one didi’s pest is another didi’s precious

thats it, it’s split, it won’t recover. just frame the halves and call them a whole.

say what?  [x]

Look, I know The Untamed has THE LONGING and I love it too, but we all gotta accept that the MDZS novel is unmatched because, my dudes, WWX defeats the villain by sabotaging his homophobia.

I know we joke (and we SHOULD) about jgy the shipper et etc but in the end, it's whimsical humor.

In the scene where jgy has our heroes trapped, held hostage, and villian monologues about poor Lan Wangji's unrequited gay love...

All this fake sympathy for LXC's brother is 100% bad intent: he's revealing a "dirty secret" to the hostages & Jin minions about his biggest threat (the biggest fire power) that would stain lwj in the eyes of the sect world. A secret that might repulse wwx when laid out publically - make him let down lwj easy at best.

(Recall, jgy is THAT GUY who killed his own infant son out of fear of public disdain.)

What is actually happening here is that he's trying to shame them. Just like how he attacks JC in another scene, destabilizing him w his words, and plays mind games w LXC. JGY's greatest weapon in his persuasion and narrative building. His words are just as much of a weapon as the string he slides around wwx's neck.

But none of this plays out the way jgy expects it to AT ALL. He sees it going weird, kinda sideways, but is completely unprepared for what actually happens.

Which is a key component of the humor. But also a fucking AMAZING climactic moment for a novel that has reminded the reader and the characters over and over that they exist in a homophobic society where tainted public reputation and rumors can have violent, deadly consequences.

And what does wwx do in the face of that? Before jgy can start in on lwj w his word knives, wwx SCREAMS that he wanted to have sex with the man who was just maliciously outed. Like, yelps it at the top of his lungs

He grasps what the villian is trying to do and turns it on its head. He takes the power of the moment back. You want to other, to humiliate, and to degrade Lan Wangji? Figuratively and LITERALLY taking his power away? Well, fuck you. Actually we had. sex. MAN ON MAN SEX. AND I WANTED IT. AND ILL DO IT AGAIN.

The power of this wholesale rejection of jgy's narrative, the sheer audacity of this gay pride rant, stuns & unhinges the master of whispers and wwx springs free from the trap.

The novel doesn't allow us to forget about the othering that WWX/LWJ have just experienced. They are seated away from everyone else, people are uncomfortable around them.

This only underscores how absolutely badass it was. And how irrevocable. It forshadows what is to come, as they continue to express affection off on their own side, before "eloping" on their own at the end. (The only reason drama!LWJ can BE Chief Cultivator is that this scene never happened.)

But novel wwx and lwj don't gaf. And that's how they win. They craft their happy ending regardless of their society's prejudices -- you can't erase them but you can refuse to let them change you, quiet you, isolate you. You can build your own patchwork families and proudly love who you love.

grading the dramatic entrances of The Untamed, in no particular order

Wen Chao at the Cloud Recesses - Yes, he's garbage, and he interrupted Jiang Cheng's carefully prepared gift-giving, which is unforgiveable, but you cannot deny that this is a moderately dramatic entrance. From a piece of shit. 5/10, hate him, consolation prize for most punchable face.

Lan Wangji on the search for Wei Wuxian - The slow climb up the stairs. The epic scenery. The unsubtle threat. 8/10, points deducted because the follow-up is anticlimactic. We should have gotten to see some ass-kicking.

Lan Wangji at the hostage summer camp - Improvement! Isn’t letting the scenery do all the work, but letting it work for him instead. More slow swishy robes. More murder in his expression. No sign of having a broken leg because he keeps the pain inside. 9/10, excellent way to not be dead, no wonder Wei Wuxian rapidly develops a technique for flirting in hostage situations.

Jiang Cheng is his uncle, any last words? - Iconic. Masterful. Ominous. Also a great one-liner. Shows off his fashion sense well. 9/10, point deducted because he can do better and we know it.

A-Qing in Yi City - She deserves so much credit for making a room full of teenage boys piss themselves in terror. 10/10, make the boys cry, girlfriend.

