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righteousinadversity · 2 years

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So, you guys who follow me know that gui dao is evil TM is one of my most despised fanon of all time. I have written my fair share of metas and vent posts about it.

I hate the fanon idea that it is a corrupting force, a voice whispering in Wei Wuxian's ear and sending him over the edge. And often enough, it is either resentful energy as a whole that is placed at blame for the tragedies during the Burial Mound arc - as opposed to the sects who decided that letting innocents live was unrighteous apparently - or, there is another culprit. The Yin Hufu.

The Yin Hufu, that corrupts Wei Wuxian through whispers in the ear about death and vengeance and revenge. The Yin Hufu that is almost sentient with the cries of the dead souls, with its greed for violence.

The Yin Hufu that is also, by the way, completely fanon.

I always assumed the reason I disliked that fanon trope really circled back to my dislike for casting Gui Dao as the enemy and for the generally fuckery that CQL did by actually making it a corrupting force. But there was always something else that bothered me about it, and I recently figured out exactly what, thanks to my rambling about the Sentient Weapons AU idea.

See, there is supposed to be some semblance of sentience to the spiritual weapons in the MDZS universe. Suibian's loyalty and dare I say, love for Wei Wuxian meant that it locked itself away, refusing to let anyone but its chosen master wield it. The sword that would not answer to anyone answered the call of the tiniest sliver of Wei Wuxian's soul. Chenqing, despite not being used for thirteen years, is instantly a better weapon in the hands of the man who carved it, is the powerful flute capable of great feats in the hands of its master.

During the CR arc, Lan Wangji reprimands Wei Wuxian when he assumes that he is being disrespectful to his weapon by allowing it to be called 'whatever' one pleases, until Wei Wuxian clarifies that, no, his sword is quite literally named 'Whatever'.

Spiritual Weapons are meant to have some semblance of sentience.

And the Yin Hufu does not have that sentience.

It is a cold hard weapon, to be wielded by anyone as they please. It has no allegiance, no loyalty. It is a weapon of devastating powers, and it has no sentience at all - it simply is. Wei Wuxian realizes this the very first time he uses it, and once he realizes this, he sets about neutralizing it as best as he can. He ensures that it can be of no threat, and short of destroying it - which by the way, fucking killed him - he does his best.

The Yin Hufu is not terrifying because it is some corrupting force that will entice you to slaughter millions - it is terrifying because by possessing it, anyone, can slaughter millions. And in a universe like MDZS, where much of the gentry are salivating for power like that, it is a dangerous, dangerous weapon indeed.

#Yin Hufu #Tiger Seal #Yin Tiger Tally #Gui Dao #Wei Wuxian #mdzs

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soyashi3173 · 6 months

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🇫🇷 💣Attack number 3️⃣ for Wei Ying's birthday and Halloween~❤️

(and this will be the last one for tonight because I'm dying of exhaustion... haha... but I still have one to post so, it will be done tomorrow for the very last one which was planned for both events, hu hu 😏)

« You accuse me of all evil, curse me, say that I am the most infamous, immoral and cruel being there is... and although it is so! »

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

🇫🇷 💣Attaque numéro 3️⃣ pour l'anniversaire de Wei Ying et Halloween~❤️

(et ce sera la dernière pour ce soir car, je suis en train de mourir d'épuisement... haha... mais il m'en reste une à poster donc, ce sera fait demain pour la toute dernière qui était prévu pour les deux évènements, hu hu 😏)

« Vous m'accusez de tout les maux, me maudissez, dites que je suis l'être le plus infâme, immoral et cruel qui soit... et bien qu'il en soit ainsi! »

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Photo / Edit by : Sasu-chan

#cosplay #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #魔道祖师 #wei wuxian #wei ying #mdzs cosplay #mo dao zu shi cosplay #wei wuxian cosplay #wei ying cosplay #patriarch yiling #yiling laozu #yin hufu #chenqing #the grand master of demonic cultivation #halloween #birthday

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qourmet · 1 year

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i was sold on @rmoonberry 's yin hufu twins the minute i saw them

#mdzs #so i got Contracted for labor purposes #i've been busy with that #sorree for inactivity #lan sizhui #trying to strike a proper balance between That and indulging more in This #hard #yin hufu twins

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layzeal · 2 years

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i think it's rly neat actually that wwx found a cursed sword, but instead of wielding it as a sword he broke it apart and made himself a tiger tally out of it

#i cant remember rn if he's the one who named it ''yin hufu''. i think so??#because if he did. THE NERVEEEEE #what a power move #modao #lace speaks

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luobingmeis · 1 year

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so for the past like idk 30 minutes i’ve been thinking a lot abt like guanyin temple and the overall public scorn of jgy at that time and nightless city vs. guanyin temple and jgy as “the big bad” but his death being anything but vindicating but rn i’m thinking the most abt. if the cultivation world killed wwx but kept his inventions. how would that translate to the watchtowers.

