arguments-rants-conspiracies - Tumblr blog

arguments-rants-conspiracies · 4 years

Text

Am I the only one that gets a little annoyed when people disregard the role Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao's upbringing had in their respective personalities by comparing them to Wei Wuxian? Like "Oh I know they had rough childhoods but Wei Wuxian also had a unfortunate childhood and he turned out alright so the only explanation is that they're inherently evil"?

I am not saying that Wei Wuxian did not have a rough childhood on the streets before Jiang Fengmian. Nor am I saying that Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao's childhoods excuse their murderous actions. And I don't know if MXTX herself intended the three to be foils to each other.

But in my opinion their childhoods are very different and really shouldn't be compared.

Wei Ying grew up on the streets until age of nine, yes. He had to fight for food with dogs, yes. But at the age of nine, his life changed when he was adopted into the Jiang family. There, he was taught a lot of things, in addition to cultivation: First, the clan motto "attempt the impossible", that there is an ideal morality independent of the way people act in society; second, that there is kindness in this world and if you love people, other people will usually love you back without you working for it, third, that he is the son of a servant per Yu Ziyuan and others, and that he should sacrifice himself to protect others. As a result, he becomes self-sacrificial to a fault to serve and protect the goodness that he had seen with his own eyes.

Xue Yang, on the other hand, was taught a different lesson. He also grew up on the streets, but he was never shown justice and unconditional love. His hand becomes mutilated due to the whim of a richer man, and said man never received any punishment because he held significant power over a street urchin. Later, Xue Yang transformed himself and was rewarded for displaying power over those he could, and he was never punished for being cruel and aggressive. In fact, he was then recruited into a prestigious cultivational sect that indulged his murderous whims because he had power in that he had things they want. He was only discarded when he ceased to hold that power, not because he was morally corrupt.

Everything in his life taught him that if you have power, you do whatever you want without consequences. Thus, a lot of his evil actions boil down to "because I want to" and "because I can", because that was all the justification perpetrators needed. It's unrealistic for him to be Wei Wuxian and believe in justice independent of power structures, or in love, because he's never seen it.

I would argue that Jin Guangyao had the best childhood out of the three. Even though the place he grew in left more to be desired, he had a mother who loved him. She, however, put tremendous pressure on him to win his father's approval and became a top cultivator. And that's what he does: he works hard for not only his father's approval, but Lan Xichen's friendship/love, Nie Mingjue's trust, as well as others' respect which resulted in him becoming the chief cultivator.

Armed with those things, he managed to do what he had been powerless to do earlier--build a temple to honor his mother, serve vengeance to those who had wronged them, and become the son his mother had wanted. Yet, these things were not given to him unconditionally, and indeed, he only received them because he fit these people's perceptions of him. That made him insecure, and ultimately led him to use underhanded tactics to maintain what he could.

It's unreasonable to expect him to stop lying and live an upright life, because if he does so then he would lose everything he had accomplished. When he hadn't manipulated his way into Nie Mingjue's goodwill, people ridiculed him. When he hadn't killed Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangshan to be the chief cultivator, people stepped over him. And his being the chief cultivator is a big factor, if not a determinating one, of his closeness with Lan Xichen. If he lets go of all that he's accomplished, he would really be just the son of a prostitute.

Once again, I'm not saying that Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao's childhoods excuse their murderous actions. Regardless of their reasons, their actions are not excusable. But I think it's disingenuous to disregard what drove them to these actions by lumping them together with Wei Wuxian and saying that all three of them had "bad" childhoods without taking a hard look at what these "bad" childhoods actually are and what happened afterward.

To a certain extent, all three reflected to the world that they were taught.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #jin guangyao #xue yang

44 notes · View notes

arguments-rants-conspiracies · 4 years

Text

I don’t normally post about danmei on tumblr because I have a danmei twitter, but this is important. Spoilers for 2ha ahead.

