#where ppl said ‘wei wuxian is dead!’

[wangxian-the-zhijis]

Someone attached a link to ep1 but it isn’t available in my country. So here’s one that’s available in my country. Hope this helps others too!

It’s available in Netflix! (In YouTube, I think only the first 3 episodes are available in full)

AO3 Top Relationships Bracket - THIRD PLACE

This poll is a celebration of fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[elmaxlys]

This was a super weird dream, in a good way? Like it was super interesting in a way I can't really describe. It was a new CSM chapter somehow (that I lived, not read), involving a character named Hyuun who WASN'T drawn in the CSM style and rather looked like he belonged in MDZS (I say that because Wei Wuxian made a guest appearance). Hyuun (also known as Sakizawa Shoto by his former owners, bc he was a slave) was an assassin of sorts. When he was a kid, he was, as I said, a slave to some guy he both loved and hated who looked like if Shou Tucker had a soul and a wife still (I say that because Edward Elric made a guest appearance).

So like, we're seeing a flashback, from street kid Hyuun luring customers to Owner's place bc they want one just like him. He takes them to the shop, and there are, like, only shops like that in the street and Hyuun hesitates to take him to another becsuse he doesn't like the guy that talked to him. But he still does his job, and when Owner and Customer talk, he's hiding behind some furniture in the far corner of the room. He can hear them talk, there's even Wife, but he can't see them.

Flashback over- back to present where Denji, no chainsaw head, only chainsaw hands, has his eyes wide and on his side there's one single flashback panel: they knew each other as street kids before Hyuun got taken. Hyuun also recognizes him and starts to back away and then outright flees. There's a chase scene on the rooftops until finally Denji catches up. But too late. Hyuun already bit a poison pill AND his tongue for good measures and collapses on the ground. (ground ground they're no longer on the roofs. why is it roofs and not rooves??) Denji screams for help and tries to make him spit the poison and then he notices the tongue thing and Hyuun's eyes are losing their light and Denji lies down on him, with his head in the crook of his neck and chest and the chapter ends there.

I read some posts about it, I make some of my own, which is why I remember it's CSM lmao I had to tag billions of spoiler warnings for that death. It was, specifically, CSM 149 lol. I was, like, pacing in my room and wanting to scream my lungs out (Hyuun was a favorite). I went to my DeviantArt page, which I was apparently still using, to look at some TG art and found very good Matsurie paintings in my own gallery (except that Matsuri didn't have his beard) and I was like??? I don't remember painting that.

Then scene change, back in the black and white world of Hyuun dying. Denji dragged Hyuun's body to his former Owner's place, as they were among the only ones not to have deserted the city and therefore they should have something to help. Owner wasn't there when they got there so Denji starts looking through things to get medicine. But then Owner gets back, not with Wife but with Wei Wuxian, as he was treating with him for... business idk. Denji has to fight the urge to fight or flight but gets in front of them like. I need help. And he leads them to Hyuun's body and Owner is like "Sakizawa?" and Denji answers back "his name is Hyuun" and Wei Wuxian gets close and both him and Owner say his life is gone.

Scene change, we're now outside, Denji still dragging Hyuun's body. He gets to the city place and looks up at the moon. Wei Wuxian is there and they don't exchange words but I'm pretty sure he proposed that he'd make him come back as a Wen Ning of sorts (sorry I don't remember the exact terms). Denji looks conflicted and heartbroken, but then guess who gets there? Edward Elric, probably summoned by the mere idea of bringing someone back from the dead. He has a foldable bike, don't ask me why. He folds it back and walks toward them and says something and I can still hear his voice but I have no idea what he said. Dream ends.

For the stats: first part lived through Hyuun's eyes. 2nd part, regular old me, only online so ppl called me elmax. 3rd part seen all externally.

[timetoboldlygo]

it’s so funny that after attacking the wens to get their swords back, the disciples.... give wei wuxian’s sword to lan wangji instead of jiang cheng, his brother and sect leader . what are you implying here . are you implying they’re married i know u r--

au where wei wuxian comes back from the burial mounds and jiang cheng is like “oh thank god i was NOT prepared to have to deal with my widower brother in law” and wei wuxian is like . what? 

jc is like “yeah u know ur husband??? ur husband that u married who i gave ur sword to because we thought u were dead? remember how fucking stupid you were over him? you couldn’t stop talking about him and u said you share a life’s purpose? YOU KNOW, YOUR HUSBAND?”

lan wangji is absolutely paralyzed, def considering just fuckin booking it. he has no idea how it’s happened, about running away, not at all sure what’s happened but he’s not been.... saying ANYTHING when people ask his relationship to wei wuxian and now people have ASSUMED that they’re married and this isn’t the time but lan wangji WANTS to be his husband and he DOES have suibian tucked in his belt-- and yeah all of sudden all the comments ppl have been making make a LOT MORE SENSE

wei wuxian, who is absolutely going to play along because he still thinks he's playing gay chicken just turns around and goes “oh yes of course my husband!” and gives lan zhan that gorgeous, beautiful smile, the real one. “lan zhan, you’re my husband and I missed you! did you miss me?”

lan wangji, going for fucking broke: yes. every day

[icecreamkink]

watched all of the untamed / cql in two weeks after my friend 1 told me abt mdzs a hundred years ago and my friends 2 and 3 tried to get me into cql for like two whole years and there are.

feelings.

very first scene is a very dramatic death in the middle of nightmare battle on sith planet land . i will forget abt it in the next tenish episodes and then will be very surprised when it becomes Extremely Painful

anyway magic flying gays and possession and human sacrifice! we are off to a great start

in retrospect, chaos goblin wei wuxian must have had a blast pretending to be so cRaZy and be as disruptive as he could as mo xuanyu lbr

listen. why is fire always evil coded. cant a magic clan wear red, black and orange and have flame motif while being wholesome?

For Legal Reasons These Are Not Zombies

i wish the politics of the sect were a bit clearer, especially at the beggining when the wen clan had sm power, was wen ruohan the chief cultivator? is that why they were so slow in responding to the attacks? im v confused by the pre yiling patriarch politics

fighting in the roof by the moonlight as way of flirtiiiiiiing. as i understand this is a wuxia/xianxia trope and honestly...... thank u for ur service

slight bullying and being a nuisance in general, as a way of flirting we love to see it

wwx: if i drink on the rooftop, thats not inside the cloud recesses! hmmm check and mate :D lwj: i will fuck u up so help me god   wwx: :0

i lov them

through hell or high water (quite literally) wei wuxian rem ains a trashfire gremlin till the end and i love him with my whole heart

in the pt subs wei wuxian calls jiang cheng a stubborn duck and i dearly wish that had come back

my opinions on almost every character goes from love to hate u - Hmm Me Like U - BABY. ILY. and i am Very Pleased w that. its been a while since i loved such a complete cast so much i think

no really. i WONT go into a detailed rant abt what i love about each of these characters and each of their relationships to each other. but i COULD. 

some lan disciples in the loudest whisper ever: YEAH THATS THE JIN BASTARD MENG YAO HEARD THE GOT SUPER HUMILIATED BY HIS DAD LOL SURE HOPE HE DOESNT TAKE SLIGHTS TO HIS CHARACTER TO HEART

lan xichen, immediately: i must Love him 

being into problematic ppl is in the Lan genetics, we come to realize

wen qing deserves so many awards for so many things but not snapping and just stabbing wen chao is at the top 

that scene at lan qirens class where wwx talks about using resentful energy to fight a violent spirit. exquisite.

 It establishes Good Student lan wangji, wei wuxian as curious and questioning and not afraid of taboo,  lwj sees that wwx is not, in fact, a dumb ass hes just a Dumbass,  shows us the audience (esp. a western audience) how shocking the idea of disrupting the dead/dying and controlling resentful energy actually is,  the theoretical foreshadow arguing, everyone else like ‘shUT UP’,  “and how could you ensure that the resentful energy would obey you and not hurt other?” “well i havent thought that far” and of course, lan qiren just straight up lobbing a hard object at wwx head,. chefs kiss

fellas is it gay to bother the hot rule obessessed nerd from ur school and make drawings of him with flowers in his hair and then hide gay porn in his book to antagonize him and ask him to hold ur hand and be ur friend and talk to him all the time and get him drunk and give him bunnies bc you know he likes them and give him a lantern and always want his attention and dedicate yourself to getting him to smile-

and after all of that wwx rly said oh i Admire him, aksd like yeah we all were there in high school buddy

i have Learned. caves = gay.

 accidental marriage +beint physically tied together with the sacred married ribbon+ gay panic+foreshadowing+bunnies! in the cave (1)

the story abt lan yi and baoshan sanren tho. i would like to see it

early days wen bros pull my heart strings like a guqin 

EVERYTHING about the lantern scene; disaster hets jiang yanli and jin zixuan; how wwx made lwj a bunny lantern. how soft and touched lwj was. wwx gleefully pointing out he was smiling and lwj IMMEDIATELY PULLING HIW SWORD ON HIM LMAO. tragically foreshadowy promises to do right by pepople, living without regrets. lwjs 'oh no do i love him??' face. just. all of it. 

