#` — i said jiang cheng rights! ╱ OOC.

[sapphic-agent]

I read your analysis and anti bakugou posts and I want to say thank you!

Going to be kinda long so I’m sorry!

There is another fandom where there is character exactly like bakugou; angry, violent, egotistical and target his hate and aggression to one person only.

the character name is Jiāng cheng from the MDZS novel. But the narrative in the story doesn’t treat all the shit that jerk did as right, it the opposite. He seen as vile that nobody want to associate with (getting banned from all the match making places in the story even)

He never takes the spotlight of the two main nor he is redeemed characters instead seen as pathetic and arrogant jerk he is. The MC, Wei wuxian who was his adoptive brother (not really more like a servant that got treated like a dog) cut ties with him in the end.

He a well written and rounded character but the character personality is shit and I don’t really like him. And the narrative isn’t treating him any differently than being a piece of shit

Why I’m telling you this? Because I feel like if MHA have been written by someone who isn’t Hori bakugou would not have gotten away with the shit he did in the story.

beside the point of the way the narrative treat Jiang cheng, it’s the fandom. When I got into the MDZS fandom I was so disappointed to see bakugou stans 2.0 there but instead of bakugou it’s Jiang cheng.

Both bakugou and Jiang cheng get the same treatment in the fandom as “UWU needs to protect the angry violent person” and “it’s the MC fault our cute UWU baby didn’t do anything wrong” and lots of stuff that I bet you seen in the bnha fandom

It’s sad that even if the story shows that what Jiang cheng wasn’t right (unlike bakugou case where the story doesn’t make him have any consequences) people would outright be mean to other people just because they follow the canon prototype of the character in their fics (I seen it and it’s horrible)

And, in fics it’s seems that every time that Jiang cheng appears in the scene he makes everyone OOC (if the fic is sticking to canon personality). Makes them act like they won’t ever act; it’s the same thing with bakugou (in canon and fanon respectively sadly)

I love to call it the “black hole effect” when a certain character just make the scenes about them no matter the context, like a black hole.

Im sorry this is all over the place, im not really good with words and i used to be pretty active in both fandoms but now its really hard because bakugou and Jiang cheng stans are overall tiring to deal with and they seems to grow up in numbers everyday and yeah… 👍

Have a nice day and week!

Hi! I've never read it but it sounds interesting.

I always try to tell Bakugou stans, it's not the fact that Bakugou's an awful person. I don't care about that. Fictional characters aren't real and can be liked for whatever even if they're vile pieces of shit. It's okay to like a vile piece of shit.

What's not okay is creating that vile piece of shit and then brushing over and never calling out their horrible actions. What's not okay is everyone around them condoning their behavior. What's not okay is pandering to them over their victims. What's not okay is never making them face consequences for their actions. What's not okay is constantly putting them on a pedestal for doing the bare minimum.

Look at Vegeta (RIP Toriyama). Vegeta is always getting humbled and called out. He is never going to surpass Goku because never getting what he wants is part of his retribution. Considering his actions, he should be worse than Bakugou. But he's a way better character because of how the narrative and the other characters treat him.

(You can even compare specific instances. When Bakugou rushed ahead and attacked Kurogiri and got Thirteen seriously hurt, no one said a thing to him and he still won all his fights. He faced zero repercussions. When Vegeta let Cell absorb 18, he immediately got his ass kicked and had to get saved by Trunks and Krillin. Vegeta's actions always affect him terribly, Bakugou's actions always affect everyone else terribly while he gets off scott-free)

DBZ came out decades ago and it still created a better character arc than a 2010s-2020s manga. Horikoshi could have easily given Bakugou a proper redemption arc. He chose not to

[yunamedkostobot]

The reason i do not trust a lot of so-called «complexity lovers»

Akito Sohma stans: I love Akito because of her complexity! She is so sympathetic character!

Also Akito stans: but it would have been way better, if Takaya cut out her beating Kisa and Momiji, pushing Rin out of the window and droving Kana to clinical depression

Jiang Cheng stans: I adore Chengcheng, he is so complex!

Also Jiang Cheng stans: Of course, he was justified to demand of his adoptive brother to give the innocent boy, elders and the persons to whom, you know, is obliged to help! Of course, he did not tarnished Wei Wuxian's reputation more by saying that he declared himself the enemy of the world! Of course, he was right to disrespect his sister's sacrifice the worst way possible! And he was right in killing innocent people during the timeskip and letting the literal maniac go!

Reva Sevander stans: Reva, my baby! 😍😍 You would be a true Jedi of Old Order!🤧🤧 And you did not forgive Anakin(who literally nearly ceased to exist as person, as RoTS novel clearly indicates)! Such a complexity!

Also Reva stans: *ignoring her joining group of fascist enforcers, for which is pretty normal to kill teenagers, who are suspected to be Jedi(as Ezra and Cal situations show), and abduct children from their parents(may be killing said parents), hunting down underground railroad-like organisations, kidnapping 10 years old Leia and attempting to kill Luke*

Severus Snape stans: Of course, he was wonderful man, and so complex! He would definitely be a good father figure to Harry!

Also Snape stans: Of course, he was not an awful teacher to his students and never bullied Neville out of pure spite and said awful things about Hermione when her teeth end up growing fast and causing her a lot of pain! And also, he was forced to join Neo-nazi group at school, pull a hurtful pranks over Muggleborn and call the love of his life a racial slur!

Edelgard von Hresvelg stans: Such a complex character! A true embodiment of Progress! Go, Empress! Edeleth canon!

Also Edelstans: So, we are gonna project Dimitri's good traits on her, make Claude a villain(with the huge OOC) to make her look good, tell ten thousands of lies about Rhea and Nabateans(including genocide apologia) and of course, ingore all of her war crimes and imperialism(with her erasing the culture of far more progressive Leicester and Faerghus)!

Me: So... Are you truly here for complexity?

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Jiang Cheng

There is an entire Canon Jiang Cheng tag dedicated to him due to people fighting about if depicting him in certain ways is ooc. All discourse enivitably revolves around him like a carosel.

He is one of the sntagonists, but the author herself said he's a guy with a "knife mouth, tofu heart." He's done shit to learn from, but he is NOT EVIL YALL.

People will be like "he HATES Wei Wuxian and therefore he is Evil" like ?????? All of his 134809 issues come from loving his big brother Wei Wuxian too much. Also hating someone doesn't make you evil, torturing people does <3 which he and Wei Wuxian did together as a siblings bonding activity <3 The atrocities and the being a huge bitch are very real but people are out there going "he doesn't care about his family" that's the single thing he goes insane about forever is caring about his family. Imagine taking the moral high ground over things that are comparably insignificant AND straight up wrong, heartbreaking Jiang Cheng yells at the top of his lungs about everything he is insane but he is also at the same time the most normal of men. This is a man who is stuck in traffic. This is a man who takes his nephew to the playground. Do you get it.

Getaway

Prefacing this with a major spoiler warning and also yes, he did all that, but consider this from his point of view: The guy who started a few million years of civil war for your home planet, forever cementing this as your species' reputation, even for people who didn't come from said home planet, got off with a slap on the wrist from the war crimes trial and his punishment is to be a co-captain on the spaceship you joined to experience post-war fun adventures. Everything is now SOILED for you because you were only born in the first place to fight in that war against him but despite the millions of dead, Megatron is allowed to live??? Well, we can't have that, now can we? Let's send Megatron and his close supporters (literally the rest of the co-captains and some other guys) to a moon and call an execution squad with a vendetta out for Megatron's blood to go pay them a visit. Anyone who objects also gets sent to the moon, gets their memory wiped and altered to fit your narrative, or becomes payment for a cannibal. Look, I don't like Getaway but that's because he's so well written. Yes, he absolutely hurted all my favorites and killed Atomizer with his barehands for doubting the plan but also can you really blame him? He had a point in trying to carry out his own justice because the government couldn't be bothered to but his way of going about it was insanely ruthless and cruel. He's the first villain I've ever hated for being a guy who had the right thoughts and I couldn't argue against him. What's worse is that Getaway is literally some guy, unlike the all-powerful protagonist squad who got ejected from their own ship. Getaway worked for this and I gotta give him that credit.

