#at this point in time lan “cannot talk about his emotions” wangji and jiang “bitches and complains as affection” cheng and wei “arrogance

[lazycranberrydoodles]

wei wuxian really put his whole pussy into the donghua yiling patriarch reveal huh

[jadedbirch]

I love little scenes in The Untamed that upon rewatch strike me as verily so gay.  One such scene is in episode 45 and features everyone’s favorite future murder victim, Sect Leader Yao.  (It wasn’t me, I just found his corpse right here, he fell on my sword five times!)

Sect Leader Yao as always managed to invite himself into the cool kids’ boat, so he’s gossiping (i.e. talking shit) with a bunch of extras, in front of Nie Huaisang, Sect Leader Ouyang, and also literally right behind Jiang Cheng’s back.  First, he starts off talking shit about Su She, then this inevitably leads to him throwing shade at JGY, and then my favorite part happens.  Sect Leader Yao says “This Wei Wuxian, as bad as he is, he cannot always tell lies. I just heard that...” And Sect Leader Yao starts whispering to his disciples, apparently loud enough for Jiang Cheng to have an Emotion, and then there’s lots of teenage-like giggling while Nie Huaisang looks like he’s about to throw up, and everyone else is all “Tee hee, I heard the same thing!  No wonder!”

In the meantime, Jiang Cheng makes this face towards the boat where Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have retired to (more on that in a moment).  

Now, what could they possibly be gossiping about that’s so funny?  I think the inference is supposed to be something raunchy about JGY, but the thing is, Wei Wuxian didn’t accuse him of anything to his face at Jinlintai, so there was nothing for Sect Leader Yao to overhear, and no one has heard from Sisi and Bicao yet, so what could possibly be so juicy?  What could he have JUST heard? And why would it make Jiang Cheng look like he’s going to stab a bitch?

So, I feel compelled to remind everyone that according to my very extensive analysis, Lan Wangji has by this point changed a very unconscious Wei Wuxian (and himself) out of his clothes, like completely, the entire outfit and accessories because he’s very devoted like that.  I have to imagine, in plain sight of... everyone and his own poor Uncle (as if it wasn’t bad enough that Lan Qiren had to see Wei Wuxian wearing Wangji’s underthings in front of his salad).  And then presumably carried him to that PRIVATE boat to continue sleeping it off while he holds vigil over his beloved’s slumber and plays romantic qin music for the bae. 

Because when Wei Wuxian wakes up, he’s a) wearing a totally different outfit and b) has no idea what is going on.  If that’s not enough to give Sect Leader Yao things to gossip about, I don’t know what is! (Huaisang and I are judging you, Sect Leader Yao.)

To sum up, my theory is that all the giggling is about the #shameless #canoodling Disgustoids (currently sharing a boat), who as we know will arrive at Lotus Pier looking like conjoined twins and end up causing a scene.  Wow, the build up to the blow up at Lotus Cove starts here. 

(As ever, my gratitude to @significanceofmoths for the illustrative gifs of all the pretty boys)

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 22

It feels so good to see these two together, talking about old times, and most importantly, not arguing. It's as if this was the conversation that was meant to happen back in Yiling, but it didn't because emotions were too high. I guess it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Wei Wuxian has time to think about and come to the understanding that Lan Wangji isn't fighting him, but instead showing concern. And Lan Wangji gets to hear Wei Wuxian's side of the story, about what he did those three months in the Burial Grounds. It's so refreshing to have this release after so much tension had built up, where the two of them are just open and honest with each other. And you can see how Wei Wuxian's relationship with Lan Wangji is different from his relationship to everyone else. While we get to see him being vulnerable with Jiang Yanli, he won't tell her everything; we see him connecting with Jiang Cheng again, but as is his temperament, Jiang Cheng is often flippant and dismissive, and only really cares that Wei Wuxian is back within the Jiang Clan fold. Lan Wangji really cannot be satisfied until he knows what's been going on; he wants to be reassured that Wei Wuxian is okay in both mind and body, he wants to know that he's not gone to the dark side per se.

