#lonely jiang cheng

[tea-cat-arts]

I simply think this fandom doesn't give Wei Wuxian enough credit for the various ways in which he saved Lan Wangji

[grapestones]

You know the melamine who said the Traveler looks like a monster who could swallow the world in a single bite? I wonder how they would describe Jiang Cheng

[travalerray]

what if I wrote a TMA AU. What then

[kanene-yaaay]

Once again thinking about the twin prides of yunmeng being so in sync with each other in and out of battle, dancing around one another in banter and scowls and smiles and brawls and screaming matching and comforting moments. Thinking about how Jiang Cheng can look at Wei Wuxian's smile and immediately know when he is about to pull a prank and how Wei Wuxian can differ his shidi's every frown and reading the meaning behind it. How they fight and battle never leaving each other's side and covering their weak spots

Do you think they carry this same mind reading sync when they're tickle attacking someone? How Jiang Cheng will scowl and complain but still hold the person while Wei Wuxian chuckled evilly and slowly got his wiggly fingers closer to their victim as teases and (silly) promises fell like waterfall from his mouth.

I wonder if Wei Wuxian would be squeezing their sides non stop, always changing his style before the other could grown accustomed to the giggly feeling and pulling every new trick that would never Fail to pull a surprised gasp, a squealing protest or a new round of unexpected giggles. Then he would look up into Jiang Cheng's with that way and wiggle his eyebrows and Jiang Cheng would roll his eyes and petulant wait for him to look away and go back to destroy the person before suddenly dropping their arms he was previously holding in his hands and burry his fingers on their ribs, digging and scratching while Wei Wuxian poked fun at him and changes his touch to a light, soft and incredibly fast dance of fingers that the other could barely feel tickling one spot before it quickly jumped to another.

I wonder if after some time they wouldn't even need to look at each other as Wei Wuxian stopped his tickling and decided to lay one tease after the other while Jiang Cheng turned around and drilled on their worst spot, both fighting for attention, only doubling their attack when they sensed the person was losing more their mind to the other, discovering the best words, the best place to scribble, dig or poke and leaving them wondering if it was the tickling or the words the more difficult to survive

The way that Jiang Cheng would let a bright, self satisfied smirk when their tickle attack was over and he was watching the person taking their breath back, still giggly and smiling like crazy, and made sure they wouldn't have taken it too far before Wei Wuxian sneaked a swipe of fingers in his spine and dashed away as he jumped and barked his name, immediately running away after him.

[i-miss-lotor]

I just wanna say it somewhere so here I am, because Levi got to me again and I hate how much my heart aches for him and I hate it even more that I have an important-ish exam on Sunday but my god, I swear once I'm done with that, I will start rereading the manga and/or rewatching the anime and I will write him such a soft ending with Jiang Cheng in tow (because I already started a fic shipping them so damn right I'm finishing it). I want him to be happy and to love and be loved.

[mxtxfanatic]

Who Killed Wei Wuxian? the Politics of Culpability in MDZS

The title is kind of a misnomer because we know how Wei Wuxian died and we know who is responsible, so let's get those quotes out the way:

“To be honest though, if it weren’t for young Chief Jiang’s knowledge of the Yiling Laozu’s weaknesses, the siege of the Burial Mounds might not have succeeded. Don’t forget what kinds of things Wei Wuxian has at his disposal. Don’t you remember when he annihilated more than 3,000 high level cultivators?”

—Chapt. 1: Rebirth, fanyiyi

[Wei Wuxian] “I have to clarify this. [Jiang Cheng] didn’t kill me. I died because one of my techniques backfired.”

—Chapt. 43: Beauty I, fanyiyi

Wei Wuxian died from the backlash of attempting to destroy the second yin tiger tally while the first siege of the Burial Mounds took place. Jiang Cheng and the rest of the cultivation world is directly responsible for his death, thus are to blame. However, this meta isn't about who we are "meant to" blame for Wei Wuxian's death but about the conversation that the novel has about culpability. Contrary to the bad faith engagement that happens around this topic within the fandom, mxtx actually brings up this culpability problem many times in the novel:

After a moment of silence, Wei Wuxian said, “What else have you heard?” “Jiang Cheng, Clan Chief Jiang, brought people to encircle and besiege the Burial Mounds. He killed you, sir.” “I have to clarify this. He didn’t kill me. I died because one of my techniques backfired.” Wen Ning finally lifted his eyes and looked at him directly. “But, Clan Chief Jiang, he clearly—" “It’s impossible for someone to walk on a lonely, single-log bridge safely and soundly for an entire lifetime. It couldn’t be helped.” Wen Ning seemed to want to sigh, though he had no breath to sigh with.

