#a qing is a powerful badass and i love her

[zykamiliah]

plucking leaves, flying flowers

hold on, is using the plucking leaves' technique as an offensive weapon something that original Shen Qingqiu already used, or was it something SY!Shen Qingqiu came up with!?

Cang Qiong Mountain Sect had a minor technique, “Plucking Leaves, Flying Flowers.” At a glance, it wasn’t very useful, just aesthetic and interesting. The novel had described how Luo Binghe used the technique to win the nth woman’s affections. As Shen Qingqiu had, since his arrival, been furiously reviewing various manuals, he had also recently seen a description of it.

He plucked a nearby leaf and channeled a touch of spiritual power into it. The first time, he channeled too much. The leaf couldn’t withstand his power and instantly split into several pieces. He succeeded the second time, held the leaf between his fingertips, and gently blew, letting go.

The leaf shot toward Ming Fan like an airborne knife(...)

No wonder they said that to an expert, even a flower or tree could be used to hurt people! But he hadn’t killed Ming Fan just now, right…? (Chapter 1: Scum)

that would explain why it took bingge by surprise when sqq attacked him with it in the extra! SY modified the technique!!!

(more quotes under the cut)

After a pause, [Ning Yingying] continued. “If you feel that the Shizun in the old days didn’t treat you well, then think back on the day you lost your jade pendant. Our shixiong inexplicably backed off all at once. You yourself knew there was something strange, right? No one else on Qing Jing Peak would turn leaves into weapons for the purpose of teaching a small lesson.” (Chapter 8: Death)

No one else, so this is something only SQQ has used, but does it mean that SJ never used that technique in the same way? I feel like SQQ would have mentioned it.

(shout out to nyy for noticing these at the time, though she's being a little bit unfair here because she didn't know had bad original sqq treated lbh)

he uses them again while he's in the mushroom body to trim SHL's nails (and really, he didn't think that technique would out him as SQQ? man has zero logical thinking when it comes to indirectly trying to make lbh's aledged love life easier)

She then raised her hand to examine it. Her five cinnabar-painted nails had been uniformly trimmed a noticeable length shorter.

It was only her nails, and it hadn’t hurt in the least, but Sha Hualing’s blood went instantly cold (...)

If someone lurking nearby could cut her nails with such ease, then they could just as effortlessly slice open her neck.

Shen Qingqiu was feeling much more relieved as he released a twig plucked clean of leaves. (Chapter 9: Borderlands)

after his sword it's his first go-to weapon when facing enemies such as tianlang-jun

WITH LIGHTNING SPEED, Shen Qingqiu grabbed a handful of leaves from a vine. He’d just charged into the cave with the rest when he heard a voice. (Chapter 21: Always Together)

i have to quote the part where he used them against bingge because it was soooo badass. there are so few moments when you can say sqq was honestly this badass, and this is one

At this moment, the only things above their heads were rustling twigs and leaves of bamboo, swaying and undulating in the wind. The original didn’t need to raise his head to tell that no threat awaited him above, and he smiled slightly. “Shizun, that sort of ploy is for dealing with little children. Trying to trick your disciple that way is a bit too condescending.”

You won’t look? All right, you brought this upon yourself! Shen Qingqiu formed a seal with his left hand and crisply snapped his fingers, his expression hardening.

The original was about to say something when a fluttering leaf streaked across his vision. The smile on his face froze. A fine trickle of blood slowly dripped down his cheek.

All around him, bamboo leaves fell more and more thickly, until the leisurely drifting foliage suddenly sped up, each one slicing toward where he stood in the center like the frigid, cutting wind from the east.

Plucking Leaves, Flying Flowers: Ultimate Version—Hundred Leaves, Thousand Flowers!

The original Luo Binghe flung out his palm, routing the dense assault of leafy razors, but for Shen Qingqiu, the entire forest was full of ammunition—thick with leaves that rained down like confetti, homing in on their target in hot pursuit. Though they appeared unassuming, with a single touch, they could carve flesh from bone. (Chapter 22: Bing-mei and Bing-ge’s Ultimate Showdown)

look at the "semi-otaku" saying the same of the technique in his mind, pfffff. "ultimate version" if he had screamed the name of the technique at bingge i wouldn't be surprised lol

aaaand i just checked the qijiu extra and it seems SJ never used that technique, so SY made it up :DDD

#svsss #svsss meta #shen yuan #shen qingqiu #zykamiliah-svsss #sv reread #svsss quotes

[fincalinde]

asking you about... wen qing

I will admit that WQ is actually one of the characters I've thought about the least, because she has minimal impact on the characters I'm personally invested in. That said, of course I've done some close reading because I am a super mega nerd and I do have thoughts.

I actually feel bad for WQ as a character, not just within the narrative but in the context of how she appears to be treated by fandom. The yassification of female characters is so depressing to me and she's probably one of the characters who suffers most under fandom's misguided and yet utterly relentless commitment to its own brand of frustratingly regressive progressivism.

Normally all my meta is grounded firmly in MDZS, but I do have to mention CQL here to underline my point. There's an abortive romance arc introduced between WQ and JC in CQL, and while (reasons behind that particular decision aside) I have no issue with that change in theory, it's directly responsible for one of the two main fandom-sanctioned WQ takes.

Take One (thanks CQL)

WQ is a badass awesome lady yeah! She pegs JC all night long because penetration is empowering!

Take Two (actually I'd blame CQL for this too except fandom loves doing this to all female characters regardless)

WQ is a badass awesome lesbian yeah! She's in a lesbian relationship with [insert female character du jour here] because she is a lesbian and that's empowering!

In case you can't tell, I have minimal patience for this sort of thing. Everyone has the right to write and enjoy whatever they like, but in my own space I have the right to highlight fandom trends and interpretations that I feel are unsupported. A lot of my frustration stems from the very fact that they are trends. Individual fics and meta posts are rarely the issue. The issue is that it's so difficult to find anything that is actually textually-grounded.

Anyway, the WQ and JC relationship in CQL is actually quite a mature depiction of two people who have an interest in each other and ultimately recognise that a relationship would not only be impractical, but that neither of them are the type to forgo their other loyalties and responsibilities for each other. Quite a neat parallel to Xiyao and contrast to Wangxian, actually. Overlooking these challenges in favour of centring the question of who is penetrating whom doesn't do either character justice. Pegging is all good fun, but its prevalence with this particular pairing is something that raises my eyebrow. I am deeply wary of analysis that looks at the power dynamic of a relationship, concludes that the woman has the stronger personality, and equates that with the man being the receiving partner.

As for WQ being a lesbian, from what I can tell this originates in theory from WQ being alone with JYL one time in CQL (gasp) coupled with fandom's insatiable need to make every single female character a lesbian regardless of whether the text supports it or not. And I'd be truly interested in a resistant read or a speculative fic that is canon consistent and depicts WQ as a lesbian; in MDZS especially we know nothing about her orientation. And yet what I see  is not thoughtful explorations of gaps in the text. It's muddy hobnail boots all over the text and the result is rarely nuanced or convincing. WQ and her partner du jour are reduced to a superficial collection of traits only tenuously connected to the source at best, and more often than not they are also supporting characters, existing within a fic merely to cheerlead the m/m couple and nominally tick a box on the representation checklist.

This post is quite harsh so I'll reiterate: I'm not speaking about any particular person or fic here. I'm speaking about trends. The problem is one of quantity as much as it is quality. If I could find a reasonable percentage of content with a solid grounding in the source material I would be very happy, but the ratio is just absolutely horrendous.

