On LXC and the haters out there...

I'm not saying I adore the guy or anything, but I definitely don't HATE him. He's a little naive and would rather put his head in the sand and ignore anything that's too painful for him to acknowledge - which is a little annoying... But overall, he's a nice guy. His heart's in the right place.

He's a good brother to LWJ and you can see he adores him. They have one of the most healthy sibling relationships in the novel. His only problem is that he possibly might not fully listen to LWJ at times - perhaps a little "brother knows best" at play? That being said, he was willing to listen to LWJ and WWXs reasonings behind their actions at Golden Carp Tower and was willing to explore the evidence provided - despite it going against his own perception of his sworn brother.

The infamous rant of his? Well he had the right to be angry if he thought WWX had been simply toying with his baby brother's feelings - after all, he witnessed how heartbroken he was after his death and saw the extent of his pain and fleeting self harm that manifested in his drunken state. What older sibling wouldn't want to prevent such heartache again? Not to mention that line "you're his biggest mistake" or whatever it is was a mistranslation and taken out of context. He only meant that it was the one and only time LWJ went against his own clan - which is taboo and punishable by death. He wasn't calling WWX or LWJ's feelings for him a mistake. Not in the slightest.

Overall, how could anyone truly hate LXC when he makes WWX feel like this:

-7S, Book 5, Family Banquet Extra

His presence makes WWX feel warm and at ease. How could anyone hate him when he invokes such comfort and warmth for WWX?

Who can blame him for being somewhat unwilling to hear that JGY may not be who he always thought he was? It's hard to accept you have been fooled by someone you care about. Especially to the point JGY had deceived, betrayed and even used LXC. It is a painful thing to come to terms with.

Imagine finding out the person you trusted was a monster who manipulated or even outright murdered his own son, wife/sister and sworn brother - not to mention the countless other innocent lives he so nonchalantly took. Imagine finding out you had inadvertently helped him by giving him the means and opportunity to do so many cruel and unspeakable acts. It would be a great shock to anyone.

I myself have actually been through something similar - in the sense I loved someone who was, in the end, just wearing a mask. Who wasn't what they said and lied/manipulated me for years before I found out they were a monster. It is a truly painful experience I would not wish on anyone. It stings. It makes you feel so incredibly stupid for not seeing what they truly were - even though they had the entire world fooled along with you.

You feel used, disgusted with yourself and completely broken - which I think MXTX portrayed LXCs reaction incredibly well. This is exactly how he appears toward the end of the novel. He is going through the stages of grief - including denial.

We see him going through it all. Denial (somewhat unwilling to accept JGY could do such things), anger (slightly aimed at WWX in frustration and then at JGY also), bargaining (asking JGY to explain himself, hoping for some justification for his actions), depression (where we currently see LXC in the extras) and finally acceptance (his future, where MXTX said he would one day be married and have children).

LXC was grieving - because it genuinely feels like you've lost someone.

That the person you cared about is dead, they have literally disappeared, gone without a single trace or even a goodbye. And it hurts like hell because at the end of it all, they never truly existed in the first place. Just a monster hiding behind a mask. So please, cut LXC some slack. It's hard to process something so earth shatteringly awful and he certainly doesn't deserve any hate for being unable to cope with such intense emotions. He's only human after all.