i have it on good acc that in the novel lwj is explicitly Repressed Gay Panicked Big Horny which is delightful and rly Adds to the performance

 baby lwj is really just conceal dont feel dont let them know u have EMOTIONS (derogatory)

jiang cheng rly went "why dont.u go play with HIM if u like him so much"

jc and wwx have big BIG annoying sibling energy dont think too hard abt it or youll cry

lotus pier is soo pretty :((((((((((((((((

up until episode 13 you could think this could be a magical ancient chinese gays pride n prejudice w swords and shenanigans ................youre just not prepared for the game of thrones of it all

seriously ha ha ha i cried so much w this show my eyes genuinely swelled up . like. physically. fun timez fun timez

that being said, its hilarious that wen xu goes to cloud recesses like 'come out or ill kill all these hostages' and then DOESNT WAIT FOR AN ASWER AND KILLS THEM ALL IMMEDIATELY. do u know how blackmail works sir

 would like to make it recorded that from day one i was like 'CALL A GODDAMN CULTIVATION G20 THIS ASSHOLE SECT IS LITERALLY MASSACRING YALL!!' and it took them like 3 or 4 massacres to do anything and they STILL sent their heirs into their territory  LIKE

when wwx cites the gusu lan rules to wen chao tho. that rebel/attention whore/cutie pie 'look lan zhan i DID memorize the rules after all' ‘also a big fuck you to the wen sect :D :D’ sweet spot that scene achieves . delicious

all the cultivator young masters being petty af even though they are practically prisoners at the cave is hilarious and i love them

hurt and comfort + gay mistunderstandings + watsonian gay declaration music + accidental evil acquisition! at the cave (2)

its like where do i start? the fact theyre both trapped and kind of heavily injured inside an isolated cave with a murder turtle? wwx gay panicking lwj into coughing up bad blood? lwj being jealous as wwx babbles abt mianmian? telling him he shouldnt play with people and wwx saying he never played him? wwx going Oh. I See what is happening. YOU like mianmian, and lwj absolute done face ??? (iconic) wwx touching the sacred married ribbon Again? the telepathic communication? the sword? WEI WUXIAN ASKING LAN WANGJI TO SING TO HIM AS HE IS PASSING OUT AND LWJ SINGING HIM. THE SONG. HE WROTE. FOR WWX. AND THAT HE CALLED. THEIR SHIP NAME????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

they are SO insufferable pleeeeease

in the words of my friend 1 : “CQL is so gay we were all amazed how it got past the censors Ofc unfortunately it can't be novel level gay But they did their best And we love them for it”

in the theme of songs THIS OST. WUJI HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY MIND RENT FREE SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT the whole ost is so so sO beautiful.

 the costuming in this is also soooo exquisite. the embroidery? the fabrics? the details? how every sect and clan has a distinct style and architecture? (also ik they based each off of dif periods in chinese history which is REALLY fucking cool) just chefs kiss

the direction too!. i enjoy the unusual camera movements and i think they give it that Vibe, also their composition is PARTICULARLY good when it comes to telling the subtext through position of camera/position of character (like nhs off to the side in scenes he at first glance doesnt need to be/ how lwj is often centered when hes Jealous Yearning at wwx being affectionate w other ppl, wwx return from burial mounds etc)

ik madam yu is like Badass Milf Check and shes not getting any mom of the year awards but im delighted at how messy she is. IMAGINE that woman on tiktok

you better have enjoyed gay cave (2) bc its Just Pain from here on out! 

jiang fengmian and madame yu win the Most Dramatic Way to show they do care about each other, actually ..... ever :)

i thought jiang yanli jiang cheng and wei wuxian forcing themselves to escape yunmeng barely holding on after their parents are killed was going to be the height of pain in this show. ha. 

the family dynamics in general on this showwwww, both blood/ adopted/ found families, brotherly bonds and lifelong friendships just. rly. truly. fucked me up. theyre all so important and complicated and well rounded and beautiful and tragic

and beyond being a Win For the Gays im so glad the relationships w wwx and jiang yanli/ wen qing were NOT changed from platonic bc they are so much better like that imo. like maybe if we didnt Live In A Society it wouldnt be so, but the fact wwx and others can love and value them so much and theres nothing romantic or sexual abt it is like. so refreshing. especially @ jyl, with the way he and jc are overprotective of her and shes such a nurturing/care taker figure for them, it would just not vibe as well if they made it romantic

i love that this is a story abt Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch aka Actual Satan/Boogey Man/Village With/Public Enemy Number One , my dude is literally a necromancer who only dresses in black and has evil smokey black tendrils wafting out of him, but the really edgy one is still jiang cheng, pastel purple fashion icon

and speaking of best/worst siblings wei wuxian and jiang cheng *immediately starts crying* 

The Golden Core Transfer i just. no thots only tears 

wen qing and wen ning putting themselves in so much danger just.... to help them. wn saving jc from wen chao. wq finding a way to get wwx to transfer his core. like thinking about the monumental work these two did to help wwx and jyl and jc... jyl trying so fucking hard to be strong and keep on moving and giver her little brothers comfort after losing everything... jiang cheng. losing his parents and his home and his ability to do anything abt it and his complete desperation and lack of self worth and turning on them with agression  when he didnt realize all that they did for him ... hhhhhhhhhhhhh

me, pointing at the whole cast “i just LOVE them mom!!!”

its sad tho, that BARELY ANY of the women have like.... actual important conversations let alone relationships with each other at all in the story. and like wq and jyl have stayed at the same place for extended periods of time, where wq actively took care of her TWICE,  and still! not one measly convo, nothing! ................ .𝓌ₕᵧ

everyone in this show need a good sip of Self Worth and Stop Sacrificing Yourself juice 

ngl the sword flying looks very dumb 

“a-cheng, please bring a-xian back.” “i will, i promise.” ;-;

the whole calling each other by the More Intimate Version of the name, first as teasing and later as true intimacy. mmmhmmm yes

untamed where everythings the same but wwx evil flute song is eoeo

related that scene when wwx comes back from the burial mounds for the first time w demonic cultivation and he acts all formal and calls lwj hanguang-jun and keeps being evasive and distant and mean and soooooo................. facetious 

and how hes kind of desperately trying to keep intense lwj at bay (A FIRST) and avoiding actually talking to either of them and its all tension ughhh and then he MOCKS his and lwjs relationship, he jokes w him in this like... mean echo of their usual ~banter~ oof 

 and like!!! uncertain but so relieved jc who just HUGS him w no reservations for once and its not like he isnt just as worried as lwj abt wwx and what hes doing, but he chooses in that moment to enjoy getting him back first and mmhmMMMmMm yes (maybe my favorite scene in the whole show? MAYBE SO. ) 

highkey hurt me but also. i might be into mean wwx. i will take no criticism.

lan zhans sad eyes tho :((((((((( 

on one hand i wish we could have seen what happened at the burial mounds but on the other the timeskip adds so much flair to his return so im hnnn

also i love that hes been missing for 3 months reappears kinda melancholic and bloodthirsty and knowing malign tricks and jc is like 'so. are u sad bc of lan wangji'

when ur bae survived the war but he thinks ur evil/ might be evil so you cant kiss :///

hmmm talking at the rooftop under the moonlight not mentioning everything that stands between usssss

they are the two jades of lan and we’ll be the two heroes of yunmeng is the type of line u dont even need to know whats gonna happen to know thats gonna be sad

when they fight wen ruoshan at the nightless city i thought that was the battle we see at the first ep and its not and its so easy and theyre all like ‘yayy we won go wwx!’ i was just. SCREAMS WHAT is gonna HAPPEN

so like. post burial mounds/sunshot campaign pre yiling patriarch wwx is like. ultra arrogant, ultra mocking, peak lil shit and it gave me e v e r y t h i n g i wanted

even tho having the wen prisoners at the targets at phoenix mountain and still having wwx and jzx shooting the arrows was???? so.... tone deaf 

wwx: fucking w demonic energy   jyl: he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever <3 <3 (mood)

the parallels between meng yao/wei wuxian (and even xue yang a bit?) are Seen and they are Valid

wwx post burial mounds: can yall SHUT UP abt the goddamn sword (suibian left the chat)

LIKE truly, we talk abt the angst and yearning with wangxian. but what abt wwx and suibian. xianbian / xianqing angst and comfort 100k

take a shot everytime someone coughs up blood

zidian is simply the coolest spiritual weapon rip to suibian and chenqing and bichen and sendou and baixa........ but tis the truth 

cons: everyones families died in a nightmare war! everyones homes burned to the ground! everyone is traumatized! pros: everyone gets cooler clothes and weapons!!

wen ning and a-yuan and yanli bestest babes squad dont touch me rn

everyone: brooding and fighting                                                                wq and jyl: why dont you try some acupunture/drinking some soup and calm down huh? how abt that bitch?? 

showing the battle/massacre at the nightless city first was genius actually bc then everytime we have a cute scene w yunmeng bros and theyre like 'we'll be together forever! uwu' youre like oh. oh no. oh no no no. 

justice vs lawfulness vs means and ends 👁

jc: stay in the right path and practice the art of the sword                        wx: yeah thats not gonna happen chief

my reaction to wwx renouncing to the sect politics to help the wens was just that elmo burning gif in succession

the dramatic rain. wen qing desperately calling out to wen ning. the ghosts/puppets killing the guards. how terrifying wn actually was while wwx was controlling him :( lwj goeing after him to try and stop him and then he just; he Sees him and understands him even if he cant actually do anything about it other than let them go. 

