#nangong jignu

[un-jaseur]

sketched while processing adaptation news OTL.

[mercyll]

One aspect of JWQS I adore is how Qi Yan and Nangong Jignu have opposite effects on each other. Through killing her family, gaslighting, and manipulating her wife, Qi Yan leads Nangong Jingnu down a dark path where Nangong Jingnu learns to be cynical, calculated, and ruthless.

Qi Yan taught Nanong Jingnu to be cold and cruel.

Nangong Jingnu on the other hand loves Qi Yan unconditionally and through her budding innocence and love, Qi Yan learns to walk a path of light where she learns the meaning of mercy and compassion, learning that revenge is not the path she wants to walk but peace is.

Nangong Jingnu taught Qi Yan to be warm and kind.

They are two sides of the same coin.

[serdefelicidad]

I have a personal problem with Please Don't Laugh, because she tries so hard to defend her morally gray characters, explaining their actions by saying that's the only correct solution to their issues. I know she repeatedly says people do bad and rights BUT why should you justify and opine in favor of Qi Yan just like you did with Li Xian??

I think she is biased towards scheming driven woman, and I would understand her defense statements if they weren't hurting MY beloved Lin Wanyue and Nangong Jignu. Besides Li Xian was kinda psycho, so why get defensive after people dislike her? (us disliking her is because you did an excellent job portraying a morally gray character)

Her author notes are interesting but sometimes when talking about those two it's always to clarify their intentions

Lin Wanyue deserved better (me)

[elliegardenzz]

Forgot to post here xd

Heres day 3 & 5: soulmate/lantern

[mercyll]

People call Qi Yan dramatic but poor Nangong Jingnu faints at least every thirty chapters. Out of the two of them, Nangong Jignu can definitely be a lot more dramatic with how she expresses herself while Qi Yan is more dramatic in her thoughts.

[mercyll]

A big theme in JWQS is that of "The Enemy" and destroying that which you deem your enemy but in the end, it's clear that no one in the novel is truly evil or truly your enemy.

Qi Yan's worst enemy isn't Nangong Rang, it's not Nangong Jignu, it's not Nagsi Jiya, it's not The Masked Person. In the end, Qi Yan's worst enemy is her own consciousness and the balance between her walking between darkness and light.

Qi Yan's worst enemy is herself and her ambition her constant path of revenge diving her deeper into murder and pain, not just for Nangong Jingnu but herself too.

No murder leaves Qi Yan feeling whole or happy, it only leaves her more wounded and angry making her more of a shell of her innocent self.

The enemy isn't the Wei or the Jing. It isn't a person.

The enemy is oneself and their own dark desires to harm and kill and the battle is choosing the go against those dark desires and to choose to protect and keep others safe from harm.

[mercyll]

The part of JWQS when Nagsi Jiya starts an intimate relationship with Nangong Rang and you see it from Nangong Jingnu's POV is honestly such a well-written moment.

How Nangong Jingnu talks about missing her mother and how she barely remembers her mother's face and when you realise the ONLY portrait she has of her mother was burned down in the fire along with the entirety of Weiyang Palace, it really just rubs more salt in an old wound.

She must feel so betrayed seeing her father lusting over a complete stranger when she felt like her mother was meant to be important and irreplaceable to her father, despite the fact even after her passing Nangong Rang has already had several more children from illicit relationships.

Nangong Rang still loves Nangong Jingnu's mother and his daughter but in the end, he's not a good person. Not counting what he did to the Grass Plaines people and how many people he killed from the previous dynasty, he also forced two of his daughters into relationships against their will, one of those relationships being incredibly abusive and he did nothing about it to help her out.

Nangong Jingnu is one of eleven children and despite being the most spoilt she feels nothing but loneliness and inadequacy. And while it's been over a decade since she lost her mother she still grieves her constantly.

People often talk about how depressing and tragic Qi Yan's life was, and it definitely was difficult, I feel like Nangong Jignu's often gets overlooked by comparison. Maybe even in the novel itself.

Nangong Jingnu's family life is really messed up and even before Qi Yan starts killing her entire family she's already been through so much trauma.