#nie huaisang my beloved
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Thinking a lot about how, in a series filled with liars and deceivers, when it comes to keeping big secrets, Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang lie in the exact same way.
In terms of truly big secrets that they have to keep for a long time, Nie Huaisang has one and Wei Wuxian has two. Huaisang's is the collective secret of his grand plot to destroy Jin Guangyao and avenge his brother, and Wwx's are the loss of his golden core and his post-resurrection true identity. And how do both of them go about covering the parts of themselves that they most want to hide? They play up their own existing traits and lean as hard as they can into their more negative public perceptions.
When Wei Wuxian wants to hide the fact that he's lost his golden core, he does it by putting on a show of arrogance, and this can only work as long as it does because ego is already such a big part of his personality. Young Wwx was already known as a willful, trouble-making rule breaker, so nobody's going to question it when he starts showing up to events without his sword. They might ask "what the hell is that kid doing?" but they can always answer their own question with, "Well he's Wei Wuxian. He's always been a disrespectful and done as he pleased."
Wwx never pretends to be anyone or anything but himself in his first life, but he dials up certain facets of "himself" to make the public think what he wants them to. Pretending to be the person that the outside world expects him to be makes a very good disguise, because it's against others' nature to question it.
And we can argue about how effective it is, but Wei Wuxian tries to do a version of the exact same thing when he gets brought back as Mo Xuanyu. He hears that Mxy was gay and a "lunatic" and says "well if you want insane, then you'll get insane." He leans as hard as he can into that public expectation, because if Mo Xuanyu is behaving like exactly the annoying, openly queer freak that everyone expects him to be, no one's going to wonder who else he might be.
Meanwhile, Huaisang uses more or less the exact same defense mechanism when he starts racking up things to hide. Based on his repeating school as a teen and late formation of his golden core, he presumably has a reputation from a young age as not the sharpest tool in the shed. People know him as the Nie brother who cares little for cultivation and developed far too slow to make use of his saber. To be unkind about it, he's a useless little dandy unfit to ever inherit his clan.
So when Huaisang wants to be sure that no one will suspect he's making moves behind the scenes, he leans into that and leans into it hard. He makes everyone think they're right—he is an idiot unfit to run his clan. But nobody's going to look twice at a fool, and nobody will suspect subterfuge of the head shaker.
Once again, though, Huaisang's act only works because people expect him to turn into a leader like the head shaker. The same act wouldn't have worked so well for someone like Wei Wuxian, because even though they disliked him, people knew he was talented and dangerous. Only Nie Huaisang can get away with playing useless for a decade, because he's playing as hard as he can into the worst of his established public persona. Others mistaking him for a fool lets him trick them into thinking that he is one.
Nobody wants to question you when you're confirming their expectations, and Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang both know how to use that to their advantage. It's easy to keep a secret when your cover story is something the public is already primed to hear.
#I'm holding the two of them in opposition to liars like jgy and xy#jgy in particular is a very different type of liar#he doesn't lean into others' perception of him. he just erases himself#he's a people-pleaser not a showman#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation#mdzsposting#nie huaisang#wei wuxian#wei ying#nie huaisang my beloved#wei wuxian my beloved
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I have been pondering the recent rash of "post canon NHS and LXC would never ever reconcile bc even if NHS wanted to have Er-ge back, LXC would never ever forgive him for [insert reason of choice here]" type of posts + the "do you think NHS thinks very hard about how much Da-ge would hate him for becoming [the way that he is now] by choosing to seek vengeance" type of posts, and I think fundamentally the reason these posts do not jive with me is that we have no indication, in the show or in the book that uh, NHS gives a shit about either of these things very much anymore?
The first type of post is predicated on the assumption that LXC's forgiveness or lack thereof some some sort of either extension of mercy (which NHS obviously does not deserve <- or so assumes the post) or some form of punishment (which is obviously the correct answer) but the last scene we get with NHS both in the book and the show make no indication that this is a thing he wants? Or cares about? Book NHS has *sauntered off* with his little hat trophy and Show NHS walks off screen after saying something along the lines of "What is my responsibility I won't shirk, what isn't my responsibility I won't care about." Now, arguably, show NHS is having a worse go of it emotionally, but shows no real inclination or interest in either apologies or making up and being friends again with LWJ, LXC, WWX, or other people. Book NHS seems pretty pleased with the outcome of the events as a whole?
