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#jl’s voice crying out his name has barely touched his ears and his heart’s already gearing up for war before his brain fully comprehends
In the days following Baoshan Sanren's miracle, Jiang Cheng ponders this new core of his.
Not bad, per se, but different.
The new core Baoshan Sanren had placed in his dantian burned hot and bright. A little too hot. A little too bright. It stressed his meridians to the point where they grew sore and painful by the end of the day. To add to that, he was anxious and jittery all the time, as if his skin was crawling with suppressed energy.
His movements felt sharper, quicker, more hasty. It unnerved Jiang Cheng, who was used to trailing behind. His had always been a “slow but steady” sort of path, struggling to keep up with a grim and dogged determination. But now, potential seemed ready to burst out of him if he didn’t do something with it.
“Luckily”, the Wen-dogs had massacred only most of his people.
After a week of waiting for Wei Wuxian, he ran into a Jiang disciple in hiding. After that, Jiang Cheng had not so much as stopped to rest. Day and night he scoured the countryside, rescuing who he could and recruiting anyone willing. He trained and taught as they went, desperate to keep anyone within his care from dying.
His new core fueled him to impossible lengths… then, on the seventh day, dropped him like a stone. Completely spent, Jiang Cheng spent two days asleep, and awoke to a handful of frantic, panicking disciples and a Wen scouting party about to find them. They managed to escape– barely– and as they licked their wounds in the first available shelter they could find, Jiang Cheng pondered his new, strange state of affairs.
His behavior… it had been just like Wei Wuxian’s. Pushing himself through the impossible only to utterly collapse at the end of it. Accomplishing miracles, but by recklessly pouring himself out like water.
It made sense, he supposed. After all, Baoshan Sanren had been the teacher of Wei Wuxian’s mother. Maybe that was just how she taught her students, and how her students taught in turn. Or maybe it had been a physical trait he’d inherited from his mother; the heavens only knew how much Jiang Cheng had inherited from his own. Really, it was fairly logical that the core Baoshan Sanren had gifted him would be like the one Wei Wuxian had developed. Perhaps the Immortal had kept tabs on her disciple’s son and had fashioned a new core for him that would match his old one, not knowing that it was really Jiang Cheng who would be the recipient.
His stomach tightened. A new core. A core like Wei Wuxian’s. Potential like Wei Wuxian’s. What might he do, what impossibilities might he accomplish with an advantage like that?
It… it almost felt like cheating.
His molars ground together and his eyebrows lowered into a scowl. He was used to working hard for things. Sure, his hard work was rarely acknowledged, and that was infuriating. But the hard work itself… he’d never minded that. In fact, it often lent a sense of satisfaction to his accomplishments, small in comparison though they were. To have been given a new core that would allow him to leap over others just didn’t feel right.
Jiang Cheng’s gaze traveled over the frazzled and distraught people in his care. He saw their eyes frequently meet his with anxiety, and also saw the obvious worry fading somewhat as they confirmed that he was awake and aware. He noticed the dark circles under their eyes and the shakiness of their limbs.
A poisonous coil of self-castigation wrapped around his insides. How hard had they struggled to keep up with him as he’d pushed ahead of them, fueled by this new core of his? Not only that– he’d worried them, passing out like that. Unwilling or not, he had abandoned them as he sunk into that state of unconsciousness. These people were counting on him, depending on him to lead them and to care for them. They’d lost their homes, their families and loved ones. Their lives had crashed around their ears, and Jiang Cheng had rallied them all together only to leave them directionless and vulnerable as his body recovered.
His new core was unruly, uncontrollable, unfettered– just as Wei Wuxian was. And maybe Wei Wuxian could get away with that, but Jiang Cheng had been raised to be a leader. To take into consideration the needs of those who were his responsibility. He couldn’t afford a core that flashed with unimaginable power then died, like an explosive. He needed a core like a campfire, burning steady and reliable to combat the darkness.
