol

I put the other wip under the cut just in case people assume my wip of mxy/wwx are nude and lwj gets flagged as nudity lmao

i'm much happier with the pose now and the sizing! and i changed some of the body/hair details for mxy/wwx to match what i'm trying to attempt for the mxy design. He has shorter hair when he starts out in this fic and grows it out over time. he also sports a very "untamed" look bc i wanted him to have a "non-wwx look" [aka it needed to look different than his youth/yiling look cuz he wants to look less sus, even though he already looks quite different bc he's in another body and all]

and bonus attempt at my wen ning but i'm not super happy with it, regardless, here anywho. His design is leaning heavily towards the manhua version of him physically but i wanna do some alterations and touch ups later on. This was my first drawing of the night so its the roughest of the lot anyway.

See other GOM/MDZS content here on my masterpost. ❤

[lansplaining]

Why did JGY make trouble for Jim Zixuan on the night Wen Ning killed him by accident? I didn’t understand that part of the novel/cql.

i've talked about this before, but a) I can't find it because tumblr and b) I'm always really excited to talk about it again, because clarifying this moment really made such a huge difference in my understanding of JGY's character. also as soon as i started really digging in, it, uh, became a huge post. sorry.

so my initial instinct was to draw a really sharp delineation between CQL and MDZS, because the second flautist completely changes the tenor of the event. and to a certain extent, it does! CQL JGY had a reasonable expectation that JZX would show up and get killed, because he knew the second flautist could take control of Wen Ning, or at the very least cause things to totally go to hell, hopefully in a way that also resulted in Wei Wuxian being killed. but when it comes to the question of motivation, the two are actually way more aligned than I realized-- it’s simply a case of CQL JGY directing his feelings in a more active (”villainous”) way. 

so, CQL first. when Lan Xichen asks if he “singlehandedly” arranged for Jin Zixuan to die, he says (from the Netflix subs), “It’s true I didn’t run into him by accident.” WWX demands details, and we get a flashback to JGY manipulating Zixuan into going after Jin Zixun. I guess we can assume he had a backup plan for getting him there if this very light-touch tactic didn’t work, but it does seem worth noting that he doesn’t even begin to explicitly suggest that Jin Zixuan should follow-- it’s really an amazing display of how JGY has gotten to know and understand Zixuan a million times better than Zixuan (who literally suggests that JGY should have tried to stop Zixun...... Zixuan please have you observed your family dynamics at all) has bothered to get to know JGY. Then we cut to Su Mishan playing the flute as JGY plays the guqin (remote control evil music??) and the implication seems to be that ‘kill Zixuan’ was directly part of the musical instruction Wen Ning received. 

okay, so, as Jin Ling immediately asks (and can we give props to the mix of anger and sadness and disbelief and betrayal of the very obvious love and trust he has in JGY in his performance!!!)-- why? 

JGY (after tearfully reaching for Jin Ling’s face and then recoiling!!! this scene makes me crazy!!!!) replies: “Why? A-Ling. Could you please tell me why? Tell me. Why do I put a smile on my face for everyone, yet I won’t necessarily receive the lowest form of respect in return while your father, who was arrogant and self-important, was sought after by people? Can you tell me why, even though we shared the same father, your dad could spend the day at home at leisure, with the love of his life and playing with his child, while I had to be deployed by my father by blood to do all the dirty work without even getting the slightest appreciation? Why is it that even though we were born on the same day, Jin Guangshan could host a grand banquet for one son and meanwhile, watch with his own eyes how his subordinate kicked his other son down the Carp Tower? He asked his man to kick me down the Carp Tower from the top of the stairs to the very end. A-Ling, now you tell me, why did all these things happen to me?

I believe this is our first time learning this story from JGY’s own mouth, and the first time we see the flashback of him actually being kicked down the stairs while JGS looks on. 

He concludes: “It is not that I do not want to be a good man. To this father of mine, I once had hopes as well. In the past, as long as it was his command, no matter if it was to set Wei Wuxian up or to protect Xue Yang, no matter how foolish it was, how much hatred I would get, I would obey without hesitation. A-Ling, do you know what it was that made me lose hope completely? It wasn’t that in his eyes I was less than nothing to him when compared to Jin Zixuan, or that he took back Mo Xuanyu, or that he wouldn’t even let me hold you, or that he tried every possible way to make me a mere figurehead.” 

by this point, he’s totally forgotten about JZX and we’re basically back onto why he killed JGS.

as for MDZS! from the ExR translation because that's uh the screencap I have saved from last time lol

then, WWX asks why, if that’s the case, he had to kill JZX, and JGY gives a sassy reply that basically dodges the question. 

so, in typical JGY fashion in this scene, he starts out with the pettiest and most uncharitable interpretation of his own actions, the one he seems to expect people will most readily accept and jump to. but as he goes on, it gets a little more complex. 

the thing that he barely touches in either version but is very distinctly present-- and that totally poleaxed me the first time I noticed it-- is that Jin Guangshan had ordered him to kill Wei Wuxian. and his very reasonable response to this is, 'okay, but literally how???' 

the CQL version hammers home way more than MDZS, because of where and how it reveals information, that JGY is undoubtedly fueled by envy and resentment of JZX and the fact that he has the life JGY feels like he deserved. like MDZS, this bleeds into thinking about his dad, and MDZS ultimately lays it out for us (if we believe that line of narration) that it was really about hating JGS and not Zixuan at all. i think CQL’s arrangement of information nudges things back a little more to the envy argument, but it does so in a way where we’re given new, sympathetic information about JGY all in a rush, and shown it in flashback so that it can really actively hit. and I think the reactions we get from the characters who hear this are kind of sympathetic! they’re clearly extremely conflicted about this whole situation, but no one is reacting with outright disbelief or disgust. i think this works well in the world with a second flautist (my feelings about that plot device are for a different time, but you can guess, I’m sure)-- more active resentment of Zixuan specifically leads to him deciding more actively to murder Zixuan, not just try and make life hard for him in a way that will likely lead to violence, but not inevitably death. 

