#bad parent lqr is out and always has been
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Yesterday I was scrolling through Pinterest and stumbled into many fan art depicting Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling. JC taking care of JL as a month old baby ,then as a toddler,etc etc...
It reminded me that we never really give much credit to JC for raising JL. I mean sure JGY also played a part , but JC's affection and concern for JL is unbeatable. There was this fanart where JC is actually holding a very tiny JL , trying to figure out how to feed him , then how to change his clothes and all the things that involves taking care of a newborn. The expressions depicted in JC's face just made me ache. I mean just imagine the pain of losing his sister, brother in law and WY(cmon I know despite of JC's love and hate relationship with WY, there definitely must be a part in his heart that must be aching) fresh in his mind , having to take care of a new born , which you have zero idea about. You have to build your sect ,you don't have anyone else to rely on. You can't show your weakness to anyone else. Even if you are damn tired , almost near a mental breakdown,you cannot falter ,you have a nephew and he doesn't have anyone else but you as a family. I would like to believe many a times when JC would be extremely tired and feeling hopeless,JL must be a source of his motivation to keep on.
(I can see a bit of parallelism here with LQR where both of them were young(baby of the house 🤭)and thrusted the responsibility of taking care of their respective nephews. They're not married,but with hit and trial,they are able to raise their nephews to be fine young men.)
Just imagining what would JC have taught JL for his first word. Would he insist that JL learn Mother first before anything. Imagining JC telling a toddler JL about how his parents were ,his mother ,his father,his grandmother and grandfather and about his Da-jiu(only till the time JL doesn't understand as soon as he would grow up ,he would stop telling JL about how the three of them used to enjoy Lotus pier).
And JL eventually learning to call Jiujiu.When JC and JL had their first fight how JC must have felt? Like he's been a strict person like his mother and how certain traits of his mother can be reflected in his upbringing of JL? And when JL got his first scrape after falling down,how worried JC must be? Ok there are so many what if's and possibilities to think about...
But I just wanted to mention that JC tried his very best to raise his nephew. Parenting can always have good and bad , that's what we can see ,but both of them share a loving bond.
I really wanted to write this appreciation post for JC. I know JC has committed horrible mistakes, which are inexcusable ,but still some fans are really very harsh in criticizing him. As much as I love WY ,I won't deny that in some instances I even fault WY ,for not understanding the bigger picture. For me the simple conclusion is that both of them had pride and anger and the result was disastrous. Some are more to blame for their actions,some are less,but the mistake was on both of their part's.
So yes he's a Sour purple grape lol ,but I really hope post canon,him and WY are able to find some semblance and common footing.
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Canon Jiang Cheng (a bullet point timeline)
This is every instance I could gather where JC is in the novel. I made this around 2 years ago, because I felt like I was being lied to by the fandom about JC's actions, so I decided to create a linear timeline so as to help myself. This contains every instance that JC appears, with the chapter numbers (ExR translation), and all the times he did things, whether good or bad.
It was mostly created to help me understand what I actually thought of JC's character, and how I interpreted him. You guys can check it out, and cross check with the actual novel, lol. Under a read more bc it's Long As Hell
Random Backstories
Chapter 16
How Suibian was named
Chapter 18
JFM picked wwx off the streets, where wwx grew with his fear of dogs
Jc laughed at him for this
Chapter 29
No one ever told wwx about his parents. JFM did not bother, Madame Yu did not talk to him unless she was whipping him, and telling him to stay away from JC
Chapter 25
jfm found him in the streets, JC had dogs, JC was forced to send his dogs away, but once they got closer, jc would protect him from dogs
Chapter 32
Wwx would shoot kites with JC. JC was always second to him
Their kite was made by JFM and painted by jyl
Chapter 35
Jc smashed a bowl and cursed when wwx cooked
Chapter 47
JFM has said wwx's handwriting was careless yet poised
Chapter 71
extension on how angry jc was about the dogs in his youth. He's jealous that jfm hugged wwx
He rejects when wwx calls him shidi. Interesting to note that WWX never calls him shidi, again
Cloud Recesses
Chapter 13
JC talks to wwx, seemingly blaming him for the way he fought with lwj, however, he was completely fine with wwx breaking rules, and even demanded the emperor's smile that WWX broke the rules to get
He was also very amused by wwx's antics, and told him, "good luck" when LWJ came towards him
Chapter 14
JC criticizes WWX for discussing the theoretical possibility of demonic cultivation
He informs him that LQR has punished him
He says that both LWJ and his uncle hate him now
Nie huaisang does WWX's punishment, and wwx cheats for him, and is punished once more. JC informs him of that as well
Lqr sends a letter to JFM, and JFM replies saying that wwx has always been like that, and to take care to discipline him.
Chapter 15
Wwx gives lwj porn. JC is mad about this because WWX has brought shame to the clan
Chapter 16
JC and WWX finagle their way into a nighthunt, and then they drink in caiyi town
JC gets jealous of wwx talking to lwj
Chapter 17
JC gets mad at wwx flirting with lwj
He laughs when he gets the loquat, guessing that wwx has been flirting again
Chapter 18
Sleepover in wwx and jc's room
Wwx and jc often have fights
Lwj comes in the morning to punish him, and wwx explains the situation to jc
Wwx is punished, and jc carries him on his back out of his own volition
Jc remembers that he encouraged wwx to break the rules, so does not pin the blame entirely on wwx when lxc asks him what is going on
Jc has no idea what the severity of wwx's injuries are
Jc tells wwx to stop focusing on lwj
The jzx thing happens
Wwx throws the punch, getting jyl's betrothal cancelled
Jc tells wwx off for losing face for jyl, and then admits he would have done the same if wwx hadn't
Wwx mentions that if jc had been the one fighting, maybe jfm would not have come
Jc feels hurt about this
He tells wwx to go back to yunmeng, bc he does not like that lwj keeps following him around (interesting, bc this is the reason WWX left, while fanon holds that he left because he was kicked out)
Yunmeng Before Qishan Wen Competition
Chapter 51
JC is established as a mama's boy
Jiang cheng and wwx are having an archery competition with the kites. Wwx wins
Madame Yu's maids get mad
Madame Yu criticizes JC for fooling around, then blames wwx for his bad influence
Wwx defends himself. Jc tells him not to provoke her
Qishan wen competition is revealed
Everyone agrees that qsw is shameless
Jyl gives food to wwx, and Madame Yu gets mad
Jc tells Madame Yu that he'll go and not to be mad. Madame Yu then tells jyl to stop acting like a maid
She gets mad that wwx has any choice in the matter, and that jfm won't force him to go
Madame Yu gets mad at jc for defending wwx
Jc tells wwx not to stir up trouble at the competition multiple times
Jc holds wwx down when wc comes, warning him not to get into trouble
Jc warns wwx abt wen zhuliu
Jyl had given them snacks
They see lwj, and jc tells him not to pay attention to him
QishanWen/Xuanwu arc
Chapter 45
Qsw competition
JC tells wwx that LWJ hates him, and is once again jealous of how wwx pays attention to lwj. He gets mad because he told wwx not to mess with lwj
Chapter 52
Jiang cheng rolls his eyes when wwx flirts with mianmian
Wwx asks to carry lwj, lwj refuses, jc gets mad that he pays so much attention to lwj
He tells wwx that lwj hates him again
They go into the xuanwu cave. Wang Liangjiao threatens mianmian, jc holds wwx down. Lwj and jzx defend mianmian
Wwx gets free of jc and argues with wen chao
Xuanwu awakens
Chapter 53
Jc calls wen chao an idiot
Jc fights wen zhuliu
Wen clan retreats entirely
Wwx jokes about jc eating his flesh, jc finds it annoying
Jc carries him and tells him to to shut up
Wwx tells jc to let him go
Lwj finds the escape route
Jc leads everyone to safety, except lwj and wwx who get stuck
Chapter 54
Wwx feels insecure and asks if he's as annoying as jc says he is
According to wwx, jc will take some time to get back
Chapter 55
They have to wait for jc to rescue them, and wwx gets impatient
Post Xuanwu Lotus Pier/ takeover of lotus pier
Chapter 56
Wwx is rescued
Jyl makes soup
Jc is angry that wwx fought
Jfm congratulates wwx for killing the xuanwu
Jc gets angry, and says that wwx deserved to die there
Jfm tells him that that isn't appropriate
Madame yu gets mad, and says that jc will never be able to beat wwx in jfm's mind
Madame Yu blames wwx for what happened, says that wen chao would not have hurt lan wangji and jin zixuan
Jc becomes sad, and plays victim about how no one gives him the credit he deserves
Wwx promises him that they'll be together forever
Jc is more similar to madame yu and they both do not have the jiang sect outlook to life
JC says that he doesn’t need to follow the Jiang Sect values to be a leader, citing Lan Yi as an example of a sect leader who did not
Jc asks if wwx actually likes mianmian, and that she isn't worthy of him bc she's a servant's daughter
Wwx says that then they would match well, since he is a servant's son
Chapter 57
Lan wangji goes back to his sect without help, and JC is pleased about that
JC and WWX agree that the wens are gross
Wwx is bored with playing kites
The wens have taken their swords
The youngest shidi is missing, and jc is worried
Wang lingjiao arrives
Jc is contemptuous of her
Wlj gives insane justifications for taking the youngest shidi away
Jc is angry
Wlj tells Madame Yu to punish wwx, and Madame Yu does
Jc is annoyed
Wwx tells jc not to worry
Wlj tells Madame Yu that a whipping isn't enough and that she must cut off wwx's hand. Wwx is okay with this, but JC gets very distressed
There is no hand cutting, but jc helps wwx
Chapter 58
Takeover of lotus pier
Madame Yu gives jc zidian. She tells wwx that she hates him and brought this to lotus pier
Madame Yu tells wwx to protect jc with his life
Jfm comes back
He tells wwx to look after jc
Jc is upset
They see wen ning
Chapter 59
Wen chao and wang lingjiao have a romantic moment, and everyone is disgusted
Wwx tells jc not to go back to lotus pier, and jc gets mad
Jc pins wwx to the ground, asks him why he had to save lwj, and tells wwx to die
Jc cries and is catatonic
They decide to go to meishan yu
Jc goes back to lotus pier
Wwx meets with wen ning, who saves jc, and gets back the bodies of jfm and Madame Yu
Chapter 60
Wn takes them to wq's office
Jc has lost his core, and he's angry at being in wn's superwisory office
He tries to choke wwx when he discovers this
Jc wants to die so he can turn into a ferocious ghost. Wwx tells hims that that isn't possible because of all the soul calming done on him since birth
Wwx says he knows baoshan sanren who can help jc get his core back
Wwx says that this core would be for him, and not to reveal his identity
They go to a remote mountain, and jc has the golden core transfer surgery
Wwx gets captured and pushed into the burial mounds
WWX becomes demonic cultivator/sunshot campaign
Chapter 61
Jc has been looking for wwx for three months. He meets with lwj
Chapter 62
JC and wwx meet again when wwx tortures wen chao
He is very happy to see wwx, and excited about demonic cultivation
Wwx does not tell him he had been in the burial mounds
LWJ asks wwx to come back to gusu, but JC says no, and says that wwx is of the jiang sect, and that lwj has no right over him
Jc is happy abt wwx killing wc and other wens
Chapter 48
During sunshot campaign
Everyone celebrates wwx's actions in the sunshot campaign except lwj. Jiang Cheng is especially vocal about his support
Chapter 69
jyl cooked soup, and the jzx misunderstanding happened
Post Sunshot campaign
Chapter 49
After the sunshot campaign
WWX tells JC that NMJ is taller than him. JC asks him if he wants to die
JZX asks JC about JYL, WWX gets mad at him, and tells JC that he doesn't want to see JZX's face
JC is polite and says that JYL has been well
WWX leaves, and JC says that he is always rude
Chapter 69
Phoenix mountain
Jc tells lwj not to pay attention to wwx who is flirting with lwj again
He shouts at wwx for throwing flowers at lwj, and asks if he's a girl
Wwx jokes about throwing flowers for jc, and jc tells him to get lost
Jc and wwx make fun of jzx
Wwx decides to blindfold himself, and jc tells him to take it easy, and to back down when it's enough
Jzx flirts with jyl
Jyl is not responsive and jzx gets mad at her
Wwx tries to take her away, and JZXun stops him
JZXun is offended wwx doesn't remember him
JZXun calls wwx presumptuous and a servant's son.
Chapter 70
Wwx tries to defend himself, JYL tells him to be quiet and diplomatically defends him, calling him her brother
Madame jin is embarrassed and JZX then confesses to JYL
Sect leader yao tells JC that wwx is "quite a character"
Everyone is angry and jealous abt wwx taking one third of the prey. Good to remember that Nie Mingjue did the same.
They talk about staying away from the jiang sect and not going to night hunts with them
They say that yunmengjiang grew in fame only because of WWX, and JC feels a darkening in his heart at that
Chapter 71
Lwj asks wwx to go to gusu lan with him again, but this time, he is more diplomatic, and wwx is not actually offended. They get along well
Jc tells wwx not to hang out with lwj anymore, and tells him to carry his sword with him
He says that JGY is only good enough to greet the guests, nothing more
Wwx asks jc if he wants jyl and jc together. WWX does not, but jc is happy about this match
Wwx asks jyl for comfort. She gives it to him and spoils him
Jyl makes soup, and jc and wwx bond. JC eats all the meat, and WWX doesn't get any
Wwx finds wq
Chapter 72
Wwx calls out the lanlingjin sect
Jgs tells him not to be so presumptuous just because JC isn't there
Lwj tries to calm him down
Wwx frees the wen prisoners
Burial Mounds with Wen Remnants arc
Chapter 73
Crisis in the cultivation world, everyone has a meeting
JC offers to compensate the Jins
He says that they owe wen ning and wen qing
Nmj says wq never stopped the violence wrh wrought
Jc does not disagree with him
Jgs warns jc about wwx getting too big for his boots
He tells him that wwx said he did not care about jc
Lwj stands up for wwx, says that he never said that
Jgy stands up for jgs, and jc believes jgs
Mianmian defends wwx, and leaves her sect. Lwj talks to her, they part happily
Jgs talks about how wwx has been plotting to go to burial mounds
Jc says that wwx is just like that
Jgs says he's like that because jfm spoiled him
Jc then agrees to deal with wwx
They meet at burial mounds
Wwx doesn't intend to leave LP
JC sees that the prisoners are the old, the weak, and the young
Jc tries to get rid of wn's corpse. Wwx stops him. Jc tells wwx that he's too ambitious
Jc is angry, but wwx says that if jc cannot protect him, then he will leave the ymj sect, and cut all ties
Jiang cheng then says that wwx is unaffiliated with him and an enemy to the entire cultivation world
Chapter 74
Wwx has not heard anything from the outside since he and jc fell out. He heards of jyl's marriage from lwj
He makes excuses for jc
Chapter 75
JC brings JYL to meet with WWX
JYL is dressed up in her wedding clothes and brings soup for wwx
Wwx names JL
Chapter 76
Qiongqi path
Wwx is invited to the baby shower, and buys jl a gift
Jin zixuan dies
Chapter 77
Wq and wn decide to sacrifice themselves, and wwx is angry
Jyl is upset
Chapter 78
Nightless city
Wwx kills many cultivators, everyone is toasting to their bravery, jc says nothing
Jyl gets injured, jc tells wwx to make the corpse go away
Someone tries to shoot jyl, and she defends wwx and dies
A random dude accuses wwx of causing the death of jfm and Madame Yu
post wwx resurrection
prologue
siege of burial mounds, no one knows exactly how wwx died, but it was confirmed that JC was a major force and led the siege. This is a political fact
chapter 7
We meet JC. He is cheating to make sure Jin Ling wins. LWJ destroys the nets he used to trap random cultivators
Anger issues come out, when JC strokes his ring, he has the intent to kill. This is also obviously not from wwx POV, but from omniscient third person pov
chapter 8
jiang cheng decides not to fight lwj because he isn't sure if he'd win. Also in omniscient third person POV
Chapter 10
WWX summons WN, JC thinks he is WWX
With Zidian, any rational person would assume that he's wrong, but he doesn't
He thinks about taking wwx back to torture him. It is clearly his thoughts that are shown as he talks about having done something like this before
He and lsz discuss about WWX's importance. LWJ takes WWX back to CR
Wwx calls JC competitive, but his strategy works exactly because he's right abt JC
Chapter 11
Jingyi gossips about Jiang Cheng, and his torturous ways
Chapter 23
Jiang Cheng and Jin ling are there.