“there must be somewhere in this earth we can go to :(((((((((”

"IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THEM, I'D RATHER IT BE YOU. DYING BY YOUR HANDS WOULD AT LEAST BE WORTH IT." oh my god oh my god oh my goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddd

also lwjs umbrella is white w black smoke.. .  . nice

yiling patriarch / demonic farming burial mounds settlement is like one of my favorite concepts. they an "EVIL" FARMING COMMUNITY LED BY THE VILLAGE WITCH COME ON

they planted TURNIPS and LOTUS FLOWERS and ONE (1) baby and made lanterns and a common hall :(((((((

wen qing and wei wuxian, baddest bitches and genius science best friends i absolutely LOVED to see it. they rly went ‘is anyone gonna sibling/project partner that’ and didnt wait for an answer

both wwx and jyl getting lotus ponds at the burial mounds and in lanling bc they miss lotus pier ;;;;;;;w

;;;;; wish jyl had actually gone into the burial mounds. we were robbed of jyl and wq meeting again and jyl meeting a-yuan and seeing the settlement and the homes and all ;w; at least jc did go, stab wounds and broken arms and all

wwx like... having thrown his whole life away to help the wens (yeah the sect leaders and jin guangshan in particular wanting his stygian tiger amulet was an Element but still) and not.... necessarily regretting it, but grappling with all of the consequences of it... becoming moody and drepressed at times, missing his family and lotus pier and his friends and probably simply missing being around people and causing trouble, extrovert that he is, lashing out at the wens and at a-yuan, just in general the whole messiness of that experience

the way the resentful energy does affect his temperament is rly nice bc its not too in your face,(i mean outside of the Shaky Hands of Rage) but like he clearly has a much lesser control on his anger and impulsivity (tall order) than both before bm and after��hes ressurected

on that note A-YUAN BABIEST BABY BOY BEST BOY

lan zhan being like oh hey there wei ying fancy meeting u and our son here. just passing by u know how it is hmmmmMm and then PLOT TWIST having defied orders to go see him and being punished for it. oof;;

 they habent seen each other in like? a year? and now theyre tgt 10 seconds and are already parenting a child together

also lwj rly kneels down in the snow way too much to be healthy

wwx: calm down guyssss i wont lose control of demonic cultivation omgggg  .   spoiler alert: he loses control of demonic cultivation

did u enjoy cute children? good bc now the Real Pain Begins

jiang yanli and jin zixuan rly out there APROPRIATING both disaster gays AND bury ur gays huh ;w;

i KNEW jin lings birthday was gonna fuck something up but the GASP that left my body when wwx lost control of wn and killed jin zixuan .. . . 

im sorry and thank you aaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAaAAAAA 

when wen ning and wen qing were telling wwx their plan i was saying NO NO NO NO NO NO out loud in despair 

also can we talk abt how wq is definetely talking about only the both of them surrending themselves but then? everyone else just surrenders w them? IT MAKES NO SENSE LIKE WHY WOULD THEY what would be the Point

 sometimes there are some pretty gaping jumps in logic and continuity that are just like                     ?          ?

wwx: oh so when you try to murder me its justified but when i survive through dark magic and murder all of you its a "war crime"

unsurprisingly, his most feral, most spiraling moment talking to the sect leaders on the roof and attacking them and even fighting lan zhan is among my favorite scenes... its like, so painful to watch but also   so       thrilling   (and maybe my wen bbs dying arose some resentful energy in me what can i say) 

and its JUST, all they ever wanted was to do good but then... war. and trauma. and hubris. 

jiang cheng on the ground clearly thorn between what to do and feel is a Mood, lets just say

i was already crying when jyl showed up, but if i wasnt-

 i suffered SO MUCH through this series trying to figure out WHY jc would kill wwx. and when i understood. its somehow not as bad as i thought and also MUCH MUCH WORSE

a look into my group chat during the last flashback episodes:

SO ANYWAY. after the BLOOD BATH and RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT and FEEDING IT TO YOU  the untamed goes ‘ayy back to the present!! tu du dud ud du’ 

literally it ends a quarter into an episode and then KEEPS GOING i had to pause and stare blankly at the ceiling for an hour

babie cultivators and detective soulmates . i do need some cute after All of That 

(not that the pain is over LOL)

lwj is significantly less emotionally repressed in the present and its delightful. hes just ALL IN with wwx. and not just in the ‘i would and have killed various men and risked my reputation for you’ but also ‘ur tired here have a drink i brought it up cause i know u like it and it want you to be happy, always’

“when everyone praised me and wanted my power, you were the only one that challenged me. now that everyone hates me and wants me dead, youre the only one that stands by my side.” hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 

and just filling in the blanks how lan zhan searched for him. for all of those 16 years he searched for him and was punished for it and raised a-yuan, the only survivor of the burial mounds settlement, as his own in gusu......

and jiang cheng.  being the tough love uncle . having raised the yunmeng jiang clan from the rubble all alone, his whole family dead, some of it on the blame of his own brother, his siblings, his closest friends gone.......and only jin ling there needing his guidance. 

THE PARALLEL BETWEEN JIN LING BEING A LIFELINE FOR JIANG CHENG AND A-YUAN FOR LAN WANGJI AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE NIGHTLESS CITY  

great now i made myself sad

and like . the fact! that lwj and jc dislike each other!!. jc projects blame onto him for wwx both “leaving” him and indirectly causing their families deaths and when hes so consumed by it he makes wwx an enemy, lwj is there now? trying to protect him?? and lwj, who can never understand the pain that wwx , indirectly or not put jc through, but who was right there when jc tried to kill him and will never allow him to hurt wwx again. and how they like. in a way project blame of their tragedies onto each other while dealing with some type of survivor guilt and in their own way still loving wwx through it all???  amd in way its kind of fundamentally selfish but also tragically understandable? and like when u put it against the fact that after he disappears during the sunshot campaign they were looking for him together and fought together??

JUST. THE CHARACTERS. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS. MAN. UGH. GOD. 

and like i think thats what makes it so good? its such a sad and painful and violent story, edgy even, but its compelling bc at the center of it there are all of these relationships and different types of love and hope and. :( i love it

enough crying lets talk abt wwx sleeping at the jingshi with lwj and wearing his under garment for a minute 🙏

 jin ling just has that Was Raised by JC energy tho lmao i love him

babie cultivator squad is the perfect ammount of cute and comedic relief while still bearing the weight? of the narrative in a way, both from sizhui and jin lings existences, and also. like. how do i put this. they feel hopeful? they were born after a war, they came of age at a time of relative peace, they dont hold on so closely to the resentments of their parents/father figures, they are specifically shown as more accepting and open minded. and its like.... Hope for the future  

one of the ?? things  i love the most is the fact that the main cast are often in situations where theyre hunted/running but they like. never wear disguises... just going around in their gorgeous expensive clan clothes and hair ornaments and distinctive spiritual weapons.... maybe w a straw hat on, just for kicks

wwx teacher 🥺🥺🥺

so this is why its called Yi City Misery huh

a-qing is such. an icon. im so sad. my girl even knew to leave xys dumb self rotting by the road but no one listens to her thats why theyre all dead or sad 

her and xue yang measuring each other up was so entertaining lmao

 its the funniest thing when hes like. HERES MY SAD STORY. FOR WHY IM A SADISTIC MURDERER. I BROKE MY HAND ONCE. 

like ok someone broke his hand in a horrible way, and like Poverty, i get it but also like.......... that lost the brunt of a proper sob story like, 50 sadistic murders ago bby

and i love that xingchen does not entertain that for a second hes like ‘not ?????? good enough???’ and the best thing is he wasnt even like 'u hadto be the bigger person' or sth but ' well then break that dudes hand back, rip his arm off for i care, what do the rest of us have to do w anything???” 

anjo sensato :(

xue yang is like..... the sexy sadistic evil version of a himbo..... a meanbo...

the fucked upness of xy’s feelings for xxc/ xxc and sl feelings for each other... like my dude literally gave his bf HIS EYES. and xy getting so attached to xxc .... the fucked up fake domesticity.... having him hurt sl..... then desperately trying to bring him back ...................... oof

song lan........... literally had his eyes AND tongue removed, his bfs eyes put in place, was almost killed, turned into a puppet by his bf unknowingly, manipulated by xy, sees his bf killing himself in despair.... and STILL finds the strenght to get up from there, and keep on traveling and helping people and attempting to fix xxcs soul.......... like, my man. damn. 

wangxian looking at songxiao and seeing an Actually more painful parallel for themselves. ft. that Color Coding. 