#precursory note that i’ve seen the donghua and cql but have not finished the novel #i also think abt how nmj was not jgy’s biggest crime but to nhs it was and he knew wx wouldn’t let loose ends go untied #and i think abt how all but nhs were going to let jgy flee bc even jgy #before guanyin temple went to hell in a handbasket #wasn’t planning on sticking around #like for all intents and purposes of the main cast. were any of them but nhs gunning for jgy’s death?#bc i think abt wx and jgy basically playing a game of cat and mouse #and the personal stakes that esp wwx would have in it #esp w the yin tiger tally and how he was the one originally being hunted for the stuff happening in the post res #but even more so like. when i think abt it. what made wx follow these clues was wanting answers #bc seeing these malicious body parts and yi city and evidence of using the yin hufu #would all like. u know. strike a chord #and i will probably have my answer once i finish the novel myself but like #/was/ the end goal for any of the cast other than nhs to kill jgy #like these are all rhetorical questions bc i wanna find out for myself #but when all was said and done and nmj was buried #like. nhs is the only reason jgy didn’t make it out of that temple #i think a lot abt the persecution of wwx vs. jgy #(softly bc i’m still trucking thru the novel)#but like. i think /so much/ abt the masses being present at nightless city #but for gyt it’s just. the main cast.

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asksythe · 10 months

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Hey just read your lovely hands fanfic and the concept of the blood pool being a prison for malevolent entities barred from the cycle of reincarnation is so COOL , is it a thing implied between the lines and we western audiences lack the cultural context to recognise it ?, or is it something you came up with if so can I have permission to incorporate the concept into my own fan works?

It is a cultural thing. It's not even implied in the novel. It's just outright stated. But it's one of those hundreds of tiny cultural details that probably fly over the head of the international audience.

Remember when the Wen people came back as bloody corpses to protect Wei Ying and fought back the fierce corpses riled up by the repaired Yin Hufu?

In this part, the novel describes the events following the first Sige of the Burial Mound. After the hundred cultivator houses slaughtered these defenseless elderlies, women, and children, they threw their corpses into the blood pool, thus forever barring them from reincarnation.

The phrase the novel uses is 永不超生 (lit. to never again be reborn, to be barred from the cycle of reincarnation forever). That's not a figure of speech. The novel is being literal. The Burial Mound itself is already a prison for all kinds of undead and ghost wraiths. The blood pool, by the novel descriptions, amounts to a maximum security cell. A ghost in the Burial Mound can eventually let go of their grudge/resentment and enters the afterlife/reincarnation. But anybody thrown into the blood pool doesn't have this option.

永不超生 is commonly portrayed in Chinese culture as a punishment by the authority of the underworld. That's not a judgment that a mortal is allowed to make.

The fact that the Hundred Houses carried out 永不超生 on the Wen is a detail that speaks of both their arrogance and their awareness of their guilt.

The Hundred Houses are well aware what they did to the Wen remnants is a sin. The custom of the time is, if you profess yourself to be the righteous side and slay someone seen as 'evil/villain,' it's customary to hang their corpses up for all to see.

Remember Nie Mingjue beheading Wen Xu and hanging Wen Xu's head at the gate of Uncleam Realm for all to see? NMJ is not doing that just because he has a vendetta against the Wen. He's doing that as part of ancient customs to declare to all that 'his kill is righteous,' that he doesn't need to hide it, and that Wen Xu and the Wens are villains that need to be put down.

That's the principle. Justice has no need to hide.

But not only did the Hundred Houses hide the corpses of the Wen remnants, but they also imprisoned their souls, hoping that would keep the Wen from coming back as grudge wraiths or for the karmic cycle itself to snap back for this sin.

The Hundred Houses built up the Wen remnants to be this evil army at Wei Ying's beck and call. So they need to be put down. But the truth is that they were just a bunch of elderlies, women, and children who spent all their lives being doctors (as they belong to the Qihuang branch, with their own pacifistic philosophy).

Had the Hundred Houses performed the custom and showed their supposedly righteous kill to the world, then the truth would out. That they were either liars or stupid, and that they best be prepared to repay for their transgression on both innocent Wens and on the authority of hell itself.

And that, my friend, is why the second Burial Mound Siege ended the way it did, and why the vast majority of those same cultivators left Wei Ying alone afterward. What do you think those same cultivators think when their victims break out of the supposedly unbreakable maximum security cell to save Wei Ying (another of their victims)? And then those same Wen souls entered the afterlife?

The Western vernacular for this part is: Karma is a tenacious bitch with a long memory. It doesn't matter how much they lie about their crime and act like they are righteous or how good they think they hide the proof of their deeds. Heaven and hell itself are watching.

....Sorry, I have some strong feelings about the treatment of the Wen remnants.

That is to say, feel free to incorporate it in your works.

#ask sythe #wen qing #wen remnants #wen ning #mo dao zu shi #mdzs

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wutheringskies · 6 months

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Wei Wuxian: The Untamed Hero

Wei Wuxian had to be killed even if:

1. He carried his sword

2. He didn't use gui dao

3. He didn't create Yin HuFu

4. The Wen remnants were not in the plot

Then, why? The reason is here, voiced by Jin Zixun of all people:

Wei WuXian, you are too bold! Did the LanlingJin Sect invite you today? And you dare run wild here. Do you really think that you’re invincible, that nobody has the courage to confront you? Do you want to overturn the Heavens?”

