#canon characterization

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Well, there are a few different ways to look at it, I suppose and everyone has their own interpretation. But there are a few trending characterizations or fanons we most commonly find in fics. Some of them include:

1. Fanon - Jiang Cheng's characterization is softened. He misses his brother, mourns for him, keeps Chengqing because he values him, etc.

Canon - He is a canonical antagonist and we prefer fics that understand this. He also has homophobic tendencies and he does torture and kill people by his own admission. He also led the siege against the Burial Mounds despite knowing there was a child and a few elderly there.

2. Fanon - Lan Wangji spends 13/16 years playing inquiry for Wei Wuxian.

Canon - Lan Wangji grew and matured into a strong man. He led his own life until life rewarded him with a rare second chance.

3. Fanon - Wei Wuxian is a reckless or oblivious person.

Canon - He always thinks things through and accepts the consequences. Even his mischief has a purpose. He wasn't oblivious to LWJ's feelings for him. A combination of LWJ not communicating well and the circumstances they were in caused misunderstandings. When LWJ had a more positive approach towards WWX, the guy caught on quickly.

4. Fanon - Wei Wuxian is insecure and suffers from self-esteem issues.

Canon - He is pretty self-aware and confident in his skills. He absolutely doesn't think he is 'undeserving' of LWJ's love.

5. Fanon - Lan Wangji has stilted caveman-like speech.

Canon - He speaks clearly and concisely. When he has to say something, he doesn't use filler words but he doesn't sound stilted.

6. Fanon - Wei Wuxian is a war criminal and feels guilty about his 'sins' all the time.

Canon - While he has regrets, he doesn't accept blame for things he didn't do. The narrative doesn't punish him because he was pushed into the corner every time and had to choose between life and death.

7. Fanon - Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng eventually reconcile, JC organizes WWX's wedding and invites him to the Lotus Pier.

Canon - They do not reconcile by the end of the novel. In the extras, JC's behavior is shown to be unchanged.

8. Fanon - JC is 'forced' to submit to the will of the sects and turn his back on WWX.

Canon - By the time the incident came around, YunmengJiang was already in a good position. He didn't need to bow to the will of the sects. JGS clearly provoked his jealousy and JC didn't acknowledge the life-debt he owed WN and WQ.

These are just some of the common tropes we have seen in fanfics. There is also a tendency to copy WWX's characterization (not personality, but his morality, his tendency to protect others, and his willingness to do what is right) onto Jiang Cheng.

In general, Pocketful will not recommend fics that we believe have a lot of fanon tropes or compromise Wei Wuxian or Lan Wangji's characters. If we do recommend something, we will tag it. Fics submitted to our events must follow novel canon characterization as much as possible but our primary concern is always fics that compromise WWX or LWJ's character.

Hi anon! apologies for the delay, I had to find some links first. The truth is I don't read a lot of fanfic these days because I'm reading a lot of new novels (and unless someone I trust directly recommends something, or I know the author from tumblr I've had too many bad encounters with fanon to still keep trying new fics) But here are some places to start! :)

Vrishchika @vrishchikawrites (on tumblr)

justdoityoufucker @whiteflowercrimsonparasol (on tumblr)

New account dedicated to canon characterization recs!!

rec list by @deistarr

my personal list of v old favorites

Persona 5: The Psychology Behind Ryuji's Bluntness by  LolaLink