#mo dao su zhi

[acemdzsfan]

Lan Sizhui didn't understand, for the longest time, why.

Why he felt the way he did.

Why he reacted to certain things differently than others.

Why he would flinch away from the golden robes of visiting cultivators.

Why the sound of the Jiang river-bell made him sad.

Why the feeling of being called: good made him squirm.

The ghosts of shadows wrapped around his shoulders whisper to pay it no mind. To keep certain behaviors tucked away.

"...It's okay....~

~...Forgive, forget.... most importantly...

HIDE!"

Always a comfort, but always strange.

Who or what were these shadows?

Where did they come from?

Why did they watch over him?

Why so familiar?

[maguwuwus]

my boys :')

[scrivenger-grimgar]

they said it so well

In hindsight the popularity of using “demonic cultivation” for what Wei Wuxian uses is running counter to what is actually in MDZS being used. It is resulting in a lot of fandom confusion, particularly since demonic cultivation is a xianxia genre standard. But that’s not what is going on in MDZS. The genre standard demonic cultivation revolves around stealing qi, absorbing life energy from others, possessing others to get access to their greater cultivation abilities, and in general much more assholery than what Wei Wuxian does. The actual term used by Wei Wuxian and most of the narration in the novel is Guǐdào; aka Ghost Cultivation. It revolves around manipulating the dead, using resentful energy as a power source, and to be absolutely blunt it is a form of necromancy. It is the “redirection” option in dealing with the dead; drain away resentful energy so that you can convince the dead to finally let go and be liberated. Either by getting the justice they were denied in life or having lifted the worst of their anger and attachment so they can think clearer. Not demonic cultivation. The very title “Mo Dao Zu Shi” is part of the subversion element and part of setting in motion assumptions about the story for the original Chinese readers who know the genre and what the usual tropes are. Because calling it “Gui Dao Zu Shi” would give away too much from the start of what is actually going on. Also per MXTX, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are “morally perfect” and as that is the intention given by the author herself, that means nothing Wei Wuxian does with ghost cultivation has to actually harm the ghosts in a way that would be morally wrong. Like destroying them, preventing them from reincarnating, that kind of thing. He does not hurt the dead. He’s honestly shown to be more friendly with the undead; he is endlessly kind to them in fact and even gentle. Polite too and that deserves marking because Wei Wuxian ignores most manners because he generally doesn’t care. But he puts that care into how he treats the gui (undead) he commands and works with. He gives them rewards for a job well done as shown in the Yi City arc! The one who does use ghost cultivation to hurt both the living and dead is Xue Yang who is repudiated by Wei Wuxian; “Xue Yang has to die” is what he says and that is what he helps Lan Wangji do. But the actual founder? The guy who made it and is the absolute master of it? Rejects that kind of thinking all the way through the story, even at his lowest.

written by lovepsychothefirst on pillowfort

the tag on ao3 is Demonic Cultivation (Modao Zushi) when it should really be Ghost Cultivation | Guidao (Modao Zushi) or something similar, and there should also be specification on which canon is being used, bc in CQL, the manhua, and the donghua, Guidao has adverse affects when in the novel it doesn't do shit to the practitioner.

[cluelessbagman]

A group of my friends are reading mdzs for the first time so I made a flowchart so they knew relationships! I tried to keep it as spoiler free as possible while still getting everyone I could think of in. Lemme know if I got something wrong/missed someone important but keep in mind that this is book one/beginning of book 2

[arkvra]

Day 13 : Past for mxtxtober23

*clown song is playing in background*

[rumble-bee-art]

so what if there was no war and no demonic cultivation and Lan Wangji would spend a summer in Lotus Pier falling (deeper) in love with Wei Wuxian? Then what???

[yueyie]

Look I got an appl….

[mmagurro]

ded yllz! x mourning lwj repost cuz my account has been restored 💪💪💪

[lunakagayake]

Let's say Tumblr's better for fandom shitposts

(The original)

[retiredpeach]

Easy way to entertain your child at the burial mounds;)

[dshr-art]

[acemdzsfan]

They never find his body; they suppose that was their first mistake.

Perhaps the next was assuming the one with the power of death and souls at his fingertips would remain dead.

Yiling longs to know whether their child, their patriarch, died that night.

Or if he simply slipped off into the night.

Either way, he still shows up.

Years later.

Changed.

A little smaller.

A little brighter.

Less haunted, less sad.

A white-clad enemy in tow.

Stoic, sensible, and irrevocably in love.

And the villagers think: "At last, our little Yiling boy, has a home and a family. No more cold nights, no more hunger, and no more dogs."

Now the threat of that family being ripped to shreds, is all but likely.

Safe, because of their reputation.

Because of their power.

Something Yiling wished the remnants had had, once upon a time.

[qourmet]

i asked for some mo dao screencaps from Any adaptation over on twt as an excuse to practice doing some backgrounds Quickly to see what i liked the Best & my own personal spin on it was challenging myself to imitate a Very Specific anime/manga artist from the 80s-00s

refs below the cut 👇

[unkonageki]

Teen!Lwj not knowing what to do with his feelings for Wwx is my absolute favorite thing to draw 💕

[I powered through an art block and I managed to finish this stupid comic that has been in my drafts for weeks 🥹 there are several more that will probably never be completed though]

[sinfulpatata]

happy belated bday LWJ!

someone save this man from the twinks..

+ closeups:

+ the most superior version of wwx...

[arkvra]

🍊

Testing lineart because I still don't know how to do lineart ughhhhh