Meng Yao, with a sword, on the steps of the Nightless City - Sneaky, surprising, and true to form. Maybe they all should have learned something from the fact that he showed up out of nowhere to shank a dude. 7/10, effective but not terribly stylish, execution could be improved (pun absolutely intended).

Nie Huiasang's conference meltdown - Also true to form, but in exactly the opposite way, as is appropriate! Ridiculous and overwrought. 8/10, points deducted because I want to know what his fake problems are. I bet they are creatively absurd.

The Tortoise of Slaughter - Humans always fall for the "pretend to be a submerged rock" trick! The score is unknowable because I would not dare judge an ancient being out of song and legend who has to spend the last days of its momentous life watching Wei Wuxian try to flirt.

Xue Yang watching over his work from the rooftop - Suitably dark and ominous. There are a lot of bodies and he is having a grand time. It's not his first appearance but it is his most effective character intro. 8/10 only because he immediately gets captured and that's awkward.

Wen Ning outside the window - He did not understand the assignment. 50/10 in the cuteness contest.

Wen Ning in the grass - Still does not understand the assignment. 1000/10 in the Halloween costume contest.

Wang Lingjiao says girls do it better - Looks good showing up to do some wartime sacking and plundering. She's terrible but she has style. 7/10, scores higher than her man because all he did was interrupt high school show and tell.

Wen Ning actually understands the assignment better than you think - Amazing. Stylish. A++ cosplay opportunity. Good hair. Nice chains. Mysterious origin. 10/10, would summon him using LWJ's secret boner song again.

The Yiling Laozhu makes an entrance - Too hot. Hot damn. Call the villain police and the villain fireman, then ignore them, because we are Into This and we are Not Ashamed. Combine the lurking on rooftops with the slow-stepping torture and we are feeling just fine. 13/10, change nothing, all judges award extra credit, this routine is going to the Olympics.

Xue Yang reveals himself in Yi City - As a society we do not talk enough about Song Jiyang's Xue Yang smile and the fact that it gives us all both chills and thrills. Combined with Xue Yang’s pet fierce corpse crashing through the roof a few minutes earlier, and the spooky musical conversation with the undead, this is a very strong entrance that is precisely as dramatic as it needs to be. 10/10, slay on, my murder prince.

Lan Wangji saves the kids - Glorious. Iconic. Solves a problem with minimal effort but maximum flair. Power move in every way. We are all excitedly chirping, “Hanguang Jun! Hanguang Jun!” in our hearts. 11/10, extra credit for the jazz hands.

Jiang Cheng, in the rain, with an umbrella - Magical. Stylish. Extra hot when you realize he killed like ten dudes with his purple kink weapon on the way in. He's there to save his nephew and maybe his not-evil brother and you can all fuck off and die. 12/10, I am not deducting but am in fact giving him extra points for the fact that he immediately trips into a humiliating public emotional breakdown.

Wei Wuxian's hot villain breakdown on the roof - Iconic in every way. Terrifying. Tragic. He's just here to laugh-cry and murder thousands and he's not leaving until he does. The scenery matches his outfit. Homicidal mental instability never looked so good. 12/10, I have to give him the same score as JC above because I’m not Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. I don’t have to pit them against each other.

They say that Sandu Shengshou killed the Yiling Laozhu himself - Perhaps easy to overlook because it happens right in the beginning, before we know what's going on, while some other important things are happening, but. But. DAMN GIRL. This is how you make an entrance! The bloody sword. The slow approach. The shift from LWJ's distraught face. The cliff. The misdirection that is only revealed 30+ episodes later. The way it distracts us from the terrible CGI. Fuck yeah all around. This is it. 15/10, it's the worst day his life and his best dramatic entrance. How typical of Jiang Cheng to be unable to enjoy his win because it sucks for him.

Old study and a doodle for an illustration I've never finished this summer

I wanted to make something with the concepts "Before the separation/ After the reunion" 😔

Still on my “I go feral for established relationship” agenda. There are so many small moments in the extras I love for showing us how much the Wangxian relationship has developed.

