in dreams we waltz the sky

a dick

he/him pronouns

XY chromosomes

things you DO need to be a man

the swiftness of a coursing river

the force of a great typhoon

the strength of a raging fire

the mysteriousness of the dark side of the moon

^this post was brought to you by LGBT^

Let's

Get down to

Business

Doomed yuri xiyao

❤️ A Very Shameless Love Confession ❤️

It's finally done! After one year of creating the original sketches, I finished this comic project!

I remember having a strong cinematic visual of this scene in my mind, where it's raining and Wei Wuxian is with his hair undone. And this is the outcome hehehe

I had so much fun with this! It was such a great experience to play with the expressions, the gestures, the movement, the angles. It was a learning experience for me.

I hope you enjoy the final piece as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Because sure, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were being shamelessly cuddly, but Jin Guangyao—the man who was revealing his supervillain masterplot bit by bit throughout this altercation—spent a portion of that time on his knees in front of Lan Xichen with a tearful, "it's not true baby let me explain," routine—during which you can physically see Lan Xichen yo-yo in real-time between fully buying into jiggy's excuses, then snapping himself out of it with a colorful spectrum of emotions that are definitely in contrast with the Lan family precepts.

What's worse, not only are Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen essentially two of the biggest celebrities of the cultivation world, but most of the cultivators present actively work for Jin Guangyao. That is their boss ugly crying on the floor trying not to fumble the man they are actively holding as their prisoner.

Art by Higga for Mo Dao Zu Shi

Obviously, there are Eridian kids with special needs, and a few of them even filter into his classes. But one specific type of special needs kid has never shown up in his classes, and the only reason he even learned of the condition is because Rocky and Adrien's first pebble has the condition.

It's initially quite a struggle for them to deal with, and Grace sympathizes of course, because the child will apparently have huge learning and academic struggles and will likely never be able to live on their own. That is, until he learns the details of the disability.

Basically, it's a condition where the part of the Eridian brain that gives them their eidetic memory isn't fully developed, and so these kids just... can't remember things the way most eridians do. And in a culture where an eidetic memory is the norm, all things cater to that, so not having that is actually a massive disability.

But Grace is like, so... this kid just learns the same way a human does, or something like. Which is nothing new to him, though he is somewhat boggled at how much Rocky and Adrian struggle with their infant and their "slow" learning curve, even as far as initial developmental stages. Grace, on the other hand, simply treats the kid the same way he would a human infant, and Rocky and Adrien are impressed with his patience.

But, through this, it occurs to Grace that there must be other kids out there with this disability who likely aren't getting the attention and chances in life that they deserve, because Eridian culture is particularly hostile toward this disability, and actively views those with it as unable to function in regular society.

So Grace demands that a special course be put together where he teaches kids with this disability specifically. Rocky is hesitant, as most kids with this disability are home schooled and kind of... kept shut away. But Grace insists and as one of Erid's saviors, he gets what he wants eventually.

His first class is super small, maybe only three kids because so few parents were willing to advertise that their children have this disability. And because of the stigma around it, even those who agreed to it are super unsure and want to be present during the lessons, perhaps paranoid about the impression it will leave on Savior Grace, who is so accustomed to only teaching the most gifted students.

But Grace knows exactly how to deal with these kids. Some of them have varying degrees of function when it comes to their memory banks, which isn't so unlike teaching kids on earth. And so Grace is able to introduce all these tools and teaching techniques that were previously unheard of on Erid (though very normal on Earth) like having textbooks for reference with you at all times and having strategies that are less focused on memorization for understanding, and providing these kids with tools like calculators and teaching them the art of taking notes to look back on, etc etc.

Suddenly, with all these tools that most Eridians don't need, these kids are learning at a much faster rate, and succeeding with the help of all their little tools. And because so many normal eridians are ignorant of Grace's actual biology, it's shocking to them that Savior Grace doesn't have an eidetic memory either (shocking to everyone but Rocky anyway)--that his brain functions quite similarly in capacity to these "disabled" children.

