#because what is jc if he isn’t in a one-man competition with wwx?

[mxtxfanatic]

Just realized that you could write a canon-compliant, Wei Wuxian-centric fic with no mention, allusion, or reference to Jiang Cheng, but you couldn’t write a canon-compliant, Jiang Cheng-centric fic without bringing up Wei Wuxian, and I just think this sums up their characters so neatly.

[crossdressingdeath]

The JC stans really be going for the LWJ brand, except it never makes sense! Like that thing with "rebuilding their sects", that's not what happened. Or "parenting a kid, all alone, for 13 years", that also didn't happen. And "the trauma of losing WWX", uh... yeah, no lmao.

Even with things like "the absent father" which, huh? "the overbearing parental figure" when just comparing any Jiang with LQR is slander, honestly. And, worst of all, "THE TSUNDERE PERSONALITY" how dare they?

At most they share the "amazing older sibling" trope and even that's debatable (unless we're talking about WWX lol)

Frankly I don't even like it when people pull the "He raised a child all alone for thirteen years" thing with LWJ, because... it's still not true, LXC and LQR would have helped.

But yeah, JC and LWJ have nothing in common. I genuinely don't understand people who insist they're super similar. LWJ is a kind and intelligent man who isn't good with people but loves his family and WWX very much and always tries to do the right thing. JC, meanwhile, doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself and is too self-centred and elitist to realize that if you're a dick to everyone no one will want anyone to do with you. They are not the same! And yeah, JFM isn't an absent father (not a very good one I'll grant you, but he's there and he is trying), and comparing any Jiang to LQR is such an insult. LQR is a man who never expected to be put in charge of his nephews or the sect and yet took up all his brother's responsibilities with zero complaints and did if nothing else a good enough job that LXC and LWJ never seem to question his love for them and the support he'll give them for a moment even when they do things they know he doesn't want them to. And then by all evidence when LXC goes into seclusion he picks up the sect leader's responsibilities again even though arguably that should be LWJ's job, allowing LWJ to go on his honeymoon! Meanwhile the Jiangs are all awful. All of them. Really there's no competition here.

[yilinglaozuhot]

Please don’t feel pressured to answer this. But chengxian literally grew up together as brothers. Even though they are not biologically brother, isn’t it still a little weird?

No pressure, and it's totally cool that we see things different ways. But warning, I've snapped a little bit in this long ass rant.

You and many many other fans see their relationship as brotherly and I and a tiny tiny fraction of the fandom don't. If I didn't ship them romantically, I would only see them as friends. Perhaps not even best friends with all the shit that goes down between them. Wwx arrives at lotus pier when they're like 4 and 5 (idk, kids' age is always a mystery to me) and it all starts with jc's dogs getting taken away because wwx is afraid of them. Jfm puts a street urchin as priority against his own son by doing that and basically says to him "there, here's your new assigned best friend" so jc as a stubborn, angry but rather filial son makes friends with wwx. He doesn't have much choice in the matter but he learns to like the kid. And after that first day they never stop being pitted against each other. They have a cruel competition going on although none of them wants to participate in it. Who's better in martial arts? Wwx. Who gets more affection from jfm? Wwx. Who's the legitimate heir of lotus pier? Jc. But should it really be him? Wouldn't be the first disciple better at even being the clan leader?

How can wwx feel like he's part of the family when Madame Yu never fails to remind him that he's only a servant? She's protecting his own son against an unwelcome guest in her house, a cuckoo in the nest as @necroprankster has said it once. She sees him as a potential threat, not an adopted son. If she saw his as his son, it wouldn't be such a problem that he has better skills than jc and may be more suited as clan leader in the future. Only jyl treats wwx as a little brother and keeps the three kids together and what does she get from Madame Jin at the phoenix mountain when wwx wants to escort her back from the hunt? That she shouldn't be alone with an unrelated young man.

Wwx also has to reassure jc from time to time that he doesn't threaten his position: "you'll be the clan leader and I'll be your subordinate." He says it himself once that he doesn't want to take on the Jiang name as he already has his own or something like that, I don't remember the exact quote. Anyways, they have a stricter hierarchy between them than bothers have and they would be comfortable in their positions if they wouldn't be compared to each other by jc's immediate family and the whole clan. This whole measuring thing fucks them up so badly.

They're martial brothers, and being martial brothers isn't equal with being blood brothers or even adopted brothers. Martial brothers don't have to live under the same roof but wwx's case is special. He's being reminded of it constantly, and he has to know his place. Also, in wuxia/xianxia "martial siblings falling in love" is a popular trope, and I don't see anyone complaining about wenzhou being martial brothers for example. I know, they didn't grow up together so it doesn't count.

Yes, if they were blood brothers or relatives there would be the threat of one trying to snatch the "throne" underneath the other as we've seen it in Shakespearean plays and TV shows. But wwx doesn't have the ambition to do so and he'd inherit the clan leader title anyway as he's older than jc if they really were brothers.

So, imo you can put them into the "brothers competing for the throne" shoebox if you want to but definitely not into the "loving brothers" shoebox. I know fandom mostly sees them as loving brothers but they have too many expectations from the whole clan, they hear too many things being said about them, and there is too much awkwardness and tension between them to fit into that shoebox. They love each other but they're also painfully aware of how they're seen and treated so they try to balance between being clan heir/first disciple, friends, shidi/shixiong and (adoptive) brothers and look how well it goes for them. So how can they be brothers after all this? And what does it matter if some of us add romantic/sexual tension to this whole hot mess? It's certainly interesting to explore the possibilities this extra flavour adds to their relationship and shipping is exactly about this, isn't it?