With his elbow, he poked lightly at the stomach of Lan WangJi, who was currently marking the notes, his back straight. Without any change in expression, Lan WangJi replied, “Yes.”

After he spoke, he wrapped an arm around Wei WuXian’s waist, locking him in place so that he didn’t mess around, and continued to mark the notes that’d been handed in.

Wei WuXian struggled a bit, but as he still couldn’t get out, he decided to maintain this position as he continued to lecture Lan SiZhui[.]

(Chapter 124, ExR)

This scene, as grewlikefancyflowers highlights, is a progression of their kink dynamic and I enjoy it for that, but it also shows how much their relationship as a whole has progressed.

Lan “I don’t touch people casually” Wangji just wraps an arm around WWX and holds him there. He is comfortable in himself and in his partner.

WWX still has his inclination to mess around, but his priority is teaching. He is settled and mature while still having fun.

But the major thing is that WWX once feared that LWJ wanted to trap him. His fear wasn’t even entirely unfounded -- LWJ may not have intended that by asking WWX to come back to Gusu, but the parallel with his parents indicates that going to Gusu would likely have meant some sort of unbearable restriction. This has been a big obstacle in their relationship for a long time -- once he’s resurrected, WWX keeps trying to escape from LWJ because he’s still afraid of being trapped and punished.

Now there is complete trust. This is also part of why I enjoy their bondage inclinations. In his first life, WWX would never have been comfortable with LWJ tying him up with his forehead ribbon, or pinning him down and holding him somewhere. But after everything they’ve gone through, LWJ has proven that he will not trap WWX. WWX can feel free to enjoy the way LWJ does restrict him because he knows his essential self is in no danger in LWJ’s hands now. He can struggle, and not break free, and not mind.

WWX just...has come to trust LWJ so much, in small things as well as big things. And I love the extras for showing us their relationship beyond the “getting together” stage so we can see this.

How the shadows fall when the day is done, And when Love is not. — April Love, Ernest Dowson

MDZS Donghua Weibo Account’s 1000th Post!

MDZS Donghua: "The 1000th weibo❤" 

Source: https://m.weibo.cn/5406119222/4711469964330793

"Wei Wuxian was dreaming."

from @wei--wuxian 's fic these colors fade for you only

(some snippets from this scene under the cut!)

But it was dark here, with a heavy stillness that settled into Wei Wuxian like the dust across the surfaces of his childhood bedroom, and the water around him was cold where it should have been warm with eternally lingering summer. His fingers slipped through it as he drew back his hand, breaking the surface into noiseless ripples, but he could barely feel the touch of it against his skin.

The water was cold.

Wei Wuxian leaned back with arms outstretched and let the water carry his weight. It lapped cool against his throat, soothing his pulse and welcoming him as it always had, and he felt the stems of lotuses skim his legs as his feet lifted free of the mud below. He turned his face to the sky as he floated and saw nothing at all.

There was a light.

It seemed to come from all around him, a softly golden glow that glimmered on the surface of the water and touched the shadowed leaves and petals of lotus flowers that leaned in on every side.

It was warm.

Wei Wuxian tried to move towards the warmth-- and found he didn't quite know where to go.

The light wasn't coming from around him. It was coming from him.

Prompt - canon divergence. Wei Wuxian makes it to Jin Lings one month celebration without being ambushed and now his family, friends, Lan Wangji and the rest of the cultivation world has to deal with him holding, playing with, his totally not, nephew and maybe crying from it. Bonus with his loved ones noticing how he is suffering from malnutrition and how big the bags underneath his eyes are. And Lan Wangji dying from feeling overload from seeing the love of his life holding a baby.

ao3

“Look at this magnificent hero! So young, yet he’s already defeated the dreadful Yiling Patriarch!”

That got some odd looks.

Admittedly, the odd looks were mostly due to the fact that it was the dreadful Yiling Patriarch himself, Wei Wuxian, who was shouting out those words in quite such an enthusiastic manner. He was lying flat on his back in the middle of the hall, a tiny little baby boy cradled in his arms and looking exceedingly grumpy and confused in the way that babies generally did at that age.

