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:
(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.
theartofmadeline
germansingergirl
2087
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