so this is how I interpret JGY's thought process in the moment he sent Zixuan to follow Wei Wuxian: he has been ordered to kill WWX, and presumably told to use his journey to or time at Koi Tower for the 100 Days Ceremony to do it. JGY recognizes that this is probably impossible, and definitely impossible without causing massive collateral damage. his resentment of Jin Zixuan hits a boiling point at this-- on top of everything else, their father is happy to basically send JGY to his death to attempt this assassination while JZX gets to happily plan a party for his baby and not think about these things at all. he thinks, “wouldn't it be nice if JZX had to deal with these problems for once,” and decides “fuck it, let's see what happens” (or, in CQL, “fuck it, let’s get rid of him”). in MDZS, he has no way of knowing that JZX or indeed anyone else would be killed, though I think he's not so naive as to think that violence isn't a likely outcome-- though one has to say that the form of violence that did take place was pretty unexpected to everyone involved! Zixuan’s a strong cultivator, he could have survived most normal fights, probably even against a normal Wen Ning. but as an active fratricide attempt, it's way too contingent and uncontrolled. 

in MDZS, at the end of the day, I think that JGY was just really angry, wanted some petty revenge, and decided to see what would happen if JZX was in his place for once. the tenor in CQL is only slightly different: he actively chooses to try and get Zixuan killed, but the emotional push is the same, and I do think is likewisesomething that just comes together in the moment from a combination of the immediate problem (I’m meant to kill WWX before he gets here) and immediate circumstances (fuck JZX and his nice little baby shower while I have to assassinate the most powerful cultivator in the world). 

[corduroyserpent]

Rules: pick any ten of your fics, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three) and share it. Then tag ten people.

I was tagged by @monroeknoxwrites 💖💖💖 and i will also be doing a little more than 3 lines because i can’t help myself asdfghjkl

where sighing lovers dream [Hua Cheng/Xie Lian | 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 / Tiān Guān Cì Fú | E rated | 16.2k]

“I have dreamt of kissing you countless times,” Hua Cheng whispered. The crackle of flames nearly overpowered his voice. “But not once did I ever imagine your lips were this soft.” He swallowed, eye trained on Xie Lian’s mouth. “And so skilled.”

“I’ve had lots of practice,” Xie Lian laughed, his cheeks dusted pink. Seeing his beloved’s eye go dark, Xie Lian hastily added – “With you! I have only ever kissed San Lang. Which I know must be confusing to hear but just trust me.”

in pursuit of warmth [Tianlang-jun & Zhuzhi-lang | 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 / The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System | M rated | 7.4k]

Zhuzhi-lang knows what it is to be angry. And to be helpless, unable to do anything about the feelings that twist his stomach into knots.

But he is no longer a wretched thing, slithering in the dark. A creature trapped in Bailu Forest, desperately taking sips from a hidden lake that burns with celestial light.

He and Junshang are free.

i’ll remember this time [Jiang Cheng/Nie Huaisang | 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 / Módào Zǔshī | M rated | 10.1k]

Nie Huaisang had fallen asleep during the monotonous recitation of the rules, sometime between ‘sitting improperly is prohibited’ and ‘do not indulge in debauchery’ by Jiang Cheng’s best guess. His head laid on the desk, dark hair spilled down his cheeks and pooled over his book of notes. It was more of a series of intimate drawings than anything learned from the daily lectures but Jiang Cheng saw at least one notation from yesterday’s class between a sketch of two men kissing passionately, so he decided to be generous.

catch the fickle wind [Wen Ning/Zhuzhi-lang | 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 / The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System & 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 / Módào Zǔshī | T rated | 5.4k]

“All right, all right. Such a filial nephew to bring this many gifts back for me. I wonder what you’ll pull out of your sleeves next, a secret friend or lover perhaps?”

An image of Wen Ning bowing, of dark veins and dead skin and an uneven smile, comes unbidden to Zhuzhi-lang’s mind. He shakes his thoughts free with no small amount of effort.

as below, so above [Hua Cheng/Xie Lian | 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 / Tiān Guān Cì Fú | E rated | 11.1k]

Hua Cheng falls back into his oft sung prayer, tilting his head towards an unforgiving sky: wait for me, wait for me, wait for me.

And then he issues a challenge to thirty-five gods. Those pathetic excuses for divinity whose faces Hua Cheng has made sure to sear into the corner of his mind that holds wretched things. He’s painted them too. Over and over.

They have since been scraped from the walls of his cave to become blank faces sitting atop the formless idea of bodies. He cannot let them stay. The only disgusting visage that belongs there is himself.

When I Was Older [Hua Cheng/Xie Lian | 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 / Tiān Guān Cì Fú | E rated | 67.5k]

“Don’t run off.” Feng Xin clenched his jaw, eyes trained seriously on Xie Lian. “We can do this together but Your Highness, I’m begging you, don’t fuck off to fight him alone. I can’t live through that again.”

Xie Lian’s blood ran cold.

Of course Feng Xin would worry about that. Xie Lian had been missing for two months after all.

In Shadow of the Sun [Gongyi Xiao/Zhuzhi-lang | 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 / The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System | T rated | 4.7k]

“I got second place,” Gongyi Xiao frowns. “That’s never happened before… but I feel it’s wrong to complain since the person who came in first has since perished. I’ll get over it, it’s not a big deal.” His mouth purses in a way that clearly indicates the opposite. He then rushes to add, “My issues, I mean, not his death!”

Zhuzhi-lang refrains from commenting, mostly because his tongue can’t form human speech. And only partly because he’s distracted by the radiance Gongyi Xiao exudes even in the shade, even bogged down by sorrow. This young man is somehow bright. His intangible glow is vibrant, impossible to ignore and yet…it causes no pain.

you kiss your snake with that mouth? [Shen Qingqiu/Zhuzhi-lang | 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 / The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System | E rated | 3.1k]

“Ah” —Zhuzhi-lang grasps Shen Qingqiu’s waist— “Master Shen, you…”

“Are you sensitive here too?”

“Mn.” Zhuzhi-lang’s pupils have dilated, expanding from thin black slits into a near roundness. His grip tightens. Shen Qingqiu can feel the bite of sharp nails through the fabric. “Is…is Master Shen also sensitive?” One of his hands slides beneath to splay against Shen Qingqiu’s stomach; it’s warmer than expected. “Can this one touch?”

i shine only with the light you gave me [Tianlang-jun & Zhuzhi-lang | 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 / The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System | T rated | currently 26.6k]

Tianlang-jun doesn’t realize he’s awake at first.

Awareness of his body sets in slowly—the feel of his spine against the bed frame, the familiar ever-present ache of his healing meridians, a crick in his neck from the improper way he had fallen asleep.

