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sandumilfshou · 5 months

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still kind of insane to me that people talk shit about jiang cheng without fully understanding what he has been through so lets just understand what his mental state is like BEFORE canon begins:

born via a dysfunctional marriage to be the sect heir

father doesnt care for him, mother expects too much from him/everything he does is not enough

has his three dogs just kicked out randomly with no notice because of some kid he's never heard of by the father who never gave him love and/or attention

said father then favours this kid more than him, to the point that the entire world basically thinks that this kid is biologically your father's son as well, which causes even more family dysfunction

despite this still learns to love this kid as his unofficial brother

works his absolute hardest but is always second-best because his new shixiong is naturally talented

nobody appreciates the hard work he puts in at being second place despite the fact wwx literally doesnt work hard for it

masks his emotions with anger as a coping mechanism to minimise the amount of hurt he feels

ok great so now lets actually take all of the above and apply this mental wellbeing to canon events FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE (keep in mind this is literally what jc is seeing/experiencing because he DOESNT KNOW what the reader knows):

brother is off being the protagonist and getting in trouble and gets their sisters marriage ruined

comes home from a year away and then almost immediately has to go and be a hostage where brother continues his protagonist behaviour

gets trapped and nearly dies in a cave with a 400-year-old monster, is in charge of finding a way out and making sure everyone else escapes

brother and a guy who maybe hates him get stuck behind in the cave so now jiang cheng has to boost it home ON FOOT, without food, to get manpower to rescue them, which takes a minimum of a few days likely without any food or sleep

no appreciation or thanks for doing that since brother was more heroic and killed the 400-year-old monster

gets scolded by his father for being annoyed by this

parents immediately get into another fight about father loving wwx more than jc

because of the above shenanigans their sect is targeted next

tries to defend brother against being whipped to death and/or having his hand cut off by mother

witnesses his entire sect being burned and murdered

loses both his parents

decides to sacrifice himself to save his brother's life, instead of dying he is tortured and has his golden core melted

on top of his inferiority issues, the ONE THING he was expected to do was be the sect leader for the yunmeng jiang. the sect that no longer exists. he is now a sect leader with no sect and no golden core. no shit he wants to mcfuckin die

miraculously gets a new golden core but loses his brother

immediately plunged into a war and he's only like 17

spends 3 months trying to find his brother only for his brother to show up doing the Forbidden Magic and necromancy which is Super Disrespectful in their culture like holy shit what are you doing

brother refuses to use his sword in favour of the Forbidden Magics and kind of keeps undermining jc's orders as sect leader which makes jc look weak in front of all the other sect leaders when he's actively trying to rebuild their sect and be respected as a leader

fights a war for [handwaves] an amount of time, certainly a few years minimum, while watching his brother descend further into Unhealthy Behaviour but brother refuses to do anything or talk about it

ends up lowkey being a war hero

the other three great sects (of which there are now only four) swear brotherhood, leaving out ONLY ymj/jiang cheng, which, what the Fuck dude

is now a teenager who has lost his parents who now has to rebuild his sect from scratch with fuck all money, supplies, and support

brother, who promised to always be at his side helping, is not helping, and in fact is actively just getting drunk and being a nuisance and STILL REFUSING TO SAY WHY

entire cultivation world starts to turn on his brother who is now looking like a loose cannon bc he has Forbidden Magics that are Terrifyingly Powerful and also it has been proven that he does not give a fuck about jc's opinion since he's constantly doing whatever the fuck he wants

literally out of nowhere said brother decides to piss off everyone, start fights, and then KILL JIN GUARDS at a camp and MAKE OFF with like fifty people who are part of the family that he just fought a war against and were responsible for slaughtering his family/sect

go to the terrifying haunted mountain where wwx and the wen remnants are and sees that he's essentially starting a new family with a kid and crops, doesn't seem to care that jiang cheng is still trying to keep the ymj afloat and look like they have any strength

brother is still doing Forbidden Magic and refuses to explain why, and now says he'll secede from the ymj so his bad reputation doesn't reflect on jc like he HASNT BEEN DOING THAT THE WHOLE TIME

so now shixiong wants to just abandon jc completely after jc has lost his parents, had to rebuild everything from scratch, while ignoring the promise he's made their whole life? ok fuck you

jc also can't defend him in public because that would turn the ymj into a target and please keep in mind he is a teenager who was expected to do this ONE THING by his parents and he has poured his heart and soul and blood and tears into rebuilding the ymj and they are So Vulnerable Right Now

uhhh what the fuck suddenly wwx kills their sister's husband ?? bro what the FUCK?

everyone rallies to go and attack wwx for this and again jc literally cant do anything about it and refusing to go will just make everyone assume he's on wwx's side and their sect can't afford to be attacked rn

bro what the fuck now THEIR SISTER IS DEAD?????

oh even better now said brother is DEAD

jiang cheng literally has NO ONE LEFT. no friends. no family. no parents, no siblings, everyone he knew growing up is dead. its literally just him and his infant nephew, who by the way, is living with the sect who are the most powerful and also most likely to be super fucking shady so jc has to tread very carefully

so jc spends over a decade raising his nephew ALONE while trying to make ymj powerful and also hunting/killing demonic cultivators that now p much only exist bc his brother invented/popularised the technique

oh yeah and also this whole time the guy who maybe hated his brother is now like EVEN colder and more antagonistic towards jc like it was HIS FAULT that wwx is dead? get fucked lan wangji you didnt even like the guy (or if this is cql/untamed canon: you literally did nothing either so where do you get off on acting like you're better than jc)

over a decade passes and suddenly his dead brother is alive again and causing more problems and acting like the things he did were not major contributors towards jc's entire family and sect dying

