[ MDZS ANIMATIC ] Sorrow | Lan Xichen 

it's so heartbreaking for a character that saw the good in someone to be betrayed so badly. He had to deal with punishing his brother and the resulting injuries, then his sworn brother losing his mind before going missing, and the one other brother he trusted in turned out to be the one who killed his other sworn brother.

the novel never gave lxc closure and its one of the reasons i find his character so tragic. he gets no canonical resolution! i like how you imagined him overcoming his shadows and finding peace, your art is gorgeous :D

LXC is such a tragic character. He loves so honestly, but it burns him at every step. He loved his mother, and was forced away from her. He loved his father, but he wasn’t there when he died. He loves his brother, but he had to punish him for loving someone. He loved NMJ, and lost him. He loved JGY, but has to live with the guilt of killing him (and there’s still guilt, even after knowing he betrayed him, even after knowing everything he did). He loved NHS, but now he can never truly trust him again, because there’s a chance he needlessly killed JGY because of him. And now, he is so distrustful of his own mind, that he relegates himself to seclusion instead of taking on his role as clan leader (because how can he be clan leader when all his decisions were the wrong ones?) I just want to explore his character some more. He’s great.

Lan Xichen is the kind of person who would rip out his own beating heart if it meant saving the life of an innocent and this is the way his story ended :( Wangxian definitely deserve the happiness they got but I wish it didn’t come about from the pain of so many other characters, y’know? I absolutely love Nie Huaisang but him using Lan Xichen like that hurt me on so many levels, especially since Lan Xichen definitely loved Nie Mingjue just as much as Huaisang. Anyway, enough of me rambling, this is beautiful. Amazing job my friend ✨

this is SO well-conceptualized and drawn! Xichen's emotions are so clearly expressed and they all hurt me.

oh I love this, the shot with him running with the books especially, there’s just something about it - lxc was so young, and suddenly having to deal with so much responsibility, and not knowing what had happened to anyone else in his family or in his sect, but still doing his best to protect the sect by protecting its knowledge, idk it just hits me really hard, and you did such a good job of capturing the tragedy of being lan xichen

As someone who's dealt with the death of family members and friends, I know all too well how grief can destroy a person. Xichen never really got much closure at the end of the story. Sometimes I wonder if his relationship with Mingjue and Guangyao went beyond that of being just sworn brothers. If MXTX ever does write a companion novel about Xichen, I hope one day that wounded heart of his can heal and he can find someone he can spend the rest of his life with that will make him happy.

I nearly expected a nmj/jgy nod at the end, sort of finally letting him go, but I am so much happier with the way you put it! they're both gone, this is lxc's grief to overcome. I really liked how you portrayed his guilt overcoming him over and over and it hit nearly too close to home, fandom abgst aside :'D Thank you so much for giving our boy (?man?) all this love and understanding!!!

I'm not crying you are crying! Ok maybe we are both crying... But if this for xichen-gege then it's worth it. ☁️

Thanks, I hate it. Honestly though, I love the small note of hope at the ending. He was a character that really captured my heart and imagination so ... I just ... Want him to find a place where he can move forward.

This was beautiful, thank you so much for making it! The part where he can't pick up his sword hurt me so good -- and the end where he smiles with "with a broken heart transformation begins" was perfect

I'm sobbing so hard rn. He deserves so much. He's the kindest, most patient and giving person in MDZS. And he suffered so much heartache.

there was something so powerful about the shot of lxc standing just inside the room, and then stepping outside with a smile on his face to break seclusion. took my breath away. as soon as i saw that this was a sleeping at last song, i knew it would make me cry ToT

Mannn this hurts!!! I hope Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao are having a great time fighting each other for eternity inside the coffin

What a beautiful and thoughtful video! Xichen was always kind and there for everyone but in the end, nobody was there for him at his time of need! I've always thought that WangXian leaving Xichen right after all the drama at the end to deal with the aftermath was kind of rude from them (Although I get it, they were done with all of it as well).

i’m just gonna say it now, you’re one of my favorite artists of all time. and your xichen art has made me love him more 🥺 hes now one of my favorite characters, and this animatic made me tear up :( there’s so much heartbreak that xichen goes through that isn’t mentioned in in the novel or cql, so i implore you for making the content hehe, AND this is one of my favorite sleeping at last songs so what a real tear jerker. you’ve also inspired me to draw and animate more bc your compositions r really cool, and amazing! 💕💕💕

I was expecting sadness, and received sadness :””D Anywho, this is so beautiful. The pacing and the expressions of Xichen made it phenomenal and gave me sad chills(if that makes sense)😭😭🤍🤍

I shouldn't be sobbing over fictional character at 2am but here I am lol when color comes back to xichen I sobbed so hard T_T i hope he is happy~ thank you for making this! Always love your amazing arts!