THE A-YUAN/SIZHUI REVEAL PUNCHED ME IN THE HEART but in a good way for a change

should have know that he would be the Best Boy the cute one w all the braincells

the butterfly AND the bunny lantern. i see how it is

u know is very convenient that no one can see the stark black veins on wen nings neck, ever 

BAT WEN NING 

wns face when lwj comes into wwx room like ‘:0 omg did u two finally get your shit together? good for you master wei good for u’ 

(they didnt) (yet)

DISASTER DRUNK LWJ. JUST. THRUST SOME CHICKENS TO SHOW UR RESSURECTED BAE THAT U LOVE THEM.

i have absolutely no idea WHY they gave lwj the same punishment for fighting his own sect/allies to protect the burial mounds as when they got drunk on cloud recess class days.... like? its such a ... emotional continuity error again

also is lwj gonna get an actual friend besides wwx , ever

mianmian marrying and having a family and a cute life after saying FUCK U AND UR SYSTEM TOO in a much less unhinged and dramatic way than wwx......... fills me w joy

also lol the idea that like. her husband not knowing that shes friends w satan/the boogey man/the village witch is hilarious

i love nie mingjue bc hes the resident Though Guy but also the most dramatic bitch in this show and thats Saying Something

jin ling cant have one uneventful relative can he

the fact that everyone present already knew “mo xuanyu” was wwx at the stairs is so funny, their faces are like ‘oh............ wow. that. sure is a development. shock” 

in the tradition of extremely loud whispers wwx tells lwj with twelve guards standing like one meter away from them: HEY PSH LAN ZHAN PRETEND IM FORCING YOU TO STAY W ME DO IT

oh my god oh my god

the absolute Yearning on his face when he leaves wwx and a-yuan at the burial mounds and refuses to stay for dinner was already Enough but the fact?? they brought it back?? to this declaration of love?? their expressions??????? strike me dead right now just go ahead

lFor Legal Reasons We Cant Kiss but we will have a very sappy declaration of love and trust and look at each other in way that is the actualization of 💞💘💗💖💓💘💞💗💖💘💗💖💕💞

also icb all the sect leaders and guards are standing there watching them say they like like each other with a dozen swords pointing at their neck

i enjoyed the depiction of the fickle public perception and how easily it can be used to scapegoat people. when the sect leaders turn on jgy and wwx knows thats its more for convenience than anything else...

poor lxc is literally like 'oh so when YOUR problematic boyfriend gets called evil its a misunderstanding but when its MY problematic bf-'

ok like i cant get over nmj let jgy play a song that messed with his temperament at all, like maN u KNEW he might be shady wth

wwx: “hey dont say anything bad abt lan zhan hes not an arrogant dick, thats just his face. 

ME ON THE OTHER HAND"

the cultivators as wwx is poking holes in their narrative is literally *nazaré meme*

"wei wuxian-!" "what did i break your leg, too?" not to be problematic but i laughed so hard

not as hard as "you dont have the rank to talk to me " tho

i Enjoy that, over the course of story, wwx sees that... theres nothing truly to Do, but move on. he saw how his arrogance and his mistakes hurt others, and hes trying to fix what he can, but he already did die for his mistakes and there are things he cant fix and that's. just how it is. even towards jgy, the narrative doesn't go gleefully and completely with "lets make THEM pay bc theyre the big bad" bc its not that simple, and it wouldn't lead anywhere but more pain...

re him and jiang cheng and the wens and kinda. isnt that what nhs did? scheming to displace jgy out of revenge more than any justice and doing so in the most painful way?

idk if that actually makes sense im truly just babbling

i thought the scene at the lotus pond would be CUTE but the context was PAIN again

jiang cheng finding out about his golden core and his conflict with wwx at the guanyin temple .... destroyed me but in a nice way kinda.... same way it destroys him look at his face oh god

and. the fact??? he sacrificed himself for wwx?? first?? and he'll probably never tell anyone much less wwx???? keeps me up at night

i havent decided if the neckbreak transition between jgy does sth super Evil or does he he does OR Does He yes he does O R does heeeee is sth i dislike or not

jin guangyao and wei wuxians most interesting parallel is that... theyve both seen 'hmm hey this system is fucked up' and wwx went 'so fuck it all i will renounce it and challenge it' and jgy went 'so fuck it i will use all of it to my advantage and manipulate it to my goals and whims'

the fact jgys mom was actually great and he loved her and his whole issue w it was more than simply being ashamed of being a bastard kinda got me ngl

never trust a dude with a fan.

nhs and jgy: the first rule to a convoluted and decades spanning violent revenge plot is to have fun and be yourself! 

when a-yuan finally FINALLY remembers ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; wen ning has someone in his family back and a-yuan has someone to talk abt his wen family and wwx has him back bc he survived and lwj raised him anD HES THEIR SON. THEYRE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. UGH.

and theyre allowed to heal. everyone is allowed to try and recover and be happy

netflix put all of the 3 endings on top of each other and it looks kinda weird actually BUT I DONT EVEN MIND :’’’’’’’’’)

the gasp that left me when lwj says ‘wei ying’ and wwx turns.........

there was also a screen with ‘thank you mxtx for creating these characters, we hope their wishes come true’ and i might. have cried then too. maybe. 

that was . a ride. as is proven by this behemot of a ramble clearly i just really needed and Outlet. i am currently trying to convince dumb monkey brain to not consume the other medias of mdzs immediately bc i REALLY need to like. live. a life. and take care of real responsibilities.  *longest oh boi ever*

[drwcn]

... You know, I was just thinking about Hua Mulan ChengQing AU. Hahah, ha. This movie is SOMETHING. Handkerchiefs are necessary.

oh I HEARD? but idk if i wanna see it. I’ve seen other things Liu Yifei (Mulan) was in and i don’t really like her? 

NOTE: OKAY so there were some confusion!!! Before ppl get offended, anon and I are taking about two different movies. The one that anon is saying is good is Mulan (2009) an original Chinese movie BC I had been asking ppl where to watch it and received many inbox msgs about it. The Disney film is what I won't be watching for so many reasons, including bc I know the actress's work and is just unimpressed by her in general on top of all the other reasons.

Oh boy, but like...what IF it’s reverse!Mulan, aka matriarchal society. Where Jiang Cheng is the “sneak into the army for my family c”!Mulan and Wen Qing is the “I wanted to be a doctor but then the Fire Nation exploded in on itself”!Shang. And I worldbuilded for no reason...

tw: minor character death (suicide). un-beta-ed, unedited, unproof-read, we die like nmj

WEN QING

Wen Ruohan was never supposed to be the Emperor, Wen Qing’s mother once told her, but the imperial court had allowed him to inherit because his late Empress Mother had no daughters to inherit the throne. As long as WRH promised to father daughters and pass on through them, then the Wen dynasty legacy would be preserved. 

“What did his wife say, that her children must take his last name?” Wen Qing had asked her mother, wide eyed and curious. Her mother had shrugged and said, “Well some women don’t mind, I guess, especially if it meant her children would be heiress of the throne.” 

Wen Qing had frowned at that. What’s so bad about children taking their father’s name, she wondered. Men may not be allowed the same liberties as women, may not attend public school or join the army or hold court with the Empress, but they were still children’s parents. Not all women agreed on this of course, but that was the way of their world. 

Her father died of consumption some years after Wen Ning was born, but Mother never took a second husband or a concubine. Wen Qing liked that about her mother. Brave, loyal, true. 

Wen Qing’s mother, Dafan-junwang, a distant relation to the throne, was a renowned marshal, hailing from a proud line of generals and marshals, trusted by the Wen imperial family as protectors of the realm, without fear of usurpation. The people whispered that Wen Qing had much to live up to, if she were to inherit her mother’s duchy and hold a command of her own. 

Wen Qing never had much interest in war or martial arts, but she learned, trained, practiced and perfected her skills because she could never bear the thought of letting her mother down. In her heart (and in her free time), she learned the science and art known by father. He was a quiet man, a physician (quite skilled too), before he married her mother. He wasn’t what her grandparents would have wanted for their daughter, but Mother had been adamant. 

Wen Qing’s mother hadn’t been good at expressing her love, but she did love her husband. Very much. Mother was only ever soft around Father, and Wen Qing only knew this because she’d seen them hold hands when they thought no one was watching. 

