#the siege against wwx

[sherylhooper]

There's a reason that even tho my country and my people push very hard to have us included in Europe, and discard everything that make us similar to Asia, I don't count myself as just European but more Asian, because our country is moatly located in Asia and also because the Silk Road and other Asian coutries' culture is very similar to us. That's the conversation for another time tho but when someone reads this, I want them to know that foreigners may call us white because of our skin color (even tho my ethnicity is very diverse 😒) but they still always count us as Asians because we aren't white and European enough for them.

What I want to say with that is that as much as I like that damnei, and especially MXTX books became popular, western people with their idiotic ideas make my skin crawl.

Unpopular opinion here but Wen remnants weren't innocent just because they haven't done what Wen Ruohan did. If someone doesn't something horrible, doesn't make them innocent and good. This is why I can't stand western people. Someone made a tiktok about how horrible Jiang Cheng was for leading the siege against Wei Wuxian and how horrible he was and how heroic WWX is and I wanted to make something very very clear.

MXTX herself very clearly wrote during Sunshot campaign that "no Wen took Sunshot Campaign seriously". Here it doesn't say that every Wen, besides Wen Qing and Wen Ning and Wen Qing's branch, took Sunshot Campaign seriously. No, she very clearly wrote what she wrote. People assume way too much that Wen Qing couldn't leave Wen Ruohan's side. I'm sorry but yes, yes, she could, She could've taken Wen Ning with her, gone to Lan Xichen or Nie Mingjiu and given up as a prisoner, but she didn't.

The fact very much remains: neither she, nor Wen Ning or others gave up on Wen Rouhan. They clearly expected him to win (and he was very much winning before WWX turned up with undead army and turned the tides.).

Now I want to address another thing and it's called POW, i.e. what Wen Remnants were.

The phrase, Prisoner of War for the first time, has been used in 1610 but the idea of losing side of war being "either slaughtered of enslaved" has been there since ancient times: Romans, Greeks, Turk Sejuks, Turk Ottomans, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Chinese, Japanese, etc. They all have taken people from losing side of war as prisoners.

Now I want to adress what these POW were used as - "Typically, victors made little distinction between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although they were more likely to spare women and children. Sometimes the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a practixe known as raptio."

My people were part of raptio many times, as our enemies captured women from my country because they were beautiful and they wanted to "verbessern" (improve) their blood and bred them for that purpose as disgusting as it sounds, this is a very reason why many foreign leaders in history, especially in Asia, had my people as grandmas or mothers, most of the time unwillingly and my people also took their own life before that kind of fate would befall on them too.

That was what happened to women prisoners after war most of the time, as for men, they were used to work manually almost every time for their captors.

Now, as much as Jin Guangshan and Jin Zixun make me very very angry, (not because how they acted against Wens but because they were simply disgusting people) they weren't wrong to take Wen Remnants in and make them work manually till they died (what could be argued that Jin Zixun was wrong in following that bat and capturing and impriaoning WN and his group during nighthunt). If everything WWX acting the way he acted was abnormal. He literally stole and freed them and went to the enemy's side.

Here is where I want people reading this to forget their western opinions and Geneva Convention (which was created in 1949 AFTER two world wars.). I know that most of them and their countries have never been to war in near history (USA involvement in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in iran, in many other countries doesn't count and neither does WW1 and WW2), have never had their people expeciance genoc!de so I want them to shut their mouth and listen to us, who have had wars at the hands oppressors and colonizators for more than 2000 years, yes two thousand years, who have experienced genoc!de multiple times. Even nowdays 20% of my country is occupied by our oppressors and we had 2 wars in last 32 years also at the hands of them. In 1992-1993 and in 1998 my people experienced ethnic cleansing alongside with our allies at the hands of Russians. And last war we had was in 2008, which I remember very well and it was hardly a war and more likely bombing the civilians!

Keep that in mind that I actually was in Jiang Cheng's shoes and understand that I also have a sibling. If, God above forbid, my sibling after what happened to us, got up, defected and went to Russians side, I'd kill that traitor with my own two fucking hands!!

Does people even understand what kind of bullshit they are speaking when they say that WWX was actually not wrong to take "innocent" Wens' side? There was no such thing as innocent people there!! They were elders, sure, but you can't make me believe that if they were younger they wouldn't fight in that war or that WRH wouldn't force them to fight. Did anyone from Wen Remnants say "oh, Wen Ruohan was such a bad person, we weren't actually on his side even tho we never defected during the war but just because we have done nothing against others, we are innocent". That doesn't work like that. They couldn't have been innocent when they stayed by WRH's side in the war!! At best, they simply were indifferent in it! They alao profited from war. Funding, medicine, etc have to come from somewhere, right?

Now I want to adress Wen Ning and Wen Qing and why I don't particulary care about them. Wen Qing was a healer, we have to understand that today's medical ethics that was created by Thomas Percival, is different from what physicians thought was correct in antient times, especially in ancient China.

"The traditional Chinese medical ethics emphasized heavily on physician's morality and set high standarts for medical practice. To summarie the ideas in these historical works, the phyaicians nuat rescue every like without any preconditions."

At that time there was no such thing as patient's automony. For that reason we can't fault WQ when she performed the golden core transplatation. She just did what WWX asked her.

There'a one thing that I'm gonna argue tho. When WQ and WN saved Jiang Cheng from other Wens, WQ told WWX that their debt from now on was null and void.

So when people say that Jiang Cheng should've always be in debt with her, is actually not correct. I also want to argue that she trully only cared for her brother. When she fell on her knees in front of WWX, she only wanted him to save Wen Ning. Nowhere did she say "oh, Jin clan is treating my branch so horrible, we all want to save ourselves. Help me save them."

Now about Wen Ning. He is a guy who has no other personality than just being m nice. He helped JC and WWX after Jiang Sect annihilation and that was also because he was nice. He is just a nice guy, nothing more, nothing less. He just exists to be "just nice guy".

I can't seem to force myself to care about him.

Someone on above mentioned tiktok commented and I quote:

"there is nothing jc went through that was significantly worse than what others went through yet people baby him so much 🙄 sry i don’t like mr genocide everyone"

The tiktok author replied:

"NO FR like “he lost his family” hate to break it to u bud but so did like. Everyone else … it was kind of a war,,,"

Did I read it correctly or did they simply compared Jiang Sect Genocide to people losing one or two relatives in the war??

The author in their bio had "free Palestine". Unfortunatelly that comment here clearly speaks that they don't actually care about anyone's genocide and they probably only do it for the trend.

Apparently these people also think that Jiang Cheng hunted down that tortured "pure innocent Demonic Cultivators for fun".

Are they dumb or do they trully think that these Demonic Cultivators all were like WWX and not blood-hungry like Xue Yang?? The only remotelly normal Demonic Cultivator was WWX!! Nowhere did MXTX say, even in interviews that JC hunted Demonic Cultivators for fun! Some people have never read a book in their life and it shows!

Especially when they act as if WWX was second coming of Jesus and has never done anything wrong.

First of all, WWX did, in fact, have an army in Burial Mounds, the army of undead, fierce corpses and ghosts. That army may not have Wen Remnants, but it was still an army! Also wasn't WWX the one who wrote death threats with his own blood and sent them different sects? He, obviously, wasn't in right mind at that time but he really was the threat to the Jianghu. He was arrogant and, what we know is that Jiang Cheng led the siege (please, remember that we also hear that from other people - who love rumors and speculation and etc. We don't know for sure if JC led the siege or not.).

WWX did betray him. He left him alone when he took Wen Remnants. They were brothers!! What kind of older brother abandons their little sibling? Wei Ying also indirectly caused Jiang YanLi's death. Mind you, Wei Ying didn't die on the same day as JYL, but three months later.

That alone left Jiang Cheng trully alone with a newborn nephew!!

It's a wonder he didn't go out of his mind.

Just because WWX suffered doesn't mean other people, especially Jiang Cheng didn't lose everything in the world. He had to revive a dead sect with his two very hands in his early twenties.

Some people also don't understand what kind of power vacuum Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan's deaths created! Take cultivation out of the novel and you are left with 5 big sect with Sect Leaders who are like the kings in their own land! People pay taxes here canonically. Do some people trully believe that Yumeng Jiang would remain untouched when there was no Jiang Sect left to rule it? Jin Guangshan and other sects, big or small, would start fighting over the land. Jiang Cheng had more problems at his hands than caring about leftover Wens and the problems that Wei Wuxian created because at that time, when he stole Wens from Jin Sect, he was still a part of AND the Head Disciple of Jiang Sect 🤌🏻

Wen Ruohan wiped out one of the 5 big sects and he may have done the same if Wei Wuxian didn't insult Wen Chao, but he indirectly gave Wen Chao the reason to hate Jiang Sect even more than his father's brainwashing and people think it's not that important.

People also genuinely hate Lan Xichen because he never cared about Wen Remnants enough to take them in or save them 🤦‍♀️

Wei Wuxian should also have cared enough for his sect to at least help JC revive it or something as his Head Disciple. Him giving JC his golden core meant nothing at that time, I said what I said! Especially because he didn't know! 🤷‍♀️ I blame Jiang Fengmian for raising him all highty and mighty and lone wolf or smt, but that's the discussion of another time.