They both have an inability to be nice
JC sees wwx, captures him, and the YMJ disciples pay off a shop owner, who looks extremely scared
YMJ disciples all form a barricade around the shop
Jin Ling finds the expression on JC's face scary
Chapter 24
JC borrows JL's spiritual dog to help torture wwx
He asks wwx if he has anything to say to him
Wwx says he doesn't
He says wwx "never learns"
Wwx says that jc hasn't made any progress
Jc sets the dog on wwx, and wwx calls out lwj's name. This makes jc mad
Jc says some homophobic things abt LWJ
Wwx tells him to watch his language
Jc tells wwx that he didn't watch his language with jin ling
Jin Ling saves wwx, and wwx apologizes to him for saying that he didn't have a mother to raise him
Chapter 25
Wwx was hit by zidian, and his leg was numb. He didn't notice until lwj pointed it out. He says it was a good thing Jiang Cheng didn't kill him
Chapter 32
Kids playing cultivator talk about how JC led the siege that led to wwx’s death
Chapter 35
Jl is afraid jc would really break his legs for letting wwx go
Chapter 36
Wwx tells JL not to imitate his uncle by participating in his shenanigans and criticizing him
Chapter 38
Wwx tells jl to take out ymj's clarity bell
Chapter 43
JL tells everyone abt how WWX betrayed the jiangs, and how jc is the only one left. He says that Madame Yu wasn't "that horrible to him"
WN has heard of how JC led a siege and killed wwx
Chapter 45
Jiang Cheng never told anyone WWX was afraid of dogs, and if he had, no one would believe him
Chapter 47
Discussion at carp tower, jc asks lwj why he has taken a sudden interest in sect meetings despite not being interested before
JL is too afraid to meet jc without jgy
Jgy defends jl
JL says his appetite has been bad, but jc gets mad and says that he looks very healthy
Wwx says that jc can't teach kids
Chapter 50
Jc asks zewu jun what is happening after jgy kills his wife
Jgy confirms that mxy is wwx
Jgy explains why mxy wasn't caught by zidian
Chapter 65
Jgy says wwx betrayed ymj
Chapter 66
Wwx roasts jc's naming style
Chapter 68
Juniors are captured in burial mounds, and saved by the cultivators
Jl is afraid of jc, but jc threatens him
Jiang cheng is surrounded by the cultivators who hate wwx, and they ally with him
Chapter 79
Jc threatens jl because he's not injured for getting into trouble
Everyone loses their powers
Chapter 80
Jc says that they're not stupid enough to not notice problems
Chapter 81
Jc gives zidian to jl when only juniors have powers
Jc is mad at wn
Jc threatens jl again
Chapter 82
Jc tells jl that if he goes with wwx, then not to call him uncle anymore
Jc laughs when someone accuses wwx again
Chapter 83
Jc lets wwx come back to lotus pier, even though he's disgusted
Chapter 84
Jc is mad bc jl is crying
He threatens ouyang zizhen
He talks to the guards
Chapter 85
Jc lets the prostitutes talk
Chapter 86
Jc calls wwx mannerless for roaming around LP with LWJ
Chapter 87
LP Ancestral hall
JC gets mad, more about wwx bringing lwj to the hall than about him
He accuses lwj for the takeover of lotus pier
Chapter 88
JC fights with wwx
Golden core reveal happens
Chapter 89
More core reveal
Chapter 90
Lwj is mad, wwx makes excuses for jc again
Chapter 92
Wwx and lwj talk to the locals, who are too afraid of jc to go to the jiang sect for help
Chapter 99
Jiang cheng is angry and confused
Chapter 101
JGY tells wwx that jc doesn't care about him. WWX takes this casually, but JC gets very upset.
JGY tells JC that he is so strong only because he has wwx's core
Chapter 102
Wwx is upset that JC knows
JC is upset that WWX hid it for so long
He mockingly tells wwx that he's so much better than him
He asks if he doesn't deserve to hate wwx
Jc asked wwx why he left
Wwx apologizes for breaking his promise
Jc feels terrible about himself
Chapter 103
JC apologizes
Wwx says not to take it to heart, and to take it as repayment
Jc then brings up everyone in his family
Wwx tells him to forget it
They both are mad, but there is no reconciliation
Chapter 104
Jgy takes a pragmatic outlook about blaming wwx
Jc is very upset
Jgy makes fun of him and tells him that nothing would have happened if he had protected wwx, and tells him he was the one who killed wwx
Chapter 108
Jc gives chengqing back to wwx
Chapter 110
Jc wants to tell wwx that he did protect him with the wens, but does not
He also does not hit jl despite almost doing it
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i would die for the post-canon lqr and wwx dynamic of them becoming close family through extreme acts of pettiness that aren’t even petty. lwj wakes up one morning to find wwx not in bed beside him and usually he would think ‘oh he pulled another all-nighter /: i’ll have to make him take a nap later’ or whatever but last night they definitely fell asleep together. fortunately, he only has a moment to be like i have been abandoned most cruelly, most unjustly before wwx bursts into the jingshi, covered in flour and his hair all disarray. and lwj is like ??? where have you been?? and wwx turns to him and he’s like lan zhan look i’ve made steamed buns for your uncle! his favourite sort! lwj is like that’s nice but why? also how do you know that? (even lwj doesn’t know what his uncle’s favourite type of buns are)
wwx looks him dead in the eye and is like well the other day when your uncle and i had our weekly tea i was telling him about a theory i was working on and then the next day he gave me a book from his personal library that was honestly really helpful and i’m so annoyed at him for doing that so i’m making him his favourite snack as revenge. and lwj has many questions,,, but mainly he’s wondering when his uncle and wwx started having tea together with a dash of how did he find out what his uncle’s favourite sort of buns are,,, but wwx’s already running off and lwj is just left alone in the jingshi to get ready for his day, abandoned most cruelly,,, like three hours later he sees his uncle reading some reports while eating wwx’s buns and every time lqr takes a bite he sends the bun a betrayed look like he can’t forgive the fact that they taste good.
and honestly,, that’s all i want,, wwx and lqr being like yes (: we have brunch together every tuesday and we know each other’s favourite foods and things the other person would like and i look forward to talking to him but obviously we don’t like each other and lxc is like uh okay (: that sounds about right (: while lwj is just glad that his family is warming up to wwx.
#mdzs#modao zushi#wei wuxian#lan wangji#wangxian#lan qiren#lan xichen#cql#the untamed#mo dao zu shi#this is really badly written and i want to expand on it a bit but it's already one massive blob of text so i'll leave it here#i just have Feelings about a) lqr and wwx bonding in the most begrudging way possible and b) lqr being treated like the good parent/person#that he canonically is#bad parent lqr is out and always has been#in this house we love one crotchety old man who would probably knit mittens for wwx in winter and awkwardly pat his back when wwx starts#crying when lqr gives them to him#also wwx and lqr coming to the realisation that they *do* in fact like each other and get along well#after like half a year of brunch meetings and lxc being like *fake surprised pikachu face* while lwj just nods along#yes wei ying it was a surprise that you and my uncle enjoyed each other's company. no wei ying i'm not laughing at you. by the way#how was your hiking trip the two of you went on last week? did you enjoy it? was he pleased by the song you learnt how to play for him when#you breaked for lunch? oh? he brought a book for you to read when you get bored? how thoughtful....
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JC’s deeply rooted resentment of WWX, JFM’s parenting, and the inevitability of the falling out of the ‘Yunmeng bros’.
In discussion of the breakdown of JC and WWX’s relationship, their falling out is often regarded as a mutual failing on both sides to properly communicate and maintain their relationship. I’m making the case here that their falling out was a foregone conclusion from the start, and in no part due to the actions of Wei Wuxian.
This is because YZY has instilled in JC the idea that JFM dislikes him, something he believes before WWX arrives in Lotus Pier, JC already feels inferior, thus as soon as potential competition for JFM’s attention comes along in the form of WWX, JC resents him, believes JFM prefers him, and looks for reasons to justify this.
Summarising their very first interactions - from chapter 71 - WWX arrives at LP, sees JC with his puppies and is so terrified that he refuses to come down from JFM’s arms the entire day. The second day, JFM gives JC’s puppies away.
Now, I would like to think that no one seriously believes that this is an act of favouritism, but I have seen this case being made so I just want to make clear that WWX is obviously traumatised by his previous interactions with dogs. After trying for a whole day to comfort WWX, with no success, JFM does not exactly have any other choice than to give the puppies away, WWX cannot be expected to live in constant terror in the place that is supposed to be his home.
Consequently, ‘This angered Jiang Cheng so much that he threw a big tantrum. No matter how much Jiang FengMian comforted him gently, telling him that they should ‘be good friends’, he refused to talk to Wei WuXian.’
JC’s reaction is fairly understandable for an 8 year old. JFM comforts JC, and does not treat him callously or dismiss him, however it takes several days until JC will even talk to WWX.
When JC does start to warm up to him, JFM thinks it’d be a good idea for them to have a sleepover, JC is on the ‘verge of agreeing’ to this, which JFM is overjoyed by - so much so that he picks WWX up.
This is not an example of favouritism, JFM doesn't repeatedly give affection to WWX and not JC, he holds him twice - the first instance being purely because WWX was too terrified to leave his arms, the second being this one. These are the only two times where JFM is described as being affectionate towards WWX, JC is still in the lead on this count. But JC interprets this as JFM preferring WWX.
This results in the JC shutting WWX out at night.
At that time, Wei WuXian didn’t know what Jiang Cheng was mad about at all. After a pause, he replied, “I didn’t steal anything. It’s Uncle Jiang who told me to sleep with you.”
Hearing that he was still bringing up his father, almost as if he was purposely showing off, Jiang Cheng’s eyes reddened as he yelled, “Go away! If I see you again, I’ll call a bunch of dogs to bite you!”
This is the important part - JC sees WWX in the worst possible light, and rarely thinks of WWX as a person outside of how he directly impacts JC - he concludes that WWX is purposefully antagonising him, this is a trend that continues well into adulthood.
Then, when WWX flees LP after JC threatens him with dogs, JYL tells JC to find people to help search for him. However,
‘If any other disciple or servant learned about this and told Jiang FengMian, after Jiang FengMian knew how he threw Wei WuXian’s sheets out and made him hurt his leg, Jiang FengMian would definitely dislike him even more. This was also why he only dared chase after them alone and didn’t get anyone else.’
JC has obviously behaved wrongly here, and JFM would be right to scold him for it, but JC interprets this as JFM disliking him. We haven’t seen anything to suggest that JFM actually dislikes JC, he always treats him quite gently, actually. But JC is already at the conclusion that JFM dislikes him, and twists events to suit this - if his dad scolds him for misbehaving, it’s because he dislikes him. This pattern repeats after the Xuanwu Cave arc too.
This is because Madam Yu has ingrained into him the idea that JFM dislikes him, because he’s her son. This has nothing to do with WWX - because both her and JC already believe that JFM dislikes JC prior to WWX’s arrival - she only sees him as additional fuel to use.
The only other person who mentions JFM supposedly treating WWX better than JC is JZX. I’m sure it's a coincidence that he’s the son of YZY’s best friend.
‘“Doesn’t he treat you better than treating his own child or something?”’
Note the ‘or something’, - JZX doesn’t seem to know this with certainty - he’s repeating what others have said, despite having visited Lotus Pier several times (as stated in ch.69), JZX hasn’t seen evidence for himself that JFM prefers WWX.
‘“Maybe I should’ve let you hit him, while I stand aside and watch. This way, Uncle Jiang might not need to come. Oh well, I really couldn’t hold back!”’
We know that WWX doesn’t see JFM as favouring him - so what does he mean by this? Well, LQR has had it out for WWX from the moment they met, and has already sent a letter to JFM complaining of his behaviour - at this point WWX doesn’t know that this results in them breaking the JZX/JYL engagement either, so he’s probably purely thinking that LQR summoned JFM to CR to discuss WWX’s repeated offenses. JC hasn’t done anything to invoke LQR’s ire (or rather, he’s gotten away with everything he has done), so WWX thinks that if JC fought JZX, it would not have been treated so seriously, compared to WWX, who has repeatedly misbehaved.
Contrary to fanon interpretation, WWX is not oblivious to other people’s feelings, he’s very empathetic, and additionally understands JC very well. He doesn’t see how JC is feeling here, because JC’s feelings are just so illogical...
‘Although it was only Wei WuXian’s casual words, he held mixed feelings, because he knew that this wasn’t a lie.
Jiang FengMian had never hurried to another sect in one day for anything related to him, no matter if the issue was good or bad, large or small.
Never.’
Once again, JC’s at the conclusion that JFM dislikes him, he twists events to support this. He’s looking at this scenario very strangely - JFM didn’t rush to CR because he likes WWX, he was called there by LQR, to discuss JYL’s engagement with JZX. Secondly, we’re never given any examples of scenarios where JC does anything to warrant JFM rushing over. As far as we know, they never even stay with other sects. Knowing JC’s personality, his dislike of doing anything to rock the boat, it’s extremely unlikely that he’s ever done anything to warrant JFM rushing over like this. Moreover, it’s a bizarre thing to be jealous of, WWX is in trouble, he’s not on the receiving end of positive attention from JFM.
JC’s flawed reasoning is once again illustrated after the Xuanwu Cave arc...
‘Jiang Cheng’s expression was complicated after he had finished listening.’
This is Jiang Cheng’s reaction after WWX credits LWJ with killing the tortoise of slaughter - this is before JFM congratulates him. Before JFM says anything, JC is purely resentful about WWX having done something heroic, more so, resentful that WWX is willingly to let LWJ take most of the credit - he’s annoyed about this, most likely feeling that WWX is rubbing in his face that he doesn’t need the recognition that JC so desperately craves.
‘Jiang FengMian nodded and said, “You did well.”
Killing a giant 400-year-old beast at only 17 was way beyond what one would call ‘doing well.’’
JFM knows about JC’s… issues, he knows how he’ll react to WWX’s receiving recognition, he likely purposefully downplays his praise to avoid upsetting him. (Who’s really being favouritised? Lol)
But, even to this, JC reacts badly, he lashes out at WWX, once more interpreting him in the worst possible way.
‘Jiang Cheng hissed, “Too fucking bad, then. You shouldn’t have been so damn stubborn and you shouldn’t have cared so damn much about such a trivial thing. If you’d never moved in the first place –”’
JC’s response is to basically tell him the entire incident was his fault. Which is objectively not true - WWX only gets involved in the conflict after it has already started, and then he acts deliberately to try to end it, rather than impulsively fighting. He also starts to say that WWX should have left their allies - LWJ and JZX - to die. This is where JFM cuts him off, and tells him it’s not appropriate to say such things - he’s not scolding him harshly, JC is not being unfairly treated here, he’s done wrong, and JFM is trying to teach him why, you know, parenting. But JC, and YZY, take this to mean JFM dislikes JC.
JFM tries to teach JC about the Jiang sect’s motto once more - this is of course, not just about the motto, but about the values that JFM wants to instill in him, as a parent.
This is where Madam Yu arrives.
“Yes, he doesn’t understand, but what does it matter, as long as Wei Ying understands?!”
Of course, what she says is nonsensical, it does matter to JFM that JC understands the motto, that’s why he’s trying to teach him. If he did not care, he would have given in already.
This is further supported...
‘Jiang Cheng’s appearance and temperament all resembled his mother’s. Jiang FengMian guided him from childhood, but no matter how much he tried, he still couldn’t change his son’s nature. As such, it always seemed like he disliked his son.’
JFM has never been dismissive of JC just because he’s YZY’s son, he’s always tried to teach him, but JC always had his mother’s nature - YZY’s nature being harsh, standoffish, foul tempered, with no care for others - Note that is says it ‘seems’ like he dislikes his son, solely because he’s trying to teach him to be a better person. He has good reason for doing so - as a kid, JC never had friends, he doesn’t seem to as an adult either, he only has Jin Ling, whom he pushes away with his foul temper. JFM was just trying to raise JC to being an even-tempered person, capable of functioning in society, which is kind of what parents are supposed to do. But once more, this is taken as dislike.
Note that during JC’s outburst, every single thing JC claims about what JFM thinks of him, he’s parroting what YZY has said, none of these points have any actual evidence.
The next point to consider is how JC blames WWX for the fall of LP, despite it objectively not being his fault - JC knows this too.
