#aro-ace jiang cheng

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Feeling Fruity

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[wojtekaneko]

It was his brother's idea.

[khattikeri]

canonically mxtx has said that jiang cheng found the way wei wuxian constantly tried getting lan wangji's attention 'disturbing' because he'd use a higher pitched voice, like a flirtatious girl.

some people found that very homophobic of jiang cheng-- which it is, even if he didn't mean it viciously. others thought it was funny, because it is weird and cringe when your cool bro starts acting all gushy and romantic. personally i see it as a mixture of both, but with an additional lens of jiang cheng doesn't actually understand romantic or sexual attraction, even if it's heterosexual.

i think of him as the type of aro/ace who finds all of this type of thing abnormal. he found the way wei wuxian changed around lan wangji gross not only out of homophobia, not only because he's only seen wei wuxian as a cool martial brother who doesn't take on a girly role when flirting, but additionally because he has classic aro/ace perception issues around romance and sex.

it's not difficult at all to jiang cheng to "resist temptations" of a romantic or sexual nature, because he doesn't get attracted to people to begin with. combined with societal expectations of marriage and having kids for the family line, it's easier for him to think of himself as the "reasonable" one for never really stepping outside those bounds except in abstinence (voluntary or otherwise), and anyone different is a gross pervert succumbing to blah blah blah...

just an interesting intersection of explanations that makes it a bit more complicated than how it seems at first glance

[weirdandproud-of-it]

No because Jiang Cheng probably thought his brother was so straight and was already disgusted with how flirty he was, only to see him hugging the man he’s always called beautiful under a tree, remembering all the times WWX made Jiang Cheng compliment LWJ beauty. I get why his first reaction ‘ew wtf’ his ace ass didn’t even realize he got roped into his brothers flirting until that moment

[melaniepilled]

why are we shipping lang qianqiu with ANYONE at all

[pocketsizedowls]

The following is a possible timeline of Jiang Cheng's romantic (?) endeavors:

He meets Wei Wuxian when he was a toddler. Since Wei Wuxian is a little older and a little taller, Jiang Cheng thinks he's kind of cool, even if he's also a toddler. A few years later Wei Wuxian comes to live at Lotus Pier full-time. They start sharing a room and it takes only about a month for Jiang Cheng to realize that Wei Wuxian, who he now sees as a brother, is a fucking idiot.

Wei Wuxian follows Jiang Cheng to the Cloud Recesses when they are 15 and they meet Nie Huaisang, who is timid but mischievous. Nie Huaisang runs an illegal pornography distribution business without ever getting caught, not even after Wei Wuxian gets booted from Gusu and Lan Qiren grows eyes on the back of his head. It piques Jiang Cheng's interest. Nie Huaisang kisses Jiang Cheng on the last day of school before skipping away to Qinghe.

In The Untamed, Jiang Cheng meets Wen Qing around this time as well. He grew up watching Jiang Yanli pine after the peacock and, after making a list of qualities that he would like for the future Madam Jiang to have, he thinks Wen Qing is a good choice for courtship. She's smart and pretty, just like his jiejie. His mom will probably like her, which is... preferable. Either way, Jiang Cheng courts Wen Qing by bringing her a comb he bought at Caiyi Town, just like Yanli says he should. He leaves the encounter feeling proud of himself.

The romantic (?) side plots of Jiang Cheng's life take a pause for the next 5ish years because he's busy trying not to die. Lotus Pier burns, the Sunshot Campaign goes by, and good news! He succeeds in not dying. Bad news! Every other Jiang didn't. So, he spends the next 10 years after that recovering from not-dying. Understandably, it put a slight damper on his mood and now, he's been blacklisted from every matchmaker in the country! Oh well. He's got his hands full anyways, with a nephew to raise and a sect to rebuild, yada yada yada.