He's a horrible person, I admit that, but people act like was 100% in the wrong, full stop. I'd say if he went about his anti-megatron plans in a different way, people wouldn't hate him as much.

[admirableadmiranda]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "ladypfenix "?

I don't mind at all! Thank you for waiting quite a long while though, life has been.... hectic recently, to say the least.

I'll answer the story question here, then list the fics below since there's a lot.

It's a pretty simple story, when my sister and I were 14 and 16, we had a dream of starting a youtube channel as siblings, and we were going to use noble titles. I picked LadyPfenix for mine and opened my tumblr account with that in mind, but the idea never materialized beyond usernames and it has long since outlasted that dream. At this point I've had it too long to bother changing it, even though I'm using Admiranda most other places I go. Some things just stick.

I don't know that I have a top ten fave fics ever, it's hard for me to quantify on that level, but I'll definitely lay out the ones I keep going back to years on down the line even long after I've left the fandom. There's definitely something special about them that I will always enjoy.

The Professor's Wife by foolish_mortal (archive locked)

The students all said that Professor Doumeki had a wife who made him lunches and impeccably pressed his shirts. Watanuki found this hilarious. For the wtfholic fest prompt: "The only people who can see Watanuki are customers with wishes."

Eir's Tomorrow by jukeboxhound

Cloud is the Planet's greatest weapon, and if he can't fix old wrongs and battles then he may end up being the means by which it all ends (again).

A Little Bit To The Left by miixz

[A System error during execution bound you to Shi Yuan’s account instead of the intended Shen Qingqiu. We sincerely apologize.

You will be given the chance to climb from your current position of canon fodder as the story progresses and plot points become available to you. As Shi Yuan does not have an established character the OOC function is automatically unlocked, please accept this bonus as your compensation for the mistaken role.

Please ensure that no score falls below zero, or the System will automatically administer punishment.]

Intended role of Shen Qingqiu?! The fuck, were you trying to kill me? Why would anyone think transmigrating into that scum of all people would be helpful? Alright, alright. Shi Yuan takes a deep breath. He can deal with this. So he’d transmigrated into the shitty novel he’d just finished, but at least he’d somehow avoided becoming the villain. Or: Shen Yuan transmigrates into Proud Immortal Demon Way as a Bai Zhan Peak disciple.

The Way Home by Traincat

“This is an inane discussion,” Soren said. “I’m coming with you, and that’s final.” He took a step forward and swayed. If Ike reached out and shoved with one finger, he was sure he could topple Soren right over. He kept his arms folded so he wouldn’t be tempted to try and make a point. “I’m still your commander, aren’t I?” Ike asked, raising his eyebrows. “You still trust me to make decisions?” “Yes, but, Ike –” he said. “Then you’ll do as I say, for the good of the company,” Ike said. “I won’t risk you. You’re too important.” He stepped close, adjusting the hood of Soren’s cloak. He lowered his voice so he wouldn’t be heard by Shinon and Gatrie, waiting up by the gate. “Go back to bed,” he said, his voice gentler. “I’ll be home soon.” -- Post-Path of Radiance, Ike and Soren share a promise, a first kiss, and a bed. Not in that order.

A Pretty Good Year by arboretum

Giving up, moving in, living life.

Ikesoren Academia AU by leonidskies

Falling to the Rhythm by Selenay

"So it's a bet?" Jiang Cheng said. "Dance the showcase if you get him, fancy coffee machine if you don't?" Wei Wuxian considered the machine. "Fine. You're on. I want it in red." "Don't start planning your caffeine overdose yet." "It's in the bag," Wei Wuxian said cheerfully. "There's no way they'll match me with someone like Lan Wangji."   Teaching Lan Wangji to dance in front of the nation for twelve weeks, how hard can that be? Wei Wuxian is about to find out.

Series

this world (what I make of it) by glitteringmoonlight

The war had consequences. Once, a fully realized Avatar referred to one who had mastered all the elements and could go into the Avatar State. Now, that has changed. No one could master fire when there was no one to teach it, and people feared the abilities of a firebender too much to allow anyone, even the Avatar, to learn too much of it. Now, an Avatar was simply said to be fully realized when their instructors decided they had learnt enough.   In which Lan Sizhui is the Avatar, but he cannot firebend, nor can he waterbend very well. That changes when his travels take him to Yiling.

Preparing the Soil by Rynne

When Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian return to spend the first winter after their marriage in the Cloud Recesses, Wangji is forced to grapple with his uncle's resistance to accepting his new husband fully into the clan. At the heart of this conflict is Lan Qiren's rule forbidding talking to Wei Wuxian. How can Wangji make the Cloud Recesses a more welcoming place for his husband when what he fights now is his uncle's stubbornness?

[0himio]

MDZS Fanfic Recs -- Completed

I am in such a MDZS rabbit hole and its driving me INSANE! I've never done this before, but here are a couple of completed MDZS fics that I saved. Not all of them are my top ones but I enjoyed them quite a bit. I don't think the characters went too OOC but having said that I can't tell too much. At least I know that they are goo goo gaa gaa OOC iykwim

Forget Myself in Memories

Ten years after the events of Guanyin temple, the juniors accidentally step into an array that sends them to the past, just before the beginning of the Sunshot Campaign

Author: geethr75 Words: 10,300 Chapters: 7

The ending is pretty sweet and it's a "juniors time travel and decide to fix things" trope. I'm a sucker for that type of thing and it's cool to see how the past interacts with the future -- especially since instead of the usual time travel to Cloud Recesses, they travel at the start of the Sunshot Campaign.

ghost (What's your name)

Wei Wuxian spends the 13 years after his death as a ghost, except that nobody outside of four little kids seems be able to see him.

Author: pearlAngel Words: 3,086 Chapters: 1

This goes into a bit of the perspective of all the juniors and their opinions on the Yiling Patriarch and how different his ghost is. NHS also shows up and his little section makes me tear up a ngl

When The Soul Returns Home

"Jiang Chenggggggg!" He whined, taking extra care not to jolt the man any harder than was comfortable, in fear of being whipped to death. "Heartless shidi, ignoring me. The least you could do is threaten to break my legs, you know." That last part came out more honest than he expected. Because yeah. He'd rather Jiang Cheng threaten him with Zidian for all he cared that he might die, hell he'd rather Jiang Cheng maul him right here right now than straight up looking through him as if he was glass. Jiang Cheng flinched upon contact, but he didn't turn. Wei Wuxian was only perceptive enough to notice the shiver through the thick fabric of his shoulder, gone in a second, replaced instead with firm, tense muscles. . During a night hunt, Wei Wuxian gets his body back and is now responsible for telling his shidi what happened without having a chance to escape. Of course that went wrong as well, but in a different way than he imagined. It seems like no matter what happened, Wei Wuxian will always be surprised by the sheer unconditionality of Jiang Cheng's love and faith.

Author: yue_yinbai Words: 11,164 Chapters: 1

This is an au where WWX gets his body back and he has a lot of mixed feelings about it. Many other people have feelings. There's a heart to heart and a make up/feelings session with WWX and JC that is really sad but sweet to read about.

A Grand Immortal Made Me Soup

One thing had become incredibly clear. Wei Ying was much sicker than he had thought he was, and as a result, was now hallucinating. There was no reality where a Grand Immortal had actually shown up in his apartment, yelled at him about his shit-hole residence, and fed him soup. Absolutely in no way was a Grand Immortal in his apartment, and shitting on him for not finding a place that banned pets.