‘In his heart, Jiang Cheng knew clearly that back in the cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter at Dusk-Creek Mountain, even if Wei WuXian hadn’t saved Lan WangJi, the Wen Sect would have found some reason to come over sooner or later’
Even if WWX’s actions did prompt the Wens to act sooner than they otherwise might have - coming sooner or later would have made no difference at all because YZY outright stated she had no intention of preparing for an attack, even after WWX suggests they should, and JFM was still going to the Wens asking for their swords back - they were still uselessly trying to suck up to the Wens, thinking it would save them.
Despite knowing deep down that WWX was not to blame - he still uses it to fuel his resentment of WWX, because the resentment was there from the beginning, the only uncertainty is the means he uses to justify it.
During the ancestral hall confrontation - he uses this excuse again.
‘Jiang Cheng responded contemptuously, “You really are forgetful. What’s called a shameful person? Let me remind you. Just because you decided to be a hero and save this Second Young Master Lan, the entire Lotus Pier including my father and mother was buried. If this wasn’t enough, after the first time, you still want a second time, even wanting to save Wen-dogs and implicating my sister and her husband, how noble of you. Even nobler, you are so magnanimous to bring these two to Lotus Pier. Allowing the Wen-dog to stand at the front of my gates and letting Second Young Master Lan offer joss sticks, purely trying to antagonize me.’
Obviously, WWX did none of these things to antagonise JC, in fact he was going through a complex emotional journey of realising that he has feelings for LWJ, and that LWJ probably has feelings for him too, he doesn’t go to the ancestral shrine to mess around - he’s ‘introducing’ LWJ to JFM, YZY, and JYL, because he’s thinking about marrying him.
The problem is, JC never really sees WWX as a person, WWX has always been more of a concept - someone to compare himself to, the reason his father doesn’t like him, the reason his mother uses to berate him. It doesn’t occur to JC that WWX is a person outside of what he is to JC, and he is therefore incapable of empathising with what WWX might be feeling right now, instead the only possible conclusion is that he’s antagonising JC.
He follows the same line of thinking when WWX defects with the Wens. JC knows what he and WWX owe them, in fact JC owes them, far, far more than what WWX does - it was his parents whose bodies Wen Ning retrieved, and it was him who WN had to rescue from LP. But JC thinks, he can get away with not paying this debt, so why should he? JC is selfish, he doesn’t understand why WWX would want to help others when he doesn’t have to, so JC concludes, this is WWX showing off, ‘playing the hero’.
Because from the moment they met, JC has never tried to know WWX for who he is, whatever WWX does, JC interprets in a negative light - when WWX tries to get LWJ’s attention, (despite it being painstakingly obvious that WWX has a crush on him) JC concludes that WWX is messing around foolishly, without reason (parroting the untrue things YZY says about WWX always seeking trouble). When WWX wants to help people, he’s playing the hero, one upping JC. JC only ever thinks of WWX in relation to himself - when WWX disappears for three months, JC’s immediate complaint is that WWX kept him waiting, that he’s put JC out by making him search for him. You could argue that JC was just worried about WWX, and not able to express it - and on some level that’s true. But there’s a very intentional contrast between how LWJ and JC react to WWX’s return - LWJ is worried about WWX, about how his cultivation method is affecting him, moreover, WWX is very clearly not himself. JC, however, does not care for that - he only sees WWX, and modao, as a tool for killing Wens.
It takes almost nothing for JGS to manipulate JC into turning against WWX in ch.73 - he readily believes every negative thing JGS says about WWX, despite being called out directly for lying by LWJ. JGS talks as if he is a servant who has forgotten his place, unlike JYL, JC does not defend him. He refuses to speak up for him - he claims that no one will - yet LWJ and MianMian did. JC didn’t turn on WWX because it was impossible for him to speak up - he was living proof that WQ and WN did not support the Wen sect in the war, he drops him the moment he can because he’s resented him from the beginning.
Another interesting tidbit about JC just fundamentally not understanding who WWX is as a person, is that he only blames LWJ for the Xuanwu Cave incident - not JZX, despite him behaving no differently to how LWJ does. This is probably because he realises WWX’s fixation on LWJ, and supposes that this is the reason that WWX got involved in the conflict. But of course, WWX would have done something whether it was solely JZX, or just a random person.
Taking all this into account, it seems almost inevitable that WWX and JC would fall out eventually, because JC was, from the start, looking for reasons to dislike WWX, he turns against him at the first opportunity he got. For the ‘Yunmeng bros’ to have a healthy relationship, JC would simply have to fix his entire personality.
JC is unable to see WWX as a person, right up until the very end of the novel - when he recalls how he impulsively put himself at risk in order to save WWX. Finally, for the first time, JC is able to understand why WWX stood up for others in Xuanwu Cave, why he helped the Wens, because JC did the same thing, put himself on the line for WWX, probably the only time JC has ever acted so selflessly. And this is why he lets him go, he lets go of the things he blamed WWX for. For the first time, he is able to empathise with WWX, he understands that WWX was never ‘playing the hero’, seeking praise or recognition, he understands that WWX helps people purely because he feels in the moment that it’s the right thing to do. This is what enables him to finally let go of WWX.
I’m always a bit baffled when people claim mxtx never gave JC a happy ending, because this is his happy ending - him being able to realise that WWX never wronged him - when he finally lets go of this, he can live freely.
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(google translate again, yeah)
(I forgot to thank you for the last answer, I really didn't know that the drama used the music of my compatriot, it was a pleasant surprise for me)
I don't know if anyone has asked you this before, but do you think JC was good with WWX as a kid?
I mean not just their childhood, but the time of their training in Gusu.
I really love JC, and I understand perfectly well that he is the most dick in character, but I love him precisely during my studies at Gusu, I can not give any arguments that then JC was directly GOOD to WWX, but he is clearly cared a little about him and even ... worried? at least that moment after the punishment where JC helped WWX get to the room...
Yay - I'm so happy to hear about Stravinsky :)
Hahah loving jc as the dick that he is is the way to do it! go for it. :) also, sorry this was so delayed I wanted to reread the Cloud Recesses arc so it would be fresh in my mind before answering.
In terms of jc the Cloud Recesses arc is perhaps the most 'mellow' we see him aside from the Lotus Pod Extra but for me it's still impossible to find him a worthwhile person. I can already see the faults in his character that I know will only get worse as he grows older. Canonically I don't see how he would have any friends studying in the Cloud Recesses if he didn't come as a package deal w Wei Wuxian. I mean I doubt jiang cheng would have any friends without WWX period. In fact jiang cheng doesn't make any friends over the course of 13 years. He's also unable to find a wife bc of his temperament and behavior...
What we can glean about their relationship in the Cloud Recesses arc (and even the Lotus Pod Extra) is that any time WWX gets a kind word or understanding from someone, jiang cheng scoffs at it. Any time someone shits on WWX, jc is there to agree, to relish the idea of WWX being punished, and shit on him some more. He would be an immensely exhausting person to be around. He doesnt believe in WWX's ideas and ingenuity, (as NHS does for example), he doesn't believe WWX is hurt, he always assumes the worst of him, he doesn't believe LWJ might like WWX. The only thing he ever seems to believe is that WWX will dishonor YunmengJiang and that WWX should be punished. So for a kid who supposedly wants his father's approval so badly he instead constantly acts like his mother's mouthpiece/minion. He reprimands WWX like he's trying to become Madam Yu 2.0. I see jc stans all the time being like oh he had to keep WWX in check bc WWX was such a lOOooose canon, for the good of the Clan!! lol listen JFM didn't give a f...about WWX's behavior (in his letter to LQR) why are you so concerned? JFM would have preferred for jc to try & save his peers in the Xuanwu cave or at least to understand why that was the correct course of action rather than for him to just sit in front of the class in the Cloud Recesses and tell WWX off for giving LQR as good as he got, while actually still breaking the rules himself but eschewing punishment.
salt up here, quotes below :
Even when Nie Huaisang picks up on the fact that WWX is being treated unfairly by LQR, jc dismisses it and piles on WWX instead.
Nie Huaisang said, “Old Man Lan really seems like he’s coming down especially harshly on you. Every time he reprimands someone, it’s always you.” Jiang Cheng grunted. “He deserves it. What kind of answer was that? He can get away with saying that sort of nonsense at home, but he had the nerve to say it to Lan Qiren’s face. He was practically asking for the old man to kill him!”
But does WWX get away with ANYTHING in Lotus Pier? When we know he is punished constantly for EVERYTHING? This is jiang cheng fully being his mother's mouth piece. It's not something WWX would get away with, it's something jc knows JFM wouldn't mind. Which is why he's so pissed off. Which begs the question if JFM would not be upset with WWX's behavior why does jc need to criticize him? Again :
A dark expression shadowed Jiang Cheng’s face, and his voice was filled with anger. “Why are you so proud of yourself? What is there to be proud of?! Is being told to get out some amazing accomplishment? You’re making our entire clan lose face!”
and his glee at the idea that WWX will be punished leaves a bad taste in one's mouth considering how WWX was perpetually punished in Lotus Pier by jiang cheng's mother for... existing.
Jiang Cheng smiled grimly. “Now that you’ve thoroughly offended both Lan Wangji and Lan Qiren, you’re basically dead tomorrow. No one’s going to clean up your corpse either.”
and again
Without the old one, only the young one remained. This would be easy to deal with! Wei Wuxian rolled off the bed and laughed while putting on his boots. “Heaven’s charmed clouds are blessing me with shade.” Jiang Cheng was beside him polishing his sword with loving care when he decided to spill cold water over Wei Wuxian’s head. “Just wait until he gets back. You can’t escape punishment.”
Where others like NHS see value in WWX's thoughts
Nie Huaisang thought for a while. “Actually, I thought what you said was very interesting,” he said, not entirely able to hide his envy and yearning.
jc is always dismissive of WWX's ideas. These are inventions that WWX realizes. Demonic cultivation in the first conversation and The Spirit-Attraction Flag and The Compass of Evil in the second:
“Enough,” Jiang Cheng warned. “Whatever nonsense you spout, you better not head down that sort of dark road.”
-
Changing the topic, Wei Wuxian said, “If only there was something like fishing bait that could draw the water ghosts in. Or, something that could point in the direction they’re hiding, like a compass, that sort of thing.”
“Lower your head and watch the water,” Jiang Cheng said. “You’re letting your fantasies run wild again. Concentrate on looking for water ghosts like you’re supposed to.”
“Hey, mounting swords and flying was also only a fantasy once!” Wei Wuxian said.
He's also a hypocrite. Because even though he berates WWX for misbehaving, he himself breaks the rules. He drinks, he even goads WWX into buying liquor, the only difference is that he doesn't get punished for it, and he doesn't feel like coming forward and getting punished for it :
Naturally, Jiang Cheng was too embarrassed to talk about what Wei Wuxian had been up to. After all, all of them had egged him on to go and buy alcohol, and they all deserved to be punished as well. He could only speak vaguely. “It’s nothing. It’s nothing. It’s not that bad! He can walk. Wei Wuxian, why haven’t you gotten off yet?”
It's no wonder WWX is so impressed by LWJ's integrity in spite of his social status, when he's clearly used to the other dynamic :
“Lan Zhan, I really admire you,” Wei Wuxian said sincerely. “After I told you that you had to punish yourself too, you actually did it. You didn’t let yourself off at all. I can’t argue against that.”
A dynamic which is shown repeating in the Lotus Pod Extra where WWX is the only one to get punished for sunbathing, and which repeats here when Wei Wuxian here stops jiang cheng from confronting Zixuan over YanLi's honor (and jc's) and does it himself.
Zixuan :“Why don’t you ask what about her could make me satisfied?” he said in return.
Suddenly, Jiang Cheng rose. Wei Wuxian pushed him away and stepped between them, smiling coldly. “You think you’re very satisfactory? As though you have the right to be so picky!”
Zixuan: “If she’s unhappy, then let her break off the engagement! I certainly don’t cherish your wonderful disciple-sister. If you cherish her so much, why don’t you take it up with your father? Doesn’t he love you more than his own son?”
After hearing the last sentence, Jiang Cheng’s eyes narrowed, and Wei Wuxian was no longer able to contain his own fury. He flew at Jin Zixuan, his fist raised.
WWX takes the punishment alone. Same way he offers to do when he hurts himself falling from a tree because jc threatened him with dogs. meanwhile jc is gleeful to see him being punished.
[Wei Wuxian] was kneeling on the stretch of pebble road to which Lan Qiren had assigned him when Jiang Cheng walked over from afar and mocked him. “You’re kneeling so obediently.”
“It’s not like you don’t know I have to do this all the time.” Wei Wuxian’s voice filled with schadenfreude. “But this Jin Zixuan guy, there’s no way he hasn’t been pampered and spoiled rotten since birth. No one’s ever forced him to kneel, I’m sure of it. If he doesn’t wind up crying for mommy and daddy today, I’m not named Wei.”....
Wei Wuxian "...It’s a good thing you didn’t do anything.”
“I was going to. If you hadn’t pushed me away, the other side of Jin Zixuan’s face would be hideous too.”
“Stop it. His face is uglier for being lopsided."
WWX is happy to have spared jc from getting into trouble but jc makes the whole thing about himself anyway (like everything else ever) and is upset JFM would rush over for WWX - in his mind. Even though JFM clearly had to rush over to meet with Jin Guangshan not to coddle WWX in any way.
"Jiang Fengmian had never rushed to another clan in less than a day because of him. Regardless of whether what happened was big or small, or good or bad." Never
WWX on the other hand tries to be observant of jc's feelings and reassure him & distract him from his moods :
When Wei Wuxian saw Jiang Cheng’s melancholy expression, he thought he was still upset with what Jin Zixuan said. “You should leave. You don’t need to keep me company any longer. If Lan Wangji comes again, he’ll catch you. If you have time, you should find Jin Zixuan and watch his pitiful kneeling.”
Later in the book after nearly dying in the Xuanwu cave WWX leaves his sick bed to run after jc and comfort him after his mother's rant, even though WWX had to listen to his parents (and himself) being slandered by YZY. jc doesn't spare any thoughts for how other people might be feeling or suffering. His entire perception of the world is centered around himself. To him even WWX's greatest fear doesn't generate empathy, only amusement or later on a form of torture.
From that point onward, they made trouble everywhere together, and if they encountered a dog, Jiang Cheng would always chase it away for him, then enjoy a peal of derisive, unbridled laughter at Wei Wuxian’s expense beneath whichever tree the boy had leapt atop.
he grew up on the streets, often having to fight for food with vicious dogs. After several bites and chases, he gradually became extremely scared of all dogs, no matter the size. Jiang Cheng laughed at him because of this quite a lot of times.
This brings me to the last point. jc's resentment of WWX's interest in Lan Zhan, or in a serious friendship outside of him. I see so many ppl say that bc WWX fought he was kicked out of the Cloud Recesses early... but was he?
Jiang Cheng was somewhat taken aback. “Lan Wangji? What was he doing here? He still has the nerve to come see you again?”
“Yeah, I think his bravery is laudable if he still has the nerve to come see me. His uncle probably told him to check on me and see if I was kneeling properly.”
Jiang Cheng’s instincts were sending him ominous signals. “So were you kneeling properly?”
“I was then,” Wei Wuxian replied. “But I waited for him to walk away a bit, then took a tree branch, lowered my head, and dug out a hole in the dirt near me. It’s the pile right by your foot—there are ant tunnels there. It took me so much effort to find them. Anyway, I waited for him to turn back and see my shoulders shaking. He had to have thought I was crying, so he came back and asked. You should have seen his face when he caught sight of the ant tunnels!
“…” Jiang Cheng said, “Why don’t you just get the hell out and go back to Yunmeng? I bet he never wants to see you again.”
Thus, that evening, Wei Wuxian packed up his things, got the hell out, and went back to Yunmeng with Jiang Fengmian.
Repeatedly throught his stay in the Cloud Recesses even while NHS was observing that LWJ's behavior around WWX was strange and unique, jc was telling WWX he is hated and bothersome. When WWX wanted to apologize to LWJ jc is completely dismissive of it :
“He hates me already? I was thinking of apologizing to him,” Wei Wuxian said.
“Oh, so you want to apologize now? It’s too late!” Jiang Cheng said derisively. “He’s exactly like his uncle. He thinks you’ve been wicked ever since you were an embryo, so it’s beneath his dignity to pay you any attention.”
