Coolnightfire - Untitled

LQR: When choosing a cultivation partner it is important to choose someone with similar values and ideals as you.

LWJ: Mn. Must be someone intelligent, responsible, kind, wise, reticent, good self-control, quiet, and respectful of our rules and traditions. Must be someone my family(shufu) approves of.

WWX: Sorry to interrupt the lesson, but quick question, Grandmaster Lan—what’s the record for number of rules broken at one time?

LQR, eye twitching: . . .

WWX, fingers crossed behind his back: …for research purposes only, of course.

LWJ: . . .

LWJ: that one

To understand Jiang Cheng is to understand that he's not the golden child or the scapegoat

Wei Wuxian is both of those

Wei Wuxian is Jiang Fengmian's Golden Child and Madame Yu's Scapegoat

But to both of them Jiang Cheng is simply the Failure

He isn't the son that his father wanted and he's not the son that his mother wanted

He can not live up to either of their wishes or desires because of who he is inherently. He is not charming or naturally exceptionally talented

He is smart and capable but he's not smart and capable enough for them

He puts in pure graft and commitment and gets only looked over or told how little it matters

It's not that he's to blame for anyone else's failures, it's that his accomplishments are meaningless and forgettable just like he is

And if you can't be loved for who you are a part of you wants to be hated because at least that means someone gives a damn

You wear your anger on your skin because it does hurt so much when you are rejected and it makes it harder to forget you

And god how badly you wish to at least be remembered

And you love your sibling who is both on a pedestal but being flogged for the honor

And you want to help and protect them but you also resent them

And they also resent you. At least a little

Because you have time without eyes on you

Time without constant scrutiny over your every action

Which is why the thing that holds the siblings together is the only parent they ever knew who truly loved them unconditionally: Jiang Yanli

Who of course was smothered under that love

I think part of the reason I’m so obsessed with MXTX’s works is the way that each story seems to hold you gently as say “Your kindness mattered. It didn’t alleviate the suffering, it did not undo the pain. But your kindness mattered.”

Kindness could not erase Luo Binghe’s abuse, but it changed the story into a kinder one.

Kindness did not stop Wei Wuxian’s death, but it did save a-Yuan.

Kindness did not undo Xie Lian’s suffering, but it renewed his sincerity to help others.

Kindness did not change the entire world, but it helped create a softer future.

Its such a nice message, that maybe kindness will not protect you, maybe you don’t see the outcome of it, but you should still try to be kind, and I love that honestly.

Someone save me from the things they do to me

I'm rereading MDZS and it just hit me that Wei Wuxian's first impression upon meeting Lan Yuan post-resurrection was that he was a "good sprout"

You guys... you guys... that's his little radish... that's his good little sprout....

I finished it!

I would read 50 extra chapters of wwx with the ducklings

Headcanon that WWX used the song Wangxian as a lullaby for himself and a-Yuan in the burial mounds. He associates it with the safety, security, and serenity that he associates with LWJ even if he doesn’t remember that’s why. He associates it with his head being cradled in LWJ’s lap, his hands carding through WWX’s hair as he takes care of him when he’s suffering the fever from the infection. He associates it with being held and cared for.

So, when he’s thrown into the burial mounds by Wen Chao, he hums that song to himself a lot when he’s feeling scared and like he needs some comfort. (Which is a lot bc he’s in the Burial Mounds where everything is trying to kill him.) Even after he escapes the Burial Mounds, he hums and sings it to himself for self soothing. A little something to keep the voices of the dead from driving him insane and remind him of how to be human.

He plays it when trying to calm spirits and fierce corpses if the other songs don’t work or he just wants to use this one instead. He pours his heart and soul and humanity into playing it so it may remind the dead just as it does him of that comfort and safety it holds in its notes. The love it offers brings him back from the edge of madness many times, so he holds the song close to his heart for when he needs it.

It is only natural then, that when a-Yuan asks him for a lullaby that he plays that one. Whether it’s notes ring out of Chengqing or fall softly from his lips, he gives this melody to the boy in hopes it will bring the same comfort it does him.

So, of course, when he’s newly resurrected, this is the song he plays to calm Wen Ning. It is a song he has long associated with calming erratic emotions, safety, security, love, and, perhaps most importantly, reminding one of their humanity.

Let me photograph you in this light