#jfm

You know what the last thing Jiang Fengmian, the man who supposedly "loves Wei Wuxian like a son" says to Wei Wuxian ? "A-Ying... look after A-Cheng". That's it. Not a goodbye, not a "take care of yourself", nada. Just instructions. Jiang Cheng gets "A-Cheng. Be well". Wei Wuxian gets told to ensure that

You know who else did pretty much the exact same thing, five pages ago ? Yu Ziyuan, who tells Wei Wuxian that "even in death, you have to keep [Jiang Cheng] safe"

I cannot stress enough that this is fundamentally the same interaction. Sure, Yu Ziyuan is infinitely harsher with her words and more abusive with her actions, but her last actions are an exact replica of her husband's - they comfort Jiang Cheng like parents, because they ARE his parents, and then they order Wei Wuxian to protect their son.

And that's why I'll never buy the idea that Jiang Fengmian loved Wei Wuxian more than he did his own son. He may have LIKED Wei Wuxian more, but that was because he LOVED the man Wei Wuxian reminded him of - his father Wei Changze. And he may not LIKE Jiang Cheng, for being more akin to Madam Yu than Fengmian, but it's undeniable that he loves him

And the real fucked part ? Wei Wuxian KNOWS this. He KNOWS that he's second-best !! He's accepted that !! You know who DOESN'T know that ? Jiang Cheng. Madam Yu. To a certain extent, I believe even Jiang Fengmian himself.

🎵 here fishy fishy fishy🎵

y'all wish you knew half of the stupid cssr/wcz stuff i drew (they're all mostly in wip hell)

Something about Wei Wuxian's inherited vengeance.

Where did Wei Wuxian get that vengeance from? Mild-mannered Jiang Fengmian? Benevolent and kind Jiang Yanli? Cangse Sanren, who Wei Wuxian remembers saying something along the lines of remember the good things people do for you not the bad? Wei Changze?

The child of Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze would've likely done something along the lines of protecting the common people and fighting for justice during the Sunshot campaign, but did Wei Wuxian do that?

No, I tell you truly, Wei Wuxian is also the child of Yu Ziyuan. Did they have anything resembling a healthy relationship? No. But the child of Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze wouldn't slaughter thousands in unholy vengeance. Wouldn't extract oceans of blood for every drop stolen.

But the child of Yu Ziyuan would.

That isn't to say, he's only the child of Yu Ziyuan, no, we see glimpses of the influences of his other parental figures throughout the story.

Look at how he doesn't flinch from leaving the proverbial (paradise) mountain to save the wen remnants (CSSR), look at his compassion for the common people (Jiang Yanli); His sense of loyalty (Wei Changze), level headedness (Jiang Fengmian).

Something about how conscious he is of debt. Does that stem from his inherent preference of righteous action? His desire to do right? Yes. But I wouldn't discount his awareness of debt also coming from a quasi-maternal figure like Yu Ziyuan. Now there is a woman aware of debt, what she owes and what is owed to her.

Everyone is shaped by the adult figures in their life, and we inherit many things from them, such as traumas, perspectives and traits.

Wei Wuxian only gritted his teeth and just turn around to leave, adjusting his holding on little A-Ying.

Jiang Fengmian was surprised by the stranger ignoring his request and tried to persuaded him to hand over the child.

"Wait! Please just let me explain!" one hand reaching out to stop him. A-Ying only look back in confusion.

It wasn’t Jiang Yanli’s job nor duty to protect Wei Wuxian from her mother, but her father's. Jiang Fengmian should be the one being held accountable on not doing enough for Wei Wuxian. Jiang Fengmian was a grown-up trained man, a cultivator, he was a sect leader and had power. Jiang Fengmian also was the one who brought Wei Wuxian in, he was the one who should’ve stood up for Wei Wuxian whenever his wife tried to abuse him physically or emotionally. He was the one who didn’t do enough, and the one whose duty was to protect his supposedly ward.

Jiang Yanli, on the other hand, was a physically weak girl who was always being berated and downplayed by her own mother, and she was only around three years older than Wei Wuxian. She was a kid too. It was definitely not her duty to protect him or stand up for him.

But she did.

She did try to protect him as much as she could till the end. She tried her best even when she didn’t have to because she wanted to, and she loved him as a little brother. She was the one who made him feel loved in his childhood, that’s why he loves her so much.

Also, I really think she protected him successfully. I don’t know why people expect her to be some kind of heroine or superwoman or want her to be one, but she doesn’t need to be that. Just loving him and demonstrating this love is enough. She just needs to be herself to make him happy, and making someone happy is a way on itself of protecting someone. She's more than enough.

Jiang Yanli didn’t fail, she gave Wei Wuxian all she could, and even died for him. It was her blood brother who failed. It was the mob who failed.