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#chengyao
spriteofmushrooms · 4 months
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The first time Jin Guangyao held Jin Ling did not go as he'd expected. Jiang Wanyin, half-mad and barely functional, for some reason had been allowed into the nursery by Jin-furen. The moment whispers of this reached Jin Guangyao, of course he went to intercede; and it was fortunate he had. He could hear wailing halfway down the corridor.
"Why is he crying?" Jiang Wanyin demanded of the wetnurse as he held the baby incorrectly.
"This one is sure Sandu Shengshou knows better than her," she replied, eyes wide. Jin Guangyao made note of this, but he had few hopes of improvement. Jin servants knew to be meek.
"Obviously, I don't," Jiang Wanyin snapped, brows furrowed as he stared down at Jin Ling. Jin Guangyao purposefully brushed the silk of his robe, and like a dog Jiang Wanyin raised his head at the sound. "Lianfang-zun, what am I doing wrong?"
With a smile, Jin Guangyao moved between the shaking wetnurse and the mad dog of Lotus Pier. "Jiang-zongzhu, babies require support. Adjust your hand--yes, ah, slightly to the side--"
"Please just show me," Jiang Wanyin said, sounding tired as he held out Jin Ling.
The moment stilled. If his cultivation were better, Jin Guangyao believed he would hear the wetnurse's breath stop. She was, after all, expressly forbidden from allowing his whoreson hands to touch his nephew; yet neither of them could deny a sect leader.
A-Ling was warm and soft, sweetly heavy as all babies should be. His embroidered, daffodil-colored swaddling still burned with the heat of Jiang-zongzhu's high cultivation. Automatically, Jin Guangyao checked the boy for a fever; but of course no illness was allowed to fester in this child.
His chubby cheeks were red from crying, but as Jin Guangyao settled him in his arms, Jin Ling slowly quieted.
"As expected of Lianfang-zun," Jiang Wanyin said, slightly mocking.
When Jin Guangyao gauged his expression from under his eyelashes, however, Jiang Wanyin seemed wistful. He looked as young as he was.
(For a moment, Wen Ruohan's laughter filled his mind. "Xiao-zongzhu" had been a common target of derision, in the beginning. Wen Chao's account of the rape of Lotus Pier had been unusually thorough, and its contents were well-known amongst Wen Ruohan's inner circle. Jin Guangyao had not included the details in his reports to either his father or Lan Xichen. He doubted that this discretion would matter at all to Jiang Wanyin, who had tortured Wen Chao at the side of Wei Wuxian. What would he do to Jin Guangyao for being the last to know?)
Choosing to ignore the self-deprecation and memories both, Jin Guangyao instructed Zidian's master on the handling of human children. Jiang Wanyin made an attentive student, but he did not reach to take Jin Ling even once Jin Guangyao finished. "Would you like to hold him?"
Frowning with concentration, Jiang Wanyin nodded and sidled closer. He held his arms as Jin Guangyao had shown him, and then he checked Jin Guangyao's face, seeking approval.
"Good," Jin Guangyao said. Jiang Wanyin didn't smile, but some tension eased. Careful not to touch hands, Jin Guangyao returned Jin Ling to his jiujiu.
The wetnurse's gentle "oh" described the scene well.
Against the black and violet, Jin Ling looked like a ray of sunshine piercing clouds. Jiang Wanyin's face cleared until he looked as delicately beautiful as gossip painted him to be; while Jin Guangyao generally considered him fragile, it was more in the sense of an arrow point designed to break once it pierced flesh. Now, though, he could understand why Jiang Wanyin was so often painted as a mourning lover spurned by the Yiling Laozu.
Then Jin Ling fell asleep, and Jiang Wanyin's eyes watered. He slowly settled onto the couch, careful not to jostle their nephew.
"How long can I stay?"
Ideally, half an incense stick. Jin Guangyao turned to the wetnurse. "Could you please ask Jin-furen to advise us?"
She bowed her head and left.
After a few moments, Jiang Wanyin said, "She needs guards in the room with her. If she can't even tell me I've fucked up, how will she fare against assassins?"