Later on when WWX mentioned wanting to invite LWJ to Lotus Pier jc categorically says no.
“Jiang Cheng had on a stern expression, “Let’s make this clear. I don’t want him to come, anyhow. Don’t invite him.”
BONUS
jc also always doubts WWX. He suspects him immediately of wrongdoings. He doesn't believe that getting hit with the discipline ruler in Cloud Recesses actually hurt him until LXC confirms that WWX might take more than a few days to heal. He doesn't understand WWX is in actual trouble from the Waterborne abyss and assumes he's fooling around luckily Lan Zhan is there to rescue him:
The disciple’s lower body had already been swallowed by the black whirlpool. It spun faster and faster, and he continued to sink deeper and deeper, as though something hidden beneath the water was pulling down on his legs.
Mounted on Sandu, Jiang Cheng had risen calmly until he was about sixty meters above the whirlpool before he looked down. Filled with displeasure at what he saw, he shouted and dove down. “What are you up to now?!”
The suction force inside Lake Biling grew ever stronger. Wei Wuxian’s sword was optimized for agility, and consequently, its strength happened to fall just short, and they were nearly pulled to the surface of the lake. Wei Wuxian steadied himself and held on to Su She with both hands.
“Someone help! If I can’t pull him up soon, I’ll have to let go!” he shouted.
Suddenly, the back of Wei Wuxian’s collar tightened, and his body was lifted into the air. He twisted his neck and saw Lan Wangji holding him up with one hand.
He maintains this same mindset when he tries to whip LWJ and WWX as they're attempting to leave Lotus Pier after the ancestral hall confrontation when WWX passes out.
Is jc evil in the Cloud Recesses ? No. He's just an annoying, basic, disagreeable asshole who doesn't bring anything positive to someone like WWX. People like jc become obsessed with kind, outgoing, generous people, people who don't set boundaries on what they give and what others take in their friendships. Even though they're dependent on them for their social interactions, because who else would socialize with them willingly, they resent them in equal measure, but at the same time they wouldn't be drawn to another selfish, self centered piece of shit person like themselves.
On a personal note, even Cloud Recesses jiang cheng is someone I would exclude from any personal friend group. Friendship with him is adding a minefield of jealousies and snide comments to every interaction. Things that then others will need to compensate around because he won't compromise or empathize w issues outside of his own concerns.
Translation source : x
#This is long af because I wanted to have one post where I included everything#I’ve bitched about jc’s behavior in the cloud recesses for a long time so it was time to put down the quotes#mdzs#Cloud Recesses#Lan Wangji#Wei Wuxian#Nie Huaisang#jiang cheng
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Xicheng fic recs
(figured i might make a list of my own)
(to be expanded as i dig out more treasure/remember stuff)
in no particular order:
Deep as the Yearning Night by FreckledStarKnight
“At first, it was pure chance. The second time was accidental. And the third time? Well, they say the third time’s the charm, after all. Lan Xichen discovers that Jiang Wanyin sings beautifully and is immediately enamored by it. His pursuit of Jiang Wanyin’s secret talent leads to a discovery and a series of events that he did not anticipate at all. Not that he’s complaining, of course. He got what he came for and more. Or, how two sect leaders get together through the song called love. CQL-verse.“
post-seclusion lxc
trying to get jc to sing
bonus lxc & jin ling feels i hadn’t considered before
cute
Always use protection by hesselives
“In which Lan Wangji attempts to hire a new bodyguard for his older brother, a well-known traveling exorcist. Jiang Wanyin doesn’t even make his carefully considered list of Top Ten Candidates, and yet here he is.
Lots of wandering in the countryside, distant yelling, and mildly inconvenient spirits.”
bodyguard au
honestly just really intersting worldbuilding
Rewrite the stars by Arashii
“Five great kingdoms have been fighting for years and when the kingdom of Yunmeng is destroyed, the Crown Prince Jiang Cheng vanishes.In Gusu, Lan Xichen makes an offer impossible for Jiang Cheng to refuse. His life or revenge? There’s only one option and Jiang Cheng swears loyalty to the man he hated the most his whole life, the Crown Prince of Gusu, Lan Xichen himself.Written for XiChengFest2020 - Day 4“
ROYALTY AU ROYALTY AU
enemies to lovers!
flashbacks! i love flashbacks so much ohmygod
No paths are bound by Arashii
“In seclusion, Lan Huan has the support of a ghost no one has seen since the massacre of Yunmeng Jiang. His feelings start changing with the often visits and conversations they share. Before Lan Huan can confess though, he ascends, leaving everything and everyone behind him.
Two hundred years later, back to the Human Realm and without powers, the Martial God Zewu-Jun has a mission to uphold. His Heavenly Calamity started. The clues are little and the support comes in the most unexpected form, the current Ghost King: Sandu Shengshou. Now they need to stick together to contain a menace that is slowly growing.“
TGCF AU TGCF AU
ghost king jiang cheng come on
doesn’t follow tgcf plot, just the setup so no spoilers
jiang cheng gets the dogs and the xichen he deserves
once upon a dream by cafedeolla
“Xicheng soulmate AU
An au where your dreams are small snippets of your soulmate’s day. They’d show small things like buying coffee, reading a book, or hanging out with people from their perspective.
The problem was that people always have expectations and Jiang Cheng knows he always falls short of them. Time and time again.“
soulmate au, but being soulmates is more a problem than a solution
misunderstandingssss all over the place
now with a squel (in progress?)
Lan Furen series by jagaimocchi
“Jiang Cheng leaves Lotus Pier before the Wen Internment Camp and before the destruction of his home. When he meets Lan Xichen on the run from the Wens after the burning of Cloud Recesses, his plan to live a peaceful life away from cultivation sects is quickly derailed. Now, free to make his own choices, he cannot find it in himself to leave the other man's side.
With love, patience and time, Jiang Cheng finds his own happiness and peace with his past.“
have you ever wanted a fic where jiang cheng peaces out from home in search for a better life, bc he’s Had Enough??? jags got you covered
adorable xicheng
good uncle-dad-figure Lan Qiren
ongoing <3
Just around the riverbend by JungleJelly
“One day.
Jiang Cheng just wanted one day of peace and quiet, away from home, away from his responsibilities, away from his idiot brother and his nutcases of a mother and father. Just a few hours alone — him and a boat and nothing else.
Clearly, that was too much to ask for.”
now with a new story in the series which is adorable too!!!
mermaid!lxc need i say more?
Bad ideas (where they lead) by JungleJelly
“Jiang Cheng is a busy man. Fortunately, he is also a huge pushover when it comes to his sister, so when she recommends that he start doing yoga, he agrees pretty easily.Featuring Lan Xichen in yoga pants, Jiang Cheng’s inability to handle a crush, and, perhaps most importantly, a big fluffy dog.“
done for 2020 MXTX MiniBang
yoga instructor Lan Xichen
Jiang Cheng is: struggling with a crush on the yoga guy from youtube & very angry about that
If there’s a price for rotten judgement by TheWanderingHeart
“All Jiang Cheng wants to do is, well... his job, really. Other than that? Keep the city safe, keep his nephew alive, keep his sanity intact (if possible).
So when his brother calls with unexpected news, he knows all of that is about to fly out of the window.
***
[Every instinct is telling him don’t ask, you don’t want to know. By this point, Nie HuaiSang has scooted closer to listen. Jiang Cheng takes a steadying breath and pulls out his antacids. “What did you do?”]”
superhero au, come on
jc just trying to do his job in peace
(he can’t)
i love it so much oh my god *sobs*
The Form of Boneless Ice by TheWanderingHeart
“Mythical beasts have long ago been driven to extinction by the gentry — hunted for sport, but more importantly for their magical cores. Since then, there remains only one creature that has never been caught. The Jiang’s retreated a long time ago. Abandoning land altogether, they sought safety where the humans could not reach.It all comes to a head though, purely by chance. (Or is it by fate that a spontaneous decision allows for them to meet? If fate were a rock!) Jiang Cheng suddenly finds his whole life balanced on the head of a pin — on the flimsy promise of a human boy. In his opinion, things cannot possibly get worse!(But then they do when the Wens decide it’s finally time to search for the elusive merpeople, and suddenly nowhere is safe.)“
there she goes again, with another beautiful xicheng story full of awwww and mythology
actually one of the first xicheng fics i read
i chose it because there were mermaids
painfully accurate takes on Jiang family dynamics
kids! lots of kids!
Let me Slytherin to Your Heart by TheWanderingHeart
“Jiang Cheng never thought he'd return to Hogwarts, but in hindsight, he probably should have known that someday he would.With his nephew about to start school, he reluctantly takes his good friend's bad parenting? career? advice and ends up tumbling head-first back into the madness that he hoped he'd left behind... and rediscovering some feelings he thought he'd left behind too.“
Harry Potter au!
just really fecking cute
lots of snakes
[I am not going to link all of Jo’s fics, though I probably could, just my 3 favourites. UOSB is there by default]
Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes
“Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.“
done for 2019 MXTX Big Bang
uuuuuuuuuuh i might have cried maybe
heartwarming? painful at times? lots of family love?
slowburn xicheng being lovely
The Provenence of Hope series by velithya
“A chance meeting on a night hunt sets a course of events into motion that will change everything.
Featuring Xicheng getting together, recovery for Lan Xichen, healing for Jiang Cheng, and always, always, hope.“
got everything. feels. hope. love. ~~healing~~
A Small Measure of Peace by Sandstone112
“With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.“
a loooot of adorable family times with jc and lxc taking care of their nephews
good grandpa lqr!
canon but fixed and less painful
🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋if you wish to avoid scurvy:🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋
Some day I’m gonna make you mine series by locketofyourhair
xicheng getting together through the years
friends with benefits but the real benefits are the friends we made along the way
Take me over (take me tonight) by velithya
jiang cheng has a tattoo and lan xichen doesn’t stand a chance
i'd be the sweet feeling of release (mankind now dreams of) by piyo13
two bros, chilling in a cave, no feet apart because they don’t want to lose their cultivation powers what are you gonna do
haven’t read yet and shame on me, but AM GONNA:
Upon Our Silver Bridge by TheWanderingHeart obviously
““When the path ignites a soul, there's no remaining in place. The foot touches ground, but not for long.”
― Hakim Sanai
**
Lan Xichen's sorrows have caught the attention of something. Unlike the adventures and foes they have faced before, there is no obvious enemy here to defeat. If this is the same thing they thought had taken Nie Mingjue's life, then he believes it is fated for him to die as well. Nothing can stop the black fire when it wants to burn.Jiang Cheng is sure his part in this is over. Wei Wuxian is back, his grand adventure concluded, and he'd never been at the centre of it anyway. So what does it matter what happens to him in the end? Slowly, he will come to realise that there will always be a battle to fight, a story to tell, a choice to make, and there is no such thing as an end to anything.“
it was difficult to do things in 2020 and few i regret not doing more than not reading uosb yet :’(
i will tho
Emergency Help Wanted by piyo13
“EMERGENCY HELP WANTED
I lied when I got my job. I told them I had a kid so I could leave early from work to pick him up from daycare, take him to doctor's appointments, and occasionally miss a day when he's sick. Long story short, I'm in too deep. I didn't think it through. Looking to rent a kid for bring your child to work day. Must be a boy ages four to six, longish dark hair, likes soccer. Must also be artistic as the macaroni noodle paintings I made seem a little advanced for his age. Also, I will pay extra for someone willing to play the role of husband when dropping him off. He's a prosecuting attorney who often brings his work home. Message me for further details. Serious inquiries only.“
Running Our Hands Through Embers by MarvelousMar
“If asked, Jiang Cheng would compare falling in love with Lan Xichen to a moth inevitably drawn to a flame.It burned.***In which Jiang Cheng discovers that even death can't help him escape from his trauma, so he embarks on a quest to save the people he loves, fix what he can, make the love of his life fall for him, and maybe, somewhere along the way, do a little bit of healing.”
The Beginner’s Guide to Moving On by InvincibleMel
gone from ao3, but i think there’s a link with a pdf going around
#xicheng#fic rec#Jiang Cheng#lan xichen#mdzs#the untamed#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation#mo dao zu shi
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Hi!! Could I perhaps request LQR baby-sitting A-Yu and A-Lan for the renouncement verse? Thanks, love you <333
(brief author’s note: please please reblog if you can, since that’s how we get prompts for future chapters!)
Lan Qiren’s nephews keep overworking themselves.
This wouldn’t be a bad thing if they hadn’t been doing it for the last several years, but it’s beginning to wear on them. Xichen’s eyes are always red and swollen from writing letters by candlelight, and Lan Qiren doesn’t remember the last time he saw Wangji without trade reports in his arms and spit-up milk on his robes, so he finally puts his foot down and decides to give all three of them a break in early autumn.
“Xichen, go take a soak in the hot springs,” he orders, sweeping into the hanshi and shoving everything on Lan Xichen’s desk up one of his sleeves. “Now.”
Lan Xichen is so exhausted that he tries to paint a line of calligraphy onto the expensive wood of his writing table. “Shufu?”
“You heard me,” Lan Qiren scolds. “Go on! I’ll finish the petition forms by tomorrow.”
Somewhat bewildered, Lan Xichen ambles out through the hanshi’s back door and splashes into the hot spring, leaving Lan Qiren to march down to the jingshi and confiscate all of Wangji’s trade contracts. He also confiscates baby A-Lan, who is lying in Lan Wangji’s lap and trying to eat his jade pendant.
“What are you doing?” Wangji asks, watching him tug the rest of his letters out of Wei Ying’s hands and stuff those up his sleeves, too. “Uncle?”
“You and Wei Ying need a rest,” he announces. “I am taking your work to the meishi, and I am also taking your children. Do not come to fetch them until sunset.”
And with that, he straps Wei Shuilan to his chest and takes Lan Yu by the hand, bundling them off to his own residence before their parents have time to do much more than blink at him in confusion.
“Huh,” Wei Wuxian says, after he leaves. “I think your uncle has a point, actually. Let’s go to bed, Lan Zhan.”
__
When Lan Qiren gets back to the meishi, he settles A-Lan down for a nap and gives Xiao-Yu a snack and some silver puzzle rings to improve his hand-eye coordination. “It almost reminds me of the old days,” he sighs, as Shuilan kicks her chubby little feet before falling asleep with her thumb in her mouth. “Even if Wangji never went down for naps without a fuss.”
Lan Qiren was nineteen when he became acting sect leader, and he was also nineteen when he received custody of Xichen: not coincidentally, because the clan hoped that taking charge of the sect would prevent him from raising his nephew and allow one of them to take over his care instead. But Lan Qiren was nothing if not stubborn, so Lan Huan went with him everywhere—to meetings, discussion conferences, and even the odd wedding now and then, and was generally such an amiable baby that he adjusted to his uncle’s fraught travelling schedule without a fuss. In fact, the first time Lan Huan met Jiang Yanli had been during a week-long cultivation event at Lotus Pier, yawning in a sling on Lan Qiren’s back while Jiang Yanli napped on Jiang Fengmian’s chest, and Jiang Fengmian had even mentioned the possibility of a betrothal between the two babies when they were older.
“My wife wants to contract an engagement between Xiao-Li and a son born to her sworn sister, but Jin-zongzhu and Jin-furen have not yet had a child,” Jiang-zongzhu had sighed, letting his daughter’s little fingers wrap around his. He looked heartbroken at the mere thought of parting from her, Lan Qiren remembers—which was probably why he named her yan li, to hate separation, because Jiang Yanli’s premature birth nearly stole her away from her parents the moment she entered the world.
“Lanling is closer to Gusu than Yunmeng,” Lan Qiren pointed out. Yunmeng Jiang would make an excellent alliance by marriage, and he was fairly certain at the time that Jiang Yanli would grow up to resemble her mild-mannered father rather than her hot-tempered mother. He was right, of course, since Jiang-guniang took after Jiang Fengmian in both looks and character, but contracting a betrothal with her for Xichen would have done both of them a disservice—because Xichen could never have loved her as she would have wanted to be loved, and he could never have given her children, either.
“Shugong?” a little voice says at Lan Qiren’s elbow, distracting him from the possibility of a world where Lan Huan married Jiang Yanli and crippled Lanling Jin’s influence after the Sunshot Campaign. “Xiao-Yu is done with the puzzle. I have another one?”
“Already?” Lan Qiren asks. This is yet another trait Xiaohui inherited from Wei Wuxian despite not being related to him, and Lan Qiren feels his heart swell with pride at his great-nephew’s intelligence. “Then you may play with the wooden blocks on that shelf, and see how high you can build your tower without letting it fall over.”