Jin Ling did not look the part of a magnificent hero having just defeated great evil.

He mostly looked like he wanted to burp.

“What a brave warrior he’s going to be!” Wei Wuxian continued crowing. “Look at him! Brave – capable – intelligent –”

“If you keep swinging him around like that, he’s going to spit up on you,” Jiang Cheng said.

“Don’t be such a spoil-sport. Look at him, victorious and amazing and – argh!”

“Told you,” Jiang Cheng said, looking smug, and reached out his arms to pluck Jin Ling away. “Go get changed.”

“I told you that he’d be able to defeat the Yiling Patriarch,” Wei Wuxian grumbled, rolling up and heading out the door. “I never specified exactly how…oh, this is disgusting…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that right,” Jiang Cheng said. “Did Master ‘Corpses Aren’t Gross What Are You Talking About’ say something?”

“Shut up.”

-

“Oh, he hasn’t let go of the baby since he’s been here,” Jin Zixuan said. He was still slightly bleary-eyed from the unfamiliar experience of having slept through the night in full – his mother had laughed at him when he’d said that he wanted to assist Jiang Yanli in taking care of the baby personally, rather than leaving the bulk of it to the servants, and he was starting to think she’d been right. “I think he’s taken him off somewhere. Possibly the park?”

“Is that wise, Young Master Jin?” one of the subsidiary sect leaders said. Jin Zixuan couldn’t remember his name, and had been making vague conversation with for the longest time while quietly hoping that someone would address him first – sadly, no luck yet. Possibly no one else remembered his name either.

“In what sense?” Jin Zixuan asked, rubbing his forehead. “He’s a good swordsman; he’s got good enough balance that he’s not going to drop him no matter how much A-Ling wiggles.”

That had been a profound concern of his own for the past month, almost entirely aimed at himself, and one he couldn’t quite get rid of no matter how many times Jiang Yanli laughed at him or how stupid he knew it was. He, too, had good balance – he could wield a sword perfectly well – a wiggling baby was nothing. And yet.

The subsidiary sect leader coughed. “Not in that sense, Young Master. He is the Yiling Patriarch – is it wise to allow him to take the heir out alone?”

“…are you suggesting he might want to take A-Ling hostage?” Jin Zixuan asked, humor fading into a serious expression.

The other sect leader looked relieved by his comprehension and nodded.

“I only have one question, then,” Jin Zixuan said. “What the fuckis wrong with you? A-Ling is his nephew!”

-

“Wow,” Wei Wuxian said. “I hate this.”

“You’re not alone,” Jin Zixun said. His eye was twitching. “Zixuan, can we stop this farce?”

“Absolutely not,” Jin Zixuan said. “I warned you both that if you got into one more argument around A-Ling, I’d make you both regret it, didn’t I?”

They were both silent in a way that suggested they were both thinking I didn’t realize you meant this.

“You’re in-laws now, and have been for over a year. You have a nephew in common. You can’t keep doing this and fighting all the time – I told you both that already. You didn’t listen.” He shrugged. “So now we’re going to sit here and enjoy each other’s company until you two learn to actuallyenjoy each other’s company.”

The silence took on a distinct quality of But must we be doing it naked?

“Jinlin Tower is known for its marvelous bathhouses. It would be a shame for Wei Wuxian to come all this way and not try them out,” Jin Zixuan said peaceably. Nie Huaisang was right: making trouble for other people on purpose was really very relaxing. “Especially since Zixun was concerned about the possibility of Wei Wuxian being the one who cast the curse on him and kept insisting on him stripping down; this seemed like the perfect solution to that problem. I suggest the two of you start talking.”

I don’t want to and you can’t make me.

