Oh God!!!

I just have a lot of Jiang Cheng feelings today, Okay??

Genuinely baffled by arguments which insist that it’s only Jiang Cheng who has to improve himself instead of being jealous or insecure, that Wei Wuxian should heal away from him because Jiang Cheng is a source of toxicity.

First of all, they’re both dumbasses. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Second of all, Jiang Cheng’s parents were assholes who simultaneously made him believe he was inherently not good enough to save their shitty marriage and also that that was because of Wei Wuxian, his brother and best friend whom he chooses again and again to love in spite of all of this. He then had his entire clan and sect slaughtered; chose to sacrifice himself to save his brother, whom he loves by the way in case you missed that, thereby giving up the chance to avenge his family and sect; and had nonconsensual surgery performed on him (and lied to about it repeatedly for the next decade).

He then had to take over running a small nation all by himself because Wei Wuxian, his brother who promised to stand by his side, fucks off to demonic cultivation and pushes him away with absolutely no explanation; is extremely socially disrespectful while being a representative of their already vulnerable sect; causes a massive political scandal which includes threatening to kill a sect leader’s nephew and murdering a whole bunch of people with a zombie; and hits with pinpoint accuracy every last one of Jiang Cheng’s insecurities about not being good enough for the people he loves to stay with him while still refusing to offer an explanation. And in response to all of this, Jiang Cheng:

(1) Arranges for a staged fight so that Wei Wuxian can continue protecting the Wens without political ramifications to the Jiang sect. (Something that Wei Wuxian also wants by the way because the safety of their sect is important to him, too!)

(2) Brings their sister to Yiling for a surprise wedding dress and incoming nephew reveal so that Wei Wuxian can still be a part of the celebration, and then gives Wei Wuxian the opportunity to name their sister’s first born son and tries his very best to ask Wei Wuxian to come home.

(3) Is still perfectly agreeable to having Wei Wuxian, a year later, come to their nephew’s one-month birthday celebration and reinstated into their sect.

What Jiang Cheng gets in return is Wei Wuxian refusing to come home and walking away from him; Wei Wuxian losing control of his emotional support zombie who ends up fatally punching their brother-in-law through the heart and making their sister a grieving widow; Wei Wuxian recklessly taking on the entire cultivation world and losing control of his demon magic that he swore up and down that he had under control which gets their sister killed; and Wei Wuxian dying and leaving him alone with an orphaned infant nephew. And in response all of this, Jiang Cheng:

(1) Never gets any dogs.

(2) Doesn’t alert anyone that Wei Wuxian has returned to life.

(3) Allows Wei Wuxian to be near Jin Ling.

(4) Keeps Chenqing safe for 13/16 years, then returns it and not only allows but trusts Wei Wuxian to play it in front of their nephew without getting their favorite people killed again.

Did Jiang Cheng believe, do, and say some fucked up shit that he should reflect pretty hard on? Of course! Who didn’t? This was never a story about perfect characters.

But someone did most of the walking away in this sibling relationship regardless of how sympathetic and heartbreaking his reasons were, and it wasn’t Jiang Cheng. He has a right to be angry about Wei Wuxian’s reckless regard for his own life and the disastrous consequences it had for both of them and their family, and it isn’t because he’s fucking jealous.

Lastly, Wei Wuxian is not a hapless innocent victim who can do no wrong. Please stop treating my wonderfully complex and violently pragmatic disaster son with both a heart of gold and a kind of love that can destroy the entire world like he is. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Wang Zhuocheng for Echo-7s Magazine (2021)

I let flowers speak for my heart.

When I see people saying that Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen had bad endings…

I’m honestly confused. Because the context of the novel makes it very clear they will have a happy future and ending, all things considered, by how it reveals the parent who was in a similar situation and their fates being so strongly contrasting.

Which is to say, Yu Ziyuan and Qingheng-Jun are dead. Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen are alive.

By being alive, by having the chance to learn and grow from their mistakes, they can earn their way to a happy ending. They can’t have one immediately. They are reaping what they sowed; Jiang Cheng spent years under a delusion and operating on anger alone (though he did his best to moderate himself around Jin Ling) and Lan Xichen put his trust and faith in the absolutely wrong person and spent years in an abusive relationship.

Yes, abusive relationship. Doesn’t even have to be romantic for it to be abusive in nature. We see Lan Xichen being gaslit by Jin Guangyao, we see him constantly lie to him, and we see how he’s harmed him in many ways with what he did. Lan Xichen has to come to terms with that.

Jiang Cheng unburdens himself, lets go of a relationship that became toxic for him and in particular for Wei Wuxian, and is mentioned to have interfered with Jin Sect to help Jin Ling. In the past, as early as the Cloud Recesses arc, Jiang Cheng was someone who never rocked the boat and went with the whole of society to avoid getting (negative) attention. The fact he’s able to do that, to avoid too much of a fuss when he meets Wen Ning on a night-hunt, that means Jiang Cheng is putting work into things. It’s getting better.

