#i also think MXTX wanted to explore that very specific side to xie lian and hualian as a whole

[lryghe]

MXTX thoughts; themes

Okay so this was supposed to be a post about themes AND conventions common throughout MXTX’s writing, but I literally wrote too much for one post so I’ve split it in half. This is the half that addresses two of the most prevalent themes splayed across MXTX’s novels. Yes, this post will contain spoilers for all of MXTX’s works (though probably minor ones in terms of plot points). Expect the second half in the next week as I’m kind of busy over the next couple days!

REDEMPTION

In SVSSS, Shen Qingqiu has this genius moment where he realises that he’s now an active part of ‘PIDW’, that the people around him are actually affected by what he does. This comes in relation to (unsurprisingly) Luo Binghe, and the guilt he feels for having been so caring towards him before hurting him so soundly. And this realisation takes 70 chapters but when he does realise this, he actively starts making himself better, so that he’s ‘worthy’ of staying by Luo Binghe’s side, even after all the anguish he caused him. He’s attempting to redeem himself even from the very beginning though, because when he had transmigrated, his very first thought was to change the hand fate had dealt him, wanting to survive past his probable miserable ending in a pickle pot at the protagonists' hands. This wasn’t driven by guilt but over time the guilt complex gradually appears in the picture. 

MDZS is focused mostly on Wei Wuxian’s guilt complex and him working to forgive himself and move past his time as the Yiling Patriarch. Lan Wangji is a key factor in this, his presence being something that Wei Wuxian clings to when he comes back to life after the burial mounds siege. And it’s something so important to MDZS as a whole because it’s so lovely that although Wei Wuxian himself admits he had done horrible things, Lan Wangji is there to help him through it, and he eventually comes to forgive himself for his actions (even if the rest of the world probably hasn’t). I’ve already talked about this before on 4 separate occasions, so if you want more insight just find a post about MDZS thoughts on my page :) 

And finally, there's TGCF. The key characterisation point that Xie Lian has is the guilt he carries over the situation of Xianle and the death of just about everyone and their mum, but over the course of 800 years he eventually moves past it? He even feels guilt over how Qi Rong turned out, something that’s so stupid in the scheme of things, but he’s such an empathetic and intuitive character that he’ll stew in guilt over it anyway. I don’t think this theme is as important to TGCF because Xie Lian is also very mature (one would hope so after over 800 years of living) character, and he states (in one of my favourite quotes of all time) “rather than remembering how I was butchered and trampled hundreds of years ago, I’d prefer to remember that I ate a delicious meat bun yesterday”. And this gives important insight, because he feels the guilt but he moves past it, and Hua Cheng is central to this, helping Xie Lian realise he’s worthy of love, after 800 years of suffering.

LOYALTY

This is a rather obvious theme and I plan to actually write an analysis about loyalty in MDZS specifically, but I think we can categorise it and explore it in two different categories.

Firstly we have romantic loyalty, something that is prevalent throughout all her works considering that they are all romances. Each love interest remains steadfastly loyal to their main character, even through the rise and fall of dynasties, through death and through years of steadfast mourning. It’s so important that these characters remain loyal, because even though Lan Wangji mourns, and Luo Binghe has every chance to sleep with his future 3000 wives, and Hua Cheng could have destroyed his ashes when he lost track of Xie Lian 800 years previous, none of that occurs. They continue holding on to that loyalty and it fuels many of their motivations. You can also point out the loyalty that the main characters have for their love interests. Shen Yuan sits through 1000+ chapters of some horribly written stallion novel because he has some ridiculous crush on the protagonist of said story. Wei Wuxian has a similar type of obsession with Lan Wangji, every second thought something along the lines of ‘Lan Zhan would love this!’. And Xie Lian waits quietly at Puqi shrine for Hua Cheng, no matter how long it took for Hua Cheng to come back to him… “Last time, they spent eight hundred years running towards each other. This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other's embrace.”

