#i love this scene... wwx being chaotic good

[bijoumikhawal]

Okay I've read the main body of SVSSS. I think it's really good as a meta parody and gives some interesting insight into MXTX's mind- I think some of the criticism of her work is unfair and this book is a pretty good example in parts (the running commentary about misogyny in stallion novels is a lot more unambiguous than her accurately depicting misogyny in others wirks like MDZS, though I don't understand why the latter gets read as an indication of her as a person).

However I don't think it works well as a romance story. There are main two problems; one,that while all of MXTX's main characters are people that have gone through the wringer and lashed out on others because of it, sometimes in really grusome and reprehensible ways, we get to see who they are not just before it goes to shit, but after they've acted in a such a way and either by intentional choice or just the passing of time, behave in a kinder and more upright manner. SVSSS's main story ends right after LBH isn't being an antagonistic force driven to the pits. Additionally, LBH is (understandably) a very misanthropic character which makes the way you'd show him learning how to be a person not driven by grief, fear, and anger different.

The other point is SY/SQQ's internalized homophobia is handled in a way that distracts somewhat from his feelings for LBH, and this combines with a lot of the things taken as romantic by other characters being misinterpretions of his internal world. Some of the latter seems to be him bullshitting himself though- "I'm not crying because I'm facing down my beloved student who I've failed horribly and hates me before I off myself without knowing for sure if my contingency plan will work, the sun's just in my eyes", sure Jan. Given how WWX acts its clear that MXTX now knows how to balance internalized homophobia with the character falling in love even if he doesn't realize it, and TGCF doesn't really have internalized homophobia on the protagonists part as far as I've read, he's just a sworn virgin. (However one could argue HC had some issues when he was human depending on how you read the Land of the tender scene).

SVSSS is short compared to her other works, and while I'm not sure how one would do it, having us spend some time with LBH and SQQ after they've gotten rid of his evil sword and SQQ is helping him work through his misanthropy, desire for control, and abandonment issues would improve their relationship from a story perspective, especially because of how obsessive and unhealthy LBH has spent... 8 years of his life regarding SQQ. There's already a foundation with LBH taking SQQ back to his home peak to be taken care of after his near death experience and leaving alone when he gets chased off, and SQQ choosing to go with him with no pressure on him to do so other than LBH's wellbeing (which is no longer tied to things like the apocalypse). I just think there needs to be a bit more between that and what I'm reading in the extras so far.

And it is needed because of how much LBH's dark behavior was directed at SQQ. WWX's dark behavior wasn't so targeted, LWJ's had an instance of targeting but a large part of the novel has been about him doing his best to respect WWX's boundaries and not repeat his parents relationship. I'm not up to snuff on what happened after XL's first banishment yet so I'll keep quiet on that. LBH is so desperate for this one person's affection that he almost destroys the world to ensure he has no other choice but him (and they have terrible fuck or die sex that no one enjoys about it). Evil sword possession making him decide this was a good idea or no, to work as a satisfying romance story, you need to after of all that. Especially because the evil sword had the ability to push him that far because of how chaotic and wrecked his mental and spiritual state were. They're still wrecked.

[gentil-minou]

omg mdzs!!!!!! congrats to see you getting into that!! do you have a fav character?

God the better question is WHO DONT I LIKE????

obviously obsessed with Wei Wuxian the prettiest little shit ever. He is nicknamed Bestie. I have a lot of feelings about him but mostly I think he is shojo manga heroine levels of wonderful and I love him for that.

Then we got Lan Wangji who has some of the BEST sass. I loved him in the drama because his acting was so good despite so few lines, but omg in the book is is AMAZING. The scene where they play tag bdsm style??? Obsessed he is baby. Also the novel makes me think he's ASD coded which makes me very happy yes.

His nickname is Boyfriend because of course. He is also shojo manga levels of heroine and hero and he rocks it. I will gift him many bunnies and ribbons to tie up wwx with sjsjfjjs.

I could watch them watch each other for hours ajdjjdjsjjd I'm usually good at not shipping real life people but god....please give me strength their bts videos are just sjfjkakfkks.

Then we get the other characters who all have important nicknames as well. Wen Ning is Puppy Bestie because he is a puppy. Im honestly in shock that his actor is actually one of the oldest cast members because um what????? This baby be 30+?????

I loved him and his sister so much and was so upset that her death was just like off screen????? Excuse me????? For my queen?????

She is Queen Bestie of course. I worship the ground she walks and honestly I need fix it fics. Also her friendship with wwx was so good????? Like I just wanted them to bffs why did they do her dirty whyyyyy.

Jiang Cheng is Angry Bestie. I don't need to explain myself. Boy needs therapy. I will not be the one offering it to him though he too much for me.

Or just give him bunnies I guess. I wish we spent more time on him and wwx reconciling but thats what fics will be for!

The youth kiddos are baby besties. A-Yuan gets an extra high pitched squeal added to his name because he is extra baby

I can't decide if they are my favorite but I'm so excited for all the fics about them being a family SO EXCITEDHDJFJKS (send recs if you got any btw)

Took me a while to warm up but Jin Ling was great and his scenes with wwx was just so much fun to watch. Also the actor is like the same age as lwj's and I'm like????? The skill to act that much like a whiney teenager. Amazing.

(Please send me fics where his parents are alive I need them I need them like air)

(Also side note: making the fearsome historied terrifying Yiling Patriarch afraid of doggies???? Genius!!!!)

Jiang Yanli made me sob so many times cause I spoiled myself early to not get attached to the characters who die but then of course I was an idiot and got attached anyways. She is Soup Bestie or Sister Bestie. Depends on the day.

The best part of their dynamic was me realizing I have chaotic middle child energy like wwx. And she's such a good big sister like she made me want to call my own and tell them I love them and thanks for making that god awful kraft Mac and cheese with soy sauce and Broccoli and did I mention I cried a lot? Like so much (please send fix it fics kthnx)

Lan Xichen is Brother Bestie but honestly he should really be the Number 1 Wangxian Shipper and Wingman.

Boy knew his lil brother was pining over a dead evil guy for decades and supported him. We stan.

I just realized I didn't give Nie Huisang a nickname oops but also i saw somewhere that his idea of faking incompetence so other people will get shit done is genius. I love him, I want to be him. Hence forth he shall be known as Girlboss Bestie.

^me every goddamn day of my adult life.

I kinda hate myself for this but I also have a soft spot for Xue Yang. He's such a petty little piece of shit but also his crazy and evil vibes were just so good. I think I wouldn't have felt the same way if I read the novel version first instead if the drama, but god did I love the way this actor brought him to life. He is called Psychotic Bestie and he wears that title with pride.

This scene did so many things to me it must have been bait but yes twas I, the baited.

Would personally like to sue mxtx for the emotional abuse that was the Yi City arc thank you. Blissfully ignoring canon to say that the moment Song Lan left that city A-Qing and Xiao Xingchen came back to life from the power of gay vibes and found family alone thank you very much.

I can't fit anymore gifs but the short answer is I love everyone I'm so deep deeeeeep deep in this and I think I'll be in here for a while

[butmorethanthis]

Western Danmei Fandom Archetypes

2ha mains - ‘READ THE BOOK READ OUR BOOK NOW sobs about HYX something about hole READ THE BOOK NOW shout out to the absolute unit’ - your book is a terrifying masterpiece and CWN is the kind of character Shakespeare could only dream of crafting and all you do is scream and make terrible jokes, excellent work

mdzs mains - they’re hard to hear over the sound of their own ongoing wars tbh - ‘the author is DEAD unless she says something that proves me right - everyday means everyday!!!! BUT ONLY WITH LUBE! WWX desecrated my mom’s corpse but it wasn’t HIS FAULT, Alexa play wangxian.mp3’ you have all the best and all the worst things about being a massive fandom and if you are not Chinese you need to be throwing flowers at the feet of the Chinese members of this fandom (and every Chinese culture fandom tbh, translations, cultural explainers and endless patience, folks are generous as hell) cus y’all are ANNOYING. Anyway, special shout out for the yi city youts, living in their own darkest timeline cus CQL mains won’t let you have dark and disturbing things

TGCF mains - the simpiest gong and the most smiley shou so quite often y’all miss the heart of darkness in your own story! TGCF is a jamboree of pain, stop selling it as sweet autumnal walks! The delusion that is Beefleaf is a collective trauma response to a deeply harrowing side plot that involved arguably MXTX’s most loveable side character! Jun Wu gives 2ha villains a run for their money in terms of corpse heavy architectural structures! That being said, canonical Self insert porn, and you have a ferret in a cute hat, which is fresh and exciting, not a dog or a fox or cat or a dragon like every fucker else, well done

SVSSS mains - I have to keep it real y’all are a bunch of edgelords, and smug as hell but I’m finna allow it because your (reluctant) gong is the sweetest (sqq if you topped him he might not cry! Just a thought. Ok he might cry less) and you’re right, witty meta with one (1) harrowing scene of like borderline consensual non con (if your focus is sqq) or just plain non con (if your focus is lbh? But the perpetrator is the system? a sword? Their partner trying to save their life?) ent for everyone and people misunderstand your chaotic ass text a lot, because they don’t want to ask difficult questions about ‘what consent even means’ and ‘the intricacies of a meta take on a genre that is from a culture they did not grow up in and found out about on tumblr’ So you know. Frighten people out of your fandom with your in jokes, it’s ok. Also a cumplane is a horrific image when you don’t know what that means, exemplary work.

WOH mains - my beloved Shanrens, y’all and your beloved cast deserved so much better than 813 and you have my whole heart. You are a bit unhinged, cus you only eat ice. Y’all are horny as hell, which makes sense cus your leads were stunning and push hard at the F of RPF, let’s keep it real. All these danmei characters are pretty dark, but yours don’t have a war to hide behind, they’re just like that, (I’m over simplifying, sometimes you have to eat your daddy to survive and that’s ok 😭😭) so you are the most feral of them all. Congratulations. I’m happy for people who’s focus is Yexie, but there are about 6,368 lesbians who found love in hopeless place just waiting for you to write about them, please, I don’t ask for much but write some strap on content I BEG. Speaking of which, shouts to the Nya-Xu girls, you’ve got everyone doing pet play on main and THAT? That is what fandom is about.

Guardian mains - you staggered, limped, dragged yourself across the floor so everyone else could shimmy forwards. You got a good theme tune, well done on your musical taste. Everyone needs to put respect on your name but they don’t, because your show ran out of money half way through 😭 and what little they had was spent almost exclusively on getting two gorgeous leading men and giving them NOTHING to work with (and the snake ladies wardrobe) 😭😭😭

Advance Bravely mains - you’re right, it’s a Dadaist masterpiece, but this shouldn’t be your main, beloved, please watch word of honour, gong jun is in it and everything.

Winter Begonia mains - the thing is, you want people to sit with you! Your show is beautiful in every way, and you advocate for it so softly, with such love. But you look like high art and it’s scaring the sluts away. Make some memes!

Sleuth mains - this fandom seems to divide cleanly into 30 somethings that are tired and might wake up in the middle of the night to strangle you at the slightest provocation and gender fuckers that want to be topped by Jin San and honestly? Mood. Y’all are kinkier than you’d think, much like the source material, but mostly you are just here to eat and sigh wistfully at Fu Meng Paul thirst traps while you write service top porn. If you read that as a RongZhi main and couldn’t see yourself you need to read it again.

Qi Ye mains - we get it, you can read, and yes, ZZS is darker than we ever knew and JBY is more of a mess and we need to be more scared of Wu Xi than we are, and Helian Yi is not prince Jin. Counter point: Prince Jin is a simp and it’s FUNNY, it’s nice having Xiyuan as like, ethereal couple goals and ZZS kills a toddler in SHL and then dumps WKX just for REMINDING HIM, we know what he is, even if he is pretending he does not see. It’s a real good and funny book though, you’re right.

Thousand autumn mains - one guy in your animation looks pretty hot and slutty with his shirt all open and the non jiang purple but you never really sell it, come on! Do some evangelism, we’re never getting HYX so I may as well read something.

BONUS nirvana in fire (it’s not a danmei but if you don’t watch it they take your non problematic consumer card away, and do you know what? That’s fair) - y’all are sophisticated. Smart. Aesthetes. You’re here for POETIC CINEMA, and will accept nothing less. But no one needs your meta, the show is clever enough on its own, stand down. Make some memes instead. We need more porn in this here fandom.

[ouyangzizhensdad]

The Mo Village arc and establishing the MC

MDZS is a sprawling book with many characters, but it seems that it was clearly important to MXTX to establish her MC’s characterisation very strongly from the start. Although the novel in its entirety leans toward providing a strong characterisation for WWX, I thought it’d be fun to look back at how it is conveyed to the readers in the first few chapters before the inciting incident at Dafan Mountain

(N.B. I’m using a composite translation made of different translations so the wording/format might be slightly different than the version you are using)

Framing

The prologue starts with a conversation between unnamed characters in an inn, discussing the news of WWX’s death. While it was a clever way to already introduce an important theme of the novel (the effects of public opinion and how easy it is to make someone into a irredeemable villain) and get the exposition out of the way, it also frames WWX as a character: as readers, we are introduced first to perceptions of him, a characterisation-from-hearsay we’ll be able to compare to his characterisation in the novel. WWX is a “scourge” whose death is celebrated, who “defected” and bit the hand that fed him, a “deranged” killer who took thousands of lives. But before he went on the crooked path, he was a promising youth--although others seem to think he was corrupted from the start.

“But it can’t all be blamed on the path he cultivated. Ultimately, it was still because this Wei Wuxian’s moral character was too flawed, angering the Heavens and man alike! By the heavenly law, everyone answers for their deeds in the end, good and evil……”

The rumours also suggest that if WWX comes back to the world of the living he will enact his revenge upon them all, and his unimaginable powers would allow him to rain fury upon both Heaven and Earth. We get told: this guys is an incredibly powerful villain, reviled and feared by many. 

But the Yiling Laozu had enough power to overturn the Heavens and smother the Earth, move mountains and drain seas—at least, that was the way the rumors went. If he wanted to resist the summoning of his soul, it wouldn’t exactly be outside of his abilities. If in coming days his spirit were restored, if he forcibly possessed a body and were thus reborn, then not only the cultivation world, but all of humanity would inevitably meet with an even greater frenzy of vengeance and curses, sinking into a chaotic age of foul winds and bloody rains.

Establishing WWX and how he reacts when he’s thrown into an unpleasant situation

When WWX is brought back by MXY, we already have something to contrast him against thanks to the hearsay and rumours, and from the get-go we get a sense that WWX is not this fearsome figure that people made him out to be.

I’ll never get over the fact that our first introduction to WWX’s is the equivalent of the “the audacity of this bitch”.

Hazily, he thought: that’s quite a lot of courage you must have to kick this Laozu. 

Our MC and POV character is thrown into a situation, and from his reactions we can rapidly tell that he is someone who is observant, resourceful, good at deductive reasoning and thereby apt at solving mysteries. This is something that is reinforced at many, many points in the first few chapters and helps us buy in into what happens later in the novel when they uncover many other mysteries. WWX is a guy who figures shit out.

When WWX figures out he was summoned as a “an unforgivably evil malicious spirit“, we  get his take on his public perception.  

Wei Wuxian reeled at the implications. How had he been classified as “an irredeemly evil, malicious spirit”?