Oh, and I haven't even touched the golden core transfer but as we say it in chengxian circles: the inherent homoeroticism of being inside your shidi for 16 years. Or something like that.

[adhd-wifi]

Jiang Cheng’s Deepest Personal Struggles 

I spent more time on the title than I did the actual post. 

Note: Wei WuXian is also very present in this meta, because Jiang Cheng’s entire story and development is so heavily tied to him that you literally cannot separate Wei Ying from him. And I thought Lan Zhan was bad. 

Personally, I find Jiang Cheng’s traumas and internalized issues so much more interesting than his siblings’. Wei WuXian’s issues were much more dramatic and intense, but not uncommon in fiction, while Jiang YanLi’s issues were not explored in canon. With Jiang Cheng, we see so much of his development and how it is mostly negative in nature. However, even though Jiang Cheng’s development is negative more than positive, it’s very interesting to see how it affected him and how he does maintain his old personality even despite what he’s been through, which makes him the most realistic character out of the three siblings in my opinion. 

In other words, I fucking love Jiang Cheng as a character so fucking much even though there are times in which I would gladly throw a book in his face and if you tell me he’s a badly written character I will break into your home at 4am on a Tuesday night and rearrange all your furniture before stealing all your spoons and leave a 27-page essay on why you’re wrong in their place. 

(I won’t actually do that. I’m lazy. But not lazy enough to not write this long ass post I guess.)

So Jiang Cheng’s issues are extremely obvious to us, the audience, even more than WWX’s, despite WWX being the POV character. (This is probably due to WWX being a bit of an unreliable narrator, ignoring his own problems for JC’s sake, but we’ll get to that in another WWX post.) 

We know the main problem is how he was raised, with JFM and YZY as parents. Between the two, we see that JFM’s neglect and favouritism towards WWX was actually much more impactful and damaging to him than anything from YZY. JC wanted his father’s approval and love, and while YZY berated him for being worse than WWX, JC at least felt like his mother cared about him in some way. YZY’s abuse was still extremely damaging of course, and she definitely contributed to JC’s problems by constantly yelling about how JFM cared more about WWX in front of JC. Still, the main problem was this: JC felt like he wasn’t loved by his own father, and then felt like his mother spent more time being angry at WWX than caring for him. 

WWX and JYL also weren’t as there for him as they maybe should’ve. Yes, they actively showed more love and support to JC than their parents did, but the problem between the siblings is that WWX and JYL were unable to give JC what he specifically needed, and also JC lacked the communication skills to tell them what he needed. Of course, this is none of their faults. The three of them were raised under the same abusive parents and all had their own ways of coping with their traumas, as I’ve mentioned in my previous posts (WWX version, JYL version). Something both WWX and JYL had in common despite their difference in character and responses was that they tended to internalize things and smooth out the conflict present in their family, but while JC did also internalize things, this coping response didn’t work for him as it did with his siblings (well, it’s not that great, but they don’t struggle with it the way JC does). When you realize that both WWX and JYL are more reflective of JFM’s nature, but JC is closer to YZY instead, it makes sense. Like his mother, JC is someone who needs to vent and get his emotions out, but he doesn’t get that chance. Or rather, he FEELS like he can’t, because no one else does except YZY, and YZY isn’t exactly a prime example of healthy venting (Pls Madam Yu your children are crying.) It’s hard to talk about JC without bringing up how he compares to others, especially WWX, since that is the core of his problems and insecurities in the first place. So let’s talk about that. 

JC’s competitive nature is mostly the result of his abusive home, but also because he’s the youngest sibling. Youngest siblings in general tend to be taken less seriously than their older siblings and thus often end up with the need to prove themselves more. This, combined with his parents’ lousy parenting, just made a recipe for a self-esteem disaster that blames others over himself. In WWX’s case, his self-esteem problems are “I’m the burden, I’m to blame”. In JC’s case, the problems are “They keep comparing me to others, I’m not as good as they are”. So, with JFM seeming like he doesn’t love JC (at least not as much as WWX), and YZY always berating him for not being as good as WWX, it’s really hard to fault JC for having an inherent idea of “WWX is to blame for his suffering”. 

Despite this, JC had also actively spent his life fighting this idea of his. He loved WWX and very rarely let his jealously show at all. Even during the time WWX had been recovering from fighting the XuanWu, and JC was angry and frustrated at his parents fighting in front of them all again, and voiced his concerns about how his father didn’t like him or his mother, leading to WWX comforting him and making the promise he would eventually break (along with my heart but it’s okay I didn’t need it anyway ;-;). This is after JC walked from Qishan all the way back to Lotus Pier without stopping, desperate to save WWX as fast as possible. With his inherent idea of blaming WWX for his problems, on top of not being recognized for such a valiant effort for his brother, JC was in the perfect position to take it out on WWX. But he never actually said it was WWX’s fault, even though we knew he believed it at the time. Yes, he blatantly told WWX that he was upset about his efforts being ignored, but JC’s wording at the time didn’t contain a single line of actual blame towards WWX. (WWX probably heard it different, but those are his problems, not JC’s.) Considering JC is someone who doesn’t think about his words when he’s angry or frustrated, it says a lot about just how much he tries NOT to blame WWX, because he still truly, genuinely loved his brother. As children, JYL told WWX that JC was secretly very happy to have a new companion, even though WWX was the reason for his dogs being taken away. And then we see baby JC crying about being unable to find WWX when he tells him to go away. Yes, there’s probably some fear of punishment from JFM, but if that was the only thing he feared, baby JC didn’t have to promise to chase dogs away to protect WWX for the rest of their lives together. JC loved WWX just as much as WWX loved him, he just has a very, very different love language from his brother. 