Soon enough, Jiang Cheng forgets all about his youthful naivete and teenage follies. Growing up has a way of hardening your soul and rewiring your memories, so he spends most of his days as Sect Leader Jiang overworking until he feels absolutely nothing. Raising Jin Ling brings some light into his life, of course, but he's a Jin, not a Jiang. He doesn't get to spend all his time at Lotus Pier, no matter how much Jiang Cheng would secretly love that. In a matter of years, chasing down demonic cultivators became his only source of dopamine. It's an incredibly self-indulgent thing. He investigates every smoke trail, every rumor, and every crudely-drawn Yiling Patriarch poster with the intention of destroying Wei Wuxian the moment he comes back. He tells himself he doesn't miss him but finds himself pausing the witch hunt every year on October 31st, Wei Wuxian's birthday.

At the Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng, Lan Wangji, and the new-returned Wei Wuxian take down Jin Guangyao with help of a dubiously-intact Nie Mingjue and dubiously-intentioned Nie Huaisang. Jiang Cheng returns to Lotus Pier with his (?) golden core feeling lopsided in his dantian, only to receive a wedding invitation barely a few months later from Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. He wonders for a second if they intend to make amends...? Then he banishes the thought as soon as it comes.

He attends the wedding only to save face for the Jiang Sect because people would surely talk if he doesn't show. He escapes the festivities by the time the banquet starts and walks right into Lan Xichen on his way out of the Cloud Recesses.

"Zewu-jun," he says, "aren't you supposed to be in seclusion?"

Lan Xichen smiles. "Yes."

"Then why are you out here?"

"My brother is getting married," Lan Xichen says, "why shouldn't I be here?"

"If you're truly here for the wedding," sighs Jiang Cheng, "then go inside? Pat your brother on the back? Eat a piece of cake?"

Lan Xichen's smile wobbles, but Jiang Cheng doesn't let up. He's not stupid. Sure, Lan Xichen is in seclusion, which means his time is his own and he can do anything he wants, but Lan Sect would definitely be alarmed to find their sect leader grimly wandering the grounds of the Cloud Recesses on a celebratory night. So.

"Well?" Jiang Cheng asks, pointed.

Lan Xichen's expression darkens. Jiang Cheng thinks anger is a good look on.

"Sect Leader Jiang," Lan Xichen starts, eerily peacefully, "you tell me to go inside, to congratulate my brother, and to eat. But did you do any of those things? It's barely nightfall and you look about ready to leave Gusu. With no Lan disciple walking you to the gates, however, you resemble a student sneaking out of class. Here at the Cloud Recesses, that crime is worthy of 20 lashes. Would you like to explain your behavior?"

Under any other circumstance, Jiang Cheng would lash out against this kind of condescension, but Lan Xichen is swaying under the moonlight like a reed. The sight of the strong, courteous Lan Xichen at his lowest unlocks something inside Jiang Cheng, a rough-around-the-edges feeling associated with flashes of memories that he can no longer fully remember. A shared bedroom. A kiss at school. A comb wrapped in cloth. A bowl of pork rib and lotus soup delivered to the front lines of war. A bloodied hairpin tucked in a purple waist stash. A declaration of love under the watchful gaze of dangerous enemies.

The feeling threatens to knock him over, but this is Jiang Cheng we're talking about. Naturally, he tucks the strange feeling back inside the box where it came from and locks it once again with the key. Meanwhile, he offers to walk Lan Xichen to the banquet. He says to him: I'll stay with you if you want. I'll even eat a piece of cake with you. Lan Xichen declines--thank goodness--so they make their way toward the Hanshi instead.

"What do you want to do now," Jiang Cheng asks when they make it to Lan Xichen's residence. He hovers at the dorm frame like a teenage boy trying his best not to intrude, leaning on one foot and then the other.

Lan Xichen considers Jiang Cheng's words for a moment and says, "I don't know. It's been a while since I had company, so please," He leaves the door wide open, gesturing inside the Hanshi, "come on in. Make yourself at home."