More Political Drama Happens and jc has to manage it

suddenly its revealed that the guy he's been co-raising his nephew with is the major villain who caused the entire world to turn on wwx in the first place oh and also it turns out that the fucking miraculous core jc has IS HIS BROTHER'S, WHO NEVER SAID ANYTHING, AND THIS IS THE REASON HE STARTED THE FORBIDDEN MAGICS AND STOPPED HELPING AROUND THE SECT, but he didnt even BOTHER to tell jiang cheng about it

by the way did i mention this was done via an entirely unconsented experimental surgery

and now the brother of the doctor who did the unconsented experimental surgery is ?? mad at jiang cheng about it ???? like he was supposed to KNOW ABOUT THIS when wwx was KEEPING IT FROM HIM ON PURPOSE???

and now theyre all nearly dying in this dumbass temple - and the ONE family member jc still has is literally being threatened with a garotte

oh cool now jc's brother is saying forget the past let's just leave it all behind !!! as though THAT ISNT JC'S ENTIRE LIFE AND TRAUMA and the ONE THING he EVER wanted was for him, wwx, and jyl to be alive and happy, and now wwx is saying just forget it! like FUCK YOU???? does jc truly mean NOTHING???????

oh and now his brother is off gallivanting with the guy who hated him - who it turns out doesn't hate him - and now they're getting married

and jiang cheng is meant to just. pretend all of this never happened and live his life normally. while wwx is out there. being happy and married.

like... if you can read all of this and still treat jc like he's the bad guy, i'm sorry, but you have literally zero empathy. dude had it probably more rough than any of the other main ensemble cast, and i am including jgy in that, because jgy Made His Choices. jc literally just had to let things happen around him helplessly

#did i make this bc ive had a bunch of jc antis in my mentions? yes #jiang cheng is beautiful and flawed and i love him so fucking much #he is my lil meow meow my gorgeous wife and hes so so so strong #i wouldnt have even gotten through half this shit before i'd kms lmao #jiang cheng #mdzs #cql #the untamed #jiang cheng antis do not interact #seriously you will not convince me otherwise and i will just block you. do not waste your time on me #this includes you mfs who were in my reblogs recently. you know who you are.#jiang cheng defense squad #jiang wanyin #sandu shengshou #mdzs meta #cql meta #also i call wwx his brother in this bc lbr that is the role he played even if he was always shixiong instead of gege #but also i am a chengxian/xiancheng shipper #so looking at this through shipper goggles is somehow MORE painful

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beedaydreams · 1 year

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Hello JC stans, I finally got fed up and made a JC friendly kink meme, because going on the regular one and seeing JC bashing every five prompts gave me eye cancer.

Maybe it will flop, but at least we have a safe place to browse for prompts now/drop prompts into.

#jiang cheng #xicheng #chengxian #zhancheng #jiang wanyin #yes not tagging canon jc for this one because i know the antis are looking at my stuff with sockpuppets even though i have them all blocked

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poorlittleyaoyao · 1 year

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me watching The Prince of Egypt: this is just a Chengxian AU

#to be more specific the first half of the movie is a Chengxian AU #the second half of the movie is what Jiang Cheng antis think post-Sunshot canon is like #that said PoE predates MDZS by ~20 years so maybe Chengxian is a Rameses-and-Moses AU

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wise-tortoise · 2 years

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Someone: *posts the gayest possible take with the gayest possible gifset of two characters who aren't even remotely related to each other*

Same person on the same post: if you tag this as ship i'll fucking kill you

#fandom rant #YES I AM THE SCARY SHIPPER YOUR MAMA WARNED YOU ABOUT #HIDE YOUR CHARACTERS OR I WILL SHIP THEM ROMANTICALLY #this is about a chengxian anti btw #they will never read this because i blocked them but i am Extremely Annoyed #what the fuck was the purpose #not only are you ignoring a culturally significant relationship #you are ALSO being PURPOSEFULLLY a dick to people who have done nothing to you #i don't claim to be a saint but you've got problems

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savannah-quotes · 2 years

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Nasty little girl, quit thinking!

#wen ning #ennard #the untamed #ningzhui #niecest #anti #chengxian #dally #chengling

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least-carpet · 9 months

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For the shipping ask game, Xicheng and Chengxian?

Hello, anon! This got wildly out of hand, so it's all going under a cut.

Xicheng: Could Ship It

Borrowing this additional option I saw floating around!

I'm not strongly opposed to it, but it's hard for me to see them making it work in a canon universe. The fanart is very cute, though! And I've read some AUs that I thought made a good case, but they involved some thoughtful interventions.

What potential do you see in the ship?

Honestly, like, I just want them to both have something nice, they've had such a hard time. They both understand the hard work and sacrifices involved in sect leadership. I think the argument for it goes something like Jiang Cheng gets a person on his side who is kind to him, and Lan Xichen gets someone who's very reliable and also pretty direct, to heal his presumed post-canon trust issues.