—Chapt. 43: Beauty I, fanyiyi

Wen Qing waited quietly for him to finish cursing, “And so, you see? There’s no use. With the way things are, the identity of the one who placed the curse of Hundred Holes is no longer important. What’s important is the fact that the hundreds of people at Qiongqi path and... Jin ZiXuan were indeed killed by A-Ning.” Wei WuXian, “... But, but...” But what? He himself didn’t even know what to put after ‘but’. He couldn’t think of a reason to give, an excuse to use. He spoke, “... But even then, I should be the one going. I was the one who made the corpses kill the people. Why would the knife go instead of the murderer?”

—Chapt. 77: Nightfall, exr

Wen Ning says that Jiang Cheng is to blame for Wei Wuxian's death while Wei Wuxian says that it was an inevitability that could only be blamed on the circumstances rather than any individual. The Wen siblings say that Wen Ning is the one who killed Jin Zixuan, but Wei Wuxian argues that he is the one who turned Wen Ning into a weapon, thus absolving Wen Ning of the crime and placing it solely on Wei Wuxian's shoulders as the weapon's wielder. Who's side does the novel take? Well to answer that, let's take a look at another character who has caused many deaths throughout the novel: Jin Guangyao:

Jin GuangYao saw through the worries in his eyes instantly, and became so enraged that he actually started to laugh, “Lan XiChen! All my life, I’ve lied to countless people and have destroyed countless more. Just as you’ve said, murdering my father, my brother, my wife, my son, my master, my friends—There’s not a single sin left in this world that I haven’t committed!”

—Chapt. 108: Concealment Part 2, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Of all the characters Jin Guangyao lists, he personally, with his own hands, verifiably killed two. Jin Guangshan was raped to death. Qin Su committed suicide. Jin Zixuan was killed in the Qionqi Path ambush. The details of Jin Rusong's death are unknown. Jin Guangyao didn't even personally kill any of the clans the Jin used as experiments nor did he murder the sex workers with his own hands. Only Wen Ruohan and Nie Mingjue were directly killed by Jin Guangyao—the former by being literally stabbed in the back and the latter through poisoning—so why does Jin Guangyao claim responsibility? It's because he planned these death. Without his direct manipulations and explicit intention to kill, none of those characters would have died as they did. Thus, despite not taking a knife to each of them individually, the blood of all of these characters is on Jin Guangyao's hands.

Here's another example:

It had taken the Four Great Sects three full months of recuperation, reorganization and planning before they’d finally become ready to take seize upon Burial Mound in retaliation; at last “exterminating” the last remnants of the Wen Sect along with the deranged Yiling Patriarch himself.

—Chapt. 108: Concealment Part 2, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Around 3,000 cultivators gathered to kill 50 individuals. Logically, there is no way that 3,000 people literally had a direct hand in killing a few dozen people. However, they all came with the explicit intent to massacre, and they all take pride and credit in having participated in the first siege. Even though not nobody took turns personally smashing Granny Wen's head in, they are each still culpable for her and the other Wen remnants' deaths.

But what about the people who were "only following orders" (the Nuremberg defense, for people who haven't yet released how many of villain stan defenses sound like Nazi arguments) or "didn't mean" their actions? Should they be blamed just for being followers of bad people, whether be it because they genuinely believed in the mastermind's lies or wanted to personally benefit from the chaos? Should they be considered blameless for murderous intent that makes a victim of the "wrong" person? Mdzs addresses that, too:

One of them shouted from afar, “Wei... Wei Ying! If you’re really that strong, why don’t you go find those sect leaders participating in the pledge conference? What could you prove by picking on us low-level cultivators with no power to fight back?” Wei WuXian let out another short whistle. The cultivator who shouted felt as a hand suddenly tugged him down. He fell off the city gate, breaking both of his legs, and began to scream. Amid the wails, Wei WuXian’s expression didn’t change at all, “Low-level cultivators? Do I have to tolerate you, just because you’re low-level cultivators? If you dared say those things, you had to dare shoulder the consequences. If you knew that you were insignificant pieces of scum as filthy as ants, how come you didn’t know to think before you speak?!”