Jiang Cheng takes a ginger step across the threshold.

[adhdo5]

As much as it pains me to say it (generally in favor of ace and/or aro headcanons) Jiang Cheng is not on the asexual or aromantic spectrum. He is just going to die alone

[chaotic---calm]

9 people I would like to get to know better

thank you to @i-che-bi for the tag!

— — — — —

last song? - Heathens by Halestorm

favorite color? - purple and gray (don't make me choose!)

last movie/tv show? - Fool's Gold (2008)

currently watching? - Weak Hero Class 1

sweet/spicy/savory? - savory

relationship status? - single and staying that way (ace and aro)

current obsession? - The Untamed (specifically Jiang Cheng; since 2020; can't stop won't stop)

last thing i googled? - Silmarillion word count

no pressure to the tags <3 : @noenvyy, @sapphiredragonprincess, @whiteknightinblackarmor, @trueishcolours, @burnticedlatte, @tootiredtoosadtooangry, @anxious-skogkatt, @whump-world, @brbsoulnomming

[web-novel-polls]

I know it's been, like, over half a year, and I probably shouldn't be concerned with it anymore, but I think what bugs me so badly about people being so self-righteous about Jiang Cheng "being homophobic" in the Aroace Spec Character Tournament is that directly correlates to actual experiences and interactions I see within the LGBTQIA+ community. It's so close to the fear and shame that leads to the question of, "how much of comfortability and well-being do I have to give up to live within an amatonormative world? At what point do I speak up about my own repulsion? Do I ever?Why am I the always the one who has to change?"

I can't help but come back to that AITA about an aro and/or ace GSA member who was shamed and called homophobic by what should be their own community for the simple crime of looking away from PDA. Their club advisor who acted like they were the problem because it's "supposed to be a safe space for the other kids" but not really answering whether it's also supposed to be a safe space for the submitter. How aroace people are "included" until they're uncomfortable or don't want to talk about sex or romance. How sex and romance repulsed aroaces are never allowed to show repulsion, or they're prudes, homophobic, ruining the fun. Why is someone being uneasy something THEY have to apologize for? Why is it an attack, if not to protect the amatonormative idea that anyone who is personally unsatisfied, uncomfortable, rejecting of love and sex is somehow lesser or hostile to love and sex itself? How aroace are we allowed to be before we become "problematic"?

[I'm aware this is an emotional reaction for this specific instance. Don't be weird. Don't be a dick. Don't be aroace-phobic. Do be gay and aro and ace and trans and-]

[ecccentrick]

It's a lil funny how people hold up Jiang Cheng as The aro or ace, which is their own opinion to have and is perfectly fine, because, have fun in fandom and all that. But he just has zero game, and no one wants to marry him. CQL furthered this notion with his failed prospective romance with Wen Qing (where he expected her to abandon her entire family). He has ridiculously high standards that border (or plainly are) misogynistic. He's shown to be disgusted with the barest hint of affection, yes, but that's because it's Wangxian and he's homophobic.

With Lan Xichen, I think mxtx just didn't want to create another named character that wasn't important to the plot, which explains why he isn't married. With Jiang Cheng, I 100% believe it's a genuine characterization on top of the same reasoning mxtx had with Lan Xichen. Would you want your daughter etc to marry Jiang Cheng? I sure wouldn't.

If you want to see him as ace or aro, that's your prerogative. But when I think of mxtx characters that could be on the ace/aro spectrum, I think of Xie Lian and Shen Qingqiu (though for me, that depends how much you want to believe his unreliable narration). I just personally wouldn't want a canonically homophobic character to be held up as representation for me, myself.

[zoguy1]

So. Every June, I try to challenge myself by posting something for Pride Month. For the past couple years, it's been ships with cute little pride flags. This year, the priority focus will be on the Trolls Summer Gift exchange. But at the very least I'd like to show ya'll the ones I've made in the past.