Xiao-Yu settles down on the hearthrug to stack up the fine-carved building blocks, and Lan Qiren goes through his nephew’s papers in peace for another hour before A-Lan wakes up from her nap and wails for her milk at the top of her lungs.
“Do not cry,” Lan Qiren soothes, securing the child in her swaddle before heating a bottle with a warming talisman. “Here is your supper, and your xiongzhang is there on the mat.”
He has to keep A-Lan in his arms after that, since his tiny great-niece is so used to being held that putting her down would break her little heart; and Lan Qiren would rather die than let go of her, because he dearly misses holding his nephews, and not so long ago he was certain he would never have the chance to hold a baby again.
And then, as if cuddling A-Lan to his chest wasn’t wonderful enough, Xiao-Yu pulls one of Wangji’s old picture books out of Lan Qiren’s storage trunk and runs over to sit in his lap, pushing the trade contracts aside and replacing them with the fable of the magic lotus lantern.
“Shugong, read to Xiao-Yu?” the little boy begs, snuggling into Lan Qiren’s overgown next to his cooing baby sister. “A-Die likes this story best.”
Of course he does, Lan Qiren thinks, as he flips the cover open and starts to read. The tale of the magic lotus lantern was written about a child whose mother was stolen away from him, taken back to the heavens by force when her godly brother discovered the magic lantern that illuminated her way to the mortal world—and for a while Wangji believed that his mother was like the immortal Sanshengmu, who loved a human man and had a child with him before returning to the realm she came from. Sanshengmu’s story ended with her being reunited with her husband and son, and the little Wangji never gave up hope that his own mother might come back in much the same way, even after he was old enough to stop believing in fairy stories.
“Why did they fight?” Xiao-Yu asks, leaning closer to see the picture of the goddess’s lover with his brush and scroll. “That’s against the rules!”
“Sometimes people who love one another fight because they cannot understand their feelings,” Lan Qiren tells him, tapping the point of his soft button nose. “So it was with Sanshengmu and Liu Yanchang-gongzi, and when he awoke, she revealed her true identity, and explained why she sent a rainstorm to plague him after she read his poem.
“Both apologized profusely. Days went by, and Liu Yanchang finally recovered. By then the goddess and the scholar had fallen deeply in love, and marriage naturally ensued. Encouraged by Goddess Sanshengmu, Liu Yanchang continued with his journey to the capital to take the imperial examination, and months later, the goddess gave birth to their son, whom she named Chenxiang.
“At the same time, the goddess’s celestial family had learned about her marriage to an earthly man. Her brother, known as Divine Erlang, found his unruly sister and demanded that she renounce her new family and return with him to their heavenly home, but Sanshengmu refused, and battled him with the power of her magical lotus lantern…”
__
“I want to paint a portrait of this,” Wei Wuxian whispers, when he and Lan Zhan creep into the meishi after sunset to find Lan Qiren fast asleep on the floor, with A-Lan snoozing on his chest and Xiao-Yu curled up in the crook of his arm. “They’re so sweet, Lan Zhan!”
“Mm,” Lan Zhan murmurs, his eyes softening as he looks at the open book on his uncle’s desk. Lan Qiren clearly just finished reading it before he fell asleep, because the book is open to the very last picture; a color painting of a goddess embracing a youth and an older man with a lotus-shaped lantern hanging at the crook of her elbow. “Bring a blanket and a pillow, Wei Ying. We should let them sleep.”
(Lan Qiren often finds himself toting his little great-nephew and niece around the Cloud Recesses after that, and Xiao-Yu’s favorite place to play in his parents’ absence is always the house where his shugong lives.)
#wangxian#mo dao zu shi#my fic#wangxian arranged marriage au#renouncement verse#lan qiren#lan xiaohui#wei shuilan
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Unfinished Meta #2
WWX is established in the text as observant, making it incongruous that he’d also somehow be at the same time ‘oblivious’
We all know that WWX is a genius and a prodigy, which is not that interesting (how many characters are geniuses and prodigies?). But WWX is not only smart--he’s very observant, which is already more interesting. It is not clear, to me, whether these observation skills come from WWX’s innate abilities, the way his parents brought him up in his early years, the challenges of surviving in the streets, or the result of having to negotiate the pitfall and tensions as a permanent guest of the Jiang household--or even a combination of all these. Whatever the source or reason, WWX’s quick wit and deductive skills is perhaps his most established character trait we get in our first introduction to the character. While the Mo Mansion arc is dense with characterisation (WWX kicking the door with his foot and then throwing the bowl to the side! WWX calling LSZ ‘xiao mianzi’ in his internal monologue 😭), there is a clear bias towards establishing very early this part of his character.
(here I wrote “add quotes” but you can just refer to the meta I actually wrote about the Mo Mansion arc lmao)
WWX is good at reading people, understands how to goad them into reactions or how to diffuse tensions (although is not a master manipulator like JGY or NHS, nor as good of a arbiter as JYL or LSZ). This is made clear even in the earliest memories we see of him, when he angers LQR into throwing him out of class, or angers LWJ into destroying the evidence of the spring book he brought into the Library. We see it in his treatment of other characters; for example, he realizes early on that Jin Zixun is a prideful prat who needs recognition, so WWX purposely pretends to forget his name to antagonise him.
But more often, especially as an adult, his ability to read others and guess their reactions is used to scrutinize them or assess a situation, to make people confess or say something they hadn’t meant to divulge. During Guanyin Temple, until the moment JGY brings up LWJ’s feelings, WWX is very clearly trying to make JGY reveal more about his plan and his past deeds, or trying to find ways to distract him and his goons. Likewise, he sees through JGY’s attempt to do the same (up until the moment he brings up LWJ, at which point WWX is too heartsick and heartbroken not to pursue that line of enquiry, even while knowing it is part of a ruse, of a means to best him), warning LXC against falling for his tricks, and having to witness JC falling hook, line and sinker later on when JGY goads him.
At times, he’ll play-act a character to achieve this goal, as we see in the Mo Mansion arc when he puts on the persona of a lunatic in front of the Lan Juniors so that they will not suspect him of being a skilled cultivator while he assess the situation and finds how to protect them from the unknown enemy. (here it said add more examples of play-acting lmao)
On top of it all, WWX is also established to be well-learned and knowledgeable about the cultivation world and politics throughout the novel, as well as being creative and inventive, coming up with a new branch of cultivation and many devices to help his endeavors, like the zhaoyin flags or the empathy technique.
Being observant and having good deductive skills should not mean however that the character cannot ever be wrong or misled in their observations and conclusions; in fact, most pieces of fiction including such a character will often use the character’s personal or internalized biases and prejudices to make them grow or to shape some parts of the plot; Sherlock Holmes was bested by Irene Adler because of his prejudices against the ‘fairer sex’; Lizzie Bennet, who prided herself on her abilities to read people, was fooled by Wickham both because she mistook his genteel manners for good nature and because she held prejudices against Mr Darcy and was already willing to believe him to be a villain. What is important in these examples is that there is always something that explains, something that contextualises why the observant character came to the wrong conclusion (and how they finally understood their mistakes).
The novel often puts WWX in a situation where he doubts his observation/thinking, and has to face conflicting or contradicting information in order to decide whether or not he’s sticking with his initial assessment or not. For instance, in Chapter 10, he starts questioning whether or not LWJ really is unaware of his true identity after surprising him in the Cold Springs, even he remains uncertain until LWJ tells him so (and then, it takes him a while to figure out how LWJ did realise his identity, but WWX does ultimately figure it out on his own).
He did doubt that Lan Wangji might have guessed who he was. However, the doubt was lacking in both sense and reason. As sacrificing one’s body was a prohibited practice, there were probably not a lot of people who knew about it. The scrolls passed down the generations were most likely partial pieces of the entire work, unable to reach their full potential. Things continued like this, and so there were less and less people who believed in it. Mo Xuanyu only summoned Wei Wuxian by looking at a secret scroll, wherever he found it in the first place. Anyhow, Lan Wangji couldn’t have recognized him just from the awful flute melodies that he played.
He asked himself whether or not he had a heartfelt relationship with Lan Wangji in his past life. Although they had studied with each other, went on adventures, and fought together, all of these experiences were like falling petals and flowing water—coming and going. Lan Wangji was a disciple of the GusuLan Sect, which meant that he had to be “righteous,” quite incompatible with Wei Wuxian’s personality. Wei Wuxian thought that their relationship wasn’t exactly bad, but it wasn’t that good either. The chances were that Lan Wangji’s opinion of him was the same as everyone else’s—being overly wanton and not virtuous enough, it would have been only a matter of time before he caused a disaster. After Wei Wuxian betrayed the YunmengJiang Sect and became the Yiling Laozu, he had a few significant disputes with the Lan Sect, especially during the few months before his death. If Lan Wangji was sure that he was Wei Wuxian, they should have already been engaged in a large-scale fight.
Yet, he wasn’t sure what to make of the current situation—in the past, no matter what he did, Lan Wangji didn’t tolerate anything, but now, even though he used whatever methods he had up his sleeve, Lan Wangji could still tolerate him. Should he be congratulated because of his progress?! [Chapter 10]
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So.
Previously on my "The Untamed/MDZS Ice Skating AU".
Unfortunately for y'all I have not finished talking about it. as always, a big thank you to @galaxy-darkmoon for giving me rope, and also @the-nonchalance-blogs for giving me the idea in the first place.
We left things at the double divorce JFM/YZY and JGS/Madam Jin.
At this point in time the other players step in. I will start with the WangXian and continue on with the SangCheng part.
I will do the XiYao drama in the next post cos this is already way too long and I need to think.
Anyway, enjoy. Under the cut
THE WANGXIAN DRAMA
Now, WWX is still competing and training under freshly divorced JFM as a solo - and possibly the star of the Jiang rink. A lot of people and journalists have a lot of things to say about the Choices™(C) made by JFM, but WWX's skills and prowess and several silver and gold medals on his rack, plus several trophies won jot all of that down.
Enter the Lans. The Lans are an extremely traditionalist family of ice skaters, who only skate with classical/traditional music and that has become through the years their trademark.
LQR, the coach and also LXC and LWJ's uncle, after the untimely disappearance of the parents, and the two brothers have trained a lot - LXC is already in the seniors category, whilst LWJ is still in the juniors category.
It's time for regional championship and WWX is also competing.
And it's clichè, but it is love at first ina bauer and toe loop for both WWX and LWJ. They both score first and whilst JFM and LQR are already down to throw hands for the gold medal, WWX blurts out a "why don't we share? we are both really good, so why don't we share the podium." This all whilst being the usual feral gremlin. LWJ is like, "no, it's not in the rules", but LXC is like "uncle, that's a really good suggestion" and LQR is at an inch from losing it, JFM deals the final blow like "you heard WWX, come on! let's praise them both!" and LQR concedes.
JC has seen the thing and he is at the "this might as well happen" point and just leaves the rink where he was watching WWX without a word. I will come back on this in just a moment.
LQR anyway invites WWX at the Gusu rink to train, stuff that happens once every blue moon, and JFM is like "yes, that is my son" "Uncle Jiang I am not your son" "Details, just go." "Ok, let me say goodbye to people."
And by "people" he means JC and Yanli, who were there to watch him compete.
Yanli congratulates him and says that JC is outside.
WWX goes to JC, who has had A Day™ and is just like "congrats, if it had been me at your place my father would have preferred to give up the position rather than have me share the podium" "Aw you know he doesn't mean that. I know you are as good as me and one day he will see that." "well, good luck then, I have stopped competing, say that to Father™"
More drama.
More misunderstanding.
JC goes back home, packs up and rents a flat near the Nie rink. He takes the position as ice skating teacher for kids over there and tries finding some sort of peace, whilst still aching over the above mentioned drama.
WWX goes to Gusu with the ache of having lost a brother completely and yes, being close to LWJ does make him feel better, but he still misses greatly his family.
Anyway the national championships approach and eventually WWX and LWJ change into a pair, become an item and end up skating into the sunset over wangxian.mp3, break several rules, get disqualified and then LQR and JFM, pressed by LXC, make an appeal and get the commission to accept them.
WWX and LWJ skating off into the sunset inspired by this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpp5XKiQqBE
THE SANGCHENG DRAMA
I said that JC stops competing, goes away from YZY's rink, rents a flat and goes teaching ice skating to kids at the Nie rink.
Now, the Nie have a team of hockey players. NMJ is the coach, NZH is the captain and NHS should technically be on the team as well, but he'd rather pull out paper and pencil and sketch out the things that interest him the most, birds most notably. NHS has an extensive collection of fans as well.
NMJ is fuming bc NHS has the capability and the potential to be the perfect ice hockey player, but he'd rather just NOT participate in that. NMJ has unfortunately a chronical illness and knows he can't be forever there, he would LOVE for his brother to inherit the team, but he has not said anything about his chronical illness to NHS thinking that if he did maybe NHS would feel too much pressured. He does not know that NHS knows about the chronical illness and is the one making sure that NMJ takes his medications.
In any case, when JC starts teaching, NHS is fascinated. He watches JC gracefully glide on the ice and be generally the Ice Price Of His Dreams, If Not For The Aggressiveness, but considering that also NMJ Tends To Be That Way Too, NHS assumes that there is some turmoil going on and makes it his mission to uncover All Of That™.
THat and also NHS really enjoys drawing JC gliding gracefully on the ice - too bad JC discovers this and also NMJ is VERY perceptive, but NOT subtle at all, so when NMJ says "HUAISANG COME AND PLAY!" "One sec bro, I have to finish something" "STOP LOOKING AT THE TEACHER'S ASS AND COME HERE NOW OR I WILL BURN YOUR FANS." "... Thank you bro for destroying any chance I had."
Awkwardness ensues.
JC is unfortunately very direct and does not beat around the bush. NHS confesses. JC is in a mystic crisis bc "OMG someone likes ME, the CRANKIEST and ANGRIEST man on earth." NHS takes a step back and notes, in his 35 steps plan on how to court and conquer JC that he needs to make him understand that "the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return".
It takes NHS to step in to win a game, whilst NMJ is in the hospital bc the chronic illness is too much to bear, JC taking NHS to the hospital to see NMJ alive and slightly better, NMJ's blessing to NHS and JC and NHS throwing himself onto JC after NMJ is asleep bc THE PRESSURE, THE WORRY, THE CONCERN, and JC says that he will be there and NHS wanted to be the conquering one, but he ends up conquered by the heart of gold of JC.
JC reveals all about his family and NHS convinces him to reconcile, if not with his parents, with WWX and Yanli. Things work out bc HS is great at mediating and JC is genuinely touched by him.
WWX and Yanli tell JC to go for it, bc it is clear that there is some sort of sentiment, thus forcing JC to sort himself out.
JC sorts his feelings out and declares his love to NHS by performing a choreography on "Nature Boy" by David Bowie.
See you next time with the XiYao and Xuanli part.
#the untamed#the untamed ice skating au#mine#but do feel free to use any of this#as long as you credit me#wangxian#sangcheng
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On the Lan Sect negativity:
1) The Lan Sect’s involvement was only at Discussion Conferences and the like - events they had to attend. No real choice, they had to go. But WWX mentions only the Jin Sect at Qiongqi path, and only the Jin and Jiang Sects at the siege.
WWX only mentions that WN might have hurt Lan Sect members when he went wild at his execution with WQ - and it should be noted that the Lan Sect let LWJ argue on behalf on the Wens. They had the power to stop him, but they didn’t. At the Nightless City, WWX seemed to attack everyone with no mercy or distinction between friend or foe. Of course they’re worried when LWJ disappears with him. But LXC specifically points out that he wanted to do it secretly, so it wasn’t a Lan Sect siding with the Jin Sect thing.
Yeah, there was the Second Siege... but the Jin Sect had “proof” that WWX had killed innocent people and had kidnapped Sect heirs and junior disciples. Not great proof, but ya know. And the Lan Sect was one of the first ones willing to listen to WWX.
2) We don’t know what went on with LWJ’s mother. We don’t know much about who she killed, why she killed them or anything. The fandom likes to paint her as this helpless victim but we don’t know if she was. We don’t even know if she was in love with her husband or not. You can speculate. You can headcanon. But you can’t know. It sucks, but it is what it is.