"Gold Scale Tower has many guards," Jin Guangyao began, but Jiang Wanyin snorted.
"Where do you think we are? If some pompous Jin cousin demands Jin Ling, would she say no? Much less someone with weapons drawn."
"As a servant--"
"Jiang servants can and would."
Jin Guangyao smiled. "Is it not true that Jiang servants are entirely comprised of disciples, disciple candidates, and those who failed to cultivate but chose to stay?"
"It's a sect," Jiang Wanyin answered. "Typically, they are operated like sects, yes."
"Gold Scale Tower must run in accordance with its scale," Jin Guangyao said. "The servants are often merely servants."
Jiang Wanyin, whose face displayed his opinion of that, said nothing for a moment, allowing Jin Guangyao to notice his headache. "She needs guards for herself, not just outside of the room," he repeated.
"Perhaps this is something you can address with Jin-furen?"
Looking up from Jin Ling, Jiang Wanyin studied him. "Alright. Is there anything else you want me to say?"
Jin Guangyao's fingers twitched with the desire to straighten his gold robes. "Between Jin-furen and Jiang-zongzhu, I am sure that all concerns have been considered."
"Please, you notice everything and didn't accept one single item I suggested for a-jie's wedding," Jiang Wanyin said. "Do you expect me to believe you don't have opinions on Jin Ling?"
Jin Guangyao inclined his head, and then he tentatively offered an observation and a suggestion. When Jiang Wanyin merely looked thoughtful, Jin Guangyao continued; while Jiang Wanyin occasionally asked clarifying questions, he never reacted emotionally.
It was... strange, to be in a room with this man, discussing the care of a child he wasn't allowed to do anything for. He wondered what he must look like to Jiang Wanyin to be accepted so easily as an expert on Jin Ling, on anything. Unsettling.
Yet unlike Nie Mingjue, being seen didn't seem dangerous; unlike Wen Ruohan, being noticed didn't accompany invitations to violence.
No, Jiang Wanyin observed him, and his conclusion was that Jin Guangyao could teach him how to hold his one treasure.
For the first time, it seemed like sharing a nephew with this man might be interesting, not simply alarming. Jin Guangyao looked forward to observing him further.
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cephalopodish · 2 months
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it takes some uncles
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least-carpet · 8 months
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jiang cheng ships by whether they're about wei wuxian or not
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our boy wwx's protagonist halo is more like a gravitational field in his effect on jc's emotional development. he probably didn't, like, invent jiang cheng's abandonment issues, but he certainly made them worse! so here are jiang cheng ships grouped by whether or not they're actually about wei wuxian. the ones in the middle could go either way.
definitely about wei wuxian:
chengxian: obvious. wei wuxian is literally there.
zhancheng: obvious. they're both obsessed with wei wuxian.
ningcheng: obvious. they're both wei wuxian's horrible/beloved science experiments/little brothers and neither of them are normal about it. to be fair, wei wuxian is also not normal about it, thus the science experiments.
definitely not about wei wuxian:
mingcheng: I think this is more about theoretical temperamental compatibility and letting jiang cheng date a hot male authority figure who at least kind of approves of him.
sangcheng: I think this is in some ways often about giving jiang cheng a human who is *not* obsessed with wei wuxian. like, give jiang cheng his own bf who can be into him on his own merits.
chengyao: they're coworkers! they're inadvertent coparents! they're both wildly competent and also incredibly bitchy if the situation calls for it! if anything this is about jin ling instead.
chengyi: I don't know what this is about other than getting jiang cheng a boytoy. I don't rightly know that he would want one of those but why not! get down with your bad selves!
could go either way, Schrödinger's wei wuxian:
chengqing: this one I wasn't sure about because actually a lot of writers are pretty careful to make chengqing actually about them but wei wuxian got up in there with great determination and made that threesome happen (wen qing's hands, wei wuxian and jiang cheng's holes... surgical holes... I regret this already). hard to totally extract him from the dynamic after that. the wei wuxian must be contended with. depends on when in the timeline it happens and what canon you're working from, since cql made it canon pre-surgery.