2022 bundle:

Bi Hiccup x Gay Jack. Fun fact: This was the first gay couple I've ever laid my eyes on as a young child. I saw this ship and thought "I want that kind of relationship."

Bi Tony x Gay Rudolph Watching the 2017 movie, these two reminded me of Luca and Alberto so much.

Aro Merida You get it? Cuz she's an archer. It's funny. Laugh.

Bi Nan Fang x Ace Fu Yao The headcannon was based off of a fanfic I read a while ago.

Demi Ace Xie Lian x Gay Hua Cheng. I sevearly enjoyed the series. I occasionally eat fics of these two as comfort foods.

Pan Xu Xuan x Trans Xiao Bai White snake was basically 2 hours of "What you are doesn't matter, it's who you are that matters", THEE Pansexual anthem, and then the second movie Turned Blanca into a guy? This is cannon.

Ace Liu Qingge x Bi Shen Yuan Imma be honest. I didn't like SVSSS very much. Yandere's are not my cup of tea. And I was really hoping Shizun would have gotten with Liu-shidi instead.

Gay Luca x Gay Alberto I'm so glad Luberto was actually confirmed to be somewhat cannon. Though Nowadays I see Luca as bi, cuz if we're counting the concept art as apart of the lore, then Luca had a crush on both Alberto and Giulia.

Gay Jade x Gay Katie. Kate is the first character I actually felt scene as a queer person.

Genderfluid Shi Qingxuan I freaking love them so much. Easily my favorite character.

Aro Nezha This kid knows chaos and only chaos.

Pan Adam x Gray Ace Freddy I saw this crossover on DA and thought they made so much sense together. Adam the literal personification of nature, and Freddy the unification of humanity and animals.

Non-Binary Merz x Lesbian Alice These two are OCs of mine.

Aro Lesbian Isabela and Aro Lesbian Elsa. I ship this in a sort of queer platonic way. Like a "we don't really want to date people, but everyone thinks we're dating, and we just don't care enough to correct them." kind of way.

Genderfluid Camilo I want the ability to shapeshift so badly.

Pan Ao Bing x Bi Xiao Jiu Ya'll get brownie points if you know which Ao Bing this is and double points if you know who Xiao Jiu is. Lol. It was a random crossover ship I made because the company liked to crossover their medias for advertisements, and we see the adults interacting and having fun, and Nezha joins them. But we don't see the two teenagers interact at all.

Bi Verta x Bi Li Yunxiang Another crossover ship I made up cuz I didn't see a lot of Nezha Reborn and White Snake crossovers. Which surprised me, especially after Green Snake.

Gay Jiang Ziya x Gay Shen Gongbao These two lived in the same house together for 10 years and adopted a daughter together. I am convinced these two are a married couple.

Bi Mirabel There was a little bisexual rainbow on her dress. That's proof enough for me. Lol.

Lesbian Amaya x Lesbian Janai I loved seeing their dynamic in the show.

Non-Binary Kazi I love them. I'm glad they got more attention in the show.

Lesbian Susie x Trans Noelle "Why does Noelle have antlers. Is she trans? The Null the Null the Null the Null..."

Non-Binary Kris I love them. They literally never said a word, and I love them.

AroAce Krel Based on a comic I made.

Aro Blaze Another OC.

Aro Douxie Idk why, but I get that vibe from him.

2023 Pack:

Furry Omni Toby x Furry Demigirl Darci The moment Darci said she didn't want people to like her just because she was a girl, I felt that in my soul.

Bi Steve x Pan Aja I am not convinced Steve is straight.

Pan Simon x Gay Ao Bing This ship was inspired by a youtube video that had a list of crossover ships, this being on of them. And I freaking love it.

AroAce Sun Wukong and AroAce Tang Sanzang In Monkey King Reborn, out of everyone in the friend group, you can just tell that these two cared about each other the most. And I think that's just sweet.

