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BASIS OF CHARACTERIZATION
Jul. 30th, 2021 12:39 amMo Xuanyu is an absent character in Mo Dao Zu Shi. He dies with the beginning of the story and none of the numerous flashbacks actually show him. As such, I can only base his characterization around second hand accounts. I wanted to lay down both a summary of the canon information as well as my own thoughts here.
Canon Biography
-Mo Xuanyu is born to a small local land lord family. He is the son of the lord's second, illegitimate daughter. His father is the prominent sect leader Jin Guangshan.
-Until Mo Xuanyu is four years old, his father visits regularly, and the family's standing is good. The ties with Jin Guangshan via his birth are seen as a good thing.
-Once his father stops visiting, the family's standing and his mother's standing within the family plummet but his mother keeps holding out hope that his father will want him.
-When he is 14, he is indeed summoned to his father's sect to study as an outer disciple. This is less because his father cares and more because his father wants to show his half brother Jin Guangyao that he is replaceable.
-It is said that Mo Xuanyu practically worshipped Jin Guangyao and would never have gone against him. Maybe this contributed to the two of them getting close enough that Mo Xuanyu is even allowed in Jin Guangyao's secret chamber.
-Mo Xuanyu is described as a somewhat lazy student who is not very talented.
-Sometime during his studies at Koi Tower, he also meets Nie Huaisang. The two of them appear to have some kind of good rapport because at an unspecified point in time, Mo Xuanyu tells Huaisang of the hidden manuscripts in Jin Guangyao's secret room.
-Mo Xuanyu falls in love with Jin Guangyao and pursues this, in a manner that gets found out in public. General disgust with his gay and incestuous leanings causes him to be kicked out from the sect and sent back home.
-Everyone at Koi tower and in his hometown knows about this, but to the greater public the incident is kept largely under wraps.
-When returning home, Mo Xuanyu turns 'insane'. The exact cause or nature of this insanity are not described other than it seems to have been due to extreme fear. Fear of his family? Fear of Jin Guangyao? It isn't specified.
-Unable to handle this turn of events, his mother soon passes away.
-Mo Xuanyu is locked into a shed in a courtyard and habitually abused by his family and the servants. He is being fed through a small hole in the door, his cousin steals and destroys his things, his room is filthy... This goes on for several years. Mo Xuanyu is timid and tries to just endure the abuse. Shamed like this, he does not try to escape his confinement, afraid of encountering other people.
-It appears that Mo Xuanyu's one respite was writing out his frustrations in some kind of diary. Interestingly, this diary recounts his whole life story but never once mentions Jin Guangyao properly. If it did, Mo Xuanyu destroyed those pages.
-The writings in his diary also display that he had 'insane' days and more lucid days, but again the nature of his mental break is not specified.
-Sometime during this time Nie Huaisang reaches out to him and encourages him to sacrifice his body to summon the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian, to take revenge for him.
-Mo Xuanyu makes a last attempt at rectifying things with his family and complains to his aunt that his things keep getting stolen. His complaint is not heard. With this last measure failed, Mo Xuanyu completes the ritual and sacrifices his body.
Two Possibilities
There are two major ways to spin the nature of his sacrifice and his relations to Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao. I am very willing to explore either and would leave the choice up to individual players of those two characters.
A. The Ironic Tool | Used by Huaisang, Still Loves Jin Guangyao
The reason Mo Xuanyu never mentions Jin Guangyao in his diary is because he does not blame him for casting him aside and still loves him. He knows that mentioning anything bad about him might damage his already fragile standing. So even when he vents he only describes what happened in the form of recounting the accusations against himself rather than being honest about his emotions.
In this scenario, Nie Huaisang approaches him to listen to his woes and encourages him to sacrifice his body while fully knowing that he will completely betray Mo Xuanyu's trust and use his sacrifice to destroy the man he loves. A deeply ironic death.
B. Two-in-One Revenge | Resents Jin Guangyao, Allies with Huaisang
After being cast aside and sent back to his abusive family, Mo Xuanyu's love for Jin Guangyao reverts into the opposite. He is resentful for having been used and then left in the dust as he became inconvenient.
When Nie Huaisang comes to speak to him of his grievances, he notes that they now hate the same person. While Huaisang is likely not honest with Mo Xuanyu regarding the exact nature of his grudge and plans, he still promises that bringing back Wei Wuxian into his body will not only eradicate the Mo family but also bring about an end to Jin Guangyao.