And this moment is so pivotal here. Now that they've finally talked and gotten everything out that they've both been ruminating on over the past however long (idk timelines lol), Wei Wuxian is in a place where he can say he'll accept Lan Wangji's help. Wei Wuxian doesn't agree to it begrudgingly, but I think it's a hopeless agreement. Unless you know about his lack of a Golden Core, his response seems odd--maybe you think he's tired, maybe you think he's just doing it to appease Lan Wangji, but is being dishonest. With the knowledge of the transfer, you can see that he is agreeing to appease Lan Wangji, but not in a lazy or dishonest way: he knows that he can never learn the sword again, but he allows Lan Wangji to at least help him with his temperament. I don't think it's him agreeing to get Lan Wangji off his back, I think instead he's letting Lan Wangji know how important he is to Wei Wuxian--he's special.

After Wei Wuxian agrees to letting Lan Wangji help, he walks away smiling. He doesn't let Lan Wangji see it either. I feel that he's indescribably happy that with so many changes in his life, he has his relationship with Lan Wangji back--he has his best friend, he has someone who he can trust. And remember, he's not concerned about his temperament being overwhelmed--Wei Wuxian has always considered himself a prodigy, so while this is challenging, he believes that what he learned from the Gusu Lan Clan is enough. Lan Wangji, on the other hand, is still very concerned, and he devotes all of his free time to figuring out ways to help Wei Wuxian, to steady his mind and temperament.

So, while I'm watching this filler, I'm imagining a terrible scenario they could have done. When you're adapting a book or a play or really anything, it's not uncommon to add scenes, right? CQL has plenty of added scenes for context and padding, plus shit they just made up. Okay, so this would fall into the latter category. Imagine if they had had Lan Wangji get turned into a puppet/Urukai, and then there's some big, dramatic way that Wei Wuxian has to save him and turn him back, and it only brings them closer together as brothers in arms/whatever bs they were trying to sell us without making it romantic. Sounds like a terrible idea, right? Aren't you glad the writers had enough integrity and respect for the novel that they didn't do that? I complain about things that were added or changed as well, but if they had given me an actual explicit acknowledgment of wangxian love, I would have been happy. Of course, censorship is a bitch, so that's a no go. The point of this is that it could have been a lot worse.

Oh, god. Soup drama. Thank you to that person who posted the soup drama in Lan Wangji's POV. You are amazing, and that post always makes me cackle.

Ah, but this is canon to the novel if I remember correctly. It's totally valid and is actually kind of sad for Yanli, but I still think it's hilarious the way Wei Wuxian just takes off like a shot without knowing what's going on. The thing is, Jiang Yanli is just embarrassed about the whole thing and wants to leave, but of course Wei Wuxian wants revenge. He still harbors no love for Jin Zixuan, and any chance he gets to put the peacock in his place, he'll take.

Yanli is tugging on him with both hands, and Wei Wuxian doesn't move. He is just standing there, glaring at Jin Zixuan. There are two people in the world who Wei Wuxian will defend forever: Jiang Yanli and Lan Wangji--and Jin Zixuan has just offended one of them. Wei Wuxian is beyond pissed. And now couple that with how he was trapped in a sunless graveyard for three months, has been doing nothing but fighting since he's been out, and is using his spiritual power in a dangerous and unstable method. His mood, my friends, is not great right now.

I love how Lan Wangji looks inside the tent, and then proceeds to immediately nope out of there. I blame that soup drama post for everything that I see now, because it really does look like he's just thinking, "Ugh, soup drama again." But in all seriousness, I think this is just Lan Wangji feeling awkward again. I think he came out of genuine concern for Jiang Yanli, because remember Wei Wuxian took off without even hearing what was going on, but when he sees that it's clearly a matter between her and Jin Zixuan, he leaves. This isn't his business, and it also involves romance, because of course he remembers how they were betrothed until the fight broke out in Cloud Recesses. Regardless of how Lan Wangji carries himself and how he's so respected as a cultivator, he's still a young man, who still feels awkward about the idea of love and doesn't really want to be around any of it--lovers' quarrels and whatnot.

