#and jc’s care of jin ling is completely useless paired with his abusive actions

[mxtxfanatic]

Alright, last jc-centric post before the clock strikes midnight, but it actually pisses me off that Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling’s convo in the Iron Hook Extra is being recontextualized to say that either Jiang Cheng was never abusive or that Wei Wuxian is encouraging Jin Ling to stay in contact with his abusive guardian, because outside of the fact that Wei Wuxian only witnessed Jiang Cheng slapping Jin Ling once out of the myriad of times he does so in the story (in Guanyin Temple), the point of this scene is to reveal that even if Jiang Cheng has missed his chance to do right by any other character, he is finally doing right by Jin Ling!!!!!

Jiang Cheng spends the entire main story of the novel verbally abusing Jin Ling, ripping into him about how he disgraces his Jiang and Jin heritage by not being some kickass legendary cultivator by age 14, how Jin Ling needs to “know his place” by never questioning or talking back to Jiang Cheng (lest he be slapped), rigging nighthunts so that Jin Ling can get his ego stroked but never actually learn anything useful, and all around treating Jin Ling like a child he can keep pressed beneath his thumbs forever. And then Guanyin Temple happens, and Jiang Cheng walks out of the situation and decides against hitting Jin Ling for criticizing him. And then the Banquet Extra happens, and we hear that Jiang Cheng has taken a more passive role in Jin Ling’s nighthunts where he only exists as outside support if things go wrong but otherwise lets the boy figure things out on his own, rather than teaching him to cheat and harm others in the process. Then we get the Iron Hook Extra where we hear about how Jiang Cheng stormed Koi Tower to threaten the Jin elders into accepting Jin Ling’s rightful place as Jin leader, rather than just whisking Jin Ling away to continue to be treated like an incompetent child under his rule.

For once, Jiang Cheng is making steps to support someone else using his power and authority as a Great Clan leader instead of lording said authority over them to coerce them into subordination, but when your conception of Jiang Cheng’s character is “he did absolutely nothing wrong ever, and if he did, that means others let him and therefore it’s not his fault,” you ignore his growth! He’s finally learned how to have a healthy relationship with someone where the goal isn’t to keep them trapped in his sphere of influence! He has finally let go of his entitlement to “benefit” from his relationships! He is no longer treating Jin Ling like an unruly child but as a young clan leader who only needs a little bit of protection and support to truly come into his own! And that’s great!

If only his stans can see that.