Getting back to what is actually present in the text, WQ is an incredibly resilient character. She's trying to balance her loyalty to her clan with her own ethics and the wellbeing of her brother and she does as well as anyone can in the circumstances. I like that she isn't necessarily the Actually Good Wen and that she isn't secretly working against WRH. She doesn't really like what he's doing but she understands the reality of her position and she's trying to work with that. I always respect that in a character because I find it much less interesting when someone wearing protagonist armour comes smashing through the plot (WWX, we'll get to you later).

#ask #exoscopy #roquen meta #i hope i've properly contextualised why i have gripes #and made it clear i'm not targeting (or frankly even thinking of) #anyone in particular #but here goes!

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Closing out the tl;dr Volume 2 thoughts, now the post of Things That I Liked/Found Interesting! This one is also not rebloggable for the same reasons: it's not a review, it's just personal opinions.

Bullet point version!

-Yi City slaps. A-Qing is a fabulous character and her perspective--as a commoner with zero prior knowledge or interest in the cultivation world--is a breath of fresh air.

-Jin Ling is the best boy and I love him.

-I wish the whole book was about WWX being a chaotic middle school teacher because that's where he's at his best.

-Had some surprising and mixed feelings about JGY and NMJ, both separately and together.

~~~~

-YI CITY YI CITY YI CITY. WHAT A BANGER OF AN ARC. I enjoyed it in the drama (fun fact! I watched Yi City for the first time while very drunk, immediately after watching the Eurovision broadcast. do not do this!), but oh man, it is a BLAST in the novel! Worth the price of book purchase on its own, IMO.

What makes it better? A-Qing, mostly. She's got so much PERSONALITY--she's as brash, she's childish, she's extremely clever, she's unscrupulous in little things but tries her best to do the right thing where it counts, her survival instinct is at odds with her fierce devotion towards her first friend. She's a fully- realized character centering her own arc; yeah, she bears witness to the Songxuexiao tragedy, but it's her reactions that take priority. Since this canon generally isn't that interested in its handful of female characters, I was pleasantly surprised by how much Yi City in the novel was A-Qing's story first and foremost. (IMO, this is a rare case of a female character being less developed in the drama. XY, SL, and XXC make their drama appearances well before Yi City, so we've already developed opinions of them; A-Qing as the newcomer is more an audience avatar rather than an active agent.)

A-Qing's perspective also provides a welcome contrast to what we get elsewhere in the story. She's at the bottom of the social ladder. She's not a cultivator. She doesn't know XY's backstory as a demonic cultivation prodigy recruited by the most powerful clan, she doesn't know SL and XXC's backstory behind the little bits they share with her, and it doesn't make a difference to her. She cares about them as her friend, her friend's friend, and the sus guy who ruined everything, and that's enough to make the tragedy matter.

I also appreciated how her lack of cultivation world knowledge isn't seen as as a shortcoming. When A-Qing fails to pick up on something, WWX's reaction is always some flavor of HHHHH OH GOD OH NO THERE'S NO WAY SHE COULD REASONABLY KNOW THIS BUT HHHHHH THIS IS VERY BAD. He even praises her instincts when her intuition leads her to make practical choices! It made me want to sic WWX on the ASOIAF dudebros who hurl vitriol at 11-year-old Sansa Stark for not somehow psychically inferring information that was actively concealed from her. (It also makes WWX's patronizing attitude towards QS later on even more galling, because it's like, I know you're capable of understanding that not everyone knows what you know, WWX! I just saw you do it!)

-Another fun thing about Novel Yi City was that WWX got to actually do badass demonic cultivation shit. The part where he animates the paper effigies to go fight corpses for him? SUCH FUN. I was going "HELL YEAH! BADASS!" right along with the juniors.

-Or rather, right along with most of the juniors, because I quite liked all the content with JL! He's super annoying! He is the best boy! He loves his uncles! He is capable of change and growth! This is how I know that foreshadowing or indicating a character's emotional responses without spoilers is possible: every time demonic cultivation is presented in a non-negative context, JL is visibly uncomfortable. It's a nice touch, clearly telegraphing "JL has baggage about his parents' deaths that are going to complicate things for WWX once his identity is revealed."

(Relatedly, I also was like ☹️ at WN's quiet sadness when he overhears JL yelling and figures out who he is--identifying him, specifically, as "Miss Jiang's son." Ahhh! AHHH!. Sure would be cool if we could see this kind of thing from WWX himself!)

-I know I dragged WWX quite a bit, but the other great thing about Yi City is seeing WWX in Chaotic Middle School Teacher Mode. ("Congratulations! You just got poisoned!" and LQR's desperate attempts at revising his seating chart are the two most relatable moments in this entire novel to me.) If the story was centered on WWX and LWJ falling in love while leading a monster-hunting Montessori, I would read the shit out of that.

-Man. So like. JGY. Everybody says that he's way more sympathetic in the novel, because the novel makes clear that he's good at his job and includes all the lore about his past that the drama largely omits. Finding out that filial piety to his mother was his core motivator is what elevated him from "cherished garbage man tailor-made to appeal to me" to "garbage man about whom I am fully unwell," so I was super excited about this new and improved version of my son with all the pathos left in.

And... sorry, lads, but Novel JGY does not do it for me the way Drama JGY does, and contemplating why he does not do it for me has been interesting. I think what it boils down to is that by the time we meet him, the narration primes us to view him with suspicion. We are told several positive things about him, but what we are shown--what we actually see him do--is neutral to negative. The first time we actually see him outside of Customer Service Mode, he's gaslighting and threatening QS. That scene makes my skin crawl, and the only reason I can come back from it in the drama is that I already have an attachment to him; it's like how watching the title character of Macbeth spiral through Acts I-III mean I can still sympathize with him in Act V even after the brutal murder of Macduff's family in Act IV. Hitting me with the QS scene right out the gate and going "people were real shitty to him tho" after the fact is akin to starting Macbeth with the Macduffs' deaths and then being like "Macbeth had hella PTSD tho": it's not going to recontextualize anything enough to get me fully on board, especially since the injured parties in this case had nothing to do with his suffering.

-I liked Novel Da-ge more than expected, mostly because I was expecting to hate him so so SO much. I liked getting to see him being a normal-ish man for that one singular scene when 3zun are all together before MY tries to join his father. NMJ's good-natured exasperation as he passed NHS's purposely-forgotten saber to LXC was such a heartbreaking contrast to his violent rage when he destroys NHS's stuff, and really drove home how his saber sickness had him fucked up. Similarly, his easy trust of MY and his willingness to let MY leave to seek his fortune is WILD given how he''s going to spend the rest of the flashback in "bitch eating crackers" mode about everything JGY does and aggressively attempting to control him.

-MY killing the commander in this context was silly. In the drama, I get it! It comes off as a genuinely impulsive action. Here? Literally how is that going to accomplish your goals, bud? NMJ's response to it is also silly, because he tells MY that he won't be executed if his story about plagiarism is true, and like. NMJ. How is he going to prove it. You literally were JUST about to kill him yourself after hearing the story. What is happening. Where is my tearful divorce.

-I cannot emphasize enough how much I prefer the drama's Nieyao dynamic. The decision to have MY be in a trusted position at the Unclean Realm for a substantial amount of time adds sooooo much personal investment to everything that unfolds that appeals to my desire for mess. The novel is just a guy going "I CAN FIX HIM!!!" about his shady former coworker and yelling at him while the guy they both dated is like "awww c'mon guys be nice :("