What aspect makes you hesitant?

It just doesn't seem to me that they really enjoy each other? Like I believe they get along just fine and have a comfortable working relationship. I don't think they dislike each other, even. But they don't seem particularly close, even though they're of a rank and have been working with each other for years and years. I want my blorbo (Jiang Cheng) to be loved for his bad personality, not in spite of it!

I also think they would really struggle to communicate—Lan Xichen prefers to smooth things over, but Jiang Cheng reads too much reserve or politeness as rejection and, uh, gets reactive (thank you Jiang Fengmian for giving him the MOST deranged daddy issues, for real). Actually, I think Lan Xichen has a lot of potential to push a lot of Jiang Cheng's dad-related buttons just because of his temperament. (Maybe that's a plus? CRUNCHY.)

It also has the potential to cause some new and exciting political problems for them, which they both prefer to avoid.

Chengxian: Ship It

[lies face-down on the floor and starts hollering]

These two make me fuckin' insane!

What made you ship it?

Two things:

Their mutually happy childhood relationship, their initially compatible dysfunctions (Jiang Cheng is easily embarrassed but secretly wants affection, Wei Wuxian is bad at boundaries and WILL die if you don't pay attention to him -> Wei Wuxian touching Jiang Cheng all the time and receiving his attention, making both of them happy). Their enjoyment of each other. I love a badly-boundaried and devoted teenage relationship, it's delightful. Even before chengxian completely rotted my brain out, there was something specifically appealing about the Lan summer camp era.

The double golden core reveal took me out. I found Wei Wuxian's decision completely appalling to begin with, like viscerally disgusting. (I find it interesting when antis accuse Jiang Cheng of pretending to be upset when he finds out, or of not caring where the new core came from, because I, reader who did not get nonconsensual magic surgery, profoundly Did Not Like It. If it was my own body, I would freak out.) It's a fascinating combination of obsessive devotion and total denial of agency. Wei Wuxian is just like, "Don't worry, I will invent new and unheard of methods of violation for your own good because I can't cope with your despair." That's deranged, my dude. That is Not Normal. And then you find out that Jiang Cheng lost the core saving Wei Wuxian, and he plans to NEVER TELL HIM ABOUT IT. God damn it.

I don't even really care if they kiss, although it's fun when they do. Just reconcile! Reconcile!

What are your favourite things about the ship?

In no particular order:

In a text that is largely pro-Wei Wuxian—not in the sense that everything he does is moral, but in the sense that he's the cool protagonist, and he gets to kick ass and solve mysteries and have a happy ending—this relationship is one that highlights his weaknesses and failures in a very humanizing way. And in order to reconcile, he would actually really have to challenge himself and grow as a person, which I love for him. (I also think Jiang Cheng would have to struggle for it, but, like, dude has demonstrated the capacity to do hard and terrible things even when confronted with his own weaknesses. He's not gonna be cool about it, and he's going to cry and bitch the whole time, but if he thinks it needs to be done and it can be done, he'll do it.)

The lack of boundaries within the relationship, which is a product of the lack of clarity of the type of relation to each other. Are they friends? Are they martial brothers or real brothers? If Wei Wuxian is Jiang Cheng's shixiong, but Jiang Cheng is also Wei Wuxian's sect leader, which takes precedence? (It's clear what should take precedence, but Wei Wuxian just straight-up does not Respect His Authority, even though—by all available evidence—Jiang Cheng is a really good leader. But that lack of respect is also a form of intimacy.) It's super, super messy.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

By lying to him so extensively, and then by failing to show up for any of his commitments without any explanation, Wei Wuxian really did betray Jiang Cheng a whole bunch of times, and Jiang Cheng's resulting betrayal trauma really is his fault.

You break it, you bought it, coward! Stop running away! (For legal purposes, this is a joke.)

#anon asks #ask game #shipping ask game #jiang cheng #lan xichen #wei wuxian #xicheng #chengxian #mdzs +#least-carpet thoughts

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clownxian · 10 months

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chengxian antis saying it's gross because they're brothers as if wwx wouldn't be so, very into that

chengxian being siblings wouldve ruled the entire book. Jc suddenly calling wwx gege??? there would be no war, wwx ain't missing out on this opportunity to call jc his didi

#wwx having an unhealthy obsession growing up trying to get jc to call him ge for absolutely No Reason whatsoever. no hidden motive #chengxian #mdzs

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 10 months

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I saw your post about "feel free to vent" and god, I don’t even think that I love that pathetic guyfailure in your way, but I follow you and read your posts, because they bring me joy (although I don’t always agree with everything you say) and you’re one of the few people who’s willing to talk about how unhinged, pathetic and entirely deranged jiang zongzhu is. I’m so fucking tired of jc fandom, the way they turned him into something entirely unrecognisable from his canon self, turned him into weepy little bitch with gaping hole for every single "gege" on the block to fuck.