The second type of post is predicated on the fact that NHS finds Da-ge's judgement a horrible burden to bear at this stage in the game, which! He might! But again especially in the book we get no indication that he has any fucks left to give about what Da-ge may or may not have wanted since Da-ge is dead. In both the show and the book, NHS went about revenge taking very specific and complicated actions with the desired result of JGY dying, but he certainly took the scenic route getting there, which, he didn't need to? As I've written about before, JGY didn't see him as a threat. If he wanted JGY dead he could've arranged to poison JGY's tea like, 10 years ago and had done with it instead of his complicated Rube Goldberg life ruining scheme. If he is still sickly anxious about how Da-ge might feel about the scheming and the trouble causing and the whole everything, that's certainly possible, but he must've decided it was worth it anyway regardless of that, and I don't know that it necessarily would've changed just because he got what he wanted at the end.
Overall, I think as a fandom we think a lot about like "will and should this relationship ever be repaired or similar to how it used to be?" and "does this character deserve/not deserve the forgiveness of people they've hurt or abandoned?" which can be interesting questions! I do feel like these are often taken as "is a character morally good (deserves to be forgiven) or morally bad (deserves to rot in hell forever never forgiven ever ever)" and based entirely on if Character is the meta writer's blorbo. Under this paradigm the concept of "Character did bad things to get exactly what they wanted and were happy about that and no relationships were ever repaired and the emotional detachment of people they used to care about no longer matters to them!" is uncomfortable.
It's just that for NHS I've increasingly come to the conclusion that canonically, I don't think NHS thinks he has anything to apologize for, nor is he super interested in being forgiven! He got what he wanted the way he wanted it to happen. Which is potentially supremely unsatisfying but I think is very sexy as a narrative concept.
#like for the record#nie huaisang IS my blorbo#and I like a good reconciliation fic and nhs is feeling some kind of way about everything fic like#at LEAST as much as the rest of us if not more#but these POSTS I keep seeing mostly serve to bludgeon him with the 'punishment' of LXC's unforgiveness or NMJ's judgment#as a means to say he was wrong and should repent and probably shouldn't've murdered JGY or something#I don't think this punishment works canonically because he appears to give no shits about this anymore#anyway#meta#my meta#nie huaisang#nie huaisang my beloved
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some headshakers ✨✨✨
#a-sang my beloved#i believe in sangsang supremacy#nie huaisang#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#this didn't come out how i wanted it to but oh well. i don't want to look at it anymore >_>#mine
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another day another slay (and by slay she meant the picture of nhs being unhinged)
#art wip#I love exploring the Rage the Desperation oh nhs my beloved#like we know that he was very subtle about his revenge and showed literally nothing of his true emotions but what did he FEEL like INSIDE#I want to pick him apart and dive elbow deep there he' just so!!!!!!!!!!!!!#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#nie huaisang#artist on tumblr#my art
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just so you don’t forget I’m (still) obsessed over mdzs as well (and that I didn’t die)
#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#the untamed#jin guangyao#meng yao#nie huaisang#sangyao#my beloveds#murder twinks#fanart#my art#i really be doing whatever with the background hoping for the best
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The character guide in the MXTX novels are the most hilarious things
(Also Jin Guangyao’s sword is named Hensheng which apparently translates to “To Hate Life/Birth”. There’s extra and then there’s Guangyao.)
#mdzs#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#mo dao zu shi#Jin guangyao#lil Apple#fairy#Nie Huaisang#mxtx#mxtx my beloved
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Baby boy has never done anything wrong in his life. He is just a sweet, spoiled baby, head full of fluff, feathers and fans.
The motif on his fan is obviously flower petals. Why would think anybody anything else? He is just an innocent baby boy, who knows nothing about anything.