Meatbun has announced that she will be taking a social media hiatus on the recommendations of her doctor (link: https://twitter.com/wenbuxing/status/1287045740426964992?s=19)

She has been receiving a barrage of hate over the last 2 years for her novels, culminating in physical illness and hospitalizations. Here is a translation of her explanation on Weibo: https://twitter.com/dreamvvalker/status/1287146553459855362?s=20

(I had to post the links like that because tumblr doesn’t allow posts with external links to show up in its main tags, unfortunately).

You may ask: well, I’m not a CN fan, so what does this have to do with me?

For us non-CN speaking/Western fans, it’s just as important.

The hate that Meatbun has gotten on weibo sounds VERY similar to the hate Meatbun receives from fandom puritans and entitled fandom brats in EN-speaking fandom. And Meatbun isn’t the first danmei author to go through this: notably, MXTX (author of SVSSS, MDZS, and TGCF) has, and other authors have as well, such as Tang Jiuqing (author of Nan Chan and Qiang Jin Jiu). Women and queer people, especially women and queer people from nonwestern countries, who create indie content for smaller audiences are constantly being raked over the coals and scrutinized.

So I wanted to touch upon some common talking points that a lot of you hold against her, because these are many of the things antis on weibo have been accusing her of, which has driven her off social media. Criticism is one thing, but if you go to the lengths that antis do, you’re a disgusting person.

1. “She’s a fujoshi/mlm fetishist”. I don’t know why you read a danmei novel then? Danmei and BL have many similarities but they aren’t interchangeable, as one is Chinese and the other is Japanese. And many, many people by now have talked about how “fujoshi” has been misappropriated from Japanese pop culture to describe something that it’s not, which is rooted in both orientalism and misogyny. Moreover, there are plenty of gay male danmei authors (such as Fei Tian Ye Xiang, author of Dinghai Fusheng Records, Tian Bao Fu Yao Lu, Seizing Dreams, Luan Shi Wei Wang, and more), and none of them have said things like “my works aren’t for female readers”. Anyway, we could sit here and have a back and forth about what does and does not count as “mlm fetishization”. My point is this: if you think women writing and consuming sexual m/m content counts as fetishization, why are you reading a danmei novel? Why would you venture into a genre if it makes you uncomfortable? Moreover, the translators provided plenty of warning about the heavy themes and sexual content of the novel. Rynn has those warnings on every chapter’s doc and has them bolded in red. That was on you for reading the novel regardless of your discomfort. Instead of taking that discomfort out on Meatbun, either keep it to yourself, stop reading, or vent your feelings in a diary or a private social media account. Don’t harass Meatbun about it.

2. “I’m LGBT and I don’t approve of this novel”. Go cry about it to your mother then. The idea that this novel is specifically meant to cater to Western LGBT fans and to Western LGBT identity politics and conventions is xenophobic and ethnocentric. This is, first and foremost, a Chinese work written by a Chinese woman about Chinese authors for a Chinese audience. We as Westerners are not the target demographic of this work, and so the publishing of this work does not and should not hinge upon our validation or approval. Assuming that the cultural products of nonwestern nations should be screened through a western gaze, no matter how “progressive”, is incredibly orientalist. And you’re not immune to being racist or orientalist just because you’re a white/western gay, I can promise you that.

You may also think this kind of sexual m/m content is “homophobic” and “fetishistic” but you ignore the cultural context. LGBT content is heavily censored and policed in China. Why do you think all of these authors have to write under a penname? Why do you think many of these authors have either only written implied sexual content or have locked their chapters? Meatbun could get arrested for writing this content if her name was exposed. We as Westerners can sit in the comfort of our homes knowing that the western LGBT works we consume won’t lead to the author getting arrested, but that’s not true of Meatbun and all the other danmei authors. For that reason, if you claim that HYX will be better than 2ha because it’ll remove the sexual content in the same way dumbasses claimed CQL is better than MDZS, you’re a homophobe and you’re an ethnocentrist and no amount of woke posturing and flinging around of gay identity politics will change that.