Fuck. I can only have 30 images per post. I'll reblog with the rest of the 2023 pack.

[sandumilfshou]

jiang cheng constantly acknowledging that other guys in the jianghu are hot but not giving a shit about it is hilarious to me, i cant tell if its because of heteronormativity, because hes aro and/or ace, or all of the above

[khattikeri]

honestly my case for aro/ace Jiang Cheng stems heavily from his list of traits he'd want in a future wife.

like putting aside the fact that his "pickiness" got him canonically blacklisted from a majority of their world's matchmakers, we have this:

naturally beautiful

graceful and obedient

hard-working and thrifty

coming from a respected family

cultivation level not too high

These are all just Standard Things That Ancient Chinese Society Says It's Good For Women To Be.

A woman who is too strong will surpass her husband which is a huge no-no in their society. Too weak and she's a disappointment (read: Jiang Yanli). Marrying within or above your own social class is just expected common sense, especially if you're born upper class.

Then you have these next three points:

personality not too strong

not too talkative

voice not too loud

Of course these are also generic Standard Things That Ancient Chinese Society Says It's Good For Women To Be, but they also stood out to me more than the previous points because all of them remind me of Yu Ziyuan.

Jiang Cheng is very similar to her, and of course even without that he still cares about her. But she was very difficult to please and nurtured his inferiority complex for years. Growing up with her volatility hurt everyone in that house.

AND THEN TACKED ON AT THE VERY END OF THE LIST:

must treat Jin Ling nicely.

So almost all of these bullet points are generic, intangible societal ideals. Rather than being actual preferences for a marriage or to fall in love with, his list reads to me more like this:

Things Everyone Says It's Good For A Wife To Be IDFK

Actually Now That I Think About It Don't Be Like My Mom.

BE NICE TO MY NEPHEW.

Even the 'must treat Jin Ling nicely' can be tied back to Yu Ziyuan if you choose to view it a certain way. A new wife might dislike Jin Ling since he was already there prior to her marriage to Jiang Cheng, even if he's a blood relative rather than a good friend's orphaned child.

An official wife could easily get angry or misguidedly jealous. She could distance or mistreat Jin Ling, an elder male child born to people who are now dead. Who does that remind you of...?

Really all this list proves is Jiang Cheng really, really cares about his nephew + Wei Wuxian and wants the child to be raised with sincere kindness and love. Everything else is just like a dart thrown at a dartboard blind. Sure, write that down. People say it's good for women to be like X and say Y and do Z, right? Sure. Okay.

TL;DR - It's easy to view Jiang Cheng as actually being that arrogant and holding people to every single standard in his list, but IMO he just can't think of traits he actually finds attractive in a person beyond Be Ideal, I Guess. Which is painfully relatable and a primary reason why I see him as aro/ace.

[foxghosthoard]

for day 3 of @mogai-headcanons's 5 year anniversary event! today's prompt is ace / aro / aspec, so here are a bunch of my headcanons!

acespec: annette (fe3h), calliope (homestuck), chara (undertale), eleven (stranger things), jiang cheng (mdzs), liara (mass effect), luna (zero escape), lysithea (fe3h), thalia grace (pjo), & amity blight (the owl house)

aroacespec: aradia megido (homestuck), bakugou katsuki (bnha), frisk (undertale), sarah (still life with tornado), kaz brekker (six of crows), gaara (naruto), lilith clawthorne (the owl house), katniss everdeen (the hunger games), wen ning (mdzs), & mordin (mass effect)

arospec: arya stark (a song of ice and fire), kris dreemurr (deltarune), ashido mina (bnha), dusa (hades), nie huaisang (mdzs), neji hyuga (naruto), hobie brown (spiderverse), jason todd (dc), june egbert (homestuck, design by @kittokattx), & power (chainsaw man)

[teaah-art]

Aro Week(End) Headcanon Dump

Jiang Cheng from Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

The headcanon blurb is long because I had Thoughts and Feelings about this thing and is therefore below the cut. ALSO CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR MDZS/THE UNTAMED!