Discipline, he reminded himself sternly. He settled into a light meditative state, careful to remain aware enough to attend to his people. He began to circulate his qi; wrestling it into steadiness, curbing its excesses, forcing it to ration out its power in favor of endurance.
The core fought him a bit, reacting as if these new methods were not only alien but anathema to its habits. But Jiang Cheng was stubborn– more stubborn than anyone alive, Wei Wuxian always teased. He would tame this core, retrain and remold it into what was needed.
Duty. Discipline. Determination. These were the things that Jiang Cheng was known for. These were the things his people needed, not flashy shows or miraculous displays. They were facing a marathon, not a sprint, and Jiang Cheng refused to let anyone else down.
All right, you, he inwardly addressed his unruly core.
168 notes - Posted July 16, 2022
Yunmeng Sibling Trio Love Languages
(NB: This evaluation will follow the CQL/The Untamed canon, as that is the version that I am familiar with.)
To recap, the Five Love Languages are as follows:
- Words of Affirmation
- Acts of Service
- Gifts
- Quality Time
- Physical Touch
I believe that all three Yunmeng Siblings have a primary love language that is distinct from the others, but evaluation is hard because of the A++ parenting of Yu “Tiger Mom from Hell” Ziyuan and Jiang “Ancient Chinese Mr. Bennett” Fengmian throughout the trio’s formative years at Lotus “Dysfunction Junction” Pier but I’M DOING MY BEST OKAY??? ANyhoo, here are my conclusions which very well might be incorrect!
Jiang Yanli - Acts of Service
I’ll start off with the easy one; it’s fairly self-explanatory. Yanli demonstrates her affection and care by cooking for others. She peels lotus seeds for Wei Wuxian in the middle of a tense family dinner. She is ultimately convinced of Jin Zixuan’s love for her when he plants a lotus garden for her with his own hands. She never leaves the bedside of an ailing loved one. Even her heart-to-heart talks with her brothers are delivered, not bestowed as heartening words, or gifted like trinkets, or provided like time. They are a response to a NEED she sees. (I adore Yanli, but sometimes I feel as if she too displays a slight favoritism towards Wei Wuxian over Jiang Cheng, and that is totally understandable if she was strongly shaken by his neediness as a starving orphan and his shaky position within the family. Such things would render Wei Wuxian as in a greater need of service than her privileged-heir-to-the-clan brother.)
Jiang Cheng - Physical Touch
Our boy just might be THE most messed up of the siblings, though he’s in a tight race. (Yay for him coming in first, for once?) And it really could go a lot of ways for him! He is CLEARLY starved for positive reinforcement (words of affirmation), works hard for his loved ones and/or those under his care (acts of service), and resents the attention Wei Wuxian gets from the distant Jiang Fengmian (quality time).
However, I keep coming back to the line “his own father had held him less than five times in his entire life.” (Or whatever the exact wording is.) Most of us probably don’t remember how often a parent held us; many of us were no doubt more concerned with squirming OUT of our parents’ arms so that we could go play. But there are more hints to this being Jiang Cheng’s love language than one line- a line from the novel, when here I am saying that I’m drawing from CQL canon!
To quote an earlier post of mine: Wei Wuxian is constantly draping himself over Jiang Cheng, shoving him with his shoulder, slinging an arm around him, even punching him and getting into physical scuffles. Jiang Cheng is constantly hearing his brother say “hey I love you hey I love you hey I love you!”, and with all of that unspoken evidence poured over him almost every waking moment of his life, the poison from his mother and the ice from his father just... doesn’t stick. Even when he’s frantic and beside himself with grief over his parents’ deaths, accusing Wei Wuxian of being the source of their misfortune, Jiang Cheng is still is grabbing him, shoving and shaking him, even choking him- still actively seeking physical touch to process his grief. It’s when Wei Wuxian starts to physically pull away and avoid physically engaging with Jiang Cheng (”What? You want to fight?!”) after the Core Transfer/Burial Mounds that Jiang Cheng starts to panic and doubt Wei Wuxian’s love for him, thinking that Wei Wuxian doesn’t give a fuck about him or their sect family anymore.