They make me genuinely hate him. I see that oc!jc committing identity fraud and I hate him. I hate him so much. My only content in this fandom is the novel, it’s the only thing that provides me with content. How fucking delightful he is there? I don’t fucking get. Jc stans say you’re a fucking jc anti or whatever the fuck, but no one actually hates jc more than his fucking stans do. the fucking torture of watching your fave being flandarised. their fucking omegaverse rotten brains yelling and crying about his tiny waist and childbearing thighs. Have you seen the art of him? What kind of caricature they turn him into? Fucking twink that will be blown away by the wind and his "geges" that will catch him midair and fuck everliving fuck out of him because uwu he did nothing wrong, he’s innocent, he’s little precious baby boy meowmeow tsundere. They yell so hard about how misunderstood he is, but they’re the ones misunderstanding his character most. They have no respect for canon material. Most of them haven’t read the fucking novel because they HaTe wAnGxIAn sO mUcH, they pick up disgusting fanon bullshit and run with it claiming it somehow to be canon.

Canon!jc would fucking rip that oc!jc in tiny little shreds, torture him violently and vomit on his corpse.

what have they turned his relationship with jin ling into? what are they fucking doing to that precious golden brat? why no one fucking enjoys their canon relationship that don’t lack complexity and depth. Why do they turn him into weird kid obsessed with his uncle? who has no life outside his uncle, who fights "jiujiu stealers" like it’s his full time job??? Jin ling is his own character, he’s going through so much, his fucking family is insane, he’s dealing with bullying, he’s working his ass off to impress his uncle who put high expectations on him.

what they turn "geges" into? they come and yell how lwj has no personality, that he’s just a "top" but then they do exactly the same shit with other characters? they’re genuinely making me hate lxc. I despise xicheng with burning fucking passion. I’m in a ooc competition, and xicheng stans are my opponents *insert squidward here*

chengxian makes my fucking blood boil because THATS ONE WAY TO ENTIRELY MISUNDERSTAND BOTH OF THEIR CHARACTERS AND TURN COMPELLING "BROTHER" CONFLICT INTO THE MOST BORING FUCKING SHIT THAT THE EARTH HAS WITNESSED. they way they just go OMG WWX LOVED JC SOOOOOO MUCH LWJ HATES JC BECAUSE HE KNOWS WWX LOVES HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING, HIS SACRIFICE IS AN ACT OF LOVE, HE LOVED HIM, HE DID IT OUT OF LOVE. why would they entirely erase wwx’s character development like that? wwx’s entire fucking arc is about learning to see his self worth, learning that the life he had at lotus pier wasn’t it, FUCKING HELL yllz literally was comforting himself with thoughts of never meeting the jiangs. My guy literally was lying there unable to sleep and was thinking about how running away from dogs and being a beggar is infinitely better than the jiangs. It’s literally in the fucking book. I don’t fucking GET IT.

I remember one time mentioning that of fucking COURSE, the manhua would erase the "golden core reveal" as in how jc lost it, because ultimately wangxian is the most important part of the story and jc is some guy wwx finally gets rid of in order to digest his traumas in a safer space and find happiness elsewhere because clearly he wasn’t happy at lotus pier. and they fucking??? came up with an AU???? as a response to me????? where wwx comes back to lotus pier because HE LOVES JC MORE THAN ANYTHING WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO very good argument, very nice talk.

I’m so fucking sick and tired, I muted jc’s name and tag on twitter and here even though I genuinely like the guy. It pains me. It causes me fucking brain damage. I want to enjoy my fandom experience, I want to be able to talk about this dudenobody and have fun. I so hate being here, I want to be free.

I’m so sorry to vent like that. 😭

I will use this as a general jump start of fandom griping regarding this entire debacle since this, this right here, should not be a normal thing that fandom has to send anonymously due to being scared of the vitriolic backlash received.

I have been nice, I have been sarcastic, I have been a troll, and despite my initial kindness and patience when I first started interacting with this fandom, I was met with consistent death threats and homophobia about a fictional male character and why I am less then patient now for Jiang Cheng stans. Other people should not HAVE to apologize for not enjoying a completely made up fandom persona and getting bit at for this. By all means go ahead and enjoy a fanon persona, by all means ask for supporting evidence when someone is arguing they do not like a character.

I interact with other Jiang Cheng fans just fine outside of this, they are not the ones I speak of in this. The ones I am addressing are the vitriolic ones that are angry about anything close to being taken as "anti" regarding an in story antagonist that does exhibit antagonistic behavior time and again with leading text and citations. It doesn't matter if he is someone that is enjoyed, somehow it's "wrong".

And hey. I DO disagree on several different interpretations in this fandom, but NONE of them have ever garnered the hate I have gotten in my 3 years in this fandom the way I chose to discuss Jiang Cheng. When told to use another tag, it was done, but again it was done incorrectly, when I stopped using anti at the behest of other fans, I did because hey, it was able to reach a wider audience, that did enjoy the character himself and wanted deeper understanding outside of fanon only that pervaded the tag meant for "Jiang Cheng".

I certainly do not deny his instances of kindness, but how dare I ascertain that all if this in context is not a reflection of positivity for him within the plot he is meant for, no matter time and again saying he has an opening for himself to do better in the future for others that have yet to be hurt by him, or are willing to salvage what they still have.

I should not have to be told I just want to fuck a dude as a "joke" and a comeback because of how I go and point out what he's like in the work. That is casual homophobia and shockingly sexual harassment. Or be told to think of it as a sibling who uses drugs and it's therefore alright to demean said character, or deny the blatant abuse this character exhibits or uses because he also had been abused by an adult.