I trully believe that some people read the novel with their eyes closed! This here is exactly why I hate westerns so much when they seriously think that JC is the worst character and hate him more than Wen Ruohan, Jin Guangyao/Meng Yao and Jin Guangshan 🤌🏻

MDZS fandom is clearly very toxic and I'm very glad I'm not a part of it. I'll stay in my SVSSS bubble for eternity.

P.S. just so I can make something very clear. The Siege didn't happen because of Wen Remnants as Jin Zixun allowed WWX to take them away, but because WWX killed Jin Zixuan, who was a sect heir and also husband of his Shijie. Wen Ning killed him indirectly, WWX had no control over his abilities, he was powerfull but with no control and his mind was deteriorating at that time. He was a danger to the cultivation world. Siege happened because of him, against him, and Wen Remnants died as a colletal demage. Morally right or wrong, what he created was a political disaster and it ended with every Wen, excluding WN and Wen Yuan, and with himself dead!

UPDATE. someone from China reblogged this post and called me quite horrible things, but that's okay. They also questioned if my people have even gove thro genocide at all. Okay, denial of my people's genocide is not new either. What they said next was that Siege of Burrial Mounds was a genocide of Wen Remnants. No, actually it wasn't. They died as an collateral demage because Wei Wuxian was there, that's the tragedy. I'm gonna repeat once again, Siege happened because of WWX, not because of Wens.

Another thing what they said is that people have empathy that I lack and I'm a horrible person for that, and I should be ashamed for even thinking that or that I'm Chinese literature to spread my hate, etc, etc.

My empathy died when things such these happened to my people.

Mind you, this is only one, one single city and it's not even the whole list of crimes they have done. I'm gonna find and update this post once again, cuz it's clear that I need to spread awereness, I won't let their names be forgotten...

Today the remains of 12 people, who were considered as "lost during war", were found and transferred to my country for burial and it was very emotional as many remains still haven't been found after 30+ years yet and people still hope that there could be even a single bone found and returned so they can bury it.

So, yeah, I bury whatever empathy I have left with the remains of people everytime something like this happens. Every time people deny the genocide of my people, every time these people call US colonizers and many degrading things, saying that we oppressed them when in reality it was other way around, when we couldn't speak our language, when they called it the "dog's language" and and laughed at it, couldn't get any service if we spoke it and they mockingly told us to speak "human language", which to them was Russian, WE were oppressed in our own country and land and they took everything from us and made the world believe that we were oppressors and colonizers, they even stole the name of our region for themselves....

And no one in the world did anything about this because they didn't care. So no, everytime I'll always imagine myself in JC's shoes that I'm asked to care about ethnic Russians and Apsuas, I simply can't care, don't care and won't even care unless justice is served, unless all the land they have stolen is returned, unless they all apologize for what they have done and stop spreading lies about us....

So, good for you, if you have empathy and are a better person, unfortunately, I am not...

[sharkji]

The more I think about this [this post], the more a Yiling Wei Sect AU comes to mind.

Everything plays out mostly the same, but the rumors are true! Wei Wuxian really did start his own sect!

Perhaps the timeline diverges after Qiongqi Path.

Wei Wuxian successfully convinces Wen Ning and Wen Qing not to turn themselves in. They have a sect to run together now! They'll deal with the consequences together.

The siege still happens but it's more evenly matched. Since it was just rumors that wwx started a sect, they were more prepared to fight wwx and wn. Two against many. They didn't expect wwx to have actually skilled disciples! (In my heart of hearts, wwx's disciples would be a bunch of lost, outcasted queer kids he found (think mxy!!) that found a home in his sect)

The siege concludes with casualties on both ends. Both jc, who's leading the siege still, and wwx have newly formed sects. They can't afford to loose much more. It's a draw. Terms and conditions of the draw are to be established.

Meanwhile, the siege is still locked down as the greatest battle in history. Lan disciples come back tired and ragged. Lan Wangji has received his punishment of 33 lashes and is in seclusion.

He is never the wiser if his brother comes in and says wwx lost the siege and is now gone.

In the dead of night Iwj breaks several more rules sneaking out of the Cloud Recesses and heading towards the burial mounds. He has to see wwx's dead body for himself.

He doesn't expect to see a recovering, but mostly okay sect. With just a roughed up, fully alive wwx attending to his disciples.

And when wwx sees Iwj and the state he is in, he comes to the correct conclusion about what happened to him.

This is when I play my uno reverse card.

Instead of Iwj wanting wwx to "come back to Gusu with me” to protect him from the world. We have a wwx wanting lwj to "stay in the burial mounds with me" to protect him from the Lan clan.

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[sonik-kun]

"If Jiang Cheng is all about debts, he should repay his debts to Wen Qing and Wen Ning!"

What debts? The two were from a sect that decimated his own. Be it willingly or not, they occupied the burned remains of his sect and helped the war effort on the Wen side (whilst assisting WWX and JC, but bear in mind, WQ only did it begrudgingly due to the risks associated with asissiting them. It's funny that y'all would jump to her defence whilst shitting on JC when she was in the exact same position he was in btw. But that's a debate for another day~).

Expecting him to pay a debt to the people that were, to at least some degree, complicit in numerous genocides is pretty messed up.

Even then, JC DID vouch for them to express his gratitude for helping him and WWX to escape and get their parent's remains back. But the other leaders shut him down when he did and scoffed at him. I feel like I've said this so many times on here, but he was in no position to argue any further on the matter. Especially when a more established sect leader like LXC was shut down, too.

As for the core transfer that he didn't consent to, how can he thank someone for that when he never knew it had happened in the first place?? Or asked for, for that matter?? The whole thing made him feel shitty anyway when he found out about it.

WQ and WWX, although both had good intentions, still had no right to experiment on him like that and keep this very invasive secret from him for so long, too. You can't just do something for someone without them knowing or consenting and expect them to repay that "debt" when you find yourself in a pinch. That's kinda like blackmail and is very coercive.. Something WWX and the Wen sibs are certainly not..

Then there's the situation with WN. Sure, he could be thankful for WN helping to get him to safety and treating his wounds (which, see my earlier point, JC did express gratitude.) But that opportunity kinda all fizzled out when WN killed JZX (I know it was an accident due to him being under the influence of DC but let's be real. That resentment is going to be there. Espeically since the topic greatly upsets JL soooo).

Even all that aside, you seriously can't expect JC to "repay his debts" and help WN and WQ out of that situation when the whole CW was against them. Helping them was suicidal and would bring on the wrath of the other major sects. And we all saw how that went for WWX (as JC rightly predicted)..

Had JC sided with the Wens and took them in to "pay his debts," he would have dragged the whole of his sect into the siege that happened soon after. This would mean more innocents would have been involved, and it would be the destruction of Lotus Pier all over again (and quite possibly the destruction of the Jiang, too). JC had to prioritise his own people. He would be a shit leader otherwise.

I feel as though some of y'all put some unrealistic expectations on JC when assessing his character. Especially when you compare him to the others in the story (returning back to my point I made earlier about him and WQ and how similar they both are).

On the topic of "debts" though, I would also like to argue that doing a good deed out of the kindness of your heart shouldn't be seen as a debt. And if you do something with the expectation that someone would do something for you back in kind, wouldn't that make you a shitty person? Is that what you're implying the Wen sibs are (or should be) ? Self-serving people who only help others if something is to be gained? 🤨

But what about the "debt" JC goes on about, you might ask? Oh, you mean the PROMISE that WWX made HIMSELF? That he would stay by JC's side? And be his subordinate? To fulfil his role as promised and expected of him?

That wasn't a debt.

WWX construed it as being one, but it doesn't fit the criteria, honestly. What WWX had was an obligation. He made that promise himself, and JC held him to it. It wasn't one JC forced him into as some form of servitiude, nor was it made in return for bed and board or something.

We know JC isn't truly about holding debts over others. If he was, he would have dangled his own sacrifice over WWX and used that to guilt trip him instead. Or force him to pay him back in kind. But he never did. Why? Because he loved WWX, and he didn't want him to feel "indebted" to him. Especially when WWX revealed his feelings of "letting go and moving on" to him.

You could go on forever about debts and who owes who what, but the thing is, each of these characters have hurt eachother in one way or another that at this point, the notion of who owes what doesn't matter anymore. The situation is far more complex than that. That's why all "debts" were dropped at the end, and JC and WWX just moved on. I feel that was the message MXTX tried to convey in her work. About moving on and letting go of grudges. Perhaps JC antis should take on that advice? And move on too?

[asideoftrashplease]

A reminder to those going "WWX gave up so much for JC and JC still chose his sect over WWX"

"JC chose preserving YMJ over WWX" is a single act. But the truth is that he was choosing WWX over his sect CONSTANTLY for years before that.

He chose WWX over YMJ when he got his core destroyed saving WWX. When he chose to save WWX, he chose WWX's life over his own life, his sect, his parent's legacy, and the WEIGHT of his ENTIRE lineage resting on him alone. His parents JUST DIED to make sure he lived to continue the bloodline and to bring back YMJ. He chose WWX over YMJ when people started shit talking WWX about not carrying his sword and the demonic cultivation, and he continued to stand by WWX with little more than a "carry your sword next time". How many times did he hear people saying that WWX was a black mark on YMJ, and he refused to cast WWX out or to even CENSURE him in front of an audience. Even when he's BOILING on the inside because WWX broke the Wen remnants out without telling him first, he defends WWX against other people, and stands up for WWX's cause, even when he has difficulty believing in it himself. He sticks his neck out, as the youngest sect leader who people still see as a child, speaking against his elders -- JGS, NMJ, LQR, and EVERYONE ELSE, to explain WWX's actions in breaking out the Wens. Even when he's FURIOUS and HURT that WWX did all this without (from his POV) any care for JC, the sect, and the hard spot he's now in.