The other thing is, they don't pan over to Lan Wangji for no reason. Perhaps he's still remembering the conversation he had with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng back in Yiling: this is a Jiang Clan affair. And this time, he's choosing to bow out when he realizes it isn't his business. However, he doesn't want to go far, because he knows how dangerous Wei Wuxian really is, especially if he loses his cool.

Honestly, Jin Zixuan is such a dick here. Every time I think he's made progress, he takes a step backward. Jiang Yanli is the sweetest person, and is just giving him soup every day to provide him with some comfort. We're to understand that she is a good cook and her soup is The Best, so she wants to do something nice for him, perhaps bring him the comfort of home in the place that is farthest from home, and he practically throws it back in her face. It's a total misunderstanding, but my heart breaks for her. And after this moment, Jin Zixuan starts to try harder. I think he finally sees who she is, what kind of person she is, and understands how genuine and loving she has always been. He finally opens his eyes and gets to know her as a person, not as the girl he's engaged to, not as the girl he was engaged to, not as the girl his parents want him to marry--but as the girl who he's interested in.

Not a lot to talk about this episode. I swear, half of it is just fighting. But let's take a moment to appreciate Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji fighting together. I am a sucker for this sort of thing, so I love seeing Lan Wangji swoop in and knock a baddie's sword out of the way to protect Wei Wuxian. It feels good seeing that and seeing them on the same side, fighting together.

Wei Wuxian tried it their way. He tried to fight without using Chenqing, but the fight was impossible. As stated before, the puppets are unkillable, so there was no way to win just by fighting them, and obviously what Nie Mingjue was doing wasn't helping. The only way to survive at this point was to try and control the puppets into working against Wen Ruohan. There's a shot of Lan Wangji before this, where he looks concerned, but I think he even knows that they had no other choice.

This was a short one, sorry! But really, I'm not going to babble about nothing. So much fighting and not a lot of dialogue or other things really happened. We're just getting through major plot points right now to be honest.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

[inknose]

mdzs read diary part IV, the end

It’s inspiring how much self care wwx is gonna finally get now that his husband will go along with whatever he does, so he’s gotta look out for lwj’s well being if not his own. that is emphatically the STUFF

dragging my hands down I face as I read this, after all these chapters of getting up close and personal with ghouls bleeding from every orifice, slaying ancient beasts, rebelling against the entire cultivation world, the two of them are absolutely paralyzed by middle school crush sleepover math

chicken

he actually drew kissy doodles .... he....

IDK I THINK I JUST DOCUMENTED THIS PART CUZ I WAS STILL SCREAMING you cant expect me to have very useful things to say at this point

this is torture you are both so mushy you are so GONE

This part really stood out to me, it’s an attitude I feel like wwx implies with his inner narration a few times but most clearly says here: he’s not one for allowing himself to exaggerate how bad his circumstances are/could be even a little bit - he’s already lived through some extreme low points and found a way to keep going, so he never makes sweeping statements about what he couldn’t live without (Inner JingYi: you’re supposed to say you’d be lost without him here!!!) Instead he seems to accept as a given that being alive doesn’t guarantee him any pleasantness or joy at all, and as a result his feelings toward being in TRUE LOVE are surprisingly pragmatic, but also colored with such gratitude. There are a lot of things in the novel that struck me, like this, as being just a little to the left of familiar tropes/sentiments, and were more touching for it. Whether it be the influence of culture difference as opposed to what I’m used to reading in most western romance stories, or MXTX’s unique outlook, or a combination of both, it was really refreshing and made me pause over it. Not “I can’t imagine living without you” but “I could be living without you, but instead I get to be with you and I think that’s the best thing that could happen.”