And then...the fall of Lotus Pier happened. And all of that came crashing down, burning away along with their home. JC finally blamed WWX for what had happened, years and years of pent-up, painstakingly internalized jealously and blame exploding at once. Because no matter what WWX did before, no matter how much trouble WWX caused before, it never cost them THIS much. WWX coming into their lives had never been any REAL trouble, and JC had been able to forgive everything else, because he loved WWX, and because WWX kept him from being lonely. But now his parents, who he desperately wanted the love from, were gone. His home was gone. WWX kept him from running in and taking revenge. WWX was the only person there when he let his emotions take over, and WWX happened to be someone he could blame. So what else could JC do but blame him? 

“If WWX hadn’t saved Lan WangJi, if WWX hadn’t provoked Wen Chao, if WWX hadn’t won the archery competition, if WWX hadn’t come into their lives...”

JC’s default response to grief and trauma is anger fused with bargaining. He finds blame in someone or something and focuses on the “What-Ifs”, because that’s what he was raised on. That’s just what he was used to, because JC could never vent like he needed to. WWX and JYL, his only real sources of comfort, never truly listened when he did actually say something. WWX would tell him “You’re better than you think”, while JYL would tell him “That’s how things are, but don’t worry”. While these were said and done out of good intentions, JC’s needs are never really met or even fully acknowledged. No one addresses or even really listens to what causes the problems, often knowing the cause but almost blatantly refusing to really talk about it. Again, this isn’t their fault. Both older siblings had their own coping mechanisms that clashed with JC’s, and their entire family have CLEARLY never been taught proper communication skills, so no one really knew how to communicate in the way they needed to. However, it’s still true that this affected JC the most, given his character. He NEEDED someone to listen to him, he NEEDED the validation that his feelings and person mattered, but he never got it. 

And yet...the sad thing about this was that JC himself clearly gave up on trying ti get it himself after Lotus Pier was gone. He let his emotions rule him, seeking revenge against the Wens with every intention of slaughtering them as they did his family during the Sunshot Campaign. We see his loss of morality and hypocrisy when he shows how he was perfectly willing to let WWX, as the Yiling Patriarch, stay by his side as long as he was the enemy of the Wens despite how much he used to be against WWX using resentful energy. We see the innocent child who had only wanted the love and approval of his family become a vengeful man burdened with trauma and the responsibilities of a Sect Leader at too young an age during a time of war.

JC was clearly traumatized by Lotus Pier, and to me, it seemed that he had manifested a fear of seeing his home fall a second time. We see this especially in his passiveness towards the other sects when he was put on the spot during the times WWX “caused trouble” as the Yiling Patriarch, and how much more reactive and unstable he was when talking to WWX before WWX decided to leave the sect. JC had been desperate to keep things stable, safe, that he was willing to abandon the debt he owed towards Wen Qing and Wen Ning. He didn’t want to make enemies of the other sects, because his family and old home were gone. When WWX brought up JFM’s teachings, JC was obviously really affected by it, and I think that’s why he accepted WWX’s duel right then. 

One thing I would like to say is this: At this point in their relationship, WWX absolutely wronged JC. Yes, it’s fully understandable why WWX did so, with his horrible misplaced guilt and unwillingness to drag JC into his choices any longer. But JC didn’t deserve this. He reacted badly to WWX after Lotus Pier, but we know for a fact that he was overwhelmed with grief and pain when he did, but despite how much he’d changed, it’s obvious that JC still loved WWX (still should’ve apologised tho). JC didn’t need to try and protect WWX, but he did. Some might argue that he did it for JYL’s sake or to keep power, but I doubt that. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have argued with WWX the way he did, screaming “I won’t be able to protect you!” if he only wanted WWX around for power or for JYL. JC did try, but WWX didn’t. WWX saw their relationship as a debt he owed to JFM and the Sect, and with the transfer of the golden core, he saw that debt repaid. Not once, however, did WWX truly consider JC’s feelings about it, too caught up in his own guilt and thus deciding what he thought was best for his brother. Again, it’s understandable, given what he’s been through. But after the war, WWX was definitely the main reason they fall apart, not JC. Not the mention the whole golden core transfer itself. WWX made the decision for JC, then refused to tell him and let his little brother abuse him as YZY did until they finally separated, WWX willingly breaking the promise he made to JC himself. WWX didn’t even try to reconnect, using the excuse of “the Wens needing him more”. Can you imagine how that must have felt for JC? He didn’t know what WWX did for him, so to him, he could only see his brother abandoning him for almost no reason. WWX was his closest companion his whole life, as well as the person who shaped him the most throughout his childhood. His life and character were dependant on WWX, both positively and negatively. WWX could live without JC, but JC couldn’t live without WWX, and he knew that. 