Lan Xichen certainly goes into seclusion, but it’s more for his mental health and dealing with things. “Seclusion” actually has like three meanings (at the least) in the original language from what I know; closed door training, seclusion as in mental retreat, and seclusion for punishment. Lan Xichen isn’t punishing himself, he’s taking time away from society. And not so much that he avoids a family banquet! He might be absentminded because of everything, but he still showed up so that’s the sign of hope we need that things will get better.

In comparison, we got the parents.

Yu Ziyuan in the novel is 100% an antagonistic force. She never avoids being a poison in others lives. It’s only at the end of her life that we clearly see her softness that is hidden by all the poison barbed spines around her. And even then it’s shadowed by her irrational hate of Wei Wuxian. But we see through how Zidian recognizes Jiang Fengmian that a part of her did trust her husband at least and likely wanted a better relationship. But she dies and so that glimpse comes to nothing.

Minor thing to keep in mind; CQL!Yu Ziyuan is not the same character as MDZS!Yu Ziyuan. I am not talking about CQL!Yu Ziyuan who also was hit by the censor stick of no grey morality same as Jiang Cheng.

Qingheng-Jun is absolutely not there in the novel, only showing up in how people describe him. He’s alive but firmly in seclusion as a form of punishment during Cloud Recesses arc. When he does leave – and I’m sure he did because by the old work sheets Lan Wangji has in the Jingshi (per Banquet extra) not all of Cloud Recesses burned, likely just the main areas like the Library Pavilion and Lanshi – he dies in a fight. He leaves only to die, leaves likely to protect his people and his sons, and he dies in battle.

So yeah, it doesn’t seem like it’s a flat out happy ending. And it isn’t. Everyone outside of the juniors, Wen Ning, and WangXian haven’t yet earned their happy ending yet. They have to put the work in first.

But they are alive and capable of putting the work in. Isn’t that a good ending for them?

Quick rundown of the Jiangs being excluded from great sect stuff after the Sunshot campaign:

Exhibit A: no Jiang representation in the venerated triad. This is the only one I’m 100% certain is supported by the novel, but it makes up for it by being doubly insulting in the novel/donghua canon, because in that story, the Sunshot campaign was pretty much Jiang Cheng’s project. He was the one rallying the lesser clans to fight, he was the one who convinced the great clans to join the effort, and he led the battle. He had Lan Xichen’s support, but it was still his war. But even without all that, one, the Sunshot campaign wouldn’t have started if not for what happened at Lotus pier, and two, it wouldn’t have been won without Wei Wuxian, first disciple of the Jiang clan. And yet, the group of special sworn brothers who everyone will remember and respect, who represent a better post-Sunshot world has no one from the Jiang clan.

Exhibit B: maybe not as strong as the other evidence I’m pulling, but worth noting is him getting ignored when he speaks up at conferences. He did try to defend Wei Wuxian, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning! But everything he said was just brushed aside (and in some pretty weak and hypocritical ways I might add). I’m pretty sure that nothing he brings to the table is actually considered.

Exhibit C: in the one discussion we see about what to do with the Wen remnants after the Sunshot, Jiang Cheng isn’t even in the room. This is a matter that should be decided at some major conference, with input from every acknowledged sect, but it happens in basically a private conversation where Jin Guangshan tells Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue what he thinks should happen, the two of them make token efforts to uphold justice for the remnants, Jin Guangyao comes in halfway through to suggest Qiongqi pass as a location for a prison camp, and they all say okay and leave. No Jiang input in sight, even though again, this was the Jiangs’ fight.

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān, Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo/Niè Míngjué, Niè Huáisāng & Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Jiāng Yànlí, Jīn Zǐxuān, Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Wēn Qíng (Módào Zǔshī), Original Characters Additional Tags: Fluff and Angst, Murder Mystery, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Slow Burn, Misunderstandings, Eventual Happy Ending Summary:

Jiang Cheng has known all his life that things don't last. Love, friendship, bonds all are temporary and so he finds comfort in his routine life circling between his work and a social life consisting of handful of friends.

But when he encounters a strange case and a stranger Lan Xichen after a fateful string of events, he is forced to reassess his values.

Updated the thing 😬😬 

I went through work today wondering from where a nice fruity fragrance was wafting through, making my day 100% better. A full 6-hour shift later I came to the realization that the smell was coming from MY HAIR as I had changed my shampoo just a day prior.

Top dumbass culture, I swear 🤦🤦🙍

Can I tell you that I SCREAMED?

“Am I still a brother to you now?”

The sign of high quality is the fact the book was banned by the government. Trash literature NEVER EVER had any troubles with the law.

Zewu-jun, do you know who this person is?

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