ADJFDKFJ THE UST BEING SO STRONG THAT EVEN THE VILLAIN COMMENTS ON IT IN THE MIDDLE OF EXECUTING HIS EVIL PLANS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WILL NEVER FAIL TO MAKE ME LAUGH MY ASS OFF. hes like god damn! here I thought I had problems

it was at this moment that I realized we were doing this Now... I’m still recovering. What a scene. I am so glad I saw the most incredible fanart soon afterwards, bc the fact that someone has already drawn a perfect comic of this part means I don’t have to

I love you so much, you are so annoying, you are perfect... I like how he’s been experiencing openly requited love for all of ten minutes but he’s already figured out how to weaponize it to piss people off

doing!!! his!!! job!!!!!

ahh... it’s a really good story. JGY is a great character. One of the most interesting differences for me between drama watching vs. novel reading experience is that without an actor to bat his vulnerable doe eyes at you and smile faintly with his cute dimples, the book does not go much out of its way to try to lull the reader into a false sense of security around him or *endear* him to you the way the show does. But just by seeing events through wei wuxian’s POV, its still enough to evoke pity or understanding towards him. The overall impression is a bit more detached though, there’s less emphasis on the spectacle of how he could manipulate everyone closest to him and more of a general feeling of resigned tragedy that everyones the worst on this bitch of an earth.

I CANNOT DEAL WITH YOU FOR EVEN ONE MORE SECOND!!!!

I clearly paused to take note of less and less parts at the end & the extras due to: a) too excited to reach the end b) too spicy to photograph and c) too sleepy cuz I kept reading in the middle of the night. but I absolutely took the time for Bro We Are Teens appreciation corner:

I’d absolutely read 40 more extra chapters of their monster-of-the-week field trip antics.

god... poor Jin Ling now basically has to deal with divorced parents that talk shit about each other to him whenever he is saying with one of them. except they are both his uncles. just a disasterhood of all uncles from start to finish. AUUUGH wei wuxian and jiang cheng have fucked me up completely, I dream of them reconciling but I also REFUSE to believe it would ever be easy. let me know if theres a fanfic that absolutely tortures you for decades before they hug

HAHAHA oh no this man ain’t making it to immortality thats for damn sure. HE’S JUST GONNA TRY AS HARD AS HE CAN HIS WHOLE LIFE NOT TO LOOK AT HIM BUT THEYRE *MARRIED* SDLKFJSF ohhhh it’s too funny, like... the mundane domestic family drama IN the fantastical swords and sorcery setting is what really ratchets up these things from amusing to fucking hilarious I think

aaaa the end... final random thoughts? No not final, I would like to please keep discussing at length and exhaustively, all the time please - CQL has gotta be one of the best TV adaptations I’ve seen. ANY adaptation of anything would be lucky to be so good!! reading the novel has just made me appreciate it even more.

- I don’t think I can do justice to what I find most fascinating about comparing the two versions briefly, to do that I need to get drunk and ramble at my friends for hours but... the condensed version is something like this. Really all the significant differences between the two versions (besides the ones which can be attributed to censorship and therefore aren’t worth discussing) are a side effect of the structure of how the story is told - there’s barely anything changed arbitrarily. Aside from having a cold opening, the drama sticks to a very linear version of the story, and I think for a TV show or film, that’s probably the best way to do it. We see everything, we get shocked and tricked and betrayed and surprised along with the characters, we feel the biggest impact at the climactic scenes having experienced all the build-up. The novel on the other hand is not only much more non-linear in WHEN we learn bits and pieces of information, but that information is also obfuscated under wei wuxian’s multiple layers of Unreliable Narratoritis, which are as follows: 1) difficulty remembering things because of personality/avoiding painful memories/actual memory loss, 2) No Homo Goggles still on, and 3) a wry sense of humor that makes the reader unsure of how much they can trust his attitude toward things, especially near the beginning. The experience of reading is a puzzle the reader has to mentally piece together through all of the above listed camouflage, and the puzzle itself is a three-sided mystery: One - How Bad of a guy was Wei WuXian really, and how exactly did all the bad stuff in his life go down; Two - wangxian epic pride & prejudice gambits; Three - political murder mystery. (I love stories like this btw... though I fully admit I’m glad I watched first this time bc it might have taken me a long time to tackle otherwise.) Because of this, where the drama wants to pull you in and submerge you in all the most potent emotional parts, the novel in direct contrast deliberately side-steps around these things and asks that you hurt yourself by filling in the blanks. In fact the more intense emotions and painful memories involved, whether it be his relationship with jiang yanli, his DEATH, the darkest days of war times etc, the more the novel evasively withholds details. I actually really like both styles of storytelling but each one is obviously way better suited to its medium. ANYWAY.... THATS BASICALLY WHERE MY BRAINS AT WHILE IM READING GAY SWORD WIZARD BOOKS