—Chapt. 77: Nightfall, exr

Wei WuXian could tell the arrow tip was originally aiming for his heart, his vital region. Yet, because the archer wasn’t skilled, the force of the arrow tip dwindled by midair to have missed the heart and shot into the ribcage. Everyone around the person who shot the arrow had eyes wide open, staring with shock and even fear at the disciple who had done such a thing. Wei WuXian looked up. Darkness veiled his face. He pulled out the arrow and tossed it back hard. With a wail, the young cultivator who snuck an attack at him was hit right in the chest with the arrow he tossed back! A boy next to him threw himself on top of him, “Brother! Brother!” The sect’s array was immediately thrown into chaos. The sect leader pointed at Wei WuXian with one shaking finger, “You... You... You are so cruel!” With his right hand, Wei WuXian unhurriedly pressed the wound at his chest, temporarily ceasing the blood flow. His voice was indifferent, “What does cruel mean? If he dared shoot the arrow at me when I was off guard, he should’ve known what would be facing him if he failed. They call me the cultivator of the crooked path, anyways, so you can’t possibly count on me to be generous and not bother with him, can you?”

...

Wei WuXian was pushed onto the ground again by the force. The next time he looked up, he saw the gleaming blade of a sword pierce through her throat. The boy holding the sword was the young cultivator who cried over the disciple who had shot the arrow. He was still crying, eyes covered in tears, “You thief! This is for my brother!” Sitting on the dirty ground, Wei WuXian stared with disbelief at Jiang YanLi, whose head had already dipped, blood trickling ceaselessly from her neck. ... The boy finally realized that he killed the wrong person. He pulled out the sword, along with a series of bloody spurts. With fright, he staggered back, mumbling, “... I-It wasn’t me, it wasn’t... I was going to kill Wei WuXian, I was going to avenge my brother... She was the one who threw herself over on her own!”

—Chapt. 78: Nightfall, exr

The cultivators both at Nightless City and those who didn't go choose to provoke Wei Wuxian based on the slander spread by the cultivation clan leaders. Those at Nightless City are gathered specifically to pledge to kill him. However, the moment Wei Wuxian turns his sights on them, then it's "But we're just baby 🥺 why not pick on someone your own size?" Wei Wuxian's response is masterful in that he calls them out for what they are: opportunistic cowards who prey on the weak but fear the strong. They wanted to attack him without consequences, but the moment consequences happened, they wanted to shift responsibility. The clan of the boy who attempted to kill Wei Wuxian is the same, as well as that boy's brother who killed Jiang Yanli. You chose to be here, you chose to participate, so just as you wanted to share in the spoils, you must also share in the responsibility, whether you were able to achieve your goal or not.

Now with all of this context in mind, let's circle back to Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian's convos: who are the killers? In the case of the first siege, the answer is Jiang Cheng... as well as the rest of the cultivation world. While the responsibility may vary in degrees (Jiang Cheng owed a debt to the Wen siblings and Wei Wuxian that the other participants did not), it is still a shared one. In the case of the Qionqi Path ambush, Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning, too, share and accept responsibility despite only one person getting their hands dirty while the other person (subconsciously) gave the orders. Wei Wuxian may have turned Wen Ning into a fierce corpse, but Wen Ning had the consciousness to refuse and chose not to in service of defending the man who saved his family.

Finally, I want to leave on this note: while Jiang Cheng is to blame for Wei Wuxian's death, Wei Wuxian, himself, does not wish to place that blame on his former shidi. One reason is that he acknowledges that his murder was a forgone conclusion—something anyone would have plotted towards, anyways, with or without Jiang Cheng's willing intervention—the moment the cultivation world turned on him as an enemy, and two, because of this:

Suddenly, [Jiang Cheng] said, “I’m sorry.” Wei WuXian froze, then said, “......You don’t have to say sorry.” After everything that had happened between them, it was impossible to tell who was the one most at fault.

