#but what if we gave lxc some too

[gryphon982]

tagged by @madtomedgar

WIP ask game -- post the last sentence you wrote and then tag as many people as there are words in that sentence  as i feel like

The actual last sentance was a run-on monstrosity, so you get this one instead:

“Lan-zongzhu is currently wrist-deep in white silk, kneading like a cat.”

@thesweetpianowritingdownmylife @esmeraldablazingsky @zeldahime @tellingetienne @nothinghereisworking

[fincalinde]

omg tennis is perfect and i love how this extends to the rest of the cast so thanks for the detailed response! if you don't mind making it longer... what's the deal with jgy's one (1) slam? and how does he feel about doubles?

No problem, thanks for the ask since it gave me the opportunity to ramble about tennis and Xiyao.

The way I have this outlined, the entire AU is larger than just their tennis careers, which means their careers are analogous to their Sunshot experiences rather than the entire novel. I'll talk about JGY's one slam and touch on his doubles career too.

JGY's slam is obviously a stand in for the climax of the Sunshot campaign. However, at the start of his career he's coming from nowhere, having taught himself mostly by watching others and training with ridiculous if not always effective dedication. His mother used all the money she had to try to get him a good tennis education, but that really just extended to buying equipment and the occasional lesson. As in canon, he's a prodigy whose development is held back by a lack of resources but who develops his own style by synthesising various different techniques.

He's too short to have a formidable serve, so his playing style is a bit like Diego Schwartzman at his peak i.e. clay his best surface, stellar return game, hits winners from defensive positions. But he also has amazing hands and good touch at the net. Just fantastic at disguised drop shots and disguised shots in general. He reaches a number of finals but not a slam final, and hasn't won any singles tournaments. Wins some minor doubles tournaments with NMJ, like 250 level and maybe also a 500, and then NMJ catches him colluding with the Wens to rig games for money at the Challenger level.

NMJ considers JGY dead to him after this and JGY ends up playing doubles mostly with other players who went to the Wen training academy and are still part of that circle. His ranking is as high as it's ever been, but still no slam and no reasonable expectation of one. Anyway, I won't go into more detail, but suffice to say that by the time we get to the equivalent of the endpoint of the Sunshot Campaign, NMJ is as close as he's ever been to finally beating WRH in a slam final because only JGY stands in his way at the semifinal.

Except NMJ is carrying an injury and this is his worst surface and JGY's best, so JGY exploits said injury and wins the match. Obviously everyone expects JGY to have expended all his energy taking down NMJ and thinks he'll get flattened in the final, but instead JGY comes out fresh as a daisy and beats WRH in straight sets, taking match point with a lob worthy of 2015 Davis Cup final Andy Murray. Right after this match is when WRH finds out that Someone Anonymous has whistleblown the entire illicit Wen betting operation and there's a huge scandal in which JGY comes out smelling like roses.

After this, JGY steps back from singles and has much more success in doubles with LXC, mostly because it's a conscious and deliberate move to keep that FO win shining bright in people's minds rather than let them see him not replicate that success. Doubles with LXC is both a move to build a popular brand and also just a thing they really enjoy doing together. At this point LXC is probably the only male top tenner who regularly plays doubles. LXC is also the first doubles partner JGY has who actually respects his abilities as a player and doesn't make snide comments about carrying JGY with his serve. Instead LXC waxes lyrical about JGY on the return and they win, like, everything together.

JGY retires from playing relatively young and ends up director of the FO because I refuse to let realism interfere with my fantasy. He is so good at his job that the FO becomes the most diplomatic and gracious and progressive of all four slams RIP to Mauresmo but he's different. He basically becomes a leading light in tennis despite the haters, and is instrumental in providing greater financial support and resources for lower ranked players plus ploughing funding into grassroots tennis.

[truly-morgan]

[outlaw comboy!JC and sheriff!LXC]

XiCheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Western AU 01-11-2021

[#xicheng, cowboy and sheriff]

Jiang Cheng was known throughout the whole land, most people knew him under the nickname of Sandu SengShou. He has a large sum put on his head, yet no bounty hunter nor any sheriff managed to capture him for a long time.

He is always seen in black clothing, helping him disappear into the night, with some subtle purple accents added to it.

Everywhere he goes he is riding his loyal horse zidian, a wild thing he managed to tame and only he can ride onto without being thrown off immediately.

And this fearsome man was now in gusu, going from village to village, stealing, fighting, gambling and drinking. He truly was a wild force of nature, nothing able to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do.

This is why Sheriff Lan Xichen had been proud of himself for catching him with his lasso, throwing him off of his horse, his man stopping the wild animal. He nearly missed the worried glance he gave to his horse, only to instead sneer at lxc.

lxc was pretty used to criminals giving him rather snide and rude remarks, not that affected buy the one jc was using with him. "I didn't know that one of the great lan was into this kind of game" he remarked once, laughing at the blush creeping on lxc cheek as he was tying him up tightly in his cell, trying to keep him from reaching anything or moving around too much.

Sandu SehngShou also had the reputation of somehow escaping from anywhere.

but it is not in jc plans than to wait quietly and die in this jail, especially not when he is most likely to be executed for his crimes.

So he does what he knows works well on a man like lxc: he teases him and tries to seduce him. He knows his thing, it always works.

the first two days lxc is rather wary of jc, only to slowly relax on the third day of watching over him as other people are coming here for him. jc makes a show of trying to get out of his bond (as if he hadn't already loosened the thing up ready to go).

he talks and talks, teasing and taunting lxc, trying to get (rather cute) reactions out of him.

"Hey Mr sheriff, why don't you come closer so we can talk more intimately" jc suggest when he finally managed to lead lxc on a more exciting road.

lxc makes the mistake of thinking this was a safe thing to do, joining jc in his cell. jc looks up to him, a smirk on his lips, looking as if he was daring him to do something.

So he does, gently cupping his cheeks as if jc was fragile, kissing him. (jc is a bit taken aback by how sweet and gentle it is, but quickly gets over how he enjoys it).

He lets lxc leads a bit, let him forget what situation they are in exactly, who he is kissing right now.

jc would lie if he said he didn't want to stay longer to see what this (admittedly handsome) sheriff would do with him, but he does intend on living and staying longer after five days is no good.

so he attacks lxc by surprise as he kisses down his jaw and neck,

pinning the taller man to the ground, skillfully and quickly binding his wrist and arms behind his back. "I do have to admit, you are a good kisser, mister Sheriff" jc chuckles, giving one last kiss to lxc as he steals his keys, quickly getting out of the cell and getting his belonging.

It is not hard to find zidian and steal her back, soon riding off into the desert before anyone could come to help lxc.

all the sheriff can do is run outside with his arm still bound, looking into the sunset where the silhouette of the criminal is slowly getting smaller and smaller. lxc clenches his jaw, regretting being so naive, yet not hating the lingering feeling of lips against his.

unlike what he usually does, jc does dare glance back towards them, seeing lxc getting out of the sheriff's office.

He has a tight feeling in his chest, feeling saddened in a way to be leaving lxc behind. What a fool he is to fall like this for someone.

at least his week in the cloud recess had been pleasant and he won't be forgetting about lxc anytime soon. Maybe they would meet again.

of course, lxc cannot possibly let this humiliation live like this. He was the one to be bewitched by the beautiful and cunning criminal. He now has to go and find him again to capture him correctly this time (of course there's no other reason behind this).

and so he leaves the village into his brother's hand, knowing he would be well-fitted to protect their home with their uncle. 

And with this, he runs in the same direction jc took.

it is a bit hard at first to find back jc tracks, going by words spoken in saloons, rumours of where sdss was last seen. Anything could help him find him back. and soon he does, always a beat behind.

they do meet up at some places, jc making it more than known he knows lxc has been following him for weeks now, yet he doesn't actually seem bothered by this, more amused than anything else.

it's become a game of cat and mouse, lxc chasing after him, fighting him, and being seduced even more by him. Sometimes jc would allow himself to be captured, only to run away in the morning after leaving hints of where his next destination was going to be.

of course, lxc is not the only one after the fearsome sandu shengshou.

but he won't allow that.  So he fights anyone who tries to capture him, not caring about the small rumours going around about some foolish sheriff chasing sandu shengshou and fighting off anyone so he could be the one to capture him. They are missing an important part of this story.

Then one of jc heists with a group of criminals actually goes really wrong and lxc does manage to pull him out of there. They hide in a cave in the desert, lxc tending to his gunshot wound.

lxc always treats him well, yet it always feels strange to jc to be treated so well and so gently. But he knows he cannot stay by lxc side, be it for the man's reputation or because what he managed to steal would only attract people who would hurt him badly.

something in jc truly wants to believe lxc words when he says he will take care of him if he accepts to come back with him, that nothing would ever happen again. "We could be so happy, I would make sure you have everything you want," lxc says.

it warms jc, to hear someone promising something like this to him. no one ever did it so honestly before, as if he was really ready to do anything for him.

"I'd... love to see that" jc whispers with a smile. It truly does sound like something nice. leaving behind his dangerous lifestyle, settling down, even if only for a couple of years, and being loved by someone.

but he knows better than to allow himself something like this.

when lxc wakes up the next morning, the place next to him is already cold and there is no trace of the injured jc. No hints were left behind this time, only the coldness of the desert morning lingering in the cave and memories of sweet words whispered in the night.

but he cannot give up, he went for so long already travelling around the land, chasing after his beloved, he cannot give up now.

But it is hard to do so. He realises how much jc must have left behind for him to hear and follow.

words of the fearsome sandu shengshou get scarce, slowly rumours of him dying after his last heists gone wrong travel from saloon to saloon, some people even rejoicing such a criminal to die.

but lxc doesn't listen to them, he simply cannot.

His beloved must still be alive.

So he travels, following dead ends, grasping at anything that could bring him back to his pretty and cunning cowboy.

lxc hopes slowly die after months of searching days and nights, looking for everything. He did find impostors slandering his beloved name (which he punished them for), but nothing about eth real jc.

after the latest dead-end that leads him to another impersonator, lxc is ready to give up, his throat feeling tight as he feels like he needs to accept the reality that his lovely criminal might have really died, be it from his injury or someone who wanted something from him.

he is getting ready to go back home with a heavy heart, packing everything on his horse when the neigh of a horse catches his attention.

As he looks up into the sunrise, he sees a man atop the hill, sitting on a dark horse.

lxc feels like his legs never made him run as fast as he does now, going up the hill as the man and the horse stays there, his hands fumbling for his lasso.

He is still catching his breath when he reaches the top, lasso in his hands and ready to throw.

his aim his perfect, catching the man he wanted to catch, pulling him off of the horse, arm locking around him tightly. "You caught me again, mister sheriff, what shall I do now?" asked the pretty and cunning cowboy.

"Why not come back home with me?" lxc suggests, receiving a soft chuckle at his reply.

"This sounds like a lovely idea" replies jc.

====

(I did not expect to write some western would be so fun yet here I am, which also makes me wanna watch some western and cowboy movies now )

Original

[xiyao-feels]

I was looking at the scene of LXC and LWJ and the bunnies—it's a memory in a dream, in the second incense burner chapter, so I suppose you could reject it but I think the most natural interpretation is that it's just how it happened. And it's really interesting!

(scene + thoughts on LXC's characterization and the Jades' relationship below the cut—plus a very little bit of xiyao, lol)

ER translation, ch 119

Not long afterwards, he managed to make out the whispering voices of two boys. He walked closer, finding that one of their voices sounded quite familiar, “… Nobody had ever kept any within the bounds of the Cloud Recesses. To do such a thing is unheard of.”

After a moment of silence, the other boy answered, somewhat dejected, “I know. But… I have already made my promise. I cannot go against my word.”

Wei WuXian picked this up. He sneakily glanced over. As expected, conversing amidst a clearing of green grass was Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi.

It was a spring day vibrant with soft winds. The young brothers seemed to be two immaculate pieces of jade, reflected against each other. Both were dressed in snowy robes, their wide sleeves and forehead ribbons flapping in the wind, almost as if they were a painting. The Lan WangJi at this point in time was also just about sixteen. He frowned slightly, as though he was worried about something. What he held in his arm was a white rabbit, sniffing its pink nose, and beside his foot was another rabbit, its long ears perked up as it stood clinging to his boot, trying to climb up.

Lan XiChen, “How could the casual remarks between two boys be considered a serious promise? Is it really because of this?”

Lan WangJi looked at the ground and said nothing.

Lan XiChen smiled, “Fine. Then if by any chance Uncle asks of this, you must explain things to him properly. These days, you have been spending just a little too much time on them.”

Lan WangJi nodded solemnly, “Thank you, Brother.” With a pause, he added, “… They will not affect my studies.”

Lan XiChen, “I know, WangJi. However, you must not tell Uncle who gave these to you. Or else, out of rage, he would make you send them away no matter what.”

Hearing this, it seemed as though Lan WangJi hugged the rabbit in his arms even tighter. Lan XiChen smiled. He reached out and poked the rabbit’s pink nose with his fingertip, before leisurely walking away.

So some thoughts:

a) that bit with LXC poking the rabbit's nose is adorable, help. Has this been in any of the adaptations? Is there any fanart of this? I must see it.

b) I think this is a really interesting look at the relationship between the young Jades, specifically. In particular it's a great example of how on the one hand LXC is extremely indulgent and supportive of LWJ and how, on the other hand, they both consider LXC to have legitimate authority over LWJ, which he exercises (legitimately). I think there can be a tendency to, I suppose, understand that authority negatively, but that's not really how it's written: both LXC's authority over and correcting of LWJ, and his support and indulgence of LWJ, are presented as part of the same good relationship. They don't contradict each other; they work together.