#nie huaisang#baby boy baby#my beloved#mdzs#mdzs fanart#if you spotted the inconsistency on the drawing no you didn't
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Nie huaisang is my favourite babygirl <3
#jerma meme my beloved#nie huiasang#nhs#mdzs#mdzs fanart#mdzs meme#mo dao zu shi#nie huaisang#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#sparkle on!#my art#digital art#click for better quality#fanart#grandmaster of demonic arts#mxtx mdzs
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Nie Huaisang is a lil goofy guy and very dear to me and his fan has spikes because him stabbing people with it is very sexy actually
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and like. less of a penchant for dramatic and elaborate revenge-plans
#mdzs#the untamed#i make this immediately after finishing the drama so yk#nie huaisang#my beloved#cql
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*A few years after Nie Huaisang was born*
Nie Mingjue: look a-sang can sing! that's so cool
Nie Huaisang, cheerfully: fuck shit up! mess things up!
Nie Mingjue: so adorable
#nie bros my beloved#nie mingjue#nie huaisang#mdzs#cql#the untamed#nie bros#mdzs meme#cql meme#the untamed meme#incorrect mdzs#incorrect cql#incorrect the untamed
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I have been recently thinking about NHS and JGY's relationship, especially as it pertains to how much they understand each other, and I'm pretty sure the conclusion I'm coming to is that JGY doesn't actually understand NHS at all except like, in vague superficiality?
This is not an argument about whether or not JGY cared about NHS (though he seems to have some pretty big blind spots on what is actually good for NHS or what he actually desires, which, again come back to not really understanding what makes NHS tick) because I don't think you can spend well over a decade cleaning up someone else's problems without caring for the person in question. But more like, the events of the Temple and the Discussion Conference prior to the Temple and indeed anything leading up to the Temple at all would not have occurred if JGY actually understood? NHS? at all?
Like, obviously NHS was concealing the truth and acting while he proceeded with his revenge scheme, JGY (who presumably had some amount of time to think about who could possibly want him dead/disgraced/fleeing off to Dongyin) doesn't even begin to suspect that the person who wrote the letter and arranged all of this might be NHS until LXC's already stabbed him.
That's a pretty big fucking blind spot considering the whole thing is being unearthed because of NMJ's murder corpse put together shenanigans. Like he knows to hide Chifeng-zun's head but not to suspect Chifeng-zun's brother???
Like I think this might go beyond "doesn't understand anything about this other person besides on a very superficial level" to "might genuinely have some pretty big MISconceptions about who this person is or what they're like."
#like did he put NHS in the 'harmless' compartment in his brain and then just never examine that thought again at all#or examine it over the years and then discard it#because like my god#he KILLED NHS's brother#and then??? did not suspect that NHS might ever find out or want something from him for this?#even as he is ACTIVELY under threat?#actively digging up his mother so he can flee to Dongyin?#after his wife dies under suspicious circumstances and someone sends him a letter threatening him???#he goes over his whole list of enemies but doesn't have an idea of who it could be????#nie huaisang#jin guangyao#nie mingjue#meta#my meta#nie huaisang my beloved
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Shout out to nie huaisang for the dual accomplishment of being both a fucking menace to society and also my favorite babygirl
#nie huaisang#my beloved trouble boy#what arebyou doing? crimes? im so proud of you!#the untamed#is taking over my life#also stop erasing his crimes!#he earned those!!!! let him have them
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✨ everyone is dumb ✨
#digital art#digital painting#fan art#illustration#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#nie huaisang#MY BELOVED#wei wuxian#lan wangji#lan xichen#jiang cheng#jin ling#jin guangyao#tw: blood#I heard this song and received an instant massive nie huaisang brain rot#let him be sly and cunning he deserves it#artists on tumblr#my art
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okay modern-day au with the MDZS characters, but make it a ghost-hunter au because it's been rattling around in my head for a while.
the unlikely four-man squad starting: wwx, jc, nhs, and lwj.
wei wuxian -
the unofficial leader of the group made it after a night of drinking and eating snacks with jc & nhs where he brought it up and they all went "sure why not".
wwx is the dude who always has something funny to say and jc is always ready to throw a response that others will quote or make fan art of.
makes a lot of equipment since he likes making things, and tinkering with whatever they do own to make it even better.
even better meaning it'll annoy the living hell out of jc.
is a bit of a spirit magnet. this is both good, and dangerous due to nhs's sensitivity to spirits.
he picks the places that the group will go to and is always ready to drop extra history of the place at the worst time.
aka the things, a ghost or demon might have done to a living person.
wwx : SO! it was in this very room that this one dude died [very horrible death]. jc is very much on the side of team, "stop talking before you freak out nhs anymore than he already is."
may or may not have talked lwj into joining their group. he may or may not also tease lwj any chance he gets.
jiang cheng -
jc is the voice of reason on the team. for every three ideas wwx has, jc has four ready in response of why, no, and absolutely not.
in charge of finding places to stay, and finding local shops in the area to interview folks.
probably hates the sound of the spirit box.
jc very much seemed the one whose not so easily startled when something happens, and usually has a logical explanation to keep himself and others calm.
jc can repel spirits to a small degree, the zone is about a 5mm radius around his person and those near him are safe and unaffected by the spirits. he isn't aware of this skill.
the designated driver of the group. can read a map, but uses the GPS that was gifted to him.