Wei WuXian smiled, “You’re comparing yourself to the Heavens? Excuse my language, but your face is a little too thick, isn’t it?”

So, you see, this untamed heart can only meet with tragedy as the world is unrighteous, as those who are in power think their actions cannot be contested (and they often aren't!), and that their words are like the law. How many times have we seen, a convicted powerful person escape the justice system? Far too many. And how many times innocents or victims were framed for crimes? Also too many. People like Wei Wuxian aren't condemned by fate, but rather, being born into a world where the "heavens" are those who are powerful and corrupted, he very well might be destined to live tragically, along with others of his type.

Returning to the matter of this particular scene: on one hand, the Jins throw private banquets, gilded with gold. The major scandals are: Jin Zixun is forcing the Lans to drink alcohol! You see, Lan Xichen can't outrightly refuse, so he is trying to be polite about his rejection. Jin Guangyao is trying to reason and excuse, and distract. The crowd spurs Jin Zixun on, wanting to see the Lans drink for once and fall to their level.

Everyone is in their own fine little world, doing their niceities in their golden halls drinking expensive wine, admiring pretty women, gasping at scandalous behavior, asking for favour, gossiping etc.

And then Wei Wuxian walks in. Uninvited. He simply drinks the wine himself, before demanding these people to spare him their time for real wordly issues, such as deaths, debts, cruelty, the parts that society wishes to hide. A few scenes later, we are shown with much description, just how terrible Qiongqi Path is. That's the Jin's backyard. You see their achievements that are drawn on those big walls? We see the reality of the people making them.

Now, let us come to another incident. Think of the soup incident. I fully expect before Wei Wuxian came into the scene, people were simply gossiping, uninterested in finding out what was going on, why Lady Jiang is crying. Then, Wei Wuxian comes and realizes Jiang Yanli who never really cries... was crying, and firstly decides to beat the shit out of Jin Zixuan. Secondly, he understands the whole truth, beats Jin Zixuan up for humiliating his Shijie, and also makes the other girl face responsibility.

Although his shijie had an easy temper, except for how they cuddled and cried together the day the three of them reunited after Lotus Pier was destroyed, she hadn’t really shed many tears in front of others, much less cry so loudly, so pitifully in front of so many people. Wei WuXian was filled with panic. As he tried to ask her, Jiang YanLi was crying so badly that she couldn’t even speak properly. Then, when he saw Jin ZiXuan standing on the side, astonished, he fumed with anger, wondering to himself why it was the dog of a person again. With a kick, he pounced on Jin ZiXuan. The fight between the two would have alerted the Heavens. All of the cultivators around the base came to break up their fight. Amid the ruckus, he finally understood what was the cause of all this, and became even more angered. He spread his tough talk, saying that one day he’d definitely make Jin ZiXuan die in his hands, he told people to drag out the cultivator woman.

A round of questions later, the truth emerged, and Jin ZiXuan’s entire body was frozen. No matter how much Wei WuXian continued to curse at him, he returned neither words nor fists, his face dark. If not that Jiang YanLi held up her hand a while later, while Jiang Cheng and Jin GuangShan came to pull Wei WuXian away, it was likely that even now Jin ZiXuan wouldn’t be able to attend the hunt of Phoenix Mountain.

See.

The point is, perhaps, people feel Wei Wuxian's actions are unnecessary. But imagine if he wasn't there! The consequences as I predict them will have been:

1. Jiang Cheng who doesn't want to upset a prominent clan would've grumbled and cursed underneath his breath, but eventually just moved away from the ruckus and taken his sister away.

2. Perhaps the truth would never have been found out, unless Jin Zixuan later searched by himself.

3. Thus, Jiang Yanli's reputation would be stained for the years to come.

It's because Wei Wuxian dared that the truth was revealed. I took this small incidents simply to highlight this, without the addition of more factors. In the book, often, it might seem like people are trying to stop him from creating trouble. You might often wish, ugh, this is going to be so bad... The point is Wei Wuxian knows! He's not stupid, he knows of the consequences of his actions.

But he isn't the one creating trouble. It was already created by the likes of those very people who try to stop him from investigating deeper. The trouble in question is that immoral and unrighteous words and actions and decisions have already been made. Society tries to hide them. If you can't see it, it's not there. Yet, even if it is not visible, a crime has its traces and it will bleed into their world sooner or later.

Wei Wuxian forces people to snap out of their comfort zones. He doesn't care for the barriers they set around themselves. Here are some examples to explain what I mean by these barriers:

Who dares hit Jin Zixuan, who's the only heir of LanlingJin, even when he deserves it? Protected by his status, his birth, his clan who dares? Wei Wuxian does.

Who dares to annoy Lan Wangji, the second jade of Lan, who from birth is considered otherwordly, strict, immovable, rigid, untouchable and protected by his extreme cold aura? Wei Wuxian dares.

Who dares to enter cultivation society without even wielding sword, without even cultivating a core? Wei Wuxian!