And it is clear that LXC does correct him. He's supporting LWJ on the bunnies (and instructing him not to tell LQR the details so the bunnies don't get sent away!), even though "To [keep bunnies within CR] is unheard of", and he's also telling him that he's been spending a bit too much time on them lately. And it is entirely as a loving older brother, but I think if your understanding of their relationship doesn't include that kind of loving correction, it is missing something.

(This isn't the only time this happens, to be clear. In the lectures at CR arc, of course, but we also see it near the beginning, when LWJ drags MXY home, and LXC cancels it and tells him to treat his guests better, and also in a variety of other places but listing all of them is outside the scope of this post.)

(b ii. I do think this makes an interesting contrast with WWX and JC; one of the fault lines there was that while WWX absolutely loved JC I'm not sure he ever saw JC as having legitimate authority over him. Which was a real problem when JC was actually his sect leader.)

(b. iii And it's also interesting to consider in light of NMJ's relationship with NHS and JGY both! One of NMJ's failings is, I think, his failure to actually effectively correct NHS. Obviously this is not just on him, NHS plays a role here too, but while many of NHS' hobbies are fine his failure to develop anything beyond that really is a problem—see also how he's totally sheltered during Sunshot, while pretty much every other major figure in the major clans was a major figure in the war. And while NMJ is certainly angry with him about it, and we see him express that anger, he also indulges NHS hugely and—okay I'm extrapolating some here but from what we do see it looks like the discipline is mostly anger-based, he lashes out and punishes NHS when he's angry and lets him off when he's amused or whatever, and that's really not a good way to teach someone! And then if you consider his relationship with JGY—part of the reason he swears brotherhood with JGY is his desire to guide him, but his efforts on this front are worse than useless, and he doesn't extend him any support at all.)

c) I also think it's interesting as a look at LXC in its own right, separate from what it says about his relationship with LWJ. In particular I think it's very telling that he instructs LWJ not to tell LQR who gave the bunnies to him, lest LQR make LWJ send them away! First, it certainly shows a strong trust in his own judgement; he knows LQR would not agree with him but he knows what he's doing. Secondly, I think it's really worth noting that he's proposing something at least adjacent to deceiving LQR: he's helping conceal information from LQR that LQR would absolutely think was relevant to his decision! Indeed, he's actively suggesting the concealment. And LQR is their uncle and teacher—and LXC isn't even sect leader at this point. Now I do think it matters that it's not the same thing as lying directly to LQR; they're just avoiding giving him certain information. That's not where everyone draws a line but I do think it's one of LXC's. And I think it all suggests he has a grasp of subtleties and of subtle distinctions even this early on in the timeline.

(Interestingly we see him use pretty much exactly the same tactic in much worse circumstances later on in the timeline; after LWJ and WWX escape from Carp Tower, and LXC returns, LQR has woken but LXC "told everyone not to tell him anything unnecessary" (64).)

(c ii. I'll also take a moment to be a xiyao and add, while I think JGY probably does ever lie to LXC about things, I'm pretty sure most of what he's done is simply not give LXC all the information. They really are very similar in a lot of ways!)

d) This is far from a perfect parallel but reflecting on LXC and JGY's similarities, I can't help but link this moment, with LXC backing LWJ up on the bunnies, with JGY giving JL Fairy. They're very different situations in a lot of ways, but they are both helping a beloved younger relative, with kindness and support, through animal companionship. There are a lot of differences too, of course; but I do think it speaks to some of the ways in which they're similar, which is more than people think.

[theuntamedcollages]

The Untamed, ep48, scene 2:55-10:45: Hate

JC: Never what?! Wei Wuxian, how selfless, how great you are. You've always been going good deeds and being wronged, but only keep it to yourself. How touching. Should I get down on my knees and thank you with tears rolling down?

JL: Uncle, stop it.

WWX: I never wanted you to thank me.

JC: That's right. Doing good deeds and never asking for repayment. Just for your noble personality. Surely different from me. No wonder when Father was alive, he kept saying that you were the one who really understood the Jiang Clan's motto and demeanor.

WWX: Enough.

JC: Enough what?! It's enough when you say it's enough? You know best. You're better than me at everything. Talent. Cultivation. Intelligence. Temperament. You all know. I am not that noble. Then what am I?!

JL: Uncle, your injuries!

LWJ: Clan Leader Jiang, be careful not to go too far.

LXC: Clan Leader Jiang, you have to calm down. I am afraid the more you talk, the worse your wound will get.

JC: Why, Wei Wuxian? Tell me why!

WWX: Why what?

JC: The Jiang Clan gave you so much. I was his own son. I was the successor of the Jiang Clan! But for all those years, you always got more than me in everything! Care growing up, and even their lives. My dad's. My mom's. My sister's. And even Jin Zixuan's. Because of you, Jin Ling grew up without parents. Wei Wuxian, who broke the oath first and betrayed the Jiang Clan? You said I would be the Clan leader in the future, and you would be my right-hand man. You'd assist me for your lifetime. So what if there are the Twin Jades of Gusu? We were the Twin Prides of Yunmeng. And you'd never betray the Jiang Clan. Who said that? Tell me who said that? You swallowed all your words, and what did you do instead? You went to protect some outsiders, and from the Wen clan! How much did you owe them that you defected with no hesitation? What did you take the Jiang Clan for? You've done every good thing, and it was forced every time you did something bad, right? What hardship on earth were you burdened with that you could never tell? You didn't tell me anything. Treated me as a little fool.

JL: Uncle.

JC: Wei Wuxian. How much do you owe the Jiang Clan? Shouldn't I hate you? Can't I hate you?! Why? Why do I seem supposed to feel sorry for you now? Why should I keep feeling all these years that I am like a clown? What am I then? I deserve to stay in the shadow of your glory? Shouldn't I hate you?

JL: Hanguang-Jun. My uncle is wounded.

JC: Let him come! Am I afraid of the Second Lan?

JC: Why? Why? Wei Wuxian, why didn't you tell me?

WWX: Because I didn't want to see you being like this.

JC: You said I would be the Clan leader in the future, and you would be my right-hand man. You'd assist me for your lifetime. You'd never betray the Jiang Clan. You said it yourself.

WWX: I'm sorry. I broke my promise.

JC: We've reached this point. I don't need your "sorry" now. I'm not that delicate.

JC: Sorry.

WWX: Don't apologise to me. My "sorry" is what I pay back to the Jiang Clan. As for this matter, please don't keep it in your heart. Forget it. Though I know according to your character you'll always remember it. But I have to say, I really think that all is past. All those things are like from my previous life now. Let them go, please. We both should stop lingering on them.

Previous scene (episode) - Next scene

[mxtxfanatic]

I’m just kinda jumping in as an observer, but I think you have some evidence in your argument wrong. It wasn’t “courtesy” that allowed Jiang Cheng to do anything in the war; he did what he wanted and helped out where he could because, at the end of the day, he was still a clan leader and nobody had time to nitpick his actions in the middle of a potential wipe-out. He was allowed to sit in on meetings (which, was he? We don’t actually know that cause our only flashbacks are from nmj’s pov and only he and lxc are shown to discuss shit) because he was an ally. Nobody gave him shit to reclaim Lotus Pier; he showed up at his home with only lwj at his side to find it already cleared out. He hunted down wen chao and co with only lwj. Any troops that came appeared after wwx rejoined with his new cultivation, and this is explicitly said at multiple points that they joined the jiang clan for him. As for resources: lotus pier wasn’t destroyed and they still owned the land in yunmeng to collect money. Any additions would come from the wen coffers and the marriage alliance with the jin if we are following this based on logical inference, since the story itself never gives these details. The only clan said to have explicitly used the resources of another for post-war rebuilding is the lan getting help from the jin to rebuild the cloud recesses, and this was stated as a gift of brotherhood from jgy to lxc with no strings attached (according to him). Courtesy ain’t have shit to do with anything; wwx alone is what regained lotus pier and the jiang’s standing amongst the great clans.

In the comparison with nhs: nhs didn’t actively cultivate the “useless young master” aesthetic until after his brother died and he realized that he needed to appear useless to secretly investigate. In his youth, he just didn’t do shit because he didn’t want to, and both lxc and jgy (who was faking) treated it as an endearing quality that nmj was treating too harshly. All the times we see nhs appear before that point with no pushback from anyone but his brother? A sign of his class status. Idk how many times different characters from different clans have to say that they coveted wwx as a disciple, were jealous of jiang clan’s hold over him, and therefore nitpicked his actions specifically to alienate him from the ever-jealous jc with his inferiority complex before people accept that nothing about wwx’s behavior pre-qiongqi path was an irreconcilable issue for the cultivation world. Because on top of all this, while I’d also like to say that xue yang had been accepted as a guest disciple into the jin clan despite being ornery and outwardly disrespectful. Where was his public and repeated censure?

Onto another point, wwx always concerned himself with his image in his first life. This is explicitly stated in multiple places in the novel, as well. It’s why one of the things said about him in the prologue directly following the siege is that he was charming and lovable. So he was charming, smart, and powerful, but he wasn’t a part of the gentry and that’s what pissed everyone off. Literally the only thing that would’ve given wwx any protection would’ve been if he had been officially adopted (which he wouldn’t have accepted), married in (which he wouldn’t have done for anyone except lwj), or if jc had stood up for him like everyone else did for their important/cared for disciples. (So, if he had had the backing of a clan that actually cared about him, hm…)

Anyways, all this to say that post-canon wwx who has a golden core is still going around not caring about anyone’s opinions and being just as “discourteous” as you claim he was post-gc transfer without carrying a sword because he no longer has to keep up appearances for his own protection, but mysteriously nobody has a problem with this anymore. In fact, nobody had a problem when he was “mxy” not carrying a sword, either, despite being a cultivator, funny how that works.

I like how Nie Huaisang straight up refuses to cultivate and carry a sword and no one has anything to say about that because he’s a sect heir but when Wei Wuxian, son of a servant, does it suddenly it’s a problem.

[leatherbookmark]

my feelings about haruki murakami are hmmm. not exactly positive but not totally negative either, but man, i feel it’s his fault that i take quite a pleasure in adding those rather physical, kindasorta gross details to my writing

[guqin-and-flute]

The Most Public Private Meet-Cute [Episode 4]

NHS: hello everyone my name is nie huaisang

Background Person: hiii huaisaaang

NHS: and fun fact about me is that i grew up around lan xichen and i know exactly what his type is

NHS: ON A COMPLETELY UNRELATED NOTE here is my dear and very single friend who desperately needs love and affection and probably a hug meng yao

MY: oh hey that’s me

NHS: say hi meng yao

MY: uh ok how weirdly specific sure thing

NHS: the stage is set i give it 2 minutes

MY: hello my name is meng yao and i’ve brought you a box hope u like it there’s a pot in it

MY: uhhh ok some things about me i’m adorable i get bullied frequently i eat dry bread and my dimples are deep enough to hold all my war crimes see? *ping*

Asshole 1: did someone order some loud and publicly cruel narration about your tragic and slightly damning backstory??

MY: no?? ?

Asshole 1:  too late

MY:  ugh do you allow returns

Asshole 1: WOW THIS DUDE SUCKS

Asshole 2: yeah totally and his dad fuckin hates him rolled him down the steps of jinlintai like a fuckin slinky

MY: well this feels a bit unwarranted

Asshole 1: naaah his dad would have to actually CARE to hate him

WWX:  damn this is brutal hope this doesn’t foreshadow any major plot component that might outline the problem with the idea of reputation vs honor in our society and the place hearsay and gossip plays in the perception of the value of a person that would suck

Random Background person: sure would especially if it greatly impacted you as a person

Asshole 1:  i love shitting on people with u bro

Asshole 2: awww bro

JYL: rude

JC: wow

WWX: jfc

MY:  this is fun so glad i came

LXC:  .......hm.

NHS: 10...9...8...

LWJ: xichen  n  o

Asshole 1: ANYWAY FUCK THIS DUDE

LWJ: u need to stop and not for the reason u think

LQR:  CAN U READ THE ROOM PLEASE AND SHUT THE ACTUAL HELL UP what do you think this is? some kind of high school?? who do you think you are?? children? ? nONSENSE

Asshole 1:  oh shit i thought talking at regular volume in plain sight of a silent room gave me anonymity

Asshole 2: oh no me too what an unforeseen outcome

LQR: anyway, now for-- oh god oh no what are u doing r e s i s t, boy

LXC: [i_need_a_hero.mp3]

Random Lan: love this song

LWJ:  jfc here we go

JC: is this a kissing book?

MY:  sure could use a hug

WWX:  ur gonna get more than that dude

JYL: aww good for him

LXC: why hello.

MY: ho- (where is the saxaphone music coming from)

MY: -ly- am i in slow motion ur very tall did u know ur very tall

MY: shit hey.

LXC: hey :)

LXC:  o h .