He's also the one who comments on the layout of everywhere they visit because if nobody is going to mention how POORLY thought out these old haunted buildings are. he will bring it up.
"these blueprints fucking suck. i would come back to haunt this place and the son of a bitch who made it if i died here." - jc
nie huaisang -
nhs joined the group because what's more fun than doing something with your friends after doing things you do not want to do.
poor nhs.
nhs is very much the sort of guy in the group who is like "i know a guy, who knows a guy and that guy knows something really interesting about this place."
wwx and jc never ask how nhs knows people or the more cryptic things about the building because nhs's only response was "the ghosts told me" in the most serious voice and they've been too scared to bring the question up again.
how and what nhs knows can be for nhs to know only.
wishes that he wasn't the one left alone in an area all by himself without the lights on, a mag light, a radio, and a spirit box.
spirits like the little guy, but nhs does not care much for them.
the one who's the most sensitive to spirits. but lwj is helping him with training to better resist the push & pull from spirits.
lwj and nhs are an unlikely duo when working together and outside of ghost hunting. the two know one another prior to ghost hunting due to their families, but never really interacted much more than was needed of them.
lan wangji -
the fourth member of the group! a surprising addition to the ones who know him and a fan favorite.
lwj is good with the equipment that they use and watching cameras when at base camp.
his family has knowledge of spirits, how to handle them, bring them peace, and help them crossover.
lwj makes sure that the group is well-protected and safe if the location is truly dangerous to them. wwx is always happy to show off whatever little charm (sometimes a little rabbit is often doodled on the charms!!) or a talisman lwj has made for the group.
he helps to round the group out, and fans enjoy how monotone he sounds and how unaffected he seems by the supernatural occurrences happening.
lwj is often paired with wwx when the group splits up into pairs. fans seem to enjoy their interactions, especially seeing how close the two of them become since lwj is very much still lwj.
lwj finds himself impressed with the group as a whole, everyone works well with one another, and their personalities mesh well.
when on break from ghost hunting wwx gifts lwj two rabbits, he will often post pictures of them online or send pictures of them into the ghost hunting group chat. the rabbits are spoiled rotten, most of it is lwj, but jc is also the next biggest spoiler of the rabbits with wwx and nhs being tied.
#i DonT cARE ABOUT tHE rABBits#mdzs au#mdzs modern au#mdzs ghost hunters au#the ghost hunting quartet#wei wuxian#jiang cheng#nie huaisang#lan wangji#I WASN'T SUPER SURE OF HOW TO TAG THIS BUT TAKE IT#GET THE RATTLING OF THIS AU OUT OF MY HEAD!!!#sorry if it's ooc!!! i just want this to be free of my brain#jc my beloved#in this au lwj get's friends and by golly does he care about them#trust me the ghosts are scary but nhs is even more scary#- jc when asked if he likes lwj's rabbits while holding bags of rabbit goods#wwx is very much a chaotic loveable goober as per usual and you can believe when he realizes his feelings for lwj#he is very much like :0 and is a very cute mess#if anyone else finds joy in this bless you i just want these goobers to have some good fun silly times#feel free to babble or yell if you enjoy this!#papaya mumblings
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I love it when time travel fics directly state or imply that Nie Huaisang is the one who caused whoever it was to go back in time, like, Yes. My boy would risk an awful butterfly effect if it meant he could potentially save his Da-Ge and ruin Jin Guangyao before he could cause any harm.
If WangXian just so happened to also get together earlier because of his actions, well, that's just a happy coincidence, isn't it?
#nie huaisang my beloved 🪶#HIS MIND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH#mdzs#cql#mo dao zu shi#nie huaisang#cell rambles
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