—Chapt. 103: A Hatred for Life Part 6, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

There is so much bad blood between these two that to weigh their transgressions against each other—particularly in the wake of the golden core transfer reveal—would be petty and diminish them both as people. Wei Wuxian gave up his golden core for the man who later willingly and gleefully plotted his murder, but Jiang Cheng lost his only friend, his sister, and his reputation over all of those jealousy-clouded decisions. In a way, this entanglement made them both lose, so the best answer is to cut the loss and move on (Wei Wuxian's approach) rather than trying to forcefully maintain the connection of tangled debts at the threat of facing even bigger losses (Jiang Cheng's approach until the climax). There's nothing to be gained from trying to hold Jiang Cheng accountable for his crimes against Wei Wuxian, so it's best to simply let sleeping dogs lie and for Wei Wuxian to continue to live his life happily no longer tied in any way to the man who led to his death.

[fixielixie]

it must sting for jiang cheng to realise by the end of the novel that wwx came back to life to a world they both thought despised him, with no one and nothing to his name,. jc thinking it was gonna be easy to corner wwx and make him pay. bc jc has been bitter and lonely and hateful for 13 yrs and is so ready to take that out on wwx… just to realise he was wrong, like he always is. like he was wrong about every time he accused wwx of doing an act of good just to play the hero. that for as long as jc has been alone, wwx never has been. wwx has always been surrounded by people who loved him and who wanted the best for him, even at his lowest point. and when he comes back to life it’s no different, so jc has to watch him leave, surrounded by a loving partner, juniors who adore and respect him, even his own nephew who he coached to hate wwx just as much as he did can’t help but want to be around him bc wwx is just that good.

i can just imagine it was a lonely trip back to lotus pier that day

[uncorrectintamed]

Lan Wangji: [yawns]

Wei Wuxian: Yeah, being that pretty must be tiring.

Lan Wangji: Then you must be exhausted.

Jiang Cheng: Will you two shut up? Some of us are lonely.

[bnnywngs]

Wei Wuxian is a good child. It's what every adult around him says, at least. If you ask for what he thinks, he'll say he's just doing his best to not be a burden.

At 13 years old, it's the first time he's been truly alone in his family house. His parents are always traveling somewhere, they used to bring him with them when he was little and didn't need to go to school, and Wei Wuxian still remembers those days with bitter fondness, but after he started school his guardian for a while was his grandma.

But now she's gone and his parents did not ask him if it was ok before they took off overseas once again. Although, his father did look a bit guilty.

"You're old enough, now, and you can cook, so it's fine for us." his mother said.

"If the school needs a guardian to sign a paper, our lawyer can do it, you just have to call him." his father forced a smile "Although he's going to visit you once a week. And we asked the neighbors to help, too."

"Oh! And your uncle Fengmian is going to look after you, too, ok?" his mother had no problems with smiling "We're going to do our best to come back more often."

"And you can always call us, ok?" his father looked at his wife's smile and suddenly his expression softened and his smile turned more real.

Wei Wuxian felt sick, but didn't say anything.

If they didn't want to stay, he wouldn't make them.

So, he tried his very best to live his life without complaining and with little to no tears. He smiled, laughed and joked around, trying to convince himself he was ok. That he was happy.

But sometimes, it was always too much for him and he felt negative emotions he tried with all his might to smother inside a deep box and kick to the back of his mind.

"Jealous." he said out loud "I feel jealous."

"What? Of who?" Jiang Cheng looked at him weirdly, as if doubting his words and thought he was crazy.

They were alone in the other boy's room playing video games before dinner, during one weekend Wei Wuxian was forced invited to stay over.

"You." Wei Wuxian shrugged, making his character die in the game.

"...Why?" Jiang Cheng's right eyebrow was almost kissing his hairline.

"Your parents are here." he hugged his knees, trying really hard to not cry "They fight a lot, but they love you and are here." sniffing, his voice trembled as he confessed his deepest feelings "I'm lonely."