Since time unknown, treasures have belonged to the powerful sects: The Lan Clan and their library, their many secret techniques. The Jin clan and their treasures, their gold. The Nie Sabres. The Zidian. Yet, a son of a servant somehow ends up possessing the most powerful treasure all by his own! Everyone goes to this popular refinery, some famed blacksmith, or that popular sect to get specially created spiritual weapons, yet Chenqing, one of the most powerful weapons, was forged alone by Wei Wuxian during his 3 months in the Burial Mound!

Since years, the cultivation world has taken to heart rules of Lans, words of the powerful sects, and their leaders! Then, once again, this orphan child comes and bends the world and changes the cultivation society forever! Yiling Laozu said that... Yiling Laozu created... Yiling Laozu's manuscripts...

His words literally become the law.

Think of how 13 years after Wei Wuxian's death when "all was peaceful" despite us knowing very well, just how much shit happened after his death - slaughter of minor clans, deaths of two prominent sect leaders, xue yang etc (because, you know, most of it was purely accidental, kept hush-hush, or the victims were people who weren't important), he comes back to life and in a matter of a couple of months, upends the cultivation society again.

The "problem" is that this guy simply doesn't conform. The problem is that he is better. The problem is that he is not unnecessarily humble about it, despite his origins. He doesn't seem to treat himself as an outlier, but an equal. (That's why I hate insecure Wei Wuxian, like this guy is righteous enough he won't even treat himself badly.) The problem is that all those barriers - social classes, power, the locked doors - they won't keep him away.

Even if he was only the Jiang Da-shixiong with a bright golden core, he will still not be a conformist. To those who aren't used to having their decisions questioned, he is their worst enemy. To whose who are used to talking in circles, spreading rumors, he is asking them. What source do you have? What is the factual evidence behind what you are saying? Why are you saying this now?

Think of how he cross questioned a petty seller selling Yiling Laozu portraits in Qinghe, and how he questioned the gathered cultivation sects in Lotus Pier during Sisi and Bicao's intervention with the same sort of attitude. Surely, there was a major class difference, power difference between the two. Yet, they don't matter to him. What matters is the truth.

So, no matter what, when the people who are in power, start having too much dirty laundry and corpses in their backyards, he will definitely know. For this guy, knowing isn't enough - he will get to the crux of the issue. The problem is, he even has the skill for it. He has the ability. One also can't distract him with offers, promises, gifts, riches, status, women. He doesn't care for any of that. He perhaps might even hate one's victims. Yet he will stand up for them.

Of course, those who are in power, all smile at each other. They understand things sometimes have to be done. People sometimes have to be silenced. "We know better."

Then, Wei Wuxian comes in and says, actually you don't. He comes in with factual accounts, evidences, forces you to face your misdeeds. Says you're all a bunch of hypocritical people. No, perhaps what is worse is that he will make you realize that's what you are! Because he's got to be good at talking, too! He's not going to act on anger or be stunned in fear.

So, now you have someone who's not only digging into your evil deeds, someone who's capable, who's not easy to persuade, but also someone with high emotional intelligence who can play the same role as you do, of being a noble, accepted gentlemen with immaculate manners, of very high literacy and outdo you. Because this guy knows very well how society works, he can comprehend social cues perhaps better than you can. He can use your own polite words and nature against you.

It's precisely because of this he must be killed. Perhaps, in every world, Wei Wuxian will end up being the victim. It's only that in MDZS, these were the particular circumstances, and those were the particular excuses.

My personal take is: sometimes it is good to be a centrist, and hold everyone's better intentions in mind. most of the times it might not be, as there are many conflicting systems in place that allow for true victims who are stuck. most often, the victims are always the ones who DON'T have a voice, who are brushed over as numbers of corpses, rather than people with stories. most often, kindness is shown in little action that are trampled upon by those who hold true power. most often the people who are good, who are heroes die young, or are hated and ridiculed, for speaking up for the victims. it's not right, and never will be.

if someone like wei wuxian or his presence in the book makes you uncomfortable it might be because you hold the "niceities" and the pleasantries to be of more importance than the issues at hand. just because something is too troublesome doesn't mean it is wrong. if everytime he enters the scene you're scared of what he's going to do next, you should know it's not him who is the problem but the prople who aren't doing anything who are. don't be scared of "trouble-makers." he's not erratic or spontaneous. he has considered society's standards and deemed it useless. why is that that the koi tower scene, where he is in his "yiling laozu, loss of control, threatening" moment is followed immediately by him being extremely kind to Wen qing ? it's not that he's losing control. it's that Jin Zixun wouldn't have acted and told him where the people were without him using intimidation tactics. Wei Wuxian is the one forced into bad corners by the powerful people, where he has to show his edges. Don't end up twisted the narratives. if you bite someone for a while, expect to be hit.

#wei wuxian #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #wangxian #my meta #my thoughts #cultivation world bullshit #my essays #When i first watched the untamed Wei Wuxian made me uncomfortable and scared at times #I felt uncomfortable reading the bits of his YLLZ era #and koi tower scene #ive done some introspection and grown

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admirableadmiranda · 1 year

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Sometimes it feels like the main message that a lot of people miss in MDZS in their leaps to justify one character’s hatred for another or attempting to remove them from the world because they will never be at peace until that person is completely eradicated, is that it poses a question of “how much blood does it take to satisfy the anger? How much death is necessary to live? How much pain that you want to inflict is truly equal to what you have suffered? Where is the line between justice, vengeance and murder?”