- The extras are so saturated with domestic married bliss that it’s a good thing I stopped taking pictures because I’d just take a picture of every page. this is too much for me to take... I did jump the gun a few times and read a few fanfics while I was still mid-read of the book (I tried to hold out but alas I am mortal) and at one point after finishing I was like “wow what fic was it in where lwj says something cute and wwx kisses him in public but they’re in the corner of the restaurant so no one really sees... OH NO WAIT that was actually in there.” and ... and that’s the LEAST OF IT... *stares into the distance* theyre married wow

- I ofc couldn’t help but see a few vague blogs beforehand so honestly I was braced for something like, wildly ooc for the sake of porn to happen in the extras... I definitely appreciate how the incense burner porn interludes could be uhhh a lot for many people and not my personal cup of tea in terms of smut however [here follows the words of a poisonous frog who has dwelt her whole life in the rainforests of BL] the concept is also surprisingly SWEET SDFLKJF like wwx sees lan wangji’s darkest mixed-up violent teenage fantasies and he’s just like aww babe you had a crush on me!! just... good for them

- I swear I’m not gonna rehash every cute married thing they do but wei wuxian grading papers in the tub........................rEALLY GOT ME

- I want to Draw - ok thats enough if I keep going I’ll just write “wei wuxian grading papers in the tub” seven more times probably

[sleepymarmot]

“One or two of the 3zun are women, and it still takes place in the canon-ish patriarchal setting” variations

Meng Yao is a woman: 

This is only one step away from canon, just dragging the subtext into the text; this is a story that I wouldn’t be surprised to see in any period show. Instead of a prostitute’s child, she is a former prostitute seeking better life. (How she managed to leave when her mother couldn’t is another question that requires research into how medieval Chinese brothels worked.) 

I can see two paths: as a cultivator (and it seems like there aren’t many female cultivators in the show) or as a courtesan. If she’s a cultivator, she may or may not be cross-dressing for more safety and respect. In addition of the canonical accident of birth that disadvantaged Meng Yao, being born in a brothel, she also laments the other one that made her life so much harder. Everyone openly mocks her on screen for making a career via sect leaders’ beds (which she may or may not be doing). Nie Mingjue’s victim-blaming and the swings he takes at her are made even more uncomfortable to watch; does the narrative side with him even in this case? 

Jin Guangshan doesn’t care for Jin Guangyao not only because she’s illegitimate, but because he has no need for a daughter. But she can be employed to organize parties, manage the home budget, smile and look pretty, as is expected of a woman. Meng Shi must have foreseen that the daughter would be unwanted by the father -- so her reasons for keeping the child were probably different than in canon. Was it pity and love, could she not bring herself to harm this tiny defenseless human being? Was the sunk cost of pregnancy too high? Did the superiors tell her the brothel could use another girl?

Would Guangshan’s death go differently, because Guangyao would feel more solidarity with her former sisters in the trade -- or would she hand-pick the women who made her life hell? In the Rusong situation, she is more sympathetic than in canon: it is Guangyao who becomes pregnant and still enacts agency to carry the child to term and raise him; perhaps she is still hoping to find a way for him to live until the very end. When m!Qin Su finds out, he becomes violent because his wife deprived him of his heir. Or maybe this marriage doesn’t happen at all: if Lady Qin’s son is the husband, she can go directly to him... Except, if we go by the novel’s timeline, this is even worse: she already bears the child of incest. She can get rid of it, but Qin Su knows, and that means he can make the knowledge public whenever he wants. Could Guangyao silence him by death without arousing suspicion? Or would he have an immense amount of power over her from that moment on?