Also, let’s be honest. You did not pay to read 2ha. Most of us haven’t purchased the chapters on JJWXC. Some of you don’t know what JJWXC is. Some of you don’t know how to navigate it. Others haven’t purchased it. Which is fine, but Meatbun is not a big name Western author like George R.R. Martin or J.K. Rowling. 2ha is not a large franchise like Game of Thrones or Star Wars or Marvel. 2ha is a Chinese web-novel. So Meatbun doesn’t owe you anything because you didn’t purchase her novel and compensate her for her labor, despite the enjoyment you derived from it and despite how you’re using it as a source of LGBT representation and self-projection regardless. Then, there is the fact that the translators are the ones who purchased the novels, painstakingly translated them, and then uploaded them onto digital platforms for FREE. So you not only get to access chapters without paying for them, but you get an entire translation for FREE! Have you thanked Rynn (the main translator) lately? Given them a ko-fi? Go do so if you haven’t, because Rynn and other translators deal with a lot of online hate as well.

3. “This has very heavy and triggering themes and fiction affects reality”. Again, we could get into a debate about whether fiction affects reality or not. The point is that this is an ADULT work for ADULT readers. If you don’t have the maturity, reading comprehension, or psychological ability to differentiate between fiction and reality, don’t read material like 2ha. Moreover, Meatbun is writing a redemption narrative. This isn’t a Disney movie or a CW show. These characters are all nuanced, morally gray, and complicated. We get a gorgeous character arc for Mo Ran but in order to get one he had to do some truly terrible things to begin his character journey. Don’t like villains? Don’t like redemption narratives? Fine, but don’t read novels like 2ha then. You were repeatedly warned. Instead of making assumptions about Meatbun’s character, personality, or morality, go do something concrete for the world if you want to be a good person or an activist or a hero. Hating on a Chinese female author on social media isn’t activism, I can promise you that. You could read this novel and reflect on it and process how it shatters your previously held notions about morality and compassion and humanity (as I did), or you could close the tab and forget about it forever. Choose the healthy and rational option.

4. “It’s too smutty which makes the plot suck”. Look, if you have some fair criticisms of 2ha that’s one thing. But a lot of you say openly vile things about Meatbun. Why? Because she had one plot point you didn’t like? Because you wanted her to expand on the side characters, minor characters, or female characters? Because there’s smut and kink? Just shut the fuck up, honestly. How entitled can you people be? You sit on the internet with NO work and ZERO credibility and act like kings. Meatbun wrote a 311 chapter novel, a beautiful narrative with a very intriguing world and amazing characters and a gorgeous romance. And yes, it includes smut. But honestly, if this novel didn’t have dynamic characters and a suspenseful, gripping, poignant, and thought-provoking plot, then not even smut would’ve been enough to carry it. I’ve read novels that are purely smutty and have no substance and trust me, 2ha is far from that. 2ha hooks so many of us because of the characters and their nuances, because of how relatable and multidimensional they are, because of how fascinating the world they live in is, because Ranwan’s romance is so compelling and tragic and aching and passionate. You can come back with all your criticisms when you’ve put yourself out there and written a 311 chapter novel. Some light criticism is one thing, but I’ve seen people ON TUMBLR say things like “Meatbun gets too much praise” and worse things from people who don’t have fics up or anything, so it’s getting ridiculous. Meatbun owes you nothing, especially if you have nothing to back up your own vaunted literary criticism and in particular because you did not pay Meatbun for her labor.

If you didn’t like how Meatbun handled Taxian-Jun, Hua Binan, and the flower of hatred, if you wanted her to give Rong Jiu or Song Qiutong a happier ending, if you wanted a less bittersweet ending for Shi Mei 2.0, if you didn’t want Taxian-Jun to appear post-canon, and if you think the plots in book 3 were confusing, that’s fine. That’s your opinion. However, the English translation has only reached chapter 131. You all are basing those opinions on the MTL. MTL =/= A PROPER TRANSLATION. As it is, the beauty of the original novel will never fully be translated because there are things English cannot convey due to linguistic constraints. But even so, we aren’t going to fully understand how these plots worked based solely on the MTL! So at least reserve your judgments about how Meatbun executed the ending plot until Rynn gets to the last arc! And regardless, again, I’d like to see you write a novel with this kind of plot and how you’d execute it from that high horse.