Another type of loyalty that could be explored is familial loyalty. Yi Ziyuan, Jiang Yanli, and Jin Zixuan end up dying to protect their home, dying to save their brother, and dying trying to make their wife (and by extension, son) happy. Wen Qing and Wen Ning die to protect Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian sacrifices his core for his brother. Qi Rong spends time hanging out in his aunt and uncle's tomb for some weird reason. The various peak lords of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect spend years fighting for Shen Qingqiu’s body. Xie Lian cooks horrendous food, because his mother cooked the same way and even if its not on purpose, he holds true to her memory. This loyalty is the backbone of character backstories, whereas romantic loyalty is more of a plot device, but both are equally significant. 

There’s another version of loyalty that I want to talk about, but I think I’ll save it for my eventual post on analysing loyalty in MDZS.

I may post the second half of this post in a few days (I haven’t finished writing it (I haven’t started writing it)). Until then, goodbye.

Words: 997

Reading time: 4 mins

[nyerus]

Unpopular opinion: yin yu's return aside, i absolutely loathe the amnesia extra, it's the only thing of mxtx's that i hate, hua cheng going around letting xie lian think he got raped? yeah no.....i felt so bad cause they kept toying with xie lian and gaslighting him and he felt so confused like imagine waking up like that and panicking cause you don’t know what’s going on and whatever happened might’ve ruined everything you’ve worked for your whole life it’s too sad....

Sorry did not mean to rant here, nyerus....Can I ask, what is your opinion on this extra?

I love the extra, and besides the Birthday extra, it's one of my favorites, so I'd have to disagree. But that's alright, since different people will engage with something differently! To give my perspective....

Xie Lian certainly jumped to conclusions, which I think were understandable for his situation. But he didn't really make that concern known at any point, so I don't think Hua Cheng assumed that as well. (My only ?? moment was don't gods have accelerated healing so how come he's still got marks on him, instead of it being long-healed up.) It's definitely a terrifying prospect, though even Xie Lian was a little unsure of what actually happened until towards the end, right before the actual reveal and before he got his memories back.

I think saying Hua Cheng was gaslighting him is extreme, as Hua Cheng was very carefully trying to control the situation to ensure that Xie Lian -- who was unknowing of said situation and unpredictable as a result -- wouldn't do anything extreme. (There was absolutely no way that Xie Lian would believe him if he just came out and told him everything. That would probably have done a lot more damage.) Definitely, Hua Cheng played up trying to be very seductive, knowing that Xie Lian would be attracted to him, but he was at no point cruel nor did he take advantage. He knew very well how to best approach Xie Lian to not only pique his interest, but to keep it -- because doing so would ultimately keep Xie Lian safe. He had to get Xie Lian back to Paradise Manor at all costs, for Xie Lian's safety, and getting Xie Lian to trust him on his own was a much better option than either kidnapping him or telling him things that would potentially terrify the hell out of him. He was already confused and sacred, and that would just terrify the shit out of him. You could tell at points that Hua Cheng felt extremely conflicted, but seeing as it was temporary, knew it was a matter of waiting it out until he could find that monster and return things to normal. In my opinion, he was pretty respectful while still being a little bewildered and charmed himself by this brand-new side of Xie Lian that he never got to see. I don't fault him for enjoying seeing that side of Xie Lian while also clearly feeling bittersweet for countless reasons. It's a complicated situation, so the feelings involved are going to be complicated.

The ending as very touching to me, with Hua Cheng reassuring Xie Lian that in the end, he did get everything he worked for. They can't change the past nor run from it, but no one could have done better. He did his best and in the end, found his happiness. The journey was hard and he went through horrors he did not deserve, but his own strength saw him through to the end. That he needn't be afraid of facing that truth, because he was not alone anymore.

It's completely okay if you dislike it, as we cannot expect to like every aspect of something, and that's just normal! Especially when it comes to things which mention sexual assault, it can be very triggering or upsetting. I myself have things that have affected me badly, but that's just how it goes in life. We all have different perspectives and reasons for either liking/disliking something, which will affect how we see it as a whole. As long as we can all respect that for each other, it's all good!