3) We see in the extras that it’s perfectly normal for Sect members to interact with someone of the opposite biological sex. WWX sees and talks to a female disciple, who was heading to feed the rabbits. And, actually, it seems that the separation only happened recently, as WWX’s parents met at CR. CSSR met JFM at CR. And it seems like a lot of the parents were there as well. It’s probably a tradition for Sect heirs to go. I wonder what could have happened with the past generation that could have caused the Lan Sect to decide “You know what, let’s seperate them”? That sounds like a great idea for a crack fic, honestly...
Anyway, the gossiping rule is only there to discourage the spread of misinformation. Considering that one of the main themes in the novel is the dangers of taking gossip at face value without looking into it, I don’t think that’s a rule we’re meant to find oppressive.
4) Where does it say that the “no talking to WWX” rule is written on the wall? I’ve only seen it in fics. And rereading the extra it was introduced in... hmm, not there... maybe translation differences? Or maybe it’s an exaggeration? Either way, this rule is clearly not taken seriously as WWX is allowed to teach the junior disciples. Without LWJ present even. This is shown in two seperate extras. So, unless we assume that the Lan Sect is too dumb to realize that WWX and the juniors all disappearing at the same time has a connection, we can assume that he’s probably allowed to teach them. And it’s very hard for a teacher to teach without communication with students.
5) Yeah, the Lan Sect has plenty of rules, but the rules are clearly dealt with differently depending on what they are, and the circumstances they are broken in. Like the rule against fighting - that is clearly fine to break if you’re fighting to defend someone or something. The rules against noise and running? Perfectly fine to break if there is an emergency and you need help instantly (or if you want to scold someone for doing something wrong). Someone being unconscious doesn’t violate the sleeping rules either.
It should also be mentioned that they’re even willing to let things slide not only based on serious (we never see WWX punished for running, or sleeping in, for example) but also on knowledge. They don’t punish him for those first four rules he breaks, they just make sure he can’t use not knowing them as an excuse to break more.
6) Yes, “Do not grieve is excess” sounds messed up on its own. But one, I don’t even remember if that’s a canon rule or a fanon rule (this is not as easy to double check as the rules in the extras), but I don’t remember it in any version I’ve seen. Two, there are certain parts of the grieving process that can actually be detrimental to one’s health if preformed for too long. The rule doesn’t put a time limit on grieving, it just says “excess”.
1) I believe it’s mentioned that they were present at the first siege, but it was the Jin and Jiang sects that were leading it and as I’ve mentioned before the fact that they felt the need to hide the bodies suggests to me that the Lans (and Nies) were far enough away from the actual Wen village that they never saw any of the remnants; it’s not like there wouldn’t be a large number of fierce corpses to keep them busy in the Burial Mounds. I think there may have been some Lan cultivators at the ambush? But that may be CQL-only (if it was a thing at all; I may be misremembering), and either way we never get any evidence to suggest their presence was sanctioned by the sect as a whole. And yeah, the Lans at the very least hid LWJ’s involvement from the rest of the sects; it may have just been an attempt to protect their own, but they were prepared to let a connection to WWX slide, at least. (Not to mention I don’t doubt that at least some of them suspected that A-Yuan was connected to WWX in some way, and no one said anything about that; I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t prove that, but it seems like a reasonable assumption.) And as you say, in the second siege they’re quick to stand down when given reason to believe that WWX isn’t an actual threat, not to mention how their sect leader actively sheltered him from the wrath of the sects not long before that point.
2) Yeah, that’s always the thing with the “the Lans locked up the Twin Jades’ mother and forced her to marry against her will” thing. It’s certainly a possibility, but it’s not a guarantee. The only source we get is getting the story second hand from people with a vested interest in making the whole affair look as bad as possible (to lower the risk of their current sect leader and heir doing something similar, which... fails). And if it did happen it doesn’t guarantee they’ll do it again in a very different situation; in fact we know they don’t, since WWX and LWJ’s marriage is accepted, if only grudgingly, and there’s no sign of them locking WWX up.
3) I imagine male and female disciples were always separated during classes, but it doesn’t follow that they’re separated all the time; clearly there are at least co-ed areas, if a female Lan disciple is going to visit the rabbits. Personally I’m thinking maybe the separation is at least stricter during the lessons to avoid distraction (hence why WWX never saw a female disciple as a kid but ran into one by accident while living in the Cloud Recesses) and it was probably a thing while the previous generation was there (CSSR is the exact sort of person to sneak into areas she’s not supposed to be in; I mean, she breaks into LQR’s room). But yeah, if nothing else there’s no reason to believe the male and female disciples don’t share information and a rule against sharing information that isn’t proven true (in a sect with rules against lying) which is generally rather negative towards the target doesn’t exactly seem unreasonable.
4) I think it’s in the ExR translation; is it not a thing in the original Chinese? But yeah, at worst the entire sect turns a blind eye to this rule being broken constantly, and more likely it was just quietly removed (if it was an official, policed rule to begin with, which is debatable). People seem to take that rule way more seriously than it’s ever taken in canon, honestly.
5) Yeah, the Lans are clearly prepared to make allowances in the rules for various reasons; there’s no reason to believe that mental health stuff wouldn’t be considered worthy of a similar allowance. Note that whenever we see a Lan faced with a clear mental health issue their response is to try to help; somewhat clumsily in LWJ’s case, but they do want to help, not shove the person back into some semblance of normalcy. That suggests to me that someone having genuine issues with following the rules would be treated more gently; note that LJY’s rule-breaking is treated mostly with mild exasperation and the usual punishment (which also grants Lan disciples a pretty useful skill, in this case; incredible arm strength is the Lan Thing, after all) and no one really seems to get fed up with him in any serious way.
6) Honestly, of all the sects I think that the Lans quite possibly have the healthiest grief-management stuff? I mean, we don’t see much of the Jins, but the Nies seem to go for “Channel everything into Rage and Fighting” and (while odds are it’s not indicative of the Jiangs as a whole, at least under JFM) every time we see grief in the Jiang sect it involves JC trying to murder WWX, which... is a whole thing. I’ve always taken “Do not grieve excessively” as “Do not let your grief consume you”, which is in fact a healthy way of looking at it; I don’t know if the Lans have grief counselling, but there is a point where grief just becomes incredibly unhealthy and saying “Hey, don’t do that” is at least... something. I do hope they offer some sort of assistance though, because just banning all-consuming grief and offering no help would be a whole mess. Still, if any sect is going to offer some form of counselling it’s going to be the one with the magic music for calming the mind!
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About a year after he found WWX, JFM had a gift made for little WWX. He hunted far and wide, asked all around LP and finally found someone who had a: been acquainted with WWX’s parents and b: had some artistic talent. JFM commissioned a portrait of his old friends so that their son would always know their faces. To WWX, it was a treasure beyond price. Madam Yu was FURIOUS that there was ANY reminder of that woman in her home. 1/3
(2/3 art ask) None of the servants seemed to know how the portrait got thrown away when Madam Yu ordered the children’s rooms be cleaned and aired out for the coming winter. JFM didn’t want to believe his wife could be THAT cruel to a child. But he didn’t commission a second one in the name of keeping the peace. Eventually, WWX got over the loss…but eventually his parents’ faces faded to shadows in his mind. Fast forward to post-canon and one of the elders passes away in CR.
(2/5 art ask, I lied) This elder used to teach classes in the CR and among their things are some carefully preserved scrolls/parchments/what have you (say their house was one of the buildings not completely burned by the Wens). Turns out it’s a bunch of old drawings and paintings elder’s students made during art classes they taught over the years.
(3/5 art ask) The pics are divided roughly into year groups and one batch has several paintings of a particular group of students—portraits, slice of life paintings, studies, etc. Among them are several of a rather lovely young woman that looks SO strangely familiar to Sizhui. He just can’t put his finger on it. He sets them aside to show LZ later, though he knows the paintings are too old for his fathers to have been in the woman’s classes.
(4/5 art ask) When he shows them to WWX and LZ later, they too think she looks terribly familiar, but she clearly isn’t a member of the Lan sect. It’s LQR who finally solves the mystery.“Your memory is so bad, you don’t even recognize your own mother, Wei Wuxian?” he says when he is shows the pictures and told what is bothering them about the subject. (Maybe he says it cruelly, maybe he’s been able to accept WWX by this point, and he’s actually teasing a little, who knows)
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now hear me out,,, an au where lan wangji is an editor who works for an erotica publisher and wei wuxian is essentially chuck tingle. (also lwj writes romance novels on the side)
wei wuxian didn’t plan to write erotica he wants to make that really clear, he was actually studying like biomed or something equally “oh wow my parents can brag to the other parents about this”
but, as frequently happens in wwx’s life, he got drunk with nhs, like really drunk and they woke up the next morning with a laptop on the floor beside them and loose paper strewn everywhere
they don’t really remember what they were doing or thinking last night but they’ve both drawn a bunch of really shitty and weird porn (the less said about the anthropomorphic version of wen chao’s pet turtle the better) and wei wuxian has like 20,000 words of an erotica story on his laptop
when he starts reading it, at first he’s like haha what the fuck this is so weird but then it turned out to be really good??? and nhs blushed at some of the ~sexy~ scenes so that’s how wwx knew he was writing the good stuff
anyway they’re sitting there, eating their hangover food and wei wuxian goes so uh my story was good right? and nhs is like yeah it was, top stuff i would buy it and wei wuxian goes what if i actually wrote it,,, haha just kidding,,,,, unless?
and in his defence he doesn’t actually write anything for the story for another like three months but then he finds himself in the middle of exam season and he’s like fuck it stress relief let’s write some erotica
he finishes the book and his exams (which he does well in but whatever) and then spends his summer holidays editing the book
when he comes back, he slaps down a paper copy on nhs’ desk and is like i finished it. nhs, thinking he meant his latest lab write up, opens it up to a random page and starts reading it out loud which was a Mistake
he trails off mid-sentence, and whips around to glare at wwx with all the wrath he can muster. it’s raunchy nhs says and just read it wwx tells him so nhs does
like 2 hours later nhs turns to him and says if it wasnt for you and the librarian staring at me the whole time i definitely would’ve felt something and wwx is like so it’s good? and nhs is like fuck yeah it is but i dont get what you want from me?
pretty much wwx passed out after exams, slept for like 20 hours and then woke up and went i should publish this and decided that nhs should draw the cover art.
nhs agrees of course and a month later wwx self-publishes bc there’s no way he can walk into a publishing house with his porn and not just combust on the spot and he decides to go by the name yiling patriarch
wwx clicks the final button to upload the fic and nhs just toasts him and goes yknow what,, this is the closest you’ve ever gotten to having sex and i’m proud of you
wei wuxian is the man who guarded his first kiss for the first twenty years of his life for someone special,,,, wwx definitely wants his first time to be special and there’s no way he’s putting out for someone he doesn’t think is important & despite having dated before, he’s never gotten close enough to someone to go yeah let’s do it so our boy is still a virgin
so wwx’s entire erotica writing inspiration comes from porn, nhs’ way too in-depth answers as to how his latest date went and uh more porn
wwx blusters about a bit bc how is he meant to respond to that and nhs is like maybe you’ll finally move on from reading those trashy romance novels and read something more exciting and wwx is like how dare you call them trashy!! hanguang-jun is a master of the romance novels!! he understands the heart in a way that no other person has ever!!
and nhs just chugs a bunch of wine and is like yeah hon okay, do you still blush when the main characters hold hands? and wwx is like no! of course not! (it’s a lie, he blushes a lot)
so nothing really happens with the book at first and wwx forgets about it for the most part but then he wakes up one morning and he’s got an extra like RMB 1000 (i dont actually know much about currency so it’s roughly $200 if my quick interneting is legit)
wwx is like wtf? and once he finds out it’s from his novel he’s doubly like wtf? but then he finds out that someone had purchased his book and did a dramatic reading on youtube bc wwx decided that regular erotica was boring and decided to make it satirical or whatever and people loved it??
he’s got nothing better to do so he just goes hm yeah remember that Author i dated who had an “incredible idea that would absolutely amaze The Critics and helped explore his own convoluted mind” let’s make something of that and he writes another book kinda mocking that idea in a very horny way.
he publishes it and someone writes a review of his two books on their blog and now he’s actually starting to get popular - he’s got more money from those two books than he did by working at the local cafe for the whole week
wwx is poor and broke and semi-disowned anyway by this point so he goes fuck it and spends every moment he’s not studying writing erotica.
he publishes another like five books by the time the year is out (i know the maths isnt working here but this is a book world where wwx can just do that via the power of loneliness and friends who egg you on)
also?? he varies his books. some of them are porn parody things a la chuck tingle and some of them are genuine porn and one book was just him writing a recipe book but making it sound as horny as possible
by the time he’s published his like 8th book or so he starts getting reviews that are critiquing his book and most of them boil down to the fact that he needs an editor or something
he ends up asking nhs for help and he’s like oh sweet my brother’s boyfriend works for a publisher who does that sort of thing
cloud recesses actually specialises in erotica and i hate the idea that lqr has spent years reading and editing erotica but sacrifices must be made
(side note that i know nothing about the writing or publishing process so pls don’t judge me too harshly)
wwx goes in with his latest manuscript and ends up arriving like ten minutes late, he rushes into the room sweaty and hot, takes one look at the guy sitting on the other side of the desk, flushes an even brighter red and runs back out of the room. he checks the plaque on the door and walks back in slowly and goes hm i didnt expect you to be so hot
cue lan wangji
lwj has always enjoyed being an editor. what do editor do specifically? idk? edit? regardless, he enjoys it.
while most of the time he’s happy working from this side of things he also likes writing
lwj fucks. he deserves it tbh. but, while he’s had a tonne of one night stands and fuckbuddies, he’s never actually dated someone. so the fact that he’s writing romance novels under the pseudonym hanguang-jun makes his friend jzx laugh a lot
he tried writing porn once and he just couldn’t do it. it was always too clinical or vague and lacked any actual passion bc he was always going oh okay mc sucks a dick but the guy i slept with last week was like a 6.4/10 when it came to sucking dick so maybe mc should also be bad at it or whatever and it just ends up falling apart,,,, but romance he can do
as an editor lwj has pretty high standards for good erotica but he’s really found himself enjoying yiling patriarch’s work even though he’s clearly just been editing himself so when the guy sent cloud recesses an email asking whether they’d be interested in his latest book lwj was ecstatic.
he also didnt expect wwx to be so hot
anyway,,, we now get to enjoy a week of lwj thinking that wwx is super hot but even more annoying and then him deciding that annoying is hot and now wwx is just absolutely amazing and wwx is just panicking the entire time
i want my publisher to rail me so hard wwx texts nhs and nhs just responds has he read the bdsm scene with the alien who has a tentacle dick and a knot yet? and wwx is like no??? nhs just goes shame, it will give him so ideas for if you ever grow a backbone and just ask him out
they publish one book together and nothing happened between them the entire time other than yearning and horniness,, of the heart and body.
when wwx realises this means that he won’t get to see lwj again he immediately writes a new book and like a month later he’s back in lwj’s office, lying on his couch while whining about the cafeteria prices at university
lwj is very enamoured by the fact that wwx is writing erotica and studying biomed bc wow
they do this for like another three books and wwx’s eroticas evolve from here’s a dinosaur man fucking a politician while a mary sue watches on to be like here’s a dinosaur man with black hair and golden eyes and a stern look to his face fucking a politician while a mary sue watches on
and hanguang-jun’s latest book?? i dont want to say that this au’s version of wangxian is hanguang-jun finally finding inspiration to write porn (his muse is wwx of course) and writing the most amazing porn with feelings and plot novel ever,, but it is.
wwx read it five times in the first week and when nhs finally tried to read it he was like uhhh wwx are you a narcissist, the love interest is exactly like you? and wwx is like ??? no???? he’s nothing like me??
anyway one day wwx gets called into lxc’s office and lxc is like so i’ve read your latest book (not the dinosaur man, a serious one with like normal people and not overly humorous thank fuck but still full of lwj yearning) and wwx is like okay? and lxc goes yes, see i was worried that you didn’t care very much for my brother but after reading your book i’m not so sure and wwx gets the weirdest shovel talk ever which is interspersed with like compliments for his porn writing skills
anyway lxc accidentally mentions that lwj writes books too and before he can take it back wwx is like who??? and lxc is like are you fucking stupid?? you told lwj to his face that you loved his books,,, he broke his theme of tender romance to write kinky sex with a character that’s a lot like you and wwx is like .,,,,,,,,, hanguang-jun??? HANGUANG-JUN???!!
lxc barely manages to confirm it before wwx is sprinting out of his office and across to find lwj.
regretfully for everyone else, lwj is in the lobby so thirty people get to hear it when wwx comes in and shouts LAN ZHAN!! back then, i really wanted write porn about you! ... i think i have actually? but i want to write porn about you and i want to be able to do the research to make it accurate! and i also want to go on dates and hold hands and feed each other food! and i love you a lot!
lwj is dying inside bc his brother’s bf is there, his uncle is currently waiting for the elevators and a whole bunch of staff are also there but also wwx likes him??? dinosaur man was lwj??
he goes over and they make out for a really long time right there in the middle of the lobby but no one wants to get between them when they’ve been pining for so long
after that they start dating and they do all the romantic stuff but also,, let’s just say that the next book wwx publishes is a lot more creative than all of his previous books
and they become some writing power couple with horniness of the heart and body and sometimes wwx will be like hey lwj i don’t really know how the logistics of this sex scene will work and lwj will be like we could try it out ourselves? and wwx just pats him on the head and is like im sorry but you dont have enough dicks for it to work ),: better luck next time
#mdzs#modao zushi#wangxian#wei wuxian#lan wangji#im so sorry everyone#i just got the idea and it wouldnt leave me alone#cql#the untamed#mo dao zu shi#have i read any erotica? no. have i read any chuck tingle? also no. am i an editor? no#so this is gonna be very shit#this is why people should be sending me prompts instead of me just writin shit myself#nsfw-ish?