LXC:  good god i have gravely miscalculated my investment in the situation what did i come down here for again

MY: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh u have a mouth i have a mouth what a strange coincidence

MY: i humbly present my body BOX my box this box right here it’s really cool it has a red thing in it it’s for u or maybe the grandmaster i can’t really remember anymore  or feel my legs fuck

LXC: oh yeah the reason i came down here theoretically i should at least pretend to care about what’s in the box

Ambience: [Careless_Whisper_on_Flute.mp3]

WWX: HOLD THE PHONE that’s allowed?? i don’t have to sword fight the gay feelings? he’s beating me at public homoerotic subtext chicken this cannot stand i have to up my game

Pot: I’m a metaphor or something it’s not really relevant at this point is it?

LXC: nope so anyway i could probably fit you into my pocket and cherish you forever thoughts? i’m thinking gentians for the wedding

MY: i can’t feel my face currently but yes to all

MY: ur touching my hands again

LXC: oh trust me i am VERY aware

NHS:  :)))

LWJ: can i go?

Random Lan: probably not

LWJ: ugh i have my own gay shit to deal with

Random background Guy: taking notes for my fanfic

MY: message very fucking received

MY: we are bowing now because we are very polite and definitely not experiencing a life changing sexual awakening in a crowded room

Random Background Person: u guys know people can hear u, right?

LXC: yes very polite definitely nothing gay and certainly no lifelong connection that could potentially end in horrific tragedy for the both of us thank goodness

NHS: guys i didn’t mean elope right fucking now

MY: did u like my box?

LXC: it’s the best box the most adorable box I’ll keep this box forever in my heart

NHS: dude it’s not for u it’s for ur uncle

WWX: i cannot BELILEVE i’m losing public gay chicken i’m gonna get lan zhan a box

BONUS:

Random Asshole 2:

yeah technically he’s zixuan’s brother but jgs treated him like shit what’s ur raction to that zixuan?

JZX: think i’m gonna stick with haughty silence, if i’m honest

Random Asshole 2: that seems on brand

[more brief summaries because yeah]

[mostlikelytofangirl]

I've noticed some similarities between xiyao and ruoyao in terms of dynamics, like the open respect to jgy. As someone who likes both, you think there really are things that overlap there? If so, what would be the main difference?

Well anon, I most certainly see what you mean!

I think that with both ships, the fact that they are the ones who show the most unconditional respect and support towards MY/JGY is certainly a thing they have in common.

The fun part comes when you notice they are pretty much opposite sides of the same coin in this regard.

First there's xiyao, which we are all familiar with. LXC is the one to constantly stand by JGY and rush to his defense if needed, even gave him the benefit of the doubt until hard irrefutable evidence was provided. LXC believed in JGY's goodness despite what the entire world claimed, but the thing is that... eventually he couldn't, because there were parts of JGY that he didn't know. As much as he loved his A-Yao, his A-Yao was never truly honest and fully himself with him.

Now I totally believe this resulted from JGY's want to keep at least this part of his life untained by the crimes he committed, knowing perfectly well that he would lose LXC's love if he was ever to discover those. Not as part of an evil manipulative scheme, but well, the very human need to be loved and fearing judgment for things we know we did wrong.

So in the end, LXC cared about the "good" side of JGY because he didn't see the other one or believed there was legit solid reason for it.

Now ruoyao. There's definitely not as much canon material as xiyao, but what we have is telling enough imo. MY had a very important and high rank in the Wen sect, very close to WRH himself, which, given what we saw of WRH, could only mean that he held MY in very high regard. Up until that point in MY's life (and later on too lbr), no one had shown him such open respect and consideration that actually impacted how the world treated him AND that included MY's... less flattering qualities.

MY's resourcefulness, cunning and cleverness were things society condemned: how he copied techniques, how he schemed, how he tricked his way to the top. Spy mission aside, WRH was the only one to ever reward him for the tools and abilities he had cultivated instead of insisting he did things this or that way to appeal to sensibilities of others. He was the only person ever to tell MY that ambition was okay and he actively encouraged him down that path (even if we all can agree that it would have led to a much darker place than canon). He just failed to account for the goodness MY also had and it was eventually his downfall.

WRH saw the "bad" side of MY and saw all the potential he deemed desirable and praise-worthy, contrary to what the rest of the world said.

So I don't think these ships so much overlap as they are mostly two extremes of the same "fully supportive of MY/JGY" spectrum. One that didn't acknowledge the negative side until it was too late, and the other that was fine with sacrificing the positive side and it led to underestimating it.

Or, in simpler terms:

[lancabbage]

Can't be bothered putting any more up because it's long and incoherent... But this bit... This made me laugh.

Okay...

Well I mean this is a little awkward because I clearly demonstrated multiple times and added a snapshot from the author notes that show I am referring to the novel. The fact you stated I have come from the donghua or CQL just proves your lack of reading comprehension unfortunately.

So I can't take your comments or points seriously after that.

But I'll make my point because I really don't want people who haven't read things carefully enough to confuse others.

Nowhere in the text does it state LXC sent LWJ to Yiling. LWJ does what he wants, he is given free reign, he does not need permission to go there or to go alone! If you read the novel, you will see LWJ has gone on night-hunts alone since being young. LXC had no involvement in this as far as the text dictates. LXC is not playing matchmaker behind the scenes. Yes, he was trying to get them to become friends back at the CR and other times prior to WWX defecting from the Jiang sect, but not at this point. LWJ did not need LXC to help him understand WWX was right, he was already aware, even more so then his brother! He supported WWX saving the remaining Wens, his only issue was he was worried about WWX's health.

Yes LXC visited his brother during his time in seclusion, I'm not denying LXC doesn't love LWJ. He does, very much so. My point is that others are insinuating LXC supported and encouraged LWJ in understanding WWX's actions. When no such thing happened and not did it need to. LXC is the sect leader! He had a say in his punishment! That's why it was as lenient as it was, as you said, it could have been much worse. But this was probably thanks to LXC he has quite a bit of power after all, look at how much power his father had to do what he did! So you can't say LXC didn't have the power to stop such a punishment if he was supporting his brother and encouraging him to understand WWX's actions. LXC fully believed WWX was in the wrong by this point, he thought what his brother did was wrong. He was at Nightless Sky planning an attack on the burial mounds with the rest of the sect leaders.

WWX refuses nothing with regards to LXC. If you read the text properly you will see LXC stops them from saying much about the whole JGY situation. LXC literally shuts WWX as he tries to tell him! He only asks WWX to prove it to him instead. So he does!

Wei WuXian, “Sect Leader Lan, I’m grateful that you gave me this opportunity. The fact that ChiFeng-Zun’s head is inside of Jin GuangYao’s secret chamber is nothing but true. Not only have I seen it, I’ve seen some other things due to having been affected by its energy of resentment. Maybe this could offer some proof?” Lan XiChen replied calmly, “Young Master Wei, perhaps you have seen some things indeed. However, you cannot prove that you saw those things within the secret chamber of Koi Tower.” Wei WuXian, “Hm. That’s true. Then how about something else? The direct cause of ChiFeng-Zun’s death was a qi deviation, but, Sect Leader Lan, don’t you think that the timing is a bit too much of a coincidence? The doings of the sword spirit might be one of the reasons, but have you ever thought that there might be another cause to it?” Lan XiChen, “What do you think the cause is?” Wei WuXian, “The Song of Clarity.”

ExR translations page 407

It's quite clear from the text above LXC has said he does not want to know. He wants proof, so WWX gives him it. It's ludicrous to accuse WWX of anything if you read the above text. As for the comment on him not telling LXC why JGY killed him, LXC knew NMJ tried to kill JGY after he assassinated WRH. If we omit the fact LXC said he didn't want to know anything from WWX... LXC knew of their volatile relationship already, which is why he encouraged them to spend time together. Besides, JGY killed NMJ because he wanted XY gone, to pay for his crimes and JGY wanted to keep him to help harness WWX's cultivation method. That's why NMJ was murdered.

I think you may not understand what the term refuses means. WWX never refuses to tell LXC anything, including about the brothel. He states the facts, because now is not the time for chitchat and JGY has a mouth if he thinks telling him how cruel they all were to him justified him killing them all in a fire. Which btw it doesn't, it would be ridiculous for WWX to recount the whole tale at that very moment, no one cares because JGY is a psychotic murderer and a pathological liar. Your reasoning for claiming WWX "refused" to give LXC information is rather illogical and childish. Also, LXC starts to ask JGY questions just after this. He's already told WWX once he wants proof, WWX let's him question JGY out of respect for his prior wishes. No trust was broken, nothing dishonest happened.

WX didn't take away any choice! Your whole idea of the story is warped! As I've just proven, LXC stopped him on both occasions. He wanted to hear it from JGY. He wanted JGY to be honest with him. WX withheld nothing from him, if anything he stopped them.

JGY killed for revenge, for greed, for his own validation and need. There's retaliation and there's twisted revenge. Yes his dad was a total ass, but did he have to murder a bunch of prostitutes along with him?! He's a monster. Shall we give him a round of applause for being kind and letting SiSi go?! 👏👏👏 All he cared about was himself. It doesn't matter how you dress it up, he murdered innocent people as well. He did kill his own son. Not allegedly... I'll put his confession of it below in a minute for you. Anyway he killed his own son and then had a whole clan blamed for his son's own murder, because it was a political move to have them put of the picture and opposing his ideas.

Yeah JGY thought the same as me, he even admitted it at the end. He manipulated the whole thing hoping JZX would get killed when going to stop the ambush. I think this because it's in the novel. It's not a theory, but information I extrapolated from the novel.

Jin GuangYao, “And so I said I don’t deny them But to have killed my father, my wife, my son, my brother — if not because I had no other choice, why would I have done those things? Could it be that I’m really so out of my mind in your eyes?!”

ExR page page 629

He had a choice of course, he was just greedy for power and wanted JZX out of the picture.

QS killed herself as a direct result of the sheer torment JGY put her through. He manipulated her and was left alone with her for some time prior to this, we don't know what awful manipulative things he said. I never said a thing about his wife or son... (That's very JGY of you) you are bringing this up all by yourself. I never called him a monster who did nothing good? 🤔 I mean, he was to a certain extent, but I never said anything in my earlier post... What good did he do? The watchtowers are good in principle, though they were a thinly veiled way of having control over the sects that little bit more - it's just a more diplomatic way of having the supervision offices the Wens wanted! Yes, they may have helped the locals and that's great, but it doesn't make up for all the innocent lives he took in the process. Yes he give JL a dog, do you know what he didn't give him? A hug... Never... It's in the text, read it. Well unless you count when he held a sharp string to his neck and threatened to kill him and all the adults knew he would and didn't make a move until he was distracted. Yep, uncle of the year award material right there.

Lmao! The most peaceful because he literally killed anyone who opposed him! He did and he admitted it it's not rocket science! Read the text!! NHS didn't give a flying f about anything other than bringing justice for his brother's murder, he probably had more, but he didn't need to use it.

You can say what you want, but WX are righteous. MXTX displayed in the screenshot in my previous reply.

Yes... It's okay because it was a war... Against soldiers trying to kill you.... he also had trauma, you should look it up. It's effects you a lot!

The more I read your incoherent ramblings I'm actually wondering if you are even talking to me?! I don't follow your blog, the reblog unfortunately came up in tags I follow... I'm not opposed to LXC and JGY you can ship who you like!

Lmao!!!!! Take away my choice! Omg! This is just insane! You accuse WX of this without any proof and do it yourself. Hilarious.

Enjoy not reading anything properly 👌

Honestly, I find it really cruel how Wangxian purposefully conceal important information about JGY from LXC.

LXC encouraged LWJ to discover the truth about WWX when everyone was ridiculing and gossiping about him. 

LWJ got to visit the Burial Mounds and discover the truth of what WWX was doing. He learned that WWX was simply trying to assist the Wen reminiants that assisted him and discovered the lies behind the rumors claiming WWX to have undertaken immoral behavior. 

If he had accepted the general consensus regarding WWX as a traitorous demonic cultivator who aimed to destroy society, then I doubt LWJ would have been able to love him without feeling guilty for doing so. LWJ is a very rightous man! He wouldn't have supported or even been able to love WWX burden-free had he believed WWX was acting immorally. I think LWJ knowing the truth behind WWX's actions is significant because it allows him to defend WWX - even if it was too late.

LXC is the reason that LWJ could accept his love for WWX and later support him when he returned in MXY's body. When he struggled to understand if WWX's actions were acceptable, his brother was the first person who supported him!

So why can't LWJ extend that same kindness to LXC? I think Wangxian deciding to hide information because it might change LXC's mind is truly an act of betrayal because In doing so they too have betrayed his trust. He expected WWX + LWJ to present a full case of evidence regarding JGY so he could decide whether to condemned his sworn brother or to stand besides him and… they don't actually give an option.

It reads as very selfish. Just because the main characters decide someone is irredeemable and evil, does not mean everyone has to share their opinions. When people opposed WWX, LWJ was given all the information he needed and was allowed to stand with him, even if it was after his death! But Wangxian take the place of the mob that called for WWX's death in the case of Xiyao by obscuring part of the truth to manipulate LXC's perception of JGY. 

LXC never truly had a choice. He was tricked by JGY, by his brother then by NHS. There is no one who actually given him the full truth and it is such an injustice.

[mxtxfanatic]

Alright, I did one for my mdzs read so it’s time for svsss’s: Character Roundup!

Yue Qingyuan: lowkey gave me lxc vibes with the whole “overlooking abuse happening under my watch that I am both aware of and fully able to stop” thing, but otherwise, greatest Big brother when his Big Brother Energy™️ is directed towards an actual good person

Liu Qingge: dude was considered the God of War but let his reputation go to the wayside just to try to give sqq a proper funeral. If that don’t give him the best shidi award… also extra points for never liking Shen Jiu (though that comment on his cultivation was a loooow blow)

Mu Qingfang: an actually reliable doctor and friend. Too bad doctors are kinda useless in a story where sex is supposed to be the cure for all medical ailments lmao!