I do not need to be tolerant of a side of fandom due to all the above treatment and others deal with.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #lol fandom #oh fandom

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pleasegivejinlingabreak · 7 months

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srsly where do chengxian antis get the idea that theyre brothers this is so??? like its never said... jyl did see wwx as a brother but does that make them actual siblings? no. and jc didnt even say anything like that, they were like best friends who lived together

#and even if they were #wheres the prob-#alr ima spell it #F #I #C #T #l #O #N #hope that helped #chengxian #xiancheng #jiang cheng #ermm i would tag wwx but im afraid of his stans

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gekidasa · 1 month

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Jiang Cheng for the character meme 🫡

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them

Honestly, I love his anger. No, it isn't pretty. Yeah, he's probably not pleasant to be around for most people. But I find that so... human. And relatable too. His flaws and pettiness, his anger, they're all so understandable and relatable to me.

least favorite thing about them

That he has so many antis.

favorite line

Just... the way he says "Wei Wuxian" filled with so much sheer rage.

brOTP

I could say WWX, because I do love to write WWX as JC's gremlin BFF in my sangcheng fics, but if we're being honest, I also think canonically they are way too intense about each other to be "brotp" (honestly I'm a closet chengxian enjoyer).

So I'm going to say I think JC and NMJ would get along really well and would really enjoy going for a beer together in modern aus.

OTP

As far as headcanons and fanfic, sangcheng. I love them together. I'm obsessed with them. Still going over 3 years later, I've written more fic for them than for any other ship. At heart, it's the teenage friends to lovers aspect, but also that they each, on their own have gone through so much loss and pain and anger... including JC's anger at NHS for putting Jin Ling in danger, no, I never forget THAT. But I think after all that, they can understand each other better than most. They can understand the anger and pain and what you are willing to do for that.

And then if speaking strictly canon-based, there's chengxian, which is... everything that it is. Which is SO much. I don't write fic for it or seek it out, but I did very much go through the book reading JC as in love with WWX.

nOTP

LXC, for fandom wank reasons. Wen Qing because I'm a book snob that dislikes CQL.

random headcanon

JC was LQR's favorite guest student that year, and JC greatly respects LQR and values his opinion. Over the years, the mutual respect grew, and they both enjoy getting together for tea and conversation whenever they have a chance.

unpopular opinion

I do not enjoy bottom Jiang Cheng.

Nor do I vibe with the "fandom bicycle" allcheng mindset that enjoys putting him together with any and all, largely because I do see him as very ace/demi. I don't think he gets around very much at all.

song i associate with them

Other than the obvious Hen Bie and the fanmade Swan Goose's Journey (which is BEAUTIFUL), it is absolutely Prince's When Doves Cry, because a now gone JC video to that song is what got me to decide to check out MDZS, and after about 10 seconds I knew I would love Jiang Cheng. Also, it REALLY fits Jiang Cheng.

favorite picture of them

Canonically, probably his first appearance in the donghua.

Fanart-wise, probably one particular one where he was leaning back on something shirtless, scars on his chest in full view.

#jiang cheng #ask meme

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poorlittleyaoyao · 4 months

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Most of wangxian fics are a retelling of the chengxian canon relationship with lan wangji in jiang cheng' place, with anti jiang family content (sometimes jiang yanli is spared)

BOOOOOORING, and also ?????????? because... the whole point of Novel Wangxian, from what I understand, is that they didn't have a close relationship prior to WWX's resurrection. The combination of societal obligations, misconceptions about each other, fear of open communication, and traumatic events outside their control (ex: THE DEVASTATING CIVIL WAR) prevents them from connecting in their youths as they might have otherwise, so the story is about how they make different choices when they're granted a second chance as more-adult adults. Like. That's the novel. If you's prefer a version of events where they're kindred spirits and mutually close starting in their teen years, that is literally CQL.

But mostly, I say again, BOOOOOORING! In the tags that inspired this Ask, I forgot about post-canon fic, and there's a lot of potential there! How successful are they about staying out of politics, given WWX's proven inability to stay in his lane and the nonzero chance that LWJ gets pulled into additional sect responsibilities if LXC's seclusion persists? With WWX's image redeemed somewhat now that JGY's everyone's new villain, will that mean a demonic cultivation renaissance among rogue cultivators? What role will they have in helping LZS reconnect with his heritage?

So there is plenty of stuff you can do aside from Sexy and/or Bland Times with Wangxian, but the Jiang bashing is just... beyond basic. It cheapens WWX's actions so much. Like, are you saying your boy voluntarily ripped out his golden core for some guy he didn't even like and then didn't say anything about it because he was just that beholden to obligation? Are you saying that protecting the Wen remnants was a super easy task for him, entailing zero emotional hardship on his part because he'd long since discharged his debt to his oh-so-rotten adoptive family? Like, damn, CQL downplays or removes WWX's responsibility in a lot of what he experiences, but at least he's still actively choosing sacrifice and being really messed up about it. Why make him less interesting!

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asideoftrashplease · 2 years

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all the time in the world (& i’ll spend it loving you)

The first time Lan Wangji had come to him, it had been a rainy day, just like this one. It had been pouring that morning when Lan Wangji had appeared out of the storm, drunk and drenched, grabbing him by the collar with shaking hands.

