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Children of The River - frames and thoughts

This one has a really messy thought process.

Jiang Cheng’s mourning clothes were intentional. The siege happened only three months after Yanli’s death—not even a hundred days had passed. He was still in mourning. No guan, no Zidian. Just Sandu and his clarity bell.

I wanted, later on to portray that one moment in battle where Jiang Cheng’s figure would mirror Yanli’s. Just for a second. Despite all their differences. The song was picked entirely for the line ‘I’m the river’s daughter’. It ties back to their childhood—the three of them children of Yunmeng Jiang. ‘Jiang’ means river, so it felt fitting. Too fitting, honestly.

⸻

When I drew their expressions, there was one emotion I wanted to show most. Most depictions of the siege go straight into revenge, fury, rage. But for these two? I didn’t want anger to be the main thing. I wanted to show grief.

That kind of hollowing, simmering grief that sits in your chest and never leaves. Especially with Wei Wuxian—it’s complicated. You can feel how hard he’s trying to keep it together. To stay calm. To control it. And then you see it—red bleeding into his eyes. For Jiang cheng, There’s that one line where Wei wuxian describes Jiang Cheng’s face as full of hostility… but also incredibly gloomy. I just went on with it.

⸻

The blindfolded panel was very much on purpose—a way to show how both of them were just pieces in someone else’s game. A center piece of this animatic, you could say. One small detail is I made Jiang Cheng’s sword point toward his own neck. Just a hint. A quiet suggestion. That start with one truth —Jiang Cheng could never have won against Wei Wuxian. And at the same time, Wei Wuxian could never let Jiang Cheng die.

To be blunt, Yunmeng Jiang was weak at that point. They were barely standing. The sect had been rebuilt, yes, but it hadn’t even been five years. They’d lost so much. You can see it in how little they received after the Wen war—basically scraps. Their strength was gone. What kind of people were crazy enough to follow Yunmeng Jiang back then— to stand behind a leader who held a single flag alone in the middle of a war?

Probably the kind who had nothing left.

The kind who’d already lost the same.

Calling them a major force was more of a political statement than reality. they were made into a shield. Something to take the hit. Something to use.

⸻

Why make Yunmeng Jiang the main force in the first place?

A sect barely standing, rebuilt on ashes, carrying grief like second skin.

They didn’t have the numbers. They didn’t have the strength.

But they had Jiang Cheng.

And that was enough.

Not because he could win—but because he was the one Wei Wuxian couldn’t kill.

That was the play. That was the advantage.

They made him a commander, not out of honor—but because he was the only sword that could get close without being struck down.

The only one who could hold that line while the rest moved in for the kill.

They handed him the siege—

because they knew he’d walk straight into the fire, and Wei Wuxian would flinch.

⸻

The cultivation world had witness something. They saw what happened in Nightless City. They saw the two of them face each other—and how Wei Wuxian let Jiang Cheng live. And they made their bet.

Not just on strength or strategy. They bet on history. On loyalty. On love—if you want to call it that. Not romantic, but something deeper. Something messy. The love that comes from being raised together, losing the same people, breaking and still somehow holding on.

That’s why Jiang Cheng made the perfect shield. Maybe even the perfect knife.

They weren’t just betting on power.

They were betting on love.

And they bet right.

[lyrablack1883]

Children of The River

Of those born from the rivers, their souls are bound to her waters. To her, they are as her own children—raised in her currents, carried by her breath. But those she loves, she cannot save. When they fall, their spirits return to her embrace, and she weeps—not in silence, but in storms. With each life lost, her waters darken—grief bleeding into blood, until sorrow seeps into every stream. A river of mourning swells beneath her surface, cursed to carry their pain forever.

She grieves as one of her sons was dragged from the ashes of slaughter, his home drowned in the blood of those he called family. The river ran red before he ever screamed. What was taken from him left no wound, only silence—a hollow that no pride could fill. He rose from ruin, forged not by healing, but by the quiet torment of all he could never reclaim. The river of blood is formed, and in its current, it carried him too.

She grieves as a sword ended her daughter’s life. The blade silenced all the grievances, forgiveness, and love left unspoken. As her daughter’s blood stained the soil, many others would follow. As bones rise—resentment fills their screams, dragging others to join them in pain. A river of blood is formed, to accompany her passing—its crimson tide carrying all that was lost, and all that was left unsaid.