Qi Qingqi: she only existed to be bitchy and serve quips and honestly, good for her; one day she’ll outbitch the bitchiest character of them all (sqq)

Ning Yingying: ok but y’all don’t be giving my girl her flowers! The peak didn’t teach her how to fight cause the world wouldn’t have been able to handle an unstoppable nyy! (I want a rematch between her and the palace princess so she can properly stomp miss daddy’s girl into the ground)

Ming Fan: I guess he didn’t die this time around, good for him?

The nameless Qing Jing Peak disciples: I love how somehow sqq raised an entire peak of disciples who are crybabies to his face but disrespectful behind his back to everyone not their shizun (and he thinks it’s just lbh, smh)

Liu Mingyan: always lurking, always writing. Anyways, go make your coin, queen!

Sha Hualing: Luo Binghe owes my girl unlimited PTO, stop overworking her! 😭😭😭

Mobei-jun: congrats on the unintentional husband! Maybe go to someone else for relationship advice

Zhuzhi-lang: breaks my damn heart

Tianlang-jun: breaks my damn heart, but deflects with humor

Su Xiyan: she really did the damn thing, yet all of it is speculation 🤣

Old Palace Master: go to hell, fucking demented old man, fucking stranger danger ass creeper; he deserved having the most torturous death in the book

Shen Jiu formerly known as Shen Qingqiu: he wasn’t a character and didn’t deserve to be, that’s why he got replaced with someone everyone else liked better. All in all, a pitiable backstory and a pitiful end to a character who starts the story erased from existence. Redemption don’t work on the unrepentant

Bingge: oh sweetheart…we need you your own comfort Shen Yuan and a lot of professional help…

The System: still can’t outbitch the bitchiest character of them all LOL

The nameless “righteous” cultivators: Y’all consider it righteous to attack defenseless demons, including infants and toddlers, cause they “might be evil”? Go to hell, i hope at least one of y’all’s evil ass sects got demolished before the merge failed

Shen Qingqiu starring Shen Yuan: thank you, King, for your service in fixing all of your predecessor’s fuck-ups and thereby proving that it’s never to late to atone for the abuse you (not actually you) have wrought, despite what some people have to say 😒 Anyways, enjoy your honeymoon with the man every woman (supposedly) wants!

Luo Binghe: oh honey, oh sweetie, we need you a therapist; go on and enjoy your honeymoon with the man every man wants while that’s pending

Bingqiu: they make each other so happy 🥺 You couldn’t pry this ship from my hands if I was Tianlang-jun’s rotting plant body.

[sssrha]

transcription of slides under the cut:

[SLIDE 1] the vibes ao3’s top 9 mdzs ships give me (a really stupid thing i made on a lazy saturday)

[SLIDE 2] wangxian: the wholesome canon relationship (with a hint of spice)

ok maybe calling the union between a demonic cultivator and a secret sex fiend “wholesome” isnt exactly accurate…but that’s where the “hint of spice” comes in

other than that tho? i remember seeing a meme somewhere about wangxian and sangcheng and wangxian was described as “domestic gays with a house and a white picket fence and two kids” and honestly? yes 

not that they cant be freaky. id say their particular brand of freakiness is vaguely surrealist suburban horror. make of that what you will

[SLIDE 3] xicheng: either its “pair the spares” or just about trauma

their dynamic is 500% “karen/enabling husband” but like in a good way

objectively the best-dressed couple you will ever meet. like seriously why are you even trying? theyve got you beat

jc would own a flower shop and punch you in the face for saying a single bad thing about his flowers. lxc would own a tattoo parlor and hand you a lollipop and tell you how proud he is of you for not crying while he gave you a tattoo

they dont strike me as a “every evening we relax and watch the sunset” type of relationship B U T every other week they go stargazing with a detailed map of the night sky

[SLIDE 4] xiyao: either a) the angst of betraying/being betrayed or b) the angst of killing/being killed

high society gays. they would both unironically wear tuxedos to a mcdonalds. lxc would see it as a fun couples thing and jgy would do it to assert his dominance

i swear they would be among the smiliest of the major couples. only one of them would give you a happy smile

dont mess with them. no like dont mess with any of the couples but so far jgy is the first one who would make your life living hell and keep you around long enough to suffer the consequences

[SLIDE 5] sangcheng: being simultaneously over- and underestimated

i saw a meme about sangcheng and wangxian where sangcheng was described as something along the lines of “wine aunt and vodka uncle” and honestly? yes

they’re both human disasters. nhs would have various splotches of color on his clothes and you cant tell if it was intentional or if theyre actually stains. jc is very neat and organized but will have a mental breakdown at the slightest inconvenience

sometimes they just sit down across from each other and. cry. its how they bond

idk why it popped into my head but they’re both ace Because I Said So

[SLIDE 6] xuexiao: cute domesticity but also murder

i refuse to believe that xy is anything but unhinged in every universe. whether or not thats a good thing is up to you

xy could and would murder you in your sleep and not feel bad about it until xxc told him off. even then he might still decide it was worth it

xxc doesnt exactly know about The Murder Stuff(TM) but he knows some shit is off but he trusts xy enough to not comment on it

they would meet and hook up in a bar and mutually decide that they may as well stay together for the rest of their lives the next morning

[SLIDE 7] xuanli: the token straights (but also? theyre really cute???)

i did not expect them to be as cute as they were but here i am

anyway jyl has jzxuan wrapped around her little finger and shes just too nice to use that to her advantage

if jyl asked jzxuan for some chocolate jzxuan would just buy her the entire hershey company and forget to give her an actual chocolate bar and jyl is too sweet to actually say anything about it

they would definitely have like 20 children. theyd fucking love being parents. the moment having another child became dangerous theyd start adopting left and right. theyre rich they can afford it and their hearts are big enough for all their kids so why would they not?

[SLIDE 8] songxiao: childhood friends to lovers AND perfect power couple

i know they have more nuance than this but i cant help but think of them as The Perfect Couple(TM)

not shipping-wise!! i mean like. theyre both law-abiding citizens. their house looks like a model house. theyre dressed super neat and handsomely. they both know cpr and first aid and one of them is a lawyer and the other is an award winning writer. idk who is who but yk.

they are who people call to deal with problems instead of the police and they delight in that fact. that is what i mean by them being The Perfect Couple(TM)

[SLIDE 9] chengxian: disasters through and through

uhh i am going to be spending the entirety of this slide ignoring the fact that i personally consider them siblings

they would live in a dingy studio apartment in the heart of a city and theyd both never be home

theyre both super fucking rich but theyd never have any money on hand so dont be surprised if they just starve out on the street one day because theyre just that stupid

they collectively have the self esteem of rotting cabbage but theyre keeping themselves and each other alive purely out of spite and sheer force of will

[SLIDES 10] nielan: childhood friends to lovers AND himbo power couple

psst heres a secret: neither of them are actually himbos

H O W E V E R they both 500% pretend they are. they intentionally act as stupid as possible just for the fun of it

the best part is when they stop acting stupid when something important happens. crouching-moron-hidden-badass at its finest

also the older brother energy is overflowing. it does not matter who you are or how old you are. if you meet them then youre going to walk away with two new big brothers

[SLIDES 11] the end (unless i gather the willpower to make a part 2)

[nie-smh-my-head-huaisang]

I’ve been playing Pokemon Legends Arceus, and then gremlin brain came in and was like “hey, combine this with your current special interest” and I did. and then i was also like “oh fuck i’ve been neglecting xisang my boys shit”

Pokemon AU but it has PLA flavor added.

spoilers for the general premise of PLA.

So NHS gets isekai-ed into the past, and lands in Gusu.

So NHS didn’t have much going for him back home, he was an only child which was bullshit because he has such baby brother energy. “that doesn’t sound right OP, I distinctly remember him having a brother” shhhh

 Pokemon Professor Lan Qiren sees this kid fall out of the sky and is like “What the fuck?” He’s busy trying to catch his pokemon, he doesn’t have time for this.

Then NHS walks right up to Rowlet and picks him up and buries his face in this bird. LQR takes him in because this boy is going to get killed if he doesn’t step in. Rowlet decides he likes NHS and allows the babying.

Now LWJ is off doing his Hanguang Jun thing in the wild, so LXC is the one who gets to meet NHS and show him around. LXC is in awe of the fact that this boy was able to get Rowlet to love him. Since LXC doesn’t have his own brother around to dote on, he dotes on NHS. And then he starts really doting on NHS.

So NHS is part of the Cloud Recesses Expedition team, which is really just an excuse for NHS to get so many birds.

So they hit up Qinghe, and meet LXC’s homie, NMJ. NMJ takes one look at NHS and is like “is anyone going to be a brotherly and reluctantly fatherly figure in this guy’s life?” and didn’t wait for anyone to answer.

I gave him a Luxray because i couldn’t think that hard about a perfect pokemon for him, but friend mars said Kengaskhan was his spirit pokemon and she was of course right about that and is very tall and handsome.

since he didn’t have a little brother, he didn’t have a second mom, so Kengaskhan.

copy paste some notes from discord:

AU lore, Jin Sect's got the money and they have stuff but they're all a little too shiny and pretty to actually catch pokemon.  JZXuan is the only person in the main family that has his own dog that respects him because he caught him. JGY showed up already having a pokemon. MXY, a baby, has a Mudbray. LTF has a mudkip because mudkip is my favorite. Nie Sect values a strong bond with pokemon and training is a big part of Nie Sect life. if you can't wrestle a bear, then by the end of your visit with NMJ, you will. Jiang sect is real big on testing the limits of a pokemon and their partner. water pokemon. JC has like 6 joltiks since he can't have dog shaped pokemon, all from YZY's galvantula. JYL gets a milotic because uhhhh, pretty water pokeyman. WWX, ghost pokemon trainer. Lan Sect wants to know what the fuck is going on with pokemon, how do they work and how do we befriend them? LXC has a pacharisu that hates his guts because i thought it was funny at 4am and it stuck. LWJ is out on his pokemon journey, going where the chaos is. WWX is the chaos, man is so good at pokemon. LQR has a drampa. Wen Sect is the Jin Sect run down but on x-games mode. NHS, local isekai protag, is wondering how hard he can girlboss gatekeep there isn't a third one this place. all bird team.

anyway, from then on, it gets a little less xisang and more “haha, mdzs au” but that’s just cause i’m fleshing out the universe so that xisang make out all over it.

So in the Jin Sect, it’s pretty normal to hire someone else to catch a pokemon for you. JZXuan however was like, “fuck that” and went out on his own and nearly got mauled, but he made it out with a shiny growlith, and their bond is so fucking good.

JZXun however could not catch his own pokemon. he hired someone to get him a shiny poochyena, and like. it follows directions but their bond is not strong.

WWX has a phantump that he caught when he was young. It was his first pokemon and his baby. Unfortunately for the baby, when JFM asked him what he was going to name his baby, WWX was like “eh, whatever” because like his mother before him, he was just going to end up calling him his baby forever anyway. So Subian the phantump is WWX’s closest friend.

Now this is a happy au. No major character death. So Sunshot. no big downers.

So why and how does WC shove WWX into the Burial Mounds? Well.

runs

so WWX is shoved into the burial mounds, and WC takes Subian which acts as a “trade” and Subian evolves into a Trevenant and gets super fucking pissed off, going on a rampage.

It does not calm down until WWX shows back up, alive because a ghost horse found him and didn’t stomp him to death. Horse is Chenqing.

And uh. Subian takes a liking to A-Yuan when he shows up, because he understands that they are both just scared children left behind to face the world. the key difference is that WWX had found him sooner.

And that’s most of what i got so far.

[robininthelabyrinth]

What if nmy, jgy and lxc can hear each other thought after they became brother?

ao3

1

Lan Xichen was dreaming.

He dreamt that he was walking along a road, dust on his feet, a small pack on his back, and bruises on his face from where he’d fallen; it felt as if everyone was looking at him, gawking at him, every one of them acting as though they knew everything about him just by looking at him and he hated them –

Do not succumb to rage, Lan Xichen thought, the familiar rule popping into his mind at once.

Rage isn’t the problem, some part of his mind thought back at him. The problem is – why do you care what they think? They’re always going to think something.

They were judging him. How dare they judge him? He’d made something of himself, made himself smart and tricky and capable, but no one cared about that, they judged him, they sneered at him –

Sneering for no reason is prohibited.

Oh for – he just said that they were sneering for a reason.

He did not! The whole point of what he said was that they were sneering because they were unfairly judging him, Lan Xichen argued, and was momentarily amused at himself for arguing with himself in a dream. He would have to write down this dream in the morning and see if he could explore whatever internal strife within him was the cause. And that they weren’t worthy of judging him.

I thought ‘Arrogance is forbidden’?

Are you quoting Lan sect rules at me?

Excuse you both, he was trying to think here!

I’d say brooding rather than thinking.

Lan Xichen agreed with that. It really was mostly brooding, brooding on all the wrongs that had been done to him and paranoia against the whole world. Brooding and walking, walking and brooding –

Like a chicken.

He was not like a chicken. What the fuck. Who the fuck compared lusting for revenge to chickens?

