#i was wondering if anyone would catch on with lqy at all 🤭

[vermillioncrown]

I said I was going to write you an essay to make you question what I do with my free time, and I follow through on my promises! So, making my case for Jiang Cheng, as well as some comments on why I think ot3 is cute but ultimately wouldn't work. Obvious caveat that we haven't had all the major character interactions and canon changes in dbd yet, so my opinion is subject to change according to how the story develops. I talk a big game but I actually don't mind who zyx ends up w bc I know it'll happen due to Character Development. Our thoughts on romance are fairly similar.

Why wangxian+zyx doesn't (yet?) convince me:

I'd have to really, really be sold that it isn't, in fact, wangxian+zyx but instead wwx/lwj/zyx, and I think zyx would too. You recently made a post on zyx feeling like an intruder in their relationship, and it would take so much work for wangxian to convince her that she wasn't an afterthought, not bc they think so abt her but bc wangxian is basically the founding principle of the canon she's inhabiting and girl can only handle so many mind-blowing paradigm shifts and that quota is filled by transmigrating. I also feel like wangxian have so much work to do w themselves in canon before they're ready to be in a relationship, and asking zyx to join in is like asking them to do a lot of emotional heavy lifting on their behalf. Like, she knows all their hangups, and she might be able to help one (1) romantic partner w that stuff but two is asking kind of a lot? Also she just knows too much abt them. She knows too much abt everybody, but them in particular. (zyx's reaction to the Horny Gripping, anybody?) Also, that insight seems to be a major reason why she even knows how to interact with them/interpret their behavior, and she's still baffled half the time lmao.

Not to mention, these two are Dramatic. Like, they are That Couple, and are prone to dramatic displays of love and romance and great personal sacrifice and zyx is way too lowkey and easily embarrassed for that shit. (zyx, if someone did the equivalent of giving the whole cultivation world the middle finger on her behalf: First of all, I would never put you in that situation, and second of all *perishes*) (zyx, if someone proposed in public and made graphic comments abt wanting to bang her: I don't know you. Also, I'm going to beat you to death.) (Alternatively, these are the two with enough combined chaos energy that they're the ones most likely to find out abt zyx's reincarnation/transmigration bit.)

Now About Jiang Cheng:

Of course, he is my bestest angry boi and I'm not-at-all-secretly in love w your Lan Wenhui au, so I'm biased. And let's be real, their relationship would have to have elements of politics. But I love their dynamic and how they seem to intuitively understand each other and have similar responses to situations. I don't think they'd have wangxian level Romance, but I also don't think zyx is built for that. (Not a criticism, bc I'm certainly not either.) But I think they'd have an excellent sense of comradery and companionship and respect, and would definitely be a cultivation world power couple bc they're both just so damn competent. Also they'd be roasting everyone the entire time. (Basically, I think they'd make each other laugh, and that's my gold standard.)

I think they're similar enough that they can understand each other without letting their worst qualities and habits dominate? Like, they both deal with feelings of inadequacy and are hyper competent to compensate, and can come off cold but definitely aren't. zyx wouldn't let jc get too caught up in his own head and family feelings, etc., and jc would see zyx on a research bender and be like 'eat food, you gremlin'. (He grew up w wwx, he knows.) jc is also p charismatic to my mind, in a way we both see and don't see in canon, mostly subtextual in how he rallies Jiang Sect during the war and rebuilds it. You don't do all of that solely through the power of being an angry asshole everyone's scared of. Also, jc has a major thing for ppl being loyal, and if zyx and he were to become an item, ie for political reasons, I think she definitely would be and I think he'd find that enormously attractive. And I think having someone on his side who shares his goals would really allow jc to grow and mature in ways that zyx would find appealing. (Returned confidence and trust in the other person?) Plus, imagine zyx/jc interacting w jzx/jyl, I feel like there are so many opportunities for comedy gold.

Idk I like some of the other pairings suggested--whoever put forth jzx/jyl/zyx is Big Brained. Anyways I've written some and would love to chat w you if you ever want to, and also maybe someday I'll write up my thought on lxc or Mianmian as potential love interests. (I feel like I could really be into something w Mianmian 😉)

if i questioned what anyone did with their spare time, it's "glass houses and cast stones" on this end. thank you for following through, love reading write ups that prove i've dragged others into this hellhole. it's especially nice when a reader catches onto what i'm trying to convey in the fic, and agrees (two braincells in resonant frequency across the land).

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on wangxian+ot3:

you've brought up something that very few have brought up before, even as a joke. like, haha yeah we know zyx's a potty-mouthed transmigrator, but the emotional and mental toll on someone to be constantly reminded they don't belong, they don't fit in, there's nothing they can do about that, and they cannot be themselves wholly... it's a lot. there's only so many braincells left to do other mental heavy-lifting. and yes, zyx is willing to handle most things as they come, but they tend to establish ground rules and assumptions before operating, and wangxian is one of those gr&as, thought immutable.

they're also on a different level of emotional maturity than wangxian (for as much of a mess zyx is), there is self-awareness and understanding that sets them apart from the teenagers around them (let alone the emotional messes that are wangxian). it'd be too imbalanced, one person helping the other person develop to their level rather than mutual growth (not saying it can't happen. it's currently unlikely). and knowing too much about a person, not some faceless character - to know someone, move onto liking them, respecting them; the 'DISGUSTANG' response is played up for laughs, but that's masquerading the guilt/discomfort one would feel when unintentionally violating another's boundaries. and it's even worse bc the affected party doesn't know it.

