Theres Something So Ironic About Jiang Cheng Saying "you Promised That As Long As The Gusulan Sect Had

I aspire to his levels of bitchiness

while reading the books, i remember wei wuxian’s relationship with jin ling hitting me especially hard. i was crying when the whole stabbing thing happened. but i truly adore what becomes of them and do you know why? because jin ling does something the others could never, something miraculous really––he actually unlearns the prejudice he’s been taught to hold against wei wuxian. he meets wwx, full of disdain, slowly learning about who wwx really is and it has nothing to do with wwx’s outward appearance. and when the truth is revealed, the internal warring for jin ling is plainly portrayed and even if he does give in to a hate intermingled with grief that he has internalised towards this one entity (wei wuxian was never a person in his mind, just the ‘killer’ of his parents, a phantom, before the events of the book happened), you can tell his heart has already turned, that it will keep turning and that’s what happens. you have jin ling, an orphaned child, who hated someone whom his mother loved dearly, because that man caused his parents’ death but it is such a commendable thing that wei wuxian was able to create a space in jin ling’s heart and jin ling was able to accept it. it’s the way both jin ling & jiang cheng blame the death of their parents on wwx but only the former was able to see wei wuxian clearly and actually forge a bond of love with him.

it’s the fact that if ANYONE in this story can actually rightfully hold a grudge against wei wuxian, it’s jin ling, but instead this teenager decides that wei wuxian is much too good and that having him as an uncle is lovely, after all.

Lan Xichen: Sang-di, are you the one who started the rumors that Wangji and Wei Wuxian were married?

Nie Huaisang: Yes. Honestly, I'm ashamed I didn't start the rumors while Wei-gongzi was alive

Lan Xichen: Why would you do such a thing?

Nie Huaisang: Stress relief

Lan Xichen: What?

Nie Huaisang: You know how stressful being a sect leader is. And who's going to correct the rumors? The dead guy? Or the guy acting like a grieving widow over the dead guy?

Madam Yu: *Kicking out wwx after the broken engagement thing* AND STAY OUT

Lan Zhan: Finder's keepers

Wei Wuxian: Where did you come from?

Lan Zhan: Gusu

Madam Yu: What do you think you're doing!!?

Lan Zhan: Going back to Gusu

Madam Yu: With my head disciple!?

Lan Zhan: You didn't want him. I do

today i learnt that chinese national figure skaters wang shiyu and liu xinyu onced skated to wuji and they even dressed like wangxian!! it’s so stunning it should be illegal. you can watch them here

✨ MXTX’s boys Polaroids ✨

Merry Merry … very untamed and sexy Holidays.

To understand Jiang Cheng is to understand that he's not the golden child or the scapegoat

Wei Wuxian is both of those

Wei Wuxian is Jiang Fengmian's Golden Child and Madame Yu's Scapegoat

But to both of them Jiang Cheng is simply the Failure

He isn't the son that his father wanted and he's not the son that his mother wanted

He can not live up to either of their wishes or desires because of who he is inherently. He is not charming or naturally exceptionally talented

He is smart and capable but he's not smart and capable enough for them

He puts in pure graft and commitment and gets only looked over or told how little it matters

It's not that he's to blame for anyone else's failures, it's that his accomplishments are meaningless and forgettable just like he is

And if you can't be loved for who you are a part of you wants to be hated because at least that means someone gives a damn

You wear your anger on your skin because it does hurt so much when you are rejected and it makes it harder to forget you

And god how badly you wish to at least be remembered

And you love your sibling who is both on a pedestal but being flogged for the honor

And you want to help and protect them but you also resent them

And they also resent you. At least a little

Because you have time without eyes on you

Time without constant scrutiny over your every action

Which is why the thing that holds the siblings together is the only parent they ever knew who truly loved them unconditionally: Jiang Yanli