I’m just saying, if you’re going to be brooding, you may as well have some eggs –

Lan Xichen woke up laughing. He still wasn’t sure what the meaning of the dream was, but he did meander down to Caiyi town in order to have some eggs.

He passed it off as a craving.

2

Lan Xichen knew from the first sight of the jingshi how this dream would go.

He would be walking, slowly and gravely, knowing already what he would find: the sight of Wangji kneeling in front of his mother’s house. Only six years old, too young to understand, and yet faced with such terrible loss.

He would go up to him and take him by the shoulder, seeking to comfort him, and he would turn and that would be when Lan Xichen would see his face – dead eyes vacant, blood spilling from his mouth, thirty-three whip marks tearing his back apart and yet that did not seem to be the greatest blow…

The dream never changed.

And so Lan Xichen walked.

He walked, slowly and gravely, and he saw little Wangji, and he –

He’s like a little figurine!

Lan Xichen paused. It was true, of course; he’d had that thought a dozen times before when thinking of his younger brother in his youth. Just not usually in this dream.

One of the expensive ones, his bizarre train of thought continued, utterly nonsensical. The ones you can only get in the shops in the city, all pudgy-faced and red-cheeked with eyes half the size of their face. I always thought those were dreadfully unrealistic.

Perhaps a little.

They’re scary is what they are, another part of his brain thought. Can we get to the part of the dream with all the blood instead?

Seriously?

At least he’s an adult when that happens.

Fair enough.

Wait, hold up, go back, since when am I scared of dolls? I’m not scared of dolls.

Neither was Lan Xichen.

Not dolls. Creepy unliving mannikins in the shape of dolls that are almost but not quite human, that move in stuttering motion that is almost but not quite right, that smile and look at you when they shouldn’t be able to move...

Huh. Apparently I am scared of dolls, the first part of his mind thought, bemused, and Lan Xichen agreed. He’d never known about that particular phobia of his before before, but now that he thought about it, it sounded pretty awful.

He really hoped such dolls wasn’t going to be making in appearance in this dream. It was bad enough as it was.

He sighed, and lifted his foot to continue walking.

Couldn’t you just not go up to him?

What?

That’s a good point. If you already know you’re dreaming, there’s no point in just walking through it.

But…Lan Xichen always went. It’s his brother!

Maybe it’s a creepy doll. Can you really tell the difference?

Wangji was not a creepy doll. How did they get on the subject of creepy dolls, anyway?

No idea. But it’s definitely about as stupid as chickens when it comes to stupid dream thoughts.

Great. Now Lan Wangji – sitting there in all his Lan white – has transmogrified into a chicken, plump with white feathers.

Lan Xichen hoped his subconscious was happy now.

No, this is great actually. No killing livestock within the Cloud Recesses, right?

What?

If he’s a chicken, he’s immune from –

Lan Xichen woke up out of sheer frustration.

(Still better than the usual dream, he supposed.)

3

He was walking through a forest, big loping steps that ate up the ground almost like a run. There were so many things to do, and never enough time to do it in – everything was always a rush, and only the dead had time to sleep.

He was walking through a forest, and the moon was big and bright above his head, shining a dull red in the night sky, a killing moon that boded ill. He could feel the pressure of it on his shoulders like a weight, like an extra presence that never left him; it was both friend and foe, loved and hated, for it would show him the way and rob him of it at the same time.

He was walking through a forest, and he wondered to himself why his dreams recently always featured so much fucking walking.

Oh, no, now you’ve ruined the mood, some part of Lan Xichen’s brain complained, and it might actually be him, come to think of it. I was enjoying that. We were going so fast, it was almost like running.

It wasn’t anything like running.

How did you manage to stop the dream, anyway? Some other part of him thought, sounding almost wistful. You barely got five steps into it before you were making unwarranted comments.

Lucid dreaming.

Was it the moon that gave it away? I’ve never seen it hang so low or so threatening.

It’s not a moon, it’s a metaphor.

All dreams are metaphors, really, Lan Xichen protested, but he was snickering. But also, hold up, look up a second – is it just me, or doesn’t it feel like the moon looking at us?

The moon doesn’t have eyes, the smart voice said immediately. It doesn’t have eyes, so it can’t be – okay, never mind, the moon is definitely looking at us. Also, it’s angry about it.

That was because it wasn’t a moon. He really wasn’t sure what was so hard to grasp about this.

The moon is growling at us! That’s pretty hard to grasp!

If this dream is lucid, can it be changed? Lan Xichen asked, trying to force his dream self to move or dodge or something without success. The moon was getting larger in a threatening sort of way that suggested that it was coming closer. Rapidly. A change would be good right now, really –

I don’t want to be eaten by a moon! I don’t want to be eaten by a fucking moon!

Stop saying it’s a fucking moon already! It’s not a moon! It’s just Baxia!

Lan Xichen opened his eyes and sat ramrod-straight up in bed in a single movement.

“Oh, no,” he said.

4

They met in Qinghe, which had the virtue of being Nie Mingjue’s sole domain in a way Gusu wasn’t yet, for Lan Xichen, and which Lanling was likely never to be for Jin Guangyao.

“All right,” Jin Guangyao declared, stalking in through the doors looking more upset than Lan Xichen had ever seen him. “Which one of you was responsible for the chicken comment?!”

Nie Mingjue coughed.

“I knew it!”

“I wasted a great deal of time on dream analysis after that,” Lan Xichen said, because apparently they were going to be discussing this rather serious issue  affecting both himself and his two sworn brothers in the stupidest way possible and he was oddly all right with that. “I even consulted Uncle.”

Nie Mingjue coughed again, except this time it sounded less embarrassed and more like he was (badly) trying to hide laughter.

Even Jin Guangyao stopped scowling and started having to fight a smile. “Really?” he asked. “You told – about the chickens?”

“He thought it suggested a desire to settle down,” Lan Xichen confessed.

“The man wants grand-nephews,” Nie Mingjue said dryly. “You could dream of anything and he’d interpret it as wanting to settle down. Speaking of settling down, would you both like to do so? There’s calming tea.”

Qinghe had a very specific brand of tea they meant when they referred to ‘calming tea’, imported from the west and south for its reputed use in subduing even the most vicious temper, and it was most definitely not made of flowers. However, as mild intoxicants went, it didn’t have quite the same crippling effect on Lan Xichen as liquor, and he was happy to accept a cup.

“So,” Lan Xichen said after a while. “We’ve been sharing dreams.”

“It certainly appears that way,” Nie Mingjue agreed.

“How do we make it stop?” Jin Guangyao wanted to know.

“I don’t know how it started,” Lan Xichen said. “Much less how to make it stop. Unless this is familiar to either of you…?”

They both shook their heads.

“Could it have had something to do with the sworn brother ceremony?” Jin Guangyao suggested.

“Improbable,” Nie Mingjue said.

“There have been plenty of sworn brotherhoods throughout history,” Lan Xichen agreed. “Someone would have mentioned dream-sharing if it were a side effect, if only because it would be so useful.”

“Dream-sharing?” Nie Mingjue said, frowning. “That’s your problem?”

“It’s useful, but intrusive,” Jin Guangyao said. He was frowning, which he rarely did in public – or even in front of Nie Mingjue these days. The revelation had clearly shaken him deeply. “Dreams can’t be controlled. What if one of us started dreaming about, I don’t know, killing each other?”

“We would agree in advance not to take offense,” Lan Xichen assured him. “As you say, dreams cannot be controlled –”

“I don’t mind the dreams,” Nie Mingjue put in. “It’s hearing your thoughts that’s getting to me.”

They both turn to look at him.

“What?” he asked. “Oh, that hasn’t started for you two yet? Something to look forward to, because it’s a pain.”

5

They ultimately concluded that it was a curse.

A curse gone wrong, of course, but it had the markings of one, and after some research they were even able to narrow down to which one it must have been at the start.

“Why did it go so wrong?” Lan Xichen wondered, looking at the historical records they’d dug up in Qinghe’s library. “Whoever it was surely wasn’t planning on us having this sort of connection.”

“Baxia deflected it, I think,” Nie Mingjue said, and Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen shared unnerved looks.

It was one thing to know that your sworn brother had a spiritual weapon to which his soul was tied and which he sometimes spoke of as if it were a person; it was yet another to feel that bond, the foreign energy that seeped into his skull at all times, to know that his lucid dreams were due to his persistent awareness of that extra being, to be able to sense the personality that was Baxia lingering on him like a ghost. Or a guai, more accurately.

“It must have happened during or very soon after we swore our oath,” Nie Mingjue continued, oblivious as always to their disquiet. “Our qi was in parallel at that time, binding us together, and she would have been able to spread the attack between us all.”

“The ultimate goal of something like this is to drive someone mad – specifically you, da-ge, since it seems to be hitting you first and hardest." Lan Xichen said, grimacing. And given the Nie sect’s infamous tendency towards qi deviations, they might have thought they could get away with it without anyone finding out…how utterly vile. “Whoever did it must have a great deal of hatred.”

“Or not a lot to lose,” Jin Guangyao said. His hands were gripped tightly behind his back, thumbs digging into his wrists. He seemed to be thinking the word vile, vile, vile on repeat – possibly he was agreeing? Lan Xichen couldn’t quite tell; the curse was affecting him a little more slowly than his two sworn brothers. “Desperate people do desperate things.”

Nie Mingjue looked up with a frown. “Meng Yao, what do –” he started to say, then frowned, having clearly been sidetracked. “You think it’s an insult when I call you that?”

Jin Guangyao, equally distracted, stared at him. “You mean it as a compliment?”

“I don’t exactly like your father,” Nie Mingjue pointed out, sounding a bit puzzled – which, in fairness, he had never been anything but extremely obvious about his disdain for Jin Guangshan. “Why would I think adding his name to yours is a good thing? I’d rather honor the side of your blood that gave you that brain, since it isn’t the Jin sect.”

Jin Guangyao looked flattered – or, no, he didn’t look anything, but Lan Xichen was getting that distinct impression from him nevertheless. It seemed he’d reached the sensing-feelings stage: Nie Mingjue felt a little embarrassed at the reaction, and they were both feeling warmer towards each other.

Maybe they should postpone curing this thing, Lan Xichen thought briefly. If it could help them repair –

“Absolutely not,” both of his sworn brothers said together.

“We’re fixing this at once,” Nie Mingjue insisted, glaring at Lan Xichen.

“Immediately,” Jin Guangyao agreed.

Lan Xichen made a gesture of surrender. “I already have some ideas on how to cure the problem,” he said. “I won’t drag my feet, I promise.”

“Good,” Jin Guangyao said. “I would kill to get rid of this.”

“Speaking of that,” Nie Mingjue said, and he looked like he was starting to get angry, “let’s go back to that discussion of desperate people and how you were thinking about how to kill me –”

6

Lan Xichen had always respected Nie Mingjue – as a man, as a leader, as a friend – but his respect had recently reached new heights when he realized exactly how much the man wanted to murder just about other every sect leader out there, and yet didn’t.

Baxia’s unstinting support for this idea didn’t exactly help.

Jin Guangyao – who Lan Xichen was discovering to be far more vicious than his pleasant smile might have suggested – found Nie Mingjue’s grudge-bearing pettiness to be absolutely hilarious.

What about that one? he asked gleefully. Do we want to kill him?

yesevilkilldestroy, Baxia murmured. doitnow.

Please do not murder Sect Leader Lu, Lan Xichen said. He didn’t think Nie Mingjue actually would, but he felt the need to put his views out there.

I don’t know, Nie Mingjue said thoughtfully. He tried to flirt with me once.

That’s not a crime –

I was ten.

killevildestroy

I’m with da-ge on this one, Jin Guangyao chimed in. Just murder them all. I can provide an alibi.

He could provide six, in fact, each one of them smoothly unrolling like crisp paper in their mutual mind-space – they’d figured out a way to get some privacy – and Nie Mingjue huffed a mental laugh even as Lan Xichen sighed.

It would just figure that his two sworn brothers liked each other much more now that they had access to each other’s secret vicious thoughts – thoughts Nie Mingjue would never act on, given his principles, to the point that Jin Guangyao had once doubted he even had them; thoughts that Jin Guangyao thought would disgust them both, but which Nie Mingjue seemed to rather enjoy as long as Jin Guangyao never took any steps to actually execute them.

What disasters they both were.

“No murder,” Lan Xichen said sternly, futilely trying to conceal the warmth of his affection for them both.

His uncle turned to frown at him. “Xichen?”

Lan Xichen realized he’d spoken aloud by accident and flushed. “Forgive me, Uncle. I was –”

Reciting Lan sect rules!

“– contemplating the obligation not to take lives unnecessarily,” Lan Xichen said, finishing the lie almost smoothly. He’d gotten much better at it ever since the curse began.

Somewhat worse at self-restraint, though, which was a problem because he was apparently the only one of them with a functioning moral compass – Nie Mingjue had principles, which were most emphatically not the same thing (the concept of unearned mercy seemed to puzzle him, as did sympathy for people forced by circumstance), and Jin Guangyao…

Well, he tried.

Sometimes.

Mostly he faked his way through it.

Which was about what Nie Mingjue apparently did most of the time, too, so…

Lan Qiren was giving Lan Xichen a doubtful look, but seemed to accept the explanation and returned to his own meditation. Which was Lan Xichen was supposed to be doing, but Nie Mingjue was dealing with some minor sect leaders in his district with accompanying commentary by Jin Guangyao (supposedly supervising something in Lanling but actually bored out of his mind), and it was just so much more interesting…

You can meditate later, Nie Mingjue thought at him. I appreciate your level-headedness – as do my advisors. I’ve been getting compliments on how well I’m keeping my temper.

