Any-mouse - Untitled

Ngl, I’m actually pretty uncomfortable reading my old posts defending the goodness of the common people and their right to defend themselves—as persecuted groups or as individuals—from hierarchical tyranny, given how easily in this current irl moment a not-insignificant amount of people have fallen into supporting an active genocide, because I cannot separate this from how much pushback I got (and still sometimes get) for being consistent in my politics

Gossip Following the First Siege (and Where They Are Directly Debunked)

1st Lie:

“Rejoice, rejoice! Say, which hero dealt the finishing blow to the Yiling Laozu?”

“Who else could it be? His shidi, Chief Jiang Cheng of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan!

–Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

Debunked:

“But that’s not what I heard. I thought one of his evil tricks backfired and he was shredded to pieces by those ghosts of his. Some say that they bit and tore at him so viciously that by the end of it, his body was no more than a slurry of flesh and bone dust.”

–Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

“Jiang Cheng, Clan Chief Jiang, brought people to encircle and besiege the Burial Mounds. He killed you, sir.”

“I have to clarify this. He didn’t kill me. I died because one of my techniques backfired.”

–Chapt. 43: Beauty I, fanyiyi

2nd Lie:

“Exactly! He thoroughly deserved it! If the Jiang Clan hadn’t taken him in and raised him, that Wei Ying would have spent his whole life as a worthless vagrant. What else is there to say? The old Chief Jiang raised him like his own son, yet he betrayed them and made an enemy of everyone. Not only did he humiliate the Jiang Sect, he killed nearly all of the Jiang Clan! He’s the definition of an ungrateful, treacherous bastard!”

–Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

Debunked:

Wei Wuxian was the son of a servant of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, Wei Changze, and a wandering cultivator, Cangse Sanren. Jiang Fengmian and his wife were both close acquaintances of his mother and father, but Jiang Fengmian had never reminisced about his old friend in front of Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Fengmian’s wife, Yu Ziyuan, had never been interested in having a conversation with him at all. If she didn’t whip him a few times and tell him to get out, kneel at the ancestral shrine, and keep far away from Jiang Cheng, he already considered that pretty good.

–Chapt. 29: Morning Dew II, fanyiyi

Jiang Fengmian nodded, “Well done.”

[Wei Wuxian] was able to kill a four-hundred-year-old beast at the mere age of seventeen. It was much more than a ‘well-done’.

–Chapt. 56: Poisons, exr

Jiang FengMian stared into his eyes. Suddenly, he reached out. Only after pausing in the air did he finally touch Jiang Cheng’s head, slowly, “A-Cheng, be well.”

Wei WuXian, “Uncle Jiang, if anything happens to you, he won’t be well.”

Jiang FengMian turned his eyes to him, “A-Ying, A-Cheng… you must look after him.”

—Chapt. 58: Poisons, exr

3rd Lie:

“Not only that, Jiang Cheng tolerated that arrogant, up-jumped servant for ages… Even if you grew up with them and loved them like a brother, you can’t show people like him any mercy. ”

–Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

Debunked:

Chapter 13: Elegance III – Chapter 18: Elegance VIII, fanyiyi (no I will NOT be writing down every instance of storm cloud Jiang Cheng appearing to darken Wei Wuxian’s mood in the Cloud Recesses arc. Too many quotes; you gotta read it yourself)

Gradually, [Wei Wuxian] grew deathly frightened of all manner of dogs, big or small, and had endured no small amount of Jiang Cheng’s mockery for it.

–Chapt. 20: Sunshine II, fanyiyi

Not a single lenient or merciful word left Jiang Cheng’s mouth if he could help it, nor was he ever willing to offer charity and kindness.

–Chapt. 23: Malice I, fanyiyi 

4th Lie:

“…Don’t you remember when he annihilated more than 3,000 high level cultivators?”

“Wasn’t it 5,000?”

–Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

Debunked: here

5th Lie:

“It just goes to show that cultivators have to stay on the proper path. Taking up demonic cultivation, ‘free spirit,’ pah! Sounds to me like he was arrogant and egomaniacal. Heh, and what was the result?”…

…“But it wasn’t only demonic cultivation that killed him. At the end of the day, it was also his horrible personality and rotten character…”

–Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

Debunked:

“Aye, this Wei Wuxian…back in the day he was a promising cultivator from a good background, and not without high merits. When he was young—what a glorious, free spirit! …”

–Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

In [Wei Wuxian’s] previous life, because he couldn’t let people chatter on about how he hadn’t been brought up properly, there were certain limits on how far he could take his mischief.

–Chapt. 3: Feral II, fanyiyi

Wei Wuxian had always considered himself protective and caring of women, so seeing her state, he moved to create space for her and went to bother the donkey.

–Chapt. 6: Pride I, fanyiyi

Even if the Yiling Laozu’s reputation was bad, people had to admit that prior to Wei Wuxian’s defection from the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, he had been famous far and wide for being a gorgeous man, cultured, sophisticated, and proficient in all the arts of a gentleman. Among the young masters of all the clans of cultivation, his appearance and personality were considered the fourth best, and he was described as “bright, clever, and full of life”…

–Chapt. 10: Pride V, fanyiyi

Source

Costco has these artisanal peaches. My betrothed and I first had them while staying with some friends. They’re the platonic ideal of what an amazing peach should be. They’re peeled and preserved in juice whole, and somehow they taste slightly like vanilla.

When we got home from our visit we picked up a jar for ourselves. They lasted a good long while. We finally went to get more- and they were gone. I was devastated. That was two years ago.

Every Costco trip since then has included a hopeful look for the amazing peaches. I never stopped dreaming they’d come back.

My health has gotten better and with my improved energy I’ve finally been able to take over some of the chores. So when my betrothed lamented not having time for a Costco trip last week I volunteered to go alone.

I was meandering down the aisle and then I saw them. The peaches. The promised fruit I had been denied for two years, perfect and golden in that Costco aisle. Orchestral music swelled in my mind and everything around me faded away as I beelined toward them.

I was stricken with peach madness. I got four jars. Sitting in the car afterward I tallied the expense. The peaches were fully a quarter of the Costco bill. I texted my betrothed to apologize for absolutely losing my head. They reassured me over and over that it was a luxury I deserved to indulge and that it was okay.

Tonight while holding a dripping perfect peach in my hands, eating it while standing over the counter, each bite the exact ripeness to have a little give but not too much, and my mouth full of vanilla and peaches I contemplated going to buy more.