Absolutely gorgeous!! I always found Lan Xi Chen and Jiang Cheng the most tragic characters especially cause everyone seems to rely on them but never checks on them. I am glad many fans love them so. Excellent work the emotions so beautifully captured.

oh god this broke my heart in the most delightful way. oh xichen… Oh Xichen 😭

He is so strong and you captured his strength so beautifully. Your talent shines through this amazing animatic.

And you made me cry again- this is beautiful

Welp- There goes my heart (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

I just finished reading MDZS and I can't even express in words how much I cried for Lan Xichen. He's one of my favourite characters and I didn't expect such a sad story for him. Watching your animatic made me remember all the pain I felt while reading the novel, but the last scenes you drew, where you gave him a little bit of hope made me smile through the tears. I love it, thank you for making this.

hello as i write this comment my face is wet with tears... this was done so beautifully! i love every part of it, the scenes match really well with the lyrics and the pacing is amazing!! this made me cry and smile and i am so glad that there is some happiness for xichen even if it's hard to find. this is such a sweet tribute to him!!! i know you worked really hard on this and i'm really blown away ;; HAPPY BIRTHDAY XICHEN!!! and thank you to my fav lxc stan of all time who makes me love him even more bc of how much you do!!!

I never knew I needed this sight from lan xichen point of view. he was always so composed and righteous and correct...but he went through a lot too...but because the novel or the series never got into detail, there wasn't much light on him either....i shed a few tears watching this and it's so well done...thank you for sharing this piece with us because I really loved it! He got pain to bear as well and once in a while he can show it too.

Wow, this is so powerful and moving. And it really hit a chord with me personally about dealing with sorrow and depression. Excellent job, thank you so much for making and sharing.

The fact he went into seclusion like his father after his mother died... it’s just heartbreaking... The fact that he was utterly betrayed by those closest to him... Damn yo... 🥺... stupid onion cutting ninjas!

him crying with a smile at the end hit me really hard

this was beautiful and heartbreaking. I loved the parts where lxc looked around and saw the happy lives being lived around him that he helped create. he is so wonderful and I wish he got some closure.

I just want to give him a big hug. You did an awesome job.

My heart! LXC deserves closure and he never got it.

Its videos like this that remind me MDZS isn't just a love story. It's really a tragedy. All these awful things happen to the characters you love and they almost never process it. They are just forced to move on. LXC lost his found family. Jin Ling's parents are still dead and now his closest uncle is too. Jiang Cheng is left to grapple with the fact that he failed his brother so deeply so many times and still has to live with the memories of his clan's annihilation. A-Yuan and Wen Ning are forced to bear the burden of laying to rest their entire family. Nie Huaisang, though capable, has to face reality in that killing his brothers murderer doesn't bring him back and now his brothers soul will fight for 100 years, still full of rage. Even WWX and LWJ will be haunted by the events of the Sunshot Campaign and Burial Mound sieges. Pretty much no one gets a happy ending because of the choices they have to live with now.

Your love for Lan Xichen has washed over me. He deserves more happiness for all the things he had done T_T thank you for making this and sharing it

I know that this suffering is perhaps supposed to give his character more depth and likeability. But dang, the tears keep coming.

I haven't cried this much for my own hurt but this is Xichen we're talking about here...He deserves the world and everything more

He simply was a selfless man , he gave up everything to raise his brother , be a sect leader , then what happened in the temple , the war . Oh gods he was so selfless and this how he repaid. No proper ending for him , yes he made mistakes but didn't in the novel and in the series. He deserves better so much better.

I love it that two brother comfort one each other with their sober of lost.

I don't know how many times I rewatched this video~ but the way you paint him and we can learn about Xichen~ Some things escape from our hands and we need to forgive us, first~ I learn so much about this character specially with this song~ Happy Birthday Lan Xichen~ May you find happiness wherever you are~

i'll never stop being in awe at how well some of Sleeping at last's songs fit for so many of the characters in Mdzs, it really brings me an unbelievable amount of satisfaction.