xicheng: this is less likely to explicitly be about wei wuxian and more likely to be structurally about wei wuxian. not only does it make them match (twin prides dating the twin jades) but the brothers-dating-brothers situation ties them tightly to wangxian from multiple directions. in other words, if it's about wei wuxian it's because it sort of re-joins them as family through a different method. if he's not your "real" brother, becoming an in-law is fine?
disclaimer: I acknowledge it is possible to, for example, write a zhancheng fic which is not about wei wuxian, I'm not saying you can't! through the power of AU all things are possible, etc. but you have to actively remove him from the dynamic, because canon embeds him there very deeply, vs. something like chengyao, where they have a totally separate relationship (via jin ling- and their working relationship).
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yexie · 10 months
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Congrats to the Divorce Poll Winners: Nieyao!!
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tfw you get divorced so hard it kickstarts the whole plot
In second place we have: Chengyao!
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nothing like amicably co-parenting a child and then having a messy divorce right in front of said child
And in third place: Xiyao!
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a divorce so harrowing you need to go into seclusion about it
That‘s a wrap, folks!
at this point special shoutout to xuexiao though, incredible effort there, xiyao beat y‘all by only 1%!! y‘all love pain huh
i‘m considering making a „who should‘ve gotten divorced“ poll based on the incredible suggestions by @sweetpollyolliver 👀 but we shall see
For now, congrats to Jin Guangyao for being The Most Divorced Character Ever, Probably!! oh boy.
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mangshadow · 4 months
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its funny how i thought fairy was given by jc bcz he is a dog person but no, its a preseny from jgy😂
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nixster627 · 5 months
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Tournament of Jiang Cheng's Lovers
Semifinal, Bracket 2
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Link to bracket
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ginsays · 1 year
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a smattering of modern au coparenting chengyao doodles from last year. could be good. could be fun
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cherubina · 6 months
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Hardly a day goes by without me thinking about what could have been if Jiang Cheng instead of Lan Xichen had been the object of Jin Guangyao’s undying affection.
Imagine. Jiang Cheng, new to leading a sect, new to being an uncle, new to being the only one left alive in his family, who only knows how to bite back and how to shield himself from all the pain through anger, comes to know sweet, accommodating Jin Guangyao who has just been accepted as his father’s son, proclaimed war hero but can never be good enough, who has to endure endless amounts of scorn and hatred and who has to act as his father’s vessel all the same. And suddenly they are facing each other over a screaming Jin Ling that they both rushed to see and they understand: We’re family now.
Imagine, one day Jiang Cheng finds Jin Guangyao, shaking from exhaustion, sitting in a corner of the gardens at Koi Tower. And even though he insists that he’s fine, that he does not need to be looked after, Jiang Cheng pulls him away to his rooms because this hardworking little weasel needs a rest. (Jiang Cheng used to know another weasel who was even more effective in brushing off his injuries than Jin Guangyao is and he will not have it again.)
Jin Guangyao is completely astonished by all that grumpy caretaking. Who does this Jiang Wanyin think he is, putting him to bed like a maiden? Because you are a fucking maiden, Xue Yang suggests. Unhelpful.
Time goes by and they develop a certain acquaintance? A closeness, even? They talk (bitch) about Jin Guangshan, Madame Jin, Lan Wangji, never Lan Xichen who Jin Guangyao still adores and Jiang Cheng is indifferent towards, Sect Leader Yao and basically everyone under the sun. And they like it. They like each other. They like taking care of their nephew together. Occasionally, Jiang Cheng will find himself feeling a weird warm sensation in his chest but he doesn’t linger on it. He only goes “Huh. Strange.” and thinks nothing of it. At one point, he will be the one catching Jin Guangyao’s hand and saying “Don’t be silly, there’s no need for these formalities here.” Jin Guangyao beams.
And is in despair. How could this happen? How could he fall in love with someone other than the girl his father had picked out for him? And it only adds one more thing to the long list of reasons why Jin Guangshan has to die.