MDZS does not have our modern sensibilities and laws for such a thing, and it’s on purpose. It’s set in a time where there is no emperor or god onscreen to merit out justice or retribution, it’s all in the hands of the mortals. They get to decide how much is enough.

And the thing that so many people miss is that for almost every character (and I will include Wei Wuxian in this with a caveat) go too far at some point. Sure, the desire to kill your brother’s killer is understandable. But what about the people who you harm in that path? Nie Huaisang does end up taking down Jin Guangyao, but the cost is that Qin Su also dies, destroyed even before her death by the reality of what the men around her will stoop to do out of pride and anger, what they will use her for in the process.

Why do I stand so firmly against the people who say that Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng had their reasons, that they were right to go as far as they did? Because the text itself does take the time to show us what is reasonable in that world and what is greedy, wrathful, unjustified.

Jiang Cheng has every right to hate the men who invaded his home and killed his family. In the natures of their society it is not wrong for him to step him and take revenge against them. The supervisory camps in Yunmeng were built on the blood of his people. I have no qualm with him removing them from his land, even though it ends in their deaths.

But that does not mean that his righteous war should extend to all who bear the Wen name and that is where the gap comes in. Wen Chao had him tortured and his golden core crushed. By the rules of that world as extolled by Xiao Xingchen when talking to Xue Yang, it is reasonable to take back what was done to him in blood there.

But Wen Ning is not Wen Chao. Wen Ning risked his life, his sister’s life and ultimately ended up contributing to Wen Ruohan’s campaign toppling and ending in dust because when he was offered the choice to either stick by his family or stick by his morals, he chose the former. The Wen’s attack on Lotus Pier was wrong. The lives they took were unjustified. Their actions were deplorable.

By standing up and protecting Jiang Cheng in the way he does, smuggling him back out of Lotus Pier and hiding him away from the Wen who would kill him, he is declaring that his own family is in the wrong, and instead makes a sacrifice that could have had him and his sister killed should Wen Ruohan ever find out about it.

Jiang Cheng knows this. This is where the right of hatred falls flat. This is where his righteous anger becomes a hunger for blood that will never be satiated.

Now I’m not saying that Jiang Cheng should hug and kiss Wen Ning for everything. There are limits to what humans can endure, even ones as good as Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. But he refuses to ever acknowledge what he knows. He refuses to ever act in kind. He owes a debt and he knows it. And he instead not only refuses to pay it by not necessarily taking them into his lands, but even acknowledging that they did anything. He buries them with their family and his words. He lets his hatred overwhelm all else.

He was not powerless at the end of the war. Far from it, in fact! He had a sect that was still rebuilding its forces, but it had been three years since the start of the war so it can’t be tiny anymore, and he had Wei Wuxian with the Yin Hufu. The only two necromancers in the world, who are powerful enough to hold whole barriers on their own. This is the whole point of the display at Phoenix Mountain. Wei Wuxian is showing the other three great clans and all the smaller clans that it does not matter how many of them they have, Yunmeng Jiang has him and while they have him, they are untouchable. This is a known fact.

Jiang Cheng would have faced no long term retribution from doing anything. He could have simply let Wei Wuxian pull them out of the Jin indoctrination camp and take them through Yunmeng to somewhere else and after some grumbling and some pleading on Jin Guangshan’s part, nothing would have happened. Wei Wuxian is too strong and the other clans are too aware of that. No one was safer than Yunmeng Jiang at the end of the war.

That is why the Jin play off of his jealousy and anger and get him to throw aside Wei Wuxian. It is literally their only option.

This brings me to the other half of my discussion, which is where does the bloodshed end? What is enough spilled blood?

If Jiang Cheng hates Wei Wuxian enough to try to kill him, then this should be a vengeance that ends with Wei Wuxian’s death. Death ends all obligations. We owe no more money, we settle no more debts, we leave the shackles of the living in life and the dead move on as do the living.

So why then is it acceptable that Jiang Cheng spends the next thirteen years killing people that remind him of Wei Wuxian? That the moment that Wei Wuxian does return, his first action is to try and kill him again? That he tortures him multiple times and it is only Lan Wangji’s presence and Jin Ling’s quick thinking that save him on those occasions? By all rights including our modern ones, Wei Wuxian should be free and Jiang Cheng should have moved on in thirteen years. Thirteen years is long enough to raise a child almost to adulthood, but Jiang Cheng clings to a hatred that has had no outlet for that long and continues to try and demand Justice that he has already received.

Where is the line? When is enough? Why does the blood of innocents have to be paid too for the hunger of the mighty? Wen Ruohan subtly assassinated Nie Mingjue’s father, but Nie Mingjue decided that there was only to be death for anyone related to the Wen. They didn’t have to do anything, even if they tried to stop him it wouldn’t be enough. Only the death of every Wen would slake that hunger, and then in death when he is driven only by that hunger, only the death of every Jin. Including the ones who weren’t even old enough to hold a sword at the time he died. Jin Ling is as good as Jin Guangyao for Nie Mingjue to kill. All that matters is that he’s connected. All that matters is that there is another body to feed the never ending hate that fills him.