Yes, his reputation was rather poor and his final moments, horrifying tragic—but he had neither haunted nor had he seeked revenge on the living since becoming a spirit. He would dare to swear upon the Heavens and the Earth that you would never find a more peaceful and well-behaved lonely soul of a wild ghost!

At the same time, readers get a sense that even when he’s dealt a bad hand, WWX does not wait in despair for his luck to turn. Even though WWX describes his situation as “hopeless” and keeps “repeating over and over How could this be! in his heart “, he immediately goes into problem-solving mode, trying to figure out the situation and the wishes MXY forgot to share. This also happens  later. 

There was not a single thing to help him find some joy in being reborn! He might as well sit and meditate for a time, and adjust to the new body.

That same passage gives us a sense that WWX is not rushing into situations without taking the time to take it in, make up his mind and prepare as much as he can: the fact that we see him do meditation twice during that day (before he goes to the East Hall and after he checks on the Lan juniors) also contributes to that idea.

The chapters convey as well that WWX is sympathetic to MXY’s situation and does not resent him even though he forced WWX to enact revenge in his stead. As readers, we thus receive the following message: WWX is not prone to being resentful, to hold grudges.

He had originally wanted to wash his face and pay a few respects to the owner of this body, but there was no water in the shack—neither for drinking nor for washing. 

WWX is also, for a lack of a better word, sassy. It’s clear that he has a flair for the dramatics and lots of attitude. Look at that dramatic entrance.... he just.... yeets the bowl he was holding....

He pondered for a moment. Then, rising to his feet, he kicked the door open.

The two servants, in the midst of making eyes at each other, screamed in horror as the double doors of the shack suddenly burst open. Wei Wuxian threw aside his bowl and chopsticks and walked outside without anyone’s leave [...]

We are also introduced to the fact that WWX does not seem to take himself seriously and loves to shock people. 

When it came to wild displays of misbehavior, Wei Wuxian was a master. In the past when he ran wild, he still had to mind appearances lest others accuse him of having not been raised right. But now that he was a lunatic anyways, what face did he need! He could go straight to making a scene, acting however it pleased him.

While WWX is clearly not the one-dimensional evil monster depicted in rumours, we do see that he can be cunning: he lies easily if he feels it motivated, he is very good at talking people into a corner, apt at making them do incriminating things by leading them on, which he does by humiliating the Mo family for their mistreatment of MXY in front of a crowd. But in a way, that is also a quality of his: he is not just silver-tongued; he’s good at assessing a situation and people’s characters, able to figure out what will set them off.

We further get proof that he is not a blood-thirsty monster who disregards others when he tries to figure out if he can satisfy MXY’s spirit without having to wipe out the Mo family (although it is clearly the obvious solution) and when he is shown to care for the well-being of others. This is illustrated by the way he double-checks (through ruse) that the zhaoyin flags are properly set up and will be used safely by the Lan juniors. 

During the conversation, Wei Wuxian had already finished making a rapid examination of the Yin Summoning Flag in his hand. It had been painted in the correct manner, and there were no missing sigils either. There was not a single error or omission, so they should worked as intended. That being said, the person who had painted the flag lacked experience, and the painted sigils could only attract the evil spirits and walking corpses within at most five li. That should however prove to be enough. (chapter 2)

[...]

Wei Wuxian’s first thought was that something had gone wrong with the flag arraw the youth had set up. His inventions needed to be used with extreme caution, or else risk disaster. This was also why he had gone to check earlier if there were anything wrong with the array. (Chapter 3)

As our POV character, WWX comes across as endearing through little details: it’s in the way he calls LSZ a “good little seedling (好苗子)” and calls the Lan juniors a group of “小朋友“ in his inner monologue, or when he defends the Lan juniors from Mo-furen’s accusations. Or the way he likes Xiao Pingguo because it looks at him with contempt:

A donkey was tied to the handle, chewing on it. When it saw Wei Wuxian run over rashly, it seemed like it was surprised, and eyed him sideways as if it were a real person. Wei Wuxian made eye contact with him for one second and was immediately touched by the minuscule amount of contempt in its eyes.

Establishing how WWX acts in high-pressure situations

Things escalate quite quickly into accusations of murder and death and resentful corpses. This first sequence is thus our introduction to how WWX acts under pressure and in high-risk situations (which will continue to happen to our MC until the end of the novel). 

WWX is shown to be cool under pressure and quick to think on his feet, constantly re-assessing the situation and the risks. He is also seen as expecting people to arrive to conclusions without him needing to explain them out loud, like when he takes out the zhaoyin flag that MZY stole from his corpse, letting the Lan juniors understand on their own what happened. When he needs to explain, he will not do it in a straight-forward manner, giving small hints first (this preludes many of WWX and LWJ interaction when they understand each other’s thought process with only one sentence being said, and preludes how WWX will continue to act with the Juniors later on, making them think through the situations instead of feeding them the answers).

We also get the proof that WWX does not privilege self-preservation over the fate of others.

If he wanted to avoid having the situation get out of hand, Wei Wuxian should retreat. If they people who came did not know him, then all would be well—but if they happened to be someone who had dealt with him or fought against him in the past, it would be hard to guess what would happen next.

But the curse meant he could not leave Mo Village yet. As well, the spirit that had been summoned had taken two lives in quick succession, meaning it was extremely vicious. If Wei Wuxian left now, once the reinforcement arrived, the streets of Mo Village might already be packed with corpses missing their left arm, of which some would be blood relations of the GusuLanShi. 

After a short deliberation, Wei Wuxian thought, fight a quick battle to force a swift resolution (速战速决). (Chapter 3)

[...]

Wei Wuxian was watching the battle attentively. His tongue was slightly curled, suppressing a sharp whistle inside of his lips, preparing it to be let out. The whistle would be able to evoke even more hostility in the cruel corpses, which might turn the tables. Then, however, it would be difficult to ensure that nobody knew that it was his doing. 

In the blink of an eye, the hand moved like lightning, ruthlessly and precisely breaking Madame Mo’s neck. Watching as the Mo family grew closer to defeat, Wei Wuxian prepared to blow the whistle that he suppressed under his tongue. At the same time, the echoes of two strums on a stringed instrument came from far away. (chapter 4)

As well, we are told something about WWX when he only leaves once LWJ arrives: certainly because he’s afraid that LWJ might recognize him but mostly because (as it will become clear later on) he trusts that LWJ will be able to handle the situation in his stead. In order words, although WWX is willing to risk himself to help others, he is not careless with his life and safety (for instance he makes sure to destroy the proof of the Offering ritual before fleeing to make sure no one can figure out the fact that he is back from the dead).

WWX will not hesitate to fool people or pretend in order to help his goals. In this case, he is trying to help and fight without appearing like a powerful cultivator who can do modao, balancing self-preservation with the incentive to protect the people present. This is why he pushes LJY in front of LSZ at one point in the battle, instead of blocking it himself, while pretending to just be a lunatic doing lunatic things.

Inside of the Lan clan’s uniform jacket, there were compact stitchings of incantations using thin threads of the same color, included for protection. However, against strong ones like this, it could only be used once before it became invalid. During the emergency, he could only kick Lan Jingyi and use his body to protect Lan Sizhui’s neck.

This sequence also allows the reader to know more about modao and WWX’s skills, and how he can control corpses, as well as how WWX perceives his own abilities. 

TLDR:

The Mo Village arc, in conjunction with the prologue, competently sets up a lot of the moving pieces for the novel. It also leans heavily toward establishing a strong sense of characterisation for our MC and POV character, which is neat! 

NB: I think it’s also very telling that the next chapter after the Mo Mansion arc begins with us learning that WWX has been, in the past few days since his retreat, lorded over by a capricious donkey. WWX is clearly not someone who takes himself very seriously (often mocking himself):

The donkey ran over there and nothing could make it leave. Wei Wuxian hopped down and slapped its honoured buttocks. “You’re definitely destined for wealth, even harder to please than I am.” The donkey spat at him.

[melatovnik]

hi, can u rec other sbwy fics?

yes i most certainly can!

below under the cut is a selection of very good sbwy (and sgwy) fics, i.e., wangxian fics where wwx experiences compulsory heterosexuality. by no means is it a comprehensive list of all the excellent fics of this genre, because i'm a super slow reader and simply haven't gotten to them all yet, but these are just the ones i've read and enjoyed so far. of course, mind all tags/content warnings etc you know what's up

~ the Straight Boy Wei Ying universe series by raitala | rated E | 36K words total | i know this ask was prompted by my earlier rec of this series but i'll include it here anyway. a very charming wonderful story, with extremely massively hot sex scenes

Sit down next to me | 7K words

Lan Zhan has been in love with his tragically straight best friend Wei Ying forever. So what if some girl says Wei Ying is a bad kisser? Lan Zhan has to prove to Wei Ying that this is incorrect. Because Lan Zhan is a good friend. He out does himself.

If I hadn't seen such riches | 29K words

Sequel to "Sit down next to me" - if you haven't read this all you need to know is that Wei Ying thinks he is straight. He just really likes his best friend Lan Zhan. Who is incidentally a really great kisser. Who also made him come in his pants one time. Who also has a *really* big dick, which Wei Ying sucked one time, but, like, in an experimental way, not in a gay way. They are just really good friends, right? Lan Zhan is the best. Lan Zhan is crying inside.

~ Keep Up by mimilamp | rated E | 27K words | i actually just read this one today and wwhfoohgkhdghihHHHHHHhghhhhhhgh 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 INSTANT FAVE. MUST READ.

“She was going to kiss me,” Wei Ying says, muffled, into his hands.

Lan Zhan makes sure he keeps his breaths even. “Hm,” he says. Wei Ying looks up at him, wild: a little tipsy, perhaps. Confused, in a panic. His mouth is red like he’s been kissed—he hasn’t. He’s a lip biter, has a habit of picking at his dry lips, the winter sores at the corner of his mouth. It drives Lan Zhan to madness. He dreams of Wei Ying’s puffy mouth, often, sometimes with the real Wei Ying in a sleeping bag on the floor next to his bed. On mornings like those he wakes up in a cloud of embarrassment—hobbling to the bathroom at dawn, running a loud shower to hide the sounds. Wei Ying sleeps on.

“How do I—” Wei Ying starts, stops. He then lets out a single laugh, another. He says: “Oh my god. How do I kiss? Lan Zhan, how do I kiss?”

*

Or: Wei Ying has a girlfriend now. Wei Ying doesn't want his best friend to lag behind.

~ A Brilliant Idea by FrameofMind | rated E | 25K words | good for you wei ying

The one where Wei Ying (straight) and Lan Zhan (gay) make a shared tinder account to save money, because Wei Ying has brilliant ideas.

(Wei Ying has terrible ideas.)

~ worth it for the feeling by occultings | rated E | 8K words | they're both girls in this one! "straight" girl wei ying 🥰

“I’ve never gotten off with another person,” Wei Ying says that night, apropos of nothing.

~ ready to run by detectorist | rated E | 21K words | really really enjoyed the plot and atmosphere and everything in this story

“You should make a Tinder account for campaigning,” Nie Huaisang says.

Wei Ying chokes out, “What?”

“Sounds like an absolutely terrible idea,” Jiang Cheng says flatly.

“No, it’s a great idea!” Nie Huaisang insists. “You just swipe right on everyone and then send them a message about how they should vote for you. You’re hot, Wei Ying! People will definitely match with you and then you can swoop in and hit them with the politics!”

“I don’t even have Tinder,” Wei Ying protests. He’d downloaded the app in first year but had quickly deleted it after a girl responded to his message of wanna get a drink with yeah sure, what time?

“That can be easily fixed,” Nie Huaisang says.

—

Wei Ying downloads Tinder to help him campaign for his student union election. He gets a little more than he bargained for.

~ drop the game by martyrsdaughter | rated E | 28K words | cheerleader wwx + jock lwj + fake dating + practice kissing + insane sexual tension = me, flattened like a cartoon character after getting run over by a truck

Wei Ying grabs a pen from Lan Zhan’s desk, curling his legs into a lotus pose under the arms of the chair so he can easily spread the journal out across his lap. Even upside down, Lan Zhan can read his large, messy characters scrawled across the top: Lan Zhan + Wei Ying’s Rules for Dating.

Perhaps this was a bad idea.

~ big hands (i know you're the one) by martyrsdaughter | rated E | 8K words | WHOOF 🥵

“Not a big talker, hm?” Wei Ying tilts his head to one side. “That’s okay, I’ve been told I’m a good enough conversationalist for three. My tongue is multi-talented and—”

He has just enough time to feel her palm on the back of his neck and think, oh, her hands are so big, before his words are being stolen into her mouth.

~ Boy Trouble, We've Got Double by saltyfeathers | rated E | 60K words | LAN ZHAN???? BETHROTHED???? NOT TO WEI YING??????? it's less likely than you think! canonverse casefic, featuring tons of pining and wwx taking outrageous liberties with lwj's person, as is his right

Lan Zhan stands there in his immaculate, cloud-patterned Lan robes, watching him calmly, one fist tucked up against his back. “I am betrothed.”

Wei Wuxian blinks. “Are you…” He tries to laugh. Again, it sounds inhuman. “Is this about last night? Are you mad at me? I only remember some of it, Lan Zhan. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’m sure whatever I did I was just—” He gestures uselessly. He remembers being warm in Lan Zhan’s lap. He remembers fitting snugly in Lan Zhan’s lap. Wrapping his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck. Nosing at his jaw. “…playing around.”

“This has nothing to do with you, Wei Wuxian.”

~ cherry ass wei ying (Chapter 3 of threadfic) by saltyfeathers | rated E

wei ying is so straight he sucks lan zhan's fingers about it.

~ all(e)y (Chapter 11 of threadfic) by saltyfeathers | rated E

prompt fill on twitter for straight boy wei ying + fake dating that ended up being too long for twitter so now it lives here in stupid silly shame. sorry the fake dating is a complete flyover state in this. to make up for it, i wrote out an entire blowjob for some reason.

~ lan zhan has fallen in fuck-love with the straight toad boy (Chapter 14 of threadfic) by saltyfeathers | rated M | there is no chapter summary provided by the author. the title says it all, really

~ wei wuxian loves mysteries! (Chapter 15 of threadfic) by saltyfeathers | rated G | a canonverse character exploration of wwx, set pre-CR (before wangxian first meet). soooo good

~ the mall that has it all by saltyfeathers | rated E | 8K words | 😳 wrow

She introduced herself in the food court, breathless after sprinting across it in Lan Zhan’s direction and vaulting over a table only to crash into the seat across from her, ask, “Can I have a sip?”, spring forward with both elbows on the table to wrap her burgundy lips around Lan Zhan’s smoothie straw, wrinkle her nose, and say, “What is that, kale? Not really my thing, as like, a mall goth. Oh!” A pleased, chaotic exhale. “My name’s Wei Ying.”

Lan Zhan said, after taking a moment to fully process the last forty-five seconds, “What?”

or;

mall goth au

~ I Wish You Would by brooklinegirl | rated E | 52K words | lan zhan fucks guys, wei ying pines, and lan zhan also pines

Lan Zhan takes a breath. His hands are in fists on his thighs. He stares down at them hopelessly, then carefully unclenches them, one finger at a time, before taking another breath and reaching for his lukewarm tea. He'll go out, tomorrow. Maybe in the late afternoon. Something quick. Something easy. He'll text his brother first, the short note of when he should be home, so he'll know to track him. He'll be fine, just like he said.