Then Su Xiyan. Her voice, almost forgotten. The deep black of her hair and her favorite set of robes and her eyes. How she smiles like she knows she shouldn’t give in to the temptation. How her hand has a little scar along the palm where she cut herself the first time she picked up a blade. He wants to see her again; he wants to feel the calluses on her fingers and listen to her talk. He wants, he wants, he wants.

resilient flower; ascending flame (and other things that can survive burning) [Hua Cheng/Xie Lian | 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 / Tiān Guān Cì Fú | T rated | currently 19.9k]

“How can I not worry? What if your wound gets infected or—”

“I’m already dead.” It’s a simple fact and San Lang says it as such. Like he’s commenting on the weather. But those words throw Xie Lian back into another time, another place where something similar was said. He swallows, not quite sure where he is for a very brief moment. Ruoye nudges its way down his arm to curl around his thumb. Xie Lian rubs the soft edge of his weapon with the pad of his index finger.

“Being dead,” he says quietly, “doesn’t mean you can’t be in pain.”

and i’ll tag @livingmeatloaf and @luukeskywalker ALSO ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO DO IT SORRY I’M BEING LAZY ABOUT TAGGING BUT THIS POST IS LONG ASDFGHJK

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

WIP Wednesday

I don’t think I’m ever going to do anything with this as far as putting it on AO3 goes, but I also don’t want to just keep sitting on it forever. So, in honor of Tears of the Kingdom’s release and the fact that it now thoroughly owns my ass, here are character descriptions I wrote for all the main characters of my Breath of the Wild AU fic (I tried to make them sound like the way characters and missions etc are described in the game, and I so wish I could draw fun portraits to go along with each one 😅 ah well, have the descriptions at least! They’re done in order of appearance within the fic.)

—//—

THE OLD MAN - A mysterious man dressed in white. He seems to know you, though his tale is light on personal details.

LAN QIREN - [The Old Man] The former leader of the Gusu Lan. Now stationed at the Yiling Burial Mounds to oversee the Hero’s recovery, his task has been to maintain the wards around the mountain and in doing so protect both the Hero and his people from the dangers of the lingering ghosts. Uncle to the Twin Jades Zewu-Jun and Hanguang-Jun, and Grand-Uncle to the current Gusu Lan Sect Leader.

WEN NING - The Ghost General. A young, soft spoken man dressed in black, with veins of resentful energy climbing his neck. His nervous mannerisms don’t quite hide the sense of power and inhuman strength that is characteristic of many Wen cultivators. The Ghost General has a habit of appearing unexpectedly and in utter silence, though usually with some sort of helpful hint to share. Brother to Wen Qing.

WEN QING - The Ghost Doctor. A quick and fiercely intelligent young woman who wields her doctors’ instruments like daggers. Though not as physically imposing as her brother Wen Ning, her sharp tongue more than makes up the difference. Once Wen Ruohan’s primary physician, there are no higher authorities on the effects of resentful energy poisoning. Sister to Wen Ning.

LAN JINGYI - Gusu Lan’s first disciple. Lan Jingyi is known and loved for his boisterous good humor and unfailing, lifelong commitment to minor acts of mischief. A member of the self-proclaimed Young Immortals, he earned immortality as a young man during a fight against the wakening Yiling Laozu less than two decades after the Scourge.

LAN SIZHUI - The current Gusu Lan Sect Leader is known by cultivators and civilians alike for his gentle demeanor and clear sense of justice without cruelty. A member of the self-proclaimed Young Immortals, he cultivated immortality as a young man under his father’s and uncle’s tutelage. He took up the mantle of Sect Leader following Zewu-Jun’s retreat into seclusion to pilot the Lan Divine Beast, Shuoyue.

LAN XICHEN - Also known as Zewu-Jun, Lan Xichen is Gusu Lan’s former Sect Leader and the current pilot of Divine Beast Shuoyue. His power and control are unmatched in the cultivation world by any except his brother, the famed Hanguang-Jun. As the de facto leader of the four Champions, Zewu-Jun arranged the sworn brotherhood between himself, Jin Guangyao, and Nie Mingjue, and suggested Jiang Wanyin for the fourth Champion. He cultivated immortality upon creating a spiritual bond with the other Champions and sharing their qi to begin piloting their Divine Beasts full-time some seventy years ago.

OUYANG ZIZHEN - A spirited, handsome youth who travels the world to find inspiration for his paintings and interesting news to share with his mentor. Prone to fits of romantic fantasy, he also has a habit of spinning wild tales that help him sell his work wherever he goes. A member of the self-proclaimed Young Immortals, he cultivated immortality under Nie Huaisang’s tutelage, though neither of them will reveal how it was accomplished.

NIE HUAISANG - Current leader of the Qinghe Nie. He’s enthusiastically friendly, as many Nie are, though unlike the rest of his Sect Nie Huaisang is physically unassuming. Though notorious for not engaging with Sect matters any more than necessary, his care for his people and ability to respond perfectly to any crisis has endeared him such that no one has once challenged his position as leader of the most war-ready Sect. He is the youngest of the Sunshot Immortals, though it remains unclear when or how he cultivated his immortality.

NIE MINGJUE - Also known as Chifeng-Zun, Nie Mingjue is the former leader of the Qinghe Nie and the current pilot of Divine Beast Baxia. His deep sense of justice and prowess in battle is well known by cultivators and civilians alike. Despite being the eldest of the sworn brotherhood, he has never questioned Lan Xichen’s right to lead the Champions in the fight against Yiling Laozu. He is a powerhouse of qi for the other three, though his connection with resentful energy is a hidden weak point that threatens all four Champions should he become overwhelmed by the fierce saber spirit Baxia.

JIN LING - The heir to Lanling Jin and the current temporary leader of Yunmeng Jiang. Jin Ling takes his position as his uncle’s steward on the Lotus Throne very seriously, very rarely allowing outsiders to interfere in Sect matters. He’s a proud young man who does not accept help easily, though he will bend, on occasion, for his friends. The youngest member of the self-proclaimed Young Immortals, Jin Ling cultivated immortality with the help of his uncle before taking up the mantle of Acting Sect Leader of Yunmeng Jiang.

JIANG WANYIN - Also known as Sandu Shengshou, Jiang Wanyin is the leader of Yunmeng Jiang and pilot of Divine Beast Sandu. Though younger than the rest of the Champions, he has a fearsome reputation perfectly matched by his lightning-quick temper and brutal intolerance for wickedness. Under his rule, the wild and free spirited Jiang have also become fiercely independent, (nearly to their detriment).

JIN GUANGSHAN - As Chief Cultivator, his Excellency has ruled the cultivation world since the aftermath of the Sunshot Campaign. Though the other leaders of the Great Sects elected to create their Divine Beasts and become Champions, Jin Guangshan abstained and elected his son for the honor instead - a move which many in the cultivation world criticized, but his position has remained too secure for their grumbling to change much.