Wen Ning, being the son of a wealthy aristocratic family, was destined to marry well when he came of age. Unlike girls, boys weren’t allowed to attend publicly funded scholarly schools or martial academies. Wealthy and noble families however were able to afford private tutors for their sons, so that they would know the four arts (play the qin, weiqi, literature, and art) and be elegant, competent husbands for their wives. If Wen Ning was competent enough, charming enough, and gave his wife daughters (because everyone knew it’s the men who control the sex of the baby), then she would be faithful to him -> at least that’s what their nanny said. 

“How did they know, that men determined the sex of the baby?” Wen Qing asked her mother one evening when she turned thirteen and was given The Talk. 

Her mother tilted her head and said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “My dear, women are the earth, we grow and birth life. Men are like the seeds. If you plant an apricot tree, the earth will nourish it and let it flourish, but the fruit will always be apricots, you will never have peaches.” 

Once, Wen Qing had asked her mother if she could be a physician instead, if Wen Ning could take her place as general. Her mother had given her a very stern look and said, “No only is your brother of a sickly disposition, but you are my daughter. The duchy and my command can only be inherited by you. For your country, you do not have a choice.” 

Wen Qing conceded, because she was good.

The days dragged on, and slowly it was becoming clear Wen Ruohan would have no daughters. Not only so, the sons he fathered were ill-mannered and haughty, unfit to rule. Wen Ruohan’s mind, too, was slowly leaving him, due to unknown reasons. The ministers of the court and notabilities of the peerage urged Wen Ruohan to take on the daughter of his cousin born of his maternal aunt, and to groom her as heir. This brought on much discontent from Wen Roohan’s two princes, who aligned themselves with lurking enemies from the north, and before anyone could mitigate the situation, the country was thrust into a full blown civil war. 

Every bit her mother’s daughter, Wen Qing did not hesitate to mount her horse and ride off into battle. She had her duties and she would serve until her death. 

Jiang Wanyin had a very pretty face - she would reflect in retrospect. Perhaps that was why she believed him when he showed up at her camp with a conscription missive claiming to be his older sister Jiang Yanli. 

JIANG CHENG

The Jiang family was a wealthy merchant family situated southeast of the capital, in the province of Yunmeng. The current head of family is Jiang Ziyuan, known for her sharp business mind and sharp ways with her sword.  

(the only reason i’m switching Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan’s last name is because it’s a matriarchal society, and Yu Cheng and Yu Yanli sounds way too awful as names, but Yu Fengmian and Jiang Ziyuan are actually not bad.) 

There was a rumour that her husband Yu Fengmian of a Meishan Yu clan, had betrayed her with a wandering traveler from the pugilist world named Cangse...something something, and that he had fathered a son with her out of wedlock. If it were true, then by the conventions of the land, Jiang Ziyuan would have every legal right to divorce Yu Fengmian and send him back to his family to live out the rest of his days in seclusion, shame and repentance. 

But when Yu Fengmian came to her with the little Wei Ying, freshly orphaned, Yu Ziyuan turned the boy this way and that, examined him for “abnormalities” and nodded. Then she summoned her son, and said to him, “Our manor purchased  some new indentured servants. This boys is yours from now on, he is your responsibility. Keep him in line, find some uses for him, or get rid of him.” 

Jiang Cheng looked to his big sister, but his sister just shook her head. Not quite understanding what was happening, or why his father was bowed down on the floor, Jiang Cheng took his new “servant” and left. 

Watching them go, Jiang Yanli then turned to her mother and said, “Muqin, if I may be so bold, I have an idea.” 

Jiang Yanli was not the heiress that Jiang Ziyuan had hoped for. Though incredibly intelligent, Jiang Yanli was of poor health and not suited for martial training. Jiang Ziyuan had been quite troubled by this for some time, fearing others would cause trouble once Jiang Yanli inherits. However, she was also hesitant to train her son Jiang Cheng, even though he showed both interest and aptitude. It was not often that well to do families would want to take on a too “rambunctious” boy as groom for their daughters. Yet to leave Jiang Yanli without close protection... 

“Are you thinking that boy...” 

Jiang Yanli nodded. “Father denies being Wei Ying’s paternal parent, but surely tongues will waggle regardless. Mother, you are within your right to dismiss father, but he is still my father, and if not for me, think of A-Cheng. One day he will marry, and what family would want a son with a disgraced sire. Wei Ying looks healthy and strong; as I am unfortunately unable to train with the sword, mother may yet train him. Surely you’re not worried about his future marriage prospects. Perhaps it is better yet that he never marries, for he will remain close to Lotus Pier and serve at my side.” 

Jiang Ziyuan listened to Jiang Yanli’s words and decided that her daughter made very valid points. Her relationship with her husband could never be repaired but she had her children’s future to consider. 

And yet happiness would not last for long. Two months after Jiang Yanli’s sixteenth’s birthday, she received news that her mother’s private boat, which she used to inspect her properties, had capsized in a terrible monsoon storm, killing everyone on board.  

After the news reached Lotus Pier, Yu Fengmian took his own life in the dead of night, leaving a letter stating that he had owed Jiang Ziyuan too much to repay, that though Wei Ying was not his son, he had kept secrets from her that he swore he would not reveal in this life. Now that she’s gone, he would keep her company in her journey to the beyond. 

The Jiangs mourned, but they survived.

Then when the boys turned seventeen, war broke out over the lands, and the conscription missives arrived demanding one female from every household. Jiang Cheng panicked. Wei Wuxian had been sent to Gusu on business and would not return for some time. The military missive was time sensitive, so Jiang Cheng didn’t have another choice...besides it’s not like A-Jie’s matchmaking attempts for him had been all that successful...he was next to blacklisted anyway after his last debacle with the Qin girl. 

Jiang Cheng decided that he could pass as a woman if he dressed properly and redid his hair, but his voice...he'd just have to pretend he could not speak. That way, no one would know. 

WQ: “Who are you?” 

JC *hands her his letter* 

WQ: “Jiang Yanli? The Yunmeng Jiangs? Of Lotus Pier?” 

JC: *nods*

Her subordinate, “I didn’t know Jiang Ziyuan’s daughter was mute, they only said she was of poor health.” 

-

Luo “Mianmian” Qingyang finds out first. 

Mianmian: *GASP and points* You’re a man! 

JC: *covers his body* SHH!!! Turn around! Don’t look at me! *turns to look away*

Mianmian: *naked by the river ready for a bath but too shocked to move* but, but, but, how?? How did we not know????

JC: Mianmian - no- Lt. Luo, please don’t tell the Young Marshal! Please, I only came so my sister wouldn’t have to -

MM: Cowardice! It is every woman’s sworn duty to - 

JC: My sister is of very delicate health. She won’t survive! She’s my late mother’s only daughter, if she dies... I’m expendable. I don’t mind being cannon fodder, please don’t report me. 

-

JC shivering in the snow. “You said you trust Yanli! Why should Wanyin be any different?!” 

WQ stood impassively over him with a sword at his neck. Then, she closed her eyes and turned away. “A life for a life. My debt is paid.” 

---

JYL: *Proud* “A-Cheng helped secure the future of our nation. The adopted young crown princess was too young to rule without a loyal regent, and Wen Ruohan’s sons colluded with outside forces...it would have been chaos. Millions would have died.” 

WWX *teasing* “Sure he brought home a sword, if you ask me he should’ve brought home a wife!”

---

JC, “W-would you like to stay for dinner - ” 

WWX: WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER? 

JC: Wei Wuxian! She’s regent now, be respectful!” 

WQ: Dinner...sounds lovely. 

[princeofvelvet]

Niecest (NMJ/NHS) - post-canon

Anonymous asked:  i just read your niecest fics and wow. i need more. can you do “This bed used to be bigger, I swear.” 

Send me a ship and a prompt

A/N: Awww im always so happy to hear people like them! Im kinda insecure about my writing so knowing ppl want more is so (,: anyway.. hope u enjoy a nice niecest fix-it (sorry for the lack of sexy times!)

Nie MingJue’s shoulder bumped against the wall as he stirred in his sleep. Whatever dream he was having faded with the last traces of slumber. The air and the morning light bit his dry eyes. He readjusted his position, intending to roll the other way on the bed. His right shoulder met the same resistance as the left one had. What the hell? This bed used to be bigger, I swear.

His eyes fixed on a vaguely-human shadow sitting next to him on the bed, watching him. Nie MingJue’s voice gave out a strained grunt in place of the who the hell are you he wanted to yell. As the figure took shape, recognition dawned on Nie MingJue.

HuaiSang… Since when does he look so...

HuaiSang opened his mouth and said something that Nie MingJue didn’t catch, but from the way his lips moved, he guessed he’d said “Da-ge”. 