[web-novel-polls]

Baihe Character Mini-Tournament

Round 1 will open Wednesday, October 11th, 2023, at noon CST and will remain open until October 18th.

Qi Yan vs. Bo Qingbo vs. Li Shiyi

Xiang Tiange vs. Nagsi Jiya

Yun An vs. Lin Wanyue vs. Nangong Jingnu

Yu Rubing vs. Li Xian vs. Li Yanru

Tag: #baihe character tournament

List of Characters below the cut

Jing Wei Qing Shang / Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Qi Yan from JWQS

Prince of the Chengli tribe AKA Qiyan Agula

Submission: 

she 💗💗 character of all time

Raised as a man due to politics & then pretended to be a frail scholar to get revenge on the Wei Kingdom that destroyed her tribe, which led her to become Princess Nangong Jingnu’s fuma. 

A Horse Girl™ with a rap sheet a mile long 😍 /light-hearted

Nangong Jingnu from JWQS

Submission:

I love her dearly

The only legal child of the Emperor; Zhenzhen Princess 

Li Yanru / the Masked Person from JWQS

No propaganda submitted

the eldest princess from the previous dynasty

Gave Qi Yan top surgery?

Nagsi Jiya from JWQS

No propaganda submitted

The Youngest Princess of the Tuba tribe who was originally offered to be Qi Yan’s wife. After the destruction & conquest of the plains, Nagsi Jiya decided to marry Emperor Nangong Rang as a consort for power. Overall? Sounds like a girl boss

Wiki Trivia: “She is the first character to encourage and engage in a full-fledged homosexual relationship in the novel (where both parties know that they are both women, as Nangong Jingnu is under the impression that she is in a heterosexual relationship).”

Other

Yun An from Matrilocal Marriage/RUZHUI

Propaganda:

She's a massive lesbian duh

Volunteered to go back in time to get over a breakup

Tried to get a meal and ended up marrying into the excessively rich Lin family 

Explained Dragon Ball Z in ancient China???

Lin Wanyue from Female General and Eldest Princess

No propaganda submitted

“In this life of mine, I’m so glad that I could have you as my wife…” - Lin Wanyue to Li Xian (source)

The Female General who took on her brother’s identity - Lin Feixing - to get revenge against the Huns that destroyed her village and killed her family. 

Li Xian from Female General and Eldest Princess

No propaganda submitted

The Eldest Princess who’s trying to keep herself and her sickly brother, Crown Prince Li Zhu, alive during a fight for the throne

"If you go fight against the enemy now, that is the best way to protect me." - Ch. 25, Li Xian

"The highest level of using people is to let that person remain completely unaware that you are using them. You must make them feel that everything they do is their own decision. Do not always think about steering, but understand how to influence." - Ch. 33, Li Xian

Li Shiyi from Wen Guan/Reading the Remnants 

No propaganda submitted

Li Shiyi is tasked with guiding the dead to reincarnation and letting go of their pasts.

Yu Rubing from She is the Protagonist

Submission: 

Staying silly :3

She was transmigrated into the protagonist while the villainess Tang Han Qiu was finally reborn with free will. Yu Rubing rebels against the system she hates & shamelessly supports Tang Han Qiu in doing whatever the hell she wants (<-has not read it)

Dealer’s Choice

Bo Qingbo from The General’s Manor Young Concubine Survival Report

She is so special to me. Upon reincarnating as a newly-married concubine staying at a (female) General’s estate, she just. Assumes she was married to the general (who is their husband’s main wife). 

Xiang Tiange from The General’s Manor Young Concubine Survival Report

Badass general who girl bossed so hard that her husband (Prince Yixing) hired a fake concubine (Bo Qingbo) to get rid of her

#baihe character tournament #baihe #brackets #not a poll #jwqs #ruzhui #fgep #wen guan #reading the remnants #she is the protagonist #the general's manor young concubine survival report

[llycaons]

ep39 (1/3): SONG LAN!!! KILL!!!!!

oh my god this section was so boring. and I hate that mist! you can't see shit! xy vanishing and then appearing was so annoying. im glad this section was over relatively quickly

wen ning is so badass for this

a-qing going out there using the tools she has to bring an end to xy is SO brave I cannot even imagine the courage it takes for her not to run and hide whenever xy is around given he tortured and mutilated her! but she's doing what she can do make sure he pays - she's not giving up on the sliver of power she has, in the difference she can make. ugh I love her

so unfair!!! why couldn't she have lived!!! like I understand xxc dying but it seems so bleak and pointless for her to die too

OFF with his arm

so gentle 🥺

SONG LAN GETTING UP!! WHOO

this scene fucks so hard. DO IT SONG LAN

BLOOD REFLECTION

yesss

YESSSS

flashback, xy's dying memories. we don't know how or when xxc found him out and I kind of wish we did but also, it didn't really matter

this entire scene is xy playing with xxc, tormenting him, rubbing his failures in his face. he's such a sick sadistic fuck it's so upsetting

'PLEASE let me tell you my sob story' 'NO??!!!'

I'm beginning to wonder if xy is like. in touch with reality. like we say he's unhinged and insane but does he really genuinely think this way

interesting how xxc actually doesn't mind eye for an eye revenge, but xy went overboard. because. well. he's deeply self-centered and devoid of compassion for others

and THEN he starts blaming xxc for like, daring to try to stop him? deflecting again! going on the offense to avoid facing what he's done

oh shut up stop quoting wwx. it's obvious what's going on here

here it is

see look how gleeful he is doing this! goddamn. he enjoys hurting and terrorizing people for fun. including xxc. who ships this it doesn't even make sense

UH OH

#cql re-rewatch

[add1ctedt0you]

I admit that everyone has different interpretations about characters, based on past experiences, personality and emotional state but the way this fandom treats female characters is really something else. Maybe it's because canon gives us away little about them, but in my opinion they are often lessened, described as two-dimensional characters. And that's a shame, because they have so much potential. ( my opinions are based on novel canon, because it's the one I am more familiar with)

For example, wen qing is described as badass girl who has strong morals, who never did anything wrong and is wwx's best friend. And this interpretation is valid! But for me doesn't give enough depth to her character. Wq is someone who is morally gray: she is a doctor, whose hands heal others, but she is also the leader of a supervisory office in Yiling during the Sunshot campaign. She says that she doesn't have nothing to do with lotus pier's massacre, because she is an healer, but she is also guilty of doing nothing to stop her uncle. She helps wwx and jc because her bother gets involved with them, and, about the golden core's transfer, she in part performs it because she is a mad scientist who can finally experiment her theories about the golden core ( but wouldn't she feel conflicted in some way? Wwx's downfall is also caused because he hasn't a golden core, and she loves wwx. Wouldn't she feel guilty about his state?). Wq loves her family so much that she begs wwx to save them! And she is accomplice of transforming her brother in a fierce corpe ( wouldn't she feel conflicted about this too? Her brother is alive in some way, but not in others. He can't enjoy food's taste, nor the bless of sleeping, nor the warm of his loved one's embrace. What life has her little brother because of her selfishness?). Wq is ready to do anything to protect them, the people she feels responsible of as their leader, until she understands how doomed they are by the cultivation world and ultimately decides to sacrifice herself and her people trying to protect the only person who gives them others precious years! She takes difficult decisions during her life, and them don't make her good or wrong, just really complex.

