the-0th3r-side - Tumblr blog

[the-0th3r-side]

I made something

[the-0th3r-side]

i will give a spoiler if you don't mind (and don't worry about the context, as you see, i already posted for u ❤)

[the-0th3r-side]

Why I consider JC the villain

Inspired by this post.

I feel like, yes, people keep trying to look for ways that MDZS could have gone differently, ways that WWX could have saved himself. And, the only way was for WWX to leave the Wens to die. The Wens would have died earlier and more cruelly if WWX had left them alone.

In fact, I feel like MDZS is interesting, because, for most characters who had the motivate to prevent WWX's death (WWX, JYL, LWJ, The Wens), there's literally no other option for them. WWX would have saved the Wens whether he cultivated the orthodox path or not, the Wens would have been jailed no matter what.

This wouldn't be a happy ending. WWX is not the type of person who would be happy in this situation. WWX was able to die without guilt. He had anger and resentment, yes, and he hated that the Wens died under his protection, but he at least had the comfort of knowing that he did all that he could have done. WWX's resentful spirit was said to be fairly docile, and that's the reason, it's because he doesn't have guilt. This wouldn't have been true for a WWX who didn't save the Wens.

Once he saves the Wens, and is seen as a heretic, he would have been attacked no matter what, and WWX is constantly put into unfair battles, that he doesn't initiate, and the damages of these situations are blamed on him, but there's no reason to believe that a golden core would have saved him in such a situation.

"He loses control", but that loss of control is always due to emotional disturbance. Emotional disturbance like that in a traditional cultivator could cause Qi Deviations with similar effects. That's what happened to Nie Mingjue, who's emotional state was made deliberately disturbed. So, not cultivating his ghost path wouldn't have saved him either.

LWJ couldn't have done anything, he just was not close enough to WWX for WWX to trust him to ask for help. Maybe he could have made WWX feel safer with him, but like, honestly, he was a tsundere teen, and I've said before that teens are allowed to be tsunderes. He couldn't have predicted what would happen just because he was mean to the annoying sexy boy in his class, lol.

JYL, she didn't know the situation that WWX was in, both she and JZX were kept from the worst of the Jins schemes, and they both died when they tried to do anything to help. Both JYL and JZX lack the power to have done anything.

Jiang Cheng though. That's where you can see an action that could have been made. In chapter 73, he sits before all the clan leaders, and is told about WWX's actions. He says that he owes the Wens a debt, and never clarifies the nature of the debt. Nie Mingjue says that Wen Qing never worked against Wen Ruohan, but this isn't true, and more importantly, JC knows it isn't true.

You can say that JC saying something would have been useless, but the fact of the matter is... he doesn't even try. He doesn't even try to tell people what happened, to be honest with them about why WWX did what he did. He could have tried to stand up for WWX, and that's something that could have changed the course of the story of WWX's first life, and made it so that it could be happier.

You can say that JC was powerless and that no one would support him, but the truth is, he wasn't really. The Jins had the most money, but the least amount of respect, because they joined the sunshot campaign late, and supported the Wens before that. The Lans and the Nies were in a similar war torn state as the Jiang, and they knew the circumstances of the Jin Sect's greed. Nie Mingjue is specifically noted as thinking that there was something shady about the situation he can't put his finger on.

JC was just the youngest, but to say that he was powerless just isn't true. He had the most feared cultivator on his side, and one of the things that JGS tells him to warn him of WWX's behaviour is that people will overlook him, the leader of the sect, and respect WWX more. There are no threats made to the YMJ sect, only to JC's pride.

Even if JC had genuinely perceived a threat to YMJ, telling the truth to at the conference and letting all the clan leaders decide the correct course of action could have helped. He did none of that, and that's the ONLY choice in the story that could have saved WWX.

The reason JC is the villain of the story is because of this. His choice was the one that led to WWX's downfall, at the end of the day. You can argue about his moral greyness or his nuances, or the way he tried to sacrifice his life for WWX, but the truth is, when WWX needed him, he didn't stand up for him. And, that's why there's no Yunmeng Shuanjie reconciliation, and why JC ends up unhappy at the end.

JC's one choice to sacrifice himself to the Wens at one moment means less than his choice to not support WWX in a political situation. And, that's his tragedy, too, the fact that he could have, the fact that he once loved WWX enough to sacrifice his life for him, but that his jealousy and insecurity won over his love for WWX. He doesn't choose his love when it matters, and so, love will never choose him back

[the-0th3r-side]

The fact that when I go to my canon jiang cheng tag, there are posts there that have my filtered tags (Xicheng, SangCheng, Zhancheng, Chengxian) on them so I can’t even see the post just tells me that it has nothing to do with what is actually canon or not.

They’re just super mad that I refuse to be bullied out of a tag because they want to control the fandom again. No, you still do not get to push me to anti jiang cheng because I have the temerity to talk about his actual character and at this point I consider the desire to ship a homophobe with every random man in the story despite him being clearly uncomfortable with the concept in any way, far more anti jiang cheng than my posts pointing out what he actually does.

At least my takes actually sound like the Jiang Cheng in the book.

[the-0th3r-side]

What I hate about all this is I can't even find the content I want to see here anymore. I hate blocking people that aren't spam bots, but these Twitter stans have tried my patience. Like I'm cool with whatever interpretation, but when I come to a tag that is supposed to be curated with specific takes, that's what I want and expect to see. Not all this tsundere best grape jiujiu meow meow stuff. That's what the general tag is for.