Videos like this really help me remeber that MDZS is a tragedy first and a love story second

i can always count on this video if i’m in need of a good cry.

only hot ppl break down in tears about Lan Xichen at least weekly (

This punched my gut and made me sob and i love you and its even better because it makes me 1000000x’s happier knowing that he comes back and Lan Zhan still waits for him after everything, slowly opening up to one another. The whole of it is beautiful, and so are the details. I’m fine with getting my heart ripped out, especially because I know that it will be sown back in

god this is such a good song for lxc and whats even more heart breaking is narratively he’s AT LEAST the third person it would fit, the first two being jc and lwj. and only one of those guys we get closure on! at least in this animatic lxc learns to forgive himself and carry on outside of seclusion without his grief burdening him. (anyway this is my formal petition for someone other animatic maker to pick up the solemn duty to use this song to give jc some closure and also his brother back)

I needed 4 days to prepare to watch this. I knew sadness was coming and now my soul is weeping. It's beautiful though. Thank you for the hard work!

I can literally feel your love through each frame. Amazing job! I'm all emotional again but I don't regret it one bit, because unlike the book, the Xichen here seems to start healing a bit

AAA new content!! I think you depicted LXC struggles very well 10/10 would cry again

This just came in my recommended and holy shit I am so glad that I clicked. Not even 20 seconds in, I'm already crying. This is beautiful and captured the emotion of the song and Xichen-ge incredibly well + I honestly think you perfectly showed what could've happened to Xichen-ge after the novel (because damn it, I refuse to believe that he and the other side characters didn't get any closure). You earned yourself a new subscriber friend, and keep up the good work!

I expected nothing less from you honestly. This was so well thought out and quite literally brought tears to my eyes. You are by far my favorite artist and truly captured everything in this video. I'm typing this while crying but wow this amazed me and I am in complete awe.

MTXT knows how to make us/her characters suffer... Beautiful video!!!

I really wish we got to know more about the conclusion of LXC at the end of the novel. I really hope he found peace, love, and happiness. Your art is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing

This is just.... So beautiful and sad at the same time. ❤️😭❤️

wow im crying so hard rn

every time i watch this i fall in love with Lan Xichen all over again and feel so incredibly inspired. it's such an amazing love letter to him and his unfinished business

This was radiantly done.

Lan Xichen is one of my favorite characters and it hurts so much that at the end of the novel while everyone else got closure he was left with emptiness and guilt. Guilt for killing Jin Guangyao and not realizing earlier the monster Jin Guangyao truly was. Emptiness because despite everything jgy did lan xichen trusted him so much, and when he died essentially all of his close friends were gone. Leaving him in a state of depression and lonliness. I really hope eventually Lan Xichen got peace and I love how you illustrate that journey to healing in your animatic.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are amazing people, but Xichen-gege deserves so much more than what he got in the novel. I refuse to take disagreements.

Man i have no words for this. 😭😭😭 I really wish we got to see what happens afterwards with him because I just want him to be happyyyyy

This is trully so beautifull! I really like Lan Xichen, and his story is one of the saddest of all MDZS. He had to endure his own pain with the destruction of his Clan, then watch the pain of his brother, and finally he had to go through such a huge betrayal, withouth knowing if he did the right choice or not in the end. He deserved better. I like to think he came to find peace too, and you showed this in a beautiful way.

bro he deserves so much better, he didn't get a happy ending

To be honest, to assimilate the characters like Lan Xichen to real life , we should not neglect their sorrow and the amount of trauma they got left with, after the drama . So this animatic really deepens the story and dives in to the emotions of side characters. They were not hero , they were humans.

This is absolutely stunning! It's BEAUTIFULLY done, so emotional and really puts our boy's struggle in the spotlight and highlights just how much he's been through despite how outwardly patient, kind, and solid he is. You showed what a great pain he carries in his heart, the "shadow" that becomes his personal monster. This whole animatic is absolutely breathtaking and I'm so so glad you made it!

This video broke me in so many ways, Xichen deserved so much better. I love the song, and the animation and artstyle are so good, you're insanely good and talented. The fact that it's cold and raining outside while watching this and that I had a crying session the night before only made it even more emotional. ... that's it, I'll start writing a happy ending fro Xichen right now. *opens a new Word file*

so much pain and tears in five minutes

OKAY FIRST OF ALL OUCH, second of all, I'm so glad I found this :')

I really hate how I understand him... it's so painful aaaaa I really hope he doesn't end up like me and can find his happiness in the end. He's been through too much, he deserves it.

you are one of my most favourite mdzs artists and this animatic really made me tear up so much that i needed to duck behind my computer to wipe away my tears before my brother catches me crying 😭💀💔 absolutely beautiful 🙌🏻

If I ever need to cry, I just come back and watch this again. Snotty tears guaranteed. Brilliantly done.