Another example is jiang yanli. She is described or as someone who forgives till a fault or as a badass fighter. But I think she is more complex than this. She is a big sister who has to see her brothers been emotionally and physically mistreat by their parents. She doesn't have a proper emotional support growing up, but she is her brothers emotional support/mother. She is criticized by her own mother because she is meek, because her health is so poor that she can't cultivate. She is not even viewed as extremely beautiful (the entire cultivation world says that she is lucky that jzx marries her, despite her poor qualities!). Her home is burned down by the wens when she is away, her parents died protecting their home. Her brothers fight against the same people who destroyed her home. And what she can do? She is a weak cultivator, she doesn't have the power to do anything if not wait. And then, after the war, she has again her two brothers. She marries the man she loves and tries to start an happy life. But not everything is perfect because one of her brother is seen as a criminal, the other is played down by other sect leaders. And again, what she can do in a word where reputation and gender is everything? She is not only a woman, her reputation is bad! No one respects her in the cultivation word! They mock her! And then, her husband who is trying to help her, dies by the hand of her own brother! She is mourning, she feels conflicted! She deeply loves jzx and wwx both! In fact she dies to protect wwx! Because she loves him, but she can't completely, at the moment, forgive him! She can't absolve him completely! She is extremely complicated. Jyl is someone who is extremely influenced by her poor health and the decriminalization that the cultivation world does! Her strength stays in her resilience, her good heart! She is also a rebel! Cooking is something beneath her status, but, nonetheless she does it, despite her mother's criticisms!

#Silly thoughts #It's more a rant lol #But how female characters are treated gives me headaches #maybe it's me #Wen qing #Jiang yalin #Mdzs

[sasamelons]

Dear Yuletide Writer

Hello! This is my first time participating in Yuletide, and I’m super excited! Here are some of my likes/prompts for each of my requested fandoms, but they are of course not required and just here in case they spark some inspiration in you.

AO3 Username: sasamelons

Fandom 1: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest

Requested Characters: Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei (either or both)

Likes/Prompts:

pre-canon Zhao Yunlan — what was younger Zhao Yunlan like? How did he cope (or not) with becoming Lord Guardian? What was Da Qing’s role in his childhood/adolescence? What about the previous times he met the Ghost Slayer?

post-canon Zhao Yunlan adjusting to his godly powers — could be badass or silly shenanigans

slice of life — Weilan (DQ optional) in their new house and/or SID garden

anything with Shen San and Yao-xiong

Zhao Yunlan’s past reincarnations — what were they like and how did Shen Wei (because of course he was watching) feel about them? Did Shen Wei influence his life somehow, whether intentionally or unintentionally?

I want to know more about Zhao Yunlan’s relationship with his parents (especially his mom). Does she come to accept his queerness and Shen Wei? How does it affect their relationship?

I’m fascinated by Gui Mian and his & Shen Wei’s relationship. How GM just wants SW to acknowledge him and SW couldn’t care less. How GM sacrificed himself to allow his fellow ghosts to escape — but the ghost tribe shouldn’t know about self-sacrifice, or can they? Could there have been a different ending where he survived, and could he and SW have developed a closer relationship?

any worldbuilding!

Fandom 2: 默读 - priest | The Light in the Night - priest

Requested Characters: Any

Likes/Prompts:

Luo Yiguo!!!

Zhoudu sassing each other, both pre-relationship or after they’re together

exploring Fei Du’s healing and his journey post-canon, finding himself as he steps out of the shadow of his trauma

exploring the multiple sides of Fei Du’s character, the duplicity he’s lived with all his life

post-canon slice of life — could be for Zhoudu, Luo Yiguo and the new kitty, Lang Qiao, Tao Ran, or Zhang Donglai or Zhou Huaijin

pre-canon Luo Wenzhou, Fei Du and Tao Ran (or any subset of these)

Fandom 3: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Requested Characters: Joy Wang, Jobu Tupaki

Likes/Prompts:

Joy/Jobu is my absolute favourite character, both her fabulous Jobu side as well as the vulnerability in both sides of her. I would love anything related to her — her relationships especially with her mother and Becky, Jobu’s origin story, post-canon Joy/Jobu & Evelyn, learning how to keep herself present in one universe, something completely wacky and cracky, etc.

Do Not Wants (DNWs):

noncon, student-teacher relationships (including roleplay), unhappy ending (open/bittersweet is okay!), incest, mpreg (omegaverse excepted — my squick for it doesn’t apply in omegaverse for some reason lol)

#yuletide 2022

[sparrovv]

Ok as much as I love feudal Japan, we already got Sekiro Shadows Die Twice and Ghost of Tsushima. I'm not saying they're AC games but like...can we pls get a game set in China??? or South East Asia??? Sure I'm biased but there's so much untapped potential there.

Okok so hear me out.

From 1271-1368 China was ruled by the 元 (yuan) dynasty, who were originally part of the Mongol Empire. It fell in 1368 due to class conflict caused by heavy taxation and a corrupt government which resulted in a bunch of peasant uprisings. But even before that there was a bunch of political unrest, especially between the years 1308-1333 during which there were 8 different emperors. Land power and money gets concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy most of which weren't Han Chinese but were Mongolian. During the reign of 元惠宗 (Yuan Huizong or Toghon Temür) there was a series of natural disasters and soon afterwards an uprising known as the Red Turban Rebellion sprang up and overthrew the emperor to establish the Ming dynasty. What to do about the corrupt officials? Assassinate them.

However if the 1300s isn't your thing, the fall of the Qing Dynasty that started in 1799 is also pretty cool. So basically after the death of the Qianlong Emperor in 1799, China dealt with getting invaded by literally everyone, internal revolts, population growth, economic disruption, official corruption, etc you know the drill. Generally this time period was just filled with a bunch of death, war, famine you name it, it was probably there. Again, pretty standard setting for Assassin's Creed

But here's the one I'm most excited about. The Pirate Queen of China, Shi Xianggu (石香菇) later known as Zheng Yi Sao was born into the lower class but married Zheng Yi, who was a pretty well known pirate at the time and his family had been pirates since like the Ming dynasty. After the death of his cousin he took his fleet and united the infighting pirates into one confederation with the help of Zheng Yi Sao. After her husband died by... falling off the ship which sidenote, that is a pretty sad way to die, she took control of the entire confederation and managed to not only be a pain in the ass of the Qing Dynasty but also of the Portuguese, the East India Company and pretty much anyone who decided to sail through the South China Sea. They were so good at what they did that in 1810 they managed to negotiate a surrender with the Qing Dynasty in which she got to keep most of her fleet and avoid prosecution. What a badass lol. But yeah imagine a game that's kinda like Black Flag but nearly 100 ish years later, set in Qing Dynasty China and centered around the Pirate confederation led by Zheng Yi Sao. Sure there's a couple issues with this idea but if they manage to write a more character centered story that can make me cry as much as Black Flag did, I think it could work really well

#assassin's creed #assassin's creed project red #game idea #text post #very long ramble #pirates #china #assassin's creed iv black flag #assassin's creed black flag #ubisoft #make this happen #i spent too much time on this lmao

[coquelicoq]

Okay, easy one. Jiang Cheng

lol. lmao, even!

Do you love/hate/not feel strongly about this character? i hate him. passionately. ardently. with abandon. i hate him in the "Doctors HATE Her! Local Woman Discovers One Weird Trick to Staying Healthy Forever" way. like, how dare he! he made everything else moot. he is the answer to all things. thank glorb for him but also what is even the point of anything other than him now that he exists. he ruined my life. i'm obsessed with him.

What’s your favorite trait of this character? what kind of a question is this? ridiculous. how could i possibly answer? i don't see it and i won't respond to it.

What’s your favorite moment/event involving this character? also impossible to answer. do u remember when he wrinkles his nose at the bunny rabbit. or when he puts his body between his mom and his brother whose hand she's trying to cut off. how about his dream sequence in which his dad pays attention to both him AND wei wuxian. how about take care. what about i'm his jiujiu. him holding hands with his siblings and crying in a boat. making a badass entrance and then getting his ass handed to him thirty seconds later. toasting the yiling patriarch. my future nephew. eye rolls #1-256. i will scare all the dogs away. the chenqing toss. can you introduce me to this famous cultivator. taking the chopsticks upside down. who made you cry. the utter trust as his big brother blindfolds him. sneaking in a post-torture steamed bun. like hello. we will be here all day.

