Upcycle Revision
Dec. 8th, 2020 02:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
murdergremlinWhat is their greatest virtue?
Some people would say that Xue Yang doesn't have any virtues, but even if his motives and what drives him are sinister, he does have some aspects of his personality that have virtue. Determination is one of those virtues. He has always been driven by a purpose, whether it is revenge or self satisfaction. Determination can be seen as a firmness of purpose, which Xue Yang certainly has. He knows what he wants and stops at nothing to achieve it. Sometimes his methods are more direct and other times they are done in a roundabout way to try and get more satisfaction out of the long term process.
For example, when he wanted his revenge against the Chang sect, he did so in different stages, a few years apart. He was determined to have his revenge for his pinkie finger which was crushed by the leader of the Chang sect when he was a child. It may have taken years but eventually he wiped the entire sect off the map. One day he decided to test a new piece of weaponry that he had managed to create and massacred everyone except a select few that were off on a night hunt. Then years later he used a particularly nasty torture technique against them while disguised as Xingchen until every last one of them was dead.
He never stopped focusing on that revenge, no matter how long it took to be completely satisfied. He is not a man who forgives and forgets. He lets all his past experiences motivate him. He let his determination continue to drive him through each process over the years, never losing focus on what his goal was...which was revenge for that little part of his hand that was lost.
Determination is defined by how many obstacles a person is willing to overcome to obtain what they desire. He overcame being hunted by the sects for the murders and eventually being imprisoned because of them. And despite that he was still determined to get his revenge against Xiao Xingchen as well. He obtained that over time instead of simply striking quickly. Xue Yang manipulated and used the man's naive nature, his blindness, and inability to realize who he was. Through underhanded methods he convinced Xingchen to kill innocent people. He knew that eventually when the truth was revealed this would be more satisfying for him because of the virtues that Xingchen held onto firmly being unraveling in such a way, versus simply tormenting the man quickly.
When he sets his mind on something, there is no one who can stop him from achieving his goals.
How aware are they of their virtue, and how do they act on it in canon? Xue Yang is probably not aware that determination is a virtue and probably doesn't think of himself as virtuous in any way. He knows that his morals are questionable and that not many agree with his tactics. He is also aware that he is a determined individual, driven by carrying out revenge and hurting those who hurt him in the past. He grew up and was shaped by the cruelty from others that he endured and that is where his determination stems from.
In a way, that determination shifted focus after Xingchen's death. Even despite his original intentions to destroy the man, over time he was worn down by Xingchen's kindness. When everything started to unravel around him and the truth of what he did became known, Xingchen committed suicide, leaving a devastated Xue Yang behind. This gave him a new goal because in a way he had achieved his revenge that he had been seeking, but it left him with the wrong kind of feelings. Now his goal was to make Xingchen stay by his side forever and not let him escape as the man intended.
When he realized that the man's soul had scattered, Xue Yang did everything he could to try and find a way to draw it back together. At first he found a soul collecting bag and tried to catch the pieces that still remained. Once he had them he needed a way to put them back together so he set out with a new determination in place: to bring Xingchen back. Even as a fierce corpse at least the man would once again be walking at his side.
He searched all over for an answer, experimented however he could with nothing providing him with the proper skills to stitch a soul back together. Finally his last resource was tracking down Wei Wuxian. He figured that the founder of demonic cultivation would have an answer for his dilemma. Wei Wuxian had done something similar with Wen Ning so Xue Yang felt sure that a way was possible. Unfortunately there was just not enough of Xingchen's soul left to do what he desired.
But even if Xue Yang already knew that in his mind when he started on this quest, he was determined to continue on. Determined to find a way and determined to get the man back. In these ways, even if the reasons for doing so were more selfish and less about helping Xingchen return, they were still what drove him to keep going and do whatever he could to get what he wanted.
Some people would say that Xue Yang doesn't have any virtues, but even if his motives and what drives him are sinister, he does have some aspects of his personality that have virtue. Determination is one of those virtues. He has always been driven by a purpose, whether it is revenge or self satisfaction. Determination can be seen as a firmness of purpose, which Xue Yang certainly has. He knows what he wants and stops at nothing to achieve it. Sometimes his methods are more direct and other times they are done in a roundabout way to try and get more satisfaction out of the long term process.
For example, when he wanted his revenge against the Chang sect, he did so in different stages, a few years apart. He was determined to have his revenge for his pinkie finger which was crushed by the leader of the Chang sect when he was a child. It may have taken years but eventually he wiped the entire sect off the map. One day he decided to test a new piece of weaponry that he had managed to create and massacred everyone except a select few that were off on a night hunt. Then years later he used a particularly nasty torture technique against them while disguised as Xingchen until every last one of them was dead.
He never stopped focusing on that revenge, no matter how long it took to be completely satisfied. He is not a man who forgives and forgets. He lets all his past experiences motivate him. He let his determination continue to drive him through each process over the years, never losing focus on what his goal was...which was revenge for that little part of his hand that was lost.
Determination is defined by how many obstacles a person is willing to overcome to obtain what they desire. He overcame being hunted by the sects for the murders and eventually being imprisoned because of them. And despite that he was still determined to get his revenge against Xiao Xingchen as well. He obtained that over time instead of simply striking quickly. Xue Yang manipulated and used the man's naive nature, his blindness, and inability to realize who he was. Through underhanded methods he convinced Xingchen to kill innocent people. He knew that eventually when the truth was revealed this would be more satisfying for him because of the virtues that Xingchen held onto firmly being unraveling in such a way, versus simply tormenting the man quickly.
When he sets his mind on something, there is no one who can stop him from achieving his goals.
How aware are they of their virtue, and how do they act on it in canon? Xue Yang is probably not aware that determination is a virtue and probably doesn't think of himself as virtuous in any way. He knows that his morals are questionable and that not many agree with his tactics. He is also aware that he is a determined individual, driven by carrying out revenge and hurting those who hurt him in the past. He grew up and was shaped by the cruelty from others that he endured and that is where his determination stems from.
In a way, that determination shifted focus after Xingchen's death. Even despite his original intentions to destroy the man, over time he was worn down by Xingchen's kindness. When everything started to unravel around him and the truth of what he did became known, Xingchen committed suicide, leaving a devastated Xue Yang behind. This gave him a new goal because in a way he had achieved his revenge that he had been seeking, but it left him with the wrong kind of feelings. Now his goal was to make Xingchen stay by his side forever and not let him escape as the man intended.
When he realized that the man's soul had scattered, Xue Yang did everything he could to try and find a way to draw it back together. At first he found a soul collecting bag and tried to catch the pieces that still remained. Once he had them he needed a way to put them back together so he set out with a new determination in place: to bring Xingchen back. Even as a fierce corpse at least the man would once again be walking at his side.
He searched all over for an answer, experimented however he could with nothing providing him with the proper skills to stitch a soul back together. Finally his last resource was tracking down Wei Wuxian. He figured that the founder of demonic cultivation would have an answer for his dilemma. Wei Wuxian had done something similar with Wen Ning so Xue Yang felt sure that a way was possible. Unfortunately there was just not enough of Xingchen's soul left to do what he desired.
But even if Xue Yang already knew that in his mind when he started on this quest, he was determined to continue on. Determined to find a way and determined to get the man back. In these ways, even if the reasons for doing so were more selfish and less about helping Xingchen return, they were still what drove him to keep going and do whatever he could to get what he wanted.