~ all that and more by Euphorion | rated E | 20K words | hot hot hot! and a classic

Wei Wuxian locks his phone and puts it down, blinks at his ceiling, and picks it up again. The pictures are still there.

His first thought is that Lan Zhan meant them for someone else. That he just woke up at—he checks the timestamp—6:30 am on a Sunday and decided to go absolute full nuclear seduction option on some poor boy he met on Grindr, who would now be missing out on the best thing to ever happen to him because Wei Wuxian had a bad habit of distracting—of—oh.

Pieces of last night start to resurface and paste themselves together in his head. He winces.

~ dreaming and getting a glimmer by verseau | rated E | 27K words | THE comphet gloryhole fic

Wei Ying discovers himself.

~ wanna feel a different kinda tension by verseau | rated E | 10K words | THE comphet watching-porn-together-and-also-wwx-jerks-lwj-off-with-his-own-freshly-used-fleshlight fic

Four times Lan Zhan walks in on his roommate masturbating.

that's all for now! happy october!

[mostlikelytofangirl]

What was your first impression about every character in mdzs ?

And also who do you think you resemble the most ?

Ahhh good question!

Mostly bc my memory is crap XD. But I'll try my best to remember! Full disclaimer tho, the first version of mdzs that I consumed was donghua, so that's where my first impressions came from.

- WWX: I'm honestly not the kind of person to fall first and foremost for a protagonist (it's been years since the last time a protag was my fave), but I genuinely liked this dude from day one. I thought he was fun and a bit (lot) unhinged, but legit smart and capable without being smug and annoying about it. And for the record, I still like him lots!

- LWJ: That entrance, man. That was cool af XD. But I do remember thinking that I needed to see more of him to form an opinion bc the silent, mysterious type has never been particularly interesting to me.

- LZS & LJY: Good Boys! Both of them. One was a polite darling, and the other a chaotic little gremlin that worked together well and did their best ;u;.

- JL: Bit of a brat, ngl. I legit thought this was going to be the Draco Malfoy "my uncle will hear of this" kid. And he was XD. But I'm glad he wasn't just a One Trick Pony character.

- JC: Another badass entrance! Gotta confess the horny overpowered the cleary asshole vibe he was exuding. I thought he was going to be an actual villain too. But since I'm a villain fucker I had no issues with that whatsoever. I even thought that he was the dude I was going to root for throughout the story (spoiled: I did).

- WN: Oh, I remember thinking "dude, this guy must have such a badass past. Surely someone so powerful named Ghost General must have been a real powerhouse. Can't wait to see his story of epicness" :').

- NHS: I was honestly not impressed lol. I thought that this was going to be the comic relief character that everybody likes but doesn't do much apart from being cute and silly. Also the exposure character bc he always explained everything that was being talked about in a scene. FORESHADOWING.

- LXC: Regal man, good wingman for bro. The big brother that solves your bullshit and is always kind and full of Wisdom(tm). If he says something, it must be true. Liked him right away.

- JFM: He is nice, I like this guy. His parenting seems questionable tho, but he seems to have the best intentions at heart.

-YZY: Bitch. But damn, she has a point or two.

- JYL: Precious angel that must be protected but she is totally not going to get protected T-T.

- JZX: Even before I put two and two together that this was JL's father, I remember thinking this was another "my father will hear of this" brat. Runs in the family, I guess lol.

- NMJ: Oh boi. This one I have the clearest memory of all. I saw him appear on screen and I automatically thought "this is him, isn't it? This is daddy". I was right, I was so right.

- WC: Not impressed either, typical asshole villain that is going to be more a pain in the ass than a real threat. Same with girlfriend whose name I can never remember.

- WRH: Hot DILF Villain. Legit threatening and scary, good bad guy.

- WQ: Rough love there, but she has a good head on her shoulders and has balls. Wen Queen it is.

- JGS: Curse donghua for making everybody hot XD. I honestly thought this dude was not going to be of much relevance, he seemed the scaredy, play it safe kind that would get destroyed in a real conflict.

- MY/JGY: First thought was "aww he's cute". Second thought was "please don't be a bad guy, look at you, all milfy and smily, trying to help common ppl and do good". Third thought was "ok you shady, but also still cute and milfy, so I'll probably end up staning you anyways". Take a wild guess on what happened XD.

- XY: Whoa, you cray-cray. Didn't like him much at first tbh, he seemed to be cruel for no reason and I never liked the Evil for the Sake of It trope, nor characters that were nothing but sassy bastards. He grew on me tho.

- XXC: OMG you are another angel that must be protected! You deserved so much better wtf!!

- SL: He deserved better right away tf!

- A-Qing: I only remember pitying her, she was living in a psychological horror all those years.

These are all the characters I remember having an impression on, others I didn't give much thought or cared enough about to put real effort into what I thought of them, at first at least.

Now that I think about it, most my first impressions remained the same in essence as the story progressed, sans an exception or two. But for the most part, it seems like my opinion on these characters got more nuanced and complete without changing much.

As to who I think I resemble the most. Hmm, that's a complicated one bc I don't think I'm particularly similar to anybody. If I absolutely had to pick only one tho, I'd say LXC. I try my best to be nice and see things from different perspectives, but I also suck at handling conflict, and would give good solid advice that I'm definitely not going to apply to myself bc it's easier to see others' problems, but my own? If I don't talk about them, they are not there :))))

[helendamnationx]

This is my favourite Wangxian scene, and I’ll tell you why. (spoilers ahead but I’ll try to be vague)

If you’ve only seen gifs of it, it just looks like LWJ giving WWX a lotus seed pod with WAY too serious an expression, looking v much like he’s proposing, and WWX looking at him like he’s a big weirdo because he has no idea what’s going on.

But what happens just before this, while WWX is unconscious (and sleeping in LWJ’s arms, which is adorable), is Wen Ning explaining parts of WWX’s history that LWJ did not know. Things that explain the choices he made, why he turned to demonic cultivation, why he refused to let LWJ try to heal his golden core, why he felt he had no choice except to turn away from everything and everyone including LWJ. In short, WWX went through hell and he did it for the people he loved.

And then WWX wakes up, and LWJ and Wen Ning pretend they never had that conversation, and WWX has had a rough day but you know what would really cheer him up? Lotus seeds! They’re tasty and they have good childhood memories for him. So let’s have some lotus seeds, huh, Lan Zhan?

But LWJ is like. Don’t these belong to someone? Isn’t that stealing? Because he’s a killjoy like that. And it makes WWX sad. He doesn’t get the fun distraction because “stealing is wrong” or whatever, and now he’s back thinking about his screwed up family and everything else bad that’s going on, which is a lot.

And then LWJ thinks, dammit self, weren’t you JUST feeling super guilty for being so harsh and judgemental when Wei Ying had really good reasons for acting that way? Weren’t you just thinking that it’s time to accept that you’re a lawful good paladin and he’s chaotic good necromancer and that’s ok? Weren’t you just telling yourself to try to be less of a stick-in-the-mud and meet him half way? And now you go and make him SAD? Nooooooooooo.

So he gives WWX the lotus seed pod, stem still on because WWX said some nonsense about it tasting better that way more than a decade ago and LWJ remembers because he remembers everything Wei Ying does. And they have a lovely date with a fierce corpse chaperone awkwardly pretending he isn’t there except to steer the boat.

Also I like it because the lotus lake is pretty

[agendratum]

me, foolishly: maybe i actually won’t talk much about the novel 

my need to never shut up about my interests: first impressions!!

main first impression - this is really really funny so far

more under the cut cause spoilers and opinions i guess

seriously, so far the novel is really funny with wei wuxian being 5x of a gremlin he already is, which is delightful. what is also delightful, it’s being able to get actually get to hear his thoughts and inner processes, and understand why and what he’s doing, so it really makes the whole mo manor part way less confusing than it was in the live action. also it shows even more how smart this wei wuxian guy is, how much he knows about things and stuff, he is a practitioner and a pretty good teacher too. 

one of the main reasons why i wanted to read the novel was the lore, and oh am i getting all the lore right now. i’m enjoying reading all the night hunt theory and all these descriptions of monsters, these parts are great.

also for a second here i really felt like i was reading sherlock holmes, with wwx, of course, being sherlock, and lsz and ljy being little watsons. adorable

i remember watching the first episode and getting extremely excited about lan wangji showing up even without really knowing who he is. this time i got a similar reaction, but about jiang cheng showing up. i LOVE that the book does this little “uh oh you're in trouble”, letting the reader know that shit is about to go down, but not wwx. i know the that scene is actually really dramatic, scary and emotional tm, but it just made me really happy

it does seem like novel!jc actually tortured people. ah well, we can’t all be perfect i guess

also jiang cheng getting offended at the fact that he isn’t mo xuanyu’s type is hilarious 

now, lan wangji. my biggest concern of all. i like all the scenes where he’s fighting. the descriptions of him playing guqin are majestic. the scenes of him disrespecting jiang cheng, as jc trying to remain as calm as he can be, are great as always. i respect his sence of humor, it’s not exactly the same sence of humor as what he has in cql, but still respectful. i don’t think (so far) that novel!lwj could ever become my favourite character the way cql!lwj did. i think it has something to do with the fact that i relate to depressed gay people who just wanna be tender way more than to whatever sitcom insanity is happening there. 

the VIBE of the reunion is SO FUCKING WILDLY DIFFERENT 

live action wangxian: staring at each other in slowmo, the mix of disbelief and realisation on both of their faces, the uncertainty and fragility of the moment, the need to say so many words and not knowing where to start

novel wangxian: they started at each other not letting go of each other’s hands for like half an hour like the idiots they are. then jiang cheng showed up

live action wwx: *waking up in lwj’s bed, smiling and tearing up a little bit* but did you really believed me back then? 

live action lwj: *staring into the distance, thinking about all the wasted time of their lives* now i do

novel wwx: you’ll NEVER take me alive, i will NOT go back to your LAME ASS STUPID ASS TERRIBLE VIBES cloud recesses, i would rather SWING MYSELF OFF THIS CLIFF 

novel lwj: get your fucking ass through the gate or so HELP ME GOD

live action wwx, in the cold springs after noticing lwj’s scars: *very concerned* tell me what happened, lan zhan, you have to tell me

live action lwj: *looking away, not sure what to do or how to act* ...

novel wwx: scars? weird. time to STEAL the fucking token and GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE

novel lwj: bitch i’ll kill you

anyway. the novel wangxian are wild and chaotic. the live action wangxian are home raised and neat. i am? invested. 

[extraordinarilyextreme]

finally watched Guardian (2018) and i need to talk

Warning: contains MASSIVE SPOILERS, probably too much music/song analysis, my poor translations from Chinese to English, and some references to the original novel (disclaimer: my novel-reading was mostly jumping around because i have a problem where I’m not fluent enough to read the original Chinese novel and I don’t usually like English translations)

1. the freakin opening theme: We Won’t Be Falling by Chen Xueran... (also I see you Tina Guo on the cello thank you queen)

the amount of chills i get every time an episode starts,,, fantastic! marvelous! the lyrics are very VERY apt to the story of Guardian, esp this drama adaptation

(“We are the one/We will be holding on/For the promise we held for life/For the people we love are leaving” ... “And the story will keep on going”)

1.1. the promise? may i direct you to novel chapter 75? 

Shen Wei: “Sometimes I think if one day you can remember everything, then I will be able to say to you: look, I did it, I did all that I had promised you; not one bit did I miss, not one word did I go back on.”

they promise to keep the peace, to protect both Haixing and Dixing; and in the show, it’s a promise they keep with their lives

2. Zhu Yilong plays THREE characters and is able to differentiate them perfectly with particular microexpressions

-Ye Zun (literally, “Respect the Night”; “Lord/Master of the Night” would be a better title) sets off my fight-or-flight instincts even though i think his name tries a little too hard to be edgy; the way he sneers, the smiles that don’t reach his eyes, also that infamous tongue flick when Zhao Yunlan sees through the act... i think it’s both great and sad that Yunlan could differentiate the twins because, why, Shen Wei would never be so openly flirtatious (and wear a deep-cut shirt like that lol)... the delivery of “Xiao Yunlan” disturbed me so much—wonderful, stellar acting

-Black Cloaked Envoy: does his best to bend the rules where he can for the Dixingren because he’s just so fundamentally GOOD; he’s empathetic despite how stern and strict he seems to be, and how much he claims to enforce the clearly-cut laws... he’s an absolute babie ten thousand years ago (Yunlan, doesn’t it hurt your conscience to flirt with such a babie?)

-Shen Wei: in the novel, his name (both surname and first name) are given to him by Kun Lun’s incarnations—there’s a lot of power in naming something, in naming someone; he’s good-natured and gentle, always polite... he pushes up the glasses [that he doesn’t need] a lot, perhaps because he’s used to pushing up his mask as the Envoy

2.1. i find it very striking that Shen Wei dies without his glasses; he doesn’t die as the Envoy, he doesn’t die as the Professor; he dies as a person, as the person who loves Yunlan the most and has loved Yunlan for ten thousand years

2.2. the other notable moments we see Shen Wei without his glasses are where he apologizes to Yunlan [and Yunlan apologizes at the same time because they’re pining idiots] for not noticing the camera in his office, where he sets aside all his pride as Envoy and Professor and kneels in the rain for the man he loves (lwj kneeling after visiting the Burial Mounds, yea?), and of course after he slices up an orange [cuz food = love] only to find Yunlan asleep and drapes his jacket over the silly silly man... anyway, Yunlan is indeed the only person Shen Wei is comfortable enough to reveal everything to, all defenses and masks (literal and figurative) lowered

2.3. that last instance (ep 26) is when Shen Wei pulls out his necklace and reminisces as he gazes fondly at Yunlan; the song that plays during this is 《乱心曲》or “Chaotic Heart Song”... may I direct you to novel chapter 65 where Yunlan finds all the paintings and pictures his Xiao Wei has kept from the centuries?

“邓林之阴初见昆仑君，惊鸿一瞥，乱我心曲。” which translates to “In the shade of the woods I first saw Kunlun-jun; a glimpse of his grace wrought chaos in my heart’s song”

2.4. but also let’s not forget the [in]famous cut wrist scene of ep 23, where our dear Shen Wei, without glasses, as a person who loves Yunlan—not the aloof Envoy or the well-spoken Professor—is reduced to two words: “Worth it.” Yunlan is worth everything to him; this goes without question, without a second thought. Kun Lun (Yunlan) told him not to regret whatever decisions he’ll make, and Ye Zun scolds and laughs at his brother for giving up his life for a human/Haixingren, but of course Shen Wei doesn’t regret dying to protect Yunlan, dying to protect Haixing. (also, peep the behind-the-scenes where Shen Wei grabs Yunlan’s hand for a moment as he blocks the attack from Ye Zun)

2.5. on this same train of thought, Da Qing brings up a line from ten thousand years ago where Shen Wei claimed he would never kill unless it was for the world... and, well, he kills for Yunlan doesn’t he?