“How could you?” he had hissed. “How could you?”

Lan Wangji had lowered his head, letting out a sob. If there had been tears on his face that night, they had been lost in the rain.

“You killed him.”

---

Twitter refugee and I’m SO excited to be here and meet new people! Erm erm I don’t have much to contribute, but I’ve written this whole bunch of CANON-VERSE jiang cheng ficlets. Read it under the cut!

[The first chapter was written for the prompt: JC and LWJ have a standing once a month hook up that started during the years WWX was dead. At first, it was hate fucking, but it turned into feelings that they both ignored. After WWX returns, JC assumes the standing monthly hookup has stopped. Except cue one month after the temple events, LWJ shows up with WWX in tow.]

Sometime back, Chengxian antis and JC antis were flooding the tags on Twitter with hate which made everyone sad, so I opened prompts for Chengxian, Zhancheng, and Zhanchengxian ficlets, and wrote people a bunch of gift ficlets I’ve now dubbed... the #jiayou ficlets! Here’s one of them! For people who prefer to read things on the archive, it’s posted on Ao3 here.

---

He wakes as he always does; startled, sun in his eyes, with his heart pounding in his chest and his fingers clenched tight in the sheets.

Still as stone, he lies frozen in place as his heart slows.

Outside, he can hear muffled shouting, layered over the patter of rain, as the younger disciples play amidst the puddles. He can hear the slow scuff of slippers as the servants begin their day, heading to the river to draw water. He can even hear the distant sounds of horse wagons out in the city.

Yunmeng.

After a long moment, he eases himself slowly upright, muscles stiff from a whole night spent rigid. Unbidden, his eyes sweep over to the empty surface of his desk.

No letters have come for him overnight.

His heart trembles strangely in his chest.

He stands, and pushes the window forcefully open. A rainy morning; the first day of the sixth month. The rain seems to herald the coming monsoon, the seasonal wetness that he knows will last for the next two months. He stands there for a long moment, face turned up against the cool, gentle mists of the morning rain. Then, he closes his eyes.

No one is coming for him tonight.

His heart clenches painfully. Opening his eyes, he pulls the windows forcefully shut, and turns around to get ready for the day.

He doesn’t know what he’d been expecting.

---

“How could you?” he had hissed. “How could you?”

Lan Wangji had lowered his head, letting out a sob. If there had been tears on his face that night, they had been lost in the rain.

“You killed him.”

The sex had hurt, that first time, scratching at each other, their wordless snarls hiding the hint of a sob as they sought to mask the pain, the grief, the tears.

“Did you want this with him?” Jiang Cheng had taunted, staring up at Lan Wangji. In the darkness, his golden eyes had gleamed like a cat’s in the light of the moon.

Jiang Cheng remembers how those eyes had flashed as Lan Wangji backhanded him. He remembers the dark bruise it had left in the morning. He remembers waking to those inscrutable golden eyes, and the gentle caress of gentle knuckles over his swollen cheek.

“Do you regret last night?” Jiang Cheng had asked in a murmur.

Lan Wangji’s brows had drawn together, eyes tracing the contours of that dark blemish.

“Yes,” he’d said.

---

On the first day of the next month, he had still returned.

---

It’s impossible to tell when he’d started loving Wei Wuxian. It feels like millennia that he’s spent tracing the memory of a familiar face, the laughter they’d shared, and the insults they’d traded. Sometimes, it feels like he’d always loved him.

When Wei Wuxian had been alive, Jiang Cheng always dreamt of their arguments, waking up sour and resentful. But after he had died, Jiang Cheng had dreamt only sweet dreams. He would dream of laughing together under lotus pads, of rosy sunsets over the river, stealing chickens and play-wrestling in the rain. He would dream of the ruby glint of sunset off the droplets in Wei Wuxian’s hair, drenched in rainwater and lakewater, the day he’d hauled Jiang Cheng up onto the dock and leaned over him, tipsy and laughing.

I want you, he’d whispered. I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you.

In those dreams, Jiang Cheng had always smiled.

I want you too, he would whisper.

Those siren dreams always left him hollow in the mornings, waking in sunlight, with an emptiness in his heart where someone had once lived. He’s lived that memory a thousand ways in sleep, in every way except the way it had played in waking.

Don’t let A-Niang hear you talking like that, he had snapped. I’m not a cut-sleeve.

One day, about a year into those unsettling dreams, he’d woken with a name on his lips.

I loved him, he’d finally realized. I still do.

The realization had threatened to upend everything.

---

On the first day of the next month, Lan Wangji had appeared to him for the first time, drunk, and with fresh scars on his back. On the first day of every following month, he had returned like clockwork.

Gentle hands, gentle heart — the first night had been the only time he had ever hit Jiang Cheng.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji had whispered, that second night, and Jiang Cheng’s eyes had flown open.

“I’m not him,” he’d said, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

They’d had each other thrice that night, Lan Wangji desperate and insatiable in a way he had never expected. His eyelids had trembled, capillaries delicate under the glass-like skin, as he gasped and whispered. When open, his eyes always seemed so far away, unseeing.

Others had always said that one picks up the mannerisms of those they spend the most time with. Jiang Cheng wonders what parts of Wei Wuxian Lan Wangji had seen in him.