If you could have one power/attribute/etc. of this character, what would it be? he Gets Shit Done. i would also very much like to Do Shit! i would not, however, like to have to undergo any of the things he underwent in developing that facet of his personality. hopefully that goes without saying.

Have you ever pictured this character naked? nope.

When did you fall in love/hate with this character? If you don’t have any strong feelings toward them, why not? i actually do remember this! i was SUPER unimpressed with him for the first several episodes. my original reaction to his crush on wen qing, for example, was "pshh. you and everyone else [meaning me]. get in line mofo." first major nail in the coffin was in episode 11 when he has that sweet little smile on his face watching wei wuxian beat him at archery. clincher was episode 14 when he rescues wei wuxian and then brings him soup in bed, followed by parental fight and yunmeng shuangjie promise. that was it for me. there was no turning back after that.

Who’s your OTP for this character? my most important relationships for him are with his siblings, but for romantic ships i'm partial to chengqing, though i won't say no to a crackship, especially if it's to annoy wei wuxian. post-canon jc/lqr, anyone?

#'easy one.' lol. #my favorite trait is literally everything about him. hope this helps!! #the untamed #jiang cheng #asks #not anon #thank uuuuu <3

[yilingpicklesblessing]

has this been done yet

#a qing is a powerful badass and i love her #xue yang #xiao xingchen #a qing #yi city #mdzs #the untamed #fanart

[dual-domination]

Husband watching The Untamed: The ex-boyfriend is the spy!!!

So we reached episode 24 till now.

Husband started watching one episode per day. On Sunday’s night, he watched five episodes. This week he’s arriving home already saying: “I’ll take a shower so we can watch Wei Wuxian.”

He turned out to be addicted. Also very happy bc Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren are alive. And also very happy bc Wen Chao is dead.

He got some thoughts:

Jiang Yanli:

“She makes soup three times per episode. It’s the only way to keep her siblings under control.”

Nie Huaisang:

Husband: “Is he ever going to do something that’s not flirting with Jiang Cheng? I mean, like fighting?”

Me, in Neil Gaiman’s mode: “Wait and see.”

Lan Wangji:

Husband: “Is he going to take the guitar everywhere he goes?”

Me: “Is a Guqin. Mostly a type of zither or harp.”

Husband: “A Chinese guitar.”

Wei Wuxian:

Husband: “Now is he going to be badass?”

Me: “Sort of... no, mostly depressed.”

Husband: “But he’s going to drink in every Sect headquarters’ rooftop.”

Lan Xichen:

Specifically that scene when he’s drinking with Wei Wuxian.

Husband: “He’s doing exactly what Wei Wuxian taught in his book... (the book WWX draws abt how to get rid of Lan Sect rules in MDZS Q). He actually does this a lot... he doesn’t follow a lot of the Lan rules while he pretends he does.”

Me: “Perfectly accurate Xichen.”

Nie Mingjue:

Husband: “He scares out everyone with that fucking huge powerful sword, but is soft for Xichen and heartbroken for the Princess Dimples...”

Me: “Are you shipping?”

Husband: “Do I have a choice here?”

And then, the scene in Wen Ruohan’s hall happens:

Husband: OMG, HIS EX-BOYFRIEND IS THE SPY!!! And he (NMJ) was so worried about him and oh my... oh no... oh...

The 3zun scene when NMJ awakes:

Husband: “Xichen is calling him “a-Yao”?”

Me: “Yep.”

Husband: “A-Yao saved him... they were hidden together... No wonders why Sect Leader Mustache is so angry... his ex-boyfriend with his other boyfriend and... fucking complicated.”

Me: “Fucking AND complicated.”

Husband: “Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

...

Husband: “Wait... you told me only Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan were Canon...”

Me: “Yeah, at least officially.”

Husband: “No way. This love triangle is VERY Canon for me. No way that this was not on purpose.”

Me: “Agree.”

Controversial moments: Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng

Husband noticed the draw in Wei Wuxian’s bed and some more details. I complemented with the book fragment abt the “childhood sweethearts” and also the context and meta this brought up here on Tumblr.

Husband: “Wen Qing said they don’t care about themselves, they both care much more about the other. The way they are. Each other’s first love. Now makes sense Jiang Cheng not liking Lan Zhan.

(We discussed this a bit more, both Psychoanalysts in this house. Once he finishes the show, I’ll try to share our conclusions about the Chengxian case - this is not about shipping, this is about pointing facts under the light of Psychoanalysis).

Sadly, half of his comments (probably the funnier ones this time) are not understandable if you’re not a pt-br speaker. :(

And now has three hours+ Husband is sleeping with The Untamed Instrumental Soundtrack. He ASKED for it. He always loved bamboo flutes, now he found out that guqin also calms him down. Yes, he already loves Lin Hai.

#husband watching the untamed #husband shipping in the untamed #i can't wait for him to see the Yi City arc #the untamed #cql #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #jiang yanli #jiang cheng #nie huaisang #sangcheng #nie mingjue #lan xichen #meng yao #jin guangyao #3zun #nielan #nieyao #xiyao #chengxian #hyde dual-domination

[annalacerda17]

Hi......if you don't mind me asking, can I ask, who are your top 5 favorite characters from MDZS? And why? And what are your top 5 (or top 3) fav moments from the novel? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks.....

Hi, I don't mind at all!

I haven't answered this before, so here I go.

Favorite characters:

1 - Definitely Wei Wuxian! He has everything I like in a character. He has a strong personality, he's funny and fun to read about, he's very intelligent, he's considerate and compassionate, caring and nurturing, always tried to make the best of a situation, doesn't wallow in self pity, he's not afraid to apologize when he feels he should but doesn't accept blame for things he didn't do , either. He never let his circumstances define him, he never allowed others to dictate what his place in the world should be and who he is allowed to be as a person, he's confident and trusts his own judgement, he's incredibly skilled but still has believable difficulty overcoming the challenges the narrative put in his path without needing to be dumbed down, he's competent, he's such a genuinely good person and I adore him.

2 - Definitely Lan Wangji. He's only slightly behind WWX. Like WWX, he's a genuinely good person, he's intelligent, perceptive and, unlike every other character in his social position, he's not blinded by privilege. What I love the most about his character is that he was able to recognize his shortcomings in the past and worked to overcome them without blaming others or being hypocritical about it. I like that he never holds WWX responsible for his own feelings, be it his love or his jealousy, and never expects him to change himself to accommodate his feelings. He's the most successful parental figure in the entire book, too. WWX's perfect match.

3 - Wen Ning. He's cinnamon roll with a secret savage side that only comes out when the ppl he cares about are threatened. What's not to love? But seriously, he's a good person who, despite not being very strong and not being particularly powerful within his sect, still chose to actively help WWX and JC because it was the right thing to do, even though he barely knew WWX and didn't care about JC's general existence. He did what he believed was right despite the great risk to himself and his family. It's no wonder he and WWX are best friends, as they share the same values.

4 - Wen Qing. She's queen. WQ is the best sister ever. She's protective, compassionate, intelligent and competent. I love her. She's a badass woman who never killed anyone, she's strong and she loved her family so much, including WWX. Her ending was so tragic, too. She deserved the world.