3. Bai Yu plays our charismatic Chief Zhao Yunlan/Kun Lun and hoo boy does he do an excellent job; the found family vibes of the SIU are spectacular and the way he flirts with tries to recruit Professor Shen is endearing and touching

3.1. there’s another piece from the OST called 《一点真心》, translated to “A Little Sincerity” though I would use “A Bit of a Sincere Heart” because it too references the novel

Kun Lun’s confession to Xiao Wei: “我富有天下名山大川，想起来也没什么稀奇的，不过就是一堆烂石头野河水，浑身上下，大概也就只有这几分真心能上秤卖上两斤，你要？拿去。” [I’m rich with famed mountains and endless rivers under heaven, but none of it feels rare when I think about it. It’s all just a pile of broken stones and uncultivated streams. From head to toe, there is probably only this bit of my sincere heart that is worth anything weighed on a scale. You want it? Take it.]

Zhao Yunlan’s confession to Shen Wei: “我别的东西也有，只是你可能大多都看不上，只有这一点真心……你要是不接着，那就算了吧。” [I have other things, only you probably would not think much of them. There’s only this bit of my sincere heart... If you don’t want to catch it, then forget it.)

And Shen Wei’s reply to Yunlan’s confession is of course “我接住了。” [I’ve caught it.]

3.2. the novel is a happy ending because Xiao Guo’s important role actually plays a part (i literally don’t understand why the show couldn’t do that after they built up so many expectations about his good character/merit/inability to be corrupted but ANYWAY)... Shen Wei, Xiao Wei, the little Ghost King has a soul and wow isn’t that just beautiful after everything he did to become worthy/deserving of Kun Lun’s attention and love

4. the Zhang Ruonnan and Wang Yike (death-touch Dixingren) case in ep 3 is an obvious parallel to the “brotherly” relationship of WeiLan... Shen Wei’s line of “Many tragedies were destined from the start” references the show of course but also the paradoxical precognition that marks the drama version of WeiLan; in both of their “first meetings”, one of them was always already in love with the other—Yunlan, as Kun Lun, knew he would have to return to his own time at some point and thus doom this impressionable young Envoy to ten thousand years of waiting and Shen Wei (honestly in a Code Geass Lelouch kinda style) knew he would have to die to defeat his brother

4.1. the importance of “touch” in this case alludes to novel WeiLan, where of course Shen Wei watched over all of Kun Lun’s incarnations but wasn’t allowed to get close to him because hungry ghosts would inevitably devour the essence of the people around them; similarly Yike was terrified of touching Ruonnan all this time... but Ruonnan accepted her (just like how novel Kun Lun lets this intriguing little Ghost King trail after him)

4.2. speaking of Shen Wei’s grand plans and the idea of “knowing”, Yunlan reminds him that “You are not a weapon/blade, you are a person.” and wow once again, only Yunlan can pull the humanity from Shen Wei, who has carefully crafted his disguise and personality to fit what people expect of the Envoy and the Professor... but alas, Shen Wei fulfills his promise by in fact making himself a weapon; he poisons himself to become a bomb that will take down his brother

4.3. as many qualms and complaints as I have with Chinese censorship, much in the case of WangXian, i think i prefer the drama version of WeiLan to the novel version; the plot of the Guardian novel is a lot better in my opinion (with references to mythology and legends, as opposed to, what, aliens?? mutants from X-Men? quirks in My Hero Academia??) and yea the relationship of Kun Lun with Xiao Wei is built up a lot better and makes more sense than the time-travel of Yunlan masquerading as Kun Lun with Shen Wei... but there’s an unadulterated, unconditional kind of love that runs through the drama, whereas the novel had some darker (though probably more realistic) vibes of near-possessiveness and ulterior motives... Kun Lun/Yunlan in the novel can be, well, cruel, which is not necessarily out of character; it’s just seems a little wrong to me that you could threaten your partner in a relationship (if you keep things from me again, i really will turn against you + had i known xyz would happen, i really should have killed you)... plus i’m always a sucker for love without an “i love you”, a love that’s conveyed entirely through actions and gazes

5. Yunlan asks Zhou Weiwei (the mirror case) where her jacket was bought because he “wants to get one for [his] girlfriend” and lo and behold, what similarly-styled and colored coat does our Shen Wei show up in a few episodes later? (also the fact that Shen Wei dies wearing this jade-ish-blue-ish coat)

6. boyfriend jacket during the Moutain-River Awl case... boyfriend jacket!!!! Shen Wei claims he doesn’t need it and well he still wears it anyway because Yunlan’s love is unstoppable

6.1. the way Shen Wei grabs Yunlan’s elbow before running down the hill

6.2. Shen Wei being so freaking fine-tuned to Yunlan’s discomfort/pain as always that he drinks wine for him (and passes out immediately—heroics/bde of yllz! wwx and the alcohol tolerance of our dear lwj)

6.2.1. when Minister Gao brings up Yunlan’s dad and the Chief’s hands tighten... and of course nothing can go by Shen Wei, so he changes the topic of the conversation; also the way he leans forward as if to shield Yunlan

6.2.2. Yunlan is similarly Aware of his boyfriend’s boundaries; cue him politely excusing themselves from the dinner with Vice-Minister Guo when Shen Wei (of all people!) fumbles with his chopsticks

6.2.3. Yunlan also blocks Shen Wei from Minister Gao’s sight (subconsciously?) after that wedding showdown... even though he’s unhappy that Shen Wei has kept the identity of the Envoy from him, he trusts the other man enough to recognize there must be a reason; thus he doesn’t want other people to pry into the possibility that Shen Wei is a Dixingren

6.3. also, also that Shen Wei lets Yunlan have his way and use him as a pillow in the car once again (he also adjusts the actual pillow beneath Yunlan’s head to make it more comfortable)

6.3.1 the other Shen-Wei-is-Yunlan’s-pillow scene is when the professor picks up the poor hurting Chief off the road and in the taxi ride home... apparently this was an improvised scene from Bai Yu who just wanted to mess with Long-ge and our great Zhu Yilong just stayed in character and ran with it

6.3.2. the other notable improvised scene is the cute “Black Cloaked gege~ please be careful~ there’s someone is waiting for you at home~” [sorry that i don’t remember the exact line] but once again our great leading actors just stay perfectly in character

6.4. after Shen Wei wakes up from a night of being drunk (lol) Yunlan has left a note for him “I’ve gone back first, stay in touch. -Zhao” and what’s that on the corner of the note? why it’s a winky face

7. when Yunlan grabs the fake Zhang Danni’s wrist to confirm his suspicions, Shen Wei narrows his eyes... (lol is our Black Cloaked gege jealous)

8. when Yunlan claims he can swallow the painkillers dry, Shen Wei clenches his jaw in his anger at this idiot of a man for not taking better care of himself... you’ll find that a lot of Shen Wei’s anger is directed toward his husband being a self-sacrificial fool

8.1. after Yunlan uses the Hallows again and his nose begins to bleed, Zhu Yilong in all his acting glory has Shen Wei furious to the point that his lips tremble (cue Shen Wei angrily shoving a handkerchief into his husband’s face) [i really want to know if they ever broke character during this scene due to their proximity lol]

8.1.1. Shen Wei all but invades Yunlan’s personal space (he really does stand there between Yunlan’s legs guys) and he’s so careful even though he’s angry as he tries to stop the nosebleed; he’s aware the force might tip Yunlan backwards, so he immediately rests his hands on Yunlan’s thighs/knees to steady him

9. Yunlan has claimed that he doesn’t do things for the sake of gaining anything in return and yet every time he’s wanted things from dear Shen Wei... “take off your mask and smile for me”, “join the SID”... the sexual tension is Unreal during these scenes lol, you can see Shen Wei swallow visibly in anticipation + babie Shen Wei of ten thousand years prior all but chokes on his words when he promises to do ANYTHING Kun Lun wants him to do (honey where is your mind GOING???)

9.1. Bai Yu does have a bruise on his knee after the scene where Yunlan asks Shen Wei for something... dunno if it’s the actor’s bruise or the character’s bruise, but if it’s the character’s bruise—how did he get it? what exactly did WeiLan do that evening lol

9.2. also peep the fact that Yunlan almost always has a lollipop in his mouth when talking to Shen Wei... oral fixation much? (also the whole sequence where he tries to explain how to eat a lollipop to babie Shen Wei, wow the amount of homoerotic tension)

9.3. babie Shen Wei’s ears and cheeks are SO RED when Yunlan snatches the mask off his face

10. Yunlan’s hairstyle changes after Shen Wei joins the SIU (joins his family), much like how a bride would change her hairstyle after marriage in China ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (random note but CQL WangXian does this too when lwj puts his hair down/styled over the front of his shoulders when wwx wakes up 16 years later)

11. the first time we see Shen Wei spit up blood, there’s an echo of “Xiao Wei” faintly and Shen Wei mutters to himself “Xiao Lan” before looking up and saying louder “Zhao Yunlan” (nicknames/pet names/names only your family or lover can call you... this trope is good)

11.1. i also think a lot about how in the novel Kun Lun muses before he dies that it’s a shame he won’t see this Little Beauty [Xiao Wei] grow up to be a Great Beauty 

12. Shen Wei’s funny little eyebrow raise when Yunlan accidentally reveals he broke into the professor’s apartment once ( “riiiiiiiiight i definitely believe you”)

12.1. though the ep 23 scene is angsty, the fact Yunlan says “It’s the middle of the night, were you hungry?” seems to imply their relationship is a lot closer than just neighbors... they’re probably used to sharing an apartment/room at this point :)

13. when Yunlan is hurt, Zhu Hong looks to him but he only has eyes for Shen Wei

13.1. after Yunlan is blinded, Zhu Hong is the one cradling him but he calls for Shen Wei first and reaches for his hand; Shen Wei of course responds immediately “it’s me”

13.1.1. both times after Yunlan gets his eyesight back, the first thing he sees is the person who loves him the most

14. Shen Wei warms up the congee in the morning with his magic after he watches over Yunlan when his stomach pain acts up (domestic use of magic? yes please)

15. the bomb defusing scene in the hospital (video game -> reality case) really is framed like a wedding proposal... also the way that Shen Wei smirks lol he’s so proud of his husband

16. after his Envoy identity is revealed, Shen Wei all but abuses his Black Cloaked Envoy voice to stop his stupid husband from doing stupid things that will hurt himself and every time Yunlan is properly sh00k by it

16.1. we really go from Chief Zhao remarking in the Mountain-River Awl case that he’s used to ordering people around, not receiving orders to married bickering with Shen Wei to then agreeing to everything Shen Wei tells him to do

17. the fact that “Shen Wei, ah, Shen Wei... You are such a good person, how could I bear to let you go?” is an actual line from the censored DRAMA astounds me, nevermind that Shen Wei just made breakfast for his man and Yunlan is basically pouting up at him from the bed

17.1. the way Yunlan’s dad warns him to stay away from Shen Wei and Yunlan responds with something like “he’s sincerely good to me, I want to be with him”... “be with him”???? [inhales deeply] yea this is definitely a “brotherly relationship”

18. Yunlan’s “WOW” after the Envoy kills the monsters in the cave of the Mountain-River Awl case is hilarious and i dont understand how such a noise is physically possible,,, it sounds like a growl?????

18.1. Zhu Yilong was asked to mimic it during an interview (which he did not do and only half-heartedly gave a “wow”) and then Bai Yu did it again

19. also i inevitably got attached to the side ship of Lao Chu and Xiao Guo... they have so much skinship for a censored “brotherly relationship” lmao

the amount of face-touching and hand-holding that they do is unreal... they’re more canon than WeiLan in the drama adaptation methinks 

20. 《时间飞行》or “Flying Across Time” sounds like Yunlan’s reply to Shen Wei’s《只是太在意》or “Just Cared Too Much”

20.1. the lyrics of both these songs really cements this idea that both of WeiLan believe the other to be too good... Kun Lun was a god in the novel, and Xiao Wei was just a soulless little Ghost King... and then we have the incorrigible Chief Zhao pining after the beautiful and kind Professor Shen... i just have a lot of feelings about them becoming better people for each other, that their love really does make each other stronger

21. my favorite two pieces from the OST are Shen Wei’s theme (arranged by Kun Luo) and Kun Lun’s theme (arranged by Chen Xueran)

head’s up: it’s been like four years since i last even glanced at music theory so a lot of this might just make no sense to an actual professional

-Shen Wei: written in 4/4 time, Ab Major, melody is primarily carried by piano + strings; the piano almost sticks exclusively to triplets whereas the strings are in steady whole, quarter, and eighth notes—which creates in interesting impressionistic effect, kind of like hazy smoke or the ripples across the surface of a lake; every single measure uses decrescendo, so the first triplet is always the loudest and the three that follow get progressively softer (mimicking an echo)... the piece ends on the seventh note of the scale, which is usually a pretty awkward place to end and yet it doesn’t feel wrong it all; the piece uses a ritardando in the last three measures, and we simply drift off with that last G... i think it’s a beautifully written piece that perfectly portrays such a complex character as Shen Wei, someone who loved with everything he had, and was just so overwhelmingly good... and then he simply disappears as if the dream has ended. it makes me think of how he guarded over Kun Lun/Zhao Yunlan for thousands of years in the novel, never ever ever daring to meet him... and yet the other man always felt like he was waiting for someone

-Kun Lun: written in 3/4 time, a minor, there’s no real complex shift in the melody although there’s brief modulation into E major (dominant/fifth note); it’s a fairly somber piece, especially when the strings join in... it’s a steady waltz, and it finishes with the scale (second to last major is g, last major is a), like a circle coming back around [like their love story perhaps?]... there’s a finality to it, a completeness, a wholeness, which makes sense in the drama-verse because the moment Yunlan takes up the name of Kun Lun is when his love story with Shen Wei all fits together. the piece feels a little lonely in its minor key and all, a little sad, indeed as if you were standing at the top of a mountain surrounded by clouds and mist... the constant meter also reminds me of like the steady drip of water, the perpetual and inevitable passage of the days and time

-i don’t really understand how because the keys of the two pieces don’t fit together easily, but somehow it doesn’t feel wrong to play the pieces back to back; the melodies of both seem to call upon each other despite the differences in key and time signature, so it actually feels right. a circle without a beginning or an ending, wouldn’t you want your love to be so infinite?

-when yunlan finds shen wei in their bubble outside of time, when shen wei is about to leave him, shen wei is wearing the outfit of their first meeting. and the lyrics go “Across time, I am in the same place”... surely, they will find each other again.

[ssuibian]

ssuibian’s mdzs fic rec

It looked like there was a few interested in some mdzs fic recs so here I am. I’ll divide this into mdzs verse and modern au so scroll to what you like. Some of these will be the infamous ones, but they’re known for a reason so on the list they go. 

Before we begin some info about my preference’s: I read a little bit of  everything, almost exclusively completed works and mostly wangxian-centric.

Code: personal fave - ♛ / explicit, contains smut - ♞ / fluff - ✿

All of these are on ao3, so check them out on there for more info.

Mdzs verse (set in the same era as the novel/cql)

Tame by rikke ♛✿

Tags: teenage wangxian, canon divergence, humor

Length: 11.7k words, oneshot 

Summary: When Wei Wuxian wakes up in Lotus Pier after the Xuanwu Cave it’s with a souvenir in the form of a Xuanwu egg. Wangxian end up as young parents.

A civil combpaign by ariaste ✿

Ariaste has a lot of good fics and is a wonderful writer so check out their other works too!

Tags: Jin Ling x Lan Sizhui, background wangxian, humor, teenage drama 

Length: 19.6k words, oneshot + a sidefic from wwx’s pov

Summary: Jin Ling tries to arrange his own marriage and thinks Lan Sizhui could be a suitable match. One problem: he’s a teenager, the matter is handled accordingly.