JC chose WWX for years and years and years. "JC chose his sect and position over WWX" was a single act. But for years before that, he was making the continuous and repeated decision to choose WWX over his own position, pride, reputation, and sect.

From his POV, it felt like he was choosing WWX over and over and OVER again, and WWX could never be bothered to choose him even ONCE in return. And that's the crux of the betrayal, and why he eventually turned on WWX. It was: "I would have died for you. I DIED FOR YOU. I was tortured and mutilated and burnt. I defended you and stuck my neck out for you. I put myself and YMJ in the line of fire for years."

"And you don't give a shit about me."

And the tragedy is that WE KNOW THAT ISN'T TRUE. We know that WWX is not carrying his sword not because he doesn't care about what others think, and not because he doesn't care that they are giving YMJ and JC a hard time because of it. It's because he lost his core and can't fight back if he's challenged to a duel.

We know that he broke out the Wen remnants largely because he owes WN and WQ a HUGE life debt, huger than the one he actually tells JC about (i.e. they helped us get back JFM and YZY's bodies). He owes them a life debt for restoring JC's core.

But JC doesn't know that.

And so, the crux of the betrayal is "I chose you for years and years but you never chose me even once." I believe those were the underlying feelings behind JC leading the siege: betrayal, hurt, and misunderstandings.

[rynne]

A major thing that bothers me about the “WWX and JC have both hurt each other, so by post-canon it all evens out (or close enough) and they can still have a relationship” concept/argument is about the intentionality (or lack thereof) of the harms they each caused.

Because the thing is, nothing WWX did was ever meant to hurt JC. The core transfer was done to save him, not to humiliate him. WWX seceded from the Jiangs because that was the only option he had to protect the Wens (and the Jiangs too), not because he wanted to leave JC behind. JZX’s and JYL’s deaths were accidents, nothing WWX wanted much less chose, and were certainly not meant to target JC. Even at Nightless City, he initially holds back against the Jiangs specifically, until he finally totally loses it.

JC, on the other hand, consistently intends to harm WWX. After the fall of Lotus Pier, he strangles WWX, both out of violent emotions generally and to punish him for it being his “fault.” After WWX secedes, JC goes beyond their agreement to just tell the world that WWX left the clan and instead says that WWX declared himself an enemy of the cultivation world, which was not what WWX asked of him and further harmed his reputation. JC joined the conference at Nightless City, which was meant to raise an army to attack WWX, and we have no indication that he was going to speak in his favor. JC then actually led the siege that killed both WWX and almost all of the people he gave up his previous life to protect.

Even after WWX’s death, JC continues to intend him harm. He keeps capturing, torturing, and killing people who he thinks might be WWX (and the text is explicit about this; there is no indication that the “demonic cultivators” JC captured were hurting anyone -- he wasn’t trying to protect anyone, he wanted to capture and hurt WWX). When he finds someone who actually might be WWX, he uses a tool meant to expel WWX’s soul on him. He deliberately torments WWX with his greatest fear. He joins in a second siege meant to kill him.

Has WWX taken actions that resulted in JC’s pain? Yes. But JC’s pain was never the point...and that’s not true for JC about WWX.

So this is a big reason why I can’t want WWX to reconcile with JC, and why I’m glad that in canon he didn’t. They’ve both caused each other pain, but JC meant to hurt WWX in a way that WWX didn’t mean to hurt JC. And I don’t think WWX should have to go back to that kind of relationship.

[ninjakk]

I'm the anon who's been reading ur SWaK fic! Thank you for answering the qi deviation question. it's making me see mdzs in a whole new light. I recently saw a post (askSythe on here) about the significance of the blood pool and how throwing bodies in there removes them from the reincarnation cycle and that's what the clans did to the Wen Remnants and JC is rumored to have led this siege and my heart HURTS. continuing this in next ask - 

Hey there anon 👋🏻

I'm glad you're enjoying my fic ☺️

As for the post you are referencing, I had not come across this until you mentioned it in your ask and have since went in search of it in order to reply. From what I can gather from the notes, it seems to have garnered a lot of controversy and subsequent backlash against the person who posted it originally.

I don't want to criticise other people's posts (especially when they have already received so much negativity from it), but with all due respect, I don't feel this was MXTXs intention with the blood pool. There's no mention of it in any version I have and I've also had my friend check the entire original novel for the phrase '永不超生', which is quoted in the original post, and we can't locate that in the Chinese text either. Regardless of that, I don't feel such a claim fits with the rest of the novel.

I could be completely wrong, as it's not something I've really thought about, nor do I have the cultural knowledge of the specific concept the original post is referring to. But, if the Wen remnants were forever barred from reincarnating due to their corpses being thrown into and essentially trapped in an apparent 'unbreakable prison' (which they managed to escape), why would WWX set an array around the blood pool to stop corpses escaping when he lived there back in his first life? 🤔 How were all the corpses able to crawl out and run amok the minute a rampaging WN broke the seal around the pool? It just doesn't make much sense to do that if the fierce corpses residing within are already trapped there.

There's also the fact WWX uses the blood pool as well. Which makes me question this theory even more so. It goes against WWX's character and ethics to stop souls from reincarnating, when his very cultivation method involves empathy and 'spending' resentment so the entities can move on. Granted, WWX used the blood pool to nurture corpses resentment so he was able to harness it and direct it where required - in this case, I think it's most likely to replenish those guarding the base of the burial mounds and keeping the Wen remnants safe. In theory, the corpses residing there would eventually use up their resentment and their souls would move on. Hence the need for a supply of new fierce corpses he can utilise - which he helps move on in turn. I really don't think WWX would do such a thing if the blood pool was anything other than a collection of water that held strong resentment due to being contaminated by the many corpses already present in its depths. If anything, it's a similar situation to when he found the sword in the Xuanwu of Slaughter's stomach, which had been practically marinating in all the resentment of the beast's past victims.

Obviously the Wen remnants were unable to move on after being mercilessly slaughtered, but that is simply because they were denied a proper burial and unjustly murdered in what was a most violent, unprovoked attack. Once the blood corpses had spent their lingering resentment, saving the very people who had killed them and the man who tried so hard to protect them, they finally moved on and turned to ash - which WN promptly collected to ensure they could finally be put to rest respectfully, as they should have been long ago. I see no indication that they would not move on because they were left in the blood pool specifically.

Of course, the way the cultivators involved in the siege not only murdered innocent people, but then treated their victims corpses with such disgusting disrespect is utterly appalling. Even though there is no evidence that the blood pool acted as a type of supernatural prison of sorts, it does not subtract from what the cultivators did. They still made sure the Wen remnants could not rest in peace by their heartless actions regardless.

As for JCs involvement in the siege, it's not actually a rumour that he led the siege, he most certainly, unequivocally did. It's actually outright stated a few times in the novel. Even when WN mentioned as such, WWX did not correct him on that specific accusation. Later still JGY also mentions JCs involvement, right in front of the man in question no less, with no argument to the contrary. Finally, MXTX has also spoken about JCs involvement in leading the siege and confirmed he had indeed formulated a plan based on WWX's weaknesses, as the text suggests. He was very much the driving force of the whole thing, despite knowing the Wen remnants consisted of innocent people who were either weak, old, or a toddler. He is responsible for many people being brutally murdered and shows no remorse for it either - which speaks volumes about his character.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Okay, I have officially gotten to the post-timeskip era of the show in my rewatch, so time for some overarching thoughts!

Basically, I owe my past self an apology, because a lot of things I'd assumed I missed the first time around due to being overwhelmed with information/ relying on Netflix's iffy subs/ not paying close attention... are simply not present in CQL canon and/or aren't explained.

Sunshot, for example. I came away from the show thinking Sunshot had only lasted for a few months, and up till now had felt very silly because it's a massive multi-year war, right? NOT IN THE SHOW IT ISN'T. Sunshot begins in earnest in response to Lotus Pier's destruction; it is introduced alongside the core transfer, which occurs 1-2 weeks after Lotus Pier's destruction. When WWX returns from the Burial Mounts three months + 1 week later, he hangs out with everyone in the Unclean Realm for around a month before they make a final push against Nightless City. No other military action is shown during this time. Based on all the timestamps given, the active combat portion of this war took place over a period of less than 6 months.

(the following is said with the full understanding that I might sound like an insufferable CinemaSins video)

The consolidation of the Massacre at Nightless City and the First Siege of the Burial Mounds to one terrible, horrible, no-good very bad couple of days also diminishes it. All the Wen remnants--every single one of them!! nobody is left there when WWX wakes up!--just decide to let themselves be executed on the off-chance that WWX will be left alone with his sought-after cursed object and get to happily rejoin society after accidentally killing his brother-in-law. Why on earth would they all agree to that, especially without consulting WWX first? WQ and WN alone, sure, but ALL of them? Even A-Yuan's caregivers? WQ herself says that the jianghu gentry already decided WWX is guilty no matter what proof WWX offers! How will this solve anything!