Just because the word canon is in the tag name it doesn't make the take more valid lmao. It's a search category with a passive aggressive name because the people that made it were harassed out of the general tag. They deserved the snark for essentially being kicked out of the character tag. Plus it made it easier to search out novel specific posts, so to me it was a win/win

And I just shake my head at these people trying to "reclaim" the tag and telling the fans that made it to go make a new tag again. Hey Twitter stans, why don't you make your own tag called "actual canon Jiang Cheng" or whatever if it means that much to you. The tag name doesn't automatically make you any more correct or incorrect. Right now all you're doing is ruining people's ability to curate their content.

And really all you guys are doing is making yourselves look like idiotic assholes who lack critical thinking skills and try to cover up that fact by harassing the people that inform you of the above, and enticing a mob mentally to try to get your way. (Which given the content of the source material...)

[the-0th3r-side]

In light of brazils first world cup game today I'd like to share with everyone the Germany x Brazil 7-1 semifinals from the 2014 world cup and how morally DEVASTATING it was

You ever do so poorly your coach immediately resigns and the country makes up a new idiom over it

Even our president at the time was like "guys that was so fucked up :("

[the-0th3r-side]

CW! Canon-typical violence

Fyi all I actually do are shitty doodles and comics, I can't polish stuff to save my life

[the-0th3r-side]

Folks, there is going on a yaoi poll on twitter with Wangxian that is bringing together the wangxianer's tribes from all sites, I beg for tumbrl's fandom to vote, because we are losing.

Link:

https://twitter.com/YaoiPoll/status/1569108292257071104?t=5t82tfG61AS2c0UzSyrnHg&s=19

[the-0th3r-side]

The Cultivation World's Fundamentally Corrupt Society in MDZS

One of the best things of MDZS, which demonstrate really well the central themes of the novel, is that while the cultivators used false morality and hypocritical justice as a shield to justify practicing so much dehumanization and tyranny, Wei Wuxian was the only one who actually exercised that justice and followed the concept of what a cultivator should be for real.

It's funny because they accused Wei Wuxian of all sorts of things when he was literally just doing his job as a cultivator - protecting the innocent and fighting against evil – It’s quite the irony seeing Wei Wuxian being condemned for doing what already is, or should’ve been, the very ultimate goal of cultivation – apart from imortality – in the first place. To me, just the fact that the Clans did function based on an aristocratic system immediately points to the idea that the purpose of cultivation, in the MDZS universe, is a simple sham for nobles to maintain their privilege and monopolize the power.

“Those who oppress others and do evil while relying on the power of their Clan should be killed. Moreover, they should publically beheaded in front of tens of thousands of people so that nobody repeats their mistake – Wen Mao, founder of the Wen Clan”

By this, it’s clear that they strayed so drastically from their original intente to use power to help, to actively oppress. The Jiang who used to be a care free sect., turned to be a clan “you could never, in any way, offend”, the Lans, whose motto is “Be Righteous”, and have a whole wall of rules that says, “do not jugde others”, “be kind”, “do not bully the weak”, “do not make assumptions about other” etc, turned to be a sect where what matters the most is to “look rigtheous” and “prioritize not troubling the powerful”. 

MDZS universe is ruled by a fundamentally corrupt society, where the sect leaders congratulate each other on maintaining this facade of civilization and morality, which consist of purposefully ignoring the rot that takes place out of sight and is sometimes even publicly acknowledged, but fully accepted. Because no one cares about injustice, corruption, tyranny, as long as it doesn't affect them directly or their peers ( not even of the smaller clans, only the great sects) and most importantly, it can be easily excused and brushed off if it is caused by a clan leader, an heir or descendant of the main line.

For example, the complete extermination of the Tingshan He Clan, which had no objection. The fact that no one did anything when LanlingJin refused to execute Xue Yang after Nie Mingjue's death, even though he was responsible for the annihilation of an entire clan and was recreating the Yin Tiger Tally, a weapon of mass destruction. Or the matter of Jiang Cheng torturing and killing "demonic cultivators" being something know even by disciples of Gusu Lan and this is never treated seriously because these people were not importante enough to make a fuss, and let's not even talk about the Nie cultivation method, because it's a bottomless pit of hypocrisy.

It’s clear that, for the cultivation world, the only objectionable thing is the voice that differs from this dirty dishonesty, who identifies the farce for what it is and refuses to be part of the "brainwashing", or rather, the legitimate alienation. It is only reprehensible those who do not accept the veiled injustice that the Clans propagate in the name of unfounded reasons and who, in order to blame this system, goes against the meticulous facade of “honor and morals” created by the cultivation world, the facade that normalized, for the sake of 'good diplomacy’, the act of turning a blind eye to the cruelty, classism, oppression and authoritarianism of the Clans.

Logically, to be able to keep this arbitrary system working, it was necessary the fabrication of a new villain, “ The Great Evil" in common, hated by all and capable of taking the blame for everything and be used to justify all sorts of brutal and inhuman behavior. It was essential to use the villain's performative defeat to create a false, but allowable, sense of collective peace, sustained by innocent lives, that permit them to keep the face of righteous in the social circle of 'important people', while not forcing them to actually do something against the real problem, because all the bad things that happened were the ‘scapegoat's fault’. And this was not something fated to happen only with Wei Wuxian or the Wen Remnants, it was an an act bound to always happen in an infinite cycle, because inevitably one of the Clans would do some shit that would need someone to be criminalized and used as a guinea pig in order to hide their own corruption.

Basically, it's an entire society that hides behind "justice" in a reality where the very concept of that justice in question can only be judged by the Clans, predominantly from their own personal interests and not for what is really right or wrong. That is, justice is only right when it is theirs, outside of that, it becomes arrogance, madness, heregy. The real truth is unimportant in this scenario, much less innocence.

[...] “Don’t you understand? When you're standing on their side, you're the bizarre genius, the miraculous hero, the force of the rebellion, the flower that blooms alone. But the second your voice differs from theirs, you’ve lost your mind, you’ve ignored morality, you’ve walked the crooked path” [...]