When JYL died, the trauma of Lotus Pier returned, and once again, JC was consumed by grief. So he did the exact same thing he did back then: Blame WWX. And this time, he no longer had a good reason to give WWX leniency. After all, WWX pushed him away. WWX didn’t care about him. WWX chose the Wens, strangers, over him. WWX neglected him just as his own father did. JC’s complicated feelings towards his beloved brother had finally morphed into hatred, and WWX had let it happen. So WWX died, and JC no longer had a physical target to blame. But he needed something, someone, to blame, because that’s how he copes. It’s unhealthy, it’s damaging, it’s cruel, but it’s his coping mechanism. It’s the only way he knows how to deal with things because he never had a single chance to learn to cope in any other way. Thus, he hunted demonic cultivators and tortured them, but his hatred could never be resolved because he would never be able to receive the closure he desperately needed. 

Then WWX came back, and JC learned about the golden core transfer. 

If you’ve ever had someone sacrificing their time for you without needing to, for example a friend staying up for three days straight to finish a birthday present on time while on a busy and hectic schedule, you’d probably know the momentary guilt of “OMG you didn’t have to do that!” while being grateful to them. Now imagine that guilt times almost 20 years of hating the person who did something so selfless for you while also knowing you mistreated them for a portion of that time. JC was absolutely devastated to know what WWX did for him, because what the hell, the man he hated and blamed, the man who pushed him away and abandoned him for a bunch of strangers from a sect that destroyed their first home, did something that was essentially cultivator’s suicide? For his sake? Because he actually cared for JC despite everything he did? But also, with WWX’s core instead of his own, didn’t it also mean that he was still Not-As-Good as WWX, because he never truly achieved anything great without WWX’s help in some way? The main, EXACT, cause of his insecurities and problems in the first place? Bruh I can’t blame him for having an existential crisis here. I really can’t.

At GuanYin Temple (admittedly I’m basing this off CQL cuz I haven’t gotten there in any other adaption so I don’t know if this scene actually took place there or not), when JC shouted at WWX for everything, JC was finally given a chance to properly vent and finally have someone listen. Yes, WWX being shouted at isn’t favourable, but honestly, I think WWX truly deserved it from JC here. JC was finally able to say things against WWX to WWX’s face, and most importantly, have the last person he grew up with that he used to truly love and treasure tell him his feelings were valid. But even with this, I still find it fully believable and probably even narratively better that JC and WWX never fully resolved their relationship (as much as I want them too, for my heart’s sake) by the end of the story. Because even knowing what WWX did for him, honestly, how on earth could JC trust him again? JC was too hurt for too long, and besides, they were incompatible in the first place. WWX and JC’s personalities and coping mechanisms and all that simply clashed with each other too much for them to go back to being brothers like they used to be. But at least there’s now closure between the two, and Jiang Cheng might be able to finally move on from the past he’s trapped in.

Like I said in the beginning, I find Jiang Cheng the most interesting as a CHARACTER out of the Yunmeng Siblings, and I haven’t even finished what I wanted to talk about with him. Gonna do a post next time about his relationships with others aside from WWX, specifically with Jin Ling probably. Also I don’t actually think Jiang Cheng was neurodivergent to begin with, but that’s also another post all on its own. Anyways I hope y’all survived this long ass post LMAO. 

[forlorninquiry]

LWJ's opinions on all his classmates on his 15th year ??? What does he think of JC, NHS, WN ( in the archery competition ), WC ( also in the archery competition ), SuShe and Jin Zixuan.

Send me a topic and I’ll write my take!

oh gosh this is actually gonna be difficult! But I love this one!

Okay, let’s see…. This ended up being an all-encompassing post about these people. The first set of bullets is his thoughts of them when he is classmates/same age, and the second set is later in life. I couldn’t think of what LWJ thought of NHS when they’re older, so I just kinda left him off. Sorry, Bro-Huaisang, but if the mun doesn’t know you well enough then I don’t know what kind of thoughts LWJ would have on you…

Jiang Cheng: He knows that JC has the makings to be a powerful cultivator and sect leader, but even he can see that he suffers from something that LWJ can’t quite place (it’s not his job or interest to analyze JC, so he doesn’t give it much thought). His opinions of JC change during the years that he knows him. Early on in their acquaintance he senses some sort of bitterness in the fringes of his personality, especially in some of the ways that he interacts with Wei Wuxian. He isn’t sure what to make of it, however. 

Nie Huisang: The fact that NHS keeps coming back to the Cloud Recesses to study could be mistaken for perseverance by some, but Lan Wangji knows that if NHS had the option he would rather not return to the Cloud Recesses at all. He thinks that his moral character and cultivation base is in need of development. Though it was NMJ’s wish to send his brother to Gusu Lan to be taught by the famous and strict Lan Qiren, LWJ isn’t certain if NHS would do any better anywhere else, though, since he thinks NHS overall lacks discipline and motivation to improve. He is a decent enough person, but it’s clear that cultivation isn’t his strength.

Wen Ning: LWJ would not have noticed him if WWX hadn’t tried to help him prove his qualities. Though WN was someone that the watching crowd as a whole mocked, saw that he had anxieties and insecurities. If he’d been noticed and praised by WWX, then he must truly have skills worthy of the praise. He doesn’t hear much of him afterwards, until after the Sunshot Campaign. 

Wen Chao: garbage WC is a rare type of man: he makes LWJ want to eat a lemon rather than associate with him. He dislikes nearly everything about him, but if he had to name some quality of him that he could think about appreciating, is that he is at least in some manner a strategist and managed to cause trouble for his opponents. 