(On the topic of the Burial Mounds: I assume that the reason the Burial Mounds are inhabitable and people are freely able to come and go without getting obliterated by ghosts is that WWX tamed the place during his time there earlier. Otherwise, it isn't "WWX spent 3 months cultivating resentment to survive until he was powerful enough to escape thanks to his hard-fought refinement of the Yin Tiger Tally" and more "WWX spent 3 months doing evil ghost science in a desolate yet fully habitable haunted forest just because.")

I also didn't get what the big deal was about WWX, because he... didn't really do anything? And again, I figured I must've just missed something, but no! He does atrocities at Yiling as he pursues Wen Chao and then he just sits there dodging concerned questions from loved ones and punching JZX over soup until the last minutes of the final battle, during which he summons some evil clouds that make people fall down. That's it. And then everyone, himself included, acts like he's the strongest and scariest dude ever. Part of the problem is that they only have like 50 extras in any of the battle scenes so there's no sense of scale, but even if there WERE hordes of CGI dudes... that is one battle, one time. Declaring himself an instrumental part of Sunshot is an overstatement, and it also raises the question of why he didn't use Chenqing or the Yin Tiger Tally sooner. He does nothing but use Chenqing as a baton until things get truly dire. I'd be suspicious of him too, if I'm honest!

And Wen Ning! Wen Ning, the oh-so-scary Ghost General, kills like a dozen guys one time and people think he's a terrifying death machine. This could have been chalked up to overblown rumors--oh, WN is just a little guy! he is just sitting there with his turnips! it's so messed up that people think WWX's trusty soft-spoken friend is a mindless tool for violence! UNTIL QIONGQI PASS 2.0, where WWX uses him as PRECISELY THAT. Why is WN coming with him to Jinlintai anyway, if not as a weapon? He certainly wasn't invited as a guest! Does he really think JGS is going to let the not-zombie who killed his employees come to his grandson's party when JC isn't even willing to let WN attend the surprise soup picnic?

Speaking of Qiongqi Pass 2.0, I do not understand why, if the whole thing was a nefarious scheme orchestrated by JGY to kill his brother and cause turmoil, WWX and WN were allowed to return to the Burial Mounds. SMS has the ability to control WN, and WWX can't fly on a sword. Just use WN to subdue WWX, capture them both, take the Yin Tiger Tally from WWX, and gain your father's esteem for obtaining the cursed object he wants and bringing his favorite son's murderers to justice! Come ON, JGY! If you're going to be extra evil, at least be clever about it! You aren't even at your breaking point yet!

I think the adaptation changes--the Yin Iron stuff, the not-zombies, XY working with WRH, the fairy statue backstory with WN's soul being easily detachable--actually do work in the front half of the show, where it's not following the text as closely. These things go together decently on their own! But from Sunshot onward, the new lore and changed characterizations that can't be fully discarded clashes with novel canon plot points that are too major to skip. It's a weird reversal of what happened with the first FMA anime, where the first half more or less follows the manga with some core changes baked in, and the second half deviates based off those changes since it outpaced the manga and didn't want to spoil it, resulting in two high-quality but fully distinct canons. Here, with the story unfolding chronologically, we have a first half that deviates with a lot of new content, and a second half that has a text to follow, resulting in ????

I'm still having fun, but I knowwww thinking about literally anything is gonna be such a mess from here on out. It's a testament to how much I like the actors' work and the expanded time with the supporting characters (and how much I do NOT vibe with Book Wangxian lol) that this is still my preferred canon.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

Why didn't Su She just grab JGY and teleport out of the temple? Was his cultivation level really low? Did he need a recharge??

it's funny you should send me this ask, anon, since it does form the basic premise of a fic I am working on (kind of).

sms's cultivation level and martial arts skills are quite good! before uncovering his identity as the mystery swordsman responsible for absconding with xue yang's body and, presumably, the stygian tiger tally, wwx is impressed by his techniques and capabilities. during the second siege of the burial mounds, sms is the one who leads his moling su disciples in performing the altered song of vanquishing to seal the spiritual energies of everyone else present at the siege--and, once he is found out, he makes use of a teleportation talisman to escape (abandoning his own disciples in the process after tricking them--not a good look, minshan). he's using these talents towards a terrible purpose in this moment, of course, but this speaks to someone who does have a strong cultivation base; his own guqin isn't named in the text, but it is described as a first class spiritual tool comparable to lan wangji's. just because he isn't lan wangji, lan xichen or nie mingjue doesn't mean he isn't a strong cultivator! he's just not a cultivation prodigy.

(though, as an aside, it takes a different kind of gumption and courage to go from being exiled from your sect and branded a coward, to establishing your own sect in mdzs's jianghu.)

so, bearing in mind that he did just exert a considerable amount of that energy during the second burial mounds siege, I do think he was 'running low,' as it were, and didn't have much left in the tank. that said, I do think it's possible that minshan could have made use of a teleportation talisman for both himself and jgy, just because of how much spiritual power he pours into nanping [edit: not nanping!! i forgot that lwj already shattered nanping earlier in the confrontation. so this is a different sword, but i think my point still stands] in his final attack on nmj moments before his death. I am glad that this moment was included in the donghua and very sad it was changed in cql:

(highlighting that short paragraph up top just to indicate the short-sightedness of huaisang's revenge vision quest here. nmj's fierce corpse is a danger to everyone in this confrontation, not just jgy; moments earlier, he'd not only lunged towards both jin ling and jiang cheng, but even towards lan xichen and huaisang himself.)

I love this paragraph; I love that in this moment, minshan's martial prowess and his strong cultivation base get to shine, because he is a character who has gone through the entire novel belittled and mocked and denigrated by everyone around him because of his cowardice, his inconsistent control over his spiritual abilities, and his decades-long grudge against the gusu lan (and lan wangji specifically). all of that remains true, and in this moment, he is incandescent and capable and putting every scrap of remaining power that he has into this attempt to strike down nmj and protect jgy. it's beautifully and vividly written and demonstrates just how unwavering his devotion is to the only person in the text to consistently treat him with respect and dignity.

that said--

the moment of his death unfortunately encapsulates his achilles' heel, both as a character and as a cultivator, imo. minshan's problem isn't that he has a weak spiritual core and weak martial arts: it's that he is impulsive and prone to extremely poor judgment in the heat of the moment (case in point: he curses jin zixun for the unforgivable crime of... wounding his pride. I mean, I too think jzn is a cunt, but like, come on minshan). he pours so much dazzling spiritual power into his sword that it shatters, rendering him defenceless in the face of nmj's attack.

imo this is a pivotal moment in the final confrontation in the guanyin temple where both sms and jgy could have escaped exactly as you suggest, anon. if sms has enough spiritual power remaining to accidentally shatter his sword, he probably has enough spiritual power to activate a teleportation talisman (either while nmj is still staring at the empty coffin or after forcing him back with that initial sword thrust) and escape through it with jgy in tow. but he didn't, because that isn't the judgment call he made in the moment.

[kenmascat]

jiang cheng's role and involvement in the burial mounds siege against wei wuxian and how he is directly responsible for it, a mini thread :

quotes from the unedited mdzs translation by exiled rebel translations which clearly state he was the very reason behind the burial mounds siege success to kill wei wuxian

chapter 1, prologue

“But, if not for Jiang Cheng making a plan that aimed at Wei WuXian’s weaknesses, the siege might not have succeeded. Should I remind you folks of the item that Wei WuXian possesses? Did you forget about the day that three thousand skilled cultivators were completely annihilated?”

chapter 43 -

After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian asked again, “What else have you heard?”

Wen Ning whispered, “Sect Leader Jiang, Jiang Cheng, brought a siege upon the Burial Mounds. And he killed you.”

Wei WuXian, “I’ll have to clarify this one. He didn’t kill me. I died from a backfire.”

(note how he doesn't defend the statement that jc brought the siege upon burial mounds, but only about the fact that he didn't directly kill him)

Chapter 68 -

Back then, during the first siege of Burial Mound, Jin GuangShan led the LanlingJin Sect, while Jiang Cheng led the YunmengJiang Sect; Lan QiRen led the GusuLan Sect, while Nie MingJue led the QingheNie Sect. The former two were the main forces, the latter two could’ve gone without. Now, the LanlingJin Sect’s leader hadn’t arrived at, having only sent people for the GusuLan Sect to command; the GusuLan Sect was still led by Lan QiRen; Nie HuaiSang replaced his brother’s position, shrunken within the crowd, his face still full of ‘I don’t know about anything’, ‘I don’t want to do anything’, and ‘I’m just here for the numbers’.

Chapter 104 -

(In the GuanYin temple scene, JGY himself says that if not for jc, things wouldn't have become what they were, implying he was a main factor behind the burial mounds siege)

Jin GuangYao wasn't swayed, continu- ing with a smile, "... Back then, the Lan- lingJin Sect, the QingheNie Sect, and the Gusulan Sect had already finished fighting over the biggest share. The rest co- uld only get some small shrimps. You, on the other hand, had just rebuilt Lotus Pier and behind you was the YiLing Patriarch, Wei WuXian, the danger of whom was immeasurable. Do you think the other sects would like to see a young sect leader who was so advantaged? Luckily, you didn't seem to be on good terms with your shixiong, and since everyone thought there was an opportunity, of course they'd add fuels to your fire if they could. No matter what, to weaken the YunmengJiang Sect was to stren- gthen themselves. Sect Leader Jiang, if only your attitude towards your shixiong was just a bit better, showing everyone that your bond was too strong to be bro- ken for them to have a chance, or if you exhibited just a bit more tolerance after what happened, things wouldn't have become what they were. Oh, speaking of it, you were also a main force of the siege at Burial Mound..."

all this clearly indicates Jiang Cheng played as the main force at the siege at burial mound against wei wuxian. If there's anything else I missed please feel free to add in.