In the aftermath, trembling and limping slightly, Lan Wangji had stood and pulled on his pants. Nestled half-asleep in the sheets, Jiang Cheng had opened his eyes.

“Stay the night,” he had murmured. “I don’t want to wake alone.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes had glinted, cat-like, in the night as he turned to look at Jiang Cheng. Such an unnatural color. Jiang Cheng had always found him a little uncanny because of it.

“Mn,” Lan Wangji had agreed — and slid back under the sheets.

---

The rain splatters against his bare skin as his body flows through the motions of the Yunmeng Jiang sword form. It has long been a discipline of his. Practicing the sword form is the first thing he does every morning, and the last thing he does at night before bed.

Still, today he finds himself a little less present than he would prefer, consumed by memories. He does not hear the approach of the disciple until the disciple is at the entrance of the courtyard.

“Sect Lead— ack!”

Jiang Cheng turns sharply away, hiding the scars on his chest, his greatest shame.

“Sorry, Sect Leader!” the boy squeaks. “A letter has come for you. I’ll put it on your desk.”

As the patter of small feet peter off into the distance, Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath, and swings his outer robe up and over his shoulders. Sheathing his sword, he hurries into his study. There’s a sealed letter on the table. He snatches it up.

Even before he opens it, however, his heart sinks. The seal is familiar, but not the one he’d been expecting. True enough, when he opens the letter, it is addressed from Sect Leader Yao, requesting help with a bridge that had collapsed in a flash flood.

He tosses the letter aside angrily.

Then, after a moment, he sits down, and tries to read it. There’s a stack of letters on his desk to be answered, and he generally likes to get that done before lunch. Today, however, the words slip like water through his mind, his eyes tracing over the brushstrokes again and again without processing.

Finally, he slams his hand down on the table, and stands.

It isn’t often that he succumbs to drink, but he thinks that today is a special occasion. Striding out into the courtyard, he draws his sword, and takes off into the sky.

---

He had not expected to fall in love with Lan Wangji.

Like flying through a drizzle, he’d realized too late that he’d flown into a storm. Somewhere along the way, without him ever noticing, the rainfall had intensified to the point that he could barely see, barely hear, but so preoccupied with getting to the places he had to be, he hadn’t noticed the change of weather.

“Lan— Wangji—“

Lan Wangji had kissed him on the lips, grinding their hips more firmly together. His breath had been so hot against Jiang Cheng’s ear that night, jagged with exertion.

“Jiang—” he had murmured, and then stiffened, grasping Jiang Cheng’s hips bruisingly hard as his hips stuttered.

Wetness bloomed between their bellies.

“Jiang Wanyin.”

Afterwards, they’d laid on their sides, facing each other in the darkness. He remembers vividly how Lan Wangji had looked then, a hand under his ear like a divine statue, eyes closed, expression as serene and austere as a cloudless sky. His other hand had been warm on Jiang Cheng’s wrist, his thumb drawing up and down absently as Jiang Cheng watched him, drinking him in for long minutes. Finally, sensing the eyes on him, he had opened his eyes questioningly.

Jiang Cheng remembers every second of the moments that followed, the calm in those lion’s eyes as he’d looked patiently back at Jiang Cheng. In that moment, Jiang Cheng had been so certain.

“Lan Wangji, I—" he’d begun.

That thumb on his wrist had continued to stroke, up and down, slow and soothing. Lan Wangji had just watched him, waiting, not saying a word.

“I—"

The words had caught in his throat. He’d been so certain in that moment that Lan Wangji returned his feelings, but still, those words had refused to be spoken.

I want you too.

“I’ll tell you next time,” he had finally whispered instead. “Next month.”

Lan Wangji had blinked, slow and inexorable.

“We have time,” he had said simply.

A week later, the familiar sounds of a dizi had rung out over the mountainside.

---

“Sect Leader,” the innkeeper murmurs, concerned. “Sect Leader, are you alright?”

“Another,” he slurs, reaching out to push his cup forward, but knocking it over instead. “Two more jars.”

After a moment, the innkeeper sighs, pulling the stool next to him out, and taking a seat instead.

“Sect Leader,” she sighs, laying her hand on his nape. “You are very drunk. I haven’t seen you this drunk since you were a boy.”

Since he was a boy, sneaking out to drink here, another's arm hooked companionably over his shoulder, and a too-loud, too-excited, too-drunk voice hollering in his ear.i

With the alcohol in his system, that’s enough to make him turn his face into the table.

“Oh, Sect Leader…” the innkeeper sighs, stroking his back as his breath hitches. “What happened to you?”

He hiccups, sniffing as his nose begins to run, breathing slow and open-mouthed against the table. Tears drip slowly from the tip of his nose, darkening the wood beneath him.

“I heard that Young Master Wei has returned,” the innkeeper guesses. “There were some cultivators here talking about it, but he hasn’t come back to say hello. Where is he?”

Jiang Cheng hiccups miserably.

“I yelled at him,” he mutters, “then he eloped.”

“Eloped?” the innkeeper repeats, bewildered, and then pauses. “I always thought… Young Master Wei always seemed very enamored with Sect Leader when he was a boy. Who—“

She trails off awkwardly.

“He eloped,” Jiang Cheng continues, “with the man I love.”