Su She: LWJ feels a sense of kinship and protectiveness for any Gusu Lan disciple, and though he knows about SS’s flaws of character he doesn’t hold it against him but rather might wish that he would learn through mimicry of model behavior. As years pass and he is privvy to the going-ons of the sect and its students and disciples, he hears Su She’s name coming up a few times and it’s through this that LWJ gets an inkling of his true character. During the Xuanwu Cave, LWJ gets his first real idea that SS wants to be someone that he isn’t motivated or just isn’t made out to be. He doesn’t blame him for being a bad shot and shooting WWX in the arm, nor does he think SS is a coward or spineless at this point, but he does think that he doesn’t quite make the standards expected out of a Gusu Lan disciple and he hopes that he can improve (high standards, where could those have possibly come from I wonder). He also realizes that SS constantly suffers errors in judgement. 

Jin Zixuan: hot-tempered and confident to the point of appearing overly so. LWJ feels a sort of intensity coming from him (particularly where he and WWX intersect), but he does not know enough about JZXuan’s circumstances to come to real conclusions about him. JZXuan’s cultivation skills are quite strong and he is otherwise morally and ethically sound. LWJ does not mind JZXuan, and it was a pity to hear of his death. 

Beyond the 15th year, though, I have some additional thoughts about how LWJ’s opinions on his classmates.

Jiang Cheng, revisited: During the Sunshot Campaign, he sees that JC is being consumed with a sort of feral belligerence, and he’s not sure if it’s because of WWX’s mysterious absence throwing him off-balance, or if it’s because he’s so hungry for vengeance. LWJ suspects it’s a combination of the two, and he strongly disapproves of JC’s compliance of the way the Wens have been hunted down like animals in this highly immoral way. Once WWX re-appears and its clear that it’s been him who has been the hunter, LWJ is horrified to find that they both feed off each other’s drive for revenge. Later in life, he regards JC cautiously but keeps tabs on what he’s been doing because of his constant search for demonic cultivators (he wonders if JC also suspects that his brother is truly not gone). LWJ doesn’t approve of the way JC holds on obsessively and bitterly to the past, but he isn’t eager to fault him for it, either. 

Wen Ning, revisited: The next time LWJ hears of him is after he is killed. LWJ remembers the name Wen Ning, and LWJ feels something when he learns that he is part of the group of Wens that WWX rescued. He knows it’s a type of harmless, minor envy that WWX would focus on WN even after he comes back in MXY’s body, and LWJ does nothing to act on it while he’s sober, conscious, and clear-minded. Anything he does while drunk is a childish result of wanting to be close or a confidante in some way to WWX the same way that he is with WN. By the time WN tells LWJ about his core, LWJ has come to the full realization that he is grateful for WN’s presence in WWX’s life - that even if it wasn’t him that he felt he could rely on in certain times, he is glad that WN was there for him. Though he is dead, but with a consciousness, LWJ doesn’t mind WN being nearby though he pities him for his half-life. 

Su She, revisited: Normally, when someone makes a decision to leave the path their on to pursue their own calling, LWJ would approve of it because it requires a certain sort of personal, internal strength to break away like that. But in SS’s case, it ended up becoming clear that there was some sort of mysterious hostility between him and SS for some reason that he couldn’t fathom. LWJ wasn’t going to figure it out, because if SS was leaving the sect and it was clear that he wasn’t going to be dissuaded by anyone who would spend the energy trying to, then he wasn’t going to expend any energy or worry about it either. Even when Su She appears periodically and still seems hostile to LWJ, all he really feels is a sort of exasperation because of the conflict that SS believes exists (that really doesn’t). LWJ was more pleased than he would like to admit to hear WWX say “who are you?” to him during the second seige. 

[llycaons]

hello, 25. I love lwj but this is yanli’s episode

in the last episode I wanted to mention how nice it is that lxc, an generally compassionate individual with a baseline of common sense, understands that wwx is going through some difficult stuff mentally and would never, just as a example, expect him to remember the nuances of a situation he was completely delirious for. just a friendly relationship with the level of basic interpersonal empathy you would expect from someone like lxc, who can tell when someone is able to register and recall what’s happening around them and when they can’t, perhaps because they’re traumatized and feverish. just a non-specific example I thought up myself nbd

alright, target practice scene. this one got flak for being super heavy-handed, which I kind of get, but I think it shows how powerful the jins were. this entire hunt is a show of strength disguised as a benevolent competition bestowed upon the smaller clans. the only reason wwx didn’t intervene right then was bc jc begged him not to, because he knows the jiangs can’t afford to offend the jins. the lans and nies seem uncomfortable, but I doubt they thought that that trying to intervene would have helped. it seems like the wens are not popular enough for the majority of people to support humane treatment of the remnants anyway...

not that these are excuses btw this was a horrific scene I just get why politicians act the way they do etc.

and lxc was still buddies with jgy after this? man I meant what I said about him being compassionate and generous but like. that’s too much dude. wtf that’s super messed up

also when it comes to the dafan mountain arc, if I had to choose between somewhat awkward plot choices and a romanticized sexual assault scene, well. this isn’t my preferred adaptation for nothing

(but like yanli saw this and girl??? this is the family you’re marrying into??)

wwx taking lxc’s well-meaning advice as “do not associate with my brother as you are tainted’ but lwj walking off the well-worn path to join him anyway!!! the symbolism!!

