#like i don't think post-canon wwx is gonna be getting mad at the lans for attending the pledge conference 😶

[grewlikefancyflowers]

unpopular opinion time but i'm thinking about how people are often like 'well the lans were at the pledge conference/siege too!!!' like yeah they were there because wen ning had killed multiple members of their clan in an unprovoked attack after they'd travelled to jinlin tai to defend him & wen qing ????

obviously the reader knows that wwx was not responsible for this (he was restrained all the way back in the burial mound). but the lans (and everyone else) has no idea. and at this point, to be honest, how can they reasonably be expected to question whether there's some misunderstanding or justification behind it?

i mean, wwx had wen ning kill four of the labour camp guards, in what the guards claim was an unprovoked and unjustified attack. when asked for an explanation, wwx's own sect leader does not dispute this, instead he publicly fights with wwx then declares to everyone that he is their enemy.

then jzx, and who-knows how many other jins are killed at qiongqi path. it's safe to assume that the jins did not make it public knowledge that they'd ambushed their own guest on his way to see them, and instead spun some other tale about it.

we don't know exactly what the lans thought of it, but we do know that they spoke up for the wen siblings. they obviously weren't willing to blindly follow the jins or condemn wwx & the wen remnants at this point. they only ever agreed to take any action against the burial mound settlement after wen ning had already killed several lans.

like idk i think it's fairly reasonable after two incidents or supposed unprovoked massacres and a third confirmed one to conclude that the guy behind it might actually have done all that. especially when the guy in particular has a reputation for mass, brutal killings and has made threats against them in the past 🤷��‍♀️

and i think it's a disservice to mdzs to read it through some 'society=bad' lens. like sure, we do see mob mentality and widespread hypocrisy and misplaced resentment against convenient targets. but the events of mdzs didn't just happen by accident ?? it was orchestrated by the most powerful in society to suit their own agendas.

fear and hatred of wwx was so widespread because jgs lied about him, because he had him ambushed and gave him no choice but to fight back. and because jc refused to support wwx's statements that they owed a debt to wn's branch of the wen sect & they hadn't participated in the war. and because jc withheld the truth about what happened to wen ning and why wwx released them and instead told everyone that wwx has made himself their enemy!!

i guess these arguments come about because people are defending wwx's actions at nightless city, but you don't need to paint the jianghu side as motivated purely by evil intentions in order for wwx to have done nothing wrong?? it doesn't matter if they had real justification to be there or not??

they all voluntarily agreed to attack him, he fought back, how could they expect anything else ?? they're not victims of the battle that they volunteered for & instigated. and if their army of 3000 or 5000 or whatever still isn't strong enough to defeat him then that's their problem, not wwx's lol.

[vrishchikawrites]

I can't help but dislike lan xichen because he called wei wuxian a mistake. I know he's a good character and he had ever reason to be upset, but something about that conversation just bothers me. I don't know why it does.

​Hm, I get you. I think this is a clear example of a character's actions having a different impact on the reader than on the plot.

Plot-wise, Xichen's reaction is 100% justified. He a worried older brother. He knows LWJ loves WWX and has been rejected by him. He is concerned that LWJ would get his heart broken again. It is an understandable concern. When you look at everything objectively, we have no reason to be angry at LXC for his reaction.

But the readers have just gone through 100 chapters of people just having a go at WWX for every fucking thing, whether it is his fault or not, with not a single apology in sight.

That's why we see many people so unreasonably pissed at LXC.

It is just another thing that WWX has to silently accept. When he was kid, he was called a bastard and abused. That abuse goes unacknowledged. The fall of LP is laid at his feet, he has to deal with it. He pays off his debt and goes through horrifying trauma, that goes unacknowledged too. He faces a lot of injustice and accusations (a lot of times those accusations are baseless and spiteful), he has to accept and brush it aside. He does this again and again. Not a single person acknowledges that it was wrong to put a man through this.

LXC then comes along to say WWX is LWJ's only mistake. WWX again brushes it aside and focuses on important matters. But it has to hurt. WWX loves LWJ at this point. He just as to accept that the entire Lan clan probably thinks the same (with good reason in their eyes but that doesn't change the fact that it will hurt) Then we have LQR at CR post canon asking everyone to stay away from WWX. He brushes it aside. Look, WWX understood that the juniors turned and walked away from him because of LQR's rule and they would meet anyways. But it was still another injustice. Remember this point for me, I will come back to it.

Everything, he just has to deal with and forget. Not one time does anyone acknowledge the shit people just carelessly hurl at WWX and forget about it.

WWX being WWX, he doesn't care and will probably continue to live happily. But he has taken a lot of hits with no resolution from everyone. By this stage, readers have reached saturation point with the amount of BS WWX has to put up with and forgive.

LWJ loves WWX and that is the only saving grace in this entire situation.

LXC is like the last straw off the camel's back, so to speak. This is another careless, hurtful comment flung at WWX in anger and WWX is just made to bear it.

It is natural to be a little pissed at LXC, even if it is unreasonable. After all, LWJ is the only person WWX has in his corner (aside from WN). By calling WWX LWJ's mistake, LXC essentially said WWX didn't deserve even that bit of happiness.