5. “Meatbun hates women”. For god’s sake, MXTX got this same criticism and now Meatbun. THIS IS DANMEI. DANMEI FOCUSES ON M/M RELATIONSHIPS. You want to read about women? Go read f/f or m/f novels! Go read FGEP and JWQS, two lesbian novels by a lesbian author who has other works as well! Don’t read from an m/m-focused genre if you’re one of those “women!!1!!!!!” types of fandom “activists”. I love female characters (my blog is literally dedicated to one), but acting like Meatbun is a misogynist because 2ha is male dominated is so pathetic. Most danmei novels are male dominated. If you think that makes danmei misogynistic, fine, but don’t read danmei works. Or choose the danmei works that have strong supporting female characters. Moreover, many of the Western gay novels a lot of you read lack female characters as well. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is one of my favorite Western LGBT novels, and yet most of the female characters in it are incredibly minor. Meatbun has given us interesting female characters like Ye Wangsi and Madam Wang. I do wish they’d get more screentime, but I also wish Briseis had gotten more screentime in TSOA as well. Yet I don’t see anyone calling Madeline Miller a misogynist? Which I would hope they don’t because Madeline Miller is an amazing author and she wrote Circe, which focuses entirely on a female character. Anyway, point being, if you want to read a feminist work or a female-focused work, there are plenty to choose from. We’re not living in an era in which only books about men exist. Yes, all danmei can benefit from more female characters, but that’s a criticism of literature as a whole, across the globe, and so to randomly hold that against Meatbun, MXTX, or other danmei authors is ridiculous, especially considering that most of them are female creators and you lot are using this as an excuse to be violently misogynistic.

Anyway, I am heartbroken that Meatbun has dealt with this onslaught of hate for so long. I hope that she takes care of herself, and that she takes as long as she needs. If she ends up locking her novels or removing them from JJWXC, I’d completely understand that, because the fandoms don’t deserve her or her writing. Stop acting like entitled, misogynistic, and ethnocentric brats because it’s not cute and it’s not woke, it’s ugly as hell and has real consequences on a living, breathing person.

#2ha #long post #Same

339 notes · View notes

arguments-rants-conspiracies · 4 years

Text

Love and Lan Sizhui: A Meta

Can we talk more about how Lan Zhan wholly raised Lan Sizhui as his own son, allowing him to wear the special embroidered Gusu ribbon reserved only for those who were actually blood relatives of the sect? That Lan Sizhui’s name literally means “to yearn” in Chinese? That Lan Sizhui was so important to Lan Zhan that even Lan Qiren didn’t dare or bother to protest?

We all know that Lan Zhan exhibits his emotions primarily through action rather than words, which is why I feel like to understand the depth of his love, we need to look at Lan Sizhui, formerly A-yuan. I believe Lan Sizhui is the loudest testament of Lan Zhan’s love to Wei Wuxian.

Lan Sizhui is the living embodiment of the reason why Lan Zhan probably felt so deeply about Wei Wuxian. Lan Sizhui is a reminder to Lan Zhan of Wei Wuxian’s unconditional kindness towards others and the brief pockets of happiness that Lan Zhan was able to share with Wei Wuxian while he was alive. In the same way that Lan Zhan kept jugs of Emperor’s Smile in his room and permanently scarred his chest, Lan Zhan shows an obvious desperation to hold onto anything that reminds him of Wei Wuxian, and Lan Sizhui is no exception. I feel like Lan Zhan protected, loved, and took care of Lan Sizhui in the same way he wish he could’ve done so with the man he loved most.

And Lan Zhan did a damn good job.

Despite the wounds from the 33 lashes that incapacitated him and grieving the loss of Wei Wuxian, Lan Sizhui is shown to have been raised with nothing less than great love and care from the start, which is portrayed through his sunny disposition and well-honed skills as a disciple. Come on, Lan Zhan canonically buried his son in a pile of rabbits to entertain him. I’m also certain that Lan Zhan instilled in his son what he admired in Wei Wuxian, which is shown through Lan Sizhui’s loyalty, kindness, and unique sense of intellectual and emotional independence. I firmly believe that these traits are the result of exemplary parenting and dedication on Lan Zhan’s part.