I still am scene....stunning...nothing to add really except that wwx visibly takes a deep breath before the zhiji line. like he’s bracing himself for the vulnerability. and I think they could have gotten somewhere here if yanli and jzx hadn’t entered the scene

god but this flirting...a trainwreck. he’s nervous but trying to act cool so he’s all “this place is super dangerous. not for me though. I rock. I can show you more dangerous creatures and how I kill them. dangerous creatures are the best because blood sports are exciting” and this poor girl is like “no wtf I hope nobody dies?? why are you telling me this” what a mess

she must have a real soft spot for awkward disasters forfeiting their dignity because after yelling at her that he was the one to invite her and literally running away she’s like ohh okay sure I like that (hopeless romantic yanli?? big weakness for grand romantic gestures that are super embarrassing??))

everyone giving wwx shit for his methods is so hypocritical when the nies caught a shit-ton with their butcher sabres , which is a detail I wish had been included, but anyway. when everyone hears wwx caught 1/3 of the prey and lwj seems alarmed, wwx looks SO disappointed in him! they just said they were zhijis and now lwj is turning around and judging him for catching prey with his sick tunes! this judgement maybe a reason they can’t get make much progress in their relationship right now and why wwx is initially so avoidant of lwj when he comes back.

the thing that stands out to me most when yanli politely rips jin zixun a new one is that when she’s angry, I can really see it. in comparison I actually don’t like xz’s way of expressing anger with wwx. it’s very physical and I think it’s in-character but I don’t think the shaking is enough when his face is so blank. personally. (jc’s anger meanwhile is very real - frightening and and unpleasant because he often uses it to hurt or scare people who are already in trouble)

yanli’s actress is very expressive here, just in her facial expression she looks almost murderous, she’s holding herself taut with barely-restrained rage and you can hear her voice shaking as she defenders her brother. and this may be because this is the only scene she’s ever angry in, but it packs such a punch that xz cried when it wasn’t even scripted and it’s enthralling to watch and I know it’s a widely misinterpreted scene and her apologizing for wwx (like for a child) was humiliating and dangerous to her own fragile social position, but I’m so glad she got this scene. it’s stunning. I liked to see her express herself so strongly and stand by her family

so I do think it’s interesting to note that madame jin (and presumably the more gossip-minded of the cultivation world) do not consider the jiang siblings and wwx to be “real” siblings, which is something that the jiangs and wwx themselves (especially wwx and jc) definitely struggle with later on in the series. and I don’t know if wwx, as the outsider, would even be socially allowed to openly claim the jiangs as his siblings if they don’t do that first, even if that’s how he felt about them (and I think it was very clear he does consider them family). but we do know this is how yanli feels, as she states explicitly

(I wish complicated family dynamics discussions weren’t so plagued with incest shipping I swear to god there is so much here to get into that I don’t want to for fear of the misinterpretations that ppl would take fostered by this fucking culture of sexualizing sibling dynamics)

wen qing!!!! haunting reunion, gorgeous cinematography. even in a crowded street, notice how nobody actually comes between them once they lock eyes with each other

I’m so floored by how easy it would have been to make so many of their scenes romantic but I don’t even get a HINT of that subtext. and that’s something I’ve really been missing in media I consume...platonic m/f friendships can be so good. they’re both doomed at this point, but they’re going to create a safe community with the wens before they do. they’re going to plant some beautiful flowers with wen ning and communally take care of a child and co-run a refugee camp and be hunted by all cultivation sects and die for each other. you know, friendship stuff

they made mzy look ethereally beautiful with makeup and then gave her a few dirt smudges...we deserve REAL dirty women, cql

quick return to jc - maybe like jgy said in 48, he could have capitalized on wwx’s power. he could have viewed it as an unconventional but badly needed source of political standing that the jiangs could have used to their advantage. if he didn’t view it as a threat to his own power or as a reason that people thought poorly of the sect, as his inferiority complex/need to be in control/habitual underestimating of wwx’s maturity led him to believe. if he planned it out with wwx, maybe they could have stood together and protected each other. or maybe not. wwx wasn’t taking orders very consistently at this point. the sects may have targeted the entire jiang clan to eradicate the threat, which, if nothing else, would have rendered all of wwx’s sacrifices made in vain.

I never noticed before how soft lwj’s voice gets when he says he wants to bring someone back to cloud recesses and especially when he says “hide him”. it sounds a lot like “keep him safe” to me. the musical cleansing failed, lwj is starting to panic and leans towards extremes, and lxc reminds him that wwx probably won’t want to go.

and there’s probably a ton of interpretations on what lwj’s next expression means, but it’s pretty clear to me. it’s resignation, or defeat. because he knows that wwx is probably beyond his help now. his only method has been exhausted, and as long as he sticks to the rules there’s no other way he can see to divert the catastrophe he fears is is coming for wwx

and sure enough, less than 24 hours later he hears that wwx has used resentful energy to break into a jin prison camp, free the refugees, murder a bunch of guards, revive the corpse of wen ning, reject all of the cultivation world, and hole up in the burial mounds. and they meet only three more times before the end

[cinnamonandpancakes]

Thinkin about the Yi City Crew (as you do) and idk, I think the tragedy (in CQL) for LWJ in particular is seeing these cultivators who he took notice of (he knew their names! when they met! he doesn’t like people this is very unusual!) reduced to this terrible fate where one’s soul is shattered and the other is a living corpse doomed to walk the earth forever and how that mirrors him so completely.