5 - The Juniors. I love them, they're so fun to read about. I especially love it when WWX teaches them. They give me hope for the future of the cultivation world. To me, although by the end of the novel, the social structures that allowed everything to go wrong are still in place and society hasn't really changed, just traded targets, it doesn't mean things will never change. One person, no matter how powerful, can't singlehandedly change the world, what they can do is touch the hearts of ppl. To me, although WWX didn't change the world, he did manage to touch the hearts of those juniors, the next generation, and it means that although it didn't happen immediately, eventually things will change for the better.

As for my favorite scenes, that's a really difficult question. I love the whole book, and to me, MDZS is the type of book where the scenes gain more significance when we look at them collectively rather than individually. But I'll try to rank my favorite moments here:

1 - definitely the confession scene. I love it because WWX really opens his heart to LWJ in this scene. Previously, WWX had always been guarded with his feelings for LWJ, he thought of excuses for his actions just in case LWJ reacted badly, he kept testing LWJ. We see in the past arcs, when he talks to JYL, that WWX used to think of love as something akin to a debt, a belief that was reinforced by the behavior of the ppl around him. So, when we look at WWX's character arc, his willingness to open his heart like that, in the middle of a hostage situation of all things, shows how sincere he is. And it's a beautiful confession. He takes care to clarify all of LWJ's points of doubt ( we've seen before that LWJ was afraid that WWX was only reciprocating his feelings out of gratitude, etc.)

2 - When WWX let's himself fall off that tree and LWJ catches him. It's a beautiful moment. I like how it parallels his fall when he was a child, and JYL failed to catch him. To me, this was the moment I felt LWJ was would never fail to be there for WWX. Like, I already knew that, because he'd been staying by WWX's side through a lot by then, but this moment cements it for me.

3 - The first time LWJ calls WWX "Wei Ying" post-resurrection and WWX realizes LWJ had known his identity the entire time. I love this moment because JC had just mocked WWX about LWJ not knowing his identity, which really hurt him. He was scared LWJ really was only helping him because he didn't know who he was, so when it turns out LWJ had always known, it's both reassuring and sweet.

4 - basically every moment when WWX is teaching the juniors. I love all of them. We get to see all the best parts of WWX.

5 - any time when someone accused WWX of doing something to them and WWX is like "who are you?"

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #wangxian #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #wen ning #wen qing #lan sizhui #jin ling #lan jingyi #ouyang zizhen #lan wangji #lan yuan #the juniors

[theburiedgay]

Top MDZS deaths

Anyone can die. Who died best?

1. Wei Wuxian

As much as I appreciate The Cliff Scene in The Untamed, I've never heard of anything more hardcore than a necromancer concluding that his necromancy amulet is too powerful to exist, destroying it, and then getting devoured by his own zombie army. Metal as fuck.

2. Mo Xuanyu

Rejected by both sides of his family, the cultivation world, and the locals of his hometown. Congratulations on turning the humble enterprise of committing suicide in your room into a badass blood ritual that actually WORKED!! Name a bigger power move than resurrecting the founder of demonic cultivation to kill your abusers and then probably wreak havoc on the entire world or something idk that's up to him. The way that his body is preserved and lives on the rest of its natural life as a vessel for a stranger while his own soul is permanently destroyed?! Metal af.

3. Jin Guangyao

King!!!! King!!!! King behavior!!! First of all, your whole elaborately crafted web of lies comes crashing down and before you get the Hell out of dodge you stop to recover your beloved mother's remains, proving at last that in fact you do sometimes choose sentimentality over cold logic?? Getting stabbed by your best friend/sworn brother/paramour/whatever the fuck those two had going on and then standing up and walking towards him further impaling urself on his sword? Homoerotic as hell. And that's not all!! Getting attacked by the reassembled fierce corpse of your other sworn brother/ex-bestie/ex-employer/ex-boyfriend/or something that you murdered yourself?? Saying "stay and die with me" to Zewu Jun?? Romantic in the most unhinged of ways I love it. And then pushing him away saving his life at the last second before your neck is snapped (ouch!) and you are sealed in a coffin with your murder victim who was also your murderer and your bodies will be buried together forever O_o Good god!!! I'll be thinking about this the rest of my gd life!!! Fuck!!!

4. Xiao Xingchen

Pure elegance. Aesthetically flawless. The sheer simplicity of slicing ur own throat open in front of the risen corpse of your best friend you unwittingly killed, in front of the guy who tricked u into killing him, and bonus surprise, forcing said guy to experience Feelings for the first time. Shattering your own soul through the sheer force of your grief. Iconic.

5. A-Qing

Yes queen! You stood up to Xue Yang!! With no means of protecting urself! And after being losing your ability to see and speak and then fucking dying, you went back home to protect innocent wanderers from your resident serial killer!! This speaks of immense bravery, determination, persistence, morality, and altruism. Imagine what she could have done if she could have been a cultivator? She could have taken on the whole world single-handedly. Rest in piece A-Qing.

6. Jin Zixuan

The aesthetic of having ur actual heart ripped out. Exquisite. Falling to ur knees and using ur last breath to passive aggressively remind ur killer that you were TRYING to help ur beloved wife see her adored little brother again. Oh it stings!

Honorable Mention: The fiance of the woman who prayed to the dancing statue goddess for her fiance to love her the rest of his life that was subsequently eaten by said goddess. Bad luck king

#mdzs #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mdzs spoilers #the untamed spoilers #wei wuxian #cql #xiao xingchen #a-qing #jin zixuan #suicide tw #fictional death #gdc #buried posts

[fismoll7secinv]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime, books, movies or tv series)? And why you like them?Thanks....

I don't mind at all! Only 10 is So Hard, I tried but gave up don’t count them

The order is not most fav to least fav, it’s absolutely random. Might’ve forgotten some but alas

columbo <3 - the sheer respect I have for this man, damn. One of the smartest characters ever, but not haughty and full of it like some other detectives in fiction. He’s kind, pleasant, and very easily underestimated, which plays to his advantage in investigations. Such a keen eye for details and reading people. Idk I could just go on ang on, I love him

amelie (movie amelie) - i’m just fond of this movie and its music, comptine d’un autre ete has been my favourite comfort piece to play on the piano for years. As for amelie herself I enjoyed her quirkiness and openness, how true she is to herself and to everyone around, how she enjoys life in such simple ways and shapes the reality around herself into something comforting

a-qing (mdzs) - very dangerous despite her frail appearance. Smart af, cunning and quick to adapt, turns her weaknesses into weapons, and her tenacity is incredible, especially when she’s facing something she can’t win with but can still hinder it significantly. She could’ve achieved so much...

kamina 😭 (gurren lagann), richard & kahlan (the sword of truth), eleanor (the good place), allen (d.gray-man), vi (arcane) - heart of gold, ready to sacrifice themselves for others, wit off the charts, cool AF, lowkey crushed on them lmao

wei wuxian (mdzs), xie lian (tgcf), alba (senyuu.) - same as the above except the crushing part, sweethearts 🥺 but also unhinged in some ways 🙃 (except alba, he’s just a sweetheart)

kusuriuri (mononoke), ross & teufel diabolos (senyuu.), sandra (pyre) - love their calm, resting bitch energy, sharp tongue and biting remarks, done with your bullshit™, “I’m an unmovable stone but piss me off and I’ll annihilate you”, cool AF, lowkey crushed as well

wen kexing (tyk), gojo (jujutsu kaisen), tyki (d.gray-man), hua cheng (tgcf), kuvira (tlok) - questionable bastards with a lot of sass, strength, and intelligence, easy-going and kinda mischievous, idk just cool and fun, might’ve crushed hhh

uncle iroh (atla), zedd (the sword of truth) - wise old men who held power and did questionable things in the past but since then grew wiser and gave up their position in order to focus solely on teaching the younger generation to be better