But that is a reader's emotional response to the story. It isn't actually LXC's character at fault. He is being perfectly reasonable given how much information he has.

The fact is, readers are invested in WWX by this point and we're being told -yeah people just fling accusations and abuses at the character we want you to love, no one apologizes for it, even the kind older brother thinks he's trash, but the guy we made you love is just gonna shrug it all off and be happy because that's just him. And you can't be a little bit mad about it.

Lmao, that's a bit of excellent writing but it is also immensely irritating.

Now, onto a more serious observation. WWX is essentially alone and socially isolated at this point. Before his death, he had WQ, WN, and the remnants with him.

Post canon, he only has LWJ and WN and even WN rightfully chooses to live his own life.

We love and trust LWJ but that man has a rock solid support system. A brother, an uncle, a sect, society's respect, status, and wealth.

WWX has none of that. As attached readers, we're asked to trust a beloved character into a family where - one important member thinks WWX is a mistake and the other actively tries to keep him away from other sect members.

Then we're asked to trust that LWJ is all WWX will ever need. I can tell you- in marriage, you need a few people other than your spouse to stay in your corner if there's conflict. Even if the conflict is minor. The situation here is - WWX lacks a support system outside of LWJ. LWJ's family and the society as a whole will consider it ABSOLUTELY HIS FAULT if things go even a little sideways.

That, nonny, is something that people may realize and feel very uncomfortable about. That may be one of the reasons why LXC words hit a little harder. Because of course, the sect leader and brother's first concern is gonna be LWJ if there's an event where LWJ needs protecting from WWX.

But who protects WWX if he, in an unlikely event, needs protecting from LWJ?

(I want to make it clear that I don't consider WWX weak or vulnerable. He can take care of himself even if the entire world turns again him. and he certainly won't face any issues with lwj by his side. But it is a situation that can be a tad troubling if you look too deeply. )

[crossdressingdeath]

I don't blame LXC for being taken in by a master manipulator. I do think he was a bit naive when it came to JGY and NMJs relationship, but I can understand why he would try to foster a better relationship between them. It's just I know how you can love two ppl dearly but it doesn't take long to learn that they should avoid all contact if possible.

Anyways, something that does rub me the wrong way (I have an infamously bad memory so correct me if I'm wrong) is that I can't recall any instance post resurrection where he expressed regret or remorse over the fate of the wen remnants. Considering that WWX was the wens protector and the reason he became YL you would think it would have come up at some point, especially considering that he had to know that his brothers ward/son was one of them. And then like the only time LXC actually gets truly angry is in the temple when he's confronting WWX about LWJ and something that happened after a majorly traumatic and exhausting event... that WWX died not long after.

Beyond all that, I wouldn't've been surprised if WWX had lost some of his memories due to being dead, especially if his soul was shattered/damaged as I think the book implies. The soul sacrifice may have reformed his soul, but nothing can be put back to the way it was before it broke. Something is gonna get lost. I love it when fics consider the implications of WWXs death and the soul sacrifice.

If I don't stop now I'll be adding like 3 more fics to my WIP list.

But to sum it up. I love LXC. He is v human. WWX post resurrection soul angst is good.

The thing that gets me with LXC is that both NMJ and JGY agreed to swear the oath of brotherhood; he had every reason to believe they wanted to improve their relationship! In fact it’s entirely possible that they did want to improve their relationship at first! It’s not him forcing two people who hate each other to interact against their will, it’s him thinking that these two people want to get along and are just struggling to do so. Thinking of it that way, his belief that they can get along with time and effort makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it?

To be entirely fair to LXC, when he gets angry at WWX I didn’t get the impression that he was necessarily mad at WWX for rejecting LWJ, exactly. Maybe angry about how harsh he was about it (which given the circumstances wasn’t really fair but I feel like the fact that he’s LWJ’s older brother has to be taken into account here; you can’t really expect him to be rational about something that hurt someone he loves so much), but I don’t think that was the main cause. I got the sense he was angry because (as far as he knew) WWX rejected LWJ in no uncertain terms and then came back and started flirting with him all the time with zero mention of LWJ’s feelings or an apology for his reaction. Basically, LXC was mad because he thought WWX was toying with LWJ, not because he rejected him. Which is very fair, and I think at some point post-canon once things settled down a bit LXC would apologise for assuming the worst of him. And yeah, you’d think the Wen remnants would come up at some point, but personally I feel like that was a combination of WWX’s “leave the past in the past” mentality combined with the fact that he may well have been aware or learned later on that the Lans didn’t actually know what was going on; if he’s not going to demand justice or even an explanation from JC, it would hardly be fair to demand it from LXC! WWX is aware enough of how bad misplaced retribution can get that I feel like he’d be more likely to let it go entirely than turn it on LXC, who was quite possibly the least involved of the four sect leaders active at the time of the siege and also knowingly sheltered the last of the Wens. It’s another thing where I assume it would be discussed at some point, it just doesn’t come up in canon.

And yeah, it’s interesting to consider what the lasting effects of dying horribly and then being resurrected may have had on WWX. I mean, it would make sense that there were some! It’s a big thing! If nothing else dying horribly would fuck up your mental health just a bit.