XUE YANG - A young man once devoted to revenge who was turned into a fierce corpse in a poor imitation of the original work of the Yiling Laozu in reanimating Wen Ning. He was set loose in the dungeons beneath Jinlintai as a means to torment Jin Guangyao, his resentments and never ending thirst for revenge driving him to seek out his once-savior wherever he may be hiding.

JIN GUANGYAO - Also known as Lianfang-Zun, Jin Guangyao is Jin Guangshan’s right hand - and the only illegitimate child the Lanling Jin Sect Leader is willing to formally acknowledge. Of the four Champions, his core is the weakest, but what he lacks in formal training he makes up for with cunning and ruthless efficiency. Despite his father’s attempts to drive him to madness, Jin Guangyao has not only kept (enough of) his sanity to remain in control of his Divine Beast Hensheng, but also remains the best strategist of the cultivation world. Jin Guangyao cultivated immortality alongside his fellow Champions upon pooling their qi to pilot their Beasts seventy years ago.

MO XUANYU - A young boy who was whisked away from the uncertain care of his mother’s family to live and train in Jinlintai. His fascination with Demonic Cultivation saved him from expulsion when he showed little talent for traditional methods, but it was also ultimately his downfall. Mo Xuanyu sacrificed his life to give his core and the energy of his body to the Hero of Time to aid in his resurrection. What remains of him is now the Demon corrupting Divine Beast Hensheng and tormenting the Jin Champion, Jin Guangyao.

LAN WANGJI - Also known as Hanguang-Jun, Lan Wangji was the first of the Champions to retreat into seclusion when it became clear that the Tiger Amulet would only grow stronger with time. He has kept Yiling Laozu’s creation carefully suppressed as much as possible without destroying it, though only he knows that its continued existence has been a conscious choice. In the years since the beginning of his seclusion, he has become something of a deity to the local people protected by his sacrifice; each city, town, and village contains at least one shrine dedicated to Hanguang-Jun which the civilians pray to for strength.

[liziocit]

I posted 2,839 times in 2022

That's 2,492 more posts than 2021!

88 posts created (3%)

2,751 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@anjimimimoo

@mondengel

@eugenephosgene

@grewlikefancyflowers

@weaver-z

I tagged 1,222 of my posts in 2022

#mdzs - 545 posts

#wei wuxian - 339 posts

#art - 244 posts

#lan wangji - 214 posts

#wangxian - 168 posts

#jiang cheng - 43 posts

#tgcf - 33 posts

#wen ning - 28 posts

#lan sizhui - 25 posts

#canon jiang cheng - 20 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#jugemu jugemu go-kō-no-surikire kaijari-suigyo no suigyō-matsu unrai-matsu fūrai-matsu kū-neru tokoro ni sumu tokoro yaburakōji no burakōji

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

"Ning-shushu, have I done it right?" Lan Sizhui asked, sceptical.

He was drawing and labelling the human body. Ning-shushu said that knowing the anatomy of the body was one of the foundations of healing.

It wasn't perfect but it was better than it looked before, when he had just told Wen Ning he wanted to learn the methods of the healing Wen.

At the time, Wen Ning had been stunned to silence while his eyes were open without any blinking for some time. He wasn't so well versed with his uncle's tells at the time but right now he knew that Wen Ning had felt like crying.

From that time onwards, Lan Sizhui would sneak off to Wen Ning's residence and learn about healing.

"It looks good, you remind me of my jie actually,"

"Really? How come?"

Wen Ning smiled slightly and said,"She used to draw her bones the same way you do, curved slightly but very precise,"

Lan Sizhui blushed, it was high praise when you're compared to the best doctor of a generation.

Wen Ning took out a diagram he had done specifically for the day, it was the ribcage drawn by Senior Wei. Senior Wei was the one who encouraged these lessons in the first place too, Hanguang-Jun as well. He gave resources from the Lan library and Senior Wei made some of their lesson materials like the diagrams and practical structures.

He could see why they did.

Overall, these lessons were both educational and personal to him. He was reconnecting with his heritage as a Wen and also spending more quality time with his uncle.

Lan Sizhui was glad.

72 notes - Posted March 19, 2022

#4

Allow me to introduce you to the deadliest smiles in the world.

how does being killed feel like?

73 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

#3

Just saw this weird ass relatable take:

This is why he’s my favourite character because he’s so relatable. I would also want to choke anyone if my parents died. I would go crazy and nuts with grief and would vow revenge and hatred forever if my sister died. I would forgive and forget eventually, after many, many years. I’d sacrifice myself for a loved one and never tell a soul. I would not give a damn about anyone else, family comes first. My justice and my needs above everything. So yeah, Jiang Cheng, not a hero, not a villain.

Um... Idk how to say this but choking someone isn't a good thing? Nor is it necessarily something to be like I would totally do that. Even if your parents died.

And Jiang Cheng legit killed Wei Wuxian after his sister gave her life for him why does he need to revenge? If anything it just shows how much he doesn't really respect her and shows no regard for her wishes. Since this isn't a good reason, give me another. Lets see: his overwhelming jealousy, his inferiority complex, the "favour" his father bestowed upon him, Wei Wuxian "ruining" Yunmeng Jiang's reputation, him "making" his parents die? If these are all your reasons, then there's no good basis for revenge.

And as for the crazy, do you really want to start torturing people that you think are your dead ex-shixiong for no other reason than you want to let all your anger and grief out? Because if that's true, then go get therapy. It might work wonders for your life.

Aside from that, I have never seen him have such morals unless you're talking about Wei Wuxian then I'd get you. But... Jiang Cheng? The brat who takes after his mother in parenting and basically makes a kid almost die because he doesn't know how to love and care healthily and doesn't bother learning? Jiang Cheng who looks at a cute kid and firstly thinks of kicking him off his leg because of his blood and surname? The guy who looks at a bunch of elderly and innocents and his first thought is : who cares if they die?

This is the guy you feel is relatable to you? I see...

Also, 'My justice and my needs above everything.'- there is no justice in Jiang Cheng, only his needs and perhaps some care for his nephew. And even then, why do you write this so proudly ? You sound somewhat self-centred and quite delusional in your wrong take of Jiang Cheng.

But you are right.

Jiang Cheng isn't a hero nor a villain. He's just a hateful brat who needs a major reality check. It's a trait he inherited from his mother.