Once this news gets around, suddenly there's more kids in his special classes, and there's all kinds of discourse being inflamed because the real reason these kids can't live on their own or function is lack of support from Eridian society.

If Savior Grace, who is well respected as a genius in his own right amongst the Eridians, can function so successfully, they why can't these kids?

Wei Wuxian was never meant to be Jiang Cheng’s equal, and never does Jiang Cheng ever publicly claim Wei Wuxian as such; not by way of being raised in the same sect, not by way of being his direct childhood companion and not by even sworn brotherhood.

Wei Wuxian is not Jiang Cheng’s brother, and Jiang Cheng, because of his own insecurities, selfishness and brittle pride, would never accept Wei Wuxian as anything else. Whatever fondness existed was marred and poisoned long ago, leaving nothing but hatred and insecurities that Jiang Cheng never truly found the courage to face.

Also the fact that the Jiangs never did anything to raise his status is speculation and irrelevant - it’s clear that in the cultivation world gossip will continue no matter what the official narrative is. For example, Jin Guangyao has the highest status in the cultivation world, and yet many will dismiss him as merely a prostitute’s son.

Can I ask... are you discussing CQL? I ask because I hear that adaptation depicts the relationships a lot differently.

In the novel, there is no question: Wei Wuxian is a victim of classist narratives that equated his (not gentry approved) power and competence with acts of evil because he was a scapegoat.

Jiang Cheng made him a scapegoat. Wei Wuxian wasn't responsible for the fall of Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng knew this. He blamed Wei Wuxian anyway. Sure, it's out of self interest, but...

Jiang Cheng wouldn't have gotten out of Xuanwu's cave without Wei Wuxian. They were all gonna die and the clans were gonna be told it was because of a fierce Yao beast gone rogue.

In Madam Yu's final scene, she refuses to take Wei Wuxian's arm as punishment for saving her son's life. (She also cant resist making him the scapegoat foe he decisions anyway--Wei Wuxian wasn't the one who slapped Wang Lingjiao around, but she has no problem telling him that he owes her son additional protection because he was at fault for Lotus Pier's fall. He wasn't. Lotus Pier fell because she and her husband couldn't cooperatively prepare their clan for the war hanging on the horizon.)

If classism doesn't have a large impact on the story, why is it that every time Wei Wuxian shows more skill than a member of the gentry, the remind him that his father was a servant?

If classism isn't present in Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's relationship, why was the single most intimate moment between them an oath of subordination (that wasn't even reciprocated) rather than an oath of brotherhood?

If Jiang Cheng truly blamed Wei Wuxian for his parents deaths, why was his first concern after the first Qiongqi Path incident to remind Wei Wuxian of his place and the burden he was placing on Jiang Cheng (it wasn't a real burden, certainly not for people who saved your life and gave your parents epitaphs, but I digress) followed by an attempt to desecrate the corpse to whom Wei Wuxian dared to show consideration toward despite Jiang Cheng's disapproval? If they were brothers, why did that confrontation end in an ugly ultimatum?

If they were really brothers, why did Jiang Cheng complain in Guanyin Temple that he was the son and he hated Wei Wuxian for being more devoted/supportive to the Jiang Clan than Jiang Cheng himself was?

Look, if this is an issue of source material, I get you. But make no mistake: there were victims in mdzs, and Wei Wuxian was one of them.

What Wei Wuxian did was help the people he owed a debt to, people who risked their lives to save him and JC and put everything on the line simply because helping WWX and JC was the right thing to do. They were Wen! Wen Ruohan was winning! Capturing and presenting the Jiang Heir would’ve given them prestige and riches like no other! And instead they risk everything to save them.

And when time passed and they were the ones who needed help, JC refused and WWX acted with honour. He saved the lives of people because it was the right thing to do. Because a 1year old toddler isn’t evil, a grandma isn’t evil and a bunch of people born with the name ‘Wen’ doesn’t mean they’re evil.