Author: s6115 Words: 5,040 Chapters: 1

This one's just hella funny but there is a bit of angst. Its a mix of an immortal au and a reincarnation au where JC is an immortal and WWX reincarnates in the modern world. Lowkey felt bad but it's a really heartwarming story. There are a lot of things that WWX doesn't get but he's trying.

The One-Body Problem

The good news is that Lan Jingyi has found a mentor, friend, and constant companion through the difficulties in life. The bad news is that that’s because he’s been accidentally possessed by the Yiling Patriarch.

Author: metisket Words: 28,689 Chapters: 2

LJY acts without thinking and gets possessed by WWX. It's such an interesting concept, especially since they are both hiding things from each other the whole time. It's a bit of a joyride tbh since yk LJY and WWX make an interesting combo but it's one of my favs

Tell Them How the Crowds Went Wild, Tell Them How I Hope They Shine

A-Yuan knows he has to be very careful in his new home. He has to be mindful of the hem of his pristine white robes, cautious of the volume of his voice, dutiful in his manners. A-Yuan has to be very, very good. Really, really good. Because otherwise, Baba might have to leave, like Mama. A-Yuan did not want to lose Baba too. Or: A-Yuan did not forget everything of the Burial Mounds - he remembered a bright smile, a cheerful laugh, the warmth of strong arms, and a single name. It's up to Lan Wangji to make sure he does not forget it all.

Author: GinnyRose Words: 4,598 Chapters: 1

This is told in LSZ's point of view. It's a bit angsty but not too bad.

i don't know how to be something you miss (i'll watch your life in pictures like i used to watch you sleep)

Wei Wuxian died. That should've been the end of it. He gained consciousness again in the Jingshi, unable to leave, while Lan Wangji was in seclusion. He proceeded to watch A-Yuan grow up.

Author: mfingenius Words: 7,071 Chapters: 1

This one is kinda sad. Halfway through I lowkey almost cried because of how bad I felt. I don't want to spoil but this one gave me the feels. I love ghost WWX aus and I actively search for them but this one- *chefs kiss*

A Dramatic Reading

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian make out in a room full of Sect Leaders, Jiang Cheng tearfully declares his love for his estranged brother, Sect Leaders Yao and Ouyang beg for the Yiling Patriarch’s forgiveness, and Lan Qiren openly welcomes a new nephew-in-law into his family. None of them want to be doing any of this. Thanks to the Juniors, they don’t exactly have a choice. (Or, wherein the Juniors accidentally write a cursed fanfiction, and everyone has to reenact their parts in it, or potentially cease to exist).

Author: pupeez4eva Words: 5,627 Chapters: 1

This is such a crack fic but is so damn funny. Everyone just wants to kill the juniors because their guilty pleasure of writing wangxian fanfics gets outed. LWJ and WWX don't get together post-canon and the juniors got sick of them and started writing cringy fanfiction. This fic cured some of the angst I've been reading.

[10holmes]

I'm really not that avid a WangXian shipper anymore - XueXiao has stolen all my heart, duh, - and I also have never felt like writing anything for WangXian.

But yesterday I just had that really random WIP idea.

It goes as follows:

What if at Nightless City, when shit goes down, and Wei Wuxian is standing on that cliff and about to let himself fall, Lan Wangji somehow manages to talk him out of it or manages to drag him back.

And just as he is about to storm away with him and escape from all the chaos

- He just wants to save WWX and take him back to Gusu with him. Nothing else matters. He came so close to nearly losing him right then and there after all. -

So, just as they turn to take off, Jiang Cheng suddenly intercepts them, bringing his line "WWX go to hell" and all, and then stabs WWX.

I imagine a similar scene to the one after WWX resurrection, when they want to leave Koi Tower and Jin Ling stabs him.

So now, Wei Wuxian is mortally wounded, because with no core to help heal him, he is basically merely human and demonic cultivation isn't really helping, he's too unstable for that anyway after destroying the Tiger Tally and with Chenqing gone.

And Lan Wangji is immediately trying desperately to heal him, to keep him alive, and suddenly notices that he doesn't have a golden core anymore (because he's not healing and the qi transfer doesn't work as it should).

LWJ instantly becomes frantic, doing the maths on how this can be, when it happened, putting into perspective everything that has happened since WWX's return, trying to get WWX to confess, but of course the latter won't talk.

But then unconsciously his eyes move towards Jiang Chen and Lan Wangji notices and let's say he's clever enough to quickly realizes what occurred and, thus, learns about the core exchange already in Nightless City.

And he's helpless to do anything and Wei Wuxian is growing paler and paler and the blood flow won't stop and LWJ realizes it's a losing battle against time and then WWX breathes his last and LWJ is losing his composure for the first time and let's out a blood-curdling roar of anger and pain.

And then he might attack Jiang Chen, who isn't quick on the uptake and still is none the wiser, and completely shocked to have LWJ suddenly come at him.

Or LWJ might just sit there in despondent silence and gather WWX and before leaving throw a one-liner at JC - more than he'd ever say to anyone - something along the lines of "hope you're happy now, what a way to repay him giving you his core." and then simply leaves JC standing there with that revelation.

The further continuation of this idea depends on flavour. Nothing major would have to change except that there's much sooner and far deeper seething hatred between LWJ and JC, or maybe LWJ turns dark demonic cultivator mode and brings WWX back or goes against the cultivation world in revenge and retaliation for wronging WWX.

I don't know. I'd love to explore this but as I said I'm not really that into WangXian and it might also turn out to be OOC 😅

[tentative-wanderer]

Let Them Eat Cake [MDZS AU, text messages]

Disclaimer: 1 million years have passed since I read the book in 2017, so if there are OOC points, that’s why

Huaisang: Who’s up for free cake on Saturday 10am! A cafe will be doing a promo

Wifi: Me

JC: Me

Xingchen: Me

Song Lan: +1

Lan Wangji: I will be there.

Yanli: Me

Lan Xichen: Me :)

Xingchen: :)

Lan Xichen: :D

Xingchen: :DD

Lan Wangji: …

Song Lan: …

Nie Mingjue: Nie Huaisang don’t you have an assignment due on Saturday 10am?

Huaisang: I’ve finished it!! With Jiang Cheng’s help. @JC back me up!

JC: I can attest to the veracity of that statement

Wifi: Do you swear

JC: Occasionally

Wifi: Do you swear by the moon and the stars in the sky

Xingchen: I heard him whisper “shit” when he almost dropped Jin Ling the other day

Yanli: …

Jin Zixuan: He what

JC: I! Did not!

Wifi: He’s right, he didn’t say shit, he said fuck

JC: I did not almost drop Jin Ling!

Wifi: Note that he isn’t denying the crime of cursing in front of an impressionable baby

JC: Jin Ling was sleeping, he didn’t hear a word

Huaisang: He was sleeping until you almost dropped him. Then he cried

Yanli: …

JC: oh my god

JC: @Wen Ning @Song Lan be my witnesses

Song Lan: No babies were endangered in the making of this film.

Wen Ning: Jin Ling woke up and cried because Jiang Cheng bumped into a table and knocked a bottle over, not because he was dropped

JC: thank you

Wen Ning: Jiang Cheng did let slip a curse in front of him though

JC: no thank you

***

Praise me or complain on AO3

The last thing I wrote for MDZS was in 2019. It’s 2023 now and I’m back for a moment with this tiny random piece because I want to eat free cake with new friends but people seem occupied with their lives.

[ziwangye]

HOW’S MY  PORTRAYAL  ?         /       I seriously consider your version of Jiang Cheng the definitive version. I've admired your writing since I first read you. You bring such life and depth to A-Cheng I just feel in awe whenever I read your replies.

d-definitive  ???    omg thats really so kind  ...  i’m just trying my best to do him justice and develop him out of the potential-ridden but ultimately one-dimensional portrayal of him canon gives us and i’m just so happy others are enjoying what i’m putting out !!!