Jiang Cheng looked down at his hands still holding the controller, biting his lip. He thought about what he should do, and ended up scooting over and throwing an arm around his friend's trembling shoulders.

"It's ok." he said, feeling awkward.

"I hate them." Wei Wuxian whispered against his knees.

Jiang Cheng felt his heart freeze for a moment "Sometimes..." he started "Sometimes I hate mine, too..."

Wei Wuxian cried silently for a while and Jiang Cheng kept half hugging him until he lifted his head and they both laughed at their red eyes and wet cheeks.

They didn't talk about it again until they were already in highschool and Wei Wuxian decided he wouldn't update his parents about his life anymore, and not be the first to call. Jiang Cheng kept supporting him silently and they started planning their future away from their parents.

When Wei Wuxian came out and started dating Lan Wangji, he didn't tell his parents directly, but his father liked his social media post. Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and called them gross, but didn't tell any adults that the boys were sleeping together at that lonely house.

They were accepted in different universities. Wei Wuxian decided to go overseas by himself, while both Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng were accepted at the same university in a bigger city.

"I will wait for Wei Ying." Lan Wangji said, a few days before moving.

"You know..." Wei Wuxian snickered "There's this thing called vacation, I don't know if you heard..."

Lan Wangji huffed, amused.

"And my lawyer said I can come back every summer for vacation. But Lan Zhan could go visit me too, right? Lan-er-gege is richer than this lonely man." he chuckled, hugging his boyfriend.

"...Fine." Lan Wangji silently sighed "I can visit Wei Ying during winter break and Wei Ying can visit me during summer."

"Perfect!"

When they were hugging each other in the airport saying their farewell to Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng clung to him hard and long, eyes closing forcedly.

"Are you still lonely?" he asked in a low voice.

"No." Wei Wuxian smiled, squeezing him back "A little."

"Still hate them?"

"A little. Yes."

They parted with wobbly smiles.

"It's ok." Jiang Cheng said.

"It's ok." Wei Wuxian nodded "I'll be back soon."

"You better!"

[jianqzai]

I'm re-reading the Lotus Pod extra and I'm literally crying right now thinking about how lonely Wei Wuxian must have felt in his first life.

To his shidis, he was a friend, but also a figure of authority, someone they respected. With Jiang Cheng, there was always the rift between their statuses, their personalities and the way Jiang Cheng’s parents treated Wei Wuxian. With Jiang Yanli, she was more a maternal figure than a friend. And then there was Lan Wangji, who was Wei Wuxian’s match, but who seemed to despise him.

All Wei Wuxian wanted was to be loved, to be understood, to be someone's option. But with everyone in his life, he always had to chase to get crumbs of attention and care. Either that or he had to refrain from asking for too much, because it wasn't his place to do so.

And in this extra, is so heartbreaking to see him so deep in his fantasy of having a friend who would appreciate him for who he is and would share the things he loves. He knows Lan Wangji is not that, but he was the closest thing to an equal Wei Wuxian had known, so he wants to believe they could get along.

I also want to think Wei Wuxian recognized his own loneliness in Lan Wangji’s eyes, and that's why he tried so hard to win him over.

[gold0venice]

ah here goes another day of thinking how lonely jiang cheng must’ve been

[travalerray]

My headcanon of Jiang Cheng being aspec is so deeply ingrained in my brain that I will start writing a piece and be like "yeah so canon implies that he is aroace so I am gonna—" and then freeze and go "bitch what canon"

[themaymoth]

Wei Wuxian, the magnus archives au

going on a rampage stopping creppy rituals is usually his and lwj's date night

[SUPPLEMENTAL]

• He's once again on his bullshit of believing everything is his fault and that he needs to fix everything.

•He went into The Lonely because he was trying to run away from his problems, because he felt powerless and helpless in the face of powers and creatures he could't possibly comprehend. But he escaped The Lonely so that could face his problems head on with the man he loved, he doesn't want to run away from anything anymore...... except for Jiang Cheng of course, he'll keep running away from Jiang Cheng.

•He's trying so hard to gently reconnect with his nephew without coming across as a suspicious dude who just happens to care a lot about his and his friends safety.