Edit (22nd July 23')

adding this comment by @jiangchenganalysis

a great addition to the post, thankyou so much.

Another addition by me :

In ch72 (EXR translation)

wei wuxian finds that wens are being put in concentration camps, and that wen ning died, after learning about this he attacks the guards and frees the wens from them.

Following up, in the next chapter, there is a meeting at jinlintai with many sect leaders and people present, wei wuxian's topic is brought up and how he attacked the guards Jin's question Jiang Cheng who was present there about it, he apologized and said wwx's actions were too much and said they (wwx and jc) owe them for helping them during the sunshot campaign.

Then there is this -

Nie MingJue, “You owe them gratitude? Isn’t the QishanWen Sect the ones who caused the YunmengJiang Sect’s annihilation?”

Within these few years, Jiang Cheng insisted on working late into the night every day. That day, just as he decided to rest early, he had to rush to Koi Tower overnight because of the thundering news. He’d been suppressing some anger under his fatigue since the beginning. With his natural competitiveness, he was already quite agitated since he had to apologize to other people. When he heard Nie MingJue mention the incident of his sect again, hatred sprouted within him.

The hatred was directed at not only everyone who was seated in this room, but also Wei WuXian.

(ch73)

During this meeting be never once defended wei wuxian (only lan wangji and mianmian did) and he agreed with Jgy when he was badmouthing wei wuxian.

This also shows that he did not step in at a crucial time where everyone was against wei wuxian and all the hostility lead to the nightless city massacre as well which lead to wei wuxian dying eventually

[mxtxfanatic]

Absolutely wild to read through mdzs and tally the sheer amount of lies the cultuvation world tell about and around Wei Wuxian that eventually get debunked:

Wwx purposely and maliciously ordered Wen Ning to kill Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan. Jin Zixuan died for siding with his cousin in an ambush his cousin created to kill wwx, an invited Jin guest. Jiang Yanli died protecting wwx from a cultivator stabbing him in the back, after Wen Ning was supposedly already destroyed.

Wwx attacked the Nightless City banquet for no reason, killing between 3,000-5,000 cultivators. The major clans and many smaller clans were gathered at Nightless City specifically to go back on their word to the Wen siblings to leave the Burial Mounds settlement, and to pledge to kill wwx. There weren’t even 3,000 present at the whole pledge, and wwx didn’t kill nearly all of them since a good portion of them show up to the second siege 13 years later.

Wwx ordered Wen Ning to attack the cultivators at Koi Tower, and his and Wen Qing’s surrender was a ruse to allow them close access to the clans to do so. Wwx was immobilized for three days, and otherwise does not control Wen Ning like a toy. Edit: the Jin purposely agitated Wen Ning to violence, then ensured that a majority of the cultivators in the room killed were from other clans to secure their support of the pledge conference.

Wwx had a great life at Lotus Pier, treated like he was part of the Jiang main family, only to betray them in the end. Wwx was whipped so gratuitously that he had scars as a child despite having a high-level golden core. Nobody bothered to tell him about his parents, despite Jiang Fengmian supposedly being close to at least his father before Wei Changze left the service of the clan. He was given no tablets to honor them in death, no keepsakes. Still, wwx fulfilled both of the Jiang rulers’ final wish/order to protect their son (above his own life), and wwx’s connections are why either were able to get a proper burial (unlike wwx’s own parents).

Wwx was committing evil acts and took on the Wen remnants as followers/test subjects for his dark arts. All demonic cultivators can be linked to his followers. Wwx rescued the Wen Remnants from labor camps set up, again, against the word of the cultivation world, and lived secluded in the Burial Mounds and Yiling until basically his death. The only “demonic cultivators” we see are Jin disciples who are given wwx’s notes after his death to study in an attempt to recreate his methods and secure the Jin’s power over the other great sects. Nobody cares that the Jin are doing this, even as they use other clans as test subjects.

Wwx created Wen Ning to be a weapon. Wwx resurrected Wen Ning on the request of his sister after the labor camp guards murdered him. The Jin, after lying about his destruction, try to turn him into a weapon and fail.

Wwx was killed by Jiang Cheng in a fitting moment of justice for the crimes committed against the Jiang. While Jiang Cheng’s part in the first siege was integral, he did not kill wwx. The Jiang have committed more crimes against wwx than anyone, and owe their entire continued existence to wwx.

Wwx turned to demonic cultivation because he was greedy for power. Wwx created the ghost path as his only means of surviving the Burial Mounds without a golden core. He sought no power and blatantly called out those who did (the Jin), only to be ignored because of his status. In turn, he defects from his sect and exiles himself to the Burial Mounds (with the Wen remnants), to which the sects continue to pursue him in a bid to kill the “servant” who won’t bow to them and to steal his power for themselves.

Wwx’s cultivation corrupts people, both in mentality and their health, which is why he became evil. Wwx’s cultivation path is shown to do no such thing, and nobody has precedence for saying this, as wwx’s cultivation is entirely new. On the other hand, the Nie saber technique is known to corrupt body and mind of the Nie who practice is, resulting in horrifyingly violent deaths by qi deviation, and yet no one shows care or concern about that being a problem for the whole cultivation world to have to deal with.

Wwx was ugly. Do I need to debunk this? 😭

And some ones tangentially related to him, but having to do more with the cultivation world lying to make themselves seem better than they were:

The first Burial Mounds siege was a deadly undertaking, but ultimately worth it to stop the Yiling Patriarch’s reign of terror. The siege was hundreds of trained cultivators against around 50 sickly people and a child with no tools to fight back. The only person who could fight back did not. It was the very definition of a massacre.

The participants of the first siege burned all the corpses on the Burial Mounds to release their resentment. The participants of the first siege threw the Wen remnants’ corpses into the blood pool to desecrate them, thereby imbibing them with even more resentment.

Disciples (or anyone connected to her) of Baoshan Sanren who leave her mountain are destined to meet bad ends as they are corrupted by the world. The cultivation world allows righteous people to die and their reputations to be tarnished in order to maintain their facade of “righteousness” while leaning into corruption and constant power grabs. It is often directly the fault of the cultivation world that these individuals are killed in the first place.

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. Hi! I hope everyone's ok! Could you please help me find a fic? Last time I read it it was wip. It's a time travel fic that starts with punishment after they get caught drinking. WWX starts crying, I think, and he keeps avoiding LWJ. Then he goes to talk to LQR and asks him to get all sect leaders, then confesses he is from the future, I think WN also went back, and they want to help everyone prevent bad things to happen, including JGY.. do I even make sense? Sorry and thank you.

FOUND! If You Forget Me by DivideTheSorrow (Not Rated, 154k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel, Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Build, Canon Divergence, Eventual Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Alternating, Original Character(s), Angst)

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2. Hi! I'm trying to find this one-shot I read a while back. LWJ comes across A-Yuan calling LXC uncle? I believe. LWJ corrects him and asks him not to call him that. He makes it clear to LXC that he is unhappy about him allowing the siege against the burial mounds. Might not be entirely accurate but this si the gist of the fic. Thank you!

FOUND? ❤️ kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst)

FOUND? Survival - Part Three by Jinko (G, 2k, WangXian, LXC & LWJ, Canon Divergence, JYL Lives)

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3. Hi! Do you guys know of a crack fic where lqr gives sex ed to teenage lwj and wwx?

Lqr notices wangxian's mutual attraction (i think they are bethrothed? but I'm not too sure) and discusses this with xichen. Lqr hints at the need to give them both "the talk". Xichen shudders thinking about the time he got "the talk" from lqr. Lqr says xichen doesn't have to give wangji "the talk" since he is also young, plus getting "the talk" from an elder brother must be embarrassing and harrowing (lqr got "the talk" from lwj's dad lol).

Lqr asks wangxian to come to extra classes where he gives them sex ed much to wangxian's embarrassment. Lqr is no nonsense about it, nit embarrassed about explaining ecerything explicitly and scientifically. wangxian just wants to get out of there as they're both red with embarrassment. Lqr also asks wq give wangxian oil and tools for them to figure out which position each liked so that their future married life will be easier. Wangxian are by rule meant to be celibate until marriage.

FOUND! A Series of (Un)intentionally Supervised Dates by dragongirlG (T, 33k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, The Untamed (TV) References, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Political Alliances, Yīn Iron, Arranged Marriage, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Family Dynamics, Sparring, Sex Education, Jealous LWJ, Sexual Tension, POV Multiple, 5+1 Things, Character Study, First Kiss, [Podfic] A Series of (Un)intentionally Supervised Dates by Koontyme)

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4. Hii!! I was planning on just cutting my losses, but this is literally tearing my up from the inside out. I’m looking for a fic where Hualian adopted child Wei Ying, and because of being homeless, Wei Ying gets very sick with a high fever but tries to hide that from them. But Xie Liam see’s him eating less and WY eventually starts coughing violently then it’s revealed. He almost dies from the fever while Hua Cheng and Xie Liam watches over him. WY soon thinks that he is burdening the both of them and climbs out a window to sneak out, but gets caught by Hua Cheng when he collapses in the snow. Hua Cheng carrie’s him back and then the three have a heart to heart where I think WY starts crying.