“A-Li agreed with me that this was top priority,” Jin Zixuan said. “She and Jiang Wanyin have agreed to watch A-Ling for as long as this takes – even if it means I have to sit here until it does. Just…sit here. Quietly. Restfully. Without having to run over to watch over a screaming baby…”

“We’re going to be here forever if he has anything to say about it,” Wei Wuxian said to Jin Zixun, who grimaced in agreement. “Fine. So who’d you piss off enough for a curse like that? They can remove it voluntarily, you know – you probably just need to apologize.”

“If I knew who it was, do you think I would’ve suspected you?” Jin Zixun grumbled. “I may not like or approve of you, but I’m not stupid enough to fuck around with my life at stake.”

“How did you get the idea that it was me, anyhow?” Wei Wuxian asked, tapping his chin. “I’m not actually known for curses – just corpses.”

Jin Zixun frowned. “You know, now that I think about it, I don’t actually remember.”

Jin Zixuan leaned back in the bath and closed his eyes with a happy sigh. Look at that, he thought. They’re finally bonding!

-

“You have an overwhelming urge to adopt a baby now, don’t you,” Lan Xichen said to his brother, not bothering to make it a question.

Lan Wangji glared at him.

It wasn’t a denial.

(This was just like the loquats, no matter what Lan Wangji pretended to himself.)

“I can’t blame you. Wei-gongzi really does make it look terribly appealing, doesn’t he? Pinching A-Ling’s cheeks and talking to him, showing him around…”

Lan Wangji’s ears had gone red.

Lan Xichen did not allow his smirk to show on his face.

“They’re an awful lot of work, though,” he said mildly. “It’s much easier to do it with another person around.”

Lan Wangji looked like he wanted to die, which was not a uncommon reaction to this sort of teasing.

“And, of course, you can’t just pay attention to taking care of the baby yourself. It’s important to make sure that they get an appropriate amount of interaction with other children their own age.”

Lan Wangji slanted a glance towards him. “Brother.”

“Yes?”

“If you have something to say, say it.”

Lan Xichen smiled. “I was just thinking about what you said when you came back from the Burial Mounds last time, about there being a small child there,” he said. “He must be the only one there, don’t you think? All alone. Perhaps you might see fit to borrow little Jingyi to go for a visit…?”

If Wei Wuxian has anything of the same reaction to Wangji holding a baby as Wangji does to Wei Wuxian holding one, we’ll have a marriage settled before spring, he thought happily. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Favorite moments in MDZS manhua this week, chap 213:

(covers novel chaps 81-82, donghua eps 32-33, audio drama S3Ep8, & The Untamed ep 45)

No wedding robes for WangXian but the spirit flag scene is still sexy and sweet!

So romantic.

This is so sexy of him.

This sweet boi 😂😂😂

😂😂😂 Poor juniors, they were so sincere.

Ofc seeing Lan Zhan being super protective of Wei Ying is always sexy and sweet.

~

Official raws of the manhua (behind paywall): https://m.kuaikanmanhua.com/mobile/1749/list/

English release of the og MDZS novels (mother of all adaptations) available for pre-order at Sevenseasdanmei.com

MDZS carrd for all adaptations of MDZS: https://mxtxnovels.carrd.co/#mdzs

MDZS fan base? Let’s have a quick word about morally gray. (And it will be quick because I have things I need to do besides sit down and hold your hand through long explanations)

Wei Wuxian is not morally gray. He is the moral compass of the story. Reread it with an eye that is not blinded by fandom metas that want to justify others actions against him and you will notice that no action he takes in story is condemned by the narrative. He sees clear and will always act in accordance to strong morals to help people. He is more righteous than Gusu Lan, he will do the impossible where Yunmeng Jiang will not, he will let go of hatred and grudge as the Nie could not and he and the entire Jin sect except Jin Ling have always been at moral odds because every prominent Jin in the story is morally bankrupt.

There is one morally gray character in the story. That is Nie Huaisang. Wei Wuxian is our guiding light

20 days of wangxian - day 1

things that totally happened on The Untamed (”I guess Bichen’s happy to see me?”)

Have you ever seen a dragon go berserk because someone dared touch what rightfully belongs to him?

Lan Zhan. What is it? THE UNTAMED, EP 43