Can’t help but wonder what the dynamics of the Jiang family would’ve been if Wei Ying was a little girl instead of a little boy.
First change I think would have to happen is that madam Yu would have to find different reasons to hate her, if she even continues hating her this much. This Wei Ying is not a threat to her son’s inheritance, or to her daughter’s prospects, so that is one part of the hatred not really being there anymore.
As a result of this, Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying’s relationship would be a bit less fraught, I think. Jiang Cheng is no longer constantly being compared to Wei Ying as “he’s the son your father actually wanted, he doesn’t love you”. He can instead take more joy in a second older sister, one who likes to wrestle with him and race him in the lakes, which his sister can’t really do, but who he also might be a bit more comfortable leaning on emotionally than he might’ve been a brother.
In this AU, Yanli might bear the brunt of the comparisons, but I also think she’s more well-equipped to handle it? Female Wei Ying would still be a strong cultivator, which Yanli very much isn’t, but Yanli’s identity doesn’t revolve around her cultivation the way Jiang Cheng’s does. She’s slightly older, and as sad as it is, more used to being looked down on. She doesn’t resent Wei Ying her success the same way she doesn’t resent Jiang Cheng his.
There would also have to be a change in the rumours. I feel like one of the rumours, instead of being “Wei Wuxian is Jiang Fengmian’s bastard with Cangse Sanren” (although that rumour isn’t completely gone either), would turn into a slightly more sinister “Jiang Fengmian couldn’t have the mother, so he’s raising the daughter to become his concubine/second wife/replace his bitch of a wife”.
Which brings us to the final point: Jiang Fengmian. A lot about that man and his motives is left to speculation for the readers, and I saw many beautiful and incredibly valid interpretations of his motives. Maybe he genuinely just wanted to find his friends’ child to honour them. Maybe he wanted to earn a loyal guard to his son. Maybe he was trying to use Wei Ying as a replacement for the friends he lost.
Maybe he couldn’t have the mother, so he took the daughter.
I just think having a female Wei Ying can cause some interesting ripple effects that I’d love to explore, and isn’t just “slap different pronouns on character”.
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i promised i delivered i guess
not my best piece but nothing will really top the horse i drew when i was 10
justice for jiang yanli!! my most perfect girl (only behind wen qing) she deserved to raise her kid, love her husband and make lotus soup for her brothers
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There's that headcanon about how mad jiang cheng is with jiang yanli for sacrificing her life for wei wuxian... Which is interesting! Still, I do think that jiang cheng deeply understands how it feels to have to chose in a split second between wei wuxian and duty/life, yk. And I read jiang cheng as the kind of guy who doesn't resent his loved ones harmful actions when he understands their motivations.
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He's constantly on guard with everybody, constantly facing rejection from every direction, but there's only one safe place he can go to, and feel secure enough to rest.
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yknow those fics where jiang yanli lives and everything is automatically perfect??? best ones out there
was reading a fic where she was summoned by qin su (also we should talk more about her and jin rusong???) and it made MY DAY she was perfect as she always is and i love her also old fanart
(we love the quality) 1 like and i make new yanli fanart
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