Thank A-Yao for that, Lan Xichen said. He’s the sneaky one.

I am, Jin Guangyao said, utterly shameless. And da-ge’s the straightforward one who punched my father in the face.

They all had a collective moment of gleeful bliss at the memory.

Do not damage others, Lan Xichen finally reminded them, albeit reluctantly.

Do not keep company with evil, Nie Mingjue shot back.

Do not act impulsively!

Do not argue with your family, Jin Guangyao interjected. For it does not matter who wins.

…ouch.

He got you there, Nie Mingjue crowed. A-Yao – mark your words.

Yes, yes, Jin Guangyao grumbled. I acknowledge you both as my real family now; will you stop holding the attempted murder thing over my head?

No, never, since it was quite possibly the only way to squeeze any empathy out of his (charmingly) self-absorbed sworn brother.

Anyway, it turned out well in the end, didn’t it? Nie Mingjue added. He thought I hit him because it turned out that he’d instigated the curse to be set against us.

Only you would end up getting a confession out of punching someone, da-ge, Lan Xichen said, amused. It’s positively unfair to the rest of us.

Yeah, da-ge. Leave some luck for the rest of us.

You’re acting sect leader of Lanling in light of your father’s imprisonment, Nie Mingjue reminded Jin Guangyao. How much more luck do you need?

I got that through hard work, thank you.

killevilliesLIES

…I retract the statement and request that Baxia stop glaring at me. Please.

Nie Mingjue snickered.

Lan Xichen laughed.

“A-Huan,” his uncle said. “What on earth is so funny?”

Lying was forbidden, so Lan Xichen was just – not going to explain.

Ever.

[xiyao-feels]

i've seen takes that jgy started playing turmoil before the staircase, aka wwx comments that it would take 3months for turmoil to kill nmj (ch64) so obviously jgy started playing it a long time ago, causing all of nmj's anger, all of that was his fault.

but also the novel says that jgy made a decision on the stairs or gave something up then a few days later played for nmj (ch 49) and like...idk what that could be except for killing nmj, is there something else this could be?

is wwx right? is mxtx bad at timelines? is nmj kick 3 months in the past, what is the time between 49 and 50 (when nmj dies in 2mo)

idk this whole thing is fuzzy and if you have any clarification or insight i'd like to hear it

-🦊

Fox anon! I'm glad to hear from you, and I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry I took so long to answer this—I was trying to be thorough, you all can judge whether I succeeded.

Now, I think the first thing to note here is that WWX actually and explicitly observes the Song of Clarity working when JGY is playing for NMJ before the stairs (ch 49):

Since then, Jin GuangYao would travel from Lanling to Qinghe every few days, playing Sound of Lucidity to help quell Nie MingJue rage. He tried his hardest, without speaking even a single word of complaint. Sound of Lucidity was indeed effective. Wei WuXian could clearly feel that the hostile energy within Nie MingJue was being suppressed. And, when playing the guqin, the way that the two conversed and got along even had a hint of the peace they had before they fell out. He began to think that maybe the so-called busy reestablishing the Cloud Recesses was just an excuse. Perhaps Lan XiChen simply wanted to give Nie MingJue and Jin GuangYao a chance to ease their tension.

(emphasis mine)

I think this is pretty conclusive. WWX's observations on the spot override his conclusions after a) being extensively soaked in NMJ's anger/resentment (ch 48-50) b) the entire drama afterwards at Jinlintai including being stabbed through by Jin Ling (ch 50) and c) resting and recovering for four days (ch 63).

Moreover, let's look at what WWX actually says in chapter 63:

Wei WuXian, “Jin GuangYao’s spiritual energy isn’t high. He wouldn’t have been able to take someone’s life with just seven notes. And killing him this way would’ve been too obvious. He definitely wouldn’t have chosen a song so powerful. But, if he could use the reason of playing the Song of Clarity for ChiFeng-Zun to calm his temper and continued to play it for three months, would the song be able to act as a slow poison and catalyse ChiFeng-Zun’s outburst?”

He's asking LXC questions about Turmoil, because it's new to him and he doesn't understand everything about it. I think it's pretty clear here that he's starting from how long he saw JGY play for NMJ, and asking if that would be long enough, rather than definitively stating that it would have to take three months; nor is there anything in LXC's response ("… Yes") that suggests three months is any kind of necessary minimum.

So those are the facts at hand. And imho if you look at the text in the later Empathy, there's a great deal of supporting evidence as well. There's the moment you mention, where JGY seems to be making a decision:

Nie MingJue, “Then why don’t you sacrifice yourself? Are you any nobler than them? Are you any different from them?”

Jin GuangYao stared at him. A moment later, as though he had finally either decided on something or given up on something, he replied calmly, “Yes.”

He looked up. In his expression were some of pride, some of calmness, and some of a faint insanity, “I and they, of course we are different!”

I agree with you, he's deciding to give up on NMJ—and if it's something else, what is it? If JGY isn't giving up on getting through to NMJ here, what function does this line serve in the text?

And I think it's worth noting here, as I've noted before—when JGY is talking about how different his and NMJ's positions are, he says "Your background is noble and your cultivation is high"; and the "Your background is noble" part is 你出身高贵, with the 高贵 being the "noble" part. When NMJ is asking him "Are you any nobler than them? Are you any different from them?" the "Are you any nobler than them?" is 你比他们高贵吗—so the "noble" part is, again, the same word, 高贵.  Given that JGY has just spent a great deal of breath explaining that he is different from NMJ precisely because of his less-noble background, this is very much a pair of questions that might quite justifiably make JGY feel like NMJ is just completely not understanding anything he is saying here at all. 

Besides that moment, there is the way he approaches or interacts with NMJ, which is quite noticeably different after the stairs. If you look at the beginning of the stairs, he's trying to convince NMJ to let the XY thing go: he says that if XY is locked up for life and can't hurt people, this isn't too different from him being executed, and then when NMJ does not accept this, points out that it's JGY's father's command and he cannot simply go against it as NMJ wishes. Once JGY loses his temper, he is still presenting arguments for his position—which granted is now approximately "you're being a hypocrite and you don't understand things", but he is still arguing for it—that is, he is still trying to reach NMJ; he is acting as though on some level he believes he can get through to him. 

But in attempting to convince NMJ about XY, he is not acting like someone who expects that NMJ is right about to die; because if he were expecting that, he could simply say whatever he likes to put NMJ off, knowing that he won't actually have to pay up. Similarly, in attempting to get through to NMJ via argument, however angrily, he is not treating NMJ as purely an object to be manipulated; NMJ's beliefs matter to JGY separately (I am not saying /only/ separately) from what those beliefs lead NMJ to do. To put it another way: he cares about what NMJ thinks. This too is something that prevents JGY from simply telling NMJ whatever he wishes to hear, and this, too, is lost at the stairs.

For after the stairs, telling NMJ what he wants to hear, and just telling NMJ something that will put him off because he knows or hopes he won't have to pay up, are exactly what JGY does. When he shows up at the Unclean Realm a few days later, he tells NMJ he's here to acknowledge his mistakes and that he's realized NMJ is "doing this" for him; he promises to bring NMJ XY's head in two months, and tells NMJ he can do whatever he likes with him if JGY does not. This is a significant change in behaviour from before the stairs, and in consideration with all the other evidence it seems to me that this is because, post-stairs, he no longer values what NMJ thinks of him, and he is now gambling on his killing NMJ before NMJ kills him.

The only area where he does push back now is NMJ's treatment of NHS, I suspect because he worries about what NMJ might do or continue to do to NHS in his remaining two months of life.

So: I really do think the evidence is pretty clear that JGY starts with Turmoil after the stairs, in that it is directly signalled by the text and in that all the evidence around it backs this up.

That said, I have seen other objections raised by various anti-JGY folk, and while some of them have more merit than others I think it's worth taking the time to go over them.

-JGY couldn't possibly have prepared the Turmoil music in the few days between the stairs and him starting to play for NMJ after.

Yes, I agree; he must have had it prepared earlier. But that only means that he had it prepared, not that he was using it, and while there are certainly people who will only prepare a weapon if they are sure they will use it, I really don't think JGY is among them. He might also have prepared it as evidence for his father that he was working on solving the problem.

-WWX didn't notice a difference between the music JGY was playing before the stairs and the music he was playing after; therefore, it must be the same music.

Honestly, I think that WWX just didn't notice. It's explicitly described as very subtle, and indeed he can't tell the difference between the altered passage and the rest of the song (ch 63):  

Wei WuXian withdrew the flute from his lips, “It really is this section? But I don’t find this section different at all.”

And he again observes how similar they are in chapter 64:  

And he combined them so well. They sound as though there were the same. His musical talent is indeed excellent.

His repeated observation that they sound just the same suggests that he could very well have failed to notice, I think, and indeed he would have heard the altered version more often.

There is also another explanation, entirely compatible with JGY only using Turmoil after the stairs. WWX says of JGY playing Turmoil that he must have "used little spiritual power" during the Clarity sections, and "only exerted power" during the Turmoil section (ch 64). So if we think WWX would definitely have noticed the difference, there is an explanation for how he nevertheless very clearly observed NMJ's hostile energy suppressed by the music; JGY might have been using his power during the (much longer) Clarity part, and only used a very little during Turmoil. Personally, I think that it fits better with the overall emotional arc if JGY didn't change the music he was playing until after the stairs; but I accept this isn't ruled out as a possibility.

I feel obliged to note that at one point, after I was challenged on the issue of JGY changing the music after the stairs and pointed out WWX noticing NMJ's hostile energy being suppressed, as above, I was offered as an explanation for the passage that JGY couldn't possibly have abruptly switched to Turmoil right away when he started playing for NMJ, because NMJ would have noticed that he was suddenly feeling worse; and that therefore WWX clearly feeling NMJ's hostile energy being suppressed was not really evidence that JGY was playing Clarity and not Turmoil before the stairs. But I disagree with this, on two counts.

First, it is not clear to me that NMJ would in fact notice. He does not seem to be very self-aware about the effects of the sabre curse. He explicitly denies it at the stairs, for example: "I am not [in turmoil]. I know what I'm doing" (ch 49). After he burns NHS' things, when JGY asks him if he's told NHS about the sabre curse yet, NMJ asks "Why would I tell him so soon?" even though at this point he is quite clearly being affected (ch 50). And when he kicks open the door to kill JGY in chapter 50, he seems not to think about the curse at all. Of course this last is moments before he qi deviates and dies and is therefore perhaps not representative, but it fits with the general pattern; I don't believe we ever see him consider whether his anger might be because of the sabre curse, and indeed he is hardly given to questioning the righteousness of his anger in general.

Secondly, and more abstractly...WWX observing the hostile energy being suppressed—"clearly feel[ing]" it being suppressed (ch 49)—may not be /literally/ incompatible with the idea that JGY changed music after the stairs. But a story isn't just a collection of facts, and I think by far the most natural interpretation of this, in context, is that JGY is playing Clarity and not Turmoil. Which is not of course to say you can't have a resistant reading here, but I think it's generally good practice to acknowledge when your readings are resistant readings, and especially if you have a resistant reading not to say it is the only possible reading of the facts.

-JGY has no motive for playing for NMJ other than wanting him dead.

If we assume rather that he doesn't want him dead, he pretty clearly has a motive to help keep NMJ's temper under control, both on a personal level (so NMJ doesn't attack or embarrass him) and on a political level (so NMJ doesn't lose it and embarrass JGS). I would also like to note that although it was some time ago, and it seems likely that even before the stairs JGY's feelings about NMJ are not as positive as once they were, we have seen JGY go to quite heroic lengths to save NMJ's life before, when he saves him from Wen Ruohan by misdirection and assassination then drag/carries his unconscious body rather than leave him there and make good his own escape.

-The stairs and the fan burning both happen before JGY starts playing for NMJ after the stairs; NMJ wouldn't do either of those things in his right mind…

I agree; the Nie have to deal with the sabre curse. I think it's worth pointing out, too, that aside from Clarity we don't see NMJ take any measures to try to deal with the curse, either directly in addressing the curse itself, or by preventing himself from acting excessively under the influence of the curse; it shouldn't be surprising, then, that the curse can cause such drastic incidents.

-…and the sabre curse wouldn't be strong enough.

This one really confuses me as an objection, I'm going to be honest. We can be pretty sure NMJ would have qi deviated eventually, Turmoil or no. NHS says this in chapter 26:

"The sabers of our past sect leaders were all heavy with hostile energy and killing intent. Almost every single sect leader met a sudden death from a qi deviation explosion. Their irritable tempers also had a lot to do with this."

(As a side note: the missing paragraph in the ER translation right after this has I think occasionally led people to the conclusion that it is the qi deviation and such that WWX suggests is similar to demonic cultivation, as opposed to the sabres turning murderous after the deaths of their owners—you can see the Taming Wangxian and the MDZS Translation versions for the full context of the exchange.)

So NMJ was almost sure to qi deviate eventually! Moreover, he would have greatly strengthened the sabre spirit through his extensive use of Baxia during Sunshot, and after the war he continues to pursue cultivating with the sabre, without, I think, any sign of moderation. And it seems likely that he is already showing recognizable symptoms of the curse by the time JGY starts playing for him alone, as Clarity seems intended to slow the progression of the curse and also like something relatively newly introduced—they don't seem to have been doing this since Sunshot just in case, or anything. So how then could we be sure that the sabre curse on its own would be insufficient?