Who of course was smothered under that love

Imagining a hualian mermaid au where hua cheng is a mermaid

When he was younger some poachers caught him and they marveled at his bright red tail. he tried his best to cover it with seaweed and stay out of sight

But he gets caught

Xie Lian happens to be sailing nearby and he spots the poachers and demands they release honghong er

Honghong er is frightened by it all and swims away. He spends the rest of his youth hiding in an underwater cave. Never does he forget the kind human who saved him

Xie Lian’s village is destroyed by the poachers who turn out to be pirates because of this act. Then he is kidnapped by the pirates and made a slave aboard their boat

He tries to stay upbeat and kind toward the other victims and prisoners he encounters but it’s *hard*

Meanwhile, Hua Cheng makes a name for himself as the terror of the seas. You know he is near when the waves turn crimson

He spots this ship and attacks it for entering his domain—a haven where merfolk are safe from humankind. He watches the pirates begin to drown, a smile on his face

Then he spots one—an unconscious man in tattered white robes—a face he could never forget. He races Xie Lian to the surface and resuscitates him. Pleading with his savior to stay with him. To stay alive.

Xie Lian wakes up. He instantly recognizes Hua Cheng. He smiles.

“It’s you,” he whispers, placing a hand on the merman’s cheek. He never stopped thinking of the mermaid. He never regretted saving him.

Hua Cheng just stares and stares and stares. Disbelieving. He treats his beloved’s wounds. He can’t speak above the surface. His vocal cords don’t work right.

Xie Lian remains on a small island while he heals. Hua Cheng hunts fish for him and watches the human cook it. Xie Lian talks at length about where he is from and the life he’s lived. Hua Cheng listens with rapt attention

One day, when Xie Lian has recovered, and meat has returned to his bones, Hua Cheng offers him, on a thin silver chain, a ring made of his own scales.

When Xie Lian puts it on, he transforms into a merman. An elegant one with a pretty white and gold scaled tail.

They go to Hua Cheng’s domain and Xie Lian quickly picks up the language of the merfolk

Hua Cheng explains that Xie Lian can take off the necklace at any time and return to his human life up on land. To return home.

“Maybe I’ll visit someday,” Xie Lian smiles. “But as far as Im concerned I *am* home.”

"Why else would Wei Wuxian do what he did for Jiang Cheng if not because of love?"

Jiang Cheng dodged to the side before attacking, “When does not now mean? I’ve had enough of you—get lost right now!” Wei WuXian shouted, “Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu said for me to look after you, for you to be well!”

—Chapt. 59: Poisons, exr

Does Wei Wuxian still care for Jiang Cheng as a friend at this point in time? Yes. Is that friendship the driving force behind his decision-making between the fall of Lotus Pier and his later defection from the Jiang? No. That's why Wei Wuxian can defect with no psychological burden later on in life: he got Jiang Cheng to live and live well. He fulfilled every debt that mattered. Jiang Cheng, unburdened by such a debt to look after Wei Wuxian, in turn places blame on Wei Wuxian:

Under the grief and the fury, Jiang Cheng had lost his mind. He couldn’t control the strength that he used at all. Wei WuXian pulled at his wrist, “Jiang Cheng...” Holding him on the ground, Jiang Cheng continued to roar, “Why did you save Lan WangJi?! Why did you have to speak up?! How many times have I told you not to stir up trouble! Not to strike! Do you really want to play the hero so much?! Have you seen what happened when you played the hero?! Huh?! Are you happy now?! “Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan and those people can just die! Just let them die! What’s their deaths got to do with us?! To do with our sect?! Why did this have to happen?! Why?! “Go die, go die, go die! Everyone!!!” ... 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. But he had always felt that, if the whole thing with Wei WuXian didn’t happen, maybe it wouldn’t have been so soon, maybe there would’ve been some way to turn things around. It was this torturing thought that filled his heart with hatred and wrath.

Not every conflict or sacrifice in a work of fiction need be motivated by love. At some point you gotta stop chasing ghosts between the lines and simply read the lines.