︳︳︳︳    a​nonymous        /         prompted.          /         accepting.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

I'll never get over how most fix-it fics have jc being suddenly overprotective and have no trouble defending wwx and those he protects when there's already a solution or offered protection for them from other people... especially when fic's supposed to be canon compliant until that divergence that's usually set during bm settlement days...like yeah let's just ignore how jc is his usual canon self until wwx is being helped by others and suddenly jc's personality changes and he's now demanding things from wwx because apparently they're brothers again and he really cares about him

I don't quiet even get this characterization since at that point, it is literally OOC for Jiang Cheng to be overprotective. Wei Wuxian had been left alone for three months for Jiang Cheng to go there to rant and rave because he did honestly believe Wei Wuxian was like him and would just leave people to fend for themselves and leave them to their own.

Jiang Cheng, “You’ve got no choice because they were forcing you? Well now, I’ve got no choice because you’re forcing me! A few days ago at Koi Tower, countless sects surrounded me, forcing me to give an explanation to this, and so I could only come!”

Wei WuXian, “An explanation? We’re even already. The inspectors beat Wen Ning to death; Wen Ning became a corpse and killed them. A tooth for a tooth, a life for a life—all that is over.”

Jiang Cheng, “All that is over? How is that possible?! Don’t you know how many eyes are watching you right now? How many are watching your Seal? If this opportunity is in their hands, you wouldn’t be in the right even if you are!”

Wei WuXian, “You said it already. I wouldn’t be in the right even if I am. What else could I do except for imprisoning myself here?”

Jiang Cheng, “What else? Of course there’s something.”

With Sandu, he pointed at Wen Ning who lay on the ground, “The only way of making up for things is for us to end things before they get the chance to!”

Wei WuXian, “End what?”

Jiang Cheng, “You burn this corpse right now and return to them all these leftovers of the Wen Sect. That’s the only way to make the subject die!” As he spoke, he raised his sword again, preparing to attack.

However, Wei WuXian clenched his wrist, “Are you joking?! If we return Wen Qing and the others to them, they’d meet nothing but a dead end!”

Jiang Cheng, “I doubt you’ll even return all of them. Why do you care what kind of end they meet? A dead end it is, then—what does it have to do with you?!”

Wei WuXian finally lost his temper, “Jiang Cheng! What- What do you think you’re talking about?! Take it back—don’t make me give you a thrashing! Don’t forget. Who was the one that helped us burn Uncle Jiang’s and Madam Yu’s corpses? Who returned to us the ashes that are in Lotus Pier right now? And who took us in when we were chased after by Wen Chao?!”

"Why do you care when you are supposed to only follow my lead" is what this boils down to. Jiang Cheng had no sense of honor or responsibility to the people that saved them because he weighed it yet again as something that was owed to him for the Wens ruining Lotus Pier. He never understood Wei Wuxian's care of others that were not the Jiangs because he felt entitled to Wei Wuxian's services.

This is also highly unlikely he would offer help anyways when others step up, since Mianmian and Lan Wangji do just that and are silenced for being lower in political weight. Jiang Cheng had a large opening to be at Wei Wuxian's side but put his own selfishness and jealousy first as always, while ignoring the dilemmas of others.

[plan-d-to-i]

So... Me again :) Ok, I love dramatic monologues. And I want your opinion about this little spoiler from my future fic (wich hopefully will have 15-20 chapters).

It is a little ooc. BUT I'm sure everyone here will love it, because it has everything we crave.

So to the snippet:

"- This never happened before I think.

But I'm here to make it happen, and I will start by saying that I love YunmengJiang with all my heart, wich I gave to the Clan, I gave the two sides of my face to be hit by everyone who wanted to gossip, I gave my family's name to be throw on the mud, I gave my back even if it wasn't fair, I gave my hand even when I was in the right, I gave my voice and felt it disappearing with the wind, I gave my core to someone who didn't deserve it in the bare minimum, I gave it my hair, my family, my happiness, my sanity, my life...

And it wasn't enough for you. But it was for me.

Death brings clarity in a lot of ways that a simple bell can't even reach, and I have a second chance and I WILL use it. For me.

So, from this day on... Wei Ying... Wuxian... Even any Wei born after me in the future... Will not be part of YunmengJiang, or the Jiang Clan. - Wei Wuxian, having already pack everything that matter, turned his back to the hall full of clan elders, older disciples, and the Jiang family present (whom only lacked their heir presence) and finally left.

Leaving everything behind in chaos. He had enough. It was time to go home, to his true family."

Hair is important here (bc historical reasons and) I saw a animated mv where Wei Wuxian cut his hair Chanel style during the siege and it have me LIVING for it. (It will be anti Jiang Cheng, anti Jiangs, fuck Madam Yu, everyone who is important to me WILL live and STAY alive, happy ending, final game WangXian just so you know)

ah nothing like a dramatic monologue. Sometimes you just need to write the words you wish a character had said °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

[alice-in-wonderart]

your scenarios are so cute!! could you please do one of jiang cheng having a crush on someone he thinks likes wwx (but they don’t, he’s just dense)? 💞

Shiiiiii- I absolutely LOVE this idea! It was so much fun to write and I had a blast trolling AngryPurpleMan™️. Honestly, JC living a lowkey comedy sitcom lifestyle is the quality content we all need. I present you, the most dense-tastic man on Earth learning how to emotion properly for the first time. 🙌

P.S. I hope he isn't too OOC

The Art of Jealousy

He knew better than to let his emotions get the best of him. Yet for some reason you had him in the palm of your hand. Not just him, but his heart. He had never before felt something as strong as every heartbeat around you. He would hear it in his head, feel it down his spine.

How utterly unfair life could be.

Jiang Cheng was a difficult person to deal with. It didn't take a genius to realise it. Hell, even he knew it. And he never really minded, that is until he met you. Kind and compassionate, strong and level-headed, intelligent eyes, quick wits, and frankly - a billion more qualities he had grown to...fancy, as he'd call it reluctantly. It took a war and some serious trauma on his side to realise, that maybe love wasn't a COMPLETE waste of time, and that maybe he would be allowed to experience it...not.

Jiang Cheng was a difficult person and he knew it. He also knew, that his brother Wei Wuxian was charming and funny, good-looking and of course - a ginormous flirt. He also knew people enjoyed jokes and flirting. And he was well-aware those weren't his strongest suit. But as he stayed from a distance, watching you laugh cheerfully at one of Wei Wuxian's trillions of ingenious jokes, his arm wrapped around your shoulders, he so wished he could be like that.

Of course, that you'd fall for that idiot. Who wouldn't? Although in his opinion, that would be abysmal, who was he to judge? That's right. Who was he to have a say in this? Yet he kept on wishing you'd turn to him instead, laugh with him instead, hug him instead, look for HIS company, HIS opinions. And with each longing stare your way, he'd get increasingly angry - at himself, at you and above all, at Wei Wuxian.

What he failed to notice during his bouts of rage were the longing stares you threw right back at him, and the knowing looks Wei Wuxian would give you. You'd told him a while back about your growing fondness of the Jiang sect leader and, as the great best friend he was, he'd vowed to help you win over his burning heart. In actuality, Wei Wuxian already suspected, that his brother had also harboured a certain attraction towards you, all he needed was a little bit of solid proof.

And god, you try everything. Cooking him something? He found the two of you before it was ready and got angry he wasn't invited. (though he denied that reasoning) Buying him something? He was in an exceptionally bad mood all day. (totally not because you went to the market with Wei Wuxian.) Drinking tea with him and just talking? Duty called and he had to go to work. Accompanying a night hunt? Jiang Cheng had to monitor Jin Ling and just as you were about to be attacked, Wei Wuxian (ofc) came to help. (JC just has 0 luck.) Clearly, it wasn't working out.

Currently you were in the middle of your plan to make him confess 'notice you'. Or rather, Wei Wuxian's plan. You weren't all that aware of it. And as Jiang Cheng angrily scowled at the two of you, he knew he was succeeding.