And then Jiang Cheng takes part in the murder of these people. No he leads the charge to massacre the people Wei Wuxian gave everything to protect. He is there when they slaughter them all and dump their bodies in a blood pool and lie to the world about it. He upholds those lies and is famous for ending the Villainous Yiling Laozu. Wei Wuxian believes that A-Yuan is dead because he knows that even a child won’t be spared!

And then after Wei Wuxian comes back, it just never stops. From being whipped and being almost killed again to having a dog set on him, to outright homophobia. Jiang Cheng’s constantly saying slurs against the body of Mo Xuanyu and trying to slutshame Lan Wangji until it gets so bad that Wei Wuxian qi deviates.

Wei Wuxian is so furious that the man he loves is being degraded and humiliated that he spits up blood and collapses. He asks Lan Wangji to take him away from Lotus Pier and never wants to return. He just takes in the ranting and raving of JC to forever be his subordinate and serve under him quietly and apologises but has no intention of anything else.

There is nothing to ‘reconcile’ because there is nothing there. JC Stans may be okay with someone saying homophobic slurs against their loved one and holding up a banner of ‘why can’t we all get along’ about a man who’d throw you to the wolves to save his own skin and pride, but Wei Wuxian is not, most people are not and people who genuinely like WWX and JC both as characters aren’t either. The only thing in common Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng have is Jin Ling’s well being and thats it.

The massacre of the Wens that WWX had at the burial mounds was absolutely unforgivable (we know that JC doesn’t care for the wellbeing of strangers; only those of people he knows and cares for - this is similar to his mother. From his own experience, caring for strangers or people you owe nothing to only brings harm to the people you love - you must choose carefully which battles are worth fighting. This is why he considers WWX to have a “hero complex.”) None of that justifies straight up murder of innocent people, though. This is the biggest point against JC. Although WWX at this point had already lost control over who he killed (Jin Zixuan, completely blacking out at Nightless City) and may have gone on to kill more innocent people, the Wens didn’t deserve to die. We also don’t know if JC necessarily wanted to kill him or just imprison(?)/subdue him or anything like that; WWX ended up dying bc of his own spiritual rebound.

Directly or indirectly, WWX caused the death of JC’s parents, sister, and brother-in-law (the blame cannot be placed on WWX, as he absolutely always tried his best to do the right thing. I also acknowledge that WWX felt all this grief just as much as JC did; however, JC blames WWX, partly because WWX’s actions and partly because of his own helplessness.)

I completely disagree with the argument that JC is selfish trash who would throw anyone under the bus to save himself and his pride. While WWX did give up his core for JC, JC also willingly risked losing his own core (and did lose it) to draw Wens away from WWX when they were on the run after Lotus Pier was destroyed. I truly believe that before Jin Zixuan and especially Jiang Yanli’s death, Jiang Cheng cared deeply for WWX and would’ve sacrificed himself for him just as WWX would’ve done for JC.

Additionally, while it wasn’t WWX’s fault (ofc he couldn’t just sit back while everyone planned to kill him), Jiang Yanli’s fault was a direct consequence of WWX’s existence and actions. Especially because JC has already lost so much, I don’t blame him at all for blaming WWX for Jiang Yanli’s death (and Jin Zixuan’s death, of course, which was directly WWX’s fault).

I don’t think “simmering in snide spite and jealousy” is a correct description of the way JC sees WWX. We can see many instances where JC is clearly proud of WWX, cares about him, and defends him in front of others at his own expense (going against his mother when she was whipping him, defending WWX when LWJ was growing hostile after WWX started practicing demonic cultivation after returning from the Burial Mounds - although LWJ obviously had good intentions). While JC was certainly jealous of WWX, he was not proud of this fact and did not ever truly wish WWX harm until Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli’s death, which to JC was unforgivable and likely the turning point / point of no return in their relationship.