WWX’s soul was presumed lost! He was left to uphold their promise together and raise their son alone! Song Zichen doesn’t even have a son! He just has a bag holding the shattered remnants of the man he was going to spend his life with, who he cruelly pushed away and spent the rest of his life trying to find and make amends and then had to watch kill himself as he realised he’d killed his dearest friend (soulmate). Idk it’s Tragic in a different way to the MDZS Yi City.

There IS something incredibly tragic about WWX missing meeting his shishu and being the reason for his demise due to his demonic cultivation but the tragedy there is of Missed Connection. The CQL tragedy is of connection brutally ripped away and that just gets me more, especially in relation to LWJ whose whole life is filled with these connections that are brutally severed, beginning with his parents and then continuing through almost everyone he’s ever cared about or admired.

In the book I liked the Yi City arc, don’t get me wrong, I love Xue Yang as a villain and it’s a great lil section but I think having that point of connection beforehand where the reader already knows the people involved makes it that more emotionally impactful. After all, let’s be real, Yi City is mainly a plot vessel to explain how Empathy works so it doesn’t need to be explained later with Nie Mingjue’s head with a lil bit of angst sprinkled on top.

Also! WRT WWX, Xiao Xingchen isn’t just a name! He opens that coffin and it’s someone he knew! Someone he respected and whose opinion he cared about! Someone to whom he’d expressed a wish to emulate! There’s a particularly angsty blend of CQL and MDZS where WWX is still the First Demonic Cultivator but he knew Xiao Xingchen before his death and he’s slapped in the face with the knowledge that if he hadn’t messed with this cultivation then his shishu whom he greatly admired would probably still be alive, another on the list of people he cares about whose deaths he indirectly caused.

I think there’s a blend of canons that I think I’d like best where the Yin Iron arc doesn’t happen, but Wen Qing and Jiang Yanli and Wen Ning still go to the lectures and WWX and LWJ still go nighthunting together after the lectures and they still meet XXC and SZC out doing their thing, baby faced and wide eyed and they all express their wish to leave politics behind to just help people. (The don’t fight Xue Yang because I think it’s funny when he’s Baby)

Then they get called back to go to the Wen Cultivation Conference and they thrash everyone at archery because power couple (ribbon shenanigans are more along the lines of WWX trips and pulls it off and LWJ goes bright red and freezes, it’s v awkward) [[JC sees WQ at the competition and does the best he’s ever done]].

Then the Wens do their ‘we’re banning nighthunting’ and CR burns and Indoctrination happens. Xuanwu cave, LWJ bites WWX as in MDZS because that’s hilarious. Lotus Pier as in CQL except Yanli is sent to Meishan because fuck Lanling. WWX becomes CorpseMan a la MDZS because all the giggling female corpses is Gross but also like such a Look, WWX accepts help a la CQL because I like the vibe of LWJ trying and failing to bring his crush back from the clutches of Evil.

Idk if I’d keep the Shooting at Wens thing from the pheonix mountain hunt? on one hand it demonstrates how everyone is scared of the Jins now (and that scene where wwx shoots 5 arrows is hot) but on the other I don’t that no one would speak up?? and I don’t think the Jins would want to be Conspicuously Evil so soon??? Blindfold yes, no kiss tho because I found the ‘LWJ punches trees when angry’ aspect of it annoying and I’d rather have a heartfelt talk about being soulmates (could have a sexy scene of LWJ walking up and taking off the blindfold and declaring WWX doesn’t need to prove himself to Jin Zixun)[[maybe an almost kiss before yanli appears]]

Qiongqi path: Wen Rescue as in CQL because that shit hurted but Wen Ning would Definitely Be Dead a la MDZS. Burial Mounds Life happens. [[JC refuses the comb from Wen Qing ‘what use would I have for it?’ he says]] There is no second flute, WWX lost control and Jin Zixuan is dead at his hand and his hand alone. Wen Qing and Wen Ning go to turn themselves in alone. [[Wen Qing leaves the comb in a tree stump where later a small boy will shelter as his home is destroyed around him]] WWX loses control at Nightless City, JYL dies, WWX jumps off a cliff. LWJ, wounded and heartbroken, takes his stand at the Burial Mounds, trying to protect WWX’s people after hiding A-Yuan in Cloud Recesses [[A-Yuan has the comb, years later Jiang Cheng will find him reminiscing and will have to leave the room to cry angry tears]] LWJ is incapacitated and punished. The Wen Remnants are killed and thrown into the Blood Pool.

16 years pass. 16 long years.

Mo Xuanyu summons back a Wei Wuxian who wanted to die but one who hoped against hope the Wen Remnants hadn’t been murdered after his death. A Wei Wuxian who regretted letting himself die without making sure they were safe. (A Wei Wuxian who had to find out he had failed when he arrived in the Burial Mounds to rescue the juniors). [[A Wei Wuxian that looks like Wei Wuxian and Mo Xuanyu combined]] In this canon they find body parts, a la MDZS. They share inn rooms with the knowledge of what they had meant to each other and how in the end it hadn’t meant a thing. They go to Yi City and find a boy, barely older than the juniors, playing house with the bodies of their friends, the ones they wanted to be like. WWX is reminded of all he put LWJ through when he jumped off that cliff. It is no wonder LWJ drinks that night.