(i'd like to argue on zyx's behalf/my behalf that the Customer Service/Professional at Work face is good enough to interact with most people, and there's a reason ppl irl ask me to read others to filth. the bafflement is only when the interpretation must involve the self.)

(in a "fuck, dude - i exist in other people's thoughts???")

the Drama is def another con in the wangxian category. nice to read about, but don't you fucking dare bring that into the house. each reaction you've written is 100% true: it's more like zyx would never want to put their partner in the position of performative displays of affection and romance (bc it means they've fucked up themselves, and it's time to exit life). the reflexive reaction to raunchy declarations would likely be a bellow and a punch (the thoughts are as you've written).

but, yes - the gravitational pull of wangxian's chaos -> they're getting into the business of those they hold dear, whether the other party likes it or not -> it will probably happen. i answered that 'potential crossover ask' before, and that's the case where wangxian are the only mfers with the least responsibilities such that they'll get into a mess w zyx that will bust that secret wide open.

(also, toying w a side-plot during ssc, involving demonic cultivation + inquiry)

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on jiang cheng:

it's no surprise - from the lwh au and zyx's thoughts in dbd, jc is the character they identify most with. not in a 'aww little meow meow' but a 'uh the reflection in this mirror is... i don't want to think about this bye'. i'm happy you like what little i have on their dynamic in dbd so far; it's difficult to get them to interact in depth at this point of the fic bc it's in the nature of both jc and zyx.

if they do get together, it's as you said: not wangxian level of true love romance, and neither are built for it. it'd be like the lwh au, except less funny and much messier (the fact that wwx has a crush on his shidi's ??? being one thing, and the fact that jc has to consider his position/appearance rather than pursue romance or even consider zyx a romance option). it'd have to develop from strong friendship first, which is exactly like your thoughts on comradery + companionship + respect. a partnership on multiple fronts.

it's two girlbosses dating each other.

(i def have more interactions with the two building up via snark, and yes - how can you date someone that doesn't make you laugh? minimum requirements right there, you have to find each other hilarious)

also true on similar but different: they deal with their fixations and hurts in different ways. there's always the possibility that two people like this would start a cold war of posturing that'd keep them from reconciling, but the little differences of the sources of their issues/how they manage their issues gives room for coexistence. very much agree w your examples.

jc has to be charismatic - not only did he rebuild the jiang, he did so when he was on the losing side, and it'd probably looked better for his recruits to stay out of cultivator business and hope it'd blow past. he has yet to pull out the jc charm on zyx yet. it's not as bombastic as wwx's, but it's something.

while zyx would never say their defining trait is loyalty, they are stubborn as fuck. "fuck it i'm not doing this" *does it anyway* "i don't need to be here" *is still here* <- the thing w shuangfeng all through part 1. so yeah, if they deliberately chose to stand with jc, it will likely be followed through to the end. jc doesn't have many people that are straightforward and stalwart with him, and as shady as zyx is they aren't that complicated of a person. at least, i don't think so lol, but i 'might' be biased.

(i tend to introduce myself as a 'single-celled organism'; like, i'm kinda shady but only for fun)

you want the most awkward family dinners, don't you? unfortunately for jc, it's a case of "we're best friends that were so homie we dated siblings" when it comes to jzx&zyx.

jc & jyl eyeing each other from across the table like 😶😶

(i do not know how that type of interaction would work out, and i will leave the future a mystery)

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wrapping up:

i would love to talk more about jzx/jyl/zyx throuple bc it's so galaxy-brained, but bc jzx is instrumental in the plot near-future, i do not want to spoil anything until the things have happened.

when more lxc interactions happen (some upcoming in the discussion conference, a lot in the ssc), i'd love to see it.

BWEW BWEW BWEW!!!!!

[LUO QINGYANG ROUTE - prerequisites fulfilled]

^ if people find things (if you find things) in dbd, she's now available to be discussed :)

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also, from pm's:

> "Ooh another pt of interest that can apply however you like: zyx doesn't *trust* love as a sentiment on its own. She's like 'feelings? How unfortunate, how can I get out of this.' I don't know if she would be able to view romantic love as lasting and therefore worth investing in seriously unless there was other stuff underpinning it. But reliability and competence? Mutual respect? I feel like that would go much further to winning her over, would be what makes her catch feelings."

< "you fucking got it"

< "like, zyx is not one to deny feelings exist. but that's a whole separate animal."

< "you can't get assholes off your lawn and away from your sect through ~true love~"

> "Lmao zyx viewing their emotions with a 😒 'that's a little irritating but whatever'"

< "rational zyx to emotional zyx "we'll get through this""