She has even less physical power than in canon and probably doesn’t even carry a soft sword -- maybe a small dagger but mostly just cunning, poison, a couple of strings -- a woman’s weapons. In the end, she is killed by her male lovers in gendered ways -- one pierces her with a sword, the other wrings her neck. Her name remains forever etched into history as another great beauty who bewitched a powerful man and brought the country to near ruin.

Nie Mingjue is a woman: 

Mingjue is the first female leader the Nie sect has ever had. Normally the position would go to her younger brother, but she has a commanding personality and is good with a blade, and Huaisang is still a child. She is met with distrust: how can this girl handle a saber, let alone rule a sect? So she overcompensates. She trains tirelessly, determined not to be inferior to her male ancestors. Her manner and judgements are harsh -- she cannot allow herself to be seen as weak. She barks at Huaisang so that nobody could call her “motherly”. 

When she meets Meng Yao, she thinks “This one must understand what it means to be seen as inferior”. But taking him as her confidant was a mistake. In the Nightless City, this nice man talks about how much less she and her saber are than her father and his. He makes her cry in front of everyone -- nobody was ever allowed to see her cry. She is the only woman in the room, and the nice man she used to trust kicks her to the ground. An hour later, he makes an innocent face and complains to his best friend how irrational and hysterical she is to blame him. Nobody has seen how he hurt her, and nobody will care -- because he is so smart and talented and a hero of the war, he must have had his reasons, don't be a bitch about it.

She is loved, feared, respected by many -- but still, she knows about the joke that it's particularly dangerous to anger her at a certain time of the month. As years pass, people talk more and more behind her back: this behavior is not proper for a woman and a woman is not suited for this position, she is unstable, she is too violent, it's just wrong for a woman not to have a husband and a child at this age. Her early onset of qi deviation only confirms the public opinion. Nobody would dare say that, you're just imagining things, Jin Guangyao says; why do you still distrust me, your emotions are blinding you, Jin Guangyao chides; you’re just unwell, and I can help you, I know you better than anyone else, Jin Guangyao insists. When she finds out it was him driving her mad and then using it to undermine his reputation, it is too late, and he silences her even in her final moments, and then her body is a trophy in this Bluebeard’s secret chamber. But at least, when she comes back as vengeful undead, like many women wronged by men before and after her, he is finally truly afraid.

Lan Xichen is a woman: 

Ah, aren’t both the Jiang and the Lan blessed with their eldest daughters? Beautiful, hardworking, kind, selfless, so caring towards their younger brothers. What a shame that marriage to sons of Jin Guangshan became their doom.

Is Xichen even a sect leader in this one? If we go by the novel timeline, when the previous sect leader dies Wangji is already adult enough to fight a war and Xichen goes missing, so it would make sense for Wangji to inherit the position due to the f!Xichen’s combination of gender and absence. Can you marry a man and remain a head of your own clan instead of entering his? In any case, Xichen becomes Jin Guangshan’s daughter-in-law and therefore is expected to respect and obey him.

She married for love, breaking off the betrothal with Nie Mingjue that had existed for years. That must be, of course, the sole reason Nie Mingjue holds a grudge against her husband, and she is always ready to console her beloved. His life has been so hard already -- to support him with all her might is not only her duty as a wife, but her calling as a believer in justice. Her husband is everything her education told a perfect gentleman should be. Oh, poor, naive girl. Everyone feels pity tinged with admiration for this heartbroken yet still loyal widow who will never marry again.

Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen are women: 

A combination of the above. Jin Guangyao is a career man, facing great adversity during his climb; he needs to be adored at least in private. Nie Mingjue, Lan Xichen, Qin Su... The string of noblewomen he used on the way to the top is remarkable. After discarding Mingjue, he takes Xichen as a lover, too enamored with him to ask for more, and then marries Qin Su to solidify his position in the Jin sect. Nie Mingjue knows what he's really like, and can do nothing; this Fiona Apple song is more or less her perspective as she looks at her successors. 