She grieves as her son screams to stop the very things he created—to stop them from destroying the one thing he vowed his life to protect. Hands tore at his body, leaving nothing behind but a bamboo flute. In his final moments, he shattered the seal, bearing the cost alone. A river of blood is formed, from the remnants of the sun he failed to protect—and from the sacrifice that was never spoken, but eternally carved into the soul he left behind.

The children of the river are bound by water, by blood, and by grief. To be born of the river is to carry a curse. One was swallowed by waves he himself had darkened, lost to the weight of a sacrifice no one asked for, yet no one could repay. Another, soft as still water, fell amidst screaming chaos, her body drowned beneath the blood spilled by the hands of the one who loved her most. And the last lingers, a hollow echo among the reeds, kept alive only by memory and regret. In the end, none were saved. The river mourned them all—not with silence, but with a cry soaked in blood. The children of the river shall die in water—whether it runs clear with forgotten prayers or thick with sorrow and the sins of love. A river of blood has formed—and it shall never run clear again.

Children of The River

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Children of The River

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Some frames that didn’t make it. I wanted to draw su xiyan pov too when looking at him but the audio length wasn’t ideal sadly

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The river as the only witness, for the greatest act of love given from a mother to her son

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Luo Binghe

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“Happiness.” He finally says, “What does it feel like?”

Based on “we should stick together” and “you're my best friend, i'll love you forever” by pennydaniels (AO3)

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‘Friendly’ duel between head disciples

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Willow

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Jiang Wanyin

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The frames of ‘clarity’ and my thoughts when drawing it

I was trying to create a glimpse of story what happened seconds after WWX descent to madness. It was described that JC was at loss, so I just make him repeat what he did when YL got slashed by a fierce corpse. Like a broken cassette. The way that zidian encircle them the moment YL died was to mimic what happened last time when madam yu ordered zidian to protect WWX and JC. Zidian will encircle them both until they got to a safe place although it was too late for YL. I didn’t draw WWX’s face since this was written and drawn from JC’s pov. To show that JC failed to recognize WWX at that moment. The person in front of him was not his shixiong that he knew but a demonic cultivator who is about to create a river of blood. The way that YL’s last word for WWX to stop ;-;. I actually wondered how JC survived. He was at the front row, essentially at point blank. So I add another scene. The blood I draw on JC face was not his own blood. It was the blood of a Jiang disciple that managed to followed him. At the beginning it was stated that only yunmeng Jiang formation didn’t turned into disarray, meaning they weren’t consciously targeted by WWX. But when the seal was activated, no one was exempted. That scene was drawn to show that, though really implicitly. Clarity as the title was referring to clarity bell but also a mockery to both JC and WWX about how truly blinded they are by others’s scheme. The irony how WWX can control the death, making their rotting body to do his bidding but at the end he was just another puppet himself.

[lyrablack1883]

Clarity

it was quiet when he held his sister's body. he looked at his sister's eyes as his trembling hand reached to check her pulse once more. It was too faint, he couldn't feel it anymore. but he did feel it a moment ago, this time it must have been a mistake.

ring

it's alright. it's just a single slash. he just has to close the wound on her neck. when did her neck get slashed? wasn't it on her back?

"a-jie?"

ring

he thought she looked at him at that final moment and mouthed a word. Seconds later, he watched her sister's pupil widen, and her hand holding the wound on her neck slackened. At once her sister's body became a thousand times heavier and he was struggling to keep her head up. he hugged her sister's body. Zidian encircled them both.

ring

"It's okay A-jie, you're going to be okay, it's just a single slash" he said, convincing no one. "I'll take you back" tears escaped from his eyes. he didn't know what to do. He looked up, hoping Wei Wuxian to have the answer.

"Wei-"

ring

the seal was up in the air

ring

"what are you-"

ring

he couldn't hear anything. Is Wei Wuxian laughing now? how could he laugh at this moment?

"stop.. STOP!! SHE TOLD YOU TO STOP!"

ring

Wei Wuxian raised his hand, along with it, a new wave of corpses clothed in sun motif robes rose to his command.

ring

he froze in place when the corpse raised his sword to kill him. He didn't know what happened next, he couldn't hear anything, he couldn't hear anything but the sound of the clarity bell screaming in his stead.

ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring

Clarity

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Clarity

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It’s all in the past now -frames & my thoughts when drawing them pt 2 (at the end)

This particular scene was mean to be a replica when WWX carried an unconscious JC on his back after he lost his golden core. Although it was such a brief scene, I remembered it because of the conversation that happened later where WWX asked if JC wanted to die.

A golden core as a repayment of past life. Aa.. such an understatement to cast aside the emotional turmoil behind it. As if both of them didn’t hide the truth for years in fear of hurting the other because of their reckless action not wanting the other to die

Ah I draw WWX in his original body at the end because he was brought back into that particular memory. To be reminded again how desperate and reckless he was with that decision. To be dragged back into the past himself as the curse gradually break.

Although I had a very specific scene in my head when drawing this, felt free to interpret it however you want :)

[lyrablack1883]

It’s all in the past now -frames & my thoughts when drawing them pt 1 (at the end)

the story idea came from their conversation where Wei Wuxian said “forget it. it’s all in the past now. don’t mentioned it again” So I just created a curse that fulfilled that.

It was impossible to forget and more impossible to leave it in the past. at that point JC still carried a core of a dead man. While WWX doesn’t have his complete memories and he was already on his next life.

So I draw JC in his teenage years and WWX in Mo Xuanyu’s body.

now they both don’t have scars they bear for each other. In this dreamscape they were nothing but strangers. And yet I still wanted to portray their reluctance to part with things of the past. With WWX was his vow, and JC with zidian and the sect he rebuilt and inherited.

In this dreamscape, they play pretend. WWX paraded himself as Mo Xuanyu while JC as the sole member of the Jiang. A twisted combination of past and present

I decided against bringing back the dead in the dreamscape. Because if JC truly wishes to reunite with them, I think he would be the one to join them in afterlife not to be the one bringing them back into the living.

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It's all in the past now

Wei Wuxian watched his former shidi face. Jiang Cheng's face is peaceful, far too peaceful. it was a face that welcomed death, he had seen that face too many times in his previous life. he saw it once after he managed to get his former shidi back from the Wen. he never thought he would see it again in this life.

The curse affects its victim slowly. it lure them into a comforting dream, granting the victim's deepest wish with each sleep, forcing them to go deeper and deeper into unconsciousness, before death took them slowly as their body lay waste in slumber. he wondered what kind of dream it was, did Jiang Cheng dream of ghosts like him too?

there was only one way to break the curse, one of them had to enter Jiang Cheng's dream and drag him back into the waking world. Wei Wuxian had prepared himself, dreading what he would see and yet a small part of him hoped to see familiar faces. he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room and in front of him was his former shidi, grumbling loudly about how people couldn't leave him alone, and then he turned his face at him, with a smile on his face. it caught him off guard, and shock must have been evident in his face. this 'Jiang Cheng' is younger, far younger than he should be.

"what's wrong? it's alright, you're safe here, those people wouldn't be able to come here and this is my home. what's your name?" Jiang Cheng asked and reached for his hand. he saw himself reflected in those eyes, he was still in Mo Xuanyu's body. "We.. Mo Xuanyu..?" he answered. Jiang Cheng looked down as if oddly disappointed by his answer. he noticed Zidian was already wrapped in Jiang Cheng's finger. countless thoughts fled from his head. "A-cheng, do you remember me?" he asked and came to a horrifying realization. Jiang Cheng looked at him oddly.

"how do you know my name?". At that moment he can guess what Jiang Cheng desperately wished for.

'forget it. it's all in the past now. don't mentioned it again’

To forget and yet still unwilling to part with the past, so here he was, stuck between the past and present. in his hand, he holds Zidian that Madam Yu left him, surrounding him is the sect, he rebuilt and inherited from Jiang Fengmian, outside of the courtyard Wei Wuxian could hear a small child laughing, Jin Ling, the son his sister left behind in that tragedy. he does not wish for the people he loves to come back, he just wishes to forget it all while still desperately hanging onto the 'gift' they left behind, as if they were already part of him that he can't separate from himself. as if he was content with only just that.

in confusion, he thought about what part he played in Jiang Cheng's wish, and in dread, he came to a realization, that to bring Jiang Cheng back, he needed to make him remember it all.

at the end of it all, whose wish was it that the curse granted?

[lyrablack1883]

Right.. I gonna post the Mdzs one tomorrow. I guess one day for each animatic