“But what about all the times he shoves Wei Wuxian away?” you ask. Well, even THAT is an indicator, thanks to Wang Zhuocheng’s stellar acting choices. Look closely the next time you watch; Jiang Cheng’s shove offs are less “don’t touch me” than “you don’t REALLY mean you love me, if you REALLY meant it you’d listen to me and/or not get me into trouble, don’t [love language] you love me if you don’t MEAN it...”
Despite near-constant threats, Jiang Cheng has never once lifted a hand against Jin Ling, because doing so to the person who is his sole reason for living would be a complete betrayal of how he loves. And of course, when Jiang Cheng hugs, he throws his entire body into it, clings like an octopus, and does. not. let. go.
Wei Wuxian - Words of Affirmation
This was the hardest one for me to decide, and I only did so when I came to the conclusion that our Problematic Fave actually only receives said affirmation when it is... wordless.
This is NOT the same thing as acts of service! Acts of service anticipates or responds to a NEED out of love. Words of affirmation are a message that one IS loved, is WORTHY of being loved. There is nothing that Wei Wuxian needs more of believes less than confirmation that he is loved. He has been admired often, as a prodigy often is, but that admiration is shallow and fickle. Madame Yu’s poisonous words not only tear him down, but her own son too... a son that resembles his mother so much that he shares that vice. Thankfully, Wei Wuxian learned early on that Jiang Cheng’s words are not how he communicates, and learned to read the message inside-- the message that screamed “I’m sorry” and “I didn’t mean it” and “I’m just scared for you” and “don’t abandon me.”
If one alters this love language title as “Messages of Affirmation”, the issue becomes much clearer, I think. Wei Wuxian knows all too well that words are cheap and often cruel. He craves that affirmation, that validation and celebration of his existence and intrinsic worth, but is often unable to process his own love language through speech alone. This is why Lan Wangji’s stand with him on the stairs of Koi Tower moved him to tears; it wasn’t an act of service, but a declaration that Wei Wuxian was worth trouble and damaged reputations. And of course, That Scene post-resurrection when Wei Wuxian is nursing Emperor's Smile outside the Jingshi as it starts to snow, and he's spiraling down remembering all these bad things and how little has changed and how everyone still hates him... and the sound of a guqin playing their song starts from inside. That beautiful, BEAUTIFUL moment of Lan Wangji silently saying "I love you, I'M glad that you're here, I think you're worthwhile"... but with music, not with actual words.
It’s worth noting that Wei Wuxian DOES still use and value words from the people he loves. It’s why he so easily showers compliments, and why he counsels Jin Ling to actually say “I’m sorry” and “thank you.”
I think, to be honest, Jiang Fengmian’s last words to him had much deeper resonance than one might realize because of this love language. His Jiang-shushu favors and spoils and praises him endlessly for years... only to have his final words to Wei Wuxian be an order that prioritizes his biological children’s safety (a.k.a. worth) over Wei Wuxian’s. The lengths to which Wei Wuxian goes, his icepick-through-Jiang-Cheng’s-heart words of “I did it to repay my debt to the Jiang”, are all a an echo of Wei Wuxian’s fear that if he does not honor Jiang-shushu’s last words then he was never really loved in the first place...
Thoughts? Disagreements? Reply or @ me; I’d love to hear it! <3
175 notes - Posted April 29, 2022
An Actual Opinion That I Read With My Own Two Eyeballs: Jiang Cheng actually DID consent to the golden core transfer because he agreed to be blindfolded and ignorant as he followed Wei Wuxian’s directions. He has no right to blame Wei Wuxian when he found out what really went down and he was only concerned about himself anyway! Wei Wuxian was the one who REALLY didn’t give consent because he’d been gaslighted and abused by the Jiangs to the point that he mutilated himself because he felt it was his duty towards the heir and the clan that raised him.
