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Honestly I think the novel (which is by default WWX) and the fandom tends to forget that JC is already 35 years old (or at least around there by the time WWX revisits Lotus Pier). In the time that WWX has been dead as someone in their early 20s (maybe even late 10s), JC has + https://twitter.com/asideoftrashpl1/status/1355418881234325506
grown and changed tremendously. An easy comparison would be looking back at whatever age you are in. 23 year old me is not the same as 20 year old me, 18 year old me is not the same as 16 year old me so on so forth. The JC WWX is familiar with (and I stress familiar because +
it is rather obvious that the bond began to break the longer they were kept apart/lost communication) is probably what, 16 to 18 years old? And already a for eg: 2 year gap, between any age - 12 vs 14, 14 vs 16, 16 vs 18 etc is already huge. When novel WWX sees Lotus Pier he +
obviously gets confused because the JC he knows would probably never DREAM of changing anything in Lotus Pier. Never mind his ancestors, YZY/JFM would probably kill him if he did. But JC has had ample time to grow, and I'd like to think that he has matured enough that he knows +
better than to cling onto the past. In the years being alone, JC had had to face his complexes, insecurities and has, frankly speaking, a lot of time to think. To think about why he was loved lesser, was he loved lesser, where did it go wrong, was he truly a failure, how could +
he ever bring back Lotus Pier - and I'd like to think he made a lot of emotional breakthroughs (where it concerned himself at least). I'll like to think JC began to realise that he shouldn't have to live in the shadow of someone else and their expectations, that he is good +
enough on his own and that whatever changes he chooses to make should be done for HIM and not for anyone else. After all they're all dead any way - if he keeps thinking about them and never himself, I doubt JC would have even stayed alive. Which is also why, btw he doesn't +
actually murder WWX when he finds out it's him. He doesn't bar WWX from Lotus Pier and neither does he actually 'hurt' the man - for all the rumors that he tortured demonic cultivators whilst looking for WWX. It's the same reason why he lets things go in the end rather than +
fight back and utterly demolish WWX, WN or even LWJ. In all these years, JC has grown enough to know when there are some battles that just aren't worth fighting. A lot of people read the ending as JC being silenced, but in actual fact I think he just finally gives up on WWX. +
There's just simply no point wasting words on someone who isn't going to return that effort of communication and rebuilding. A very mature outlook that is naturally lost on WWX, WN and LWJ - after all the three have all been suspended in time. Two were actually dead/unconscious +
and the last was so filled with grief he never moved forward from it/his age. (Which is also the same reason why his love for WWX is so ardent and everlasting - the point is that he has never moved on). Anyway, the point is that I really liked the idea of canon JC changing +
things in Lotus Pier to suit his needs and his vision rather than molding it to someone else's expectations/thoughts. He's the only one who continuously chose Lotus Pier again and again and again. Damn right the man is allowed to make some better adjustments as he see fit. +
This is JC's home - the only person it should please is him. Lotus Pier was WWX's home, but that's the thing, it WAS. Jiangcheng can very well do whatever the fuck he wants with Lotus Pier and the fact that he actually does (in canon) is fucking great to me. Go do your +
reclaimation baobei! Take back what is yours and all those years spent trying to please other people and cleaning up after other people's messes! Move forward from the past - you don't have to hold the fort for someone who didn't choose to stay, go do your own thing! +
Jiangcheng maturing and growing up as best as he could, being aware of his own flaws and the mistakes of his family dynamics etc is *chefs kiss*. And the fact that it's out there in canon, that WWX/fandom notices and it just flies right over his/their head? Beautiful. +
Because unless you love Jiangcheng with all your heart and with everything you have in you? Unless you love Jiangcheng more than anything and anyone else in the world? You don't really deserve to know that he has changed - you only deserve to know what you're allowed to see. +
And that's exactly what canon WWX, who chose the Wens over YMJ/Jiangcheng, who chose LWJ over JC, gets.
If you don't put Jiangcheng first, you sure as hell don't need to know how much he has changed. And that's my take on canon MDZS - no offence if you feel differently.
If you don't put Jiangcheng first, you sure as hell don't need to know how much he has changed. And that's my take on canon MDZS - no offence if you feel differently.