For the ones at the top of the social hierarchy, nothing they do is criminal as long as it does not oppose the tyranny and the ‘absolute truth’ of the Clans. But anyone who doesn't have a noble lineage is worth absolutely nothing and has no right even to their own life, the people deemed as "below them" only serve as an tool to the powerful to use, to shut up when faced with offenses and to bow their heads in obedience, and that’s why Wei Wuxian died, he was a servant that did not know his place and tried to rise above his station.

Even in a narrative of Individual . Vs Society, there is no way one individual could defeat this problem, the actions of Wei Wuxian, Xiao Xingchen, MianMian and even Lan Wangji to some extent, were doomed to fail in the face of an evil as rooted as the evil that is the corrupt society. And MXTX was brillant demonstrating this.

[the-0th3r-side]

i feel like shouting into the void about an adhd discovery i have recently made.

Continuar lendo

[the-0th3r-side]

I just don't get the discussion going on. I confess wangxian isn't really a ship that hooked me enough. It's cute but no matter what, for me it feels like one of those cases where A picks B out of loneliness and security, sorry... For you it's important to highlight where wwx says lwj is the one he wants by his side but for me the part before that, where he says lwj is the only one standing by his side is more important so it depends on the perspective. And sure, he used to flirt with lwj but he also recognizes that he wasn't that serious... and that's basically all there is from wwx's side unlike lwj who fell for him years ago and did things that showed how deep were his feelings.

but you know what? That's OK. Even real life couples start like that too and they're more than content. In RL, there's always one who gives more and they're OK. My point is that what we like in a fictional romance is subjective and what some people find beautiful, others won't so nothing will change that. What is a fact and has nothing to do with opinions is that they're canon. it's ridiculous to pretend that's something that is up to debate and We can literally take every single canon couple in fiction and say there's someone else better for them but that's not how it works not in fiction and not irl either. And it's fictional ffs, there's no if's, they're no real, they're not people that can REALLY pick. So I don't see the point of overthinking and look if there's someone else for him. it's this moment where I believe people should go outside and stop interacting with fandom. Just look for other book and stop focusing on wwx if his story isn't that compelling for you. I'm sure that there are some story where a character that is the type of wwx ends up with someone that's more of the type you prefer.

Hi Anon,

Quite honestly I don’t care that you or anyone doesn’t like Wangxian. We all have different things that appeal to us after all and there is nothing wrong with that.

I also agree with your last point that Wangxian is canon and that is the end couple no matter that other fans may think WWX would be better off with someone else.

However to me Wangxian isn’t just the end couple because the novel told me but because MXTX crafted an exceptionally beautiful romance. And quite honestly I don’t know if you read the novel or not or only read it once but frankly you are wrong about the depth of Wei Wuxian’s feelings for Lan Wangji and why he fell in love with him.

Anyways I want to go over the 3 main points of your argument

1. That Wei Wuxian flirting with Lan Wangji didn’t mean anything

2. That Wei Wuxian ONLY fell in love with Lan Wangji because he was lonely and he was the only one by his side

3. That Lan Wangji somehow loves Wei Wuxian more because of what he did for him

Lan Zhan, you're really great. How can such a gorgeous beauty play the guqin so well, have such proper penmanship, possess such strong spiritual energy, be endowed with such high cultivation base and even be so amazing in bed? How can you be so outstanding? Tell me how I could not love you…"- Chapter 111 extended translation by Big Bad Red Panda

For the rest of the quotes I will be using the EXR Translation but I thought this was a perfect quote to start us off.

Anyways basically this is going to be an extremely long essay about Wei Wuxian’s love for Lan Wangji. It’s long because Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji a lot.

Wei Wuxian’s Flirting

“And sure, he used to flirt with lwj but he also recognizes that he wasn't that serious...”

I am not sure where you got in the novel that Wei Wuxian’s flirting with Lan Wangji wasn’t serious. True, Wei Wuxian flirted with many pretty girls such as Mian Mian, girls in Caiya Town, Girls in Yunmeng, etc but who besides Lan Wangji did he continuously flirt and tease whenever he saw them? How many times did he throw flowers at him? Did he ever do this to anyone else?

As a kid Wei Wuxian is constantly bringing up Lan Wangji even when he isn’t even around and wants him to come to Lotus Pier

Wei WuXian spat out a seed, It’s fun to think of him. You don’t even know—he’s just too amusing. I told him, ‘Your sect’s food is disgusting. I’d rather eat stir-fried watermelon peel than eat your food. If you have time, come have fun with us at Lotus Pier...’ -

Wei WuXian,Don’t worry. There’s nothing to be scared of even if he comes. If he does come, you can tell Uncle Jiang to have him sleep with me. I’ll definitely drive him mad in less than a month. -Lotus Seed Pod Extra

As an adult Wei Wuxian first flirts and comes onto Lan Wangji so he would drive him away but is that really the only reason? Maybe at first but after he keeps doing it and it doesn’t work you kind of have to wonder what his real motivation is

He couldn’t help but thought, Now that he grew up, he also became less fun than before. In the past, he would become shy whenever he was teased, not to mention that he did it in quite an amusing way. But now, not only does he remain unmovable no matter what, he even learned how to counterattack. How can this be?! - Chapter 20

Finally the novel literally contradicts your point here. This is when Wei Wuxian comes to the realization that all those years he teased Lan Wangji there was more to it.

Her husband spoke calmly, “Let him be. Boys, don‟t they bully other people only because they like them? They just want others to look at them.” Hearing this, Wei WuXian‟s smile froze. - Chapter 66

Wei Wuxian always had feelings for Lan Wangji; the main difference between them is he didn’t realize them as early as Lan Wangji did. But after the fall of Yunmeng, losing his Core, being thrown in the Burial Mounds, and then having to protect 50 refugees on his own, maybe romance was not the first thing on his mind. It also doesn’t help that his encounters with Lan Wangji in his first life were so fleeting and when they did meet Lan Wangji was either rejecting his offers of friendship or lecturing him.

When Wei Wuxian comes back to life and gets to actually spend considerable time with Lan Wangji and Lan Wangji shows him actual kindness he is able to understand things about his feelings in a new light.

The Reason Wei Wuxian Fell in love with Lan Wangji.

“It's cute but no matter what, for me it feels like one of those cases where A picks B out of loneliness and security, sorry…

For you it's important to highlight where wwx says lwj is the one he wants by his side but for me the part before that, where he says lwj is the only one standing by his side is more important so it depends on the perspective.”

Obviously Wei Wuxian realizing Lan Wangji is completely on his side is an important moment. In fact it’s one of my favorite moments in the story. Wei Wuxian realizes that the person he thought always disapproved of him is actually the only one standing by him. Of course he would be moved by that.

But what he hadn‟t expected was that when everyone feared him and flattered him, Lan WangJi scolded him right in his face; when everyone spurned him and loathed him, Lan WangJi stood by his side. - Ch 50

But needless to say you are wrong to say this is the ONLY reason Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji because he sticks to his principles. When they were kids Wei Wuxian never expected Lan Wangji to take the punishment with him because something like that never happened to him before

Lan Zhan, I admire you so much. You really did punish yourself as well, without treating yourself any better. I don’t have anything else to say.” - Chapter 18

He felt his back, covered in scars both old and new, and still couldn’t hold back the question he’d been thinking about,How awfully unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who gets beaten up, whenever something happens? - Lotus Seed Pod Extra

Wei Wuxian also just admires the adult Lan Wangji so much who grew up to be an amazing cultivator and a person who righteously helps those in need even when no one else can bother.

Wei WuXian touched his chin, “Hmm. He’s good. Of course. He’s really good. He’s the best.” As he talked, he couldn’t help but break into a smile. - Ch 38

In truth, to refuse to act unless it was a malign spirit was a silently agreed rule that all of the larger sects followed. Although „to be wherever the chaos is‟ was praised by many, the only person who really followed this was Lan WangJi, the one beside him right now. - Chapter 94

And let’s face it, Wei Wuxian is also very much physically attracted to Lan Wangji.

As a kid he might not realize it but for example at the Wen archery tournament when Wei Wuxian sees Lan Wangji in red he is momentarily blinded by his good looks.

Along with that overly-pretty face of Lan WangJi’s, now that they met again, Wei WuXian’s eyes had momentarily been blinded by his looks, failing to immediately recognize him. - Ch 45

And of course Wei Wuxian’s continues to be attracted to Lan Wangji’s looks in his second life

The person in the spring was quite tall. His skin was fair and his hair was black, wet and gathered to one side. The lines which outlined his waist and back were smooth, graceful yet holding strength. In simpler terms, he was a beauty. - Chapter 11

But now I want to get to your point that Wei Wuxian only chose Lan Wangji because he was lonely and because Lan Wangji was the only one. Well quite honestly even if this was the case (which it clearly isn’t) why seek romance at all? If it was only about loneliness Wei Wuxian could just be friends with Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian in the past actually says to Jiang Yanli that he has no interest in romance

Wei WuXian, “No. I won‟t like anyone. At least not too much. Wouldn‟t it be the same as putting a rein on my neck?” - Ch 71

However when it comes to Lan Wangji he does come to want more than friendship. He knows Lan Wangji has been kind to him but when he finally realizes the depths of his own feelings he starts to question Lan Wangji’s. It’s not loneliness he is trying to quell but he is genuinely hoping Lan Wangji feels the same way about him because he desires something more intimate than just friendship.

Although in the past few days, he felt that Lan WangJi probably regarded him highly and differently from other people, he‟d never dared to guess just how „highly‟ it was or if „differently‟ was the kind that he thought. - Chapter 90

It was probably because he was afraid. He was scared he‟d hear an answer different from what he hoped for. - Ch 95

This situation clearly verified the worst possibility. Lan WangJi was indeed very nice towards him, but... it probably wasn‟t the kind of nice he hoped for.- Chapter 96

And yes Lan Wangji also brings him comfort and security but it’s not like he can’t survive without it. Still he comes to realize it’s nice to have someone to rely on to lean on. The tree scene is of course very symbolic of this but I also love this simple scene from the temple chapters.

On the other hand, Lan WangJi gripped Bichen in one hand as he grabbed Wei WuXian‟s waist with his other, pushing Wei WuXian behind him for better protection. In reality, Wei WuXian had no need for his protection, but he still leaned against his body with both comfort and compliance. - Chapter 104

Finally and here is the most important reason Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji. He simply makes him happy and despite the wall of text I wrote there shouldn’t need to be any other reason than that.

With this journey to Yiling, it was clear that their future was still unclear, even somewhat dangerous. Wei WuXian couldn‟t get himself to feel nervous at all. Sitting on a donkey with Lan WangJi holding the rein, leading them down the path, his entire heart was fluttering, feeling as though he was walking on air. - Ch 66

3. Lan Wangji did more for Wei Wuxian so the depth of his feelings are greater

“unlike lwj who fell for him years ago and did things that showed how deep were his feelings.”

Here is where I think you may have missed the themes of the novel.

First of all Lan Wangji did not just protect and stand by Wei Wuxian side because he loved him. He did so because he had been watching him all those years protecting others and in the end made his own moral judgement & believed Wei Wuxian’s was right. This is why he even stood against his own sect for Wei Wuxian. I will leave MXTX’s own words supporting this below.

https://twitter.com/reviewsnana/status/1473677987543453708?s=21

Lan Wangji does stand by Wei Wuxian but not till the end when it was too late and he could no longer reach him. Lan Wangji lost Wei Wuxian for thirteen years. When Wei Wuxian suddenly comes back Lan Wangji is basically given a second chance. Sure Lan Wangji’s actions show the depth of his love but I would argue they also show the understanding of what he lost.

Wei Wuxian’s entire life has been tied to gratitude and debt. He felt so indebted to the Jiangs for taking him in he takes their last words to heart “to protect their son even if he dies” and gives up his Golden Core.

This is why the “there is no need for thank you and sorry between us” is so important for Wangxian because Lan Wangji never wants Wei Wuxian to feel indebted to him in any way. Lan Wangji did what he did out of love . He didn’t even do it because he wanted his feelings returned.

The fact of the matter is Wei Wuxian is an extremely selfless person who always put others first and died in a very painful way. Lan Wangji is now putting Wei Wuxian first. Obviously if Lan Wangji needed someone Wei Wuxian would be there for him as well but in this case it was Wei Wuxian who needed someone.

Lan Wangji is also extremely capable and Wei Wuxian doesn’t actually have to worry about him all that much. But we are still shown in the novel that Wei Wuxian is constantly thinking about Lan Wangji.

On top of that, he wasn‟t the only one straining his mind and body in the past few days. Lan WangJi didn‟t rest for a second either. Thinking even if he didn‟t need to rest, Lan WangJi definitely needed to, Wei WuXian replied, “Okay. Then let‟s find somewhere to rest first. - Chapter 91

Looking around, Wei WuXian suddenly exclaimed, “I‟m hungry.” Lan WangJi looked up. Of course, Wei WuXian wasn‟t hungry at all. He had just eaten three pies at the vendor in front of Lotus Pier‟s gates. Lan WangJi only ate one, however, and it was the only thing he‟d eaten in the past two days. The matter was on Wei WuXian‟s mind. - Chapter 90

Not to mention that while Wei Wuxian let’s others berate him unfairly he gets extremely defensive when anyone says anything badly about Lan Wangji

When Jiang Cheng accused him, Wei WuXian couldn‟t defend himself at all, but he just couldn‟t bear it when such words were being directed at Lan WangJi. - Chapter 88

In the end though I am just not sure why Wei Wuxian has to prove his love by some grand gesture. Your argument seems to be that because Wei Wuxian didn’t get whipped 33 times or the equivalent he doesn’t love Lan Wangji as much. But why does Wei Wuxian need to prove his love in that way?

Wei Wuxian was in love with Lan Wangji before he knew about Nightless City. He just was unsure exactly how Lan Wangji felt about him.

When Wei Wuxian does realize the truth and how Lan Wangji doesn’t realize he doesn’t remember the aftermath of Nightless City, he wants to tell him his feelings immediately. Even with the guqin string still around his throat Wei Wuxian can’t wait to clear up what happened at the inn

Lan Zhan! Lan WangJi! HanGuang- Jun! Back then, I-I really wanted to sleep with you!” - Chapter 100

While this line may appear silly and frivolous to some fans; Wei Wuxian only thought at the moment is to clear up the misunderstanding between them. He loves Lan Wangji so much he is bursting to get his feelings out. And shortly after this of course he confesses his love for Lan Wangji in every way he can think of because he doesn’t want there to be any doubt about his true feelings.

I swear it‟s not the heat of the moment or joking around like I‟ve done in the past. I‟m not doing it out of gratitude either. Anyways, it‟s not because of anything else. I really just like you so much I want to sleep with you. I don‟t want anyone but you—it can‟t be anyone but you. You can do anything you want to me, however you like it. I‟ll accept everything, as long as you‟re willing to...” - Chapter 100

The idea that Wei Wuxian doesn’t love Lan Wangji as much as Lan Wangji loves him is so ridiculous. Honestly Wei Wuxian’s love for Lan Wangji is bursting through the pages that I could have picked so many other examples to use and made this even longer.

[the-0th3r-side]

Phoenix Mountain Kiss ( Consent & Communication )

There are a lot of people who say that Mxtx is a fetishist and has problems with consent, but the only scenes in which something happens without the consent of the other part is portrayed as problematic. In that case I'm going to talk specifically about the kiss stolen from the Mountain Phoenix Hunt scene. ( When they are not yet in a stabilized relationship in which the two love each other and mutually understand their desires )

First, plot involves conflict. This scene wasn't an error and it wasn't there by mistake, Mxtx purposely added conflicts to WangXian’s relationship. It's a scene used to emphasize the importance of consent and communication in a relationship. This is one of the main themes of the novel. It was a mistake that provided some development for Lan Wangji and his behavior towards Wei Wuxian. I understand that it may have been conceived in a romanticized way because of Wuxian's narrative ( And I also believe it could have been written in a more critical way ) mainly because he himself ignores it as if it doesn't matter much, it's not an occurrence that change his trajectory or affect him drastically, but the book makes it clear that it was a wrong move, especially when Wangji shows up later and he's kind of having a mental breakdown. He clearly sees his actions as wrong and disrespectful.

Now, let's take into account the non-linear narrative of Mdzs. The stolen kiss scene is inserted right after we discover the story of Lan Wangji's parents. This is obviously not a coincidence. It is for the purpose of informing us what would have happened if Lan Wangji had taken Wei Wuxian to Gusu back then, which could not have happened, even if the two solved their dilemmas. I explain in this post ( Link ) Ok, so we already know that since he was a child Lan Wangji was exposed to this topic regarding consent. He is aware that he may have been a child born out of rape, that his mother may have been forced into a marriage and imprisoned against her will, though this is never clarified. He was always encouraged to follow the rules and have self-control to not become like his father.

That kiss was the scene where he finally realized he was tracing his father's footsteps. First, he was pressuring Wei Wuxian to go to Gusu with him, even when Wwx had already clarified his desire not to go. Second, he forcibly imposed his will on Wuxian, kissing him without consent and when Wwx had already said he didn't like men. Third, he lost control of himself, one of the most important things he's built up in his life, acting completely impulsively and breaking the rules he's kept since he was a kid.

Going that way would be imposing a unwanted protection on Wei Wuxian, as his father supposedly did to his mother. In his conversation with Xichen, he says “I want to take someone back to Cloud Recesses… take them back and hide them. But he is unwilling.” This passage demonstrates that the only way he could possibly protect Wuxian without being rejected was in the way Wei Wuxian himself allowed, because if Lan Wangji continued to insist on his form of protection, which was taking him to Gusu, that would only distance them from each other even more.

With this sequence of events, there is a change in his behavior that can be better perceived in the future. It is immediately clear from Lan Wangji's second appearance in the book, when he says a phrase that will characterize his attitude towards Wei Wuxian from now on "Mark your words" in the sense that he will take Wei Wuxian's words seriously, so he should stop saying things that are inauthentic or that he doesn't really mean, as Lan Wangji had warned before in the Xuánwǔ’s cave “You shouldn't tease people like that if you don’t mean what you say, you doing whetever you please will leave people in turmoil!". He doesn't initiate anything with Wuxian, and when something happens it's with his explicit permission. In fact,  Lan Wangji even tries to tone down some moments, and there's the wonderful scene of him drunk knocking himself out after Wei Wuxian kisses him. So he doesn't try anything, even though Wuxian flirts with him repeatedly, and now comes the communication problems.

Lan Wangji had already confessed to Wei Wuxian and was rejected. In the course of the entire novel he thinks Wuxian is aware of his feelings, so why would he confess again? Wouldn't him acting on those feelings after being rejected be the same as imposing his will on Wei Wuxian again? From his perspective, Wuxian didn't even like men. And worse, Lan Wangji wasn't special, it was just that Wei Wuxian behaved that way with everyone “Do you behave so frivolously with everyone you meet?” " I guess so ".

On the other hand, Wei Wuxian believed that Lan Wangji hated him. It wasn't because he was oblivious or stupid, just that Wangji didn't give him any reason to believe otherwise before he reincarnated. This miscommunication leads them to a disagreement that goes on for more than a decade, until they finally talk and understand each other.

[the-0th3r-side]

Eu acho que seria uma ótima ideia, já tá na hora de eu poder saborear o prazer que é xingar alguém na minha língua nativa

now that tumblr's banned the english language we should all just start communicating in our native languages, getting to decipher what everything means will be half the fun

rip to the monolingual english speakers though yall will be missed

[the-0th3r-side]

The (not) 3000 deaths at Nightless City and Wei Wuxian's responsibility in that

I don’t know where I was going with this so it goes a little off the point but I think I managed to get through what I wanted. This is just a lot of rambling.

I see a lot of people in this fandom acusse Wei Wuxian of being a genocide bc of what happened in nightless city, as if he was the only responsable for the situation and didn’t die for it in the most gruesome way (sounds like the cultivation world right?). Wwx was indeed responsible for killing cultivators in nightless city, he himself acknowledges this, but at the same time he refuses to carry sins he didn’t commit. Why that? We were told first thing that he killed 3,000 cultivators, but then someone else come and say that he actually killed 5,000 cultivatos. How can we know if either of those informations are correct? How can we trust this if we know all of the other things they said were false? The ppl who were at nightless city were elders, sect leaders and their best cultivators, and we see some of those same cultivators in the second siege in BM without a scratch. There were 3000 cultivators gathered in nightless city, but wwx didn’t kill them all, but even so, he still killed a lot of people.

Now let’s put some context. WWX has been invited to a family event at Koi Tower but is attacked without evidence in pacetime. A lot of people use Jin Zixuan’s death to say that WWX is a murder, but that doesn’t even make sense. There were 300 people trying to kill him and Jzx instead of ordering them to retract, decides to side with his cousin and demands Wwx to lower chengquing, even if he was the only one being attacked. Jzx starts arguing with Wwx and then launches against him in a moment when he was surrounded by enemies and in an extremely stressful state, Wwx reacts instinctively, just like someone who has gone through war and has an knee-jerk reaction against any sudden movement towards him, Wxx loses control over Wn and Jzx dies. ( This is the only innocent person Wwx kills directly out of war time, and I consider what happened before Jzx’s death as war )

Okay, recapitulating, so just like the Wens, the Jins too made a war move against someone who was living peacefully. But that’s all erased by Jzx’s death, so the Jins again demand a payment for that, which was Wq’s and Wn’s sacrifice, with the promise that the Wens remains wouldn’t be attacked. JGS somehow makes Wn lose control and kill a lot of people, and then blames Wwx for it (which doesn’t even make sense, why would they give themselves up just to kill some people? Wwx was the most powerful cultivator, he could have had killed everyone there if he wanted without the need to send his two closest confidants to their deaths) and uses it as a excuse to gather many sects and plan an attack, ignoring the white flag given by the wens btothers, continuing to move towards war.

That’s when Wwx arrives, his appearance was unexpected, they were planning a surprise attack ( I wonder if that had happened and the cultivators had invaded BM screaming for the wens’s blood and Wwx obligatorily defended himself killing all those people fandom would still consider him a murderer, cuz well, that’s exactly what was going to happen, so these cultivators were going to die anyway ) so Wwx still tries to talk to them ( like at the Jin’s banquet, when he tries to talk to Jin Zixun but is ignored and then forced to use violence, or when Jin Zixun ambushes him and he still tries to be the voice of reason) but is directly attacked by an arrow aimed at his heart, which currently pierces him but misses a vital point because of bad aim, so he attacks back and the fight starts.

Wwx is a soldier and that was war, he was fighting to defend his people. How many innocent people were killed in the Sunshoot campaign? I’m sure not all soldiers agreed with Wen Rouhuan and were just following orders ( like those who helped Wn rescue Jc ) but they died anyway. In times of war no one stops being human, neither side is right or wrong you’re just fighting to protect yourself, the only ones who deserve to die are the oppressors like Wen Rouhan and JGS. Some cultivators were there under orders from their superiors, or were manipulated by the Jins, they were ‘innocent’ ( as innocent as the wens soldiers who didn’t agreed w Wrh ) but complicit. The deaths caused by Wwx were his burden to deal with, but it’s not just him who has to be held responsible for what happned, this fandom is used to seeing Wwx always take responsibility for everything and they think that’s okay, but everyone there were adults like him and they knew that if they attacked BM they would meet resistance and many people would die just the same.

Yanli was also an adult who made her own decisions, it was her choice to go unarmed to an battlefield, it was her choice to sacrifice herself to save WWX, just like Wq did and I don’t see anyone blaming Wwx for her death. After Jy’s death, Wwx loses control and starting killing indiscriminately, and in my opinion this was a lot like a QI deviation, except that DC is much more destructive.

He did kill a lot of people at nightless city, but it certanlly wasn’t 3000. He couldn’t just talk to these ppl bc they would not listen to him, no matter what. So what was he supposed to do? There was no other way for him to resolve this situation, and he didn’t even started the fight in the first place. He would not let the Wens die, he would not surrender to be killed and neither side would give up, bringing death for all. Every cutivator there knew they were at risk to be killed, either they wouldn’t be there planing an attack against the Yilling Patriach. They were fighting a war and in the end they died, the wens died and Wwx died. When he came back, he still held the responsability for what he did, for the people he killed, but no one other than him did that, bc the cultivation world couldn’t acknowledge they were wrong too and not the only victims of the hisotry 

Not all the cultivatos there were to blame for what the ones in power did. But just like them, the Wens remains too, could not be blamed fot he things Wen Rouhan did. The lifes of some are not worth more than the life of others but wwx could not let the life os the Wens be taken bc even under orders, they were going to kill the Wens anyway. And they all, those cultivators and Wwx, fought a war started by the Jins.

[the-0th3r-side]

The (not) 3000 deaths at Nightless City and Wei Wuxian's responsibility in that

I don't know where I was going with this so it goes a little off the point but I think I managed to get through what I wanted. This is just a lot of rambling.

I see a lot of people in this fandom acusse Wei Wuxian of being a genocide bc of what happened in nightless city, as if he was the only responsable for the situation and didn’t die for it in the most gruesome way (sounds like the cultivation world right?). Wwx was indeed responsible for killing cultivators in nightless city, he himself acknowledges this, but at the same time he refuses to carry sins he didn't commit. Why that? We were told first thing that he killed 3,000 cultivators, but then someone else come and say that he actually killed 5,000 cultivatos. How can we know if either of those informations are correct? How can we trust this if we know all of the other things they said were false? The ppl who were at nightless city were elders, sect leaders and their best cultivators, and we see some of those same cultivators in the second siege in BM without a scratch. There were 3000 cultivators gathered in nightless city, but wwx didn't kill them all, but even so, he still killed a lot of people.

Now let's put some context. WWX has been invited to a family event at Koi Tower but is attacked without evidence in pacetime. A lot of people use Jin Zixuan's death to say that WWX is a murder, but that doesn't even make sense. There were 300 people trying to kill him and Jzx instead of ordering them to retract, decides to side with his cousin and demands Wwx to lower chengquing, even if he was the only one being attacked. Jzx starts arguing with Wwx and then launches against him in a moment when he was surrounded by enemies and in an extremely stressful state, Wwx reacts instinctively, just like someone who has gone through war and has an knee-jerk reaction against any sudden movement towards him, Wxx loses control over Wn and Jzx dies. ( This is the only innocent person Wwx kills directly out of war time, and I consider what happened before Jzx’s death as war )

Okay, recapitulating, so just like the Wens, the Jins too made a war move against someone who was living peacefully. But that's all erased by Jzx's death, so the Jins again demand a payment for that, which was Wq’s and Wn’s sacrifice, with the promise that the Wens remains wouldn’t be attacked. JGS somehow makes Wn lose control and kill a lot of people, and then blames Wwx for it (which doesn't even make sense, why would they give themselves up just to kill some people? Wwx was the most powerful cultivator, he could have had killed everyone there if he wanted without the need to send his two closest confidants to their deaths) and uses it as a excuse to gather many sects and plan an attack, ignoring the white flag given by the wens btothers, continuing to move towards war.

That's when Wwx arrives, his appearance was unexpected, they were planning a surprise attack ( I wonder if that had happened and the cultivators had invaded BM screaming for the wens’s blood and Wwx obligatorily defended himself killing all those people fandom would still consider him a murderer, cuz well, that's exactly what was going to happen, so these cultivators were going to die anyway ) so Wwx still tries to talk to them ( like at the Jin’s banquet, when he tries to talk to Jin Zixun but is ignored and then forced to use violence, or when Jin Zixun ambushes him and he still tries to be the voice of reason) but is directly attacked by an arrow aimed at his heart, which currently pierces him but misses a vital point because of bad aim, so he attacks back and the fight starts.