The younger brother couldn't stand it anymore. That shameful display of digusting affection made him want to carve his heart out and throw it right at you. Instead of throwing a scene, however, he decided for once to be the bigger person and *totally not in a demonstrative manner* walk away - an action both WWX and you noticed immediately.

Returning to his private study, he plopped on his chair, trying his darn hardest to stop himself from destroying his surroundings. Futile. In a sudden wave of anger, he pushed all of his scrolls and documents off his desk, letting them scatter around the room. His mind was screaming at him, but his heart was louder. He was done with wasting time on these foolish emotions. Who needed love anyways? It only makes you weaker. He wasn't about to embarrass himself with such stupid feelings.

His thoughts were interrupted, when there was a small knock on the door. "Who is it?", he asked sternly. He wanted to be alone. "It's me, Y/N." And just like that his tough act crumbled. "What do you want?"

"May I come in?"

"Yes."

Stepping inside, you were met with a clearly fuming Jiang Cheng, sitting amongst a few dozen scattered scrolls and sheets of paper. He averted his gaze away from you, as he crossed his arms.

"So? What do you want?" the harshness in his voice made your own anger rise, but no - you had it all under control.

"I think we need to talk about something important. But A-Cheng, what happened here?" you gestured to the scrolls.

"If it's that important, why don't you go ask Wei Wuxian for help? Or just go bother anybody else, but me." There it was - that childish jealousy Jiang Cheng has always had. He didn't want to sound as mean as he did, but his anger got the best of him. And deep down he knew, that he was going to regret it. But he was going to think about it later.

"Because it has nothing to do with him." You felt your voice tremble. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. "You know, nevermind, forget what I said.."

Jiang Cheng's heart was drowning in pain and guilt. Yet the more he felt it, the more defensive he became.

"Yeah. Now leave. I have work to do and I'm pretty sure your lover is looking for you."

What? You moved closer, standing right in front of him. "My what? Jiang Wanyin, what are you even talking about? What lover???" But then it dawned upon you. Was....was he jealous? Was he acting like that, because of jealousy?

His cheeks reddened as he finally looked at you. "As if it isn't obvious. You and Wei Wuxian spend every second together. It's so obvious it hurts, damn it. So don't play s-"

He was interrupted by you pulling him in by the robes and leaving a sweet kiss on his thin lips. You were right - he was jealous. And currently, he was so stunned he almost forgot how to breathe. Once you pulled away he nearly fell back. His face was now beat red, eyes wandering over your face, lost in the disarray that was his mind.

"A-Xian and I aren't lovers. We're friends. He was helping me try to confess...to you. You're the one I fell in love with." Suddenly you felt very small under his gaze, as you muttered the last of your confession.

And in that very moment, Jiang Cheng's entire world came crashing down like a tsunami. It was...him? Actually him? Not Wei Wuxian, not anybody else - but him? All this time?

"Wha-" He didn't know how to respond. He had yelled at you, nearly sent you away all for nothing. And suddenly realization hit him. You had just kissed him. He gathered himself as much much as possible, nerves practically wrecking him on the inside.

"If that is true, then...You idiot-" Instead of finishing his sentence, he just sighed, before pulling you in for another kiss. Wrapping an arm around your waist and burying the other in your hair, he whispered against your lips.

"Be mine."

"I already am"

"Good."

You decided, that for the time being you wouldn't mention his jealousy. After all, who'd ruin such a wonderful moment?

"You were jealous, weren't you?"

*Pterodactyl screeching in denial*

Or maybe not.

Thank you for reading~

[naw-naw-honeyimgood]

ChengQing (lmao never realized that was their fucking ship name)

so pros of (Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing):

one of the few possible het ships available to mdzs fans like there are all of five named female characters and this is the only one not in an established het pairing. and like sure ive seen yanli w/ someone else a couple times but you CANT put her with JIANG CHENG and i cant say ive ever seen mianmian in a serious relationship in fics with anyone besides either her canon hubby or a chick (usually yanli, wen qing herself, or even sometimes both lmao).

it’s basically written itself in cql!! he has a very obv and clear crush on her, even gives her a comb and offers to help her! she seems interested but the way the storyline went it was simply not meant to be :’(

you get to pair off jiang cheng!! ngl once u finish mdzs its kinda sad for everyone not wangxian (in their generation/above) cuz theyre the only one that get a happy ending. Everyone else is forever alone / depressed / bitter or a combination thereof. so it’s nice to see jiang cheng getting a happy ending!

he... gets... kids...? like ngl as a childless person that is happy to stay that way thats not exactly a pro in my eyes but you might look at his relationship w/ jin ling and say “he’s a great father! he deserves to be a father!” which okay good news! wen qing can bear children!

Now. Cons. 

for one thing the fact that you have a lack of options doesnt exactly mean every possible het pairing can have good chemistry even if you change circumstances enough. there comes to a point where certain pairings can only be really viable if one or both of them are ooc.

lets be honest im willing to bet that AT LEAST 80% of the reason cql introduced this ship was because they were not allowed to make the wangxian pair explicitly Together (and i dont even mean anything specifically sexual), and they needed SOME SORT of romance to feature in the story. xuanli doesnt count because theyre an established background ship,  the jiang parents dont count as romance, we aint talkin about the villain relationships, and lbr, mianmian already had a lot more signif in cql than mdzs. so it makes sense that they took the arguably most important male chara besides wangxian and made him have a crush on the most important female character that wasnt his SISTER. 

what im trying to say is that cql pulled that pairing out of a hat. if you look at canon at ALL i highly doubt there would ever have been feelings, just as there never were. we dont quite know the age dif but we know that wen qing was the older sister and wen ning might have been a bit younger? than the boys? cannot quite remember but we dont know if she was only a year or two older or if it was like. mingjue and huaisang. we dont know! and i canNOT see jiang cheng going for an older chick. also their personalities would clash So Much. she has older sis vibes and not the gentle kind like yanli. she snaps at wen ning’s mumbling and stuff a good couple times- you think she’d tolerate jiang cheng’s emotional immaturity? hah. 

this also kinda segues into my main point of: as depressing as it is that jiang cheng is forever alone unless you pair him off... he would honestly put whoever you pair him off with through hell. he’s not nice. so many jiang cheng stans like to argue that he’s a traumatized kid that was raised to channel his emotions through anger (and raises bitterness under his skin like an ugly puppy) but inside he has a heart of gold, and they’re... not exactly wrong! i mean- literally every younger chara is traumatized in some way. but... that doesn’t really... excuse the shit he’s pulled? as much as jiang cheng stans like to forget: jin guangyao was RIGHT when he said that jiang cheng’s insecurities got wei ying killed. his CLOSEST ALLY. 

tying back to wen qing we have their actual CANON interactions (or lack thereof). wen qing didn’t exactly protect wei ying and jiang cheng out of the goodness of her heart when lotus pier fell: she was protecting wen ning (her BROTHER) from the repercussions of his own actions by saving wei ying (and Jiang Cheng ig idk he was just there bUT YOUNG MASTER WEI-)

not QUITE sure why she agreed to doing the golden core transfer (maybe scientific curiousity? i mean she had an unproven medical theory and here was a volunteer) but it def wasnt For Jiang Cheng.

and then the next time she saw him? do you guys remember the next time she saw him? it’ was when jiang cheng came up to the burial mounds to kill wen ning’s corpse and tell wei ying to turn over the wens. 