77 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

#2

So me and @jiaoji2 were talking and we had this funny hc where if maybe half of what lwj did was found out by gusu lan, he'd be known as the bad boy of Gusu Lan.

Cos to them this is the guy who finds loopholes in rules, uses them with no shame, raised the ylz's kid, uses the ylz's tools, doesnt even try to respect a major sect leader he has a ton of justifiable beef with and also came back with the ylz, who was prolly the most supreme bad boy there was at the time, as his husband.

90 notes - Posted June 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

There are so many headcanons I have for post canon mdzs. And I just want to share some of the ones I really like for the junior quartet:

Jin Ling learning how to cook his mother's soup with Wei Wuxian teaching him.

Lan Sizhui gets to learn the healing cultivation of his side of the Wen clan and Wen Ning helps him.

The junior quartet picks up on Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's ways of night-hunting and also goes where the chaos is. They each get their own title and their seniors are so proud of them.

Lan Sizhui calls Wei Wuxian baba at least once and gets all blushy over it but once he does it, he forgets to stop and he always calls him baba in private and Wei-qianbei in public.

Lan Jingyi simps for Wei Wuxian just as much as he does for Hanguang-jun and Wei Wuxian thinks its so cute. While Lan Wangji feels like it is right since more people should see how amazing Wei Wuxian is.

Ouyang Zizhen ropes the whole quartet into loving romance novels. They hold a book club meeting every friday and they just gush about their favourite scenes, the characters they love the most. They also gush about Wangxian.

Wangxian is the standard for romantic relationships in the junior quartet's eyes.

271 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[shiftysheep]

what the heck, i'll give it a shot! i like arguing for the sake of arguing sometimes

ok! so, let's do this chronologically:

the first big one that I remember is the aftermath of the invasion of lotus pier when jc strangled wwx.

+ wwx could be seen as equally responsible for that incident because he didn't fight back at all, just lied there and took it

+ for one of the most promising cultivators of his generation, wwx could've made jc stop if he wanted to, even if he was already injured and under a lot of mental stress and anguish

+ jc was also under a lot of mental strain! and he was literally a minor so..........

2. the second major incident is the golden core debacle

+ simple enough. jc saw that wwx was in danger and decided to draw attention away from where wwx was and onto himself instead.

+ if wwx paid more attention to his surroundings and was a little more vigilant then this whole thing wouldn't have happened

+ wwx and wen ning rescuing jc was just making things even and in no way adds any debts to jc

+ in fact, wen ning and wen qing only got involved in the first place because of wwx and the bond he formed with wen ning

+ i would argue that any and all debts due to the wen siblings are squarely on wwx's shoulders as he was the one that they were really trying to help. jc was just the method they used to aid him

+ also, jc was either knocked out or in a depressive state during this whole thing so he didn't really remember them doing anything

+ everyone knows that if you don't witness someone help you, then you can just reap the benefits of that help and don't have to acknowledge them or their role in acquiring it

3. wartime? like the start of wwx's decline in reputation

+ wwx is responsible for his own actions and its not jc's fault that people talk shit about him

+ the guy was being creepy and challenging the social hierarchy

+ maybe try getting born as a higher class citizen next time if you don't want people to turn on you

+ perfect example: jc! what a guy! role model to us all. i heard he even killed the dreaded yiling patriarch!! what a hero

4. being unsupportive after the war but prior to the hunt

+ wwx didn't tell him that he didn't have a golden core! how could jc have known that there was a reason wwx was refusing to pick up his sword and do his dang job

+this is really on wwx. my guy should've practiced healthy communication skills and told his beloved sect leader what was up

5. phoenix mountain hunt suicide joke when wwx said he wanted to ask lwj for his ribbon

+ yeah that wasn't cool we'll take the L

+ but!! a man is the product of his upbringing (according to some schools of thought) Therefore! this shitty attempt at humor isn't really jc's fault, but that of his parents and teachers

+ shame on them for making such a bright young man say such a bad thing

(i feel like i'm forgetting things but shhh no i'm not)

6. confrontation and subsequent denouncement at the burial mounds

+ wwx agreed to leave the jiang at his own accord! he practically volunteered for it

+that would hurt anyone's feelings

+ wwx also agreed to the duel, itself

+ as a combat veteran, he should've known that sometimes things get out of hand in the heat of battle. so, really, getting stabbed in the gut was his own fault.

+ he knew the risks!

+ jc did say that wwx called himself the enemy of the cultivation world when wwx did not actually say that

+ however! this whole charade was created to help save face for the jiang! which could only be accomplished if they were righteous for kicking him out of their sect

+ if wwx didn't want to be villainized he should've made that clearer to jc before agreeing to put this plan in motion

7. wedding and one month celebration invitations

+ if wwx wanted to go so bad, maybe he shouldn't have stuck his neck out for a group of people he barely even knew

+ the man claims to love his shijie but wouldn't even make the tiny sacrifice of 50 strangers (probably evil!! strangers) to attend her wedding or meet her son

+ not very loving behavior, if you ask me

8. siege of the burial mounds

+ this ones easy. wwx brought it on himself

+ he literally killed jc's sister and her husband

+ what was he supposed to do? forgive and forget? yeah right. who do you think he is? jiang fengmian?

+ eye for an eye, baybeee

9. post death hunting, torturing, and killing of "demonic" cultivators

+ grief does strange things to a man, what do you want from me

+ if wwx never died then jc never would've hunted down, tortured, and killed all those people

+ so this is really just wwx's fault when you think about it

10. post resurrection whipping, threatening with dogs, etc

+ if wwx just told the truth about who he was then maybe jc wouldn't have whipped him

+ but wwx decided to lie to jc's face and now we'll never know

+ wwx should've gotten over his fear of dogs. he's not a kid anymore and should face his fears.

+ jc is just trying to help him get desensitized. not his fault if the readers can't see his actions for what they are

+ burial mounds siege part two: electric bugaloo

+ jc's nephew was literally kidnapped. completely understandable behavior

+ being a little harsh during wwx's visit to lotus pier

+ wwx decided to come to lotus pier all on his own. he could've waited outside and had lwj tell him the deets after the meeting was over but nooooo he just had to come in and wander around

+ he was judging jc's improvements to the town and damaging trees and entering buildings like some kind of tourist. how disrespectful! jc was right to call him out

11. i can't think of anything else :P

+ i don't have any passages right now because i don't own the books and can't access the internet archive (sad). but rest assured! when i regain access! i will find correlating passages to support my arguments!! and they will definitely not be ambiguous at best!!

