I love a character raised to be a weapon as much as the next guy. But what really gets me is a character raised to be a shield. Who can’t fathom being needed—or even being wanted— beyond keeping others safe. Who believe they are alive only to insure someone doesn’t die. no matter the cost. Characters who self-sacrifice not because they think they deserve it, but because no one else does deserve it, and it’s their job to protect.

Characters who’ve been told that’s why your important. Your worth something because this other person/ thing is important, and you are here solely to keep them safe.

Bonus points if it’s not a legitimate job they’ve been given. Maybe at one point it was, but now that they are free from it, they haven’t given up that mentality. No one is forcing or asking them to do this, but they need to. They need to in order to be deserving.

Well if this isn’t pure Wei Wuxian

do you all see my vision here

No, 'cuz like for real–

Genuinely speaking.

Is Wei Wuxian really happy post-canon? When people say, "Oh, he has a new life in Gusu," I immediately get a feeling of discomfort. Because that- those two things don't belong in the same sentence.

You mean to tell me Wei "even when I'm dreaming, I want to return to Lotus Pier" Wuxian found happiness in the most stifling clan known to man?

Debatable.

Because Wei Wuxian finally got old(er).

WWX in Gusu post-canon makes sense to me, because it is possible to love and miss a place you cannot return to.

Because it is possible to have a fulfilling life somewhere you once swore would make you miserable.

Because it is possible to find joy in things that you used call boring.

Because sometimes, starting over in a new place is the only way to leave your past behind.

Sweet Oblivion  🐾 🐺 🐾

by Richard Fry

Wei Wuxian has discovered Lan Wangji's box garden.

I think this whole "Wei Wuxian has low self-worth" take comes from viewing his heroism through a purely modern Western lens, when in reality, it's actually written as a classic example of traditional Chinese heroism, where selflessness, honor, and sacrifice are seen as strengths.

In a lot of modern Western interpretations, people often analyze characters through a psychological lens, connecting their actions to trauma or emotional baggage. While there's no problem with this approach (bc MDZS does actually explore some elements of modern psychological complexity), relying on that alone can miss the bigger cultural picture.

In Wei Wuxian’s case here, his selflessness, which is tied to traditional heroism and a strong moral compass, gets misunderstood as low self-esteem or a reaction to trauma. This misreading reduces his heroic sacrifices to emotional damage, instead of seeing them as intentional, principled choices driven by a strong sense of moral responsibility.

Wei Wuxian’s choices—like protecting the weak, sacrificing his golden core, and standing up for what’s right even at a huge cost etc— are grounded in this type of traditional heroism and NOT simply a byproduct of trauma. In MDZS, sacrifice and selflessness isn’t about self-doubt or a lack of self-worth; it’s about courage and staying true to one’s principles.

What I dislike about this is not that it's wrong, but that it just shaves everything down to either/or, thereby turning a rich and multifaceted character into a caricature: victim OR hero! Pick one!!!!

People make decisions due to a variety of factors, though, and Wei Wuxian reflects that. I love that Wei Wuxian is a person who comes into desperate situations with a strong sense of righteousness, of courage, of heroism. It's core to who he is!

But he also comes from a very traumatic background, and that's before he even got to Lotus Pier. He was orphaned and spent years on the streets, fighting to survive and being treated like trash. Then he gets to Lotus Pier and has to deal with a very toxic family situation. That counts. That matters.

His heroism isn't a byproduct of his trauma but if you take away how his trauma affected his relationships and his heroism, you're cheating him out of a very rich complexity of character.

Personally, I think victims of trauma are more than simply what happened to them, that they can still be heroes and make heroic decisions based on their personal set of morals and ethics.

Yet, the trauma is there. It will always be there, and that is important too.

swordtember day 16: bone

just a doodle for this one because i’m a busy bee working on lots of yummy things for the hive 🙏🙏

not a day passes by where I don't think about the yunmeng brothers and their love, which despite its abundance haunts the other

Never thought about this before and never seen it in fanfic but:

What if Madam Yu murdered Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze?

And further, what if the reason it took Jiang Fengman so long to find Wei Ying was because she had cast some kind of array to hide the boy in Yiling?

...that leaves the question of how the array got broken, eventually, but wow this sure would explain a lot of her anger about Wei Ying showing up on her doorstep.

(This is assuming that she was not so bloodthirsty as to kill a child; maybe she thought it would be poetic for CSSR's child to be a poor beggar his whole life, amounting to nothing? Then POOF there he is at Lotus Pier, showing up her own son...)

[cheerfully] i've been in self-made hells worse than this

Wei Wuxian 😔

Reuploading another older work (although I barely did any retouching to this one).

Anyway, my WM will vary 😬

No, 'cuz like for real–

Genuinely speaking.

Is Wei Wuxian really happy post-canon? When people say, "Oh, he has a new life in Gusu," I immediately get a feeling of discomfort. Because that- those two things don't belong in the same sentence.

You mean to tell me Wei "even when I'm dreaming, I want to return to Lotus Pier" Wuxian found happiness in the most stifling clan known to man?

Debatable.

Because Wei Wuxian finally got old(er).

WWX in Gusu post-canon makes sense to me, because it is possible to love and miss a place you cannot return to.

Because it is possible to have a fulfilling life somewhere you once swore would make you miserable.

Because it is possible to find joy in things that you used call boring.

Because sometimes, starting over in a new place is the only way to leave your past behind.