guillermo (wwdits) - just... everything?? The way he grew across the seasons, how cunning and strong and confident he became, the relatable christian guilt, the queerness, the need to protect his found family, on top of that he’s an absolute madman and possibly a sociopath, the LAYERS of this character. I love him

nie huaisang (mdzs) - to avoid spoilers let’s just say he shares some traits of other characters I listed. Those who read the novel/watched the drama know ;) fatal journey spin-off my beloved

zhou zishu (tyk), liu qingge (svsss) - the relatable inability to express feelings and the initial distrust but vulnerability once bonded, stubbornness, strong badasses, eyeroll™, for zzs also the bastard and gremlin inside of him

rorschach (watchmen) - I respect his tenacity and sticking to his ideals, I’m also weak for detective characters so yeah

baek (dr. frost) - tbh i haven’t read the comic in years and there wasn’t a lot of chapters back then so not much was known about him, but a lot of tropes I liked, the smarts, the calm but mysterious energy, kinda a detective vibe but in a psychological way (he’s a psychologist). I gotta go back to that webtoon

sokka (atla), barry allen (the flash), levi (d.gray-man), jim (the office), haida (aggretsuko) - funny, smart, good people

toph (atla), gina (brooklyn 9-9), gu xiang (tyk), nathan (misfits), shang qinghua (svsss) - the ultimate gremlin energy, their Sass and confidence is unparalleled, hella fun

yin yu (tgcf) - idk i just love him so much, he’s too ambitious for his own good but incredibly hard-working and loyal, relatable in some aspects

ooooof if i’m allowed to go on i could, so i’m gonna end now and possibly have regrets later lol

#ask #dnana 2809 blog #ask opinion #so sorry it's been a month since you sent this xd #very tough weeks...

[linxuelian]

I found a Chinese BL Warring States Game of Thrones, three years older than The Untamed

And I just had to write a review about it! It’s 60 episodes long so I haven’t finished it yet at the time I’m writing this - but I decided to just go ahead and recommend it anyway.

Why, you ask?

For one, it’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms with all the Hollywood action and adult HBO things. It’s got explosions:

Horses falling down:

People getting flogged:

Sweaty soldiers getting mauled to death:

Children used as hostages:

Dead bodies presented in court:

Stylish dye jobs:

Loving father figures:

A Jon Snow lookalike:

And very gay innuendo:

That’s right, unlike The Untamed, which was first written as a straight series featuring Wen Qing as the main female lead and then rewritten again after fans of the novel decided to boycott it, this series was written to be gay from the very beginning. It got taken down by the Chinese Censorship Board after twelve episodes and river-crabbed to death, but a good number of scenes survived censorship. Those that did not made it to BiliBili in the form of “hidden” videos and disguised as “music videos”.

That’s not all. For a warring period Wuxia series, it’s got very beautiful actors, backdrops and clothing. It’s dressed like a fairy tale, with different kingdoms sporting different colours and styles in fashion and tastes.

In terms of art direction, it’s pretty low-budget for a series but the team makes good use of existing props, locations and brighter-coloured fabric to make up for the quality. The costume design is more fantasy-based than period, and the vivid takes and angles in the first season add to its charm.

There’s also its complex story line, which brings us to...

Men with Swords is not a title for the faint-hearted. There is an acute absence of black-and-white morality depicted in it.

If you think a BL series with such beautiful backdrops and fairytale-like clothes is for the simple-minded, one-track-good-vs-evil sort, think again. The series is a tale about Murong Li, a vengeful prince disguised as a musician and his rise to power, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction in its wake.

Where The Untamed fails at delivering gray morality unlike the novel it’s adapted from, choosing to alter its script to fit a more general audience (a commercially-wise decision which got it into Netflix), Men with Swords succeeds in faithfully telling a tale where there is no good or evil, only humanity, jealousy, grudges, rebellion, loyalty, life, death, greed and love.

Everyone has both good and bad sides, just different camps and motives. Men with Swords tells the story from not just one person’s perspective, but from the perspective of many different people, all of whom become entangled in a battle for their figurative Iron Throne - to become the king of the world.

There are no “what ifs” in this story, only decisions, reactions and repercussions

A prevailing theme in this series is that there are no “what ifs” and no turning back in life, only things that have happened and will happen. Murong Li starts his journey as a prince who has lost everything and a victim of war, wandering around for three years while being put down and getting sexually harassed, eventually losing it, taking his chances and hardening his heart as he walks down his conniving, badass path of destruction towards the top.

Men with Swords is not a series for the faint-hearted. It’s a game of chess where the main character, Murong Li, is cunning and decisive, cold and ruthless and many recurring characters die horrible, sudden deaths, friend and foe alike, a la Attack on Titan.

The series is filled with political strife and warfare, peppered with some sweet, comedic and romantic undertones. There is a stark contrast between fluffy and dark in its narrative, which is pretty refreshing overall.

With that all aside, I know what you’re probably scrolling down for:

The main characters and their boyfriends

This is it. This is what you’re here for. Most “BL” series are actually bromances, but the real upside for a BL fan is that this show is not a bromance - it’s a BL title, and even with censorship, the love stories prevail.

I’m going to put this under a cut because it’s LONG AF, but what that means is that there is a LOT of BL content available, and not the type that you have to hunt for. They’re very open about it.

While the show itself has a lot of ships, there’s a larger focus on three main ones, namely the beautiful Murong Li and two powerful kings, the fairy-like Ling Guang and his servants, and King Jian Bin with his general.

Murong Li: Da Ji 2.0 and his rich and powerful kings

If you’re a Jin Guangyao fan, you’ll probably enjoy Murong Li and his elegant, charming viles and ruthless scheming. He’s a surprisingly good fighter too, and unlike most elegant and waif-like beauties in dramas and novels alike, he’s a beauty with brains who uses his physical weakness as his strength, bending and seducing his way up to power.

Murong Li only really goes after rich and powerful people, worming his way into the kingdom and taking them down from the inside. Two main love interests are King Zhi Ming, the childish but rich king of Tianquan:

And Yu Xiao, a powerful barbarian king with a soft heart:

Murong Li, while wandering around as a musician, picks up many tricks along the way to hone himself. He’s adept at dressing up, making himself look helpless and alluring to bewitch powerful men, for one:

See that small smile right there? Yes, our boy knows what he’s doing.

Aside from that, Murong Li’s also pretty good at manipulating people by using their jealousies and insecurities, getting them to fight with each other over him.

Murong Li, although modeled after the cruel and beautiful Murong Chong, the Emperor of Wei, is likened to Da Ji, the favorite consort of the King Zhou of Shang. Da Ji was said to be a malevolent fox spirit who started the art of foot-binding to hide her fox feet. Everyone else looking in can see it, but the King was blinded, just like Murong Li’s powerful love interests. In fact, the series draws a direct parallel to it:

The Guo Shi here uses the term “yao”, which alludes to a malevolent spirit.

It’s not that Murong Li doesn’t have a weakness, though. Just like every Jin Guangyao has a Lan Xichen around to cause him to slip now and then, Murong Li surprisingly is weak towards the most naive and childish character in the series, the truant King Zhi Ming, whose only qualities are having purple bangs and being rich and playful.

No matter how calculative and ruthless Murong Li is in the series, he does end up almost slipping up and giving everything away when it comes to this bumbling fellow:

He’s saved only at the nick of time by one of his followers. Murong Li tells a lot of lies, but the one thing he can’t lie about are his feelings towards King Zhi Ming, who is ultimately the one thing he can’t give up next to his kingdom.