Mo Xuanyu thus sacrifices his body willingly and fully cognizant of the plan, both to achieve personal revenge and to help the only man who was still there for him after his life fell apart.
Canon Biography
-Mo Xuanyu is born to a small local land lord family. He is the son of the lord's second, illegitimate daughter. His father is the prominent sect leader Jin Guangshan.
-Until Mo Xuanyu is four years old, his father visits regularly, and the family's standing is good. The ties with Jin Guangshan via his birth are seen as a good thing.
-Once his father stops visiting, the family's standing and his mother's standing within the family plummet but his mother keeps holding out hope that his father will want him.
-When he is 14, he is indeed summoned to his father's sect to study as an outer disciple. This is less because his father cares and more because his father wants to show his half brother Jin Guangyao that he is replaceable.
-It is said that Mo Xuanyu practically worshipped Jin Guangyao and would never have gone against him. Maybe this contributed to the two of them getting close enough that Mo Xuanyu is even allowed in Jin Guangyao's secret chamber.
-Mo Xuanyu is described as a somewhat lazy student who is not very talented.
-Sometime during his studies at Koi Tower, he also meets Nie Huaisang. The two of them appear to have some kind of good rapport because at an unspecified point in time, Mo Xuanyu tells Huaisang of the hidden manuscripts in Jin Guangyao's secret room.
-Mo Xuanyu falls in love with Jin Guangyao and pursues this, in a manner that gets found out in public. General disgust with his gay and incestuous leanings causes him to be kicked out from the sect and sent back home.
-Everyone at Koi tower and in his hometown knows about this, but to the greater public the incident is kept largely under wraps.
-When returning home, Mo Xuanyu turns 'insane'. The exact cause or nature of this insanity are not described other than it seems to have been due to extreme fear. Fear of his family? Fear of Jin Guangyao? It isn't specified.
-Unable to handle this turn of events, his mother soon passes away.
-Mo Xuanyu is locked into a shed in a courtyard and habitually abused by his family and the servants. He is being fed through a small hole in the door, his cousin steals and destroys his things, his room is filthy... This goes on for several years. Mo Xuanyu is timid and tries to just endure the abuse. Shamed like this, he does not try to escape his confinement, afraid of encountering other people.
-It appears that Mo Xuanyu's one respite was writing out his frustrations in some kind of diary. Interestingly, this diary recounts his whole life story but never once mentions Jin Guangyao properly. If it did, Mo Xuanyu destroyed those pages.
-The writings in his diary also display that he had 'insane' days and more lucid days, but again the nature of his mental break is not specified.
-Sometime during this time Nie Huaisang reaches out to him and encourages him to sacrifice his body to summon the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian, to take revenge for him.
-Mo Xuanyu makes a last attempt at rectifying things with his family and complains to his aunt that his things keep getting stolen. His complaint is not heard. With this last measure failed, Mo Xuanyu completes the ritual and sacrifices his body.
Two Possibilities
There are two major ways to spin the nature of his sacrifice and his relations to Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao. I am very willing to explore either and would leave the choice up to individual players of those two characters.
A. The Ironic Tool | Used by Huaisang, Still Loves Jin Guangyao
The reason Mo Xuanyu never mentions Jin Guangyao in his diary is because he does not blame him for casting him aside and still loves him. He knows that mentioning anything bad about him might damage his already fragile standing. So even when he vents he only describes what happened in the form of recounting the accusations against himself rather than being honest about his emotions.
In this scenario, Nie Huaisang approaches him to listen to his woes and encourages him to sacrifice his body while fully knowing that he will completely betray Mo Xuanyu's trust and use his sacrifice to destroy the man he loves. A deeply ironic death.
B. Two-in-One Revenge | Resents Jin Guangyao, Allies with Huaisang
After being cast aside and sent back to his abusive family, Mo Xuanyu's love for Jin Guangyao reverts into the opposite. He is resentful for having been used and then left in the dust as he became inconvenient.
When Nie Huaisang comes to speak to him of his grievances, he notes that they now hate the same person. While Huaisang is likely not honest with Mo Xuanyu regarding the exact nature of his grudge and plans, he still promises that bringing back Wei Wuxian into his body will not only eradicate the Mo family but also bring about an end to Jin Guangyao.
Mo Xuanyu thus sacrifices his body willingly and fully cognizant of the plan, both to achieve personal revenge and to help the only man who was still there for him after his life fell apart.