KEEP IN MIND that jiang cheng KNOWS wen ning and qing SAVED HIS FUCKING ASS after lotus pier (not How but he KNOWS THIS) and yet he still tells wei ying to hand them over.

he makes wei ying choose between what amounts to the cultivation world and his morals. 

that does not a good healthy relationship make. also again their personalities would clash like so bad. i love wen qing way more but you have to admit her personality is super similar to madame yu’s. and we already agreed that jiang cheng was traumatized as a kid. im not saying fengmian didnt have a hand in it but you gotta admit a good amount was madam yu and her insecurites and accusations she piled on her son. and you wanna pair him up romantically with someone who won’t take his shit and smile? will call him out? HAH.

im not saying this because i think jiang cheng should be with a softer personalitied (guy) like lan xichen or wen ning or huaisang because god knows those pairings have their own issues. im just saying that in canon-verse all i can ship whole-heartedly is jiang cheng / therapy, but since there is not therapy in canon-verse, or even if there WAS then there’s no way he’d admit to needing it, then yeah he can stay single for all his bitter life. better that than making jiang parent relationship 2.0 like fuck.

(this of course means that in modern aus where he DOES get therapy i am Open)

also real quick but jiang cheng was NOT a good parent to jin ling and i will not take constructive criticism like sure he was better than the jiang parents and the lan parents but that is SUCH a low fuckin bar and it’s a fact that in chapter 9 jin ling literally thinks “if I can’t slice off her head with this blow, I will die here- death it is then!!” (taken gratefully from the exiled rebels scanlation) and that is NOT a healthy-minded child.

the only healthy minded children is like. jingyi. and probably sizhui. although i am not here for the way the lan sect raise children but sometimes you have to take what you can get.

also i want you to look me in the eye and tell me that wen qing could and would do anything besides throw down with someone that so much as looked at her brother wrong

because jiang cheng apparently decided to lay the blame for jin zixuan’s death at wen ning’s feet (which is incredibly ironic considering he blames wei ying for yanli’s death??? like i feel like he could stand to use his brain cells a bit more??) and repeatedly tried to kill him.

[izartn]

Navigating the ChengXian tag in tumblr is.... wild is little for what it is. Like. I came out from the novel with ~feels ~ about those two, and little after (being bored about the same wangxian fics of always) found a fic when ao3 didn’t reach 1000 fics yet, I think, about unrequited ChengXian and my mind went.... actually. from Jiang Cheng perspective at least, it’s extremely likely. So I searched for ChengXian but back then there were like. two or three requited fics not wangxian endgame or grossly kinky (nothing against it but i was searching for character studies not ooc sex). And I went: well, nothing I can do. And read other cnovels and fics and manga. 

Today I was picked by curiosity; sometime before I searched AO3 and found more, but it usually isn’t to my liking. So I hit the search bar here in tumblr. And the takes are... wild, as I’ve said, it’s nothing. From really abrasive antis, to really abrasive ChengXian fans supporting Jiang Cheng at his toxic height (and we’re talking about the novel. he’s very messed up there about WWX which is why I find one-sided feels almost canon. nothing changes and it adds angst so it’s there on the back of my head when thinking about MDZS) and calling LWJ boring (which. ok. except for some really well written fic, i don’t really care all that much about him. ok he has really good moments in the novel and goes reall well with wwx but personally i’m not that attracted to his kind of chara. the interesting one is wwx. and jc. and jgy.) but like really insulting. Ouch. That. Isn’t necessary nor wanted. 

So I’m a bit ashamed of those crazies. And blocking left and right antis of any kind lol. I’m at just a bit to get to a translate page and go searching for chinese fics xD At least there are more; there is surely some gold buried in there right? And I can practice it too...

If anybody has the link to good chengxian meta or someone who isn’t into bad takes* in this fandom.... I would be thankful xD

*not using deluded anymore bc it has yikes in fandom

[watch-grok-brainrot]

For the minific ask meme: Jiang Yanli and U. coming home.

So… I LOVE this prompt. Thank you !!! What i wanted to do with this took a few brain jumps. First, i wanted a story about soup and about Yanli feeling like her role is to use soup to stabilize everything and heal. Then, i thought about writing a dark Yanli that haunts JC -- but that’s so OOC I decided not to go there. Finally I settled on this. It has been in my head for over a month, trying to figure out how I want to write this. Thank you for your patience!

Earth Offical’s Pardoning

Rated G

Word Count: 1213 (+/- 5 because I never let things be)

Content: cql compliant not other adaptations/novel compliant, canonical characters being dead, family feels, sad JC, baby!jin ling, mention of food because when do i not mention food?, holidays, visiting people, watching her child growing up, childhood development milestones

----

Zhongyuan Festival. Earth Offical’s Pardoning. The fifteenth day of the seventh month. On this day, the doors of the underworld opened and Jiang Yanli found herself walking hand-in-hand with her husband towards the world of the living. 

They traveled first to Carp Tower. Zixuan wanted to unite with their son and his family before seeing A-Cheng. Their gossamer forms breezed over the tower stairs and into the main complex. The small lotus pond Zixuan had built for her was abandoned -- brown lotus stems and dried lily pads stuck out of drier ground. 

Zixuan squeezed her hand and they headed towards his family’s Ancestral Hall. Jin Guangyao was in the midst of orchestrating a grand ceremony to honor the ancestral spirits. Jin Ling could not be found. Zixuan stepped before his still grieving mother, knelt, kowtowed thrice with tears in his eyes. He then stood up and tried to comfort her with intangible hands; they trailed over her shoulders and cupped around her face. Jiang Yanli bit her lip and looked away. 

After half a shichen of listening to insufferable ceremonies, Jiang Yanli grew impatient. Zixuan noticed her anxious hands and returned by her side. Jiang Yanli took her husband’s hand, “Let’s go see A-Cheng and Ling’er.” 

Together they folded the fabric of existence and stepped over to Lotus Pier. Crossing the threshold, they flew over the familiar lotus motif of the training grounds, straightened and then landed before the sword practice hall. Walking down the wooden corridors, Jiang Yanli traced her fingers through the hated cracks and scorch marks left from the Sunshot Campaign. A-Cheng kept them intentionally, persevering their appearance. They served to motivate the new disciples, to guide people in righteousness, and to remind everyone what the sect had once lost.

She glided along the familiar winding paths, missing the way wood once felt beneath her feet. She loved the twists and turns, like life, like rivers, like fate. There was something comforting to the seemingly inefficient corridors of her childhood home. Zixuan trailed behind, commenting occasionally on the beauty of said home. 

A few lotus species remained in bloom in the late summer. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan stopped to admire the multi-layered ombre hues; their bodies hovering over the flowers, their hands failing to make the flowers waver at their touch. 

When they finally stepped into the Jiang Sect Ancestral Hall, Jiang Yanli realized Lotus Pier had been strangely devoid of people this entire time. Had A-Cheng sent everyone else away?

A pot of Lotus root and pork rib soup, plates of sweet and fragrant pastries, fresh fruit, and fresh lotus pods were set out as offerings for Jiang Yanli, for her parents, and for the other ancestors. A-Cheng sat at the edge of the lotus altar, as she often did after their parents’ death. Ling’er squirmed in A-Cheng’s left arm as his left hand held a wooden tablet. His right hand was pointing at the text on the tablet -- the tablet with her name. 

“A-Ling, this is my Jiejie, your mother. She was the most amazing person. I hope you grow up to be strong, kind, and intelligent, just like her,” A-Cheng said as he bounced Ling’er on one knee, his voice cracking as he spoke. 

Zixuan let go of her hand and she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around her little brother and her child. Shortly after, Zixuan sat down next to her and held his hand out to caress their toddler son. They had missed so many months of his infancy. 

“Ling-er is so big now. He has gotten half again as big as he was when I last saw him,” Zixuan said.

Jiang Yanli hovered her hand over her child’s head, “He babbles now. I wonder who he talks to. Is the wetnurse good for him? Does he have friends? Is he lonely? Is there someone to respond to his babbling?” Her vision blurred as she blinked back tears. 

The two of them sat by A-Cheng and Ling’er, watching A-Cheng play with the boy and teach the boy. Who would bet someone with as deadly a title as Sandu Shengshou would be so gentle with a child? 

Ling’er became fussy and A-Cheng set him down. The baby pulled himself up by A-Cheng’s robes and reached up to ask for A-Cheng’s hand. 