There’s a lot more one can write about a complex character such as Murong Li, but the second ship is just as good. It features:

Ling Guang: The Ex-Arrogant Depressed Hamster hung up over a dead ex

Ling Guang, the mortal enemy and foil to Murong Li, is a baby-faced, very-much-older-than-he-looks character whose sole purpose in this series is to wear frilly magenta clothing, destroy the kingdom of Yaoguang, set Murong Li down a path of vengeful destruction and piss off eligible, probably younger bachelors by comparing them to his very handsome, very loyal and very dead boyfriend, his personal guard, Qiu Zhen, who died sometime over thirteen years ago.

The bachelors’ pissed off takes to this are particularly priceless:

Here’s another one from season 2:

That HMPH face is to die for.

Ling Guang’s delusions are met head-on by these eligible bachelors, his ministers and his allies alike:

Only to be met by a, “haha, NO.”

Frustrating, right? It only gets worse as the series progresses. Due to Wuxia’s fantastical existence of sword souls, he begins to actively test his subjects out to see if they’re his dead boyfriend, whose sword soul is still alive:

Gu Shi’an: WTF.

So why do these eligible, handsome bachelors, particularly this guy from season two, jump at his lap every chance they get?

First off, he’s very, very pretty. He’s arguably the prettiest and fanciest king in the series, with a cute rounded face, favoring fluffy organza, frills and feathers in his garb, and sporting fabulous curls like that of a swan princess on a good day.

Secondly, and more importantly, it’s likely because he’s the type loyal dogs adore.

He’s stupidly and openly attached to his bodyguards and servants, unable to hide his feelings or control them. Ling Guang’s relationships are technically the opposite of Murong Li’s. While Murong Li hides his feelings and goes after men of power and tends to use them before leaving them, Ling Guang’s willing to sacrifice everything, including his kingdom, his health and his own life for men who are merely servants.

He's a king who doesn’t know proper protocol. He’s the type who’ll demand to eat with you at the same table:

Creeps outside the palace to see you off:

Hugs your sword around like a pillow while he waddles around listlessly and sleeps with it by his side after you’re long dead (grand total: 13 years):

Coddles you when you’re sick:

Takes arrows for you:

Isn’t afraid to cry and tell you how it is:

Faints violently and won’t rest until he can get your stolen body back:

The results?

If he’s not what loyal bodyguards like, I don’t know what he is. If Murong Li’s love interests have to pit themselves against each other to show how useful they are for his sake, Ling Guang’s love interests need to wrestle with a dead man he can’t let go of... which is hopeless, because you can’t kill a guy who’s already dead.

As a foil to Murong Li, what’s also interesting to note is that it’s alluded to and foreshadowed that he’s exactly the sort the loyal Yu Xiao, the current barbarian king, would have loved to have as a lover - honest, loyal and doting - unlike Murong Li himself. Gongsun Qian, a deputy minister with great foresight, had wanted Ling Guang to go to see the new barbarian kingdom, but he had refused to go outside the palace, shutting himself inside like an otaku. This decision ultimately gave Murong Li a step forward with his plans, at the great cost of four kingdoms, including his own.

Jian Bin: My boyfriend can (REALLY) fight

Next up is Jian Bin and his general. Jian Bin’s the king of Tian Ji, a new kingdom founded by astrologers. The catch here is that Jian Bin and his boyfriend, Qi Zhi Kan, are both men of science, and this tank of a boyfriend is a genius on the battlefield who doesn’t give a single shit about star signs, astrology and superstitions.

A story between a serious, loving king and his handsome general who was once a simple sword-maker in the woods, King Jian Bin meets his handsome ex-lumberjack boyfriend when he’s attacked, falls down from his horse and is rescued by the man himself.

Jian Bin then brings the guy back to his palace and dresses him in armor:

This puts the king’s general on the war path of several ministers and the superstitious people in their kingdom. As lovers, the two go through various trials together in an attempt to run their kingdom their way.

Qi Zhi Kan may seem like a herbivore in front of the king, but he’s really not one at all. He’s terrifying to a degree when it comes to warfare, and very, very difficult to take down. Unlike the other ministers, Qi Zhi Kan knows that he can expand the kingdom quickly and solve problems by waging war.

Even his allies are scared of him:

Ultimately, it’s a ship meant for those who like watching the king teasing his loyal subject and caressing armor whenever he’s around AND not around. Jian Bin even admits to it on-scene:

This loving and devoted couple were originally blessed as the ones with the most piggyback scenes, tender bandaging-your-chest and armor fondling, but they got censored unfortunately.

Scenes like these made the cut, though:

And that’s it! There are actually other minor ships, but these are the main ones for now.

If you’re sold and interested in the show, the series is available online on Rakuten Viki. https://www.viki.com/tv/35524c?locale=zh

#bl series #chinese bl #series recommendations #c-drama #men with sword #chinese period drama

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 07 part one

(Masterpost)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Clan Sanren

Lanny Granny gets a second wind and continues her Yin Iron Webinar.

Wei Wuxian explains that although he was adopted by the Jiang Clan, Baoshan Sanren is his grandmaster, via his mom. Lan Yi claims to think that this is pretty great.

Lan Yi: Wow, amazing, my ex girlfriend who I dumped has settled down and started her own family Clan now, that’s so great. I’m so happy for her. So happy. So great. I mean, when I left I didn’t really picture her finding happiness first, you know? I kind of expected to have settled down myself by now but it’s hard to date when you’re trapped in an ice cave putting headbands on rabbits for 100 years. But it’s fine! I love my life and I’m sure eventually I’ll find that special rabbit person.  Anyway I’m just...SUPER happy for Baoshan. Really. Really happy. For Baoshan. 

Lan Wangji also appears to have thoughts about it, because he reacts pretty intently.

 Lan+Sanren 4EvR. 

Wang Yibo is looking extra fine in this cave sequence, with no headband to distract from his fierce eyebrows.  

Lan Wangji asks Lan Yi if she’s the one who pulled them into the cave, and she says nope, and then nobody ever explains how they ended up in the cave. “Perhaps it’s destiny” does not count as an explanation. 

Lan Gran explains that her battery is running down. The Lan bunnies are not energizer bunnies, apparently. She also tells them that it’s impossible to destroy the Yin Iron and that the only solution is to put it back in the cave and try to suppress it again. 

(more after the cut)

However by Episode 23 it inexplicably becomes super easy to destroy the Yin Iron...

...meaning Lan Yi spent 100 years in a cave for nothing, other than writing the Definitive Guide to Rabbit Headbands. 

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get back into Hardy Boys cultivator mode, but this time with an extremely long held gaze, which I think is their first time doing this.

I mean...even if these boys are 100% neurotypical (and hello, they are not), this is a LOT of eye contact. I can't gaze that long at anything except my phone screen. 

We Will Achieve The Thing Together

Narrator: they will not achieve the thing

The reason I got into c-drama in the first place is, after decades of western storytelling tropes, it’s so refreshing to watch a story and have literally no idea what’s going to happen. Even when the story sets things up to happen a certain way according to my learned experience of stories, it just doesn’t play out that way. For example, if you’re watching The Lost Tomb Reboot and you expected the jade-mining sequence to end with a slave uprising, you were as surprised as I was. 

Here Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian promise to do their best to find and suppress the Yin iron. Lan Wangji is going to fail at this, allowing this here piece to fall into the hands of the Wens, because unlike his uncle he's not willing to let his clan die to protect it.  

Wei Wuxian is going to take his not-doing-the-thing several steps further, finding and refining his very own piece of extra-badass Yin iron. