#love that yanli is just everyones older sister

[toaster-fire-art]

obsessed with her again

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #yunmeng trio #yunmeng jiang siblings #yunmeng shuangjie #laying on the floor crying over jiang yanli #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #Jiang Cheng #jiang yanli #wei wuixan #lotus pier #my art #toasterfireart #mdzs fanart #once again i spent too long on little details #but i am very happy with the results #twin heroes of yunmeng #love that yanli is just everyones older sister #i literally started this just for her and then i was like: but the other 2 #if you couldn't tell i'm trying to get better at backgrounds #hope you like it <3

[pumpkin-master]

So like, I know MDZS has that whole Wei Wuxian's smile is a very nice and bright thing going on and he's a pretty cheerful, optimistic and carefree guy right? In addition to that he has adopted siblings who he loves more than the world, questionable parental figures, an antagonistic view towards strict rules, and a deep love for all his precious people.

You know who this reminds me of?

Monkey D. Luffy

The obvious

Luffy is almost always seen and described with his trademark 'D' smile which is bright and happy to everyone who sees it. Both of them are people who will absolutely go to the ends of the world to make their precious people happy as well as protect them.

Family

It's also fair to take into account their familial situations, with WWX obviously not having any contact with any sort of relative of his. The closest we get, in fact, is probably Xiao XingChen, who is technically not even blood related.

Jiang Fengmian technically counts as his uncle but just barely because he knew WWX's dad very well.

And now when you look at Luffy, obviously his Dad is alive and we know Jack about his mom, but both are noticeably absent from their child's life. The only "parental" figures in his life (if you can even call them that despite how much I love them.) are Dadan and Garp.

(I'm sorry to say that Shanks doesn't count despite how much it hearts my heart. But he's more of an idol to Luffy and was only around for maybe a year at most in Fuscha? Though I guess you can call him a parental figure if you squint, but even then he's an active pirate and that alone warrants the 'questionable' title.)

And look, Dadan...is a mountain bandit and clearly not the 'parental' type, despite how much she loves ASL, and Garp... Well, do I need to say anything there? Sicked his grandchildren onto a mountain bandit and regularly put them into dangerous situations in order to become stronger. I don't doubt he loves them, but he's just not fit for raising a child as we've seen.

You could fit Makino if you really tried but she's more like the kind older sister type than a mom.

Onto the siblings, both WWX and Luffy were brought into an already existing sibling dynamic, e.i. WWX with Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli & Luffy with Ace and Sabo. Both had a bit of a hard time entering the dynamic for differing reasons (JC because he was mad that his dogs were sent away and Ace just didn't want Luffy around until he stuck up for them with Bluejam). This is an interesting similarity because they are such differing ways to enter similar dynamics.

Views on Authority

Moving onto how they view the world, both of these characters dislike strict authority, obviously they both recognize that there needs to be some authority to regulate and decide certain matters, but strict stifling authority is where these characters start getting itchy.

Some obvious examples include WWX and the rules of Cloud Recesses, be constantly complained about them and he questioned how the disciples and sect Members even survived there. Another honorable mention should probably be the Wen clan indoctrination and how that whole bit went down.

For Luffy, I feel like I shouldn't need to mention the whole Pirates vs Marines since it's kind of a given, but for this I specifically mean the "hard" justice that many seem to have, like Akainu and the world government. Who just seem to wipe islands off the map willy and just assassinate any other opposition.

I should mention that both of these characters are fine with normal authority, each sect for WWX has their own governing style and enforcement but unless it's a problem for everyone else, they don't really do much. And Luffy is fine with fair authority given by how he treats Boa who is queen of Amazon lily, Momonosuke who is supposed to be Shogun and treats him as such, King Riku as well as Viola and Rebecca who are princesses. He simply treats everybody the same but he respects their position for the most part.

Friends and Precious people

Now, the most obvious thing here is that these characters will move the heavens, part the seas, and raise the dead for their precious people (sometimes literally). They both take Honor to their promises extremely seriously, WWX owed a life debt to Wen Qing and her brother for saving them and doing the core transfer (as well as WWX just not excusing what are essentially concentration camps), so he repaid the action by saving the remnants and he promised to bring Wen Ning back to life. Which as we all know, he did.

And that's not even saying like I mentioned that he gave his golden core to his brother since he lost it to the Melting hand, and before THAT he was willing to give up his hand so the Wens would forgive the sect. It’s also notable that he promised Madam Yu he would protect Jiang Cheng with his life, and, well, everything that happened afterward should tell you he did his best!

To say he takes his honor and promises seriously is an understatement. Yet the same is also true with Luffy.

We all know that Luffy is big on promises and his nakama, a huge part of One piece is demonstrating how far he and his crew go for their friends and comrades. Some examples of major things like this are:

Arlong Park and helping nami

Promising Laboon to come back and fight him

Helping Vivi defeat crocodile

Saving Robin at Ennies Lobby

Promising to help Brook reunite with Laboon

Literally all of Marineford (despite how it ends, the effort alone Luffy put into saving his brother should tell you enough)

Fishman island

Liberating Dressrosa

Wano (literally what do I need to say there? It speaks for itself)

I might have missed a few and others may not have made it but these are the biggest displays of Luffy loyalty and promises.

It is also notable that if you feed Luffy, he will repay it. That is a threat. Tama fed him once in Wano and after realizing that was her last bow of rice and the whole issue with the country, he literally fought to liberate the country with a whole army.

Symbolism

Theres a lot more I could say but the last things I will dig into is this. Both Luffy and WWX have constant symbolisms of ‘Freedom’, whether they’re quite literal or more nuanced.

WWX always has had a carefree character and this is displayed in numerous ways, like how he named his sword “whatever” or how how he’s unashamed to show his more childish side at times (“Xian Xian is three!”). His flippant attitude towards authority tells you enough but he’s also prone to use the punishment against the punisher by finding a way to make it entertaining for him. (I.e. annoying Lan Wangji and provoking Wen Chao.)

This is also just in general that his name is symbolism towards his character, with how Wei Wuxian means “no/without envies” which really gives you an idea about his personality. I’m not a mandarin speaker nor even attempting to learn it, so more information his name and it’s symbolism can be found on this post.

Now Luffy, we can’t exactly say the aumbolism isn’t hitting us in the fact with all the sun motifs and it literally being mentioned multiple times as “warrior of liberation”, “joyboy” and whatnot.

But Luffy’s smile and constant laughter is associated Nika the sun god who was a warrior who fought for freedom and s the god slaves pray to in secret. (And supposedly based on an actual diety whom i don’t actually remember the origins of right now.)

And with the Sun symbolism (this is honestly now head canon territory) but the thousand sunny being a ship that carries the fruit of the sun god doesn’t seem like a coincidence, and another is that Luffy���s straw hat being something akin to a halo is a pretty neat idea.

Conclusion

Both of these characters are some of my favorite in media and the similarities between symbolism and parallels they have with each other is insane, I honestly hope people see that this type of characterization is very fun and amazing.

But honestly i just wanted to write a character analysis with these two cause they are my fav bois haha.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #one piece #op #character analysis #character essay #parallels #symbols #wei wuxian #monkey d. luffy #I hope people make more fics of these two interacting #the crossover for these two fandoms is a wasteland #I intend to fix that

[bi-turtle-enthusiast]

Hello.... Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from MDZS? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....

yeah sure!

Characters:

5. Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi I love their dynamic SO much. They're best friends who have clearly known each other for such a long time, and they're both really interesting characters in their own right! Lan Sizhui is so interesting, what with his Lan upbringing and his Wen heritage, and the fact that he's connecting to both by the end of the book. Lan Jingyi is Lan Sizhui's ride-or-die, protecting his best friend at every opportunity while having the best lines in the entire book, and he makes every scene he's in 100x better.

4. Wen Qing Medical malplractice queen!! But in all seriousness, there's something so viscerally powerful about the fact that she's willing to go against nature itself for her baby brother. She'd both die and kill for Wen Ning, and later for Wei Wuxian. I feel like her type of character (murderous older sister) is kind of rare and I really, really like her. I feel like The Untamed really fleshed out her character and I really appreciated her after I watched it. She's equally capable of nurturing and destroying—a force of nature herself.

3. Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian Fun fact: I hated Lan Wangji when I first read MDZS, and to be honest I'm still so-so on novel Lan Wangji. However, he was easily one of my favorite characters in The Untamed, and watching it made me see him in a whole different light. He doesn't communicate through his words, but through his actions. I think Wang Yibo was perfect casting because he NAILED Lan Wangji's micro-expressions and body language and really brought the character to life. Reading Lan Wangji as autistic also made me understand him a lot more. As for Wei Wuxian, I initially read him as a silly guy and... was right. Despite everything, he stays silly. I do find him a little insufferable pre-death, but I think that was intentional. He probably would have been higher on the list, but while I think he's a really compelling character (and ADHD personified, just like me fr), I'm also very frustrated by him and I don't like how he treats people sometimes. Still, I adore the way he looks after Jin Ling, refuses to let anyone blame Jiang Cheng for anything that happened to him, and takes care of Lan Wangji (towards the end, anyway).

2. Jin Ling Ok he probably would have been at the very top of this list but unfortunately jiang cheng brainrot is real. But CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIM. Over the course of the story, he finds out that his disgraced uncle who insulted him for not having a mom was actually Wei Wuxian reincarnated, then had to contend with the fact that Wei Wuxian was both the reason his parents and grandparents died AND the guy who protected him at every opportunity. Not to mention, he learned that Jin Guangyao, his beloved uncle who gifted him his beloved dog, had orchestrated his parents' death and was ready to kill him too. And what does he do at the end of the novel? He cries. He doesn't seek revenge, he doesn't get angry, he just cries, and he lets go. He chooses not to pursue revenge, because he's seen how the quest for revenge has destroyed everyone around him in one way or another. He's a little shit (because he's an edgy 15 year old) but he's a really intelligent and kind person who loves Jiang Cheng more than anything.

1. Jiang Cheng Some of y'all are going to disagree with me but it must be said. Jiang Cheng is the best MDZS character. Jiang Yanli's love and care taught him how to be loving and caring too. He loved Wei Wuxian, he loved Jin Ling, and he loved his sect. Jiang Cheng never stopped loving Wei Wuxian, even after everything that happened. He hated Wei Wuxian too—that's undeniable—but he also loved him. He kept his belongings intact, he never stopped believing he would come back, he literally gave up his golden core to protect Wei Wuxian. And Jin Ling! He loves Jin Ling so much! Despite having AWFUL parents himself, he was determined not to be that way towards Jin Ling. He did his best to break the generational trauma of his family because he wanted Jin Ling to have it better than he did. When Jin Ling becomes sect leader, he makes sure that he knows that if he EVER needs ANYTHING, he'll provide it to the best of his ability. I could go on for hours about this man. Best MDZS character. He's so full of resentment and hatred and vengeance, but in the end, the thing that always wins out over everything else is his unshakeable love.

Honorable mention: I loved MianMian in the Untamed and wish she got more time to shine in the novel

Favorite moments: 5. Literally anytime Lan Jingyi is in a scene. Every time he opens his mouth it's my favorite scene. He keeps Wei Wuxian humble in a way that only a teenager can. 4. The WangXian scene where Wei Wuxian hides porn in Lan Wangji's book. It starts off so genuinely nice—you can tell Lan Wangji isn't really serious anymore when he tells Wei Wuxian to stfu, and you get the feeling that Wei Wuxian is probably the closest thing Lan Wangji has to a friend. Wei Wuxian draws Lan Wangji a little portrait, and it's genuinely a sweet gesture. Lan Wangji thinks so too—he hasn't ever gotten something like this, and the fact that Wei Wuxian took the time to learn his appearance and commit it to paper makes him feel some type of way. And then, it turns out that everything was just a ruse so Wei Wuxian could prank Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji is,, understandably enraged. It feels cruel that Wei Wuxian would be so insincere just to do that. I kind of hated Wei Wuxian in this scene, but it's one of my favorites because it kind of shows the nature of their initial relationship—half-sincere, but never truly sincere. 3. Xuanwu cave scene. It's so funny and so painful and so sweet. We really see everyone's characters coming out—Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji being selfless protective, Jiang Cheng being capable and responsible, Jin Zixuan being brave and righteous, MianMian being the GOAT, Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao deserving death, etc. 2. The umbrella scene in the Untamed. It was just so powerful. Lan Wangji putting down his umbrella, which represents the rules and morality of his sect, and just letting the rain mess up his perfect appearance. He doesn't know what's right and wrong anymore, because he loves Wei Wuxian, but everyone is telling him that's wrong. Wei Wuxian himself doesn't know what's right and wrong. Lan Wangji has been thinking in terms of black and white all this time, and for the first time, he finds himself in a gray area. It was just so powerful!! 1. The conversation between Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng after the temple scene at the end. It was just so beautiful. Go read/watch it.

#mdzs #asks

[angstymdzsthoughts]

after jiang yanli and jin zixuan's engagement falls a part, jiang fengmian thinks about who he wants his daughter to marry and brings up the idea of wei wuxian and jiang yanli getting married. in his eyes this is a great match, as it means all of them can stay in lotus pier (so yanli doesn't have to move away to be with her husband's family) & he trusts wei wuxian to take care of yanli, but everybody else is horrified. yu ziyuan hates the idea of actually having to be related to wei wuxian even in an in-law capacity, the jiang sibling trio are horrified because they all view each other as siblings, and its a blow to wei wuxian because he always thought of the jiang family as his family, but this is sort of proof that jiang fengmian doesn't really think the same way (otherwise he wouldn't want wei ying to marry his daughter). since everyone hates the idea so much, jiang fengmian concedes that it wasn't a good idea, but even the fact that mentioned it permanently ruins everybody's family relationship with him and makes wei wuxian feel like he is viewed as an outsider.

maybe also as a consequence to this, wei wuxian starts acting more distant from jiang yanli because he is afraid of how other people view their relationship now (he has always viewed her as an older sister, and while he knew that some people didn't understand that, in the past he didn't care because he didn't care what others thought in the distant, but now he knows even someone as close as jiang fengmian can misinterpret that relationship, and he doesn't want anybody to try to misinterpret it again) and jiang yanli is heartbroken because she also loves wei wuxian as a brother and hates how distant he's being, but she understands that it's not really his fault and that this is just a bad situation

Oh I like this one. JFM wants WWX to be his son in law but all the siblings are like isnt he Already Your Son?!?

#mdzs #wei wuxian #jiang fengmien

[dysfunctional-family-fight]

Propaganda for the Jiang Family

CW: murder, choking, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, homophobia

"*pats family* this baby can fit so much resentment in it. Parents dislike each other and fight, yell at children and pit them against each other leading to but not only choking each other, one of them sacrificing basically his life for the other, blaming one for their parents deaths, one of them kinda accidentally causes the other siblings death which then causes a whole body of other issues when the other one comes back to life, it's just not great overall."

"Yu Ziyuan is certain her husband doesn't love her and prefers Wei Wuxian, his husband's alleged lovechild (not actually his) over their own children, especially son, and punishes every member of the family for this. Jiang Fengmian is certain Yu Ziyuan hates him and is apathetic about it, accepting her "punishment". Jiang Yanli is mostly ignored and set aside because she has a weak body because of an illness and does like, 80% of tge actual raising of her younger siblings. Wei Wuxian, because of Yu Ziyuan, is certain he isn't actually part of the family and he should put his siblings', especially Jiang Cheng's, needs above his own (and not like, personal needs but the perceived needs as the head of the clan). Jiang Cheng, because of her mother, is certain his father prefers Wei Wuxian and he isn't good enough to be the next clan leader.

There's corporeal punishment, verbal eviscerations, lack of communication, and love. The love usually manifests as not telling family members that they are loved but instead making major unacknowledged sacrifices without consulting the person it actually concerns, and then keeping it a secret and distancing that family member. They love each other so much and yet are so bad at not hurting each other.

And then everyone except Jiang Cheng keep dying."

"omg. the parents are a somewhat arranged marriage and the dad was in love with some other woman and adopted her kid after she died, and his wife knows this and is insanely jealous because she knows the dad 1. doesn't love her and 2. loves his adopted kid more than his actual biological son. rumors fly around about dad's supposed infidelity. mom is verbally and emotionally abusive to the kids and dad is fairly passive in its face. the adopted son is treated as a brother to the heir of the sect (they are also a political family) and also as a servant, creating a deeply dysfunctional dynamic in which the adopted kid struggles to navigate an impossible set of expected roles. he wants please the mom (who hates him and punishes him for the smallest mistake, including being better than her bio son at things), get parental love from the dad (who favors him and makes him feel guilty for being loved more than the bio son is) without upsetting his adopted brother (who is deeply insecure because he knows his dad doesn't like him and the favored adopted brother is a genius who is better at him than anything). every family meal is a battleground. nothing gets done and everyone conforms themselves into shapes the others will approve of, except the mom who lashes out in bitterness and rage at everything.

before going to defend their home from an attack that led directly to their deaths, the parents messed up their children one final time. the mom said that the attack was adopted boy's fault and that she hates him, prompting him to sacrifice his life for the biological son in several tragic and avoidable ways.the dad likewise told adopted boy to be the protector of his bio kids, pushing adopted boy back into a servant role when he was also a traumatized child reeling . there's also an older sister in there but she's ignored by half the fanbase and her parents, usually. as we can imagine she's heavily parentified because her parents are useless. as adults the brothers are almost completely estranged because their sister died and one of them tried to kill the other one for it and their relationship was maintained by her anger translation. in a series spanning 25+ years, almost all the many issues in the mc (adopted boy) and his brother can be directly traced back to his parents' behavior. also bio son is homophobic to adopted son but that is relatively low on the list of ways their relationship is bad. he intentionally triggers him with his worst fear once he comes back from the dead. most insane family I have ever seen in fiction"

#propaganda #jiang family #mo dao zu shi

[mommy-daddy-issues-poll]

Jiang Cheng & Jiang Yanli (Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed) Propaganda

Jiang Cheng (his sister was submitted without propaganda)

“Okay, so, this is a matter of perception and what actually happens. Daddy issues: this one's slightly more controversial, but he PERCIEVES that he gets less love from his father than his adoptive brother (he counts the times he's been held as a child [not many] and is very upset when his father makes him send his dogs away to make emotional space for said adoptive brother) and that his father is very harsh with him because he doesn't love him. Why does Jiang Cheng thing his father doesn't like or love him? Introduce the MOMMY ISSUES!!! His mother accuses his father of liking the adopted son more all the time and forgetting who his true flesh and blood is, causing a huge rift in the entire family. (She's jealous of a dead woman that, honestly, I don't think Jiang Cheng's dad ever had a shot with.) She constantly pits the boys against each other, sowing discord in the family and leaving her son Traumatized~! He IS loved by both his parents, but their toxicity towards each other definitely left him, the adopted son, and their poor daughter with different flavors of mommy and daddy issues. (Except the adopted son always knows in his heart who is actual parents are and says at one point that he does get tired of people forgetting that they, yk, existed and were in love with each other.)”

"Convinced that his dad loved their families ward more than him and said ward has to repeatedly comfort him about it. Mother is a huge bitch that propagates this idea. She only shows affection to him on screen before dying. Most of her time onscreen is her yelling at her husband about how she believes he hates Jiang Cheng because she birthed him. Child of parents that should've divorced."

“The Jiang family is a MESS and Jiang Cheng is very much a product of that. His father prefers his adopted son over him while his mother is abusive, controlling and blames Jiang Cheng for not being talented enough. As you can imagine, this man does not grow up well-adjusted at all.”

“his father AND his mother are critical of him so only SOME of his issues are getting their approval”

“Mommy is mad at Daddy for not loving her. Daddy hates conflict and ignores Mommy as much as possible. And ignores his son as much as possible, because he's so much like Mommy--high-strung, irritable, cautious, pragmatic. Daddy prefers the sunny, brilliant, careless, adventurous foster-brother instead. (Everyone loves/overlooks the needs of Nice Peace-making Older Sister. The three kids manage to grow up loving each other despite all this.) Mommy hates the foster-brother (who is (falsely) rumored to actually be Daddy's son) and needs Jiang Cheng to be better than him in every way. She needs Jiang Cheng to be the BEST. But he's not. He's pretty damned impressive in his own right, but he doesn't have Protagonist Energy. He has Secondary Character Energy. The parenting ranges from Tough Love to just your basic abuse. Anyway, Mommy and Daddy and nearly everyone else at home are brutally murdered. Jiang Cheng inherits his father's position and his mom's sexy magic purple lightning whip and rebuilds the family home and raises his orphaned nephew with a whole lot more love and a whole lot less abuse than he got himself. He cries a lot."

“man is the poster child for parent issues. he's the heir to a powerful sect, but his parents had an unhappy marriage and he had a wretched relationship with them before their violent deaths. his father jfm dislikes jc as a person because he thinks jc doesn't embody the clan motto and is too similar to his mother, a woman he resents having to marry. jfm favors jc's adopted brother because that boy's mom is the one he actually wanted to marry, and jc's mother knows it and takes it out on all of them. jc knows he is considered inferior by both of his parents and that he could never do enough to 'earn' their affection or approval, despite family love being his single most deeply desired wish. during a grug-induced hallucination, he just sees them all getting along and loving each other. but the murder of his parents cuts off any hope for reconciliation or healing between them, and he grows into a bitter, insecure, aggressive, violent, and jealous individual as a result. he ends the story utterly alone besides his young nephew, blacklisted by matchmakers and having pushed away his brother in misguided blame for the death of their sister”

“Insane Mommy AND Daddy issues (ignored and neglected by Dad in favour of his bestie's son, frequently berated by his extremely fierce and sharp-tongued Mom, perpetually in the centre of CONFLICT between parents, who then die traumatically).”

“Jiang Cheng’s parents need a divorce SO bad, but they can’t get one, and they both take it out on him. JC takes after his mother in a lot of ways, which makes his relationship with his father deeply strained. His dad loves him, but he doesn’t seem like him much sometimes. He’s very frequently disappointed in him, and he’s physically unaffectionate and distant, showing clear favoritism toward Jiang Cheng’s adopted brother. Meanwhile, his mother projects her own resentment toward her husband and the adopted-ish brother onto JC. She belittles him, constantly comparing him to the brother and saying he’s a failure of an heir for not being able to match someone who should be his subordinate/inferior.”

“tbf I think daddy/mommy issues run in the family considering who his nephew is, but Jiang Cheng is a big mess of daddy/mommy-related trauma shambling around and masquerading as a man”

“This guy's parents (father Jiang Fengmian & mother Yu Ziyuan) really gave him the worst inferiority complex. His father always dismissed him & heavily favors Jiang Cheng 's brother and his mother, jealous bc the brother is adopted and not her kid, is suoer hard on him and constantly telling him how much he sucks. Really fucks up his relationship with said brother in later parts of the show.”

“His dad has never hugged him and likes his adopted brother better than him to the point where people think the adopted brother is his dad's secret bastard child. His mom always compares him negatively to the adopted brother and says he'll never be good enough and that his dad hates him because he reminds his dad of her. His biggest dream is for his family to be happy and his parents to love him.”

“My man’s dad literally picked up another kid and made him get rid of his puppies. His mom was constantly complaining he wasn’t as good as the other kid and saying this is why his dad didn’t love him. And then they died horribly leaving him in charge of his clan.”

"Listen, this man's mother grabbed his arm (therefore making sure he stays within earshot) shows him to his father and says ""I know you don't love him and that he's a major disappointment, but he's still your son!"" to which I thought 'was it really necessary to say that in front of him????' But his father didn't even argue! He just said ""Wife, not now"" and walks off 'cause he's got better things to do than be in the same room with his family."

“so one jc's dad likes jc's childhood friend better than jc (jc has only been held by his dad less than five times). this is because jc is too much like his mother, who jc's dad was kind of forced to marry. jc's mom is constantly screaming at everybody and whipping people with her tazer whip. jc later inherits that same tazer whip. the nicest thing his parents do for him is die so that he can escape a total genocide of his martial arts sect.”

"- his dad and his mom do not get along well; they have a very chilly relationship

- his dad was rumored to have been in love with another woman, but she eloped with his dad’s best friend/servant instead, so his dad was left to marry his mom

- when he’s a kid, that other woman and her husband die, leaving behind an orphaned kid

- his dad basically ‘adopts’ that kid into their family. Jiang Cheng, who at this point can count the number of times he’s been held by his dad on one hand, immediately sees his dad walk in carrying this random other kid, with no hesitation.

- the kid (Wei Wuxian) is scared of dogs so Jiang Cheng’s dad forces Jiang Cheng to give his three dogs away

- Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng grow up, and Wei Wuxian ends up being better in almost everything. Jiang Cheng’s mom harshly scolds and criticizes Jiang Cheng for not measuring up and being as good

- Jiang Cheng’s dad behaves more affectionately and permissibly toward Wei Wuxian, doting on him to the extent that Jiang Cheng’s mom criticizes him for favoring him over his own son

- she tells Jiang Cheng that he will never be good enough for his dad because he reminds him of her; meanwhile, Wei Wuxian, the son of the woman he used to love, will always be above Jiang Cheng

- Wei Wuxian gets injured and trapped in a cave while Jiang Cheng runs home for a week straight, never stopping to rest while he tries to bring help. When Wei Wuxian is rescued, Jiang Cheng’s father praises Wei Wuxian for best exemplifying their clan’s motto. Jiang Cheng watches while receiving no praise for his own actions

- also Jiang Cheng watches his parents get murdered in front of him, which is also very traumatizing "

#propaganda #jiang cheng #jiang yanli #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #mommy daddy issues poll

[siblingshowdown]

YUNMENG TRIO PROPAGANDA!!!!!

I promise as the moderator of this competition I won’t campaign for any specific sibling sets after this but I cannot let my faves Jiang Yanli, Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Cheng lose in the first round when they were seeded pretty high.

For context, here is who I’m talking about:

Look at those babies!

The Yunmeng Trio are three siblings from the book Mo Dao Zu Shi or the TV show The Untamed.  They consist of oldest sister Jiang Yanli, middle adopted brother Wei Wuxian, and youngest brother Jiang Cheng.  Their relationship is crucial to the story, as it follows Wei Wuxian and his dynamic with both siblings (but especially Jiang Cheng) influences a lot of his decisions, which in turn influences a lot of the state of the world they live in as a whole.

Could these siblings win a physical fight against other sibling sets? YES.  Jiang Cheng is a very skill swordsman and has a magic lightning whip.  Wei Wuxian invented a new kind of magic and by and large is super overpowered (can take on hundreds of people at a time due to his ability to control ghosts/corpses/harness resentful energy).  Yanli, while not much of a physical fighter, can easily win over anyone’s heart with the power of soup.  (Seriously, in the book it lists her weapons as “love and soup”)  Everyone loves her, especially her brothers, which lowkey makes her an extremely powerful character because they’d do anything for her.

Do these siblings have sibling swag? YES.  They bicker! Especially WWX and JC.  Yanli loves to make her brothers soup and they always argue over who has the bigger portion!  They have inside jokes!  JC and WWX are always nitpicking at each other but will not allow anyone else to do so!  They’re all traumatized by their parents in different ways and therefore lean on each other and are unhealthily codependent because of it!  Whenever one of the brothers goes off by himself Yanli always asks the other one to go bring him back, and when she couldn’t do that she waded out into an active battlefield to try to find them!

Do they love each other? YES.  “We are the closest three in the world.”  Jiang Cheng sacrificing himself so Wei Wuxian doesn’t get taken hostage.  Wei Wuxian convincing his friend to perform ethically dubious and extremely dangerous surgery on him to try to get Jiang Cheng back to 100%.  The sole time Yanli loses her temper in the show, it’s because people are yelling at Wei Wuxian and not showing him respect!  She wore her wedding outfit when she and Jiang Cheng went to visit Wei Wuxian in exile because he wouldn’t be able to be at her actual wedding and she wanted him to see it!  Jiang Cheng suggested that Yanli let Wei name her son!  That scene made me cry no joke!

Are they interesting? YES.  I just described how much they love each other but the show actually begins with us seeing Jiang Cheng supposedly kill Wei before we jump back in time, so you know they have some intense emotional arcs going on!  Wei Wuxian was adopted when he and JC were around 6, and his status as an insanely talented and amazing cultivator plays really interestingly with the fact that his younger brother will be clan leader because WWX isn’t in the bloodline, and that influences JC immensely because in a way he has to deal with some of the worst parts of being a younger sibling while also having to deal with things an older sibling would otherwise have to.  Once Wei starts doing big plot things and becomes Public Enemy Number 1, JC and Yanli have to be careful with how they navigate the political world while trying to rebuild their clan and navigate an engagement that could unite their clan with a much more powerful one, but they still try to protect their brother.  Bodies start dropping.  They’re all traumatized over various events that occur before they’re even fully adults.  They make me feel so many emotions it’s not even funny.

tldr: I love them. please don’t let them lose in the first round please just give them this they’ve suffered enough.

#to clarify they were seeded high because they got one of the highest number of nominations #so for the race to be so close...... i KNOW there's time for the tides to change but i'm WORRIED #propaganda

[robininthelabyrinth]

Art trade with @yakultyeet who requested an extra for Initiative (the NMJ/JYL fic), potentially involving Nie Rulan

ao3

“Are you sure you should be exercising?” Wei Wuxian asked for about the fifth time, because he could be a terrible nag when he wanted. “What if you get hurt?”

Jiang Yanli was a good, virtuous, and loving older sister, so she didn’t roll her eyes at him. Neither did she smack him on the head, or ruffle his hair, or anything like that.

“Hypocrisy doesn’t suit you,” she teased instead. “Aren’t you and Hanguang-jun getting a name for yourselves as ‘always being where the chaos is’? If anyone should be worrying about anyone, it’s me for you!”

Wei Wuxian flushed pink, which was a new development that had first appeared on this particular visit to the Unclean Realm, and one that Jiang Yanli hadn’t expected. She’d remarked to Nie Mingjue just the night before that if she hadn’t known that he was only traveling around with Lan Wangji, she might have assumed he’d developed an infatuation for someone, or even lost his heart.

Her husband had blinked owlishly at her – it had been late, both of them long since tucked into bed, and his mind mostly on other things, including the current contents of her swollen belly – and he’d asked if there was a reason she was discounting the possibility that he had.

(“Obviously if there’s some history there, I wouldn’t presume to say anything,” he’d assured her as she had, in turn, blinked at him as if he’d lot his mind. “But the way they interacted during the war was always so emotionally charged, I’d assumed there was some attraction there at the very least, and it wouldn’t be that surprising for comrades-in-arms of a that particular inclination and orientation to eventually discover the other’s presence and potential after the circumstances are no longer so pressing…”

“Inclination?” Jiang Yanli had asked, still blinking. “Orientation? What?”

“…isn’t Wei Wuxian a cutsleeve?”

“What? No, of course not. He flirts with girls all the time.”

“A-Li, from what I’ve seen, he flirts with everyone all the time. What does flirting have to do with who he likes? Some people are just born flirts – look at Huaisang.”

Jiang Yanli had had to concede the point, and thinking back on it, she really couldn’t say if Wei Wuxian had ever actually expressed serious interest in any girl. Was it possible…?)

It certainly seemed a lot more likely now.

“Ah, me and Lan Zhan, that’s nothing, nothing much,” Wei Wuxian said, still pink, and then he shook his head purposefully. “Anyway, it’s different! You’re taking care of two instead of one!”

Jiang Yanli’s eyes curved with laughter. “Why, A-Xian, are you saying you’re not taking care of Hanguang-jun…?”

“Shijie, don’t be mean –”

“You’re the one who doesn’t have a golden core,” she reminded him, and he winced, even though they’d all already shed all the tears and done all the yelling they could possibly have done on the subject back when it had first been made clear to them. “And you’re out there night-hunting and doing all sort of wild things, left and right, every day. I’m just sitting here at home. There’s no need for concern.”

“I still think that lunk of a husband of yours ought to be taking better care of you,” Wei Wuxian grumbled.

“My husband is taking excellent care of me. Should I tell him you think he’s a lunk now?”

“No!”

Jiang Yanli giggled. She knew exactly how much Wei Wuxian admired Nie Mingjue – more and more, these days, really. That advice he’d given him about making a new name for himself had really changed his life, and Wei Wuxian’s respect for him, always strong, had turned into something near to hero worship, though naturally Wei Wuxian would never admit it.

It’d only gotten worse after Nie Mingjue had gruffly told both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng that, on account of them all being in-laws now, they might as well both join Nie Huaisang (and Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao) in calling him da-ge. He’d meant it primarily as a means to make clear to the world that no one should even think about messing with either of them lest they have to deal with the maddened fury of the Nie sect, but apparently a reliable big brother was something right out of a fantasy for both of them. Her delightfully silly brothers, each one worse than the next…

“Anyway, you really don’t need to worry,” she said. “I see a doctor every morning, the training-masters are always monitoring my training, and training the saber during the middle stages of pregnancy is completely normal here – firstly because it provides me with a good bit of exercise that isn’t too stressful, given the low grade of the basic routines I’m practicing, and secondly because it’s good luck. Supposedly it means that my child with have a good affinity with their saber.”

“Da-ge’s mother must have done nothing but practice,” Wei Wuxian said, and Jiang Yanli laughed in agreement. “And Nie-xiong’s must have done none at all.”

“Based on what I’ve heard of her, she wasn’t the saber sort,” Jiang Yanli agreed. Nie Mingjue had recounted, to Nie Huaisang’s laughter and Jiang Yanli’s delight, how he had had to sit around and make pleading puppy eyes to convince his Second Mother to take a few rounds with the saber for the good of her own health – apparently Nie Huaisang had come by his laziness quite honestly. “Though actually you’ll find that his affinity with his saber is perfectly all right.”

Wei Wuxian looked disbelieving.

“According to him, his saber’s dream is to be a paperweight.”

Wei Wuxian sniggered. “All right, that I’ll believe!” He shook his head, then glanced at her sidelong. “You’re really happy here, aren’t you?”

“I am,” she said. “I’m very happy. Why do you ask?”

“No – no, it’s nothing. It’s just interesting, that’s all – it’s so different from home here.”

Jiang Yanli nodded solemnly. “Oh yes,” she said. “It’s very different, but it’s something you get used to – something you grow to love. It’s easier than you might think.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. It’s easy because you love the people that are there so much, and the places they grew up shape them, so you see little pieces of them in everything. The training grounds, the forests, the streams…” She glanced at Wei Wuxian, who was nodding along thoughtfully. “Are you asking because you’re thinking of marrying out?”

“Shijie!”

“It’s quite all right if you do, of course. Though since you’re both men and there’s no likelihood of children, maybe you could split your time between the Lotus Pier and the Cloud Recesses equally –”

“Shijie! How did you know?”

“A big sister always knows,” Jiang Yanli lied through her teeth, and turned a grin on him. “So, are you going to finally stop trying to hide it from me? Tell me everything!”

He laughed. “All right, all right – there’s not much to tell, not really –”

#mdzs #jiang yanli #wei wuxian #nie mingjue #wangxian #my fic #my fics

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

Please share your deranged meta thoughts on chengxian.. please feed me. I am hungry friend.

*cracks knuckles* this is going to end up being a jc apologist post. here we go~

I mean, I know everyone and their uncle has agony feelings about the whole golden core thing. That subplot is the fulcrum on which the Yunmeng Shuangjie turns, from JC getting caught by the Wens (losing his core) to keep WWX safe to WWX giving JC his own core to the postwar reveal at Lotus Pier. And I know it inspires complex emotions in people. And I know people have wildly differing opinions on JC as a person and how his actions reflect on the sort of guy he is, and whether or not he's a good person.

I don't particularly care about a character's morality, so I'm discarding the question of good and evil when it comes to chengxian.

BUT what I do really like is the application of the wangxian "between two people who love each other, there is no need for apologies or thank yous" thing. Because even more than wangxian, that's the sort of ideology that might benefit chengxian. There is just too much to apologize for between the two of them.

Because if you're WWX, what could you even apologize for? For saving your little brother's ability to cultivate when he needed to be sect leader, when he had nothing else in the world that might keep him alive, when you knew it was something you could work around?

You could argue it was the height of thoughtless selfishness that he made that decision for JC and lied to him about it, and maybe you'd be right, but if you were WWX you wouldn't apologize for it either. You might apologize for things that weren't really your fault--the burning of Lotus Pier, for example. Or the death of Jiang Yanli. Apologize for taking up the heretical arts? How could you, when it won the war, saved innocents, and got you your revenge?

And what could JC apologize for? Cruelty? Anger? Careless sacrifice? How could he apologize for any of those things when he just watched his parents be killed and his home burned to the ground in front of his eyes, when he watched his older brother devolve into madness and kill their older sister, whom they both loved and was their only family left in the world? How could he apologize for sacrificing for WWX when WWX could and did do the same?

In the realm of gratitude--there is precious little to be grateful for between the two of them, and simultaneously too much for words. How do you thank someone for giving you your life back at the cost of their sanity, at their chance at immortality, at everything that had made them respected and feared and loved? The question goes for either of them, as WWX and JC made the exact same sacrifice within weeks of each other.

What makes these two fun is that they're unspeakably, bitterly cruel to each other, and so horrendously selfish. I feel that because WWX is the POV character and JC occupies an antagonistic role, you don't get to see this as much in the books. JC's cruelty is loud and obvious and it's so easy to look at him and hate him for it, this powerful man who has thrived because the protagonist sacrificed for him and yet insists on anger and violence and assuming the worst of everyone.

But it's an equally cruel thing to take away a person's autonomy and choice because you think you know what's best for them. It's equally cruel to spiral so far into your own arrogance, your own apathy, that you fail to notice the tides of politics around you shifting. WWX did his best with incredibly limited choices--that's why we love him. But JC's hands were tied as much as his older brother's, if not moreso.

And the most beautiful thing about chengxian, I think, is that they both make crippling mistakes because they are each other's blind spot for so much of the novel. Even before LZ was WWX's everything, it'a JC that WWX trusts above all else--this is clear during the Sunshot campaign and even after. And JC obviously trusts him--he has since childhood, since WWX promised to support him (and isn't that delicious, the broken promises and shattered dreams of the youth?).

Which obviously makes it so fucking painful when JC sees what WWX has wrought pre-siege of the Burial Mounds and goes understandably apeshit.

It also matters how JC shows that, even thirteen years after, he still trusts WWX. He still believes in WWX, and, dare I say it, holds onto the childish belief that his untouchable older brother can carry the day. It's why the scene in Guanyin Temple where JC throws Chenqing to WWX is so goddamn powerful. He brought that flute knowing WWX was the only one who could use it, that WWX might need it, and when they're down to the wire with no options left, JC believes in WWX.

Plus even in CQL canon, JC and WWX reconcile enough that JC visits Gusu to disturb the peace. Chengxian is all the more fun because it's about the power of reconciliation even more than wangxian is, and fundamentally, about forgiveness and the acceptance of the other person's flawed humanity. Which is, in the end, what makes it so compelling.

#hope you enjoyed eli :) #goose man #chengxian #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #mdzs

[deadpoolsmom]

ep 3-5 of the untamed thoughts; follow up to my ep1/2 post because actually I am going to be annoying about this show that came out 4 years ago

It’s unclear how old the main cast is at this point but I’m guessing like older teens have to young 20s? Cause they’re students I think and the headband babies in the first eps were like 16?

Yanli visibly wants to fuck that rich man so bad lmao. Love that the first two episodes made sure to give us proof she got to; and that they both will die yeah but they are both palpably horny for each other every time they’re near each other. The way Wuxian and Cheng have so solidly misinterpreted this is extremely funny. She wants to dick him down So Bad and they’re like 😠 this rich man is rude to our sister 😠 she Hates him 😠 Death Penalty no remorse for everyone Yanli doesn’t like 😤

Jiang Cheng babygirl I could treat you right pspspsp He can do whatever he wants for the next 45 episodes and I’ll be like okay bbg you’re so right. His lil crush on Wen Qing rn is adorable though (pretty that’s not gonna end well but I want good things for her)

Wei Wuxian is great (A+ adhd king) but he would also be the most annoying brother in history. He keeps randomly disappearing in a new place and worrying Cheng, talking back to leaders, and getting in trouble in the middle of this group trip to place with 3000+ rules. Tbth if I was Cheng and in some part responsible for making the group behave and represent ourselves to these seniors? I would have literally killed him by the second night. Genuinely wildly tolerant; he should get a free pass on the whole killing him thing forever. He clearly loves his very silly brother so so much by how long he managed to hold out (expecting to be devastated by whatever causes this btw)

I think they previously said the body Wei Wuxian reincarnated through (Mo Xuanyu?) was the illegitimate son of the Jin leader? Which apparently the servant guy Meng Yao(?) with the hm… questionable vibes is also. Not sure how old Xuanyu is supposed to be but I guessing that’s the same guy? Which like. My dude. Get it together. Perhaps stop having illegitimate kids who hate you?

Wen Ning??? My beloved corpse weirdo is just a little guy right now? A little sweet baby boy?? I’m so not braced for whatever causes that okay. Me 🤝 Wen Qing: patting him on his little head 🥺

Lan Xichen every time WWX and LWJ interact: 👀🏳️‍🌈😏

#that is not an exaggeration lxc literally looks at them and then does a lil smirk #cheng visibly loves his silly brother and is also silly sometimes #whatever is going happen is already heartwrenching and I don’t even know what it is yet #like he is at church camp/school and his brother brought booze and keeps talking about the devil and flirting with the teacher’s nephew #and cheng is just like oh xian tsk tsk #the untamed #jiang yanli #jiang cheng #wen qing #wei wuxian #meng yao #wen ning #lan xichen #lan wangji

[wisedawn13]

#xiantober Day 18: Wen Remnants

Wei Wuxian has had more families in his 20-odd years than most people have in a lifetime.

First, there were his parents. He knows he was loved dearly.

Second, there were the Jiangs. That was far more complicated. They weren't really family.

He was never adopted, he was barely tolerated by some. Sure, he loved Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli. He still does. They are his sect siblings and he adores them. Jiang Yanli has also stated she views him as an actual brother. But it's complicated.

Now, there are the Wens.

The Wen Remnants.

The innocents that are left.

He doesn't belong with them and yet they have fully accepted him as their own. Life is so hard for them and yet they have so much love and warmth for him. He doesn't deserve that. He loves them.

They mean the world to him.

Wen Qing is like an angry older sister to him and it melts his heart whenever she acts like it. He sees the care and love she has for her own brother and family, and he sees that when she talks to him. It hurts. He loves her.

Wen Ning is the sweetest there ever was.

Wei Wuxian wishes with all his heart and soul that he could have saved Wen Ning from what happened to him. He didn't deserve that.

None of them did.

A-Yuan. Sweet little Wen Yuan. Wei Wuxian's heart aches when he thinks about what A-Yuan has seen already at his young age.

The boy is so happy still. He finds joy in the simplest things. Wei Wuxian sees so much of himself in that precious baby boy. He loves A-Yuan like he were his own; fiercely and wholly.

The aunties and uncles are all so kind to him. They welcome him with open arms.

He often tries to keep his distance from most of the Wens, not wishing to make them uncomfortable with his presence. They seek him out and drag him with them as if he were their unruly child.

He loves them all.

He doesn't deserve them.

They deserve better.

And then, there's Popo.

She is the sweetest (and sassiest) old lady Wei Wuxian has ever had the pleasure of knowing. She is unfailingly kind and strong and fierce. Wei Wuxian loves her. Out of everyone, only Wen Qing and Wen Ning truly know what Wei Wuxian has gone through.

Popo sees it in him without him having to say anything. She sees the pain and loss and heartache. She sees the determination. She sees him. It hurts.

It didn't take long.

Wei Wuxian has long been told how happy he is, how he always has a smile on his face.

He tries to keep smiling. It's a lot harder now, but he tries. It's easier when he's around the Wens, especially A-Yuan. But when he's alone, when he thinks no one is looking, the smile slips.

Popo sees that.

She stopped him one day when he was going to the garden.

She looked at him with eyes filled with sadness, kindness, and so much wisdom. She looked at him and told him to walk with her.

So he did.

They walked in silence to the edge of the settlement where she sat.

And she spoke.

She told him he didn't have to hide anymore.

She told him she sees the pain he holds and he doesn't have to hide it, doesn't have to bear it alone.

Wei Wuxian tried to deny it, tried to tell her that it was fine and he didn't want to burden her or any of them. Not after everything.

She just looked at him.

He broke.

He collapsed to his knees with a sob and she pulled him in. His hands gripped her robes as he sobbed into her lap, leaning on her legs while she stroked his hair calmly. He could feel so much love from her, so maternal, and it hurt so much.

He hurt so much.

Wei Wuxian has gone so, so long without the love of a motherly figure in his life. The closest thing he had to that after his mom died was Shijie, but she was always too young. Too young to have to bear that burden.

Popo was different, she had lived it multiple times.

And she took him in easily. She saw him, she knew what he was capable of, and she still took him in and loved him.

She held him as he sobbed.

She sang to him.

She tells him stories.

She makes sure he eats.

She watches over him.

He is loved and it hurts.

----------

Link to thread

#xiantober #mdzs #threadfic #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #wei wuxian #wei ying #from twitter #wisedawn13 #fanfic #fanfiction

[hulijingemperor2]

It's a few years later.

Ruhua, Xuanli's second child is 6 and the twins, Ruxuan and Ruming are 5.

Now Zixuan and children came to spend a day with A-Yao in Jingjing.

Ruhua is a pampered and confident little girl, who knows that she's living a life of glamor. She's also a daddy's girl, so most of the time She'll be accompanying Zixuan~ even in his imperial court.

She would sit on his lap and say, "you heard HuangDie!!" Ruhua is in fact a female Zixuan. She also has beautiful peacock feathers (like the rest)

Ruhua's first words was Diedie and gold.

Ruxuan is like his brother Jinling.

He loves spending time with his uncle, A-Yao, and his twin sister.

Some say his first word was Foxy.

Ruming is Yanli. She loves lotuses and calm delicate things, and Yunmeng lotus pier is her favorite place.

Jinling has to carry Ruming with him to lotus pier, in which he doesn't mind doing

Ruming is also Jiang cheng and Wei wuxian's favourite~ because they could pretend that they're older than Yanli, lol.

Ruhua is afraid of insects whereas Ruming wouldn't hesitate to hold one.

Her first word was Niang.

All three children loves pranking Jinling.

And they refer to their uncles and elders like this:

Yao~ uncle Foxy/ Xiao shushu.

Mo xuanyu ~ uncle mo.

Jiang cheng ~ grape Jiujiu.

Wei wuxian ~ Xian da jiu.

Lan zhan ~ ice uncle.

Lan xichen~ uncle smiles.

Nie mingjue ~ tall Shushu.

Huaisang ~ maid Shushu

Xue yang ~ candy uncle

Su she ~ uncle Sushi.

Meng Shi~ Meng Nainai.

Madam Jin~ Jin Nainai!!!

Rusong and Jinling: Song and Ling gege!!!

~~~

Yao: *in his study, with Ruxuan on his lap.

His fox tail was also resting on his little nephew, as that was something Ruxuan is fond of*

Ruxuan: *hugs his fluffy tail* uncle Foxy. *points* what's that? On your desk?

Yao: ink. *smile*

Ruxuan: what's that used for?

Yao: to write and draw with.

Ruxuan: can uncle Foxy draw?

Yao: hmm, maybe if I try. But I feel that you're a better artist than me.

Ruxuan: mnnn. *points* what's that?

Yao: a brush holder.

Ruxuan: what's that used for?

Yao: to hold pens, Xuanxuan.

Ruxuan: ohh. Uncle Foxy, do you like hats?

Yao: mhm.

Ruxuan: why?

Yao: because it's stylish.

Ruxuan: I want to wear it!

Yao: hmm. *takes it off, and puts it on his head*

Ruxuan: i can't see! Uncle Foxy, am I blind?

Yao: no darling. *lifts the hat* see!

Perhaps the hat is too big for you.

Ruxuan: why?

Yao: *laughing*

Xuan, don't worry. I'll get you a hat that's your size.

Ruxuan: I thought you were tiny. We all call you Xiao shushu. Which is little uncle. You're really tiny.

Yao: but you're tinier *pinches cheeks*

Ruxuan: *gasps* tinier than Xiao shushu?!!!!

Yao: yup.

Ruxuan: uncle Foxy.

Yao: mn?

Ruxuan: why do you and Song gege have dimples?

Yao: we were born with it, dear.

Ruxuan: is everyone born with dimples? Why aren't I born with dimples.

Yao: genetics dear.

Ruxuan: that's a big, funny sounding word, uncle Foxy.

What's that? Is that a bug? Or a disease.

Yao: no *laughing* it's like how you're a peacock spirit because your A-Die is also a peacock spirit.

Thats due to genetics.

Ruxuan: ohh. I feel very smart now.

Yao: baby, you're always smart.

Ruxuan: uncle Foxy. Song gege and Ling gege are going to make a kite for me later.

Yao: well that's lovely!

And today is an excellent day to fly a kite.

Ruxuan: yea!

Ruming: uncle Foxy, what are you doing?

Yao: stamping some documents, darling *yawns*. I'm almost done.

Ruming: are you sleepy? If A-Die and A-niang didn't ban me from making tea, I would have prepared it for you. I almost burnt my fingers while trying.

Yao: omg! Mingming! You should be careful.

Ruming: I was!

Yao: you're still very small, dear.

Ruming: ok, uncle Foxy.

Yao: good.

Xiying: Huangdi.

Yao: yes. They're respectively approved, filled and stamped.

Get them to the ministers.

Xiying: certainly huangdi.

Xiying: just a reminder, tomorrow you have a meeting with the empress of Phoenix spirits.

Yao: excellent.

Xiying: and the complementary gifts are arranged.

Yao: tell the rest of the staff that they're doing a wonderful job.

Xiying: will do, Huangdi. And we love to be in your aid.

Yao: *smile*

Ruming: are you an emperor? A-Die is an emperor too.

Yao: yes I am. *gasps* your A-Die is also a Huangdi.

Ruming: he didn't tell you?

Yao: no. Why did he hide it from me? This makes me sad.

Ruming: I'll talk to him! He should have told you his secret.

Yao: who else knows? Does my Mingming know?

Ruming: yes I do! Ling gege,  Hua jiejie, and Ruxuan gege too!

And A-niang!

One time I saw A-niang kissing the emperor. Is it right to kiss the emperor like that?

Yao: oh my.

Jinling: *enters* guys! Xiao shushu is working. Why are you troubling him?

I was looking for you all over and couldn't find you.

Ruxuan: that's the point. We didn't want to get caught. Right Ruming?

Ruming: Right! Ling gege. What are you doing here?

Jinling: *pouts* He's my Xiao shushu too. I can meet him whenever I want.

Ruming: you're the one who's disturbing him, Ling gege!

Ruxuan: Ling gege, uncle Foxy is working.

Jinling: have some manners for your gege.

Yao: babies. Stop arguing. A-ling, you're sounding like Jiang cheng.

Jinling: *terrified* oh no! I can't be!

I'm sorry, Xiao shushu.

I don't want to be cranky like Jiujiu!!!

Yao: *pats his head lovingly*

Jinling: *kneels by his side* love you, Xiao shushu.

But are they bothering you? 

Yao: not at all. *kisses him on his forehead* A-ling. I could multitask. Also I'm almost done.

Jinling: how?

Yao: practice! When you and Song'er were around this age, I used to do the same.

I would have both of you on my lap, while doing my work.

Jinling: wow Xiao shushu.

Zixuan: *walking in with little Ruhua*

Ruhua: Dié, I loved feeding uncle Foxy's koi. Dié, why are his koi so big?

Zixuan: because they eat a lot, darling.

Ruhua: I want some more koi.

The princess of peacock spirits needs more koi, Diedie.

Zixuan: *smile* as you wish.

Ruming and Ruxuan: A-DIE!!!!

Zixuan: my babies!! *kisses them*

Ruhua: uncle Foxy! We're back! I want a koi from your pond.

Yao: oh you want koi fish? Baby princess.

Ruhua: mhm.

Yao: how about I give you two!

Ruhua: *jumping up and down* thank you uncle Foxy!!

Zixuan: hmm. Looks like Ruxuan was questioning you, huh?!

Yao: he has all rights to question me.

Ruxuan: A-die, uncle Foxy thought me a new word!!

Zixuan: aw really?! What's that?

Ruxuan: gen.....gen..tic.

Uncle Foxy help me.

Yao: genetics.

Ruxuan: yea that one!

Zixuan: my baby has a big vocabulary now.

Ruxuan: yup!

Zixuan: little Ruming.

Ruming: A-Die! I'm upset with you. You didn't tell uncle Foxy that you're an emperor.

Zixuan: *gasps* you know you're right.

Yao: *pouting*

Zixuan: I wanted to surprise him. But I guess you told him everything.

Ruming: yes! I look out for uncle Foxy.

Ruxuan: me too!!

Ruhua: me three!!

If they upset you, I'll throw them in jail.

But I won't do that to A-Die.

Rusong: *enters* guys, do you still want to make kites?! I got the paper, string and ribbons.

Ruxuan: YAAYYYY!!!!!

Ruming: Ruxuan, Ruxuan, let's go!! Let's go!!

Ruxuan: uncle Foxy, I gotta go. *climbing off his lap*

Yao: be careful.

Rusong: Diedie. *hugs*

Yao: *kisses him on his dimple* Song. You're excellent with children.

Rusong: learnt from you.

Ruhua: Song gege, did you get shiny ribbons too??

Rusong: of course I did!

Jinling: let's go guys. *holds their hands*

Rusong: did you get the paint and other material?

Jinling: yup.

Zixuan: we have such a happy family.

Yao: yess! We sure do!

Zixuan: now it's time to think about the future.

Yao: I agree. Well Rusong and Jinling have their future set.

Now we have to plan for these three.

Zixuan: they can do whatever. Once it makes them happy.

Yao: that's how it's supposed to be.

I want them to be successful in life.

Zixuan: same.

~~~

Next day, a special someone came to meet A-Yao.

~ Due to toxic rumors going around the jianghu (except for the hulijing empire), A-Yao and Qin Su once decided to divorce. Because Ayao didn't Qin Su's reputation to be ruined.

At that time, Rusong was 6.

Now Qin Su, who's a half hulijing lives in her Laoling Mansion, as she runs the sect until Rusong succeeds her. Rusong and A-Yao however meets her during the Fall season~

..............

Xiying: Huangdi, someone special is here to meet you.

Yao: ah, bring them in.

Qin su: *entering with a few maids*

Yao: A-Su?

Qin su: Yao huangdi.

Yao: what a surprise! How have you been?

Qin Su: I'm good. What about you and our Song'er?

Yao: we're fine. please, have a seat.

Qin su: thank you..*sits*

Qin Su: I came to tell you something important. Well I was contemplating on this for a long time.

Yao: tell me.

Qin Su: I think  we should go back together.

Yao: aww A-Su, that's music to my ears!

I missed you dear.

Qin Su: I missed you too!!

And despite being away from Jingjing, I knew what was going on.

Yao: that's great.

But if we reunite, would you be happy?

Qin su: Yao huangdi, obviously I would.  I have you and Song'er. And now jingyi!

Team dimple and my goddess mother-in-law.

Yao: ah yes. And Zewu Jun too.

Qin su: nah I don't like him.

Besides, we'll be happy.

Yao: once it pleases you. Also I love you a lot.

Qin su: I love you too.

Yao: I'm glad you're back.

Yao: come A-Su. Our children are busy practicing music cultivation. Let's go surprise them.

Qin Su: mn.

Yao: I have some many things to tell you

I don't know where to start.

Qin su: same here.

Laoling was a bit in a crisis because of the Jin Sect.

Remember, they fund us.

Yao: right. Jin guangshan hasn't done many things.

Hoarding his money.

Qin Su: yes.

Yao: Zixuan and I will deal with him. Rest assured.

Qin Su: fortunately our son will also be the Laoling sect leader.

Yao: yes.

Also I won't let guangshan trouble him and A-ling.

.

On the other side,

Rusong: *playing the Xiao, which manipulated some wind into a tornado.*

*then golden strings came out and pulled whatever was in its way~ sucking it within itself*

Jingyi: *playing his guqin, which tore a few of xue yang's fierce corpses apart.

Jingyi: you're awesome! Where did you learn that tornado thing?!

Rusong: thanks to Shizun. And I learnt guqin string feature is from A-Die.

Jingyi: what happens when the golden strings pull them into the tornado?

Rusong: they get severed by the stings, and disoriented by the tornado.

Jingyi: wow.

Rusong: You're a amazing too, didi.

Jingyi: are you sure Xue yang won't be phased that we used four of his fierce. I can't be paying him for fierce corpse damage.

Rusong: my and my cute Dianxia privileged face asked him. And he said go for it mini boss Dianxia.

Jingyi: niceeee!

Jingyi: Rusong,  show me how to shoot an arrow using a guqin.

Rusong: sure.

You just have to hold your quqin like this and~~~ shoot.

Qin Su and A-Yao: *clapping*

Rusong: *turns around* A-niang!! A-Die!!

Jingyi: A-Die's wife?

Rusong: *hugs Qin Su*

Qin Su: Rusong Rusong Rusong! *showers him with kisses*

My baby is all grown up! Baby Rusong!

A-Yao, baby Rusong.

Yao: *smiling* yes our baby has become so mature and elegant! *strokes Rusong's hair*

Rusong: A-niang, I miss you.

Qin Su: awww. How are you, Song'er?

Rusong: I'm great, A-niang.

Jingyi: niangniang.

Qin su: Yi'er! *hugs*

Jingyi: *emotional* waw. I never felt so much love from parents before.

Qin Su: *cups face* don't worry. A-Yao and I would give you so much love.

Yao: Song'er, Yi'er.

Your A-niang is here to stay.

Both: really?!

Yao: mhm.

Rusong: I'm so happy!! I'm happy that I have you both and A-Yi. *pats head*

Jingyi: Rusong.

I'm not a baby.

Rusong: but I'm older. *smile*

#the huli jing emperor #foxyao #meng yao #dimpledlianfang #hulijing emperor 2 #jin guangyao #jin zixuan #part 2 #su she #the untamed

[shanastoryteller]

Do you think madame Yu would have treated Wei Wuxian better if he was a she?

if wei wuxian had been a girl, she would have been engaged to jiang cheng

she’s the daughter of cangse sanren. she’s skilled enough to be the first disciple as a teenager, which means she already had to have been impressive as a dirty street orphan. it’s obvious. it’s easy. what else would they do with her? have her marry someone else, and have children with some random, lesser cultivator? of course not. she will be married to the heir to lotus pier and her children will be heir to lotus pier and she will take madame yu’s place as the wife to the sect leader

(i don’t think that endears her to madame yu in the slightest. i think wei wuxian looks a little too much like her mother. but it makes it impossible for her to insist that wei wuxian is just another cultivator, that she’s an usurper or competitor. who does she have to compete against? she’s to be the wife of the sect leader of lotus pier. besides, with her engagement to jiang cheng announced almost as soon as she arrives, it makes it impossible for people to gossip about wei wuxian being jiang fengmian’s child. because if that was the case, then of course he wouldn’t have arranged for her and jiang cheng to marry. so it tempers madame yu’s actions, but not her distaste)

she shares a room with jiang yanli when she arrives and jiang yanli loves her instantly, easily, and it’s not complicated for her. wei wuxian is to be her future sister in law, after all. she’s also to inherit the home that jiang yanli is going to be forced to leave, but she can’t hold a grudge about that, not when wei wuxian is so scared and uncertain and loves her so easily

jiang cheng sort of understands that this new girl is going to be his wife one day. but. if it looks like a sister and acts like a sister and pushes him into the pond like a sister and kicks his ass in training then gloats about it like a sister – well, that’s a sister. they argue and fight and are best friends and everyone coos about what a perfect match they are but they just. don’t. they kiss when they’re fourteen and it’s terrible. “maybe we’ll like it better when we’re older,” wei wuxian says, scrubbing at her mouth.

“maybe,” jiang cheng says dubiously, resisting the urge to copy wei wuxian’s motions even though he’s not a child.

but it doesn’t really matter. because they’re great partners, they fight well together and lead well together and all of lotus pier has no problem accepting that jiang cheng and wei wuxian will one day get married and lead them. it makes so much sense. jiang cheng with his terrible temper and wei wuxian with her infinite patience, the way she can endure and diffuse the worst of jiang cheng’s tantrums with a grin. of course, that’s only when she feels like it, and most of the time she and jiang cheng are doing their best to drive the other insane until jiang yanli breaks it up with some freshly made soup and a stern glance promising something a lot less nice than soup if they don’t knock it off.

and jiang cheng and wei wuxian know it too. the whole marriage part isn’t something they’re particularly excited about, but they talk, sometimes, about what it’ll be like when they’re running the clan together. it also gives wei wuxian a sense of ownership and security in the clan. she’s not there on sufferance. she’s not charity. she’s the future wife to their next clan head. this is as much her clan as jiang cheng’s and no one ever thinks otherwise.

then they go to cloud recesses. jiang cheng and wei wuxian don’t at all act like respectable betrothed except when they’re busy being snooty in front of jin zixuan – like, see, this is how good fiances treat each other, you jerk. jiang yanli has given up trying to get them to stop and the rest of the clan thinks it’s hilarious how wei wuxian will go from having jiang cheng in a headlock while he curses her out and tries to stomp on her feet to them walking arm in arm, noses in the air, as jiang cheng opens doors for her and pulls out her seat and they defer to each other is warm, polite tones that they only use when trying to convey to jin zixuan how much of an asshole he is.

then they actually get to cloud recesses which contains two very important, devastating things

wen qing and lan wangji

neither of them have ever had this problem before. unfortunately, the person they would normally go to with these new, weird feelings would be each other, and that doesn’t seem right. jiang yanli is the next option, but like, that’s not fair, especially when jin zixuan is being such a huge jerk.

so they eventually confess to each other and are mutually relieved that the other isn’t mad at them, but also. that doesn’t solve their problems over wen qing and lan wangji being beautiful and also assholes.

“do we have a type?” wei wuxian asks. “wen qing is pretty cute.”

jiang cheng pulls a face. “lan wangji looks like he wants to kill me all the time, so no, i don’t really see the appeal there.”

of course it takes these two lovable idiots a while to figure out the reason that lan wangji hates jiang cheng is because of his stupid, massive crush on wei wuxian. they can’t decide if that’s a win or not. wei wuxian eventually pries out of wen ning that wen qing does think jiang cheng is kind of cute, which is definitely a win.

“it’s, like, not cheating if we’re not married yet, right?” wei wuxian asks, her head in jiang cheng’s lap as he braids her hair into something that isn’t an embarrassment. which, whatever, she can still wipe the floor with him when her hair’s in a ponytail.

“right,” he says decisively.

now they just have to convince wen qing and lan wangji of that.

#asks #anon #untamed #fandom ficcery #i have prompts to finish before tuesday!! #and chapters to write!!! #but this ask gripped me by the throat #i hope you're proud of yourself #jfm is 100% like well i couldn't marry cssr #but my son can marry her daughter

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 30 part two

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)

Homesick

On the way back to the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian tells Wen Ning not to tell Wen Qing what happened. Wen Ning is excellent at keeping secrets for Wei Wuxian and not revealing them in a fit of justifiable spite or anything. Then Wei Wuxian sits at dinner with a 1000 yard stare, and tries to pretend everything is fine.

He’s so sad, you guys. Even sadder than after parting from Lan Wangji. 

He dodges Wen Qing's several attempts to find out what's wrong, and changes the subject to his farming ambitions. He wants to plant lotuses, and declares that he'll show them that it's possible. Everyone acts like he’s talking about a totally insane idea.

How dare anyone be doubtful of Wei Wuxian’s abilities at this point? I mean, come on. They’re up here surviving on corpse vegetables on his personal corpse mountain that he tamed with a flute while being mostly dead himself.  But their skepticism and his bragging do serve to lighten his mood a bit. 

(more behind the cut!)

Secret-Keeper Wen Ning

Outside, Wen Ning feeds the lotus soup to A-Yuan right in the main courtyard where Wen Qing will definitely catch him. Also he apparently stole Yanli’s green lotus bowl, which is a bit of a clue about where the soup came from. 

Wen Qing lovingly menaces Wen Ning until he fesses up about seeing the Jiangs.  

Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing are both utterly devoted older sisters who live and (literally) die for their didis, but are totally different in how they express their love and how they interact with those didis. Wen Qing’s tenderness comes with directness and a sharp edge, not at all like Yanli’s softness and occasional manipulation. It’s nice to see how different they are even if they don’t, you know, end up differently. 

Wen Qing goes to talk to Wei Wuxian, and she shuffles back and forth in front of the door, not going in. She knows he needs something, but doesn't know how to approach him; her usual methods aren't right for the pain he's feeling right now, and she's not the sister that he's missing. 

Wei Wuxian lies on his bunk listening to The Cure’s entire “Disintegration” album on repeat. 

Oh just one more and I'll walk away All the everything you win turns to nothing today So just one more, just one more go inspire in me The desire in me to never go home

He has a montage of memories of the steps that led to where he is now, going from Yanli in her wedding clothes from earlier in the day, then his (now-broken) promise to Jiang Cheng to stay by his side. Then it goes way back to his vow of goodness in the cloud recesses, then to his rainy confrontation with Lan Zhan over that same promise.  His vow of goodness and his vow to Jiang Cheng can’t coexit. 

He looks at the lotus tassel and thinks, in voiceover, "Yiling Laozu Wei Wuxian."  Then he says his future nephew’s name as a tear rolls down his cheek, and asks himself, "Wei Wuxian, would you really still make the same choice?"

Giving up his family is just...too much for him. This is the first time we see him entertaining doubts about the path he’s chosen, although he still won’t express that to anyone but himself. 

Lotus Seeds

Later, he's sitting around doing fuck-all while everyone else is working (fuck yeah feudalism), and Wen Qing comes up and tosses a bag of lotus seeds at him, challenging him to get them to grow.

Parenting with Depression

After a brief time skip, a lone seedling has finally sprouted in Wei Wuxian’s mud lotus pond. Before he can check it out, A-Yuan goes and pulls it up. Wei Wuxian gets super upset about this, hollering at A-Yuan and making him cry.

Also making him pout adorably.

Wen Qing comforts A-Yuan and asks Wei Wuxian to forgive him. She doesn’t say “what the fuck, why are you yelling at a baby about a plant” because they live in a genre where whipping your stepkid with magic lightning is legal. Wei Wuxian’s mini tantrum is still pretty chill parenting, by comparison.  

Wei Wuxian realizes he needs to be the grown-up here, despite barely being an actual grown up yet, and tells Wen Qing and A-Yuan that it’s fine. 

Then he goes back to his cave to listen to Pink Floyd’s entire “Wish You Were Here” album on repeat. 

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun Shine on you crazy diamond Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky Shine on you crazy diamond You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom, blown on the steel breeze Come on you target for faraway laughter, come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

Wen Qing explains the situation to A-Yuan in a way he can understand, saying that Wei Wuxian misses his sister. A-Yuan says he should visit her, and Wen Qing tells him to go tell Wei Wuxian that. When you can’t bring yourself to talk to your friend about what’s bothering him, sending a 3 year old to talk to him instead is an awesome idea. 

A-Yuan goes and makes the suggestion, and Wei Wuxian, back to being a nice dad again, obligingly plays at being able to fly to see her. This is cute for 2 seconds, and then it's soul crushing. Remember when Wei Wuxian actually could fly? 

Yeah, I think he remembers it too. 

Jins Are Boring

All of this is intermixed with a couple of short, not-gif-worthy scenes at Jinlintai, where we see Jin Guangyao being cheerfully helpful and Jin Zixuan thinking Jin Guangyao is cheerful and helpful. Jin Guangshan is nervous because he knows that Jin Guangyao is actually a murderous little snek--in fact, that’s his favorite thing about Jin Guangyao--and his own legitimate heir is a trusting dumbass person who has a giant target on his back.

Brand New Day

In Yiling, the lotuses are finally growing properly, and the Wens are all very pleased for Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian is kind of overcome with feels, but quickly moves to swaggering and having way too much eye contact with Wen Qing.

Yikes, get a room cave, you two.

1 Year Later

Then we have an entire year of time jump in a single title card. Wei Wuxian has changed outfits to an absolutely devastating simple black robe with a dark red belt. Not to be bisexual but oh my fucking god. 

Wen Ning is still wearing the same shitty straw hat with holes in it. Corpses don’t get a clothing allowance.

Aw, Wei Wuxian has been this sad for a whole year, you guys.

WWX and WN catch up on the latest news, which comes to them in the way of all news in Wuxia and Xianxia dramas: two guys sitting around loudly discoursing in public. 

The News Guys say that Jiang Yanli had a baby son five days ago, and since he's the "first legitimate grandson" for Jin Guangshan, he's well-loved. Presumably there are several illegitimate grandsons who are poorly loved. Future grandson Jin Rulong will also be poorly loved, by which I mean “assassinated.” 

Wei Wuxian is briefly overjoyed, gripping Wen Ning’s shoulder and sharing the news with him. In this moment he speaks from the heart, using familial terms, not sect terms, to speak of his sister and nephew: jiejie and waishengle, not shijie and shizhi. 

Then his mood comes crashing back down again, as he realizes this is one more family joy that he’s excluded himself from. 

Baby Fever

Next, at Jinlintai, we have the infamous scene where Jin Guangshan won't let Jin Guangyao hold the baby. I know some viewers see this as a tipping point for Jin Guangyao, but I'm reasonably certain he was already evil. He has intended to murder his (admittedly, terrible) father for years and years, and he’s already put his brother-killing plan in motion. Not to mention that he’s got Xue Yang on speed dial. 

Jin Guangshan is wise to keep him away from his vulnerable lineal descendant. However, he doesn’t need to be such a dick about it.

You Are Not Worthy To Party With Me

At the party planning meeting, Lan Wangji is making all of his best bitch faces while interacting with the Jins, because he hates nearly anyone who isn’t a Lan or a Wei at this point. 

“I’m not a hate monger, I’m a hate stylist” - Punchline, 1988

He sticks his neck way, way out to say that Wei Wuxian should be invited to the baby party. This is a terrible idea, Lan Wangji. But it’s also an amazing step in Lan Wangji’s journey toward accepting Wei Wuxian’s choices. He’s advocated for Wei Wuxian as a person before, but this time he’s advocating for him to be treated as a clan leader. 

When he realizes that the Jins plan to use this opportunity to have a Yin Tiger Intervention, he starts to backpedal.

Lan Wangji: What will you do when Wei Ying tells you to fuck off? Jin Guangyao: I’m sure once he sees Jin Ling he’ll want to stay here forever Lan Wangji: Only one baby has that much cuteness power, and that’s Wei Ying’s our baby 

Unfortunately, Jin Guangyao knows exactly how to get around Lan Wangji’s concern, telling him that he should handle the invitation personally. 

This instantly short-circuits Lan Wangji’s higher brain functions in a wave of pining, and he he accepts his brother’s (honest) and Jin Guangyao’s (dishonest) promises that they will respect Wei Wuxian’s choices, bowing his agreement with the terrible, terrible plan.

Jock Itch

Meanwhile, asshole cousin Jin Zixun is dealing with a little skin rash caused by Su She cursing him, at Jin Guangyao’s direction. Jin Guangyao is such a prick;  he made sure not to risk the rebound-curse himself, allowing Su She to suffer those consequences instead. 

Then we get to see the only good Jins, father and baby son, having a nice family moment together with Jiang Yanli, happily unaware of Jin Guangshan’s nefarious plans and Jin Guangyao’s even more nefarious plans.  

I’m sure this upcoming party will be a return to better times for everyone, right?....Right?

Soundtrack: “Homesick” by The Cure, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond  parts I–V” by Pink Floyd

#the untamed #the untamed gifs #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #ep30

[namelessexistence]

Lately I've been thinking about how Su Xiyan and Jiang Yanli, despite the polar opposite personalities, are both desconstructions of the same trope and play similar roles in their stories.

First, I'm not chinese. I've read, like, 6 danmei novels, what does not make a specialist in chinese literature. But I know how MXTX love playing with tropes and expectatives. SVSSS was literally a parody from a genre. SY, as a character, seemed very familiar to common tropes and rationalized PIDW in Genre Logic, and the way he thinks about fictional dead mothers (both SXY and LBH's adoptive mother) give off the impression that the cliche of the Dead Mother is very similar to what I grew familiar to.

JYL is very similar to the cliche dead mother. Kind, soft spoken, nurturing. She's weak in cultivation, passive in romance, avarage in beauty. Her virtues are the ones associated to the idealized mother figure.

SXY, in the other hand, is a rare beauty, a ruthless and cold woman, elegant, refined, a cultivator of great skill and talent, that held authority she was not born into. She took iniciative in her romance with TLJ, tough her intentions were not genuine at first. So, different as night and day, but they were made the same by the men in their lifes after their deaths.

SXY was not that present as JYL. Not only JYL had scenes in wich she was actually there, but she's Also more present in the minds of the characters we follow.

JYL was painted as almost a saint, a perfect older sister who would have been a perfect mother if only she had the chance. Partially due to WWX's idealized perception of her, partially due to everyone else not respecting her autonomy and agency. SXY didn't have those expectatives built so strongly over her, but SY seemed to have similar expectatives of what kind of person the protagonist's dead mother would be.

Now, lets talk a bit about who they really were. She was kind and nurturing, yes, and clearly enjoyed taking the role of a caretaker. She also really wanted to have a family with JZX. But she was not a perfect angel. She was a child raised in an abusive family, that took a parental role in a very young age, so I do not hold it against her that she was not as ideal as many fans paint her to be. She wanted peace in her home, and, being a child when she took the role of the peacemaker, she probably didn't think of the consequences in the long run. Between the explosivos temper YZY and JC shared, and JFM's lack of attitude, getting WWX to play nice was often the easier way to keep that peace. And she never lost that habit, even as a adult, asking WWX to stop his attacks when thousands of people were attacking HIM. Despite of that, I don't doubt of her love for him. But she defended him. And, more than that, she wasnt willing to put aside her affection because everyone around her wanted her to. The way she defies the trope is more subtle. SXY is more straightfoward on that, SY's expectative was broken in one line from TLJ.

Both women tried to protect someone who was condenmed by the cultivation society, going against what the men in power expected from them

Both of them had their agency denied by people around her. SXY was a powerful and competent cultivator that was supposed to be the next Palace Master, but the Old Palace Master perceived her as a pearl to be kept and protected by him. JYL stood against Zixun to defend WWX, but her arguments were played down and cast aside quickly.

"It really was too bad for Jiang Yanli, raising a wolf that turned to bite her own hand"

That's how she's remembered, just a victim whose own actions didn't have any weight in the matter. Even her son remember her that way, believing WWX killed his mother. Even tough JC saw what really happened. But he would rather use his sister's death to justify his hatred towards WWX than recognize her choice and will. JYL wanted to protect WWX. Her last action was a sacrifice. An action that would be considered as heroic, If It wasnt for everyone wanting to paint WWX as an ungrateful murderer and ignoring JYL as an agent in the story.

SXY' sacrifice was ignorei and forgotten in a similar way. TLJ was the Villain and the Old Palace Master was the righteous leader that united the sects to bring him down. SXY's feelings did not fit this narrative. And no one seemed to wonder what she had to say. No one questioned what happened to such great cultivator. Old Palace Master must have invented something, and his word was enough. He had control over her narrative, like JC had control over JYL's narrative. Men who claimed to love them had no respect for what they wanted and used them to bring the demise of people they loved, with SXY's relationship with TLJ being used to atract him to a trap, and JYL's death being used to further villanize WWX.

The circunstances of their deaths were unfair, of course, but they were not victims with no agency. They chose to die for someone else. Something I find interesting, comparing the two, is that SXY, powerful and ambitious, died alone, her sacrifice a secret, killed by a poison, while the gentle and soft JYL was killed by a blade, in a battlefield. SXY, ambitious, meant to be a sect leader, gave up her chance to keep her power, choosing to save her baby instead. Maternal and romantic JYL, who dreamed to have a family with the man she loved, died to protect someone she considered a brother, tough she believed he killed her husband, giving up the chance to raise her child.

In short, their deaths were sacrifices that the world ignored, and someone else twisted their stories with no regard for what they wanted. They both go against the Dead Mother stereotype by being agents in their own deaths, and not passive tragic figures.

#svsss #mdzs #su xiyan #jiang yanli

[featherfur]

I can’t figure out which idea I find more plausible with Jiang Cheng going back in time and seeing Jiang Yanli, either pregnant or just after a-Ling is born.

Cause on one hand you have the Jiang Cheng that holds so closely to the past, who when he finds WWX again he wants to restart. Wants to cling to the past where Wei Wuxian was his best friend, his brother, his right hand. He wants Wei Wuxian to choose him more than he wants Wei Wuxian to fuck off. He wants what was. He holds to the past, to his anger, so tightly that his heart is a ball of strings tightening with every person he loves pulling away and the only one that loosens is his sect because they don’t have a choice. (They have a choice, but tell me he doesn’t think that) so maybe he sees Yanli and he wants his sister back, wants to pretend that everything is back to normal and she can make everything better. That he’s a child again and she’s his support.

But on the other hand, Jiang Cheng has lived longer than his siblings. He’s raised a kid, he’s raised a sect. Even with his anger and pain he still could step away from his brother, protect him by not revealing his return, run after him with no access to his golden core. Jiang Cheng still has an instinct to protect his family. And how could he, as an adult who lived longer than his sister, put that pressure on her? To comfort him when he looks at her and sees a child, sees someone barely older than a-Ling. And more than that, how can he look at her without anger? Without that same pain that makes him snarl and yell at Wei Wuxian? Because she chose Wei Wuxian over everyone! She left Jiang Cheng to raise her son! Even if she was willing to abandon Jiang Cheng like everyone else, how could she do that to her son! How could she do this? Choose Wei Wuxian over everyone?

So the anger and hurt boils up and he can’t even put a name to it, anger and hurt and pain. Because she’s a child, this isn’t Wei Wuxian who came back different and matured through blood and pain and who knows what else in that purgatory, she’s barely more than a child. Jiang Cheng does not want to be his parents, he doesn’t turn to a-Ling and ask him to be an adult like his parents expected Yanli to be as they were fighting. How can he turn to Yanli and ask her to be one to himself as an adult? How can he look at this woman who’s barely a mother, hardly more than a child, who he hates and loves and hates again but this time for a-Ling who never will? How can he feel these emotions he has no name too, that if he had a name he’d tear himself apart and bleed to beg forgiveness, and see Yanli and ask for comfort?

When he looks at Yanli and sees a child, a new mother, a betrayer, an abandoner. Can he step forward and ask for it all to be fixed, for her to love him like he’s seventeen again?

Or does he watch Wei Wuxian, who’s twenty and thirty somehow, rush to her side and turn away? He has a child to parent, a child who needs him, one he won’t abandon no matter how much a-Ling pushes at him. When she calls his name, when Wei Wuxian asks what’s his problem, do the words: she’s just a child, leave her alone, don’t drag her into this; threaten to bite out? Does he purse his lips and stare his brother down? Does he understand his mother’s wrath at his father’s chosen child?

#Jiang Cheng #mdzs #the untamed #meta #i think I still don’t know what that actually means #but man JC has so many problems and I love him so much