Though he looked different in a way Nie MingJue could not entirely decipher, there was no doubt he was his little brother. Around him, the room was nothing more than lights and shadows.

“HuaiSang,” said a raspy voice that had definitely come out of Nie MingJue, but he didn’t recognize. “Where is this?” 

“This is your room, Da-ge. I never touched it.” 

“My bed...” 

“Oh, you’re not in your bed, Da-ge. You’re in a coffin.” 

A coffin!

“Da-ge! Don’t get up!” HuaiSang flung himself at his chest, his arms extended over the edges of the coffin. 

Nie MingJue couldn’t have gotten up even if he tried. None of his limbs responded. He didn’t feel like he had limbs. Fuck! What kind of fucked up shit did Jin GuangYao do? 

“You’re still stiff! You could fall apart!” he cried in a voice Nie MingJue had only heard once, when he... burned HuaiSang’s fans. 

“HuaiSang! Explain in this second what’s happening.”

“You’re home! Just trust me, okay? I’ll tell you everything.” He sounded a bit desperate. He felt a muted pain coming from inside his chest, a sort of needle that attempted to pierce him through a thick membrane. It didn’t hurt; it felt like wanting to cry but having dry wells for eyes. “Da-ge, it’s okay! You’re not in danger anymore,” HuaiSang assured. 

Even his neck was too numb to bend and look at HuaiSang’s head on his chest.

“Where’s Jin GuangYao?” 

“Dead.” 

...Dead? 

Why…? 

And why... Did he feel neither relief nor rage?

“And XiChen?” 

HuaiSang whimpered on his chest. 

“HuaiSang, where’s XiChen?” He insisted. Don’t tell me...

“He’s alive. He’s the one who killed Jin GuangYao.”

“What are you saying? XiChen would never…” he would never see the bad in him. 

“It’s true! Da-ge, I swear, HuaiSang will explain, just don’t try to get up.”

“I’m won’t,” Nie MingJue said. 

HuaiSang finally lifted his head, but his eyes were hidden behind the curtain of his eyelids, looking down at something outside of Nie MingJue’s field of vision.  He reached down and raised an object; Nie MingJue felt a pull on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Da-ge will regain full mobility of his limbs.”  When his eyes adjusted on the object that HuaiSang had pressed to his face like a treasure, Nie MingJue realized he was holding an arm. It was grey, almost purple, like a corpse’s.  Was that... his arm? “Well, maybe not full mobility, but you’ll be able to do most things… Wei-xiong says it’s really not-”

“Wei... WuXian?” 

“Yes, he says there should not be an issue with most tasks, you’ll still be able to carry a sword and-” 

“HuaiSang. HuaiSang, wait. Wei WuXian... Wei WuXian has been dead for years...”

“Da-ge...” HuaiSang looked at him with something like pity. It was a chilling gaze that accentuated his more sharp features and drew more prominently the differences from the HuaiSang he’d seen just before going to sleep. “Da-ge, you’re dead.”

[thatswhatsushesaid]

that's not the full context of the conversation though, you have left out some pretty important dialogue preceding that exchange and immediately following it. I don't think you're wrong about what he is willing to do to obtain dignity or respect, but I also think that a massive complicating factor here is his filial obligation to jin guangshan (it's huge, other ppl have written about it more eloquently than I will, but if you are willing to read it in good faith, you can find it here), and how unlike every other character in this novel, jin guangyao starts with a dramatic deficit of dignity and respect in the eyes of everyone else around him.

I am also going to put a pin in whether or not nie mingjue has ever killed, or attempted to kill, to fulfill his own selfish desires, because he absolutely has, and does! right in the context of this conversation! instead I'm going to include exactly what jin guangyao and nie mingjue say to each other on the steps of jinlintai, because I think the conclusions that you are drawing from what jin guangyao says are the same conclusions that jin guangyao expects nie mingjue to draw. jin guangyao is doing two things here: he is both actively provoking nie mingjue, and he is giving him a chance to prove his expectations of him wrong. because words, very clearly, aren't going to work anymore.

before he gets kicked, here's where he lays it all out on the table, and nie mingjue does not make any attempt to meet him even a tenth of the way, let alone halfway, about how their obligations to each other as sworn brothers are fundamentally incompatible with jin guangyao's filial obligations to jin guangshan. he doesn't see it, or is incapable of seeing it.

so here's where you, like nie mingjue, are drawing your conclusions from only a portion of what jin guangyao is saying, without factoring the rest of what he has just said, or what his body language is communicating. wei wuxian not the world's most reliable narrator, but if the narration is drawing attention to this body language specifically, then it should be acknowledged.

he is specifically saying that they are different, different for all of the reasons that he just outlined above, that nie mingjue already knows. he is not saying that he is more noble than those he has killed, either during the war while undercover, or at his father's behest. but more than that, please also note that his expression indicates to wei wuxian that jin guangyao has just come to a decision about something internally, just decided something, specifically regarding nie mingjue. is it about deciding to kill him? yes, but why? why is it this moment that he's making this decision? likely because he has accepted that:

1) nie mingjue will never listen to him regardless of the effort he expends on his behalf (e.g., performing cleansing while traveling from lanling to qinghe every few days, which is demonstrably still working at this point, wwx confirms this in the same chapter),

2) there is no way he can find a middle ground between giving jin guangshan what he wants, which is nie mingjue neutralized in some way (thus violating his oath of sworn brotherhood), and giving nie mingjue what he wants, which is xue yang's head (which would require him to violate his filial obligations to his father). he has to make a decision; and lastly,

3) nie mingjue, who has already tried to kill him once before this exchange happens (gestures @ confrontation in the scorching sun palace after jin guangyao has just saved nie mingjue's life and killed wen ruohan to do so), clearly still wants him dead

and then he's proven right! on all accounts! because nie mingjue hears precisely only those portions of what he says that he wants to hear, and then he tries to kill jin guangyao twice--first by kicking him down the jinlintai steps, and then by withdrawing baxia to pursue him. the only reason he does not succeed in killing jin guangyao here is because lan xichen intercedes on his behalf.

like, the killing intent is right there, and he's just slandered meng shi and jin guangyao in literally the same moment. *points* is this killing for unselfish desires? I mean, I'm sure nie mingjue thinks they're unselfish desires, but they're transparently not. he wants to kill jin guangyao because he specifically wants him dead, and he wants him dead exclusively because of jin guangyao's refusal to disobey jin guangshan and kill xue yang.

this gets back to the point I made previously, that nothing in the text here indicates that jin guangyao enjoys what is happening. it demonstrates first that he wants to be understood by nie mingjue, and then, once he realizes that his choices are "be filial to father who will never love him" or "be fraternal to a brother who wants him dead," a commitment to a truly self-destructive path that ultimately seals his fate when nie huaisang begins his 'fuck around and find out' tragedy of a revenge vision quest. nothing here suggests that jin guangyao lacks the capacity for regret or remorse, and I think his final conversation with lan xichen during the guanyin temple confrontation confirms that he very much does regret many of the choices he has made in his life.

mxtx is Excellent at writing manipulative characters and the way this is showcased is by how often people tend to argue in favour of the manipulators she’s written. like mxtx sets up these characters to be multifaceted, they openly manipulate the people and situations around them to get what they want, have equally pathetic and sad upbringings to add realism into their actions, and even after all of their deeds are brought forward for everyone to see readers will Still defend them.

you could argue it’s poor reading comprehension and an inability to recognise that the character you latched onto is actually the Bad Guy. but i think it’s more of a testament to how good mxtxs character writing is, that people are willing to defend these people who have wholeheartedly committed unforgivable crimes just bc they’ve successfully manipulated the reader into thinking they had no choice but to murder babies and lie and betray and grab for power.

it’s kinda iconic tbh

[tonyglowheart]

so since I can’t stop obsessing over 无羁 (Wuji) I decided to pop open Microsoft Word and through the power of a random youtube commenter who transcribed it, a working knowledge of heritage Mandarin, and many translation sites, I can now absolutely lose my mind even more over the significance of the lyrics and who sings them.

more under the cut, a lot of it is unorganized emotion-fueled yelling

tumblr is kind of rough for long-form stuff, but I guess I’m just going to braindump:

Note: btw do I finally wised up to the fact that the uhh actual lyrics appear in some Tencent videos (and actually a lot of the verses show up with lyrics in the end themes) and also realized that the transcription I got - which was from a Youtube comment - was... wrong in places. And I ALSO realized “Yunshen” was probably referring to Cloud Recesses lol. And so yeah, I’ve edited it to update it.

first off: LAN ZHAN SINGING ABOUT HOW THE RIGHTS AND WRONGS ARE IN THE PAST, HOW CAN WE PRETEND IT’S A DREAM UPON WAKING? Like this is so sad and filled with like...honestly, righteous bitterness towards the world? but also so practical? This is of particular note because Wei Ying’s corresponding line in the second part/repeat. Just you wait