NOO please he deserves all the happiness and this is so well drawn omgg

WOW I AM SO SAD but thank you SO MUCH for that ending, i felt like the way it wrapped up was true to the emotion but also the continuation of life and I 100% see that future for Xichen. I don't think he ends up like his father, stuck perpetually in the past

I cry every time I watch this, and this song has now become one of my favourites, this is so powerful and the song was a perfect choice

ARTEDGF AAA THIS IS INCREDIBLE... i LOVE 2:04 and whenever the black shadows show up especially (you do them so well aa) but all of it is incredible!

Omg, this make me feel so empty emotionally :( So beautiful yet brokenhearted 💙💔 Thanks for this beautiful animatic! Pls stay safe and healthy TOT🌹💙 PS: happy birthday XiChen-ge! TOT💙🎂

Aaaaaaaah i reall love this T_T Your style, your art and the work you put into this made this amazing. Your interpretation and your portrayal shows so many facets. Jin Guangyao wasn't just a monster and a villain, he was a dear friend to Lan Xichen (and a dear uncle to Jin Ling but this aint about him). Let's not forget that Jin Guangyao did help in the war and dealt the final blow to Wen Ruohan. ASide from that he was the one who protected Lan Xichen when they were both on the run after the Wens attacked Gusu and Xichen ran off with a massive part of their library's collection. Poor Xichen

i feel so bad for xichen, his sorrow is in the dark and theres nobody helping him get through it. his best friend and sworn brother did so much behind his back and then died by him because huisang lied ;_;

My gosh, this was so beautiful. XiChen is one of my absolute favorites and he broke my heart. I always just wanted to hug him so hard

that’s why your my favorite artist😭, thank you so much💙

So beautiful, it's amazing how you portrayed the darkness that followed but he could finally made peace with, I loved the ending~

Wonderful job

Aawww this made me cry too.I hope hs finds happiness soon

I genuinely and sincerely think that this is the best animatic that I have ever seen.

It surprises me every time that when I feel really sad I watch this to make me feel bettee

This hit me like a truck...and I love it. Really really beautifull. Thank you for this masterpiece.

This hurts me physically and I love it

this is one of the most beautiful animatics i have ever seen and it makes me cry SO HARD

I never thought about how affected he was.... I just realized that he lost the 2 people who he considered his brothers that he shared burdens with thank you for this beautiful piece of work

WAAAAAAH SO HEARTFELT I CRIED

There are very few animatics that can emotionally affect me but like damn this one hurt. Wonderful job by the way.

I keep rewatching this, and I think I figured one of the reasons for it. Most people look at Lan Xichen's seclusion as a self-imposed punishment that isn't supposed to help him get better and whose sole purpose is to trap Lan Xichen in eternal agony and self-incrimination, but it's very different here. The seclusion he takes here is something necessary to battle with his inner demons. It's giving himself time and space to grieve so he can eventually feel the depth of his pain and cry his heart out before coming back. The seclusion isn't a punishment; it's the healing process it was *supposed* to be. I don't often see that in this fandom, and it's super refreshing to see it here. Even if this *does* hurt me in so many ways. XD

So much pain....poor XiChen

omg im tears right now- this is so beautiful, so powerful, your art is amazing and omg this animatic touch me so hard ahh, thanks-

I'm gonna go cry now

No matter how many times I've watched this or what part I go to, I just cry because it all works so well together!! THis is amazing!! I love it!!

Omg you ended me. I'm gonna go cry now because this was beautiful and thank you for bringing Lan Xichen x Nie Huaisang to life. Your art is amazing I hope you continue to use your gift

this made me realize just how much nie huaisang hurt Lan Xichen. And it makes me mad. Lan xichen deserves every bit of rest he can get

thanks to you i am a xichen stan and honestly sleeping at last is pretty fitting for his character ;; thank u for this :)

i thought about this when the song came on while i was driving and cried. your video is so good and i think about it often

Definitely one of my favorite animatics, and it led to me to one of my favorite music artists! Thank you for sharing your work!

I definitely need an extra from Lan XiChen’s point of view, it would be so interesting to read