I EVEN HAVE A QUOTE FROM A SC I PREVIOUSLY TOOK FROM THE FIC: “Immediately, he's shivering, bare feet sinking into the snow drift. He can barely put one foot in front of the other, it's so high, and leaves an obvious trail for anyone to follow. One two. Three four. Five steps and he's falling face first. He can't get back up.

"Wei Ying! Wei Ying?!"

He doesn't answer, but he feels more than sees Hua Cheng find his trail and stick half his body out the window, almost falling face first into the snow himself.

Scrambling is audible, and he soon finds himself lifted. Held.

"Gege! Gege, we need more blankets now!" Hua Cheng says, long legs stepping through the window. Suddenly Xie Lian is there, eyes sleep-swollen and hair a rat's nest. He's carrying all the blankets in the house by the looks of it."

I need to at least know if the fic was deleted so can have some closure, TY!! :D

FOUND! a warm coal in the hearth of our hearts by eccentrick (T, 46k, HuaLian, Found Family, fluff with plot, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Disabled Character, Ableism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiāngs, slow burn found family, Adopt WWX, Married HuaLian, Post-Canon TGCF, Kid Fic, TGCF Spoilers) locked to archive users only

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5. Hello! I have a question for the next fic finder - thank you so much in advance!

My instinct is that this was a post-cannon fic, because I think I remember Jin Ling being there (although not positive on that!) - I just remember that WWX was traveling to Lotus Pier, but there was a really bad storm and he got lost and ended up falling off a cliff and into the river and almost drowning - and from there the fic cuts back and forth between JC, LWJ, and others, who eventually realize he's missing and go looking for him, and WWX, who is badly hurt and like drifiting in-and-out of consciousness somewhere along the river where he got swept away to.

I can't find it anywhere and I've exhausted every combination of tags I can think of to try to find it!

Hey there! I'm #5 on the most recent fic finder and unfortunately, it's not 'The Storm That Should Not Be', although I also love that one and have it bookmarked, lol!

My memory is that the fic I'm thinking of was a multi-chapter fic, and WWX was traveling to Lotus Pier with either JC or LWJ, but there's a storm and they accidentally get separated in the rain and darkness, and WWX doesn't see the approaching cliff and falls off it into the river and gets swept away - meanwhile JC/LWJ reaches Lotus Pier safely and is like, "what do you mean WWX hasn't showed up yet?" And then they send search parties after, and don't find him until like a day or two later, washed up at the edge of the river and half-drowned.

NOT FOUND! this storm that should not be by TheDameJudiWench (G, 6k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Drowning, Family Dynamics)

FOUND! Of Rivers of Thunder by ARavenIsBlack (G, 7k, WangXian, Mystery, No Thirteen Years of WWX's Death, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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6. Hey, for the next fic finder, I’m looking for a modern cultivation AU, where Wangxian are partners and hunting a succubus(incubus?). They get caught, LWJ gets dosed with truth serum, WWX manages to fake getting dosed but LWJ doesn’t know that. WWX lies to the succubus that he’s not in love with his partner, breaking LWJ’s heart. At some point, the ‘bus’s kidnaps LWJ, WWX saves him, and they talk and WWX confesses that he wasn’t actually dosed with truth serum and yes he is in love. @any-mouse​

FOUND! a bite of a vow, a taste of the truth by occultings (microcomets) (E, 29k, wangxian, modern w magic, ABO, case fic, fake/pretend relationship, pining, truth serum, whump, hurt/comfort, monsters, succubi & incubi, getting together, happy ending)

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7. hello i am trying to remember a fanfic where everyone including lwj thinks wei ying cheated on him with wen qing i think when actually he was trying to adopt his son. anyway then wei ying leaves and then lwj finds him after figuring out the truth. thanks in advance if you can find it, i’m struggling lol. / okay my bad i originally posted this on the wrong account but anyways. so basically i think it’s set in a modern au, and wwx gets confronted by the lans (including lwj) and his family, accusing him of cheating with wen qing. he’s not (obviously), and is trying to finalize the adoption of his son. nobody believes him and he leaves. i think he ends up owning a bakery or working (this could be wrong) when lwj finds him years later and apologizes, realizing the truth. thanks in advance!!!

FOUND! (Un)forgettable by Edens_Cat, VividestList (E, 67k, WangXian, Misunderstandings, Angst with a Happy Ending, Kid Fic, teenage juniors, Teacher WWX, the juniors are the wwx protection squad, Amnesia!, Protective WQ, protective LSZ, Matchmaker LJY, A-Yuan is Wei Yuan, Single Parent WWX, Riding, Dirty Talk, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering)

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8. Time travel fix-it where WWX did sketches and was accused of being a spy

Hello! I'm looking for a time travel fix-it fic where WWX was thrown into the past with everyone living happily. In exchange, everyone will forget him and he remains without a golden core. LWJ and the juniors still manage to cross paths with him when their night hunt takes them to the faraway village where WWX lives. WWX gives them food and lodging after a hunt gone awry, and LWJ discovers the sketches WWX did of him, JYL, JZX, JC, etc. They all go back to the Cloud Recesses because WWX is accused of being a spy. Happy WangXian ending ofc.

I hope people know this fic! I could've sworn I bookmarked this, but it's not in my bookmarked fics. ): Tysm!

FOUND? thread fic by cerbykerby

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9. hello, this is a nsfw ask! i’ve been trying to look for it to no avail and now i’m starting to wonder if it was just all a fever dream lol, anyways the fic goes like this: lwj and wwx (on lwj’s lap) are watching a movie and nhs and wq were there as well (it was movie night) and at some point things get steamy between lwj and wwx but they’re trying to keep it discreet

FOUND! Chapter 5: secret exhibitionism, tiny somno, nc-17 of verseau's little red book by verseau (E, 10k, WangXian, Drabble Collection, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Canon Typical Content)

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10. Hello, I’d like to request a fic be found( if possible)

Set in Cannon typical. I’m not sure if there is much deviation because the fic focused on WWX living in CR and working on ED recovery after the Burial Mounds. In this he has a meat aversion and relies on soups a lot.

My thanks for your time! @empiresprince

FOUND! a kind of emptiness by ScarlettStorm (E, 11k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Eating Disorders, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorder Recovery, tricking your brain into better habits, bad choices, followed by good choices, low angst, Happy Ending, Tender smut, Frottage, Praise Kink, Additional Warnings In Author's Note) MIGHT be a kind of emptiness by scarlettstorm. It hits every point except wwx's meat aversion.

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11. Hii it’s my first time writing here so I hope it’s okay.

I’m searching for a fic where the person who summons wwx (I don’t remember if in this fic is mxy) hates him so wishes for him to die/suffer and if he doesn’t fulfill that wish his soul won’t go to the cycle for rebirth so when he feels happiness it’s painful.

so there a moment when he finally has a moment with Lan Zhan (I think there’s a drawing involved not a 100% sure) but he suddenly starts felling really intense pain Because it was the happiest he has felt since he was brought back

I don’t more but I’ve been searching for it :c

FOUND! A Storm of Laughter in the Stillness of the Jingshi by OnlyMeAndMyBones, 2nd in series (T, 74k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, LXC & WWX, angst w happy ending, hurt/comfort, injury, recovery, mental illness, depression, PTSD, rehabilitation, slow burn, empathy, guilt, forgiveness, suicidal thoughts)

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12. hi im looking for this modern au fic where wwx's backstory was that he was tortured by wrh. he was rescued before the story began. there were tapes of him being tortured and jin zixun found them and harassed wwx about it. thank you for your help as always!

FOUND! Surprise Baby! by trulywicked (M, 10k, wangxian, modern cultivation, mpreg, unplanned pregnancy, accidental baby acquisition, didn't know they were pregnant, ABO, established relationship, fluff)

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13. Hi! Hope you are doing well. Although this is my second time requesting this fic, i hope you are able to find it for me. Lwj in this fic is a celebrity and wwx is a reporter/paparazzi. Wangxian are in a secret relationship, initially all the reporters think that lwj and lqy are in the relationship. This is all the informationthat I can remember. Hope you are able to find it for me @mayavsworld

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14. I think I'm going insane, I can't find this fanfic anywhere and I am CERTAIN I had it bookmarked. Please help. It was a very (VERY) heavy angst omegaverse fic with seriously great worldbuilding around the omegaverse elements. I don't remember the name exactly but it had something about deep waters in it, I think? Or maybe calm waters. 20 something chapters at the time I read it, might be more now. WWX was omega and very actively pro-omega rights, I think I remember he would help other omegas run away from abusive households which incensed the cultivation world against him even more in addition to all his canon-complaint doings. There was also WC forcing himself on WWX and I think a-Yuan was the result of that. I remember the wen still die, a-Yuan still gets adopted by LWJ, but I think WWX dies in his first life by committing suicide via Bichen. I remember vividly how WWX absolutely broke down when he realised (kinda) LWJ's feelings for him because it was an "oh, fuck, you're like all the others, just want to fuck a baby into me too?" moment for him.