Meng Yao and Lan Xichen are women: 

This is about Sisterhood and Female Solidarity. Lan Xichen is an educated and virtuous woman, she knows talent, humility and hard work when she sees them, and will not let them remain underappreciated. She cannot argue openly with her betters, of course, she will keep her head down more often than not. But what Xichen can do is to always offer a warm embrace to a sister in need. Xichen has respect for her background -- it is only admirable for a woman to sacrifice her body to feed her mother. And oh, how A-Yao has suffered! Nobody else would understand, Xichen is the only one in the world for her. When other point fingers at A-Yao, Xichen knows it's their own wickedness talking. It will end one day; true merit will be seen and rewarded, just like Xichen has seen it. I assume Xichen has been betrothed since childhood to Nie Mingjue; Xichen loves her husband dearly, but protecting A-Yao from his anger is always a priority to her. Especially when her poor husband’s health gets worse and worse, and only A-Yao’s kind words can serve as any consolation. 

...When, at the end, Xichen learns how A-Yao used her most passionate ideals against her, she is crushed. Maybe the world was right after all. When a servant or a disciple comes to her for protection against some man who scares her, Lan Xichen closes her eyes.

Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue are women: 

This is a competition. They approach gender in opposite ways: Nie Mingjue must not be seen as weak, Meng Yao uses perceived weakness to her advantage. They cannot exist in the same social circle without undermining the efforts of each other. Lan Xichen is nice, he’s trying to make peace between them -- he is a man, he has never faced this, he will never understand. It is a fight to the death, and Jin Guangyao prevails -- or at least she would have, if this story didn’t have fierce corpses.

[trans-axian-archive]

me, opening a 40 slide power point presentation about how wei wuxian has adhd:

- literally his entire Thing is that he just goes so hog over using demonic cultivation and not letting resentful energy effect him that he literally cannot focus on anything else. that's a hyperfixation babes!

- other hyperfixations include: finding a way to restore jiang chengs core/giving away his own, saving and protecting the wen survivors, getting to know lan wangji, bringing back wen ning and restoring him to his previous state, making the burial mounds livable

- cannot for the life of him pay attention in class

- always needs to be doin stuff!! wants to travel n move around! hates staying in one place and bein bored!

- has a hard time picking up on social cues, like the fact that lan wangji genuinely cares about him So Much or when it's not appropriate to make jokes

- goes big or goes home with his emotions. has never felt something Just A Little Bit in his entire life. literally is always crying and his intense emotions get in the way of both his every day life and and the larger aspects of it

- notoriously terrible memory. literally just forgets shit all the time ("who are you?")

- the cultivation world rejects him for his dark cultivation and he just fucking loses it. takes any kind of rejection really hard in general like the Numerous times other cultivators berated him/made fun of him for not carrying his sword and he got really angry/sad because of it. that's rsd babey!

- is easily angered and it's very intense when he loses his temper

- is just fucking talking all the goddamn time. does not stop. holy shit. even his actor mentions this

- forgets basic self care in general and especially when he's hyperfocusing on something. doesn't eat or sleep or bathe when he's focused on research about golden cores for jiang cheng. when he's taking care of his siblings he just,, Does Not Take Care Of Himself

- when he gets bored its Unbearable and he has to find Something to do

- doesn't really grasp the passage of time or how long things take and how that affects life and other people??

- literally THE most impulsive bitch. just does shit without thinking about it. has to save everyone and just fucking goes for it every time. has one brain cell that he doesnt listen to

- always spinnin his flute around! has to be fidgeting with somethin constantly!

- WILD fucking mood swings that boy is all over the place like a fucking tire swing in a hurricane

- very excitable and energetic about things!!

- has both an extremely heightened sense of empathy and is very lacking in it. empathizes with the wen survivors and jiang cheng to an extreme and almost debilitating extent. cannot process or understand why the cultivation world might be mad at him (even if it was out of good intent or provoked, he still did a lot of bad shit but couldn't understand how that hurt other people, at least for a long time)

feel free to add on if you think of things/have more examples of certain things on this list!!