All said, I get emotional talking about Lan Sizhui because to me, even more so than actual confessions or steamy love scenes, Lan Sizhui is the greatest display of Lan Zhan’s unconditional and selfless love for Wei Wuxian. Lan Sizhui’s sustained existence in the Gusu Lan sect is a deafening reminder that Lan Zhan is not only willing to engage in temporary acts of rebellion for Wei Wuxian, but he is willing to rebel against the wishes and traditions of his sect for as long as it takes.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #lan wangji #lan sizhui

3K notes · View notes

arguments-rants-conspiracies · 4 years

Text

A MDZS Theory That will Make You Want to Slap Me

Warning: This only applies to the MDZS novel.

So, I was thinking about Mo Xuanyu and Jin Guangyao one day, as one is wont to do these days, and I’m thinking --

What if instead of Mo Xuanyu sexually harassing Jin Guangyao during his time at Jinlintai, it's the other way around? Namely, what if Jin Guangyao had been the one to sexually harass, if not assault, Mo Xuanyu?

Now, to be honest I don’t think this is what MXTX had in mind, and this is more of a "Hmm won’t this put things in a different light” conspiracy theory than an actual deduction of what happened, but hear me out.

First, let’s look at their circumstances:

Mo Xuanyu:

- Was a minor (14) when he was called back to the Jin family.

- Not in a position of power. (Didn’t grown up in a cultivation family, and was only there because Jin Guangshan wanted someone to hold Jin Guangyao back. Thus, the only backing he had was Jin Guangshan, and I highly doubt that accounted to much, if at all.)

- Physically weaker (No spiritual powers or fighting experience).

In contrast, Jin Guangyao:

- Was an adult (Exact age is unclear, but he’s born on the same day as Jin Zixuan, who’s around Wei Wuxian’s age, so 21 plus and minus some?)

- Had significant power and influence. (Yes, he’s the son of a prostitute, but he made enough of a name for himself in the Sunshot campaign to strong-arm his way back into the Jin family. In addition, he has some pretty powerful people (Lan Xichen for one) on his side so he definitely could move a few things around, and he probably did.)

- Knows how to fight, not on the same level as some other cultivators but keep in mind, the dude was a soldier.

- Has shown himself to be manipulative multiple times.

I can’t help but notice a power dynamic going on here, and to be frank, Mo Xuanyu’s profile reads more like that of a victim than a perpetrator. While a child can perpetrate sexual harassment against an adult, it is VERY, VERY rare. Unfortunately, these things are usually done by adults in power.

Second, why sexual harassment?

Isn’t it odd that of all the crimes and transgressions Jin Guangyao could pin on Mo Xuanyu, he picked sexual harassment?

Why not just have him, you know, killed and done with? Some may argue that he couldn’t outright kill Mo Xuanyu because that’d be suspicious, but even so, I’m sure there are a million ways to embarrass him and get him kicked out.

Fake sexual harassment is literally the worst plan for him. Why? Because sexual harassment is disgusting not just because of the act itself, but because of how people react to it. Even in modern society, victims are often not believed or accused of being somewhat responsible for the harassment by “seducing” the perpetrator. And I can’t imagine things being any better in ancient China for the son of a prostitute, especially considering that, as I argued earlier, he could easily be seen as having more power over Mo Xuanyu.

As unfortunate as it is, I can already hear the following dialogue at Jinlintai:

“Hey, did you guys hear? Apparently Jin Guangshan’s youngest bastard has been harassing Jin Guangyao.”

“Mo Xuanyu? The kid who couldn’t hold a sword to this day? Harassing the dude that killed Wen Ruohan?”

“Yeah, I don’t believe it for a second either. Who knows if that son of a whore was really harassed? You know what I think it is? That snake led the kid on with his brothel tricks and Mo Xuanyu, being stupid, fell right in.”