“You can do this yourself,” A-Cheng responded gently and shooed Ling’er away from him. 

Ling’er’s bottom lip quivered. 

“I know you can walk if you try. Look, I’ll catch you if you fall, ok? But at least try. Maybe your parents are here. It would be nice if they were around to see you take your first steps.”

A-Cheng picked up Ling’er, stood up, and set Ling’er next to the altar for stability. Then he took 3 large steps back, squatted down, and motioned for the baby. 

Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan watched, captivated by the two of them. Would they really be so lucky to witness their child’s first steps today?

Ling’er reached for his uncle. He took a few steps balanced against the altar and then pushed off. A step, two steps, and then teetered forward. Zidian flew out and caught the child. “A-Ling, good job! If only your mother were here, she would be so proud of your first steps!”

Jin Zixuan yelled, “Zidian! A vicious spiritual weapon was just used on our baby! What is your brother thinking? That’s dangerous!”

Jiang Yanli smiled, “A-niang taught us how to walk like this. Zixian knows bloodlines and the owner’s intent. It can be as steady as a banister while feeling more gentle than a dandelion puff.”

They spent the rest of their day with A-Cheng. They watched Ling’er be fed, be held, be coddled. They watched A-Cheng patiently teaching, softly holding, and playfully carrying the boy. Ling’er clung to A-Cheng and A-Cheng to Ling’er. Afterall, they were the closest blood relatives each other had. 

Time flew and night fell. A-Cheng took Ling’er to the market on the docks. Jiang Yanli knew the day was ending; her time here was ending. A-Cheng purchased a violet and gold lotus with nine intricate petals and a candle shaped like a lotus pod. He set Ling’er down and handed the lantern to the boy. 

“Hold.”

Ling’er took the lantern by a corner, waved it, and dropped it to play with the lotus pod candle that fell out. Jiang Yanli felt Zixuan’s arm around her waist squeeze her close. If they were still part of the living, watching her brother and her child bond like this would be bliss. 

A-Cheng picked up the lantern, took Ling’er’s hands and set the candle inside. He then lit the wick with his spiritual energy. The light from the flame flickered, casting violet and gold shadows over the uncle and nephew duo who belonged to the sects of violet and gold.

A-Cheng swooped Ling’er into an arm and gently set the lantern in the water with his free hand. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan felt themselves drawn towards the lotus lantern. They held each other close and watched A-Cheng walk away with Ling’er towards Lotus Pier. They stood in place but the pull of the lantern carried them away. Lotus Pier slowly faded as they returned to the Earth Offical’s realm. 

Notes: 

So… there are 3 [something]-yuan festivals. Shang means upper. Zhong means middle. Xia means bottom. They all have an associated saying: for Shangyuan Festival, Heaven Offical’s Blessing (yes, like the title of the novel); for Zhongyuan Festival, Earth Offical’s Pardoning; for Xiayuan Festival, Water Offical’s Salvation. (uh… I chose salvation here because the chinese means relieving/saving from distress/suffering).

I don’t like the sound of A-Ling, so i went with Ling’er. I think JC would try to keep his sister’s naming convention and stick with A-Ling… but I also think Yanli might call Jin Ling Ling’er, especially since er can mean child. E.g. Ying’er LITERALLY means infant so uh… WWX probably didn’t get that name for a reason. XD Though i can see gremlin CSSR calling him that… 

Yes, Jin Ling is too young to walk. Maybe JC feeds him spiritual energy when he plays with the baby and so Jing Ling developed a bit faster? IDK. I wanted the story to be set on the Zhongyuan Festival so I fudged childhood development a little. I can also see Jiang Cheng intentionally trying to make Jin Ling do things younger so he can be “better than” or “beat” WWX at things… :/

I think this is only a little sad? Or it starts off sad and ends on an ok note? I’m curious to see what people think

[gingersnapwolves]

talk to me about RIP angry grape (and pls show the light of day to the therapy galore fic !! )

The problem with ‘everyone gets therapy’ is that ... honestly, parts of it are OOC. It had to be in order to work, because my wife was like “I just want a fic where Wei Wuxian gets therapy and people help him out and everyone ends up happy” and uh. That was. Hard to pull off lmao. I did it! But there are some moments where I was writing like “lol yah this would happen sure”.

RIP Angry Grape is the one where Jiang Cheng dies at Nightless City instead of Jiang Yanli! She and Lan Wangji become close friends and raise A-Yuan and Jin Ling together (and eventually realize Jin Guangyao is behind everything and are like ‘......fuck’). I’ve gotten chunks of it written and I think it’s one of my best ones yet! Here’s a snippet from the beginning:

Lan Wangji half-turned. “Come to Lotus Pier with you?” 

“Yes,” Jiang Yanli said. 

He shook his head. “I cannot. I have been sentenced to three years in seclusion and repentance in Cold Pond Cave.” 

Gently, Jiang Yanli said, “I understand that, Hanguang-Jun, but think about what is best for A-Yuan. He clearly looks upon you as a father. He is accustomed to you. Would it not be traumatizing for him, to be brought to Lotus Pier without you?” 

“Then leave him here with me,” Lan Wangji said. 

“And what will happen to him on the days you are repenting in the cold pond, once you are well enough? Who will stay with him then? Are you sure the other disciples will treat him well?” Jiang Yanli hesitated, then took a chance. “Do you want him raised as you were? Where the mere act of expressing one’s emotions was shut down so completely that you were never able to express yours?” 

“I would not allow him to be raised that way.” 

“Please,” Jiang Yanli said. “Please, Hanguang-Jun, let me bring him to Lotus Pier. You know A-Xian would want him raised there, if he’d had the choice. He was so happy there, once upon a time, before the war. Can you not respect his wishes? And can you not - let me care for you, as he would wish me to? To help you in your recovery from a punishment that you know was unfair and undeserved? We are the only two people in the world who loved A-Xian until the end. Can we not agree on how to raise his son?” 

Lan Wangji sat with his eyes closed for several long minutes as Jiang Yanli finished applying the clean bandages. “I thought to serve my full punishment as a way of showing the elders that it would not break me,” he finally said. “That no matter what they sentenced me to, I would not back down. I would never agree with them that Wei Ying was not worthy of what I felt for him, that I was wrong for feeling as I do. But you are right. This is about what is best for A-Yuan. And I have nothing to prove to them.”

[pastthevaulteddoors]

My brain fogs usually end with me babbling.

This morning @delicatelygloriousphoenix allowed me to babble to them about a thought I had.

And then... It just kept going.

I’m still tired. Here’s a cut version of that conversation.

I had a thought before bed last night 'cause I'm finishing up the extras to SVSSS.

What if someone was reborn into Mo Dao Zu Shi and had to save everyone?

What if Jiang Cheng was the person they were born into? I can't remember the scene properly from the novel, but right before WWX interrupts the summit meeting on Koi/Carp tower, drinks LWJ's booze and accuses Jin Zixun of his labor camp is when this person becomes the new Jiang Cheng. He himself interrupts WWX's rant that nearly falls into a fight and demands that he/Lotus Pier are allowed to keep the rest of the Wens because they burned the place to the ground and therefore have a right to them to rebuild the place.

The argument is quick, and JC is like "I'm taking them" and drags WWX out in surprise. But he turns to LWJ and is like "You comin'?" so of course LWJ comes when he's actually invited to do so. They run off to the camp. JC tries to hurry to get there before Wen Ning is stabbed. They do get there earlier than in the show/novel, but WN is already stabbed (but not dead).

They drag the Wens and an unconscious WN out of the camp. WWX doesn’t go nuts because WN isn’t dead yet and JC is there to lay down some tsundere harshness in his stead.

They have to stop at a village before they get there where Wen Qing can work on her brother and the Wens can rest. JC buys them all rando threadbare robes so they don't stand out as Wens anymore.