The lotus defense society by mondengel ✿ 

Another good writer with a lot of content!

Tags: humor, background wangxian, background yanxuan 

Length: 3.4k words, oneshot

Summary: Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji start a club to help them ensure the Jiang siblings stay single until they can confess. 

Phantom leashes by mondengel ♛

Tags: vampire au, horror elements, set in canon

Length: 3.1k words, 2/2 chapters 

Summary: Lan Qiren can’t help but be cautious of his youngest nephew who inherited his mothers bloodthirstiness. 

An effect (without a cause) by astrobandit

Tags: post-canon, amnesia 

Length: 15.4k words, 10/10 chapters 

Summary: Lan Wangji knows that something is wrong. Maybe the black and red clad man saying his husband is missing has something to do with it.

Unexpected by nanodayolo ✿

Tags: princess and the pauper au, wangxian, mo xuanyu x xue yang, humor

Length: 68.2k words, 22/22 chapters

Summary: The Jin clan is on the borderline of bankruptcy and arranges a marriage between their third son Mo Xuanyu and the second master of Lan, Lan Wangji. Sabotage is in the works and Mo Xuanyu is kidnapped, luckily they have look-alike Wei Wuxian to step in as a stand in. No one will notice, right?

Baby of mine by pupeez4eva ♛✿

Tags: time travel, humor, a-yuan

Length: 3.3k words, oneshot

Summary: A-yuan has time traveled to his parents teenage days in Gusu. Cloud Recesses is in chaos by what their visitor from the future implies. 

Another writer with many good works. My personal faves also include The haunting of Wei Wuxian (ghost’s follow wwx around post resurrection and are witnesses to wangxian) 

and the Wangxian’s time-travelling shenanigans series (they time travel to Gusu school days in the middle of the Guanyin confession. doesn’t stop wwx)

Where the winds of change blow by merakily

Tags: post-canon, humor and a dash of angst, hurt/comfort, juniors, family 

Length: 17.4k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng is always a second away from stabbing the other. Who would’ve know a discussion conference and sect leader Yao’s loud mouth was what it took to make them get along.

The twin jades’ mother by drjlecter

Tags: post-canon, mild angst, twin jades, canon compliant, TW! mentions of suicide

Length: 11.8k words, oneshot

Summary: Wei Wuxian does some experimenting and somehow manages to use inquiry to call upon a very dear spirit.

The father trap by jinko ✿

Tags: post-canon, juniors plotting, humor

Length: 3.6k words, oneshot

Summary: The juniors are frustrated that wangxian isn’t together. They start plotting to make it happen, overlooking the fact that they might be engaged.

Asympotic by chinxe

Tags: canon divergence, pining, angst w/ happy ending

Length: 26.6k words, 3/3 chapters

Summary: Lan’s have a history of having tragic love stories. Lan Wangji follows tradition by falling in love with a ghost.

Some days. by jollytortoise ✿

Tags: emotional hurt/comfort, post-canon

Length: 8.3k words, 4/4 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian is sick, and the entire Cloud Recesses is thrown into disarray. It’s a bad day and all he wants is his husband.

Conversations: this mending fences thing by alcove_words ✿

Tags: post-canon, moving on, family 

Length: 4k words, oneshot

Summary: Wei Wuxian and Lan Sizhui have to stop at Lotus Pier when wwx is injured on a night hunt. Jiang Cheng tries to pick up the pieces of the relationship he once had with his brother.

Lan Sizhui sees dead people by darkbrokenreaper ✿

Tags: background wangxian, canon divergence, humor

Length: series, 7 stand alone works, ongoing

Summary: The time a-yuan spent in the burial mounds has left its mark by giving him the ability to see ghosts. As a result he shocks the people around him when he talks about things he shouldn’t know.

Recompense for the martyr (wicked nights howl) by anemonii ♛

Tags: post-canon, family, emotional hurt/comfort, memories, brotherhood, forgiveness, canon typical violence

Length: series, 3/3 parts

Summary: 

Part 1: Jin Ling is cursed by a sword and witnesses the owner’s memories. As a result he’s taken back to the Lotus Pier of his uncles’ childhood, their teenage days in Gusu and their fallout when the Yiling Patriarch appeared.

Part 2: Wei Wuxian decides it’s time he and Jiang Cheng talked. 

Part 3: It’s time to lay Mo Xuanyu’s body to rest.

The Yiling Wei clan by scifigeek14 ♛✿

Tags: canon divergence, family of choice, fluff, everyone lives/nobody dies, getting together

Length: series, 6/6 works

Summary: Lan Wangji decided to stay at the end of the visit to Yiling. It changes everything, for the better.

Modern au 

Unstrictly ballroom by ariaste ♛♞ 

Tags: competitive ballroom dancing au, background songxiao 

Length: 47.5k words, 4/4 chapters 

Summary: 13 years ago Wei Wuxian was involved in a scandal and thrown out of the competitive ballroom dancing scene, and Lan Wangji never stopped looking. Faced with the heteronormativity within the field, Lan Wangji and his dance partner decide to make a change. It’s something so fitting Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji really wishes he was there now.

Lightning in a bottle by bigbabyjeno ♞

Tags: photographer lwj, wedding crasher wwx

Length: 10k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji is the photographer for a wedding and catches Wei Wuxian sneaking in, claiming to be the bride’s brother. They disguise him in as Lan Wangji’s assistant so he can see his sister get married. The night ends with some smutty times.

By mistake or design by allurie ♛♞

Tags: fashion designers au, slow-burn, sexual tension

Length: 51.7k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji is the head designer of the haute couture division of the fashion house Nuage, while Wei Wuxian is the head designer for ready-to-wear. Circumstances have them end up working together, and the result is an explosive collaboration.  

The best of you by sysrae ♞

Tags: university au, mutual pining, emotional hurt/comfort, mental health

Length: 41.9k words, 17/17 chapters 

Summary: Wei Wuxian rents Lan Wangji’s spare room after being thrown out by the Jiang household. Living together makes Lan Wangji learn to know Wei Wuxian on a much deeper level. 

So take my hand (take my whole life too) by cicer ♛✿♞

Tags: university, kid-fic, accidental baby acquisition, mutual pining, humor 

Length: 92.3k words, 13/13 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian was waiting for his package. What he finds on the doorstep instead is a baby in a car-seat with no one else in sight. Wei Wuxian juggles taking care of a baby and being in love with his co-parent/ roommate/ best friend Lan Wangji at the same time. 

Let’s you and me go for a ride by rinsled05 ♛✿

Tags: racing au, a-yuan, brotherly love, fluff, hurt/comfort

Length: 21.4k words, 5/5 chapters

Summary: Competitive motorcyclist Wei Wuxian meets his very handsome sponsor Lan Wangji, who despite not liking racing still comes back to watch. He wonders why. 

Love wakes me by dea_liberty ♛✿♞

Tags: childhood sweethearts, famous lwj, coffee shop owner wwx 

Length: 42.8k words, 4/4 chapters

Summary: A teenage bet was all it took for Wei Wuxian’s life to fall apart. As an adult he’s working in Yiling cafe, and he’s doing fine in his new life. That’s until Lan Wangji walk in the doors and make his heart ache again for everything in the past.

B-side by suspicious_popsicle ✿♞

Tags: band au, metalhead wwx, music teacher lwj, juniors

Length: 47.3k words, 15/15 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian disappeared right after graduation and Lan Wangji never saw him again. That’s until Lan Jingyi’s favorite band is performing nearby and Lan Wangji sees his first love again.   

My dreams are playing softer now by fleurdeliser ♛✿♞

Tags: modern w/ cultivation, drunk lwj, humor, fluff

Length: 8.2k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji is drunk and his older brother decides he doesn’t want to deal with that and makes Wei Wuxian take responsibility. What follows is a cupcake date. 

Congratulations, get rich by attila ♛✿♞

Tags: party, sibling shenanigans, big dumbass energy, humor

Length: 9,2k words, oneshot

Summary: Wei Wuxian really wants to kiss Lan Wangji at the chinese new years party. If mixing traditions and making his siblings go along with his scheme for it to happen, so be it.

The simplest way forward by harriet_vane ♛✿♞

Tags: kid-fic, accidental baby acquisition, green card marriage (except not), pining

Length: 71k words, 8/8 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian wakes up with an a-yuan in his care and he has no idea how. Lan Wangji helps out and Wei Wuxian tries not to fall in love with his husband.

Operation old men by chiharu ♛✿

Tags: juniors, matchmaking, family, doctor wwx, scheming

Length: 37.6k words, 6/6 chapters

Summary: It turns out Lan Sizhui’s father Lan Wangji and Jin Ling’s uncle Wei Wuxian know each other after a chaotic parent/teacher conference. The juniors decide to do some investigating that soon turns to matchmaking.

Your heartbeat, across the grass by fakeplasticlily ♛♞

Tags: football player lwj, photographer wwx, a-yuan, mutual pining, sexual tension 

Length: 44k words, oneshot

Summary: After graduation Wei Wuxian has done his best to avoid everything to do with Lan Wangji. Not easy when Lan Wangji has become a world known fotball player and a-yuan’s favorite. 

Other faves by this writer: Love on 35mm  (lwj is a film student and anonymous famous vlogger who’s in love with his best friends younger brother) 

and When we’re full of stories to be told (wwx went undercover for an article and cut contact with everyone. years later he ends up meeting childhood best friend lwj who has become a famous author.)

Wei Wuxian is the actual bogeyman (no really) by chatonnerie ♛✿

Tags: rise of the guardians crossover, humor, juniors, mystery

Length: 57.3k words, 6/6 chapters

Summary: Literal bogeyman Wei Wuxian was exiled by the guardians 1300 years ago. A mystery à la mdzs canon welcomes him back to the world for some buddy-cop holiday fun.

Our reflections as seen (when the water stills) by chatonnerie ♛✿♞ 

Tags: tokyo ghoul crossover, university, gore, humor, mystery

Length: 121k words, 10/10 chapters

Summary: Lan Wangji attends university and works for the ccg. His new course brings the annoyance that is Wei Wuxian into his life, who eventually turns out to be his new best friend. Lan Wangji is very concerned for his friends safety when he finds out Wei Wuxian’s brother is a ghoul. But that’s just the tip of the ice berg. 

[This one is hands down one of the best fic’s i’ve read ever. Incorporates the mdzs and tokyo ghoul verse so well.]

And they were roommates... by harriet_vane ✿♞

Tags: fem wangxian, college/university, roommates

Length: 41.2k words, 4/4 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian is without housing for the semester and fellow student Lan Wangji has a room available. Based on infamous reddit post "I (21f) have a crush on my roommate (20f). I can't figure out if she actually likes me back or not or is just being friendly. She cooks for me and knows all my favorite foods, and brings me lunch. (...)”

Jiang Cheng’s terrible summer by hellohln ♛✿

Tags: camp rock crossover, getting together, humor 

Length: 3k words, oneshot

Summary: Jiang Cheng tells his therapist about the disaster that was summer camp. Mostly because he had to witness his brother getting together with fellow camper Lan Wangji.

Let the streetlights guide you home by tellthemstories ♛✿♞

Tags: street racing au, pining, sexual tension

Length: 22.6k words, 5/6 chapters (steady updates so far so it should be done soon)

Summary: Wei Wuxian was the best street racer of his time and he was known for danger and recklessness. A fateful night with his sister beside him turns out to be his death. 10 years later Mo Xuanyu enters the scene. 

Window shopping by thunderwear ✿♞

Tags: quarantine fic, single dad wwx, a-yuan, “long distance”, phone sex

Length: 18k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji looks out of his apartment window to see a sign from the neighbor across the street asking what his bunny’s name is. The interaction turns into more than a one time occurrence and introduces him to the attractive single dad and his adorable son.   

A perfect match by elliemoran ♛✿

Tags: juniors, college/university, humor, gossip

Length:  2k words, oneshot

Summary: Professor Wei Wuxian overhears the students discussing in the library. It’s less about academics and more about how good he looks with professor Lan. But which Lan? 

Make it count by wearing_tearing ✿♞

Tags: actor wwx, lawyer lwj, pining, fluff, light angst, background songxiao, background yanxuan, TW: attempted rape, stalking

Length: 46.9k words, 12/12 chapters

Summary: Actor Wei Wuxian makes his way back into the acting world and prepares for his new role by working at a lawyers office. It brings him back to an old acquaintance. 

Grandmaster of demonic party games by trickster_angel ♛✿

Tags: college, paranormal, occult, light horror, mutual pining, humor

Length: 50k, 27/27 chapters 

Summary: Wei Wuxian likes to try out paranormal games but is always interrupted by Lan Wangji. He keeps wondering how the other knows what he’s up to. 

Scienter by synonemous ♛♞

Tags: serial killers au, dark, explicit, smut, flirting, crime, murder husbands, murder siblings

Length: series with multiple verses within the au, most can be read as stand alone’s

Summary: Serial killer Wei Wuxian aka the yiling patriarch has been flirting over text with the infamous fellow serial killer hanguang-jun. He has no idea who he is, but that doesn’t stop him.

[lanwangjiismyreligion]

So this week I'm translating the famous MDZS-Extra: The Incence Burner (or Holder). And I was stupid enough to say on my twitter, I would talk about it because I want to😅. Now I'm not so sure anymore because if we're being honest: There were already so many discussions about this Extra and I am pretty much late to the party, so I don't think many people care about another opinion. But hey, I'm here on my tumblr and perhaps I 've got nothing better to do, so while I'm translating I could talk about some small things I find interesting I guess😂.

So some first impressions of mine were:

Well, this is a pretty, convenient, almost boring boy's love trope. If you're familiar with the genre nothing what happens there is surprising or radical or new. Even the fact that WangXian are dreaming this whole ordeal was totally obvious for me.

So what makes this Extra so interesting?

In my point of view this Extra is the technical writing demonstration of how WangXian are functioning as adults and as a married couple! The Incence Burner - Extra is not about their past, it's about their present, their present trust and how they're sharing very, very intimate fantasies with each other.

Oh, I literally can hear all those protests:

But it's r a p e....how could you not see that WWX isn't consenting at all!!

Wrong, he is, from the sideline, the whole time😂.

---

(The "problem" is more on the level how a BL trope like this is usual written! But this is more a literatur genre - reader expectation discussion, which I will discuss later in another post or blog artical.)

---

We have even in one of the main story chapters Wei Wuxian's inner thoughts before these extras, like: How stupid I was, to not sleep with LWJ in our earlier years. So the only real non-con scene in the whole book, is the Phoenix Mountain Kiss and this scene was for LWJ's character development only!

So these are some of my thoughts I had as I started translating.

But when I'm ready with my translation I will write an more indepth article on my blog about my personal interpretation of this MDZS-Extra.

So for today I'm off 😴😅😂.

Sorry for this chaotic more or less brainstorming post😂🙈. I'm not good at explaining things, so I recommend to wait for my blog post 🙏😅. I will link it here when it's ready.