-NMJ wasn't at all violent before JGY started playing for him

This is simply not true. Unfortunately we don't see much of him outside of Empathy, but looking exclusively at things that happen before JGY starts playing for him:

His reputation in Sunshot is about his destroying the Wen, contrasted with LXC's which is about saving people (ch 48):

During the Sunshot Campaign, stories of praise were told about all three of the Venerated Triad. The ones of ChiFeng-Zun were about how he swept over all obstacles, leaving not even a trace of the Wen-dogs after he finished. ZeWu-Jun—Lan XiChen—however, was different from him. After the situation of the Gusu area had settled down, Lan QiRen was able to defend it with great tenacity. Thus, Lan XiChen often travelled to aid others, saving lives from danger. In all of the Sunshot Campaign, he had countless times recovered lost territory and assisted narrow escapes. This was why people were ecstatic whenever they heard his name, as though they gained a ray of hope, a powerful trump card.

The description of his reaction to seeing MY kill the Jin captain pretty strongly suggests his initial reaction was to attack MY on the spot (ch 48):

Nie MingJue saw all of the scene. Without saying a word, he unsheathed his saber by an inch. A sharp ring pierced through the air.

Hearing the familiar sound of unsheathing, Meng Yao immediately trembled. He spun around, his soul almost evaporating, “… Sect Leader Nie?”

Nie MingJue pulled all of his saber out of its sheath. The body of the sword glared brightly, yet the blade itself vaguely glinted in the red shade of blood. Wei WuXian could feel the billowing anger from him, along with emotions of disappointment and hatred.

Meng Yao knew Nie MingJue’s character more than anyone else. He dropped the sword with a clang, “Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Nie! Please wait, please wait! I can explain!”

Even after he's listening, he ends up grabbing MY by the collar and lifting him up (ch 48). 

When he's explaining what happened with MY to LXC, he announces his intention to kill MY if he ever sees him again (ch 48), and after MY kills WRH, saving NMJ's life in doing so, and is carrying him out afterwards, he grabs his sabre from MY's hand and tries to kill MY again (ch 49). He only stops when LXC physically blocks him, and changes his mind after LXC explains that MY was in fact a spy, and I think it's worth noting that WWX believes that MY would probably have died under NMJ's attacks before LXC arrived if NMJ hadn't been heavily injured (ch 49). We're also told the brotherhood oath 3zun swear is unusually violent, in a way JGY suggests, and which LXC notably does not refute, was decided by NMJ (ch 50). Finally, while this summary of NMJ's interests is arguably from WWX's perspective, it is still notable that the only two things he's apparently interested in are "training his saberwork and killing Wen-dogs" (ch 49)—which is to say, the study of violence, and a particular and fatal application thereof. 

(Totally unrelated fun fact: I was looking at the entrance to the Phoenix Mountain Hunt for this too and apparently NMJ is seventh on the young cultivators list (ch 69). The more you know!)

I want to be very clear that I am not saying that all of NMJ's violence is unreasonable or not understandable. But that it can be reasonable and understandable does not mean that it is not violent; and it is certainly not the only reaction a person could have to the events he's reacting to. Contrast LXC, as someone rather on the other end of the spectrum.

-If NMJ were violent, JGY wouldn't risk his life killing him via Turmoil (and therefore NMJ must not be violent)

Even aside from the extensive textual evidence for NMJ's violence, I don't think this holds together. As shown above, I think it's quite clear that NMJ was in fact always a violent man, but there is absolutely no question that he's violent to JGY in his last months of life, and if you think JGY started playing Turmoil for NMJ before the stairs, then it's really extremely clear that JGY was willing to risk NMJ's violence in killing him! I think the clash between JGY's desire to live and the evident risk to his life from killing NMJ with Turmoil actually supports the position I am arguing here. Assuming we are agreed that JGY is attached to his own life, and as it's clear that as NMJ approached his end he was a danger to JGY (regardless of how that end was induced!), why was JGY playing him Turmoil?

I think the stairs make it clear to JGY that his life is not safe while NMJ is still alive. Using Turmoil, therefore, becomes a gamble he is willing to take, though still an enormously risky one: on the one hand, it appeases his father and enables him to promise NMJ he can do whatever he likes with JGY if he doesn't kill XY in two months (ch 50), a promise he obviously and understandably has no intention of keeping. But on the other hand, if NMJ doesn't die within the two months, he probably will simply kill JGY—and more than that, given his focus on JGY, he may kill JGY anyway, for some much more trivial reason. Indeed, this is exactly what almost happens just before NMJ's death, when he kicks open a door and attempts to kill JGY on the spot because JGY was complaining to LXC about NMJ's treatment of him; if LXC hadn't blocked NMJ's sabre, JGY would almost certainly have died (ch 50). But as risky as this gamble is, it is still a better bet than waiting around and hoping LXC always saves him when NMJ tries to kill him—especially taking into account the risk from his father should he do so.

-The stairs incident was good for JGY and bad for NMJ, which is evidence that JGY arranged it on purpose

...I have a lot of things to say about this position. None of them are very nice. However, as I am in fact trying to argue in good faith, I will attempt to address it as an argument.

I think this comes from a confusion of the fandom reaction to the stairs with the in-universe reaction to it. To people now, yes, looking at this makes NMJ look bad, and inspires sympathy for JGY. In-universe, however—when NMJ publically assaults JGY and tries to kill him, when he calls him Meng Yao, when he shouts he's the son of a prostitute, it's not /NMJ/ who looks bad. NMJ of course is righteous in his anger; really he's only putting that boy in his place, don't you think? I knew Chifeng-zun didn't really accept him. Etcetera. It /weakens/ JGY's position, because the cultivation world does not have the same beliefs and priorities and value judgements that we do!

Certainly if he'd actually managed to kill JGY he would suddenly have found that he had killed JGS's beloved son, the only remaining son of the Jin, a war hero, his own sworn brother who had saved NMJ's life etc etc etc. But only because then there would have been political advantage in it for JGS, and quite substantial political advantage too, and he wouldn't have to deal with JGY being around anymore. As it stands, all NMJ's actions at the stairs do for JGY is tell the world that he is vulnerable and weak and disgusting. The only significant person in-world who would find JGY more sympathetic after this incident is LXC, and frankly a) he is already deeply in sympathy with JGY and b) we don't see JGY playing it up—after LXC's appearance at the stairs rather he minimizes and soothes things, and even when we overhear his complaints to LXC around two months later he is talking about what NMJ thinks of him, and not the physical danger NMJ poses.

I will also observe that while JGY does end up losing his temper, he starts off soothing even through NMJ's first attempted assault, and only loses it after NMJ calls him Meng Yao and says "your whole thing stopped working on me since a long time ago" in front of everyone; this attempted conciliation seems an odd thing to do were he in fact trying to manipulate NMJ into assaulting him, trying to kill him, embarrassing him and weakening his position in public. You could argue that NMJ would be more angered by JGY's attempts to be soothing than he would by JGY's directness, and thus the soothing could be read as provocative, but this simply isn't backed up by the text; while NMJ was obviously already angry before JGY lost his temper, he nevertheless escalates significantly after JGY talks back.

Moreover...I think what NMJ actually does and tries to do at the stairs, in terms of violence, is sometimes not fully grasped.

The first thing he does once they're properly outside is try to hit JGY, though fortunately JGY manages to dodge. When NMJ kicks him down the stairs, even aside from calling JGY the son of a prostitute, JGY ends up rolling down more than fifty steps and acquiring a head wound—/another/ head wound, because he already had one, apparently from the physical abuse he receives at Jinlintai from Madam Jin. And finally, NMJ actually /unsheathes his sabre/ and, after LXC approaches, announces his intention to kill JGY:

Lan XiChen, “Brother, sheath your saber first—your mind is in turmoil!”

Nie MingJue, “I am not. I know what I’m doing. He’s beyond hope. If these keeps on going, he’ll do the world harm for sure. The earlier he’s killed, the earlier we can relax!”

(ch 49)

When I say that NMJ almost killed JGY at the stairs, I am not just talking about kicking him down the stairs, although that certainly could have killed JGY. I am talking about drawing his sabre on JGY with the intention of killing him. JGY would very likely have died if LXC hadn't thought they were taking too long and come to see. 

JGY can certainly take enormous risks when it's necessary—but for a risk like this he would have to be gaining something extremely significant, and I remain unconvinced he was gaining anything at all, let alone anything worth the cost.

-NMJ's actions at the stairs and his burning NHS' things are completely unrelated to any of his previous actions and motivations.

In fact, although they're certainly both significant escalations, I think that in both cases NMJ's motivations and actions draw extensively from preceding characterization.

Consider the stairs. The direct classism is certainly new, but there are several other elements that have already been established as part of NMJ's characterization: the tendency to violence, the investment in JGY behaving correctly even while ignoring incorrect behaviour around him, the approach to justice both in his particular and frequently-retributive idea of it and in his commitment to that idea, and a failure to understand the realities of JGY's position.

The violence I discussed above, and the failure to understand JGY's position has I think been discussed sufficiently elsewhere and besides would be a full post in its own right. As to NMJ's approach to justice, you can see both idea and commitment to it in his anger to the men speaking badly of MY (ch 48) and his appreciation and promotion of MY for his accomplishments (ch 48); his initial intention to kill MY after he catches him killing the Jin captain (ch 48), his subsequent insistence that MY turn himself in to the Jin (ch 48) and his intention to kill MY for his betrayal after MY tricks him and escapes (ch 48); his initial insistence that MY should pay for killing the Nie cultivators, even as he acknowledges that MY saved his life and says he will kill himself after he kills MY (ch 49); and of course in his insistence that WQ and WN should pay for their complicity with WRH, even in the face of LXC and JC's defense of them (ch 73). And in describing LWJ as "absolutely [unable to] stand wrongdoings, possibly even more than Nie HuaiSang’s brother" (ch 30), WWX implies a great deal about the extent of NMJ's inability to stand wrongdoings. Of course, not all of these instances involve NMJ seeking violent retribution as justice, but a significant portion do—about half—and it is certainly a recurring theme. This approach to justice, I should add, is certainly involved in attempting to punish JGY for his misdeeds by killing him, but it is also part of why he is so upset in the first place: in NMJ's view of things, holding XY in prison instead of executing him for his crimes is failing to see justice properly done.

The investment in JGY behaving correctly, even while caring less about the behaviour of other people around him doing the same, is likewise an established character note. WWX concludes that NMJ's desire to guide JGY is one of the main reasons he agrees to the brotherhood (ch 49); we see his disapproval of JGY associating with XY, who already has something of a bad reputation, at the Flower Banquet (ch 49); at the conference after WWX rescues the Wen, when JGY backs up his father's lie about what WWX said about JC, NMJ seems to mark it more heavily than JGS' initial lie (ch 73). And then, of course, there is this, from the scene just before JGY starts playing for NMJ (ch 49):

In reality, it wasn’t that Jin GuangYao could calm Nie MingJue’s anger, but that since Jin GuangYao came, all of Nie MingJue’s anger would be directed at him alone, having no time to scold others. Thus, there was nothing wrong with saying that he was Nie HuaiSang’s knight in shining armor.

While NMJ's actions at the stairs are certainly not something he'd have done without the sabre curse, and again the direct classism is new, it nevertheless very much ties in to his preexisting characterization.

What about the burning of NHS' things? Again, many elements of the situation derive from NMJ's preexisting characterization; in this case, his tendency to release his anger on physical objects, his desire for NHS to be a strong cultivator and his angry displeasure with NHS' actual interests and capabilities, and his threatening to burn NHS' things.

Although prior to the burning of NHS' things it seems to be usually a momentary lashing out, NMJ definitely has a history of releasing his anger on physical objects. When he is annoyed at the men speaking badly about MY, he knocks down (or carves up? the English is unclear) a boulder at the front of the cave (ch 48); when he decides not to kill MY after LXC explains MY was their spy, he carves a boulder in half (ch 49); and he cracks the top of a table by bringing his palm down on it in the scene just before JGY starts playing for him (ch 49).

As to NMJ's desire for his brother to focus on and do well at cultivation, and his displeasure at NHS' actual areas of focus, this is perhaps one of his most consistent beats of characterization. We see it in our introduction to NHS at the Cloud Recesses lectures (ch 13); in NHS' plea for WWX's help with the test (ch 14); in LXC's message to NHS from NMJ and NHS' reason for staying in CR instead of going to Caiyi Town (ch 16); in WWX's reminiscences about NHS after discussing the "Man-Eating Ridge" with the "know-it-all of Qinghe" (ch 21); in NMJ and LXC's discussion when NMJ brings LXC NHS' sabre during in Sunshot (ch 48); and of course in the scene just before JGY starts playing for NMJ, both in his initial anger at NHS' preoccupation with the fans and uncertainty about his sabre's location, and in his dismissal of NHS as a "good-for-nothing" even after his temper had faded (ch 49).

The threatening to burn NHS' things, on the other hand, I believe we only see once, and really in the form of "instructing NHS to burn certain specific things of his"; but it is in the very scene before JGY starts playing for NMJ, as NMJ tells NHS to burn the fans he has just been going over tenderly before JGY interrupts (ch 49).