Lan Xichen shows up at some point to see if he can't... not so much help as his position won't allow him to take sides on this, but there to 'check on his brother.’ When he gets there, he’s pushed to the inn room where he sees JC focused at WN’s side. He’s giving him spiritual energy while WQ rests nearby. That's LXC’s first little spark of  "Ah, JC is nicer than he first appears."

The Wens are supposed to be 'laborers' to help rebuild Lotus Pier, but JC's really just wanting to make sure that WWX isn't forced off to Burial Mounds and becomes an icon of hatred like the show/novel. And he doesn't have to remove him from the sect entirely.

However, he tells a distracted WWX that he obviously has ideas with his new powers and gives him leave to seclude himself to practice/create/invent but in a safe environment. Jiang Yanli is happy that her brothers are not alone yet able to pursue their separate interests/areas of need.

LXC suggests Gusu taking the Wens as well as 'laborers' since Cloud Recesses was also burned down by the Wens. In reality, they have more safe space for the Wens, it's harder to ambush the 'labor camp' when it's on a mountain peak.

This is where the ALIVE yet healing Wen Ning and Wen Qing ask the Lans to take care of A-Yuan as they are not in the best situation to take care of a child at their camp. This is where LWJ and the frequently visiting WWX basically adopt him.

I mean, if the Wens aren't in danger, WWX has no reason to go back to the burial mounds so of course he’d come to check up on the Wens a lot. Which just means hanging out with A-Yuan and the bunnies often. If LWJ happens to be there with him all the time... well... who’s to say what that means?!

Meanwhile, JC is trying to handle his sect with only a bit of help from WWX here and there, although Wen Qing shows up a lot, as does LXC as a gesture of goodwill and to help the young new sect leader.

JC enjoys being a leader and the System provided him with knowledge and ability to train his new sect. He used to be a salaryman when he was alive, this is far more exciting and much more stimulating.

JC is pretty oblivious that both WQ and LXC are absently crushing on this confident and warmly grumpy JC. He just thinks they like visiting him to talk sect leader stuff or night hunt or... maybe he even thinks they’re his friends.

BUT JC knows his mission is not done, as the System keeps reminding him.

He needs to make sure Jin Guangyao doesn't marry his sister but he can't break OOC or share his knowledge of knowing that JGY and Qin Su are siblings... so he subtly courts Qin Su instead to basically cock block JGY.

Which surprises all but whatever. JC has changed since becoming sect leader, or so they say (really, JC is a different person entirely but ya know).

JC is okay with it, saying Qin Su is a decent woman and pretty enough. He'd be okay if they'd end up marrying, although he's very aware that JGY might try to murder him for taking the girl he likes but he's got his defenses up.

The courting goes on for awhile and JC keeps blocking JGY’s advances where he can but doesn’t go further with his own.

A few years later, JC hosts a birthday party of four year old Jin Ling, with little Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhen among others... so it's a mini sect leader party, too. All of this without going OOC, he's still a grumpy sect leader but he's less feared (like, in the novel, JC was a friggen murderer! He tortured and killed anyone he thought was using WWX's methods or was his incarnation!). People actually seem to like him!

Late night at the party WWX, JC, LWJ, and LXC were hanging out. They suggest going on a boat together because a lot of lanterns were going to be let off in the lakes for JL’s birthday.

JC 'accidentally' spills tea on LXC's robes so he has to excuse himself to change. The others wait by the boat and JC is like "Oop, I changed my mind. I'm going to do something else" and kicks the boat off with LWJ and WWX in it and walks away. He chills in a pavilion a little bit later, watching the lanterns on the water and a few boats out there when LXC comes back. He doesn't even ask when happened and joins him, watching the boat that their brothers are in. LXC and JC haven't talked about it, but they both low key ship LWJ and WWX so they're of agreement.

This event triggers the Wangxian relationship quest. JC is pretty happy that they don’t have to wait 13-16 years before they get to enjoy each other’s company.

And that's when JC himself starts to admire LXC. Not that he hadn't before, they had become friends of sorts from both rebuilding their sects, passing advice to each other, and generally get to complain to each other as young sect leaders. JC kept distance though, knowing LXC’s sworn brothers are his confidants but now and again LXC even lets on a bit of that drama (realizing how much NMJ and JGY are at odds) when JC mentions "they just gotta fuck and get it out of their system"

But yeah, it's during that conversation that JC is like "LXC is actually really attractive and fun to talk to..." crush style.

Then a new mission starts! JC has to team up with LXC to get JGY and NMJ together. All the while JC is loosely courting Qin Su still. Wen Qing has since moved on with her affections (WQ is fast realizing that everyone is gay and instead goes to make out with Mianmian because yes lesbians!).

So LXC realizes that he likes JC but doesn't think he'd be interested because of Qin Su and Wen Qing.

Meanwhile, JC is like "The author said the only gay couple in this novel was WWX and LWJ but!!!?!?!?!??!?!? everyone is gay!?”

At WWX and LWJ's wedding, LXC and JC spy on JGY and NMJ who end up kissing behind a tree. They're tipsy but success! JC gives LXC a high five which amuses LXC because 'wtf is a high five? that's so cute, what a grumpy dork'

JC outright stops courting Qin Su then, which pisses off her sect, that is in close ties with the Jins, which turn their anger towards the Jiang sect. So JC has to fight with the Jins in a political battle, and his sister is preggers with her third kid so she can't help much.

But it's finally JGY that stands up to his father to stop bulling smaller sects. No hard feelings for stealing Qin Su then dumping her, apparently.

It's about this time when Mo Xuanyu shows up and is like "you're my daddy" Lady Jin already hates her husband's illegitimate children but now she's furious, especially after her friend tells her that Jin Guangshan raped her and Qin Su is ALSO an illegitimate child (another reason JGY decides he doesn’t hate JC for cock blocking him).

All this combined, Jin Guangshan is shamed off his throne. Jin ZiXuan takes up a lead and JGY (now renamed Jin Ziyao as is the proper generational name) decides he's happy with not being an asshole (since he's getting good dickings with his boyfriend NMJ and Lady Jin has finally stopped bullying him) and decides that he'd be content, even happy, being his brother's advisor rather than dethroning him for sect leadership.

But of course there's gotta be drama. Shi Su and Jin Zixun are not the smartest of people but they've teamed up with Xue Yang who has a bit of the Iron. Together, they start to plot against the sects to overrule them, because they're dumb idiots with a semblance of power.

That's about as far as my brain went when I fell asleep and then this morning when the brain fog focused on that instead of on work while I was waking up.

Just something about 13 years later, JC and LXC are pretty close but not lovers yet, when something-something adventure and JC and LXC become a thing in a similar manner that WWX and LWJ did in the novel. RANDOM CONFESSION TIME that other people have to point out to them!

The following is related conversation but I don’t want to put my friend’s part so... it’s disjointed. Sorry not sorry I’m tired.

Continued conversation about wangxian being together:

because JC already knew they'd be together from the show/novel, and LXC shipped them, so they teamed up to get them to confess

That's what I meant when JC forced them onto a romantic boat ride together.

They weren't parted from the Wen fight stuff so instead of fighting at Nightless City, they had time to realize their feelings and not die instead of confess. ;p

Conversation... conversation...

So for so long JC doesn't know he's into guys (LXC in particular, kinda like SQQ in SVSSS) but just like JC in the novel, he gets himself blacklisted from the matchmakers. Meanwhile, this whole time his very close friend, LXC (they're really close now since JGY and NMJ are a couple so he doesn't like to third wheel it and instead spend his time with JC) things that JC is straight and lowkey crushes on him for 13-16 years before WWX and LWJ have to spell it out to them.

but Lan have a-yuan as adopted heir

He'd (JC) probably ask Jinli if one of her kids could be heir

What if Jin Zixun tries to take the sect leader throne or something. He'd be next in line if jin Zixuan didn't die and JGY didn't step up.