[natcat5]

the untamed/mdzs character alignments

I have decided I want to talk about alignments more. Specifically the differences between wei wuxian and lan wangji in the untamed (live action drama) versus the novel (and presumably the donghua and manhua, which follow the novel).

as such, spoilers for all those adaptations ahead

I’ve said like, multiple times on multiple posts that I consider drama wwx to be chaotic good and novel wwx to be lawful evil. and I consider drama lwj to be lawful/chaotic good and novel lwj lawful good and then abruptly chaotic neutral, and I guess i wanted to talk that out more.

first off, I think everyone has different conceptions about exactly what the alignments mean. evil especially is contentious. i’ve seen it rationalized as ‘selfless acts qualify as good and selfish acts qualify as evil’ to simplify the alignment chart, but I don’t quite vibe with that. the problem obviously is that everyone has different morals and so unless someone is drowning kittens, no one’s going to have the same definition of evil. so to be clear, this post is entirely subjective

in regards to wwx, i think we first have to decide whether or not we consider using the dead as mindless tools is implicitly evil. again, the drama wwx gets an out here, because he seems to be only using spirits, resentful energy in a loose form, or ‘not-dead’ puppets. novel wwx is not so lucky. novel wwx is literally using the dead bodies of wen soldiers and wen civilians to fight in the sunshot campaign. if you consider desecration of the dead to be a deal breaker, than he’s already crossed the line. that’s not even touching on that scene where he feeds wen chao’s fingers to a corpse child. 

actions aside, from an ideological standpoint, I sincerely believe novel wwx’s core beliefs align with lawful evil, at least from the burial mounds onwards. For me, I take lawful evil to mean ‘will commit evil acts to satisfy a consistent personal belief or code’. This means lawful evil, like all alignments, can present differently. for example, I believe wwx and jgy are both lawful evil. 

wwx’s law is ‘I can and will do anything to punish or destroy those who have hurt the ones I protect’

jgy’s law is ‘I can and will do anything to destroy or remove those who hurt me or are in the way of my security’

and here, obviously, is where people might argue that wwx’s law, by nature of being selfless, is more chaotic good. but honestly, his method’s in the novel are so fucking dark that I can’t vibe with it. obviously his law is more sympathetic than jgy’s, but I don’t think it erases his massive fucking body count, and the horror, which is acknowledged in the novel, of him fighting the wen with the bodies of their loved ones.

drama wwx, bless him, avoids all of this by not using corpses, but puppets. and it’s heavily implied that the actions of the puppets at nightless city are not his fault. sure, some people died, but there was a shadow master behind the scenes, preventing wwx from ever getting serious blood on his hands. i don’t hate the drama for it, I think it’s nice to have a character that goes through hell and stays ‘good’, with every terrible act he supposedly commits actually being someone else’s fault. but it does make him a very different character from his novel counterpart. 

(as an aside, the drama’s decision here cheapens yanli’s death a little. in the novel, she comes onto the battlefied to stop wwx, and succeeds. because he is the one in control, when she tells him to stop, the corpses stop fighting. and then she unfortunately dies pushing him out of the way. but in the drama, since he’s not controlling the puppets, it seems like she just there to...find and talk to him? maybe she was trying to stop him here too, but it doesnt’ come across well, and it feels like she’s on the battlefield specifically to die. im a little salty, because I think her getting wwx to stop at nightless city is one of the best scenes between them in the novel) 

I’d love to stop here, but let me also talk about lan wangji while we’re here.

he’s a little easier. kind of. drama lwj has a beautiful little arc from lawful good to chaotic good. since he becomes high cultivator at the end, he may even get to settle back in to lawful good, because now he is the law. good for him, I say. his belief in wwx never compromises his true morals, because wwx is always actively on the side of justice. all the bad things he does are someone else’s fault, so lwj’s faith in him continues to be justified. 

novel lwj....oh my god. I love drama lwj to death, but novel lwj truly is a full ass himbo, and I do respect the hustle. it’s like ‘lwj, wwx just killed so many people. so many. we have to kill him’. and lwj’s like ‘i have taken your suggestion into account and decided that I must decline’. ‘lwj?!!! he literally killed a lot of people and keeps summoning corpses!!! get out of the way!!!’ ‘what? im sorry, my phone cutout, I missed that’ ‘this is a verbal conversation!!!’

on one hand, lwj defends the burial grounds because he knows the wens are innocent and is also trying to protect them (if my memory is correct. I tried to find the part in the novel but couldn’t, so apologies if his mind was actually one-track wei ying town). on the other hand, he never seems too bothered that wwx really did kill a lot of people. or at least, the body count doesn’t seem to lessen his feelings, or his need to protect wwx. novel lwj goes from lawful good to unrepentant chaotic neutral, and I love that for him.

last point is the ending of the drama and the novel....it’s a little trickier. for the drama, I believe lan wangji ends either on chaotic good or back to a newly shining lawful good, which is nice. but for wei wuxian, I find myself hoping he drops down from chaotic good to neutral good. it’s hard to say for sure, but i feel like withdrawing from the cultivation world is withdrawing from trying to be the hero to everyone and everything. this is partially because he’s no longer with anyone he has a personal drive to protect. I believe he’ll keep doing good, travelling around, but I think, and hope, that it’s a more passive kind of good. honestly, he deserves to not try and be everyone’s hero. I hope he settles in neutral good, but there’s no proof, so he may end the drama still chaotic good. 

novel wwx and lwj are trickier. the terrible things wwx does are entirely in the past. so we’re left wondering how much of that was corruption from resentment, and how much was him. he certainly seems to be in a much better mental place when he’s resurrected. the only hint that he might still be a, uh, murder gremlin, is his completely willingness to murder the mo family to satisfy his contract. luckily, something beats him to it. also, we the audience get a little out by being shown how awful the mo family is. but still, being awful is not license to be murdered. i think we can still assume wwx’s still got a little of that ‘if you commit wrong against those I’ve deemed mine, you’re dead’ in him. 

still, by the end of the novel, those vibes don’t seem too evident. he’s definitely a chaotic little gremlin of a man, but I don’t feel right saying he’s still lawful evil at the end of the novel, which is funny, because I don’t think his personality changes too much over the story. I feel like circumstances shape his alignment, and when the dust settles, he doesn’t have anyone to actively protect, he has no one left to get revenge on, and so his lawful evil mindset seems to like, evaporate. I feel like he ends as neutral good as well, maybe chaotic neutral. i don’t know, it’s hard! lwj and wwx spend the extra chapters, when not having marathon sex, helping people, often out of the goodness of their hearts. it really feels like once the world isn’t out to get them, they both settle into neutral good. which is fascinating to me. 

tl;dr drama wwx is consistently chaotic good, though he might settle into neutral good by the end of the series. novel wwx is lawful evil from the burial grounds onwards, but seems to be more good-aligned post resurrection, and probably settles into neutral good. 

drama lwj has a fun little arc from lawful good to chaotic good, possibly ending up back at lawful good once he becomes the law (chief cultivator). novel lwj has a somewhat hilarious arc of being lawful good and then swan-diving into chaotic neutral with the unflinching stubborness of a himbo in love. he also probably ends the novel on neutral good, though I maintain that if novel wwx ever relapsed and did a little murder, lwj would be disappointed, but not surprised, or unduly bothered....so he probably ends the novel still chaotic neutral. 

[untamedunrestrained]

I have to do this!

I recently came across this post made by @vespertineflora and I hesitated before reblogging it because I knew this was a hornet’s nest but I fully agreed with it so I eventually decided to reblog it, because that’s my philosophy if something jives with me a 100% I reblog it, if it doesn’t I don’t. Anyhow, after this I came across multiple posts by @vespertineflora where they put forth their POV in the various sex scenes in MDZS and I really liked their answers which compelled me to write this post.

The one thing I have realised when it comes to MDZS is that all my posts in this fandom are beyond chaotic so I don’t think this will be any different though considering the sex is confined to only one canon of this story hopefully this will atleast make sense. Though as I start this I have no idea where this is going so it is definitely going to be a little chaotic.

At this point I feel it’s important to mention what experience I have already had with danmei. Because if MDZS is your first foray into danmei I can appreciate how crazy the sex scenes must seem. Anyhow, my first foray into danmei was with “Hua Hua You Long” and if the sex scenes in MDZS are problematic believe you don’t want to be within a 100 yards of “Hua Hua You Long”. But, I have a very high tolerance for writing that makes me uncomfortable so I persevered for very long with HHYL but when it became amply clear that the only kind of sex our two main characters are going to indulge in was going to be straight up non-con I gave up. Like, I think I even tried to see if it changed by the very end before DNFing but it didn’t. I get the feeling that non-con/dub-con might be a big part of danmei.

Anyhow, before jumping into MDZS and this was straight after I finished “The Untamed”. In fact, it was the very same day, I came across this post talking about how the sex scenes in MDZS were fetishizing and that the novel presented a rape scene between minors as erotica and touched briefly on their first kiss. Now this post was very vague so I really couldn’t prepare myself one way or the other but knowing my limits I delved into the novel anyway. But, I was hyper critical of any kiss /sex scene between WWX and LWJ because of that post because I was perpetually on the lookout for that rape scene which I had no idea how I was going to swallow.

Having read the novel, there is one point I want to make before we dissect MDZS in particular. This novel was written in an online serialized format so the end of each chapter had to be something that would have to be compelling enough to have people subscribed and to keep people reading the work which is a big reason in the novel the past and present are presented as they are because if you read the novel, LWJ and WWX are never apart for long, if they separate in the past we immediately jump to the present. If we jump to the past it is always to a scene where they will meet. There are very few scenes where they are separated for any length of time, one of which is at the very beginning and the second is at the time the YunmengJiang Clan is attacked and the novel while covering the bases doesn’t dwell for long in this period because it is a period LWJ and WWX are separated and your audience are mostly here for those two. So, you try to make the scenes where your main characters are separated as few and far between. This directly implies that you are catering to a specific audience and we need to realise that we are not that specific target audience.

This book is written in a very niche genre and it is meant to be consumed by people who like stories in that genre and sex is a big part of that and unfortunately so are the non-con/dub-con elements in sex. So, I feel that the reason the author mostly put the sex scenes in the extras was to cater to her audience that do expect these scenes while reading danmei.

The fact is that the story of MDZS is so good that it got multiple adaptations and the live-action show propelled it to a stage the author didn’t intend it for. She wasn’t writing for such an international audience, she wasn’t catering for it either. The worldwide acclaim this story has gotten is unprecedented, I can tell you this because I have never in my life watched a Chinese Drama (well, except for The Untamed now) and I have never in my life completed a novel in the danmei genre (well, except for MDZS now). The fact that this story has found such a stage and the only fault people can find with it are the sex scenes should actually be pretty extraordinary considering when this story was being written it was expected to be consumed by Chinese readers who enjoyed this specific genre.

So, yeah the story isn’t written keeping in mind the sensibilities of the West. The author never intended so many people from different nationalities and cultures to read her story and it was written for a target audience who reads this genre expecting it to meet certain expectations and sex is very high on that list.

Now, I agree that just because we aren’t the target audience doesn’t mean we can’t have an opinion on the work. The fact that the sex scenes in MDZS are non-con/dub-con to please a certain audience doesn’t mean that you can’t call them out for being problematic. They are and you can but remember don’t paint everything with a broad brush. Nothing is as black or as white as people make it out to be and ultimately that is the moral of MDZS.

So, instead of broad sweeping statements, I want to take this opportunity to really dissect the nuances in the kiss/sex scenes between LWJ and WWX because at the end of the day I do really love the story of MDZS.

Blanket Spoiler Warning for all novel scenes from here on out!

First Kiss at Phoenix Mountain

I probably wouldn’t have noticed this scene if not for that post that had me in a hyper-alert state but just because this is something I would have normally given a pass still doesn’t mean it’s okay.

The very first kiss between LWJ and WWX is a kiss that takes place on Phoenix Mountain while WWX is blindfolded. Basically, in the Phoenix Mountain hunt when Jin ZiXuan bulls-eyes his target in the archery competition, WWX tries to one-up him by doing the feat blindfolded which he succeeds at much to Jin ZiXun’s chagrin who then tries to rile him up and which ultimately has WWX claiming that he can do the entire hunt blind-folded and still be the better one at the end of the day. So WWX is blindfolded when he feels someone approach who then proceeds to kiss the living daylights out of him, literally he is so weak-kneed he can’t stand up after the kiss. But, given that WWX doesn’t know who kissed him there is no question of consent, he can’t see who is kissing him and therefore he can’t consent to the kiss. This is definitely dubious consent if not outright non-consensual.

There are certain hints that he isn’t completely at the mercy of his secret admirer, first being that the reason he is able to approach WWX is because WWX doesn’t perceive any killing intent from this person and secondly WWX is elated that this lone cultivator is approaching him at a time when most cultivators are atleast somewhat afraid of him, so he lets him (yes because we already know it’s LWJ) come closer than he would have otherwise and doesn’t even take a protective stance when he is smashed against a tree. When both his wrists are captured he decides to kick his assailant but is shocked into stillness because his assailant starts kissing him at this point. He struggles when he comes to his senses but when he realises how badly the person kissing him is trembling he can’t bring himself to struggle any further. But, he again struggles when the person starts to french kiss him but at this point is overpowered.

So, breaking it down, he consents to this person’s approach into his personal space, doesn’t consent to the kiss but backs down when he realises that this person is struggling with their own emotions, definitely doesn’t consent to being French kissed but is overpowered. So, consensual followed by dub-con followed by non-con. Of course, it must be reiterated that WWX can always kick his assailant away but for whatever reason he doesn’t. Overall this entire kiss is dub-con at the most and isn’t the healthiest thing in the world.

But, in the context of the story it is viewed differently. For whatever reason WWX sees this entire experience in a positive light.

The previous scene seemed to be an absurd yet erotic daydream. Recalling what it had felt like, formless tickles crawled up all the way to the tip of his heart. 

LWJ on the other hand is furious at himself because soon after this scene he can be found disintegrating a tree. Well, this proves two things, one he isn’t proud of his actions and second, that despite everything this is the only way he can express his love for WWX with WWX none the wiser. This scene highlights his struggle with what he already knows, he loves WWX yet he knows no way to express it. His parents were the worst role-models in that area and he has no concept of a man loving another man. His actions are wrong but the story portrays them more as cry for help, to showcase his struggle with his relentless feelings.

He had no idea that Lan WangJi was mad at himself—mad that he acted upon his urges, that he couldn’t control himself, that he took advantage of another in a way that was neither righteous nor abiding by his sect rules.

It is definitely dub-con but I guess it is more in service of character development than anything else. I’m curious as to what people feel about this first kiss. 

Second Kiss with Drunk Lan Wangji after the Yi City Arc

Well, according to WWX it’s the first and it’s anybody’s guess if LWJ has any idea it happened.

We all know LWJ has zero alcohol tolerance and for somebody who has only had alcohol for the second time in his life that’s to be expected and unfortunately there can be no proper consent under the influence so yeah, this one is definitely non-consensual.

But, people might not see it that way. In fact, I’m pretty sure (okay not so sure) they don’t see it that way. Well, LWJ is plenty eager for being licked by WWX and well WWX is fully in his senses but since you can’t consent to something you can’t fully comprehend, it is still non-con. 

The Hand-job with a once-again Drunk Lan Wangji 

WWX really loves taking advantage of a drunk Lan Wangji. Well, this time things definitely go out of hand. To the extent that WWX realizes that his actions might be very cruel and selfish. Again taking into account the fact that LWJ is drunk these again become non-consensual but surprisingly the reason LWJ has such a violent reaction to the whole act is probably because he believes he took advantage of WWX and then when he tries to help WWX clean up he is rejected making him believe that WWX didn’t want to participate when nothing could be further from the truth, considering he initiated it.