Xiao Xingchen says that for Xue Yang to take a finger or an arm from the man who harmed him as a child is reasonable. Even to kill him if that is truly the only way to end his hatred. But what is a finger to an entire family? “Because it is mine!” Declares Xue Yang and this is where the crux of it lies. “It is my hatred, it is my anger. It is my right to kill anyone because I am angry and I refuse to let it go.” This is the trait that Jiang Cheng, Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang all share. “I am angry and I am hurt so it is my right to do as I will and no one should take that away from me or I will hurt them too.”

This is why they are antagonists. This is why two of the three of them end up dead. This is why Jiang Cheng staying his hand in the temple and Wei Wuxian’s mercy towards him is the only reason that he survives the end. You can’t ask the world to feed your endless hatred. Eventually you will hurt the wrong person and by the very laws that you and the world have set, will come for you. There is no such thing as bloodshed without pain. There are people who will miss those who are gone. And not all of them will be as good as Lan Wangji. Not all of them will move forward in their lives and ignore you. Sometimes the oriole will stalk you in the shadows, waiting for the moment the praying mantis slips up. The wheel ever turns and those on the bottom eventually rise up.

Now as for Wei Wuxian, we see a different answer on him from the others and this is where his morals really come into play. Cause at first he does exact justice for those lost at Lotus Pier. Steps in which the narrative does not fully condemn him, but suggests lightly that it is the sort of thing that he does not linger in, as well as he himself looks back and decides that maybe he did go too far then. Maybe he did do too much in the name of anger and justice. Three months after the event he is willing to kill and torture Wen Zhuliu and Wen Chao. But three years later he looks at the members of the family that killed his and goes “I do not love you. But this is not right. You do not deserve this. I will not let you suffer this any longer even though your name is Wen.”

For Wei Wuxian, the line ends at the end of war, at the deaths of those who directly caused him the most pain. He does not necessarily forgive or absolve. But he does recognize that there is no sense in continuing the bloodshed or allowing others to continue it out of some misplaced sense of vengeance. He is offered a chance to stop the wheel and he tries. He tries so goddamn hard. He tries until it kills him and everyone else he protects because the anger of the rest is too wrapped up in their self righteousness to examine what is reasonable and what is the cost for what they do.

I do not exonerate the Lan here, but I do point out that they at least actually make an attempt to change things afterwards. We see it in the way that Lan Wangji continues to act in the world. We see it in the way that Lan Xichen stops and reconsiders what he knows of Wei Wuxian, and helps him when the wheel attempts to spin back to where it was before. Where the juniors go out hunting on their own to help people of all kinds. They find weird mysteries and they follow them, they are kind to all. It does not absolve what they have done in the past, it does not make them blameless.

But it is a start. And one that Jiang Cheng has not taken. If he had, we wouldn’t be having these debates and arguments about what is a reasonable enough amount of death and destruction that he can cause on account of his past.

This is where the line is.

Modaozushi asks the question of how much death is enough and concludes at the line “when you continue to court death to satisfy your anger, you will eventually find death standing at your door too.” It happens to Xue Yang, who after killing Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing and everyone in Yi City, finds A-Qing’s ghost leading those who can end his hurting of others for good. It happens to Jin Guangyao who assassinates and hurts so many people that Nie Huaisang finds allies in Mo Xuanyu, Sisi and Bicao, all of whom are willing to help him drag Jin Guangyao to the depths by the chains of his reputation.

Jiang Cheng is offered another chance. Leave Wei Wuxian alone and move forwards with his life. At the end of the book he accepts that chance. It is probably the last one he will get, but he accepts it. This is why he finishes out the book alive no matter how much blood he has on his hands. You can always change your actions until you are dead.

This is the question that Modaozushi posits and answers to all of us and to which I now offer to you when you consider the actions in story. What is enough? How much blood must be spilled before you are happy?

Why does it matter to you that those who are hurt are allowed to hurt without consequence? Where do you draw the line when all of those who caused you pain in the past are buried?

What is the price that you demand for your happiness? When is there enough blood on your hands to be happy?

When do you say “there has been enough death. I will stop this here and now because it is enough.”

Will you be the hero or the antagonist in someone else’s story?

#mdzs #wei wuxian #lan wangji #canon jiang cheng #jin guangyao #xue yang #discussion of antagonists #the cycles of vengeance #long post

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grewlikefancyflowers · 11 months

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a key aspect of wwx as an inventor is his resourcefulness. he rarely invents wholly new things, he repurposes things that already exist.

the primary example is obviously ghostly cultivation, in which he repurposes the resentful energy of ghosts for his own means. wwx notes this himself, saying 'why waste it when it can be useful'.

and there is the yin hufu. the sword had been in the xuanwu for years, absorbing centuries of resentful energy from those who'd died, it even harmed wwx at the time. but he still thought 'this can be made into something useful' months later, he even remembered it and went back for it.

his evil-attraction talismans were made directly from evil-repelling talismans. he wasn't just inspired by them, he literally added a few strokes in his own blood to the evil-repelling talismans the wens had set up, reversing their function.

this is a constant of wwx's characterisation, he remembers the protective embroidery in the lan's robes and uses it to shield sizhui at mo manor, he needed a flute and so carved one directly from a nearby bamboo tree, in yi city he immediately knows to find a building with a living(ish) resident so he can have access to a stocked kitchen to make healing congee, and he repurposes the funeral paper effigies to fight for him. in any scenario, he instinctively notes and uses the resources around him, often repurposing them in a unique way.

this is fundamental to wwx—he innately thinks outside the box, is never confined by norms and expectations and is unafraid to directly challenge them. these traits are the source of his genius as well as his defiance of his society.