Wwx is a soldier and that was war, he was fighting to defend his people. How many innocent people were killed in the Sunshoot campaign? I'm sure not all soldiers agreed with Wen Rouhuan and were just following orders ( like those who helped Wn rescue Jc ) but they died anyway. In times of war no one stops being human, neither side is right or wrong you're just fighting to protect yourself, the only ones who deserve to die are the oppressors like Wen Rouhan and JGS. Some cultivators were there under orders from their superiors, or were manipulated by the Jins, they were ‘innocent’ ( as innocent as the wens soldiers who didn’t agreed w Wrh ) but complicit. The deaths caused by Wwx were his burden to deal with, but it's not just him who has to be held responsible for what happned, this fandom is used to seeing Wwx always take responsibility for everything and they think that's okay, but everyone there were adults like him and they knew that if they attacked BM they would meet resistance and many people would die just the same.

Yanli was also an adult who made her own decisions, it was her choice to go unarmed to an battlefield, it was her choice to sacrifice herself to save WWX, just like Wq did and I don't see anyone blaming Wwx for her death. After Jy’s death, Wwx loses control and starting killing indiscriminately, and in my opinion this was a lot like a QI deviation, except that DC is much more destructive.

He did kill a lot of people at nightless city, but it certanlly wasn’t 3000. He couldn’t just talk to these ppl bc they would not listen to him, no matter what. So what was he supposed to do? There was no other way for him to resolve this situation, and he didn’t even started the fight in the first place. He would not let the Wens die, he would not surrender to be killed and neither side would give up, bringing death for all. Every cutivator there knew they were at risk to be killed, either they wouldn’t be there planing an attack against the Yilling Patriach. They were fighting a war and in the end they died, the wens died and Wwx died. When he came back, he still held the responsability for what he did, for the people he killed, but no one other than him did that, bc the cultivation world couldn’t acknowledge they were wrong too and not the only victims of the hisotry 

Not all the cultivatos there were to blame for what the ones in power did. But just like them, the Wens remains too, could not be blamed fot he things Wen Rouhan did. The lifes of some are not worth more than the life of others but wwx could not let the life os the Wens be taken bc even under orders, they were going to kill the Wens anyway. And they all, those cultivators and Wwx, fought a war started by the Jins.

[the-0th3r-side]

So the logic is:

She can whip the shit out of a child and then cut off his hand, BUT HOW DARE THIS SERVANT HURT MY PRIDE??? OF COURSE this is worth my entire sect being slaughtered for, can't have those servants thinking they can talk over me. Yzy was so dumb bitch couldn't shut her mouth for her own life.

My friend: so how’s the mdzs fandom

The fandom:

About as pleasant as gazing upon the elephants foot [Chernobyl]

Lmao she lapped up WLJ’s orders and whipped the shit out of WWX. She was chill sacrificing WWX’s hand but she didn’t feel like sacrificing her own pride answering to WLJ in the supervisory office so she sacrificed the whole sect instead hmm… so brave. much leader 🙃🌝🤡 pour one out for WLJ for not knowing to keep her mouth shut a few more seconds.

[the-0th3r-side]

I don't understand how some ppl can read MDZS and come out of it thinking WWX was a war criminal, a villain or morally grey, somehow. I know a lot of ppl have talked about this before, but I still want to say a few words, so: the cultivation world was wrong and their opinion of WWX can't be trusted.

Like, MXTX isn't subtle about it. She structured her narrative in such a way as to make it clear what should be believed and what should be doubted from the very beginning. Even though the full truth only comes out later on in the story, MXTX will usually show us when the information isn't trustworthy by contradicting it in some small way right away.

The first thing we learn about WWX is his reputation, which is immediately put into question as soon as he wakes up in MXY's body. MXY thinks he's summoned a vicious ghost to take his revenge, but we're told right away that WWX was actually a very well behaved ghost who never harmed anyone and never sought revenge. Then we learn that if doesn't kill the Mo family, he'll die painfully and his soul will be destroyed - and WWX not only doesn't kill them, he saves the Lan juniors (when we know the Lan clan was one of the clans that contributed to his death) and aids them in their attempts to save the Mo family.

At this point, we readers should know that the rumors about WWX shouldn't be blindly believed. Even if we haven't seen exactly what happened in the past yet, we should know it couldn't be exactly how cultivation world said it. The more time we spend with WWX in the present, the more we should doubt everything we've heard about him from the rest of the cultivation world. I'd also like to point out that WWX is never prortayed as regretful and torn up by guilt. This is not a redemption story, as WWX was in the right from the beginning.

The flashbacks only further cements this, as each one deconstructs some of the rumors about WWX's first life.

The same is true for other characters. Like, we're told LWJ was WWX's enemy, but WWX himself says it wasn't so bad immediately after, and one of the first things he does on page is defend WWX from JC after he saw WWX controlling Wen Ning with a flute. So, naturally, we should doubt the veracity of such a rumor.

It's the opposite with JC, for example. The first thing we learn about him is that he had a role in WWX's death, and his first appearance confirms his intention to see WWX dead again even after he already died once.

In the flashbacks, that knowledge is supposed to color how we view his character. His behavior is toxic even as early as the first flashback, and we're supposed to treat it with due gravity, as we know it'll eventually get worse to the point of killing WWX and hunting down people he suspects might be him (and killing them even if they are proven to not be WWX). And MXTX is even more blunt when it comes to YZY. She outright says that what YZY says makes no sense but everyone just has to suffer her temper. Why does any reader still believe this woman's words about WWX?!

With LWJ as well. We know from his present interactions with WWX that he couldn't have disliked him as much as his past actions indicate if we take them at face value. For example, LWJ's jealous moments in the past could only be interpreted as such with the knowledge we have from the present storyline.

So, this isn't a redemption story or a story about grey morality. WWX was always good and righteous, and the narrative slowly disproves all the rumors about him. We, as readers, aren't supposed to come out of it believing in the mob. MXTX does an excellent job showing us that they have zero critical thinking ability and are all too quick to shove responsibility for anything on anyone but themselves.