FOUND! and the calm is deep where the quiet waters flow (Prologue – Index) (E, 303k, off-screen rape, oppression, violence, sexual assault, grief/mourning, unwanted pregnancy., A/B/O) It was reccomended by angstymdzsthoughts a while ago and is very good / I was also looking for it and the part of the title the asker remembered was what I needed to find it in my browser history so thanks

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15. hi, hope you're doing well 💚 im looking for a fic that has shapeshifter wei ying, staying in his small animal form while on the streets bc that requires less food and stuff like that. boy it was. heartbreaking. i skimmed the tiger fic and i dont think thats it? and i hope (tho im pretty sure) im not confusing it eith a bingpup fic. thank you for the help!! 💚

not FOUND in the arms of the angel by ScarlettStorm (E, 37k, WangXian,Modern AU with Magic, Fox WWX, animal rescuer LWJ, Comedy, Smut, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Adhd WWX, the mortifying ordeal of getting your head stuck in a peanut butter jar) It opens with wwx in fox form dumpster diving because he doesn't have enough money for groceries that week

FOUND? threadfic by Zizzani

FOUND? Of Bunnies and Blood by Unforth (E, 9k, WangXian, Alternate Canon, Familiars, WWX is a Familiar, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiāngs, Cultivators are the "Witches" in a Witch/Familiar AU, Narrative Outline, Rabbit WWX, Hurt WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Hanahaki Disease, Huā tǔ bìng Disease, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

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16. hi okay so the book im looking for isn't wangxian but xicheng, its a cherry magic au and I hope you guys can find it. have a good day :) @twlaei

FOUND? Pop the cherry~ by sweetdeadlykittypaws (E, 25k, XiCheng, Modern AU, Cherry Magic AU, Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Light Angst, Eventual Smut, Laboratories, Boss/Employee Relationship, Chemist!JC, CTO!LXC, Low Self-Esteem, Living Together, Attempted Kidnapping, Violence, Mobsters, Rimming, Anal Sex, possible ooc, Pining)

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17. I’m looking for a fic with dark Lan Zhan/dark gusu lan. In the fic Jiang Cheng ends up hurting Wei Ying some how. I believe he has to try to escape through the forest from the juniors or something and it end by him coming across and watching Wei Ying and Lan Zhan in the Jingshi. @wangxian-is-my-life

FOUND! «The Fault In Jiāng Chéng» by Anonymous (M, 3k, WangXian, JC Bashing, Zǐdiàn Spiritual Tool, Blood and Injury, Sick WWX, Dark LWJ, Dark LXC, Smut, Stabbing)

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18. Hello I was wondering if anyone could help me find this fic: I haven’t gotten a chance to read it because I lost it before I could, but the summary tells that Wei Wuxian is brought back into Mo Xuanyu’s buddy, and decides to continue hiding his identity and live as Mo Xuanyu. I’m pretty sure it was longer then one chapter but for more details I’m unsure. I find the premise really interesting and would love to find it again. @spacy-thoughts

FOUND? Gave my Heart and Soul by mel_darling (T, 47k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, References to Depression, Survivors Guilt, Angst with a Happy Ending, Misunderstandings, wwx knows Lwj was the one who kissed him, Canon Divergence, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Pining, Healing, Gardening for the soul, Accidental Child Acquisition, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Nightmares) If 18 isn't it's at least very similar to what the poster's asking for

FOUND? 18 might be Focal, filler and line by bosbie. It’s hidden now, so maybe that’s why OP didn’t find it? It was already hidden and revealed before, so I hope they will reveal it again

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19. Hello! Thank you for all your hard work! I am looking for a fic in which after the sunshine campaign and possibly after Jin Zixuan died YLLZ is blackmailed into leaving cultivation world and he ends up at Jinlintai or Qinghe. I remember that someone was reading his letters (might have been Jin Guangyao) and sending him their own and threatening his shijie and Jin Ling so he complied with their demands. I was reminded of this fic by recently asked for ‘ whipstitch’ by curiositykilled.

FOUND? Always walked a very thin line by tucuxi (T, 22k, NHS & WWX, JYL & WWX, WangXian)

I can't find the fic itself but I remember one that sounds exactly like this. It was one where WWX surrended to the cultivation world (maybe after Qiongqi Pass?) and was sentenced to be held by the Nie and not cultivate. There's a moment where LXC asks WWX to help him play Clarity for NMJ and WWX eventually has to tell him about his core.

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20. Hi, please help me with this.

There's this fic i read a while ago which is either a oneshot or is a short fic with a few chapters.

There's some disaster looming upon humans via a beast and to appease it, a human is given to this being as a sacrifice once every few years.

This time lan wangji is the one who got the lot to be a sacrifice, so he sets alone (i think lan huan may have accompanied him to the shore to send him off but I'm not entirey sure) on a boat on turbulent river waters to the cave this beast resides in. The tone of the fic is just like turbulent waters, grey and dark blues. Heavy. Grim.

Lan wangji arrives at his destination (a cave?) and sees a being breathing there with red eyes(I'm not sure about the description of the beast tbh but think this is it).

The beast is some type of dragon or is atleast partial dragon.

Nobody knows what the beast does to the human sacrifices so lan wangji do not know what to expect.

The beast somehow communicates with wangji what it wants with him (i don't know if the beast talks or if wangji is able to sense the beast's thoughts. 60% sure it is the latter)

The next details are muddled in my mind but the outline is similar to what follows.

The beast wants wangji to be a vessel for it. They have sex and wangji feels the beast as it is big. It deposits either an egg or it's energy into wangji for him to nurture it. That is the purpose the beast finds in these human sacrifices. Wangji is willing, self righteous as he is and as he knows this is what will help humans avoid disaster upon the hands of the beast. The baby will come out not as a human but like the beast.

The description of the act is not sexual for the sake of being sexual and it is not porn without plot. It is not rape or non con.

In the middle of the sex or after the sex, after the egg/energy is deposited in wangji the beast transforms. It is of course wei ying.

I think they arrive at an agreement out of love or out of the need to protect or out of respect. Both if them accept each other as partners.

The fic ends like that i think.

FOUND! burning bright by la_muerta (E, 4k, wangxian, dragon WWX, porn with plot, virgin sacrifice, light bondage, gags, mating cycles/in heat, mpreg, loss of virginity (via consensual monster fucking), size difference, happy ending)

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[wutheringskies]

Yes exactly! Burn out! No other character hurt wwx that personally like he did, also i find that line pretty interesting that 'wwx always thought it would be jc by his side and lwj against him, but who knew it would turn out to be the opposite ' (paraphrasing once more) when wwx reincarnates, like pre-siege and everything, he genuinely didn't think jc would harm him or stoop to the point of killing wen remnants simply for them being wen etc and i think that isnt talked much about in fandom

Yes. About that particular line, often chengxian (ew) stans protest it's to show jc was his first priority but i find it so strange. Wei Wuxian didn't expect Jiang Cheng to take the Wens so he went to Burial Mounds out of all places, but he didn't expect Jiang Cheng to drop him completely, and all of the following that happened. Moreover when he reincarnated he really was troubled when he saw Jiang Cheng and shocked by how much hatred he still had! He thought him dying would have abated him. When this line was said, he was captured by Jiang Cheng and psychologically tortured by the dog and is coming back to Lan Wangji when he could have run away like he was trying to earlier (uhm). It's to show his disappointment in Jiang Cheng. It's to focus upon the fact that Lan Wangji is here now, that he will wait for Wei Wuxian to come back. Not just that, he was also shocked by Jiang Cheng's reaction about the golden core. He expected him to have a shred of empathy; it was a huge sacrifice but instead he had to make it a debt, a thing to forget, a reason that makes Jiang Cheng feel guilt when he tries to hate Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji's "don't mention him" is so important for me. As Wei Wuxian agrees. He understand Jiang Cheng's vitriol of words can be hurtful to others, that his behavior is harmful but ultimately, Wei Wuxian takes so fucking long and so many wrongs done upon him to finally put him into the past and walk forward

I really like your takes anon! we should be friends hehe~

[stiltonbasket]

For wen!wwx: "you are a fool wei wuxian," Wen Qing hissed angrily. "What of a-yuan? How will you protect him if you are dead?" She asked, violence on her face. "This poison will destroy your jindan, if not outright kill you!" But A-Ying had already made his decision. She can only have faith. They may not be of the same blood, but Wen Zhuliu had taught him all he knew. And there was no one alive or dead who knew more about the jindan than the core melting hand himself.

I'm guessing that this prompt assumes that Wei Wuxian was behind his own poisoning/is preventing his recovery in some way, so here's some more background for the AU.

This wasn't covered in previous asks, but Wei Wuxian has been subtly influencing battles/supply runs in favor of the Sunshot alliance for years, since the obedience seals bound to his life-force prevent him from openly rebelling against Wen Ruohan. Until the year before his poisoning, WWX was ferrying information across the Jiangling battlefront to Yunmeng by way of Yu Zhenhong and Li Shuai; and when he was forcibly retired and sent back to the Nightless City, he could no longer interact with his spies and gather information in person. Furthermore, the safety of his household depends on how well he serves Wen Ruohan, which means that Wei Wuxian has to be more useful to WRH as a wounded battle strategist than he was as a general on the front lines.