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i wanted LWJ with a motorcycle & somehow ended up with this librarian!LWJ & art student!WWX au
LWJ is a librarian at a public library
WWX met LWJ when he returned some books 3 months late
LWJ looked at him all judgy like “these are 3 months late,” & WWX promptly became obsessed
WWX is now a much more responsible library user, mostly because he’s there all the time
but listen he’s not great at focusing in the library, that’s why he doesn’t even use the one on campus. so now he’s his usual amount of restless + distracted by LWJ
trying to figure out how to make a move
meanwhile LWJ is just like “do not throw crumpled pieces of paper through the air”
some of those crumpled pieces of paper are failed sketches of LWJ
one day WWX stays all the way to closing because LWJ PRETTY OKAY? also he has an art theory paper due pls don’t talk to him about it
so anyway he’s there when the library is closing & LWJ is like “leave”
so he goes :((( but he’s so late LWJ practically follows him out
which
is when WWX discovers that that pretty white & blue motorcycle that’s always parked out front?
that’s Lan Wangji’s
he absolutely loses his mind
all of his friends know about his ridiculous librarian crush by now & they all make fun of him for it
but anyway, the poor boy has it bad
he’s like “A-Cheng, you don’t understand, he could step on me & i’d thank him. actually i think i need him to step on me.”
JC is like “i did Not want to know that”
meanwhile WWX is bemoaning the fact that he ever became a responsible library user
“how am i supposed to interact with him. i can’t return books late anymore bc i’m always there! what would my excuse be? & he’s already explained how to use their database to me 3 times, i can’t keep looking this dumb”
JYL is very gently like “maybe just ask him out?”
“but he doesn’t like me! i committed library crimes! i have to get him to like me first!”
then WWX sees a flyer in the lobby asking for volunteers. there’s gonna be an event in the kids section! for some special reading day! who tf knows, WWX doesn’t care, the point is, he’s good with kids. that would probably be appealing to LWJ. right? right? WWX really doesn’t know. LWJ is so hard to read. on the one hand, he’s the most tight-laced & responsible person WWX has ever met. on the other, he has a very sexy motorcycle. WWX doesn’t know what to do with that
but okay he has a plan
he calls up WQ & goes “can i borrow A-Yuan”
he already babysits A-Yuan every week, so it’s not that weird right?
WQ is like “i stg WWX if you are going to use A-Yuan to attract hot guys like in that movie with the people who love dogs....”
& WWX is like “i would never use A-Yuan like a dog! WQ do you even know me!”
he gets A-Yuan, barely
anyway, he gets to the library ready to read to a bunch of kids & gets side-eyed by a lot of parents, but he still has fun!!
LWJ is, unfortunately, not the librarian supervising the event, but he is reshelving when WWX is off reading duty & A-Yuan gets the zoomies
ie, zooms right into LWJ’s legs
LWJ is, surprisingly, good with kids. WWX may need to marry him. he somehow manages not to make a complete fool of himself after this revelation
in fact, after this interaction, WWX thinks he may actually have scored some points with LWJ. he’s elated
he’s building all these elaborate future schemes in his head when suddenly he gets a call from Auntie Yu
she wants to know why his grade in his art theory class has plummeted.
oh right. that class. that class that’s taught by that professor who hates him & that he honestly can’t understand a word of & honestly he hates art theory, he’s good at art, why does he have to take theory too?
Auntie Yu lets him know in no uncertain terms that if he doesn’t improve his grades by the end of the semester, she will stop supporting him—it’s bad enough that they let him go to art school after he flunked out of his business degree anyway
so—fuck. fuck.
WWX throws himself into the redo paper he manages to beg off LQR. he has 3 days & he’s gonna make them count
the first day goes well, if by well you mean that he raids the art section of the library & works himself until closing & tries desperately not to look like he’s dying in front of LWJ
day 2 goes........similarly, except he falls asleep at his desk & doesn’t wake up until LWJ tells him the library is closing, which? wtf? LWJ usually wakes him up when he falls asleep in the library. WWX has been asleep for hours.
& also he looks like a wreck, which is not cute
he flees from the library only to find that the bus is going..... going......... gone
fuck. he doesn’t have a car.
he’s staring down the road after the bus, trying to figure out which friend with a car is available for him to call when he hears someone say “Wei Ying?” behind him
it’s Lan Zhan.
how mortifying.
he tries to laugh off his situation, but LWJ gets this set expression on his face & says, “i will give you a ride home”
& WWX is like kinda definitely freaking out because this was not how his first ride on LWJ’s sexy motorcycle was supposed to go. WWX had a plan. he was supposed to be flirtatious & ask LWJ about his bike & then LWJ would offer to give WWX a ride & they’d go all around the scenic parts of the city & when they stopped WWX would be all flustered & breathless & he’d wobble getting off the bike & maybe fall into LWJ & maybe—
okay so his plan was more like a daydream, but at the very least, he wasn’t supposed to look like he’d spent the last 48hrs out of the sun, drinking unhealthy amounts of shitty coffee, wearing a ratty hoodie & art-grimed jeans. like, they’re not even grimey in a cute way
but LWJ is insistent & WWX is weak, so somehow he ends up on the back of the bike wearing LWJ’s helmet with LWJ telling him to hold on tight
he’s half-convinced he’s fallen asleep on the bus stop bench & is dreaming the whole thing
but soon enough, it’s over & they’re stopped outside of WWX’s shitty student accommodations
he gets off & is trying to awkwardly thank LWJ when LWJ says, “you’ve seemed upset these past 2 days”
“ahaha, yeah, i’m just writing a paper”
“for an art theory class?”
WWX is like ????? but then he remembers that LWJ knows what books he checks out
“yeah. it’s a redo actually. professor Lan hates me.” he forces a laugh. why did he say that. being hated by a professor is not cute, especially not to sexy librarian LWJ.
“my uncle has high expectations,” LWJ says.
WWX brain short circuits.
“your uncle???” shit shit shit Lan Qiren is LWJ’s uncle! LWJ’s uncle hates him! he has no chance now!
“mn.”
WWX wants to die
LWJ looks considering, then says, “it is my day off tomorrow. if you would like, i can help you with the paper.”
WWX is already the least cute, most pathetic version of himself he’s ever been in his life. he says yes.
so they meet up at the library the next day & WWX apologizes profusely for making LWJ come into work when it’s his day off. he promises LWJ endless free coffee from the coffeeshop he works at (even if he has to pay for it himself—he doesn’t tell LWJ that part).
LWJ is way too nice to him & also manages to explain this school of art theory in a way that?? sort of?? makes sense?? though not in a way that makes WWX like it. but LWJ seems neutral about it, so at least he’s not trying to get WWX to agree with it.
but anyway, WWX manages to pull a passable paper together & in the process LWJ reveals that he’s noticed WWX sketching in the library a lot more than WWX realized, and that he likes WWX’s art.
WWX is lightheaded
he stares at LWJ for a while & LWJ looks at him & says, “Wei Ying. you should be typing.”
WWX gets the paper done by 5pm somehow. somehow! he sends it off to LQR with a groan of relief. he’s so tired his bones are aching, but he looks over at LWJ, art theory & citation king, who of course always looks perfect & beautiful, & goes, “i could kiss you.”
instead of “i don’t know how i’m ever going to thank you for this,” which is what he thought he was gonna say
LWJ’s eyes widen slightly & his ears go red. WWX wants to smack himself in the face. he wants to eat his words. he wants to crawl into a cramped dark place like a disgusting little mole & never see the sun again.
then LWJ says, “have dinner with me first.”
WWX gapes at him. LWJ looks back, ears still red but eyes steady.
“okay,” WWX squeaks.
they go to dinner. WWX still feels like trash, but they end up having a rousing discussion about art & WWX learns all about when LWJ studied art history in undergrad & how he actually doesn’t like the kind of theory his uncle teaches (“but you’re too good to ever tell him that,” WWX teases. “....most of the time.” WWX laughs in delight.)
LWJ reveals that he brought an extra helmet today, in case WWX needed a ride again. WWX is embarrassed & pleased & wants to marry LWJ again. feeling foolish, he leans into LWJ flirtatiously & suggests they go for a ride—just for the view. LWJ looks at him so long his knees turn to jelly. then LWJ says, “mn.”
they make out on some scenic ridge somewhere
the end!
other things about this au:
WWX does digital painting mostly, his ideal job is illustration/comics; he has a instagram/patreon he uses for art commissions (some of which are pornographic—LWJ catches him sketching in the library one day, early in this tableau. it does not go well.)
his instagram/patreon is mostly anonymous. it’s not that he minds people knowing he draws explicit stuff sometimes, it’s that he doesn’t want Auntie Yu to find out
he draws LWJ a lot
not explicitly
(at least not until he’s got a life model and LWJ’s consent)
he’s not at the library 24/7. he has a coffeeshop job, classes, studio time for non-digital art, A-Yuan, and friends. but he’s at the library a lot.
this is undergrad for WWX, but he’s non-trad. he flunked out of a soul-sucking business degree in his first go at undergrad & was on pretty shaky ground with the Jiang family for a while. then he sold some of his art & Auntie Yu said they would support him through art school if it was the only thing he was good at. kinda stung, but at least he doesn’t have to pay tuition.
he’s desperate to prove he can make it as an artist
when anyone asks LWJ about his bike, he says he got it because it allows him to weave around traffic. yes, there’s more to it than that, but no he won’t go into it. (this entire au formed because i found out WYB rides motorcycles professionally & went, “wow that’s hot.” we have no thoughts here.)
WWX did not have to try to make LWJ like him. LWJ liked him. & while WWX might not have gotten his ideal first bike ride, you better believe LWJ got his. he daydreams about scooping WWX onto his bike & riding off into the sunset
#posting as a bullet point fic bc while i wanna write it as a real oneshot i have other things i need to do & i think it works like this too#mdzs fic#mdzs#cql#wangxian#The Untamed#fanfic#my writing#idk what to tag it's literally been 4yrs since i posted fanfic here#my fanfic#author assumes art theory works similarly to lit theory in that some is great and some is bs#author clearly grew up in the les mis fandom#also has anyone read juliet takes a breath?
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What are your feelings about LQR? I used to dismiss him as only an angry in-law comic character, but he's so proud of LWJ? A different guardian (like my two loves NMJ and YZY) would have hounded him to be more verbal, more like his brother, more normal, more neurotypical and it would have been so damaging? But LQR? So proud? LWJ's differenecs are treated as strengths? I mean he's not perfect, but I was not prepared to have feelings about goatee man. Help?
Oh goood, okay I’m going to do this professionally and act as if I didn’t consider thirsting over him on discord or smth hahaha DISCLAIMER: i pretty much love all characters even if i diss them and i can most definitely write essays about all of those side characters lmao
LQR took care of his brother’s children from beginning until the end. I remember seeing a post that criticized how he raised LWJ and LXC because the two ended up keeping their emotions and self way too in-check that it supposedly “fucked up their childhood” and I didn’t mind it at that time but now that you’re opening up about LQR then I might as well word vomit in his defense. LWJ had always been emotionally constipated and that has little to do with LQR because he accepted that kid for who he was. He taught them the ways of the Lan sect because that’s how he’s also been raised. He has seen firsthand what happens when someone doesn’t follow the prescribed rules - case in point, his brother - and he doesn’t want the same tragedy for his nephews. LWJ and LXC didn’t start out as orphans but they may as well be with their family dynamics at that time and it was LQR who acted as their parent and teacher.
“he stands in the way of wangxian!!!!” Of course he would. We know WWX because we read the novel in his eyes but we must note that the characters did not. In LQR’s eyes, here’s another troublemaker who can drag down his family. And it is true with all that’s happened to WWX. Family is a very vital and large point in the whole MDZS universe. LQR doesn’t have any responsibility to try and understand WWX because LWJ and LXC are his priorities no matter what happens. In others’ eyes, WWX was a hooligan and is bad news - would you want someone with that reputation (not that WWX did anything to dissuade people of that) to be with those that you’ve raised and nurtured?
“lwj is rigid and didn’t have any friends bc of him!!!!” Of course not. If LXC was able to be more amiable and easily gather friends then it’s obviously not LQR’s fault. It’s just the way LWJ is. Not everything about an individual is shaped by how they were nurtured because the other half would always be how they were born - their nature.
We see a lot of interpretations on how LXC worried over his brother for 13 years and how LWJ worried over him in return when he went to seclusion. But who’d be more hurt about the sufferings of these two if not for the one that raised them? He was strict with rules because he hoped to diverge the two from pain and yet those two proved that they were their father’s children through and through. He wasn’t perfect - nobody is - but he loved his nephews and put family first in everything he did. And I do love his character for that.
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MDZS ch.110
the coffin. TELL US ABOUT THE COFFIN.
EDIT: jgy’s mother, okay, i thought about it. and wwx is just too much, i love his mind
EDIT 2: wait, if nhs doesn’t confess and there are no proofs, this thing won’t be confirmed?!?!!??! NoOoOoOoOoOoOo
EDIT 3:
Veins suddenly lined the back of the hand in which Lan XiChen placed on his forehead. His voice sounded muffled, “… Just what does he want to do? I once thought I knew him well, and then I realized I did not. Before tonight, I thought I knew him well once more, but now I do not.” Nobody could give him an answer. Lan XiChen repeated in frustration, “Just what does he want to do?”
okay but, like, he lost a sworn brother and cared so much for the one he still had, only to find out he was a diabolic murderer and now he is suffering so much and i can’t live with lxc look so dejected and resigned i can’t CAN SOMEONE HUG HIM RIGHT FUCKING NOW PLS
EDIT 4:
Before he could finish, a loud, clear bark came from afar.
Wei WuXian’s face changed at once, while Jin Ling managed to gain some energy, “Fairy!”
[...] Sprinting, the soaking-wet dog flew in like a black wind, throwing itself at Jin Ling. Its round eyes were damp as it stood up on its hind legs, clinging to Jin Ling’s lap and whimpering. Wei WuXian watched as its crimson tongue extended from its white, sharp teeth and licked Jin Ling’s hand. His face paled and his eyes glazed over. As he opened his lips, he felt that his soul was about to become a wisp of green smoke and fly to the Heavens through his mouth. Quietly, Lan WangJi placed himself in front of him, blocking the line of sight between him and Fairy.
BEST REUNION EVER, FAIRY AND JIN LING ARE SO CUTE OMG MY HEART IS SO WARM AND HAPPY AND COSY RN + LWJ SHIELDING HIS TREMBLING HUSBAND EVEN THOUGH HE KNOWS FAIRY WON’T DO ANYTHING TO WWX, GOD, WILL THEY EVER STOP BEING SO EPRFECT
EDIT 5:
Lan QiRen still had on a face full of shock and doubt. Before he even opened his mouth to ask, the first thing he saw was Lan WangJi, so close to Wei WuXian that they were practically one person. Within the blink of an eye, he’d forgotten everything he wanted to ask. Rage surged onto his face.
well, same ol’ same ol’, right? though, pls lqr, accept wwx. he makes lwj happy and that’s what really matters pls pls
EDIT 6:
The chief manager immediately went forth to help Jiang Cheng up, “Sect Leader, are you alright…”
While Lan QiRen raised his sword and shouted, “Wei…”
Before he even finished a few white-clothed figures rushed out from behind his back, all of them shouting, “HanGuang-Jun!”