(just to be clear, i don't actually stand by the words i've said, i was just trying to create an argument for jc stans. please don't be mean to me lol this is one hill i don't want to die on)

Now see, I am interested as to what flaws made Wei Wuxian as "at fault" to Jiang Cheng as to what Jiang Cheng did to him.

I am very open to anyone of you in this tag to provide these passages to me that frame it as such.

Take 2.0 for this request

[admirableadmiranda]

I feel like the view on lwj that he was lacking before he met wwx or fell in love is somewhat unfair and dismissive of his complexity as a character

I completely agree, anon. There has been a sad trend lately where people are now blaming Lan Wangji for not being perfect enough for Wei Wuxian, claiming that it's only on him that things didn't happen sooner and that he should have done more.

Lan Wangji is the deutoroganist of the story. The one who has the most focus and growth outside of the protagonist. He is astoundingly well-rounded and from those very first days in the Cloud Recesses, fascinating enough to draw and keep Wei Wuxian's attention on him even without meaning to. And that's at fifteen. When he's still a young sprout just beginning to really come into himself.

Meeting Wei Wuxian definitely changed him in many ways, that's undeniable, but it wasn't like he was a blank canvas before that, just a sheltered boy who is so very good beneath the mask he puts up. He goes out and does things just because he can, setting out with plenty of time to walk to a lotus pond to try them with stems on because Wei Wuxian said they were good and ends up being too late because he keeps stopping to help people. He is titled by the common people for being so good that he keeps going out of his way to help them in the middle of a war. Even without Wei Wuxian he would have done this.

What Wei Wuxian really does for him is help him see that anyone is capable of being that righteous, of being that good. They are equals, they are both morally upright, they are both kind, they are both forgiving and able to see people as more than their worst decisions consistently. He is optimistic and chooses to believe that people will be better when given the chance.

He lacked the full world experience to see exactly what was happening in Wei Wuxian's first life until it was too late, but he didn't let that crush that optimism in him. He never turned his back on the world or his family despite their actions because he is not that person. It is a difficult thing to do, yet he walks that line gracefully and lives a life that anyone would not be ashamed to have lived by the end. He teaches a group of bright, open children who will make the future better by also believing in the world. None of these were things that he wouldn't have been able to do had he never met Wei Wuxian.

This is going to sound so odd based off of some of my older metas and arguments and I hope I can convey what I mean well enough to explain the difference, but I think there are sections of the fanbase that have leaned too far in the wrong direction again with Wei Wuxian. Sure he's no longer being written as a stupid chaos gremlin who can't do anything and actively makes things worse, but now he's starting to lose his personality traits that make him more interesting than most heroes like his kindness and desire to tease, giving him other people's strong morals and claiming that he cannot stand anyone who is not as morally pure as he is. Which is just wrong, he is not some avenging angel of justice. He is a man, a man who has made mistakes and has regrets and would choose things differently, who doesn't blame people for being human.

People are starting to knock down Lan Wangji to throw Wei Wuxian on a pedestal of godhood that he doesn't deserve and wouldn't want. They transform the people around him into either devoted peons who have also never committed a single transgression in their lives or repentant sinners who he magnaminously forgives their mistakes and allows them to stand in his shadow. It is a disservice to the people he chooses to surround him - Wen Ning commits treason and even betrays Wei Wuxian by spilling one of his secrets to his former sect leader, Wen Qing is just as smothering a big sister as Jiang Yanli or Lan Xichen ever were, yet those traits are ignored because they are seen as the perfect innocent victims, the Wens being cultivators is erased in favor of making them sad poor farmers who were unjustly persecuted and never held a weapon, weakening the strength of Wei Wuxian's decision to protect them because no one should be condemned for their name or their family. People bash Lan Xichen, Jiang Yanli, now Lan Wangji too for apparently being not supportive enough, not perfect enough for him to care about them, but that has never ever been Wei Wuxian's thought process on the people he chooses in his life.

I don't like it, anon. I don't like that people erase Wei Wuxian himself because his actual choices don't match with their illusion of his godhood. I don't like that people put down Lan Wangji for not being perfect enough when that was never the point. I don't like that people act like he somehow deserves to be ascended based off of prestige when it literally goes against things he directly says in the text.

You are right. It is unfair and dismisses Lan Wangji's character. And unfortunately the people pushing Wei Wuxian to overshadow everyone are the ones responsible because in the process of making him brilliant, they blot him out entirely.

When I joined, it was people feeling bad that Wei Wuxian didn't see Lan Wangji's brilliance. Now it is people complaining that Lan Wangji isn't good enough for Wei Wuxian. After a whole novel about how that doesn't actually matter because they never judged or blamed each other for any of the things that came between them and would never want someone to lift them up at the expense of the other. Wangxian adore each other so much.

And when I see it on either side, it just makes me so mad.

Thank you for the ask!

[robininthelabyrinth]

CQL-Verse: Wen Ning did a whole lot of risky stuff saving JC and the bodies at Lotus Pier. What if NMJ hears and gets talked into helping protect him and the Wen remnants by the Jiang bros, because even if he's a wen, he still 1. whole ass poisoned wen chao 2. straight up commited treason and was punished for it to protect sect heirs and 3. is extremely baby brotherable. you can fit so much h/c into this bad boy

ao3

Untamed

1

Wen Qing was angry about the trials, but Wen Ning thought they made a reasonable amount of sense.

After all, how was the rest of the cultivation world supposed to know what they did in the war without a proper trial? It was only reasonable for them to make certain assumptions about them based on their surname, the same way everyone assumed that those surnamed Jin were rich, those surnamed Lan were beautiful, those surnamed Jiang were bold to the point of arrogance…

The Nie were supposedly known for their tempers, but Wen Ning hadn’t seen much evidence of that so far.

In fairness, his only experiences with a Nie were, firstly, with Nie Huaisang at the Cloud Recesses, which he was fairly sure didn’t count, and now, during the trial, with Nie Mingjue.

Nie Mingjue laughed the entire trial.

“You poisoned the wine,” he sniggered. “At their own celebratory feast…! And then you just went straight to Yiling, where your sister was in charge. And it still took him how long to find you?”

“Weeks,” Wen Ning meekly admitted.  

“Can we go back to the bit where you saved Wei-xiong from the giant dog beast using stolen needles?” Nie Huaisang asked.

“No, we cannot,” Nie Mingjue’s deputy – a somewhat long-suffering looking man that they all called Meng Yao – said. “He’s already gone over it four times, Huaisang.”