Wei Wuxian would much rather have found a cure and gone back to the Hejian (Qinghe) battlefront, but Wen Qing couldn't find a remedy for his core-poisoning in time—which is unsurprising, because the poison was developed in Gusu Lan as a last recourse in case of siege, and never tested on a single human victim prior to Wei Wuxian.

Re: the poisoned arrow, Jingyi was the archer who shot Wei Wuxian. He switched places with one of Nie Mingjue's disciples and sneaked in as part of his dad's first regiment; and when he actually got to the front lines, he panicked and shot WWX. :/

[sonik-kun]

Friendly reminder that canonically Jiang Cheng DID vouch for the Wen siblings at first, but was ultimately shut down after doing so

Most of the CW were against the Wens. Vouching for them was political suicide and yet he still attempted to defend them. He received backlash for it.

Lan Xichen, a more respected leader than JC at the time, was also shouted down too. Clearly, there was no room for arguments where the Wens were involved.. You were either with them or against them. The sect leaders had to take that into consideration during the deliberation. Nobody wants a target on their backs, especially when they are responsible for an entire sect.

Not saying the Massacre was right, neither the discrimination but be fr here.

Plus, Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue had trauma from all the shit the Wen clan did. They're hardly going to be so forgiving or trusting for that matter.

Furthermore, Jiang Cheng wasn't conscious when the Wen siblings saved him. He never fostered the same bond WWX would have. Remember, this is a genocide survivor we're talking about here. Forgiving and thanking members from a sect responsible for his family's demise isn't going to be easy. And yet there he was at the sect meeting, making an attempt to stand up for the Wen siblings in front of all these powerful leaders. So much so that it baffled Nie Mingjue.

Jiang Cheng (although afraid and begrudging to let WWX go in fear of might happen to him), initially allowed WWX to be with the Wens. He grew to accept that that was his path. He was happy to let him live in peace with them so long as WWX was safe and happy. But it didn't work out for them like they had hoped. And it all came to an end when his sister died, his brother in law too, and that all resulted in the Siege.

But I ask, can we really blame him for it? If he was anything like he was after his parents' deaths, the destruction of LP, and the core loss, he most definitely wouldn't have been of sound mind (he most likely wasn't for some time after either, if you remember the scene where both JGY and XY laugh, calling him a mad dog. Which makes me question the other sect leaders, if anything. It seems they were the ones more willing to jump in at any chance to finish off the Wens if they were willing to follow a "mad dog" into battle? But eh, that's speculation. We're not given the full story regarding the siege. So ig it's unfair to pin sole responsibility on one person..). He may have led the Siege, but he ultimately wasn't the one who orchestrated it with some huge, wicked end game in mind.

The persons responsible for it are all spelt out for you in the book. And yet I find it interesting that it's Jiang Cheng who is blamed and hated for everything when the real villain is right there *looks at the Jins*

[starlost-lix]

seeing as people actually paid attention to my book 2 mdzs rant, let’s do one more~~

book 3 of mdzs review😋

lotus pier arc???? i hate madam yu but her character art is also like kinda hot 🥵 but girl literally abuses her ward verbally and THEN WHIPS HIM?? WITH A SPIRITUAL WEAPON?? LIKE WTF my poor baby wwx 😭

the whole wen indoctrination part like omg jin zixuan is actually kind of cool??? and then lan zhan being emo bc CLOUD RECESSES BURNT DOWN 😭 OMG i felt so bad, and the way he just closed himself off despite the pain in his leg until wwx comes along and annoys it out of him <3 also side note loved the part where wei ying quotes wen mao and totally destroys wen chao like 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

fighting the xuanwu of slaughter and having a little tension between my boys 🤌🤌 AND LWJ LET HIM SLEEP ON HIS LAP?!?!😫😫😫 i can’t fr they’re too cute 🥰 and also like the way they both credited killing it to each other like too pure ugh

this might be just me but i feel like mxtx has a lot of opportunities to angst more with like wwx getting whipped or like branded and all those injuries?? maybe its just me being a monster obsessed with angst 😥 but i would’ve liked more emphasis on how much they actually suffered from these injuries bc ik they’re cultivators with strong cores but like. ??? pain is a thing

once more i dislike madam yu BUT when she faces off against wang lingjiao in this scene??? queen????

i feel super bad for jiang cheng but like. bro. please don’t strangle ur brother. and then wwx risked so much to rescue him :((

WWX GOT YEETED INTO THE BURIAL MOUNDS OMFG??!?!?!! HOW DID HE SURVIVE OM SO CURIOUS??? his dark emo era as the yiling patriarch is actually so legendary tho. also like i was highkey touched by how jiang cheng just immediately supported him even if he was a bit 🤏 crazy yk 🤪

lan xichen’s intense flute solo. that’s it. you can’t convince me that he doesn’t ship wangxian.

WWX’S DOMESTIC FANTASIES WAH 😩

the siege hunt 😍😍😍 first wwx throwing the flowers, then absolutely annihilating everyone at archery blindfolded, and then. THE KISS?!?!? HAHSHAJFKEKDHAJSH being the kind person that i am, i’ve included the image below so feast your eyes once more on this gorgeous art

JIANG YANLI POP OFF OMG LITERALLY AMAZING I LOVE HER SO MUCH YOU GO GIRL

that cliffhanger ending omg 😦

i was up all night bingeing this and it was so so worth it, probably my favourite book of the series so far!!! this was super long so thank you for reading if you did 🥺

[pieridae-art]

Special Lan Xichen analysis post

As I’ve previously said, Lan Xichen is a very flawed person and that’s okay! I want to examine him at several parts of the story and pick apart some of the criticism he gets. So let’s talk Lan Xichen!

Siege of the Burial Mounds: I really like this one shot from the donghua where the Sect Leaders of each sect (NMJ, JGS, and JC) are shown at the siege and beside them representing the Lan sect is… Lan Qiren. Not LXC. Setting aside the perfect storm JGS set up for the siege to occur (I don’t care who led it; JGS is the problem post-Sunshot Campaign about 99% of the time), I think this is because LXC stayed back in the Cloud Recesses with LWJ tending to his wounds post-whipping. Not assuming LXC’s absence, however, the siege was led by JC and orchestrated (because separating the twin prides of Yunmeng and artificially creating tension within the jianghu was a deliberate action) by JGS. Not saying LXC’s participation is okay just because he wasn’t the driving force behind it but imagine if the Lan sect stood against the other sect’s wishes. Standing up for WWX would have been the right thing to do but were the Lans in any position to oppose the siege with their sect in the process of rebuilding? Going along with the siege, to me, is an act of cowardice, not malice. Extra note: we see his capability of defending the Wen remnants when JGS is talking shit about them and WWX but he is shut down immediately and does not speak up any further. This is not a matter of hypocrisy; it’s a matter of fearing the consequences.

NMJ’s death: this is rocky territory. It was a bad idea full stop to force proximity between them hoping everything would sort itself out. But you simply cannot blame him for NMJ’s death because he couldn’t have known. One could argue that he endangered JGY by forcing him to be near someone who tried to kill him several times. I think that’s an oversimplification of the situation. To me, this was a gesture of trust. Trust that NMJ will make an attempt to restrain himself/get better and trust that JGY will aid him in doing so. As we know, this trust is misguided. He’s rather naive to think this would work. But he is humored anyway by two people with bad intentions toward each other. LXC is not at fault for this going south when it was at a certain point inevitable. But he did enable it.

That one line about WWX being LWJ’s only mistake: I get so defensive because honestly I’d have said much worse in his position! Think about what he knows about Wangxian’s relationship leading up to it. He saw his brother devastated that the man he loved was being corrupted and harmed by his cultivation, watched as LWJ despaired over him and fought the elders and got whipped for him. He’s only seen his brother suffer due to his love for WWX. Was saying this okay? No. Consider the circumstances surrounding this line, however. Also criticizing him for this is just plain nit-picky to me lol there’s plenty this man has actually done wrong to criticize him for.

And another thing: stop saying he favored JGY over LWJ!! The entire point of his denial surrounding JGY is that there was no solid, tangible proof that was damning enough for him to outright condemn JGY without some level of unfair assumption! He was trying to be fair about the investigation! Might I add: WWX was the only one who saw NMJ’s head in Jinlintai. Had it been LWJ to see it and approach him I think the story would’ve gone differently! But it wasn’t. And he wanted to have faith in his friend from an underprivileged background constantly facing slander and mistreatment despite doing good things for the world against the jianghu’s wishes because isn’t that what LWJ did with WWX? LXC learned his lesson from WWX’s death, he just practiced it on the wrong person.

What have we learned? Lan Xichen was complicit in and enabled a lot of Bad Things if he was not an active participant, most of it willingly and some of it unknowingly. He’s unfair sometimes. He’s weak willed and lacks the strength to actually stand up for anyone in a meaningful way. He’s naive. In my opinion, he was in denial for a large portion of his story about the harmful effects of his actions.

And I adore him! He’s got the capacity for so much good and he fails to live up to it! He wants to be righteous and he doesn’t know how without putting the people he is responsible for at risk! He thinks he can do conflict resolution and he just can’t! By the end of the story, he is painfully aware of all of this and he lives knowing he did the wrong thing over and over and over again. He got the only outcome he could ever have. I don’t think he deserved his ending but I do think he might have earned it.