Wei Ying having the line about how can the [praises, blames, gains & losses] of the mortal world be measured is :( bc like. yeah... it’s so in character it makes me sad as heck. Because like. he’s done So Much for the world, and the world continues to denigrate and belittle and revile him, and it hurts him but ultimately he takes it with like.. a sad resignation. D8 babey,,,

*poetic stuff, poetic stuff, blah blah* (although I will add that the added layer of poetic imagery is the “feng liang” means something like cuttingly cold. “feng” refers to the sharp/cutting edge of a knife/sword, and then “liang” is cold. So it’s the imagery of someone getting cut or stabbed by a cold sword and their hot blood rustling down it (the first part is onomatopoeia)

okay the ZITHER LINE. I guess “wen” could be anything, BUT we know there’s a guqin spell Inquiry, so I’m! going to interpret it as more along that lines! I think the Tencent translation actually has it as “also” but it could be “again” I think? Implying that even when they’re far away from each other and Wei Ying is playing his flute all alone and melancholy, there’s an answering zither sound inquiring on him? (i’m going to take it as his well-being :’) )

Edit: so it turns out the “wen” was incorrectly transcribed in the first version of the lyrics I saw; it’s actually the same “wen” as the flute line, so more of it can also be heard, like the Tencent translation. ...but I Want to Believe....

edit: ALSO HOLD ON A MINUTE. I DIDN’T NOTICE, BUT I SAW A SCREENSHOT THAT SAID SOMETHING ABOUT HIM PLAYING INQUIRY LOOKING FOR WEI YING ONLY TO BE MET BY HOLLOW SILENCE? IS THAT FROM THE NOVEL? IS THAT MISTRANSLATED? OR DID I JUST NOT NOTICE. Guess I’ll have to find out

the last line/duet line: I can...kind of see where the “unrequited love” comes from? This is one of those lines where I wonder if it’s classical Chinese and therefore has layers of meaning that don’t convey through translation engines. I might need to actually search it and see but I’m scared to :’) my last brain cell is on Wuji I can’t deal with a wall of Chinese text right now :”)

so just going by the pinyin and what the translation engines tell me individual parts mean, the first part is something about a petition left open, which I can see as meaning unrequited (or more gently, “the story is not over” lol), but not sure what business Google has coming out of left field with a flat-out UNREQUITED LOVE for 8V bls my heart can only take so much

the last part of that line, NO clue at all, must be some kind of poetic thing... so I just gotta go with their translation and no other layers of understanding

Edit: ChenQing, interestingly, is the name of Wei Wuxian’s flute, and is also in the Chinese title of the series. so I think that first line is open to interpretation, it’s one of the lines I’d love to discuss with someone who knows Chinese and hear what they think.

the second part is mostly poetic imagery. it’s saying like low-laying silvergrass in the moonlight looks like frost (silvergrass being a common grass in parts of Asia. It’s that one with the fluffy fronds). When I googled the Chinese, it returned this specific species: Miscanthus sacchariflorus 

wOw the part about preparing a pot (metaphoric) of all of life & death’s ups and downs to memorialize/offer a sacrifice for a young man? hits me right in the heart and the feels and im going to sob over Wei Ying again

the other line that absolutely makes me lose my mind - and like the one above, it’s one that Wei Ying has a direct counterpart in part two - is Lan Zhan’s line here. Tackling the second part before I lose my mind over the first part, I sort of have an impression that second part is kind of a “go with the flow” (of life?) sort of deal, since to my understanding, it means something like... [traverse through time/through time/over history?][wind and waves]

okay but the part that makes me lose my mind is the “xiaoxiaosasa” part, which is a counterpart to the line sung by Wei later, “tantandangdang.” xiaoxiaosasa means like... in a natural/unrestrained/carefree manner. And at first I was like..Lan Zhan?? xiaosa?? but actually I kind of see it as like.... not a serious suggestion, but an impossible wish? Like this other post I think I where someone talked about them watching Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen wandering off, free of duties and clans, to hunt monsters etc. and I think that’s something that might be an impossible wish in Lan Zhan’s heart of hearts that he wouldn’t ever materialize because his sense of duty is so important to him. But maybe in a world where the two of them - or Lan Wangji especially - isn’t/aren’t bound by clans and sects and sundry, maybe they’re able to take a more carefree approach to life.

and then sharing the melodious song together at the ends of the earth is another one that has all of my ;A; ‘s

aaand here we are on the repeat, where Lan Zhan sings a line first, and Wei Ying has some sweet sweet counterpart lines that extra hit me straight in the heart:

okay so first off, first line. Unless that’s some Classical Chinese idiom, or honestly just flat-out idiom, I’m not sure where “I became lost after facing a dead end” comes from. Anyway.

HERE IT IS. HERE IT IS. okay so remember. the first verse, Wei Ying’s line is about a lonely and melancholy flute, and then Lan Zhan’s line is kind of tinged with a sort of world-weary bitterness but also resignation. But here!! Wei Ying’s line! is like sO magnanimous and accepting. Whatever the turmoils and rights and wrongs of the past, he’s already let it go. Granted I’m seeing this from a “the world wronged him” perspective so I’m like “D8 my generous-hearted boy... oH No my feelings...” Lan Zhan may move on but I think he can’t quite forgive the world for how it treated Wei Ying, but Wei Ying, like he said in the show, is ready to forgive and forget, it’s all in the past, and also I get the vibe of “yeah I’m used to it.” anyway gOD the contrast, and also I’m sad

[the rest of the intervening lines are the same, until]

okay the line is mostly the same, but one translation also gave me “fickle” instead of unpredictable or impermanent, and I feel that mood. It’s saying like “laughing over how fickle worldly matters can be”

aaand then here it is. Wei Ying’s counterpart to Lan Zhan’s carefree/unrestrained. why not go through life with a magnanimous heart. Which! is so in character for Wei Ying and honestly exactly what I think he does, like it HURTS him when ppl make shit So Personal about him which might have mitigating factors, or like... aren’t even his fault. But to some extent, he’s willing to bear it, for the sake of the world. Some of I think is out of misplaced sense of guilt trained into him (like when Madame Yu blamed him for bringing calamity to the Jiang Clan and he just accepts that :’) ) but I do think he’s also got a martyr’s heart.

Anyway, all of this taken together, and with the beautiful melody and the two singers switching lines and also dueting together, a b s o l u t e ly makes me go, as the kids say, feral

thanks for coming to my TED Talk

[ctl-yuejie]

Hi there! love your blog and all the educated answers you give! I still don't get where Wei Ying has been for the 16 years he was presumably dead. Was it explained in the drama? because I really didn't get it ! thanks!

heya!!! thank you so much!!!

tbh i watched most of the episodes without subs because i was confidant i could get by the little chinese i know and my knowledge of the novel.

if this is wrong, please correct me, but he was indeed dead i think? my brain is a sieve so take this with a grain of salt but i think reincarnation is a taboo in tv at the moment so they kind of brushed over the whole thing and just had mxy sacrifice his body, which than took on wwx’s likening.

but prior to that, wwx was indeed dead, which is the reason why lwj playing inquiry doesn’t give him an answer!

i hope you can work with this and if i am completely wrong i am sure you find a helpful soul in the comments that patiently types down the right answer while face-palming at my geschreibsel. 

addition by @tonyglowheart

yep he was indeed dead, and he said he didn't know where he was those 16 years (I think same thing in the novel though?)I think how it is that "Mo Xuanyu"s body has Wei Wuxian's appearance was handwaved away without real explanation. It was sort of implied that he looked like Mo Xuanyu at first? or I thought so? Since the ppl of the Mo family definitely saw him without the mask and didn't seem to be like "who tf are you." No real explanation was given, but I guess if you're looking for an in-text explanation, maybe Mo Xuanyu looked like Wei Wuxian? But I also don't think that's likely because that seems like that's something that would have been remarked upon by SOMEONE in the series. I think it's one of those things that are hard to find a good Watsonian explanation for because the reason for it is mostly Doylist: they cast Xiao Zhan in the role so he's the one playing Wei Wuxian/Mo Xuanyu *shrug*

I need to go back and see if there was a further explanation since I saw a screenshot on Tumblr that said something about Lan Wangji playing Inquiry constantly searching for him and not getting any response, so I need to find out if (1) that's actually in the series and (2) what are the parameters of Inquiry

although now that I think of it, we know spirit-capturing pouches exist, and Meng Yao like orchestrated the whole thing in the drama so I wonder if a possible concept is that he purposefully captured Wei Wuxian's spirit and then released it after driving Mo Xuanyu to perform the Sacrificing Spell....or maybe not Meng Yao but the person who orchestrated the whole Mo village thing to reveal the tainted spirit sword and bring the truth about Meng Yao to light

super interesting addition and you will notice anon, that there’s plenty of unsolved mystery in both the novel and the series.

