#still if lwj ever crosses the line by insulting jc

[mediocretosubpar-soup]

Fun idea:

Wei Wuxian gets his own Yunmeng Jiang disciples in disguise squads. This is because one time Jin Ling mentioned that Wei Wuxian was hurt on a night hunt and Jiang Cheng's anxiety levels hit a new peak, so he, in the fashion of people who take their hot iron on vacation, put assigned a squad of Yunmeng Jiang disciples as a protection detail.

YMJ disciple: So you want us to observe Wei Wuxian to study demonic cultivation?

JC (dead serious but also lying through his teeth): Absolutely, WWX is the foremost expert but he'll never tell us his secrets. It is of utmost important that he remain alive and well, so we can study him to ensure we are prepared for new demonic cultivation inventions.

YMJ disciple (not buying this for a second but willing to give the SL some face: Sounds legit.

-

A few months into the assignment.

YMJ disciple A (distressed) about WWX: He totally knows!

YMJ disciple B: He knows nothing.

YMJ disciple C: I've been a random rogue cultivator, a helpful villager and then a conveniently wandering monk on the same night hunt. That man can't remember faces for shit.

#mdzs #jiang cheng #ideas that i like to rotate in my head #yunmeng jiang sect #in the spirit of that post comparing jiang cheng to a herding dog #jiang cheng and his herding tendencies #wei wuxian #how long until ymj disciples run a challenge #on how dumb their disguises can get before wwx notices? #lwj is a whole 'nother game #jc can and will assign them #remedial lessons on diplomacy #he will not have a repeat of ... #still if lwj ever crosses the line by insulting jc #all bets are off

[purgatoryandme]

There is one moment I remember in the book in the Cloud Recesses where Jiang Cheng carries WWX on his back after his whipping and when LXC tells him the extent of the punishment LWJ ordered briefly loses his temper. But he still immediately stops short when he remembers who he's speaking to without LXC commenting on it at all, so you can see that he's less bold when he doesn't feel like he has the pull to avoid consequences.

Exactly! You can see that he WANTS to interfere, but that he has been taught not to when he doesn't have any sway in the situation. He's ok when the punishment is fair, but when it crosses certain lines you see JC breaking down, though he backs down again when he thinks his interference will not help and will only lose face for Yunmeng Jiang. He also reaches his breaking point with JZX when he insults not only Yanli, but also WWX's position in the family. In his own words, he would've punched him, too. He was just slightly slower than WWX and unable to do anything to him once he had a moment to think about the consequences of joining in. He follows the same pattern as the above - he doesn't interfere at the time, but sneaks around with WWX later to help him. JC has had it beaten into his head that he will be the sect leader and that his relationships are valuable! He's very polite and deferential outside of Lotus Pier pre-WWX's death despite his bad temper. He hates JZX but does nothing about it! He puts a lot of stock into the concept of face when he doesn't have the power to back up his actions!! It's interpreted (often unfairly imho) as cowardice from JC instead of part of a broader dynamic he has with his position in the sect and SPECIFICALLY with WWX (see: all of his interactions with JL, in which JC never lets him face a single consequence ever).

#reply #jiang cheng #mdzs