My God, these two are really horrible at figuring out what’s going on between them. No wonder it takes a huge intervention for them to come to their senses. 

The Sex Scene at the very end of the novel

Well, this is the only fully consensual kiss/ sex scene in the main novel. There are kisses followed by a blowjob followed by anal sex and all three are fully consensual. Though the third one seems to be rather painful, it’s still consensual. Also, while they are having sex WWX is constantly mouthing off that LWJ should have taken advantage of him back when they were fifteen and at the Cloud Recesses.

“If you liked me since such a long time ago, why didn’t you take me sooner? The back mountains of your Cloud Recesses would be quite a good location, wouldn’t it? When I snuck out to fool around alone, you should’ve tied me up and dragged me away, pinned me onto the grass like right now to do whatever you want to me…”

“You’re so strong, so I couldn’t have resisted. If I screamed, you could’ve silenced me. Or your Library Pavilion also would’ve been a great place, right in the middle of the scriptures scattered on the ground. We could’ve bought a few cutsleeve booklets to compare and learn, any position at all…”

Well, at this point the novel ends and as you can see despite it being about 900 pages long when translated into English it definitely doesn’t deliver much on the sex front so the author wrote a series of extras to make up for that deficit and it’s your choice if you want to read the extras with the sexual content. They don’t contribute to the story so it’s truly your wish.

Banquet (Parts 1-3)

This one doesn’t have any explicit sex scenes though WWX does try to play out a rape scenario but it fails rather spectacularly because LWJ has no idea what to do and when they try to reverse the positions WWX just gives in instead of actually putting up a struggle.

Incense Burner (Parts 1-2)

I’m finally here at the infamous incense burner extra. So, let’s do this (cracks her knuckles).

This extra is set on the premise that LWJ and WWX use an incense burner that transports them to a dream world where they both get a glimpse of each other’s dreams. WWX’s dream is of the two of them retired and living in the countryside in his own version of domestic bliss while LWJ’s dream is well, where this entire conversation on consent started. Now when LWJ first realizes which of his dreams they are in he doesn’t want to explore any further, he hesitates but WWX decides to investigate. While in the dream he tries to prevent WWX from seeing it to its full extent because he is definitely embarrassed by it. The dream they came across is of a fifteen-year-old LWJ raping a fifteen-year-old WWX and then seeing this the real WWX gets rather turned on and has very consensual sex with his husband, LWJ.

Truthfully, the weird thing is that this might be one of the best ways to deal with this kink and I don’t understand why people are so hung up on the rape scene because hasn’t it been made clear that those two boys are nothing more than figments of imagination. Really, we can’t impose consent on dream versions of people because they aren’t actually people. The only people who have sex in this scenario are the grown-up versions of LWJ and WWX who have consensual sex.

I feel that a rape fantasy is more easy to accept if the victim has it, like in this scenario if this was WWX’s dream the sentiment might have been different but considering this is the aggressor’s dream sympathies change and this is something LWJ definitely acknowledges, he fears being judged but all things considered it’s good WWX knows this side of him because considering how much he keeps spouting off about being raped he definitely wants to indulge in this fantasy. Though in no sex scene in the main novel or the extras do they actually indulge in such a fantasy.

There was also the point that we have no idea when LWJ first had this dream and considering how closely this dream follows WWX’s fantasy during their first sex scene might put the genesis of this dream at a later date which would imply that this wasn’t a dream born out of LWJ’s initial frustration and inability to understand his feelings towards WWX which does alter the perspective a little.

In fact, the second incense burner dream is more problematic when WWX gives a blow-job to an eighteen-year-old LWJ (for my sanity he’s eighteen) who is actually a dream consciousness of his much older husband, then proceeds to use the hilt of Bichen as a dildo till his husband in a much younger body decides to save his sword from the horror and fucks WWX himself. But, then he discovers that he likes spanking WWX and he proceeds to do so despite WWX’s discomfort with the act. Again, I don’t know how much the concept of consent can be applied to dream selves, but all things considered this would have been the more problematic of the incense burner extras. Because, the first part is definitely non-consensual followed by a sex scene that is at best dub-con. Again, this is all in a dream and WWX is never going to get the opportunity to have sex with a younger-version of his husband because he didn’t and now he can’t. So again, I have no idea if this should even be brought into the consent issue.

But, one of the best things about this extra is that when WWX wakes up from the dream he is scared that LWJ will spank him something he didn’t like at all and doesn’t desire to repeat. He tells him that and LWJ immediately tells him that he will not. Which speaks a lot about these two, they know they have to communicate with each other and I feel like they have a good idea of each other’s limits and while these two might be kinky as hell neither actually wants to do anything that the other will not enjoy. So, even though they haven’t always dealt with it optimally I can rest assured that they will do better in the future.

But, I truly feel like everyone in all this uproar regarding the alleged rape forgot that this extra is written for a completely different purpose. I feel like the real reason the author wrote this was to allow LWJ and WWX to have sex in their own bodies which is something they have never done!

From Dawn to Dusk - Rather shameless sex but all consensual.

Intrusion (Parts 1-3) - No explicit sex scene though it is implied.

Villainous Friends, Iron Hook (Parts 1-2), Lotus Seed Pod & Dream Come True - No sexual content.     

[xueyangs-pinky-finger]

👀👀 maybe I'm someone else though

I'm so so so so sorry about that mess up! I turned anon on but then had to put down my phone for a bit and when I got back, it has switched back to non-anon and I didn't notice until right after I hit Send. But wow, your detective work!!!

The sheer CHAOTIC GREMLIN ENERGY of Too Many Spirits!!! This has become my Saturday comfort watch.

Ohh yes I was just recently talking about Ye Ben with someone and yesss it plays in alllll the saddest scenes: after lotus pier is murdered, the nightless city cliff, the golden core reveal, when song lan is walking away on his own after the yi city story... Just hearing the music now is enough to make me want to cry.

Ooh the good place AU sounds so interesting! And it would fit them so well: xue yang as Eleanor, starting out not so good but growing as a person as he receives love and support... I can't wait to see your fanvid!

I don't write fics. I tried when I was in school but it makes me cringe whenever I think about it 😅. And no, I haven't tried any other work by mxtx although I keep hearing so much about them! Maybe I'll give tgcf a try once my work schedule gets a bit less crazy...

What was your favourite storyline in mdzs/cql? (If it was the xue yang storyline, then second favourite? 😝) And your least favourite? A storyline which you wish you could rewrite/would happen differently? And finally, a cql storyline that you liked which wasn't in mdzs, and vice versa?

-🎵🦄

i hope you don’t feel bad about it bc it’s rly fine!! if anything, i was just amused, self-satisfied since i guessed correctly (even tho that was rly just dumb luck 😝), and happy it was you ^^

omg, i know, i watch it w/ my mom and sister and they love it too. also i’m pretty sure shane reached his final form when he started cosplaying as krampus aldfk.

yesss, ye ben always gives me goosebumps!! also i just realized ren sheng is the one that plays during the rain scene, so now that one has more of an effect on me as well :’(

thanks; i can’t wait either, lmao. it took me 2 hours to edit a mere 20 second segment and now i’m rly sympathizing with youtubers who spend full days every week just editing—

same, same, like we just gonna leave that shit in the past… 🙈 occasionally i still get emails from ao3 saying someone left kudos on one of my fics and i’m just like oh god no why alskdf.

i rly enjoyed tgcf! hualian are rly… it’s like you don’t even have to worry about censorship with them bc you simply Cannot; their every interaction is flirtatious asdklf. they differ from wangxian in that way, bc i feel like they both were aware of their feelings for each other earlier~ so it’s fun bc it’s something different :)) (also the bamboo hat rain scene was rly… that shit kinda hit hard, ngl. life b like that~) aw sorry you’re so busy :((

low-key the answer’s probably yi cheng arc for the first three questions 🙃 it’s fave bc we finally see more of xue yang, and i’d loved him since that very first scene of him in ep 3~ also i was sure he rly did care about xxc and it proved me right, and i loved seeing that other side of him… but least fave bc his and xxc’s demises quickly follow 😔 if i could, i would give them a reincarnation sequel series where they get a happy ending :’) low-key while i was reading tgcf i liked to pretend hualian were xuexiao reincarnated bc i felt like there were a lot of parallels there

other than that, tho… lsz being a-yuan for fave? he’s one of my favorite characters, and bc i was a big dummy on my first viewing, i did not see them being the same person coming at all 🤦🏻‍♀️ the reunion w/ him and wn and him and wwx made me teary (i didn’t full-on cry at all on my first viewing of cql, tho i have done so many times since aha); it was just rly touching and i loved that they were each other’s happy endings~ also, the yiling laozu… painful as it is, it’s also just So Good… xz rly flexed them acting skills, and i love all the tea wwx spills during that final confrontation 👌 the cloud recesses shenanigans are also iconic ofc… the golden core reveal and overall change in behavior of lwj after wwx comes back... mastermind nhs taking everyone (including me) for a fool... idk there’s so many wbu 😅

idk about the cql v. mdzs storyline q bc i haven’t read that much of mdzs and i haven’t noticed that many differences? so i’ll have to get back to you on that ^^ oh, i believe cql added the bit about drunk lwj with the roosters? so that was pretty great haha. & i appreciate mdzs xue yang bc we get the full context of his background story~

[trensu]

Episode 9: the One where They ~FROLIC IN THE FOREST~

We’re back at the dancing fairy cave.

Stuff happens here that’s, you know, plotty

We’re gonna ignore all that

OUR FIRST WANGXIAN MOMENT OF THE EPISODE is when wwx defends lwj from jc’s ire (oh yeah, one of the plotty things is that jc suddenly is here. Not important why).

Jc is all pissy (bc when isn’t he, honestly?) at wwx for having to chase after him (which he didn’t technically have to but bros don’t abandon their bros to unknown circumstances, okay?) and is complaining angrily about it

Wwx: hey, I’M the one who wanted to follow lwj around because i love him, so don’t get mad at him!

And then wwx looks over at lwj with a little smile on his face, so sweet so sweet!

Plot plot exposition plot

We have to chase down the Smoky Owl of Evil and kill it now for Plot Reasons!

Lol, wwx traps jc, nhs, AND wen qing (oh she’s here now too, btw) in his Golden Glowy Net of Protection so he and lwj can go track down the Smoky Owl of Evil together

Wwx, probably: “STOP INTERRUPTING MY DATE WITH LWJ, GUYS, JEEZ”

And now our beautiful boys are in the middle of the woods when suddenly SPOOKY FOG ROLLS IN WITH OMINOUS MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND

SHIT’S ABOUT TO GET SERIOUS

Oh nooo, the fog separates them!! Wwx is worriedly calling out “lan zhan, lan zhan!”

Luckily they bump into each other pretty quick so they’re together again

Except, oops, JUST KIDDING

Wwx takes like, two steps to one side and loses lwj again. Even tho lwj is literally right there next to him

But he doesn’t know that so he’s worried and being all cute about it. He bites his knuckle and is thinking “oh noooo, what if the Smoky Owl of Evil got him?!?” So he’s calling out for him, again

EVEN THO HE’S ONLY LIKE, TWO FEET AWAY, LET ME REITERATE

LWJ seems to be able to see wwx just fine bc the look he gives him is all “r u srs, i’m right here”

Thankfully lwj is clever and makes bichen light up all blue and pretty like an epic glow stick. It matches his outfit!! (i’ve decided he did this on purpose. He definitely can control what color his sword lights up as and coordinates it accordingly with his clothes. No, i will not be taking criticisms, because I am Right)

LWJ: I’m right next to you

WWX: *surprised gasp* You should’ve said something!

Uh, he just did wwx, keep up now.

LWJ: the fog is creating hallucinations

WWX: that’s alright! I’ll just get rid of it using my ~glitter talisman~

EXCUSE ME, WHAT??

WHAT IS A GLITTER TALISMAN?

OF COURSE YOU INVENTED A GLITTER TALISMAN, YOU CHAOTIC BI

Too bad it doesn’t work! i wanted to see it in action :( :( :(

Lwj: the fog is also disorienting the mind so you can’t focus

Don’t worry wwx, your talisman didn’t fail because you were having performance issues

It failed because the fog is Evil

WWX: Wait!! Why isn’t your mind being disturbed?

Lwj: it mostly disturbs minds that have lots of thoughts in them

Wwx: *cheeky grin* ah, it’s making use of my infinite wisdom~

Lwj: *looks away in exasperation*

I guess lans are Above rolling their eyes at someone (tho I'm pretty sure he's rolled his eyes at him before) but the way lwj did that gave off intense eye-rolling vibes, let me tell ya

OMG A SENTIENT CHAIN OF EVIL ATTACKS THEM OUT OF NOWHERE

Thankfully lwj is a Skilled Fighter and was able to block it with his sword while doing a SUPER DRAMATIC TWIRL OF DODGING

Ooooh, and when he lands, wwx appears right beside him and they go back to back without even pausing to think

BC THEY’RE SOULMATES AND CAN FIGHT IN SYNC AHHHHHH

WWX: lan zhan, are you okay?

He sound so serious here, and with his determined expression, wwx is ready to get down to business on this evil chain that attacked his lwj

LWJ: I’m fine *still super alert to his surroundings bc he’s an awesome cultivator and that’s what they do*

Okay, pause for a moment to point out how funny the camera shots from above are. The fog almost completely obscures wwx in his dark clothes, but lwj sticks out like a sore thumb. So every time we get one of these shots, it just looks like lwj is chilling by his lonesome in this mega foggy forest lol

Oh, dude, this next part is SO FREAKING COOL

So they’re back to back still, and surrounded by Evil Fog

Lwj: wei ying, focus your senses!

The both of them close their eyes to focus intensely

the the camera is down below, angled up so that LWJ and WWX look tall and slightly elongated but in a badass way!

And then the camera circles around them slowly to really show you just how badass and good looking they are before doing a quick spin around them with DRAMATIC MUSIC in the background

Okay, i’m done geeking out about the camera shot (idk why, guys, but i love those kinds of shots. They’re so thrilling every time!!)

Also LOOK AT MY BOYS BEING ALL FOCUSED AND SERIOUS. GO GET EM SWEETIES, I BELIEVE IN YOU

At this point they haven’t even looked at each other or their surroundings but lwj starts a plan

Lwj: Split fire talisman

That’s it. That’s all he says to wwx.

Without hesitation, wwx sheathes suibian and pulls out that talisman

THEY TRUST EACH OTHER IMPLICITLY

I MEAN, COME ON

THEY’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FOREST SURROUNDED BY EVIL MIND-ALTERING FOG

AND WWX SHEATHES HIS SWORD LIKE NBD JUST WITH A WORD FROM LWJ??

AAAAHHHHHHH

SOULMATES ON THE BATTLEFIELD

I LOVE IT

I LOVE IT SO MUCH

AND NOW THEY’RE MOVING ALL SYNCHRONIZED,  LWJ BLOCKING EVIL CHAINS WITH BICHEN AND WWX DETERRING OTHER EVIL CHAINS USING THE TALISMANS

AND THEY’RE STILL BACK TO BACK, CIRCLING AROUND TO KEEP EACH OTHER SAFE!!!!!