When he finally is dead and Jin Guangyao is made leader of the Jin sect and Chief Cultivator all at once, Jiang Cheng comes to congratulate him. He stays until late at night and many cups of sweet wine later (Jiang Cheng has had many of them, that is. Jin Guangyao only had one or two and did he really? Or did he use them to water a nearby plant?) Jiang Cheng says, eyes sad and cloudy and serious “Why can’t I hate him, Jin Guangyao? Why can’t I condemn him, after all these years, after all that he did to my family? He was my family, dammit! Why do I keep his fucking flute under my bed like a fucking-“
Jin Guangyao thinks about this. He thinks about retrieving Chengqing from Lotus Pier and using it for his purposes. But he discards the idea, just like he discards all thoughts of ever harming Jiang Cheng. Ever. He takes the tall angry sect leader into his arms and holds him and lets him cry into his shoulder just like Jiang Cheng let him time and time again.
Sap, Xue Yang provides. Jin Guangyao doesn’t care.
And imagine, after many happy years (more or less), a certain demonic cultivator appears and it all comes down to Guanjin Temple. It is Sandu that pierces Jin Guangyao’s chest and it is Jiang Cheng who swears to stay behind with him, to endure anything that may follow.
But Jin Guangyao pushes him away and Wei Wuxian pulls his shidi away from death. Maybe Jiang Cheng screams that he doesn’t care, that he would have killed Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangshan, all of those people himself if Jin Guangyao had asked him. But it’s irreversible now. Jin Guangyao is dead, the Jin sect is finished and it’s Jin Ling’s task to rebuild it, just like Jiang Cheng rebuilt Lotus Pier many years ago (something like that at least.) Jiang Cheng will find a purpose in helping his nephew with that task and he might begin to think of something else occasionally, over time. But he will never get back those few years, a little domestic, a little fucked up but still their years.
Idk i just think about that sometimes yea
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magnes-io · 5 months
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Quick sketch of A-Ling’s first Halloween and the beginning of his career sabotaging the jiujiu stealers ❤️
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danmeiconfession · 6 months
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Chengyao is the real OTP. All of Jiang Wanyin's partner requirements are filled by Jin Guangyao and you know JC would stand by his canceled wife, unlike those other cowards.
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mostlikelytofangirl · 8 months
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When you have to raise a nephew alongside your girlbossing
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lilapplesheadcannons · 4 months
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Beep
Cheng-Cheng: Hate to say this, but I need help.
Wei Ying is the best: He he, call me big brother.
Cheng-Cheng: FUCK YOU!
(Jiang Cheng set the nickname for Wei Wuxian to The Big Dumb Dummy)
(Wei Wuxian set his own nickname to The Yiling Laozu)
Cheng-Cheng: Seriously!
The Yiling Laozu: Okay, what?
Cheng-Cheng: I have to meet your brother-in-law, Jie's brother-in-law, and HuaiSang's brother tomorrow morning with the proposal I was talking about. I need an edge, something extra that would ensure me getting through to them. I'll buy you dinner.
The Yiling Laozu: And dessert?
Cheng-Cheng: Obviously!
The Yiling Laozu: Undo the first button of your shirt. Show some skin!
Cheng-Cheng: FUCK YOU!
(Jiang Cheng has unfriended and blocked Wei Wuxian)
Jiang-xiong: Hey, HuaiSang. Can I ask for a favour?
HuaiSang: Sure. What's up?
Jiang-xiong: I am meeting your brother and Xichen-ge and Meng Yao tomorrow with a proposal. Any idea what might make things easier?
HuaiSang:..........You won't try to kill me if I say what would help? You prommy?
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aftersector · 2 months
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alt version without text:
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xinea · 7 months
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Mutually unrequited ChengYao but in a funny way like-
JC: Poor Jin Guangyao, he wants to fuck me so bad. 😒 Like, I would if he asked, but it’s sad how much he needs it
JGY: Poor Jiang Cheng, he wants to fuck me so bad. 😌 Like, I would if he asked, but it’s sad how much he needs it
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i-like-damei-ig · 1 month
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CHENGYAO CHENGYAO FOR VALENTINES DAY
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