All Aro Week headcanons

My Jiang Cheng headcanon actually started fairly casually with 'haha his colour scheme matches the ace flag'. But then, as of recent, I've been thinking about why he's mean to LWJ after WWX passed away/reincarnation timeline and something about him being aroace really fits the reasoning. If he never really got the allo way of things, imagine HOW perplexed he would be when BOTH of his siblings essentially just leave him alone. JYL marrying JZX doesn't make much sense if you take JZX at face value or don't understand how romantic attraction really works and how possibly JYL could agree to marrying him after all those years of insults and humiliation. But JC is brave and respects JYL's decision! It's also best for the clan and what their parents would have wanted! But then we have WWX who starts out with picking on LWJ and then grows to value LWJ and his efforts more than JC's - be it in the Xuanwu cave, or after moving to Yiling, or even after reincarnating as MXY and revealing his identity to LWJ instead of him. That again makes no sense if you take everything at face value and the next thing JC knows, he's not only lost both of this sibs literally, but even takes a backseat when WWX reincarnates (mind you, he doesn't know about the golden core). There are different ways to deal with your best friend being in a relationship and demoting you, but of course, the emotionally constipated Jiang Cheng takes it out either on LWJ or WWX in the meanest way possible! Idk man, someone give him a hug I guess. I feel bad for him. Also Zidian = ace ring? aro ring? aroace ring?

[eirasummers]

Super late lol but for the arospec ask thing: 6, 8, 10, 15!

Refering to this~

Answering this one super late, but thanks for the patience! 😭 Tkm An! Here we go~

6. Do you own any arospec pride merch? if so, can we see?

I don't have any 🤔 I'm not usually one to buy pride merch, really. They're cute tho, I should buy some when I am not broke anymore~

8. What are some of your favorite arospec characters? this can include characters from popular media or OCs.

Actually, the first character I thought of as aroace was Akio from "Yuki no Shita no Qualia". It was one of the first mangas that made me go "Yea, that's how I feel too" in a way.

And ones I remember thinking of it now...

Senku from Dr. Stone.

Masayoshi from Samurai Flamenco

Jiang Cheng from MDZS

Jade from Tales of the Abyss.

These are of course a mix of the vibes they give me, dialogues/character info and my own perception of them. Mostly how I related to some of the aro or aroace aspects I see in them, really. I could expand on any of them if anyone is curious, I guess xD Also, I'm most definitely forgetting some, but oh well.

10. What frustrates you the most about amatonormativity?

The fact that everybody is supposed to only be truly happy if they have a "typical romantic relationship". I know it's the most generic thing but it's also what bothers me the most. The media bombards us with countless romance when it makes no sense at all. Like, a serious dramatic story being ruined by the worst most dumb romance thrown in the middle, really badly written as well. Or when all the side characters must have a romantic pairing too even if they're not even developed just cause they can't end up alone!

Idk, just so annoying... people can be happy alone!! Or have qpr that make them happy. Typical romance relationships aren't the only option >:C

As an extra to this, I do like shipping and romance plots. But mooost often they're SO BADLY written, or such toxic/unhealthy tropes, I don't often like the main pairings or the main fandom ships alfhlask

15. What are some things you associate with arospec identities? i.e. frogs, arrows, white rings, anything the color green, etc.

Tbh, I haven't delved into the aro community as much as the ace one, so I barely know of their symbols aside from the flag aslkhfaksl So I couldn't say anything else. But I'm happy frogs and green are part of it, because I love them 😌💕

---

That's all~ This is, in the end, my own perspective on these things. I just thought a small disclaimer was needed, specially for the characters part hahah

Thanks for the ask again <3 And I guess anyone can send more, if I haven't answered those yet!