THEY’RE SUCH A GREAT TEAM 

Then we cut for a moment to see how nhs, jc, and wq are doing in their Golden Glowy Net of Protection (it looks kind of like a birdcage actually...glowy golden birdcage of protection?? hmm)

And we’re back at the epic forest fight scene!!

OMG THAT WAS SUCH A COOL MOVE RIGHT HERE

THERE WAS A CHAIN COMING AT WWX AND HE STRAIGHT UP BACKFLIPS OVER LWJ WHILE LWJ SWOOPS TO TAKE HIS PLACE AND HIT THE CHAIN WITH BICHEN

AHHHHH

THIS IS WHAT ROMANCE LOOKS LIKE, GUYS, DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE

IF YOU CAN’T DO EPIC BATTLE MOVES WITH YOUR S.O. ARE YOU REALLY MEANT TO BE??

But oh no!! One of the evil chains catches wwx by the neck and drags him away!!

It made him drop his sword!!

IT TIED HIM TO A TREE!!

don't think kinky thoughts don't think kinky thoughts dontthinkkinkythoughts

Oh, now wwx is playing dead lol

Suddenly the Smoky Owl of Evil swoops in to attack his “dead” body (because that bird is a coward that lacks honor)

AND WWX CATCHES IT WITH HIS BARE HANDS

WWX: did you think you could outsmart me?? *proceeds to choke the poor bird to death, yikes*

Lwj finally catches up to wwx but sees that the bird’s been sufficiently murdered so he sheathes bichen

Wwx: did you see who was controlling the Smoky Owl of Evil?

LWJ: Nope.

(God, LWJ, you had ONE JOB)

LWJ: he or she was mind-controlling it from somewhere Not Here.

(Oh, nevermind then. You're forgiven)

LOL WWX’S FACE

LIKE, YOU MEAN I NEARLY GOT CHOKED TO DEATH WITH AN EVIL CHAIN FOR NOTHING???

Wwx: *kicks dead bird petulantly*

Side note: A-yuan makes a brief appearance here! Wwx and LWJ go check on their pals who are with the Wens and A-yuan is there!! 

It doesn’t really make sense bc i’m pretty sure between now and the end of the sunshot campaign, a few years have passed?? so a-yuan should be much older later, but you know what? I DON’T EVEN CARE.

WHATEVER! I’M NOT HERE FOR THE PLOT. 

OR SENSIBLE TIMELINES. 

TIME IS MEANINGLESS. 

TRUE LOVE IS FOREVER. 

ALSO A-YUAN IS FREAKING ADORABLE SO I’M NOT GONNA COMPLAIN!

And now we’re getting more plot exposition about the dancing fairy

It’s less painful this time bc wen qing is the one doing it and she’s gorgeous (take a moment to drown in her big brown bambi eyes! please marry me, wen qing)

More plot stuff happens.

Wwx tricks nhs and jc into chasing after a chicken so he can have ~alone time~ with lwj

Except not really bc they’re there to interrogate wq about the yin iron, aka the main plot device in this story arc

Wwx: the fairy started snatching souls bc the Plot Device was taken from it, right? That’s why it only went after lan zhan when we were fighting it!

Detective!WWX is so cute and clever!!

But god forbid wwx stays serious for more than a minute straight heh straight when not in immediate danger bc then he’s all

Wwx: the only other possible explanation is...IT HAD A CRUSH ON LAN ZHAN LOLOL

(Which, i mean, who wouldn’t, right?)

THE LOOK ON LWJ’S FACE AT THIS! LOL

LWJ: Shut UP

they’re talking serious plot stuff again, boring.

Oh, JC and WQ have a moment and the only reason i’m mentioning it is bc WWX goes and interrupts it, THAT’S KARMA BABY LOL

Now they’re in a town! Not the flower-petal town from before. A different one. Idk.

A hawker stops wwx and gives him a sample of alcohol and lwj gives wwx a disdainful look like ‘r u srs?’ before walking off

The NANOSECOND wwx sees lwj walking away from him, he ditches Mr. Let-me-give-you-free-alcohol and chases after him

Yes, the budding alcoholic ditches the Free Alcohol Man

THAT’S TRUE LOVE BABY

Lol he grabs lwj by the ribbon thing hanging off his shoulder (not the Marriage Ribbon, unfortunately)

Lwj glares at him but it’s like, a mild one

WWX: wait, where are you going??

Lwj: looking for the gentry. For info. *tries to walk away*

Wwx: WAIT *grabs lwj by the forearm*

Lwj: *stares at where wwx is touching him until wwx lets go*

WWX TAKE IT EASY ON POOR LAN ZHAN

HE’S ONLY JUST REALIZED HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU

HE CAN’T HANDLE YOU TOUCHING HIM YET

Wwx: don’t go without me! You’ll info-gather wrong!!

Lwj: how should i do it then?

Wwx: *cute little grin that shows off his beauty mark*

(gaaahhh, i can’t handle it when he smiles like this, it kills me every time!! that beauty mark is deadly)

Wwx: you should go to the wine house for info instead!!

JC: you just want to get drunk (oh yeah, he’s still here guys, fyi)

Wwx: HOW DARE! I can separate business from pleasure! Ppl gossip at wine houses! We’ll definitely get info there!

and now nhs is joining them

Nhs: lets go find a place to rest

Wow, lwj is staring pretty hard at nhs

It’s a stare that’s like “y r u talking to my soulm8, stop that”

AND THEN WWX GRABS BOTH JC AND LWJ BY THE ARMS AND RUNS, DRAGGING THEM BOTH BEHIND HIM

IT’S SO CUTE

HE’S SO HAPPY!! HE’S GOT THE TWO BOYS HE LOVES MOST IN THE WORLD WITH HIM!!

Also, lol lwj is so stiff even as wwx forces him to run

We’re at the wine house

Wwx slams down an obscene amount of money on the table (at least i think it’s obscene going off of jc’s expression and subsequent scolding about how wwx is gonna be broke BUT JOKE’S ON HIM BC WWX IS GETTING HIMSELF A SUGAR DADDY IN THE FUTURE)

Now he’s chatting up the waiter for info and we get Plot Details and an ooky-spooky story about the now deceased Chang clan

I only specify this bc the Plot Device tucked in lwj’s robes starts acting up aND CAUSING LWJ PAIN!! 

NOT COOL, PLOT DEVICE, VERY NOT COOL!

Wwx is hovering all worriedly at his shoulder and mother-henning him.

The Plot Device gives LWJ a vision(!!) that sends them to the Chang clan’s residence

And we get surprise dead bodies accompanied by unholy screeching when we get there!!

Like. SO MANY dead bodies!

LWJ and WWX are Concerned!!

And that’s the end of episode 9.

This episode imo has is the best fight scene of the show. There’s more dramatic ones later on, but in terms of seeing wwx and lwj battle together in a not-ridiculously-over-the-top fashion? This one wins hands down! Gold Star to my boys!!

Return to Masterpost

[ailinaline]

The Untamed: unsorted

Well... I am nothing, if not eccentric, after all. Why not publish a huge post all of a sudden? :)

The Untamed (СQL) is an abyss, and I am still falling, grasping at some scattered thoughts... that tend to arrange themselves in equally chaotic blocks of thoughts, which, in turn, multiply questions successfully.

Spoilers ahead, I guess...

I.

The timeline of СQL is more than a little blurry, and when I try to calculate, how old Wei Ying was, when he died, I come up with the sorrowful conclusion he couldn’t be more that 21, probably younger. Which, in turn, means that the post-time-skip Sizhui is, actually, of the same age or even older than Wei Ying and Lan Wangji were, when they did a lot of things I honestly can’t imagine the new generation pulling off, even physically/magically, let alone psychologically (although I wouldn’t go as far as to call young LWJ and WWX mature - they clearly were not, and that was a huge part of the tragedy foundation, in my opinion). The young disciples are referred to as ‘children’, and they truly are. Compared to 16-17 year old LWJ and WWX, they are very, very young, inexperienced and not especially capable – while still being quite skilled and smart. And it’s both fabulous and painful to watch. Fabulous because it’s a very vivid and authentic demonstration of how exceptionally gifted LWJ and WWX are (and were); and painful because, unfortunately, not all of their greatness comes just from inborn talents.

II.

I am easily charmed by languages, but СQL, being the third Chinese dorama I have ever watched, is still the first one to so profusely tempt me to learn Chinese – in order to translate the songs and to understand the subtleties of the dialogues.

III.

I can’t get rid of the impression that the concept of rules/order breaking and punishment/atonement is fundamental for СQL (and its world). As far as I am aware, the Chinese culture does tend to be quite severe in this regard, but right now I am considering the symbolic layer of the process rather than the harm/good/efficiency of any particular method.  And I wonder, whether I am imagining things or Wangji’s history of ‘transgressions’ and punishments within his sect is really openly symbolic and not merely coincidental.

My interpretation certainly lacks some special cultural insight because I can’t help being of European origin, so I read all the codes as a European would, first, and only then make an attempt to switch lenses and decipher the message, taking into account my scarce knowledge of the Chinese (and Asian) culture.

And yet...

The first time (drinking) Wangji is not only completely innocent, but also a ‘victim’ of Wei Ying’s careless (and questionable) mischief. They share the punishment (and we encounter the number 300, by the way), but Wangji is obviously (and rather fiercely) on his own here, and evidently by choice, despite Wei Ying’s sincere efforts first to exclude and then to include him. Wangji, just as obviously, truly believes he deserves the punishment – not for drinking as such, I think, but for lowering his guard and being not attentive enough: internally, he substitutes one transgression with another, and the equation works for him (actually, it might be unfair, but quite fortunate for their future relationship that Wangji blames himself or, at least, blames himself more than Wei Ying). To put it in a nutshell, for Wangji, the system and order are intact and non-contradictory: he is understandably upset, even angry, but hardly shaken, and simply intends to do better than that in the future, so to say. It’s hard to speculate, if this is Wangji’s most unpleasant experience so far or not, but in any case, the psychological pressure is minimal and reproach is rather mild (and I am really surprised, Lan Xichen didn’t find all that story highly suspicious… or was it his indirect method of showing WWX that he hadn’t been told on?..)

The copying of the rules happens after a considerable amount of… experience, if not time. And the transgression is not specified, but hinted at very heavily. I also wonder, if Lan Qiren realized an additional message he conveyed through his choice as well as through his general treatment of his nephew during that meeting: a strict reminder that, a war hero or not, LWJ is still too young to have an opinion. Wangji accepts the book of rules reverently, accepts the punishment… the word, that springs to mind is ‘habitually’: he doesn’t disregard it, per se, he doesn’t devalue the fact his uncle is not happy with him, he still wants to do better, but… there are things of greater importance to him now, and LWJ is so focused on them that he makes the request about the restricted books at the least suitable moment, really. (And I believe this dismissal does cut him rather deep.) The system still works, but the seed of the conflict is already planted.

The third episode seems pivotal in itself: we actually don’t know, what the punishment for letting WWX and the Wens go was, except for having to kneel, while being lectured, but this time this is a result of a conscious choice to do something that definitely wouldn’t be approved. And I can’t remember a single second of the screen-time, when Wangji would look repentant: conflicted, upset, slapped (when Lan Qiren mentions his mother), stressed (his uncle uses some pretty cruel techniques that border on manipulation, to my mind), but not sorry at all – not for letting the fugitives go, at least.  And comparing the shades of Wangji’s silence here and on the previous occasion, this one seems somehow more determined. And closed-off. And there is no intention to do better, in regard to this transgression: the alternative he is being pushed to is unacceptable.

Kneeling again, for the whole day, in the cold, lifting a… what is it, as a matter of fact? It does look like a slightly smaller version of ‘the discipline whip’ we’ll see later, and if it is really so, then it’s beyond prophetic symbolic – it looks more like a promise on Lan Qiren’s part. :/ Anyway, my impression is that, for the first time in the series, LWJ is actively absent from the scene of his own punishment: he doesn’t reflect on it (I think he expected something like that), he also doesn’t mentally substitute one transgression with another to restore the balance (his inability to help Wei Ying is not something to atone for by kneeling). He simply endures. And thinks. And feels. Just not what he is expected and obliged to be thinking and feeling at the moment. And through all of this, Wangji is utterly, hopelessly and stoically alone and unaccepted. His concerns have been dismissed and care rejected by Wei Ying. His actions and decisions have been castigated by a significant authority figure (whom he loves and respects). If I am not mistaken, in the special edition Wangji’s loss-and-loneliness are somewhat artificially heightened through the pseudo-contrast because his moments are mixed with the moments of Wei Ying’s drinking with his new family, who values and appreciates him. (In reality their situations are just the same: they are both in anguish and feel helpless to change things they wish to change.) And, a cherry on top: we don’t know, what has been said initially, and by whom, however, we see that Wangji is released not by his uncle, but by some adept (or disciple). It might be a normal procedure, but it completes the picture of being unequivocally separated from any supportive figure and hints at a lack of closure, in a way, as there was no forgivenes-and-reconnection after the punishment.  

I am struggling to verbalize, why exactly, but to me, this scene is, in a sense, more bitter than the next one, despite the circumstances.

During the next punishment Wangji is as actively present as he was absent during the previous one. And if then he was frozen in sadness, now he is all fire (fueled by grief, and guilt, and fury, and despair, yes, but fire, nonetheless). And the system and order get burned down: what Wangji re-builds during his seclusion is his very own set of rules. They do coincide with the Gusu Lan set, but not fully. And this is a point of no return because, filtered through Wangji’s own system of values, now they are more than just the elders’ lessons learned and tested – they are the only valid reference point for recognizing transgressions and ‘living with no regrets’.

(On another level, I am more than a little puzzled by several details here:

1) linguistics: do they really call this thing a discipline ‘whip’ in Chinese?

2) cultural message: as literally nothing could get in the way of filming a beating with an actual whip, the type of instrument has to make some sense, doesn’t it? (For now, I can’t think of any reason to choose this tool, though. Except the number 300 as 300 lashes are hardly survivable, even with a golden core.)

3) application: I can understand, why Wangji has his shirt on (although this is a more dangerous and torturous option: such a thin layer is no protection at all, but it will be hell to clean the wounds afterwards), but why is his hair down his back like that?..

4) consequences: the scarring looks rather odd, considering. (And again: it was definitely not a problem to paint whatever they had to, so – why?)

The only (and vague) explanation I can come up with is that the type and form of the tool is not important at all: it’s the intent and sentence that count, so the wounds and pain would be the same, even if the instrument looked like a rod or a cane. (Still doesn’t explain the hair, though.) And as for the scars, perhaps, not all of them have to stay forever, especially if the cultivator is very strong.

Well, no: unsatisfactory...)

IV.

I wonder... My first impression after watching the scene, where Lan Wangji cuts off Jin Guangyao’s  arm, was that he was actually saving him from Baxia, separating Guangyao from the mark on his hand. And the only reason, why the spirit of the sword attacks Jin Ling next, are the drops of the bad/damned blood on the boy’s shoulder. But after the special edition I am not so sure.

V.

Lacunae and plotholes (or what I subjectively perceive as such) are extremely challenging and thought-provoking in this series. Right now, I wonder about the Wens: Wen Qing clearly stated she had asked one of the clansmen to look after WWX, so not all of them were going to surrender. Could it be that they were attacked at the Burial Mounds, when seeing the siblings off, and taken away by force?

...Enough. For now.