#mdzs meta #it could be said that his resourcefulness comes from his experiences of starvation and homelessness as a child #and relevant to that is his use of a dizi (associated with lower class) and congee as a cure (a folk tradition)#mdzs #i think this could also be seen in his rhetoric he uses against the wens in xuanwu cave and later the jins & other confrontations #he takes peoples own words or doctrines and uses them against them to highlight their hypocrisy #idk mxtx is just so good at show don't tell and her characterisation is just so clear and consistent #i paraphrased the quotes in this don't @ me

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thisisallthehattersfault · 1 year

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I know the general consensus is that the yin hufu was actually a problem, either due to the resentment itself and WWX’s control of that resentment, or due to the fact that the sects would have absolutely never let him live so long as he kept it, and ignoring the second one which is more indicative of the hypocrisy of cultivation society, that first bit…

Sometimes, I think about Chenqing. The ghost flute, the Yiling Patriarch’s terrible instrument, spreading death to all who hear it. I think about WWX using it like a melee weapon, plain black bamboo, blocking swords and bludgeoning like something wrought from iron.

I think about the fact that it’s covered in teeth marks. Little baby teeth marks, from little baby Wen Yuan, who would have, in the way of all babies, grabbed that cursed flute without a second of fear and shoved as much of it into his mouth as he could fit before any of the adults had even noticed it was happening. I think about Chenging, the Ghost Flute, iron-hard in battle, lethal even when it’s not being played, soft under the aching gums of a teething child. Letting itself be marked, permanently. Sitting, quiet. Doing no harm.

Wei Wuxian was not called the Yiling Patriarch during the Sunshot Campaign, which the general fandom seems to forget. He was not the Yiling Patriarch when he was mowing down Wen soldiers. He was not the Yiling Patriarch at war, blazing and furious, playing his cursed flute and raising the dead to march. The title, Yiling Patriarch, didn’t come until he and the Wens were hidden away in the burial mounds, gathering around their meager meals every night and sharing bottles of Uncle Four’s wine, trying to coax radishes from grave dirt. A toddler, moving from caretaker to caretaker at his own whim, standing among people who love him, gnawing on a cursed flute because his mouth hurts. Wei Wuxian was the Yiling Patriarch because he was also Xian-gege. One does not exist without the other.

Chenqing means “setting forth one’s thoughts and explaining one’s actions.” It was about clarity, an explanation. “This is me,” said Wei Wuxian. “This is what I stand for. This is who I am. This is what I am capable of, and what I will do.”

War, yes, when the world calls for it. Probably that was all he thought he was saying, at the time. War, and the succinct, complete end of it. Retribution. “You brought this on yourselves.”

But what Wei Wuxian actually ended up saying, what he actually did with that flute and that resentment and that hill filled with corpses, what he said was: “How can I help? What do you need? Are the innocent safe? Are the children cared for? I love you. I love you. I love you.”

I think about the Yin Hufu. I think about the general consensus among the fandom that that resentment, that power, would have been too much even for Wei Wuxian. That it would have hurt him or those around him in ways that even he, with his brilliance, could not foresee and mitigate.

I think about Chenqing, soft under a’Yuan’s tiny teeth.

And I wonder.

#mdzs #the untamed #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #wei wuxian #yiling laozu #Lan Sizhui #Wen yuan #I’m gonna tag this as #yiling wei sect au #because I think I’ll probably revisit these thoughts #at some point in Black Lanterns

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daynight139 · 1 year

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Yin Tiger Tally [Yin Hufu]

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 7 months

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Good morning. So, I feel a bit stupid for asking this, but we all ask stupid things sometimes, so...

I never understood why NHS lured juniors to the Yi City. And then I re-read the ending where the reasoning was explained (something about how if the kids died, their deaths would have been pinned on JGY), but I still don't really get it? Like, how exactly? Well, I kinda get it, but also not really? The explanation is kinda far stretched. Like, what does JGY have to do with the juniors? Or did NHS assume that their deaths would be pinned on him after he sent Bicao and Sisi, after which all kinds of crimes, real or not, were blamed on JGY?

Hello anon!