“But –”

“No.”

“Spoilsport! Look at how much fun da-ge’s having; it’s not fair.”

“He’s the sect leader. If he wants to hoot like a shrieking monkey, he’s entitled to it.”

“I’m not hooting,” Nie Mingjue protested. “I am recognizing talent.”

“Talent.”

“Exactly. Talent.”

“At…what, exactly?”

“Causing trouble,” Nie Huaisang volunteered. “I recognize it from Wei-xiong, I could spot it anywhere.”

“Could we possibly proceed with the trial?” Meng Yao asked, obviously deciding not to continue with that discussion. “We have six more to finish today. Can I assume that given the evidence of Wen-gongzi’s subversive activities and his subsequent imprisonment throughout much of the Sunshot Campaign, he is absolved of all crimes and allowed to go free?”

“You spoilsport,” Nie Mingjue said, rolling his eyes at him. “Yes, I think so. Wen Qionglin, you are free to go your own way – though if you wish to stay here in Qinghe as a guest cultivator, we would be glad to have you for however long you wish.”

Wen Ning thought that sounded all right.

2

The Nie sect were known for their tempers, and justly so, but Wen Ning quickly figured out that he didn’t need to be afraid of Nie Mingjue’s occasional outbursts (quickly roused, quickly doused) or Nie Huaisang’s temper tantrums (petty) and occasional grudge-holding (rarer but much more dangerous).

No, Wen Ning figured out very quickly in his first weeks that the one to be afraid of was clearly Meng Yao.

Wen Ning had been weak and sickly his whole life in a sect that valued strength above all; he had survived hiding behind his sister, but she couldn’t always be there for him, no matter how she tried. He’d soon learned that surviving on his own meant being quiet and obedient, never making trouble or drawing attention to himself, and it also meant being extremely attuned to the minute expressions that might signal the difference between Wen Chao being angry enough to throwing a teacup at his head and being angry enough to order him to be taken outside and beaten until unconscious.

The same skills helped him in the Nie sect, where people were very often angry. Wen Ning could tell the difference between Nie Mingjue raging to let out steam (moderately common and generally innocuous, easily ignored) and being actually upset (typically only dangerous to the furniture, which was a nice change, but more worrisome in the sense that he might go and do something stupid afterwards), and he could tell that Nie Huaisang’s true anger, so rarely triggered, tended more towards the cold and hidden (definitely a sign he was going to do something, but unfortunately for everyone involved it’d invariably be far more malicious - enough to make you long for stupid).

He could tell that Meng Yao was, despite all his smiles, very often angry.

Like Nie Mingjue, Meng Yao’s temper was easily roused to the point of fury; like Nie Huaisang, his anger lasted a long time and usually called for some malicious action before it could be properly assuaged.

“Senior Meng,” Wen Ning tentatively said one day when his curiosity got to be too much for him. “Could I ask a rude question?”

Meng Yao’s temper, hidden deep in his eyes, flared at once, preemptively, and Wen Ning shivered and looked down at the ground. He had known what he was risking, but he hoped that asking permission in advance might allow him to get the question out with minimal reprisals – cold meals for a few days, perhaps, or being assigned to the training yard only when the most sadistic training-master was supervising, but only for a week or so.

“Of course, Wen-gongzi,” Meng Yao said, and he sounded nice and pleasant and like no question could possibly be rude enough to cause him any disturbance. It was a little frightening how good he was at that. “I can’t imagine what you would want to know that would be rude.”

“Are you related?” Wen Ning blurted out. “To Sect Leader Nie, I mean – his family –”

Meng Yao stared at him. His mouth was slightly hanging open.

“…it’s a stupid question,” Wen Ning concluded, feeling ashamed. Of course Meng Yao had been promoted entirely on merit; it was only his imagination getting away from him. “I’m sorry. I’ll go –”

“No, wait,” Meng Yao croaked. “Related – to the Nie sect – forgive me. How did you reach that conclusion?”

“I mean, you’re obviously treated as part of the main family,” Wen Ning pointed out. There were plenty of Nie cousins that weren’t treated anywhere near as well; both Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang were not only protective but almost possessive over Meng Yao’s time and dignity - surely by now everyone knew that the surest way to get them each angry in their own ways was to slight Meng Yao. “You wear Nie braids like them – you wear clothing like them – you have a temper like them –”

Meng Yao started laughing.

“…did I miss something?”

3

“I’m surprised you didn’t go to the Lotus Pier after you’d been absolved,” Nie Huaisang said, tapping the weiqi piece on the board a few times before making a move. “Given your fondness for Wei-xiong and all that.”

“Wei-gongzi’s very nice,” Wen Ning said vaguely, staring down at the board. He’d played a lot of weiqi in his life – including against Wen Ruohan when the man had still been remotely sane, mostly because he’d been the only one stuck back at the palace with him more often than not – but playing against Nie Huaisang required all of his attention. The first time he looked away, he’d get lured into a trap. “Very kind.”

“And yet you stay here,” Nie Huaisang prompted. “In Qinghe, with us, when even your sister picked the Lotus Pier.”

Wen Ning had never been without his sister this long before. He knew that she still expected him to come to the Lotus Pier. She hadn’t expected him to last the week without her; she’d said as much when she first went, huffing at him for being ridiculous – a Wen as a guest cultivator in the Nie sect, of all places? – and telling him, in between reminders to take his medicine on time, that she’d prepare a place for him there so that he would be comfortable when he arrived.

Her letters, in the weeks and now months since that time, had never overtly asked when he was going to finally get around to moving there, and had recently developed an almost quizzical tone, as if she’d finally realized that he wasn’t.

“I like it here,” Wen Ning said, and moved his piece.

Nie Huaisang moved his own almost immediately in response, which meant that Wen Ning had made a horrible mistake that played straight into Nie Huaisang’s hands. Not an uncommon occurrence. 

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “We like having you here, too.”

Surprised, Wen Ning looked up.

Nie Huaisang was smiling at him – he smiled nearly as often as Meng Yao, but unlike Meng Yao, he never smiled if he didn’t want to, so his smiles were actually sincerely meant each and every time. He had a wide range of smiles: nervous smiles, cheerful smiles, devious smiles…

Wen Ning was good at reading expressions, but he had to admit he’d never had to work as hard at it as he did with Nie Huaisang.

“We’re a very nice sect, really,” Nie Huaisang said, and even seemed to believe it. “We’re always open to people who are like us. The only thing we can’t tolerate is injustice and betrayal; as long as you stick with us and put us first, you’re ours, and we’re yours.”