Look, I’ll agree that Wei Wuxian was not in a sufficiently healthy headspace to properly emotionally consent to the transfer because of PTSD and very unhealthy feelings of guilt. I can give space for people to argue that the way YZY and JFM raised him completely crippled his ability to make healthy, non-self-sacrificing decisions.
But. My dude. Like. If you had a vital organ that was failing, and you’re really desperate, and someone you grew up alongside for most of your life-- a person known for doing impossible things and wrenching victory from the jaws of defeat time and time again-- says that his estranged aunt third removed is a famous doctor and has a new/ secret/ experimental method of regenerating the growth of said organ but she only does favors for family so you gotta do what they say no questions asked... and then you find out that your organ wasn’t healed but rather, like, harvested from a living person who lived the rest of their short life in agony because of the back-alley transplant... that does not qualify as consent because it was not the course of action you consented to.
Like, we won’t even get INTO the fact that, desperate or not, this is showing a literally insane amount of trust in the other dude and his insisted-upon story. We won’t even get INTO the issue of gullibility, shared history, and the possibility of being taken advantage of. We won’t even get in to bad faith arguments or the possibility that maybe one has a right to be a bit upset at finding out another person mutilated themselves and ruined their lives for your sake without asking you and then lied about it in ways that put both of you and your relationship at a disadvantage. This post is solely dedicated to this word “consent” that you keep using and the fact that it does not mean what you think it means.
308 notes - Posted February 3, 2022
jiang cheng loves his brother and like 85% of their shitty communication problems are in fact wwx’s fault but fandom is not ready for this conversation yet
I am literally beating back the urge to completely agree with you because Jiang Cheng is my precious baby boy and I love him and will defend him until the heat death of the universe BUT in an arduous effort to be fair, it's probably not 85%.
Joking aside, there is in fact enough blame to go around. No matter what WWX-stans/JC-antis say, for every instance where JC is harsh and nasty, there is another one where WWX is maddeningly avoidant. For every instance where JC threatens violence, there is another one where WWX is deliberately provoking. In the novel, JC is more constantly short and violence-threatening, but then again, WWX is more obnoxious and deliberately troublesome. CQL gives us Wang Zhuocheng's wobbly lower lip and Xiao Zhan's natural heroic charisma to soften the characters, but even then, they clearly are used to relating to each other via squabbles and fights.
Perhaps everything was destined for tragedy no matter what, but I *am* sure that approximately 85% of the bad blood between the brothers could have been avoided if WWX had simply lied one more fucking time and made up a PERFECTLY BELIEVABLE LIE that he, too, had had his core crushed before being tossed in the Burial Mounds. JC already KNEW he'd been caught by the Wen; it would have been easy to believe- NAY, EXPECTED!- that such a thing might occur. And sure, JC would probably angst about "using up WWX's one chance to get a favor from Baoshan Sanren etc, etc..." but that sure as hell would have been easier issue for the two to weather.
As I've said before, the more fundamental problem is the very different personality types that WWX and JC are, specifically in how WWX unhealthily avoids any unplesantness whereas JC holds on to it obsessively. To repeat myself, the single biggest tragedy in their relationship-- YES even more than lack of communication-- is that WWX forgets everything but JC remembers everything. WWX is by nature an out of sight out of mind person whereas JC is a hold onto every single word action and interaction until the heat death of the universe person. WWX looks at JC and thinks he's not loved because JC won't forgive and forget, and JC looks at WWX and thinks he's not loved because WWX forgets every heartfelt thing he's ever said to him.
I have a perfectly normal amount of feelings about this and these two idiots.
328 notes - Posted August 12, 2022
dueling banjos but it’s Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng whipping out increasingly complex and researched reports and spreadsheets during a discussion conference
Lan Xichen is delighted ‘oh a-Yao, you’ve made a friend!’ Jin Guangyao has NOT made a friend. Jin Guangyao has made a BITTER MORTAL ENEMY and what’s more the feeling is extremely mutual
350 notes - Posted September 7, 2022
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