Koi Tower happens, right? Idk it’s got to happen at some point. Probably CQL canon if only because I know that one better? I don’t think there’s much difference between the two for this bit.

At the second siege of the Burial Mounds the bodies in the blood pool come to their rescue. Wei Wuxian is horrified. ‘How could you let them do that!’ LWJ stays silent. (‘What else could warrant 33 lashes of the discipline whip’ he will whisper later, drunk off a single cup of wine.) ‘The honourable Hanguang-Jun was in seclusion after you died.’ Jiang Wanyin will say in his best sneer. Lan Qiren says nothing. (’I tried, I tried but it wasn’t enough’)

After the Burial Mounds they return to Lotus Pier. The revelations happen. [[Jiang Wanyin is horrified for more reasons than Wei Wuxian realises. No wonder Wen Qing could not accept his help after what she had done to him]]

Guanyin Temple bores me for the most part, JGY is allowed to monologue for far too long. I like the idea of them confessing at the most awkward time but at the same time it drags out JGY’s monologue even longer and that shit took like 4 episodes in CQL and it Dragged. I skimmed most of those chapters in the novel. JGY and NMJ’s body end up in a coffin trapped under a statue in the image of JGY’s dead mother. Probably have the iconic novel line where JGY is like ‘I hold LWJ’s life in my hands’ or w/e because that’s kinda hot. [[WWX comments to LWJ about how in the ancestral hall they’ve already done most of their bows, LWJ short circuits, JC asks if WWX would like his wedding planning books from when they were kids, WWX short circuits because ‘you KEPT THEM???’ ‘yeah dumbass, you’re still my brother even if I hate you!’]]

There’s that cute scene in CQL where WWX touches LSZ’s ribbon and they hug and cry, keeping that. LWJ and WWX kiss because I Said So and then also have sex because the UST is killing me (but not in front of LSZ, after he’s gone off to travel with Uncle Ning) They handfast but LWJ has to go be interim sect leader while convincing his brother to come out of seclusion and wwx decides to go try and set his demons to rest. LXC demands to be allowed to plan Wangji’s wedding as a stipulation of starting to return from seclusion. Wangji wisely does not mention they already consider themselves married.

[[Wen Qing is found in the cells of Jinlintai. JC tells her that he forgives her. She tells him she still can’t marry him, she has broken her oath as a healer. He lets her go.]]

[[2 years later she turns up in Yunmeng with her brother and her nephew in tow and suggests he join them on their latest night hunt. It’s not love, but he’s beginning to realise he can move on from her. Jin Rulan is disconcerted to find his uncle smiling the next time he visits.]]

[[For some reason, Sect Leader Yao is appointed Chief Cultivator. Everyone is appalled but a surprising amount gets done in order to avoid letting him talk too long.]]

[crossdressingdeath]

(1st aroace) hello again! this blog continues to fill me with joy. i've noticed that way too many people make shipping posts w/ jc's list of requirements in a partner which really,,, doesn't sit right w me. like that list is unrealistic and it should be called out as such; jc wants a wife that will never surpass him in anything and would never inconvenience him in any way, and that shit's not right.

I’m very much of the opinion that JC’s requirements list specifically exists to show how shallow and competitive he is. He wants a supermodel who’ll run the house, always do as he says, and never surpass him. There isn’t a single character who fits even two of those requirements. To run through the most common ships... LXC won’t do as he says unless he agrees with it and has already surpassed him, and you do not want him running your house, we love him but this man is terrible at chores. NHS won’t do as he says and won’t run the house and probably isn’t supermodel material (sorry babe), also he’s infinitely smarter which counts as surpassing JC. WN would probably rather die again than obey JC, is too shy and clumsy (with his Undead Hands) to run the house, has already surpassed him (with his Undead Strength) and again isn’t a supermodel (with his Undead Everything, sorry WN I love you but the corpse-y-ness is a definite point against you in the supermodel category). WQ never does what anyone says unless she agrees with it or her family are being held hostage and has already surpassed him with her medical knowledge and skill, and frankly would refuse to run JC’s house due to it being JC’s, so that’s a generous one and a half, she is a supermodel and I will Fight You (donghua WQ... why is she not real...). WWX won’t run the house, clearly won’t do as he says, and surpassed him when he arrived at Lotus Pier age nine. LWJ probably has the same household running problems as LXC, would rip JC’s head off with his bare hands before obeying him, and again surpassed him a long time ago. NMJ again already surpassed him and Does Not Take Orders Well, also probably doesn’t know how to run a household, whether he counts as a supermodel depends on what you think of supermodels.

So that’s... Hm, LXC and WQ tied for first with a generous one and a half points (probably closer to one but I’ll round up), NMJ in second with maybe a one, with everyone else at a high zero. No one fits this list! It is insanely unrealistic, that’s why everyone who knows about it mocks him for it in-universe! It’s literally just a demonstration of how he’s painfully shallow and terrified of being second best! And also why he’s destined to die alone because his takeaway is that no woman is good enough for him and not that he needs realistic standards!

[apparently-i-am-an-adult]

You’re so right

Just realized that you could write a canon-compliant, Wei Wuxian-centric fic with no mention, allusion, or reference to Jiang Cheng, but you couldn’t write a canon-compliant, Jiang Cheng-centric fic without bringing up Wei Wuxian, and I just think this sums up their characters so neatly.