The general assumption with leading the juniors there is that if they had ended up dying being from prominent clans, it would have at least lead to the exposure of Xue Yang's and Jin Guangyao's continued friendship as well as experimentation with the Yin Hufu. A bit like a pre-dated Second Siege plan that didn't pan out for the worst for the boys. And of course lead to exposing Jin Guangyao's cohorts to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji who were not the intended lure victims and ended up a short cut for Nie Huaisang to be able to move faster to unravel things with Jin Guangyao's reputation and was able to significantly put him on the defensive when they come to investigate Jinlintai. A lucky coincidence, for Nie Huaisang.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #nie huaisang #yi city

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sasukimimochi · 1 year

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i was screwing around trying to get more concept stuff done for demon wwx in COI while drawing with my friend. this is essentially a second form [i left out his wings for my sake, but you'll see how big they are soon with the next post lol] But he looks the same as usual other than the changes i've written about.

essentially in this form his ribbons catch fire, his ears get pointy, his teeth get sharper, his tail splits into 9 and catch fire, he becomes taller, and he can use the yin hufu to control MXY/Wen Ning.

drawn in drawpile and rendered on clip studio paint Check out more COI/MDZS in my masterpost. ❤

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qourmet · 7 months

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i have lots of thoughts on personified spiritual weapons, but chenqing is a special case cos unlike suibian (who i hc as ♂) & the yin hufu (that i hc as a 🐯), chenqing is both a girl and takes on a bipedal but non-human form. idk, my thoughts spiraled, i have many headcanons about chenqing being a bone-flute and why stop at Bone when she could be a Demon's bone?

#mdzs #screaming into the void #i imagine her tiny more than Big #but also i imagine her as a bone demon more than i do a bipedal almost-human #chenqing #just been having thoughts about how chenqing is wwx's most benign spiritual tool when not wielded by him #he doesnt need it to perform gui dao yanno?#and she can take a hit only when he's wielding her #something something something #my art #fanart #personification

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liberty-or-death · 1 year

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“The mountains and the rivers aren’t important, what’s important is that to find someone who understands one’s self.” - Wen Kexing’s Romantic Poetry Episode 9 aka the soulmate 知己 meta (Warrior's March 壮士行 by Bao Rong 鲍溶)

To wrap up the soulmate meta, let’s analyse the second instance when the poem appears.

“The Warrior’s March 壮士行” was written by the Tang Dynasty poet Bao Rong 鲍溶. n his early years, he lived in seclusion in the mountains of Jiangnan. He later then traveled around the world, making friends with Han Yu, Li Zhengfeng and Meng Jiao. He was a scholar in the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), but his career was unpromising, and he died in his hometown after a life of poverty and uncertainty.

西方太白高，壮士羞病死。

Venus rises high in the west, the warrior dies filled with regret.

心知报恩处，对酒歌易水。

His heart knows that kindness has been repaid. Drinking his wine, the warrior sings the “Cold River Yi”

易水寒 Cold River Yi - This poem was written by the youxia Jing Ke 荆轲 written during the Waring States. When he was on his way to assassinate the emperor, he sings his goodbyes to the King of Yan at the River Yi (located in Hubei.). The same story has been referenced in the previous meta Singing for Jin Ke 咏荆轲.

砂鸿嗥天末，横剑别妻子。

The geese in the desert howl as though the world has ended. Carrying his sword, he bids his wife and children goodbye.

苏武执节归，班超束书起。

Su Wu holds the up the Tally and returns, Zhong Sheng puts his books down and rises.

苏武 Su Wu’s was a Han Dynasty minister who was was captured by the Xiongnu for 19 years. Emperor Xuan of Han Dynasty listed him as one of the eleven meritorious ministers of the Qilin Pavilion 麒麟阁 for his integrity. He’s often depicted in Chinese history as a symbol of loyalty despite hardship

执节 The Tally was a form of military authorisation in ancient China. One example would the the Tiger Tally, that was the inspiration behind MDZS’ Yin Tiger Tally/Yin Hufu.

班超: Banchao was a famous literary figure, military man and diplomat during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was ordered to send an envoy to the Western Region and pacified more than fifty countries over thirty years, making great contributions to the return of the Western Region and promoting national integration.

山河不足重，重在遇知己。

The mountains and the rivers aren’t important, what’s important is that to find someone who understands one’s self. (ie. Soulmate)

Analysis

This is a really interesting choice of poetry!

Firstly, there are many ways 知己 Zhiji’s quoted in poetry. It is a term used to refer to “someone who knows one’s self.” On Baidu, it has been used at least 7 times in ancient poetry. But what’s really interesting is that both poems share the story of Jin Ke’s failed assassination attempt of Qin Shi Huang. I felt this was a deliberate choice by SHL because 1) this line doesn’t appear in TYK and 2) it isn’t even a famous poem. Chinese dictionaries use ancient poetries to define a term and this poem isn’t listed on it. (At least on Baidu dictionary.). In fact, I pieced the complete translation myself. LOL. Famous works would usually have been fully interpreted and translated by Chinese literature fans, and this was only partially translated

Secondly, what’s really interesting is the vibe of this poem. The line seems romantic at first glance when quoted on its own (The mountains and the rivers aren’t important, what’s important is that to find someone who understands one’s self. (ie. Soulmate)), but when taken into the context of the entire line, it just simply reeks of loneliness. Rather than proclaiming about how great their current soulmate is, the line’s actually about how one’s in anguish over their missing soulmate, and in this case, it’s over the death of their soulmate. (Ie. saying goodbye to their love ones while embarking on a doomed mission.)

#shl #shl meta #wen kexing #zhou zishu

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