He sniffs once, hiccups, and then begins to sob. The hand on his back picks up, stroking a little more frantically now.

“Oh, Sect Leader,” the innkeeper sighs. “My poor child. My sweet boy.”

“I thought he loved me too,” Jiang Cheng chokes out, still face-down on the table.

“Young Master Wei?” the innkeeper asks gingerly. “Or err— what’s his name?”

“Both,” Jiang Cheng manages, the word tripping into a series of wracking sobs. The innkeeper coos sympathetically, continuing to stroke his back.

“Hi Auntie Li,” a hushed voice comes after a moment. “We’ll get him back to Lotus Pier. Don’t you worry.”

“Ah!” the innkeeper gasps, clearly recognizing the newcomers. “Oh, of course! Please!”

She stands, and makes herself scarce. Jiang Cheng looks up blearily at the dragging sound of wooden stools against the floor, just in time to see two tall figures seating themselves at the table opposite him. Through squinted eyes, Jiang Cheng can see that the taller one has a white band over his forehead, but is dressed in the raggedy garb of a traveling cultivator, hair pulled unfussily up into a high ponytail.

“You even look like him,” Jiang Cheng mutters miserably.

The other— looks vaguely familiar.

“And you— kinda look like that Mo Xuanyu guy,” Jiang Cheng continues, even more miserably, before letting his head fall back down to the table with a loud thunk. “Ow.”

The shorter of the two makes a hissing noise, lifting Jiang Cheng’s head gently back off the table, and brushing a hand gingerly over his forehead, which is already beginning to redden.

“Wow, Jiang Cheng,” he says, “you’re wasted.”

The taller sighs, standing and sliding his arms gently underneath Jiang Cheng’s body.

“Let’s get him home,” the man whispers.

The world falls away as he’s pulled up onto a strong, broad back.

---

When he wakes in the morning, sun in his eyes, the brightness sends a sharp stab of agony through his skull. He groans, turning sharply away from the window, only to collide with a scarred chest.

There’s a familiar brand burned into the skin.

He recoils, shooting backward, only to collide, less pleasantly, with a very bony chin.

“Ow! Fuck! Jiang Cheng!”

Clasping the back of his head, he hisses in pain, feeling another oncoming bruise. His forehead feels bruised too, and he vaguely remembers how that happened. Gods, he’d been so drunk.

“Obscenity is prohibited,” Lan Wangji murmurs, but there’s no bite in it. He guides Jiang Cheng forward, pressing him into his chest so he can check on Wei Wuxian’s chin. “No bruising.”

“No bruising?” Wei Wuxian warbles melodramatically. “No permanent disfigurement? I’m still pretty?”

“You are.”

Jiang Cheng turns over, and smashes his lips against Wei Wuxian’s.

Wei Wuxian lets out a muffled moan, and then tumbles them over till he’s perched over Jiang Cheng’s body. Jiang Cheng grasps the back of his robes, panting, taken abruptly back to their younger years. Lan Wangji had never tumbled Jiang Cheng around like this, always so controlled and careful.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” Wei Wuxian murmurs, diving down to mouth along the side of his neck, pushing his collar open to get at his clavicle.

“I—“ Jiang Cheng begins, and closes his eyes tight, a tear squeezing out and running down into his hair. “I want you too.”

Wei Wuxian gasps, turning his face into Jiang Cheng’s shoulder.

“What if I wanted to be inside you?” he murmurs.

“Yes.”

“In your mouth?”

“Yes.”

“In your ass?”

“Yes.”

“In your life, until we’re both old and grey?”

Jiang Cheng’s voice chokes in his throat, so he just nods. Wei Wuxian kisses him fiercely on the lips again, once, twice, and again, before drawing back to look up at his husband.

“I can’t believe you got to have him before I did,” he whines. “I’ve wanted him since I was a kid, you know.”

“You can have him now, if he wants.”

Jiang Cheng gasps, hiding his face in Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. Too late, he realizes that he had spread his legs slightly with the motion. Wei Wuxian catches him by the knee before he can close them.

“Nuh uh,” he teases. “No takesies-backsies! I need to have you in all the ways Lan Zhan had you while I was gone. It’s just not fair!”

“That’s—“ Jiang Cheng begins, breath hitching as Wei Wuxian nuzzles into his neck, “going to take awhile.”

A hand covers his on Wei Wuxian’s back, tangling their fingers sweetly together. Jiang Cheng looks up in surprise to see Lan Wangji sitting up against the headboard, watching him patiently with those lion's eyes of his.

There’s a gentility in his eyes, in the upward curve of his lips, and in that moment Jiang Cheng knows— he knows.

“We have time,” Lan Wangji murmurs tenderly.

He leans down, kissing Jiang Cheng gently on the lips.

“We have all the time in the world.”

---

[For those who are ✨interested✨ there’s a chapter 2 available on Ao3 where WWX and LWJ dp JC LOVINGLY. I can’t post that here because NSFW ban, right? That’s still happening, right? But it’s available on Ao3 here! I hope you liked the fic, and! I’m hoping to post more from this series over the next few days? 🥺👉👈 I feel like a cat bringing offerings of dead birds...]

#mdzs #zhanchengxian #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #lan wangji #canon jiang cheng #canon jc #fanfiction #my fic

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