“Or maybe it was him that’s the real cut-sleeve here. I’m not saying Mo Xuanyu is particularly great, but how’s the child of a pure mother supposed to know about cut-sleeves? Lianfang-zun on the other hand...”

Even if he can silence these counter-accusations, rumours still go around and Jin Guangyao would be associated with “deviant sexual things” and I don’t see him wanting that, given that there’s nothing he hates more than being reminded of his parentage.

So why would he choose this path?

Because he had no better option.

This could be one of several cases:

There's no other way Mo Xuanyu's going down.

Mo Xuanyu actually did harass Jin Guangyao.

He harassed Mo Xuanyu and was discovered, and Jin Guangyao had to address it in a way profitable to himself.

1 seems unlikely. As I said earlier, Mo Xuanyu is a kid with no political power and a familial background only marginally better than Jin Guangyao's.

And take a million steps back, even if framing him of sexual harassment was the only way to get Mo Xuanyu kicked out of Lanling Jin, Jin Guangyao didn't have to frame himself as the victim. There are others (Jin Ling for one) whom he could have utilized as pawns to deflect the hit in reputation sexual harassment victims get.

2 also seems improbable. Even ignoring the fact that Mo Xuanyu doesn’t match the profile of a sexual harassment perpetrator (which I’ve mentioned far too many times), another thing to note is that Jin Guangyao seems...somewhat fond of Mo Xuanyu.

Yes, Mo Xuanyu could enter Jin Guangyao's personal quarters and peruse top secret documents. But also, Jin Guangyao's not a nice person to those that wrong him or get in his way. He killed a fellow clansman for taking credit of things he did, musically poisoned Nie Mingjue for calling him the son of a prostitute, and murdered his wife and son when they became not useful to him -- why would he leave Mo Xuanyu alive?

It’s probably not because of commiseration because we know he killed off all of his other brothers, some of whom must have came from backgrounds similar to his. Also, brother or not, if someone sexually harassed you won’t you want their heads off? And we know Jin Guangyao’s...a little pettier than the average person, so why would he let someone who sexually harassed him live?

Also, as long as Mo Xuanyu is alive he is a potential liability to Jin Guangyao. What if he takes revenge? Sure, he's mad and harmless, but what if he's faking it? A lot had happened that could have been entirely avoided if Jin Guangyao just offed Mo Xuanyu when he had the chance.

All of this points to Jin Guangyao feeling like he “owes” Mo Xuanyu something for having wronged him. Now, why would he feel like that? Maybe because he dragged an innocent kid into his lust for power, but combined with option 3, I’m going to stretch it and say another reason could also be because of guilt for sexually harassing Mo Xuanyu.

Abusers (ouch, that’s a heavy word) often use “gifts” to mollify their guilt and to manipulate their victims into compliance [source], and it’s possible that Jin Guangyao saw giving Mo Xuanyu his trust and, ultimately, keeping him alive as “gifts”.

Perhaps the abuse continued after Mo Xuanyu left, perhaps it didn’t.

Third, let’s look at what happened on Mo Xuanyu’s side after the “scandal” happened.

After Mo Xuanyu went back to Mo village, he supposedly “went mad”. Sometimes the madness goes away, and sometimes it acts up. A couple of years under abuse from the Mo family, and the madness got worse.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that sounds an awful lot like PTSD, which could be caused by the sexual harassment or the traumatic aftermath.

A prominent symptom of PTSD is uncontrollable thoughts about the traumatic event, in the form of reliving the event, distressing emotions regarding the event, or anxiety and panic attacks. [source]

This theory could explain the sporadic nature of his madness. Notice that even the victim themselves cannot control the flashbacks, so the anxiety and panic attacks, as well as other actions undertaken, could definitely come across as episodes of insanity to observers.

But if that’s the case, why doesn’t he ask Wei Wuxian for the revenge on the Jin sect?

The answer - Because he thinks he’s not worthy of it.