•Little Apple is a skeleton horse from minecraft in this au, cuz cool bone horse

[acequinz]

I think a lot of tragedies could be avoided if Jiang Yanli was just allowed to have all the didis.

Give her all the little boys and she will just mold them into a better person and her choice of weapon would be soup.

Jin Guangyao needs to stop the sly and evil deeds his father is making him do? One soup lunch with Jiang Yanli and Jin Guangshan dies before Jin Ling's 100 day ceremony.

Xue Yang needs to stop murder? Jiang Yanli and soup and now he just bites people very often instead of murder.

Su She needs to feel appreciated and respected to get rid of that resentment? Jiang Yanli.

Nie Mingjue and his issues with Baxia? Feed both him and the sword some Jiang Yanli soup.

Wei Wuxian in the burial mounds with the wens? Jiang Yanli makes soup for everyone and then she uses her powers as Jin furen to make jgy fix that particular plot hole and gives him more soup.

Jiang Cheng is feeling sad and lonely about wwx marrying lwj? Some soup and sibling hug time.

Fuck she could have fixed Wen Rouhan with her soup. Demonic cultivation be damned. Jiang Yanli soup is the best.

[bambooswordwielder]

I come here to beg for any MDZS fics set Post-Burial Mounds Siege where Jiang Cheng is/or at least believes he's being haunted by Wei Wuxian.

Just the imaginary of Jiang Cheng staring out in the distance of the Lotus ponds and rivers only to see in the distance a lone boat with a suspiciously familiar red ribbon tied on it, the nearby lotuses peeled and left on the sides like someone had been planning to share them with friends. Someone must have terrible humour because majority of people know damn well who used to where a red ribbon and eat Lotus seeds like there wasn't training waiting for him. No, someone was just messing with him.

Imagining Jiang Cheng walking outside Wei Wuxian's old room and swearing he hears laughter from it before the sounds of footsteps running down the hallway only for when he goes inside to see no one. Must just be the wind, or maybe he's just hearing things due to the stress.

Imagining Jiang Cheng snapping at anyone who plays a dizi/flute near the Yunmeng Jiang before banning them entirely, only to hear in the middle of the night a singular piercing melody that seems to haunt with how familiar it sounds. He gets out of his room to yell at whoever broke the rules, only to be met with an empty courtyard. He refuses to think of the fact that the majority of cultivators who weren't Lans didn't use instruments in their cultivation or day to day lives. Must've just been some reckless disciple who decided to prank everyone.

Imagine Jiang Cheng trying to teach Jin Ling some basic Jiang sword stances, but having to stop midway as Jin Ling keeps staring off in the distance towards the docks. Jiang Cheng is about to scold him, but he feels his blood grow cold as he hears the words leave Jin Ling's mouth.

"JiuJiu, why is there a man crying there?"

Jiang Cheng turns immediately, Zidian pulsing with electricity as he prepares to confront this stranger who got so close to his last family member, when all he is met with is wind and silence. No one is on the docks.

He bans Jin Ling from that day on from ever going near the docks and requests for a group of Lan Elders to come and 'cleanse' the docks. Just in case. Perhaps some restless ghost of a young Yunmeng Jiang disciples during the Lotus Pier Massacre didn't get to rest. Yes. He should focus on getting their soul to rest.

I really want to read about Jiang Cheng going back at forth between resentment, rage, and anger before shifting to sadness, fear, and guilt. I saw a beautiful drawing here on tumblr about an idea of Jiang Cheng patrolling the Lotus ponds and seeing the ghostly remains of Wei Wuxian's dead body appear every night, and I'm just so fascinated in the idea of Jiang Cheng being forced to confront the fact that he very much did 'kill' (not directly but still contributed in causing his death) Wei Wuxian in the very direct way of being haunted by him.

Feeling the lack of presence of someone who's dead is vastly different from being haunted by them, the idea that they were so filled with rage in death that they refuse to rest and instead haunt you. You refuse to even think of the idea that they can't rest.

In short, Jiang Cheng would've suffered greatly if Wei Wuxian in some way or form haunted him — even if it's most likely caused by his guilt.

I might write a few short oneshots on AO3, but if anyone has recs, please comment!