Indeed, I think that scene in general is very much worth a look here, for what it has and for what it doesn't. On the one hand, we do see NHS' fear of NMJ—he literally falls to his knees in terror, and stutters even after getting up! But he also seems fairly comfortable after the worst of NMJ's anger passes, and when NMJ sends him off he goes not to his room as instructed, but to the living room for the gifts JGY has brought him. Yet many of the elements of NMJ's later destruction of NHS' things are present here, and to my mind one of the most important things about the scene is its illustration of what prevents NMJ from carrying out the threats he made in his anger. It's not that he's convinced he's being unreasonable—indeed, he doesn't seem to consciously change his mind at all. Instead it is simply that repeated interruptions and NHS's ridiculous appearance as he greets JGY end up draining his temper, and with his temper drained he no longer pursues punishing NHS. But this has obvious implications for what might happen if NMJ's anger did not diminish, and I think it's quite clear how the behaviour NMJ exhibits in this scene could lead to NMJ burning NHS' things simply by giving him a more sustained burst of temper, even as it is not something NHS ever expected to happen, or something that would happen had NMJ's temper not been worsened by the sabre curse.

To conclude this section—while NMJ's actions at the stairs and in burning NHS' things are certainly unprecedented in themselves, they are nevertheless solidly rooted in NMJ's preexisting characterization, and it's easy to see how the sabre curse could lead to these extreme escalations. 

To conclude the post, I think the direct evidence is quite clear that JGY was playing Clarity before the stairs, and I think the indirect evidence also significantly supports it; nor am I convinced by various objections I have seen, for reasons I hope I have conveyed.

[no--envies]

I've seen people suggest LXC is as guilty as everyone else for WWX's downfall and the murder of the Wen remnants, either because he knew they were just a bunch of weak and old people and didn't care, or because he was too naive and he should have gone to the Burial Mounds to investigate for himself.

With this post I aim to analyse the events leading to WWX's downfall from the point of view of characters who acted in good faith without having all the necessary information. I'm bringing LXC as an example because he's one of the less culpable in the whole matter, but similar considerations could be made about several other characters.

First of all, as far as we know LXC didn't personally take part in the first siege of the Burial Mounds, since the novel states that the Lan Sect was led by LQR.

Back then, during the first siege of Burial Mound, Jin GuangShan led the LanlingJin Sect, while Jiang Cheng led the YunmengJiang Sect; Lan QiRen led the GusuLan Sect, while Nie MingJue led the QingheNie Sect. The former two were the main forces, the latter two could’ve gone without.

(Chapter 68)

The other three main sects were led by their respective leaders, so why was the Lan Sect the only one that was led by someone else? My own interpretation is that LXC wanted to stay with his brother while he was recovering from his injuries and he didn't want to be an active participant in the siege that would kill his brother's beloved, despite personally disapproving of WWX's actions. One could argue that letting LQR lead the Lan Sect in the siege still meant giving his tacit approval, which is not wrong, but what should be considered is that the cultivation world didn't plan a siege against WWX because he had taken a bunch of prisoners of war and sheltered them in the Burial Mounds, but because he had killed hundreds of cultivators at Qiongqi Path and a lot more at Nightless City.

Before WN lost control and killed thirty people at Koi Tower - the time he and WQ had gone to turn themselves in - the situation wasn't so dire for WWX yet. The Wen siblings' sentence was still being discussed by the sects. WN mentions that LWJ spoke up for him and his sister back then (chapter 89), which suggests the Lan Sect as a whole hadn't taken an antagonistic stance against WWX yet. LWJ probably tried to bring what he had seen of the Wen remnants and their peaceful settlement as proof that they hadn't done anything to deserve being sentenced to death.

Unfortunately, after that WN lost control of himself and attacked the cultivators who were present at the discussion, which gave even the Lan and Nie Sects a reason to hold a grudge against WWX, since some of the victims were from their Sects as well.

“The Ghost General really is fierce… Said he was there to give himself in, but then he suddenly flipped out. He slaughtered again, this time in Koi Tower.”

[...]

“Wei Ying, though, he shouldn’t have made him if he can’t control it. Created a mad dog and he didn’t leash it. Sooner or later, he’s gonna be faced with a qi deviation. With the way things have been, I doubt the day is that far away.”

[...]

“How unfortunate for the LanlingJin Sect.”

“Things were even worse for the GusuLan Sect! Over half of the thirty-or-so people were from their sect. They were clearly only there to help calm things down.”

(Chapter 77)

A few of the QingheNie Sect’s disciples died in the hands of Wen Ning as well. Nie MingJue spoke coldly, “What arrogance.”

(Chapter 78)

The text explicitly states that the cultivators from the Lan Sect who were present at Koi Tower were only there to "help calm things down", which means they weren't trying to accuse WWX and the Wen remnants. At the time, the Lan Sect's general stance about WWX appeared to be mostly neutral (the same could be said of the Nie Sect). LWJ's own attitude toward the Burial Mounds settlement could be considered mostly neutral as well, at least until WN and WQ (and then WWX) really needed his help.

An argument I’ve seen brought up often is that, if everyone had known the Wen remnants were just farming and living as ordinary peasants, a lot more people would have chosen to help them. However, the main issue wasn't how they were living in the Burial Mounds (which nobody knew except JC, LWJ and maybe LXC), but their role in the war. Not only were they all cultivators from the Wen Clan, despite being very weak, but WQ was favored by WRH, which made her involvement in her sect's crimes even more likely despite her good reputation. Nobody had heard of her killing anyone, but how could they be sure? Besides, the Lan Sect didn't owe any debt of gratitude to the Wen siblings. The Wen Sect had burned the Cloud Recesses and killed LXC and LWJ's father. NMJ held a personal grudge against the Wen Sect because WRH had killed his father, plus his own black-and-white morality made him judge WQ for not opposing WRH in any way. LXC and NMJ had no reason to go out of their way to help WWX and the Wen remnants, but before the bloodbath of Nightless City they didn't do anything to harm them, either.

We also have to take into consideration the world MDZS is set in; that is, a fantasy version of ancient China where revenge is absolutely justified and is considered an act of justice. Even wiping out entire Sects in revenge isn't necessarily condemned, since JGY did that for the alleged murder of his son and nobody criticized him for it until they learned of all the crimes he had commited and realized those people had most likely been framed by him. Xue Yang was obviously despised by everyone for what he did to the Chang Clan because his revenge was considered exceedingly disproportionate to Chang Cian's offense. Xiao Xingchen illustrates society's point of view on the matter very well when he says cutting Chang Cian's finger or even his entire arm would have been entirely reasonable.

So, as long as it was deemed proportionate to the offense, revenge was justified. Putting all the Wen survivors who had taken part in the war into a labor camp was considered a justified punishment in universe. The sects refused to admit the guards had actually abused the prisoners, suggesting that was going too far, but taking revenge against them by putting them in labor camps was totally accepted. Even WWX - who the novel portrays as morally correct most of the time - doesn’t condemn it. He himself used very cruel and ruthless methods to take revenge against his enemies during the Sunshot Campaign, so it would be kind of hypocritical if he opposed their punishment post-war. He does point out that people consider every Wen cultivator guilty by association just for being part of the Wen Clan, without really caring about the actual crimes they have committed, but he only rescues the cultivators from WN's branch, who he knows didn't take part in the atrocities committed by the Wen Sect.

Murdering the Wen remnants settled in the Burial Mounds was wrong even in universe because they were innocent. They hadn't killed anyone during the war and the Wen siblings' help was absolutely essential for WWX and JC when they were on the run. Without them the Jiang Sect wouldn't even exist anymore. This was a huge deal considering the importance of debts in universe and could have swayed public opinion in their favor. NMJ criticized WQ for not doing anything to actively oppose WRH during the war, but the thing is that she had. She had sheltered the Jiang Sect's heir and head disciple, the same people who contributed to the Sunshot Campaign as one of the main forces.

The problem is that no one knew about this except WWX and JC themselves. JC, who had the authority and credibility to defend what WWX had done in the prison camp, didn't show much conviction the one time he tried to speak up for him, so the other sects probably assumed he was just trying to excuse his right-hand man's inexcusable actions and that WWX had become too corrupted by his demonic cultivation and was too unpredictable and dangerous. When JC went to investigate what WWX was actually doing in the Burial Mounds, he came back saying WWX had defected from the Jiang Sect and was an enemy to the cultivation world (chapter 73), apparently confirming WWX had finally lost it because of all the resentful energies he used and was a potential threat to them all.

However, a really important thing to consider is that the cultivation world waited two years to besiege WWX. They didn't immediately charge to attack him or believe all the rumors about WWX. The sects definitely behaved like sheep, but they weren't that stupid. They knew most of the things that were said were probably exaggerated rumors, so they were just observing the situation and waiting to see what he would do. LXC, NMJ and the other cultivators who weren't in bad faith (those who weren't driven by their greed, ambition, resentment or jealousy) were all part of this general category. They had no reason to doubt JC's words, who was a fellow sect leader and WWX's close friend, and many of them had seen for themselves how threatening WWX had acted during the banquet at Koi Tower, when he said nobody could stop him if he wanted to kill someone, so they had no reason to believe WWX's reputation was being unfairly tarnished.

During the two years WWX spent in the Burial Mounds and nobody really knew what he was up to, a lot of rumors were spread about him. Some people thought he was trying to build an army of fierce corpses with their consciousness awakened like WN; others suggested he wanted to found his own sect of demonic cultivators and even took disciples, like the banners in Yiling seemed to indicate. They considered WWX a potential threat, but not enough to actually take action against him. The fact that LWJ waited months before going to check the situation in the Burial Mounds is very telling. He knew the cultivation world was at a standstill with WWX, so despite being worried for WWX he knew there wasn't any immediate danger for him. He might have been too busy with his own sect matters and going wherever the chaos was, but we've seen how LWJ behaves when he thinks WWX is in grave and immediate danger. The way he acted during the night of the bloodbath of Nightless City shows it very well: LWJ did his best to help as many people as he could, but WWX was his priority.

Of course, having only partial information doesn't excuse the sects for everything. They definitely had their faults regardless of how much they knew. They should have given WWX a chance to explain himself about the ambush at Qiongqi Path and the incident at Koi Tower instead of deciding to besiege him. They didn't even care if he was actually guilty or not of cursing Jin Zixun, or that he was the one who had been ambushed on the way to his nephew's full-month celebration. All that mattered to them was that he had lost control and killed hundreds of cultivators, including the Jin heir. They took this as proof of how dangerous and uncontrollable he was, which wasn't completely unfounded. He was dangerous when he wanted to be and he did lose control. Taking this information without all the context we as an audience are aware of - that he was only trying to repay a debt and didn't want to harm anyone, that Jin Zixun provoked him so much it was almost inevitable for him to lose control - doesn't look good at all.

Again, the sects did behave like sheep. The novel portrays WWX as the hero and his decision to rescue the Wen remnants as morally correct. Most of the cultivators who contributed to WWX's downfall were a bunch of hypocrites who couldn't see past their own self-righteousness. But characters like NMJ and LQR are portrayed as generally righteous people, so the fact that they took part in the siege proves not everyone was in bad faith. Nobody really knew why WWX had rescued the Wen remnants and his reasons for wanting to protect them, or why he had invented demonic cultivation in the first place. They just knew he did very questionable things like digging up graves during the war, that he acted arrogantly all the time and even started killing their own people. We as an audience know why he did all these things, but they didn't.

Also, after the bloodbath of Nightless City it was objectively hard to defend WWX's actions. He wasn't clear-headed at all that night and when he activated the Tiger Seal he was already in a half-unconscious state. His overall situation was too much for anyone to be able to stand it, but this doesn't mean what he did was right. The fact that he destroyed the Tiger Seal after returning to the Burial Mounds suggests not even he was proud of all the people he killed that night. WWX isn't infallible and makes mistakes because he's human like anyone else, despite being an overall heroic and selfless person. Even LWJ, who was the only one that still trusted WWX's heart and morals, couldn't really justify what he did at Nightless City. He only told LXC that no matter right or wrong, he was willing to face all the consequences with WWX anyway (chapter 99), because he understood his true nature and knew his outlook and values were the same as his own. But most people didn't know him as well as LWJ did. From the sects’ point of view, the bloodbath of Nightless City was the ultimate proof that WWX was the scourge of the cultivation world.

I'm not trying to say LXC is perfect or that he couldn't have done more, but we should take his own point of view into consideration when we judge his actions (or non-actions). LWJ didn't do much more than him during WWX's first life and what he did ultimately wasn't enough to save WWX (I don’t think it’s his fault, he was in an objectively difficult position), but the fandom doesn’t criticize him as much as they do with LXC, because after WWX came back LWJ's support for him was flawless. But LXC wasn't in love with WWX. He hadn't observed him since he was a teenager like LWJ had done because of his huge crush on him. We shouldn't underestimate the importance of debts in universe and how information in general can affect people's perceptions. Even LWJ stayed mostly still during WWX’s first life because he didn't have all the information and didn't know why WWX had left the bright broad road to start cultivating with resentful energies.

WWX is the protagonist, the hero of the story and the character whose point of view most of the novel is narrated from, so it's easy for the audience to empathize with him and understand his perspective. It's really interesting that even WWX has a good opinion of LXC and NMJ (and mostly respects LQR) despite their role in his downfall. It's not just because of his forgiving nature, since we see him criticize the hypocrisy of the sects a lot of times, but because he recognizes they were in good faith and they had their reasons for behaving like they did, despite the mistakes they might have made.