At the beginning of the novel, we get to read Mo Xuanyu’s “will” of sorts through Wei Wuxian’s eyes, and it’s from there that we know he was kicked out of a prominent sect for being a cut-sleeve. However, Mo Xuanyu doesn’t tell us which sect he was kicked out of and whom he supposedly harassed.

Why doesn’t he tell us that? He went so far as to tell us a brief history of the Mo family and his cousin’s obsession with cultivation, why wouldn’t he tell us which sect he had once been a part of? Even if he was kicked out in the end, being related and having once been a part of the LanLing Jin sect could be an honour of a lifetime.

And why would he (to Wei Wuxian at least) openly admit that he was kicked out for harassing a fellow male? It sucks being a victim, but there’s no way that being a cut-sleeve sexual harassment perpetrator could be seen as an honor. He even seems to be protecting Jin Guangyao, by not giving his name.

Note how both of these actions serve one purpose - to demean himself. This letter reveals what Mo Xuanyu thought about himself at the time of his suicide - A cut-sleeve bastard who shamed his family and harassed an innocent man.

You might ask: why would he think this lowly of himself?

Well, remember what I said about sexual harassment? Victims are often not believed or accused of being responsible by asking for it.

Mo Xuanyu is also gay, so he was a teenager, on the cusp of puberty, that had his sexuality outed and ridiculed. And combine this with the fact that not only was Mo Xuanyu not given any support, but every adult blamed him for it.

Perhaps Mo Xuanyu was convinced, either by Jin Guangyao or by the homophobic rules of his society, that since he sexually preferred men, he must have liked the “attention” Jin Guangyao was giving him, and that he deserved to get kicked out for “liking” it.

This, combined with the guilt that sexual harassment victims frequently have regardless of gender and sexuality, made for a difficult recovery. Even his own mother committed suicide in shame, and that, combined with the abuse that came from his aunt afterwards, likely further exacerbated his spiral into low self-esteem.

And judging by the fact that he waited many years to commit suicide, I think he genuinely tried to recover. He tried standing up for himself in front of his aunt and convincing himself to live, but it was a very, very tough war that he lost more often than he won. Thus, when Nie Huaisang gave him an incentive, he likely took it without much protest.

So what, according to this conspiracy theory, actually happened?

This, I repeat, is more of a “what if” situation than a serious guess at canon. Thus, do not attempt to stab me over the internet. You will only wreck your own device in the end, and you do not want that.

Mo Xuanyu is a closeted, 14-year-old gay boy who has yet to come to terms with the fact that he’s one of them despised “cutsleeves”.

His mother placed a lot of hope on him when he was taken back to LanLing.

He grows close with Jin Guangyao, because the guy is charmer and a really pleasant guy to be with when he doesn’t want to kill you.

In spite of his best wishes, Mo Xuanyu’s sexuality begins to show itself. No secret is safe at Lanling Jin.

And Jin Guangyao, for whatever reason, decides to make a move on Mo Xuanyu.

And Mo Xuanyu 1) couldn’t reject him and 2) was gas-lighted by him into believing that he was at fault.

How far the “sexual harassment” went depends on how you want to believe it.

Regardless, Mo Xuanyu and Jin Guangyao grows close, and Jin Guangyao gives him gifts.

Then, someone catches them together.

Jin Guangyao quickly pushes all of the responsibility onto Mo Xuanyu, leading to his being kicked out of Jinlintai.

He lets Mo Xuanyu live, and pats himself on the back for it.

After being shamed by Lanling Jin and kicked out, Mo Xuanyu was shamed by his own family.

His mother, especially, was disappointed in him, and Mo Xuanyu didn’t defend himself because there’s nothing to defend - he’s a disgusting cutsleeve who harassed Jin Guangyao.

Mo Xuanyu down spirals into depression after his mother’s death.

He tried to convince himself to live for many years, but is teeming on the edge.

Nie Huaisang comes and gives him an easy way to die.

He takes it.

#mdzs meta #mdzs #jin guangyao #mo xuanyu #mxtx conspiracies

9 notes · View notes