Jiang Cheng 's Headline Takes The Cake.

“To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you, the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is you, and not the state of you.”

I believe Hua Cheng came to understand this after the fall of XianLe!

When Xie Lian saved Hong Hong er, he was still just a kid. He didn’t see Xie Lian as a person, but rather his prince or his god, and mainly his savior. This savior of his, in his eyes, was a light that couldn’t be extinguished, an invincible hero (which is expected from a little boy’s perspective). It’s after the fall of XianLe that Hua Cheng probably truly realizes that while his prince is still very much a light, his light, that light could absolutely dim. The illusion faded, and he finally realized: the crown prince of XianLe, the darling of the heavens, his highness who pleased the gods, and the one who saved him is not invincible. His god, now brutally exposed as Xie Lian, also needs protection.

Ghost fire Hua Cheng is when his motive was solidified, since.. he gently tells Xie Lian himself. I’m not a detective. But then “Wu Ming” comes along, and the fact that he sticks around while Xie Lian constantly berates him is the ultimate proof that Hua Cheng only sees Xie Lian now, whether he is a prince, a calamity, or an omen of misfortune. Seeing Xie Lian as “his savior” does not change through his growth, though. It only evolves into something deeper, “his Xie Lian.”

but that’s just me idk

smooch!

Imagining a hualian mermaid au where hua cheng is a mermaid

When he was younger some poachers caught him and they marveled at his bright red tail. he tried his best to cover it with seaweed and stay out of sight

But he gets caught

Xie Lian happens to be sailing nearby and he spots the poachers and demands they release honghong er

Honghong er is frightened by it all and swims away. He spends the rest of his youth hiding in an underwater cave. Never does he forget the kind human who saved him

Xie Lian’s village is destroyed by the poachers who turn out to be pirates because of this act. Then he is kidnapped by the pirates and made a slave aboard their boat

He tries to stay upbeat and kind toward the other victims and prisoners he encounters but it’s *hard*

Meanwhile, Hua Cheng makes a name for himself as the terror of the seas. You know he is near when the waves turn crimson

He spots this ship and attacks it for entering his domain—a haven where merfolk are safe from humankind. He watches the pirates begin to drown, a smile on his face

Then he spots one—an unconscious man in tattered white robes—a face he could never forget. He races Xie Lian to the surface and resuscitates him. Pleading with his savior to stay with him. To stay alive.

Xie Lian wakes up. He instantly recognizes Hua Cheng. He smiles.

“It’s you,” he whispers, placing a hand on the merman’s cheek. He never stopped thinking of the mermaid. He never regretted saving him.

Hua Cheng just stares and stares and stares. Disbelieving. He treats his beloved’s wounds. He can’t speak above the surface. His vocal cords don’t work right.

Xie Lian remains on a small island while he heals. Hua Cheng hunts fish for him and watches the human cook it. Xie Lian talks at length about where he is from and the life he’s lived. Hua Cheng listens with rapt attention

One day, when Xie Lian has recovered, and meat has returned to his bones, Hua Cheng offers him, on a thin silver chain, a ring made of his own scales.

When Xie Lian puts it on, he transforms into a merman. An elegant one with a pretty white and gold scaled tail.

They go to Hua Cheng’s domain and Xie Lian quickly picks up the language of the merfolk

Hua Cheng explains that Xie Lian can take off the necklace at any time and return to his human life up on land. To return home.

“Maybe I’ll visit someday,” Xie Lian smiles. “But as far as Im concerned I *am* home.”

TGCF characters if they lived in real life dynasties

✦ Mei NianQing - (Xia) Shang dynasty

✦ Xie Lian - Han dynasty

✦ Hua Cheng - Hmong population

✦ Shi QingXuan - Song dynasty

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.

Dadji how I love you

I feel like too often people frame Nie Mingjue's issues as ignorance borne from safety. Like, they think that because of his privilege as a sect leader he doesn't know what it's like to be in danger and forced to make hard choices to survive. And I disagree. Strongly.

First of all, Nie Mingjue is very familiar with death not only from war but from. You know. Actively dying since the age of fourteen. Let us not forget Nie Mingjue is dead! Super dead! And maybe he didn't die the exact way he expected to but he did, absolutely, know he was going to die. To act like Nie Mingjue is unfamiliar with the scenario of "do something you find morally reprehensible or die" is to ignore that he has been living that exact scenario and chose death.

Nie Mingjue knows death is a risk for someone like Jin guangyao, in fact he explicitly acknowledges it even in his worst moments like the stairs in chapter 49. Had his issue been ignorance, then he would've responded to Jin Guangyao saying that he's in danger and has to sacrifice others for his own safety with "No you aren't you'll be fine." But he doesn't. He accepts the fact that jgy is in danger with no qualms and says: then you should die.

That's not him betraying his values, those are his values. He is, essentially, pro-suicide. Jgy is like hey I have a moral dilemma what should I do and nmj straight up goes "Kill yourself" and earlier that same chapter when he was faced with a moral dilemma he went "I'm gonna kill myself." He believes the solution to moral dilemmas is suicide! He is extremely consistent about this! When it's pointed out to him that it would have been dangerous for Wen Qing to oppose Wen Ruohan it doesn't phase him because he thinks putting yourself at risk to do the right thing is the only moral choice. The idea that he can only hold this belief because he is himself somehow not in danger, again, requires you to ignore that he is dying the whole time. And it doesn't deter him. He is the idea of self-sacrifice as a moral good taken to its absolute logical extreme. Someone who is ready to die and demands the same from everyone else.

It makes him a very fun case study for fandom, because a lot of fandom spaces also tend to revere self-sacrifice as the ultimate good, and yet we get very uncomfortable when someone starts demanding it of characters we love. Like woah, hold on, that's a bit too far isn't it? Only we the audience get to do that!

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.