That sounded nice, Wen Ning thought, and moved a piece blindly. “You think I’m like you? My sister doesn’t think so.”

“I think you fit in very nicely,” Nie Huaisang said, and his smile had teeth to it. He moved quickly, again. “You’re angry and resentful, but you don’t let it get in the way of what you want - just like us. Your sister probably doesn’t think that about you, either, but then again, that’s why she’s in the Jiang sect, with their heads in the air, dreaming of the impossible. I bet she never even noticed that you had a temper.”

She hadn’t. Wen Ning had been her baby brother and nothing else for a long time; he never had to defend himself as long as she was around. 

He’d never had the chance to defend himself.

(He didn’t resent her for that. He didn’t. She was his big sister, his favorite person, and he loved her so much that he didn’t mind the way that all her fussing sometimes made the world feel cramped and small, as if he were being forced into a place that he’d long since outgrown.)

“Do I have a temper?” he asked, and moved another piece.

“Oh, yes,” Nie Huaisang said. “You’re like me – slow to boil – and like Meng Yao, hiding it behind your eyes. You’re even a bit like da-ge: you don’t need to be the one get the frustration out as long as something deals with it, but if nothing does, it nags at you and wears at you, like a thorn stuck in your flesh, until you can’t be silent any longer. Until you have to do something, or else you’ll explode.”

That sounded about right, Wen Ning thought. He’d never really had a chance to explode in the Wen sect, out of fear of what they’d do to his sister if he did, and he’d been sick with it – he’d limited himself to little rebellions, nameless pranks, right up until he met Wei Wuxian, who was kind to him, and couldn’t stop himself from helping him. He sometimes thought, in the days he’d spent in the dungeons, that if he died he’d come back as a fierce corpse, soul-calming rituals or no, and he’d might even enjoy it if only for the opportunity to finally vent his feelings – to finally pay back every single injustice that he’d ever seen, each one marked down in his heart in an indelible list of regrets.

Maybe Nie Huaisang was right. 

Maybe that was why he stayed here, in the Nie sect, the sect of do not tolerate evil instead of the Lan sect’s chivalry and righteousness or the Jiang sect’s attempt the impossible.

Maybe he wanted to fight back for once. To have a temper, to have rage, to be something more than Wen Qing’s shy, stuttering shadow.

“I like it here,” he said again, but if his words were the same then the flavor was different: he meant it this time.  

He understood, this time, what he meant by it.

Nie Huaisang smiled at him and moved another piece. Winning the game, Wen Ning noticed.

“Good,” he said. “Now move over – sit in front of the mirror. I’ll show you how to do your hair right.”

“Really?”

“Really. Also, Da-ge’s been practically champing at the bit to teach you saber, and Meng Yao has been making grandiose plans about redoing the way we recruit and train doctors with you leading the charge, so if you’re not up for either of those, now’s the time to say something.”

Wen Ning settled down in front of the mirror.

“No,” he said. “Those sound good to me.”

[thejhambs]

Jiang Cheng forced himself to walk over to Jin Ling, grabbing him at once, “Did you get hurt?!” Jin Ling’s breaths even smelled like rust, “I didn’t. I…” Jiang Cheng immediately slapped him onto the ground, scolding, “You didn’t?! Then I’ll make you get hurt and teach you the lesson! You damn brat turning a deaf ear to my words?!” However, after his slap, he couldn’t stand up any longer either. He sat down, catching his breath as his eyes turned to the two sitting at the side of the Demon-Slaughtering Cave closest to the outside.

Chapter 81, EXR

But he didn’t know that after Lan WangJi, Wen Ning, and he departed from Lotus Pier, Jin Ling secretly went to find him. Realizing he was gone, he threw a tantrum at his uncle who ran madly around, making people unsheathe their swords. He criticized that Wei WuXian ran away all because of him, and Jiang Cheng slammed him on the ground right after.

Chapter 99, EXR

Lan WangJi shot up. With panic, Jin Ling stood in front of Jiang Cheng, “HanGuang-Jun! My uncle’s hurt…” Jiang Cheng slapped him onto the ground, “Let him come! Am I scared of him?!” But after the slap, Jin Ling froze. Not only him, Wei WuXian, Lan WangJi, and Lan XiChen all stopped moving.

Chapter 102, EXR

Proof enough for you?

Powerful cultivators from prominent clans usually didn’t care to pay attention to lower level preys. However, Lan WangJi was an exception. He never cared for the prey of a night-hunt, and wouldn’t refuse to go just because the creature was not threatening enough to increase his fame. If anyone wanted help, he would be there. He had been like this ever since he was young. “Being wherever the chaos is” was the comment that the public gave him for his night-hunts and, also, praise for his moral character.

Chapter 7, EXR

Lan SiZhui tried to reason with him, “Young Master Mo, it was for your sake that HanGuang-Jun brought you here. If you do not follow us, Sect Leader Jiang will not be willing to let the matter go. During these years, there were countless people whom he caught and took back to Lotus Pier, and none of those people were ever let out.”

Chapter 11, EXR

Wei WuXian asked, “Do you know why your uncle wants me?” Jin Ling answered, “Yeah. He believes that you’re Wei WuXian.” Wei WuXian thought, ‘This time, it’s not merely ‘suspect’ anymore. He’s got the right person.’ He asked again, “Then, what about you? Don’t you suspect it as well?” Jin Ling, “It’s not the first time my uncle did such a thing. He has never let any of them go, even if it was possible that he caught the wrong ones. But, if Zidian couldn’t draw out your spirit, I’m just gonna trust that you’re not. Besides, he wasn’t a cut-sleeve, but you even dared to harass…”

Chapter 24, EXR

Jin GuangYao, “You really ask me to do the impossible, Young Master Xue. Do you think I haven’t tried? How could anything be that simple. That Jiang WanYin has already gone mad. He still thinks Wei WuXian hasn’t died. If Wei WuXian returned, he might not search for his sword, but he’d definitely come for Chenqing. And so, he would definitely not give up Chenqing. A few more words of mine, and he might blow up.” Xue Yang sniggered, “A mad dog.”

Villainous Friends Extra, EXR

JC is not grieving, he's actively looking for WWX, and torturing random people about it. LWJ, on the other hand, is going out and helping people despite his grief. No emotional self control

imagine thinking jiang cheng is pathetic as though he isn’t one of the strongest characters both emotionally and physically. he is the most successful man in the story persevering through tragedy after tragedy and being resilient enough to overcome his damage.