- the timeline of events, ages of characters etc is all over the place at times

- the untamed contains some easter eggs for novel readers/audio drama listeners that go fully unexplained in the series (the brand on lwj’s chest coming to mind)

- fully agree that casting must have played a major role as otherwise they’d have to cast 3 main leads (cause mxy’s and wwx’s body would take up each one half of the show)

- there’s some plot holes in the novel itself and some of it might be down to wwx being a very unreliable narrator: he as no recollection of things or his interpretation of events is twisted to him not having all the facts/ his biased or self-deprecating view of events etc

[grandmasterofwangxiancultivation]

MDZS ch.83

MAYDAY MAYDAY CH 83 IS OUT AND OUR LIVES ARE AT RISK DKXGZJHXJXUSJS omg omg BREATH HANJI. BREATH.

*takes a deep breath* this is the chapter, guys. The chapter of that freaking spoiler. I'm gonna enjoy it all the same.

EDIT:

The second ‘siege’ could indeed be recorded in history. However, instead of being its scale or number of deaths, it’d be because it was the most pointless, laughable event of the cultivation world.

If you had succeeded, breaking you all would have been a pleasure :)

EDIT 2:

Wei WuXian knew at once. The closest ‘safe place’ to Yiling was the area of the YunmengJiang Sect. He asked, “So you intend on going to Lotus Pier next?”

Lan QiRen was vigilant, “Why do you ask?”

Wei WuXian, “Nothing. I just wanted to ask if I could go along.”

Sect Leader Yao warned, “Wei WuXian! You did a good deed today, but those are two separate things. Please understand that it’s impossible for us to associate with you.”

SOMEONE STOPS ME BECAUSE IF MY HANDS GET AROUND THOSE NECKS I'M GONNA KILL EVERYONE FOR TALKING LIKE THIS TO MY WWX

HE FREAKING SAVED YOU PATHETIC LIVES, YOU ASSHOLES

EDIT 3:

Everyone knew that Sect Leader Jiang, the one whom Wei WuXian turned against, hated him the most. They all thought that their negotiation would fall through.

Yet, he only let out a bitter laugh, “So you dare go back to Lotus Pier?”

I need these two idiots to talk everything out. JIANG CHENG STOP BEING JIANG CHENG FOR ONE MINUTE AND TALK WITH YOUR BROTHER.

Wwx back at lotus pier gives me too many feels I'm gonna die for sure

EDIT 4:

One of the boys commented, “Heavens, it’s so shaky that it feels like there’s a storm in my stomach. Hey, SiZhui-xiong, you’re throwing up as well? Aren’t you from Gusu? It’s not like you’re from the North. Why are you even more seasick than I am?!”

*screams incoherently*

GUYS GUYS GUYS WHAT GUSU. WHAT GUSU HE IS NOT FROM GUSU *hysterical laugh* I'm jumping on my chair and I just need it to come out in the open. Can someone say the truth to this beautiful boy, my sizhui djcysjcush

EDIT 5:

Just as he was about to throw up some more, he suddenly saw a dark silhouette hanging onto the part of the boat below the rail, half of its body submerged inside the river’s water, staring straight at him.

(Omg WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT RUN BABY RUNNNN)

[...] Just as he pressed down onto the hilt of his sword, he looked carefully and exclaimed, “The Ghost…”

Inside of the cabin, as Jin Ling heard this, he immediately rushed out with his sword, “A ghost? Where? I’ll kill it for you!”

(ZHUILING GUYS. ZHUILING. OMG THESE TWO, THESE TWOOOOOO. JIN LING SAY "I'lL kIlL iT fOr YoU" dkxujsxyusyxejdhxiek YES YES JUST Y E S-)

Lan SiZhui, “Not a ghost—the Ghost General!”

(WEN NING BLESS YOUR SOUL MY LOVE PLS EXPLAIN EVERYTHING TO SIZHUI. also I'm laughing so hard at the mental image of wen ning clinging at the side of the boat bfjshxjdhd)

EDIT 6:

“Pfft!”

“JingYi, what are you laughing about?”

Lan JingYi, “Look at him. He is clinging onto the boat without moving at all, almost like a big, oblivious sea turtle!”

(SAME, BABY. SAME. ME AND JINGYI HAVE THE SAME REACTIONS, MY BOY.)

[...] Lan JingYi, “What is there to be scared of? It is not like you have not seen him before!”

(THE VOICE OF REASON. WEN NING AND JINGYI BROTHERHOOD. I'M HONESTLY CRYING AT HOW PURE MY SON IS GOOD JOB BABE)

EDIT 7:

Wen Ning stared at Lan SiZhui’s face as he walked toward him. Lan SiZhui noticed that he was here for him. He steadied himself as Wen Ning asked, “Wh-What is your name?”

(I AM SCREAMING. I AM SCREAMING SO MUCH MY THROAT HURTS. I'M CRYING AS WELL. I JUST NEED WEN NING TO KNOW HE IS NOT ALONE IN THE WORLD AND FOR SIZHUI TO REMEMBER AND REALISE BOTH WHO HIS BLOOD AND NOT-BLOOD FAMILIES ARE.)

EDIT 8: sizhui saying his name is lan yuan is breaking me

EDIT 9:

Dead people had no expressions, but Lan SiZhui was under the illusion that he thought he saw Wen Ning’s eyes light up.

He also thought that Wen Ning was feeling very excited, so excited that he stammered as he spoke. He himself began to feel excited as well, as though they were about to reveal a secret hidden for years.

Oh gods in the universe spare me.

EDIT 10:

"You really look like a distant relative of mine"

Szjahdiudicishcoshcoshxodhd WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY HEART RN THIS IS SO SWEET AND SAD AND BEAUTIFUL AND PURE AND PLS PLS GIVE THESE BABES A JOY. PLS LET THEM HUG AND TALK ABOUT FAMILY AND JUST GIVE THEM THIS. GIVE THEM THIS PLS, I NEED IT AS WELL *sobs*

Also, lan wangji parenting is- *finds no good enough words in the dictionary*

And sizhui correcting himself and calling him mr.wen? This boy. This boy is so gentle and his soul is so shiny and beautiful.

EDIT 11:

For something, watching the ‘Ghost General’, a deeply sour sense of familiarity rose up amid Lan SiZhui, along with a blurry thought—he seemed to have seen this face some place, some time ago. It seemed that there was a name that almost broke through some sort of a barrier. If he said the name out loud, many other things would resurface as well, and he’d understand everything.

BABY YES PLS REMEMBER ABOUT BIG BROTHER XIAN AND LWJ AND GRANNY AND WEN QING AND WEN NING AND ALL THE OTHERS PLS THE MEMORY YOUR FAMILY IS STILL THERE

EDIT 12:

But at this point, Lan SiZhui saw Jin Ling, who stood at the side.

(Shit. SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SH-)

After some silence, Wen Ning changed his wording, “Young Master Jin Ling?”

(of course of frEAKING COURSE CUTE, SWEET SCENES CAN'T LAST FOR SHIT IT THIS NOVEL my boy, my jl, calm down babe I know you want to hurt him I know baby just-)

Lan SiZhui, “Young Master Jin…”

Jin Ling, “Move to the side. It’s none of your business.”

But Lan SiZhui somehow felt that it definitely wouldn’t be none of his business. He went over and put himself between the two, “Jin Ling, put your sword away fir-”

Jin Ling was feeling tense anyway. His sight being blocked, he couldn’t help but shouted, “Don’t stop me!”

He reached out and pushed. 

(OMG PLS NoOo BABE DON'T TAKE IT OUT OF SIZHUI I WANNA HUG ALL OF THEM THIS ANGST IS NOT WHAT I WANTED WHY WhYyYy

But SiZhui going from a more formal "young master ling" to "jin ling" how should I not ship them god sizhui a blessing

Also pls don't gang up against jl pls he has every right to feel like that my boy, just don't-)

EDIT 13:

Wen Ning saw that Lan SiZhui’s complexion was pale. Anxious, he blurted, “Young Master Jin, come at me. Wen Ning will not resist. But A- Young Master Lan Yuan…”

WeN nInG pLs-

(He stopped himself from calling him a-yuan guys I surrender. I can't read anymore. I'm dying)

EDIT 14 (i'm sorry this shit is getting so long-):

I knew it would come to this. I KNEW IT. DON'T GANG UP AGAINST JIN LING DON'T YOU EVER DARE. I need jin ling happy with ppl that loves him you're not alone, sizhui and jingyi love you, you have friends, you even have wwx, you're not alone babe-

EDIT 15:

Seeing the two, Lan SiZhui felt that no matter what difficulties he faced, he could overcome them no matter what, beaming, “HanGuang-Jun! Senior Wei! Come over here!”

FAMILY VIBES. I HAVE BEEN THIRSTY FOR THESE FAMILY VIBES SINCE CH 74. I NEED MORE OF THIS I NEED CH 84 NOW. N O W