“Senior Wei!”
“Senior Patriarch!”
LOOK AT MY BEAUTIFUL DISCIPLES RUNNING TO REACH THEIR PARENTS AND BE SURE NOTHING BAD HAPPENED TO THEM
THIS IS HAPPINESS AND WHAT BEING ALIVE SHOULD MEAN
EDIT 7: lsx and ljy my beautiful sons bichering on who was more worried and who wasn’t and “lwj is too cool to have problems with anything” and lsz going toward wen ning and taking pulling him between them and is this family time? ARE YOU DONE MAKING MY HEART SWELL AND SING? PLS DON’T STOP
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE DISCIPLES’ TIME. I LOVE WHEN THEY ARE ALL SO PURE AND SPARKLY AND PERFECT AND I NEED THEM TO ALWAYS REMAIN LIKE THIS AND SHOWER WWX AND LWJ IN LOVE AND AFFECTION
EDIT 8: in the end the Fairy is the best of the best, GOOD JOB BRINGING THE BOYS THERE
EDIT 9:
But no matter how spiritual, how magical it was, it was still a dog, the scariest creature in this world, to Wei WuXian. Even with Lan WangJi in front of him, he still shivered from his head to his toes. Ever since the Lan Sect juniors came, Jin Ling kept on sneaking glances at them, watching how they surrounded Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi in chatter.
Seeing Wei WuXian’s complexion grow even paler, he slapped Fairy’s butt and whispered, “Fairy, you go outside first.”
OKAY BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT JIN LING SEEING WWX’S PALE FACE OVER FAIRY’S PRESENCE AND SENDING HIS PRECIOUS DOG AWAY?
ISN’T THIS LOVE? AAAAAAAH I NEED THIS FAMILY TO SAIL LIKE A SHIP
EDIT 10:
Jin Ling wanted to go over, but he felt somewhat embarrassed. Just as he was hesitating, Lan SiZhui suddenly saw what was at Wei WuXian’s waist. He paused for a moment, “… Senior Wei?”
cute jin ling eieofjiwejfipw
but
is what i think it’s gonna happen REALLY GONNA HAPPEN? LSZ EYEING THE FLUTE MAKES ME THINK ABOUT BABY LSZ PLAYING WITH IT
IS IT TIME FOR ME TO CRY AGAIN
EDIT 11:
Lan SiZhui received the flute with both hands and frowned a bit, some confusion on his face. Lan WangJi looked at him, while Wei WuXian looked at Lan WangJi, “What’s wrong with your SiZhui? He likes my flute?”
I AM FUCKING SCREAMING OH MY GOD
PLS WAIT I AM NOT EMOTIONALLY READ FOR THIS, TOO
EDIT 12:
Lan JingYi exclaimed, “What? You finally lost that bad, out-of-tune flute of yours? This new one seems quite good!”
But he didn’t know that this new, ‘quite good’ flute was the spiritual tool he’d always wanted to take a look at—the legendary ghost flute ‘Chenqing’. He only beamed in his heart, Great! Now at least he will not lose face for HanGuang-Jun when he plays a duet with HanGuang-Jun. Heavens! The flute he had was ugly to both the eye and the ear!
when you think you can’t love jingyi more than you already love him, he does this. i love how he thinks about lwj and wwx playing together with that clever, romantic mind of his and how he had apparently always been curious about cheng qing. JINGYI, MY BEAUTIFUL SON, MOM IS SO PROUD OF YOU-
EDIT 13: when is sizhui going to remember eveything uuuuugh. also, wwx and jc speaking to each other makes my heart clench so hard
EDIT 14: poor lqr, what can he do when his now grown up boys keep facing hardiships and take decisions in a way that frustrates him? i think “losing” lxc was probably the last thing he thought and hoped would happen, i feel a bit sorry for him
EDIT 15:
Jin GuangYao’s mother was seen as the lowest prostitutes, so he decided to carve a Guanyin statue with his mother’s appearance, receiving the worship of tens of thousands.
But there was no use in saying all that. Nobody knew with more clarity than Wei WuXian that nobody would care and nobody would believe him. Anything related to Jin GuangYao would be given the most malicious conjectures and passed through the mouths of the crowd.
i can’t stop admiring wwx for being so sensitive and sensible about jgy, it seems to me like wwx is thinking back to the time when the same thing happened to him, and this makes me so emotional i can’t eve-
EDIT 16:
All of a sudden, tears fell from his eyes again.
Jin Ling had always thought crying was a sign of weakness, treating such an act with contempt. Yet, apart from a flood of tears, there was no other way to release the pain and anger in his heart.
IS THIS CHAPTER TRYING TO KILL ME WITH PEOPLE BEING EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED/CRYING/FEELING DESPAIR???
JIN LING BABY PLS DON’T CRY OMG I CAN’T READ ABOUT HIM CRYING I’M GONNA FEEL SICK
here is another beautiful character with a beautiful heart, who has been denied of a family but can’t totally held responsible those who were directly involved because of the affection he feels for them. one can feel the anguish in his heart, so strong that he has to cry it all out and it totally breaks my heart to see him like this
EDIT 17: IF THEY SPEAK LIKE THAT TO MY JIN LING AGAIN, I’M GONNA CRUSH THEM ALL AND THEY’LL ALL WISH THEY HAD DIED LIKE JGY
EDIT 18:
He walked around a bit, raising his voice, “Where is WangJi?!”
Lan JingYi, “Just now I said we brought Lil’ Apple and kept it right outside the temple. And HanGuang-Jun, along with… along with… went to greet Lil’ Apple.”
Lan QiRen, “And then?”
It was needless to say what happened afterwards. Not a sliver of Wei WuXian’s, Lan WangJi’s, and Wen Ning’s shadows remained outside the Guanyin temple.
[...] Lan JingYi looked around, yelling in surprise, “SiZhui? What happened? When did SiZhui disappear too?”
FAMILY ELOPING TOGETHER
EDIT 19:
When Jin Ling heard that Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi were gone, he rushed outside, almost tripping on the threshold of the Guanyin Temple. But no matter how anxious, he was no longer able to find their figures.
BABY
EDIT 20:
Jin Ling, “Just now! I saw it. You wanted to say something to Wei WuXian, and then you didn’t.”
After a moment of silence, Jiang Cheng shook his head, “There’s nothing to say.”
What could he say?
That, back then, I wasn’t caught by the Wen Sect because I wanted to go back to Lotus Pier to retrieve my parents’ corpses. That, at the town we passed on our way, when you were buying food, a group of Wen Sect cultivators caught up. That, I discovered them early and left where I sat, hiding at the corner of the street and didn’t get caught, but they were patrolling the streets and would soon run into you outside.
That this was why I ran out and distracted them.
THIS
I-
WHAT-
EXCUSE ME HOW-
why
my heart literally broke into pieces after reading this i didn’t know why what how this makes me reevaluate so many things and yet i just feel incredibly sad that these two brothers love each other so much and they can’t do anything and i love you jiang cheng and CAN YOU ALL PLS STOP
I AM DYING HERE
#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#the founder of evil magic#the founder of diabolism#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#mdzs ch.110#mdzs fangirling mode#mdzs novel
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(1/3) It always amuses me how stans try to justify JC actions by his abusive upbringing while there were 3 children in that family and both others turned very kind and/or very moral and not at all like JC (and frankly, he didn't even have the hardest position in the dysfunctional dynamic). Or LXC and LWJ whose upbringing was even more screwed up with a LQ who was certainly playing favorites and wanting perfection, and yet this never draw a wedge between them or created any jealousy.
(2/3)LXC loves for LWJ to excel! Same with "but JC had it so hard rebuilding Lotus Pier, WWX was goofing off with the Wens"...JC was paying people to do that for him, yes, while WWX was trying to start from scratch a settlement over a mountain of corpses with a bunch of weak or old people and not to die of hunger comes winter. While separated from all his friends and hated as a monster by the cultivation world. "But JC was so lonely during the 13/16y, so that justifies him lashing out" And WWX
(3/3) was dead, killed by his brother and thinking that there was not a person left on his side in the end, and yet, that didn't make him act like a dick? Or athg else really, because everything that JC went through in the past, WWX did also, but in a worse way because he lost his parents young, lived in the streets, didn't have JC societal privilege or money and has to harness an unstable necromancy practice on top of that. And yet no one uses it as arguments to explain his actions, only for JC
Honestly? While none of the Jiang kids were in a good position, out of the three of them... JC did have it the easiest. It was still awful for him, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting his childhood didn’t suck, but given it was made very clear to JYL that her only purpose was to be married off to JZX so her mother could tie her bloodline to her best friend’s and WWX was treated like a servant at best... Yeah. If I had to pick, I’d choose having a distant father and dealing with a mother who’s constantly emotionally abusive over having a distant father and dealing with a mother who’s constantly emotionally abusive and being treated like a bargaining chip/treated like a servant and/or bastard and being whipped for actions that would get the rest of the clan a lecture at worst. Again, I’m not saying JC didn’t have it bad, but his siblings having it worse is... interesting, given neither of them decided to be dicks to Literally Everyone over it.
I do have to say, even though this is about JC, there’s nothing suggesting LQR was playing favourites with LXC and LWJ. He was strict, yes, probably stricter than he should’ve been, and LXC probably did get more one-on-one interaction with him, but given LXC was going to be sect leader/became sect leader at a young age that makes sense. This is not super important to the point of this post, but I do find it odd how often people make LQR out to be this horrible person who’s always awful to his nephews because he’s Strict when we... don’t actually know anything about how he raised them. I don’t like him all that much, and he probably didn’t do a fantastic job of raising them, but the man did try, and he clearly wants his nephews to be safe and happy (even though he has inaccurate views of what that entails...), and given how the parents/parental figures of the cast generally act he deserves some credit for that. Also the Twin Jades ended up considerably better-adjusted than most of their age group, which... isn’t saying much all things considered but it does say something. If nothing else neither of them seem to feel actively unsafe around him, so he’s definitely not the worst parental figure in this novel.
...I had a surprising number of thoughts on LQR there. Whoops, sorry about the tangent. Maybe I’ll make a post about him at some point. Anyway, yeah, LXC and LWJ clearly adore each other! LXC would be delighted if LWJ surpassed him at something! Same with Nie bros; they argue a lot, but there’s no denying that they love each other. That’s what insults and threats out of love look like; NMJ threatens NHS all the time, but NHS clearly isn’t all that bothered by it until JGY starts fucking with NMJ’s mind and the threats become more serious, which really isn’t NMJ’s fault. It’s because in the other sibling relationships both parties are invested in staying close. They love each other and want to be close for the rest of their lives! Meanwhile JC is obsessed with WWX outperforming him at Literally Everything, and WWX genuinely believes that JC is allowed to treat him the way he does and it’s fine and healthy.
And yeah, JC wasn’t exactly rebuilding Lotus Pier all by his lonesome with his own two hands. In fact, going by what we see all the rebuilding was done well before WWX left! And I don’t doubt for a second that WWX was involved in that process; I have very mixed feelings about the scene in CQL where he blows off his duties to go and get drunk, because on the one hand it does do a good job of showing just how bad his mental state is getting (and how JC refuses to acknowledge it despite WWX obviously being Not Okay), but on the other hand... I just can’t see WWX not throwing himself into helping JC with everything he’s got even while his mental state is coming crashing down around him. I mean, this is the guy who created an incredibly powerful weapon that even he couldn’t fully control, not knowing what using it would do to him, to help his brother win a war. I’m pretty much certain that WWX ran himself into the ground helping JC rebuild and run the sect... then when he found himself in charge of a small group of desperate people, scrambling to keep them fed and clothed and healthy, JC just abandoned him to deal with it on his own.
And the whole “Oh, but JC was so lonely, don’t you feel bad for him?” shtick. I hate it so much. If he didn’t want to be lonely, he should’ve considered that before alienating everyone in his age group and leading an army to murder his brother, the only person left who was willing to put up with him! It’s... really hard to feel bad for someone who’s brought most of their suffering on themselves through a series of generally shitty and frequently downright cruel actions with easily foreseeable consequences. If he got sick of being alone, he should’ve apologized to his peers for being a dick to... literally all of them and tried to make amends and strike up some sort of relationship. Or, if that didn’t work, go out! Meet new people! Try not to be as awful to them! Also, he’s a sect leader. If he couldn’t even maintain a positive relationship with other sect leaders, people who, let me remind you, he has to work with on a regular basis and several of whom are actually nice and friendly people, that is on him. If you are awful to people you will end up alone. And then JC decided to respond to learning that the people he was a dick to every time he saw them (and, in LWJ and NHS’s cases, caused the death of someone they cared about) wanted nothing to do with him... by whining about how lonely he was as if that wasn’t largely his fault. Like, he lost his family and that’s awful, but he could have had friends to help him through his grief, and it’s his own damn fault that he doesn’t.
WWX’s life was miserable. He had plenty of friends, yeah, but he spent years on the streets after his parents died brutal deaths; was raised in a family where he was treated like a servant and a scapegoat; lost everything in an event he was blamed for despite having nothing to do with the attack; had to sacrifice his incredibly powerful golden core (thereby losing his primary means of defending himself while on the run and drastically shortening his lifespan) to keep his brother from letting himself die; was thrown into a corpse pit for three months where he had to create an entirely new and experimental (and as such incredibly dangerous) form of cultivation and probably resort to cannibalism just to survive; had to fight a war almost immediately after escaping; spent a... good portion of time (not sure how long exactly because the MDZS timeline is more a suggestion than an actual coherent timeline) being treated alternately as a tame pet or a rabid animal and having to pretend everything was just fine while everyone tried to either control him or remove him and his brother very obviously got increasingly resentful of his skill and power; had to abandon his home, his family, and everything he had left of his old life to save a bunch of innocent people while everyone, including his brother, acted like he’d gone mad for not wanting to let them die horribly; had to go back to the corpse pit he spent three months in because it was the only place where they might be safe; accidentally killed his brother-in-law due to losing control after being ambushed on the way to a celebration for his nephew that he was invited to by people he trusted, almost certainly making him wonder on at least some level if that was why he was invited; lost two members of his new family who he clearly loved because of said accidental murdering; learned their deaths were for nothing and, when he retaliated against the planned attack that shouldn’t have happened because that’s what WQ and WN gave their lives to prevent, saw his beloved sister die to save him; and, after all that, lost the rest of his new family to a siege on a civilian population led by his brother. And after all that, his response was... to destroy the incredibly dangerous weapon he’d made because he didn’t trust the sects to not destroy each other and themselves with it and kill himself rather than risk losing control again and hurting anyone else. In the novel too; I don’t doubt for a second that WWX planned on dying in that siege, even if he didn’t expect destroying the seal to do it.
Take a look at that paragraph. All those things that happened to WWX. And in the end, he was kind. He was so, so kind, and remains kind even after thirteen years of being dead. He would have been well within his rights to go all “Then let me be evil” on the sects, but every time he attacked them they struck first, and most of the serious damage he did happened as a direct result of losing control of his experimental and mostly unknown new cultivation, which is a real risk even with spiritual cultivation; NMJ probably would have happily killed everyone in Qinghe if the qi deviation hadn’t gotten to him first, given how easy it was for him to attack even his beloved little brother. Everything bad that happened to JC is on that list, pretty much. Everything that JC suffered WWX did too, with some variations in the details (and of course dead versus alone for the same period of time). JC had the advantage of a sect at his back and a high rank by virtue of his birth, while WWX’s position was entirely reliant on JFM and, later, JC. And yet some people insist that WWX’s trauma doesn’t excuse his actions but JC’s somehow does. Now, some people argue it’s different because WWX was a mass murderer. Yeah, well, JC’s a fucking serial killer, and he doesn’t have the excuse of losing control due to using resentful energy to cultivate and being attacked by everyone he’d ever known and trusted.
...I’ve kind of lost track of where I’m going with this. Short version: I very strongly disagree with anyone who insists WWX’s trauma doesn’t excuse his actions while bending over backwards to argue that JC’s trauma excuses his.
#well that got... long#and probably not super fun#i have Thoughts about this particular subject it seems#grapehate#asks#anon
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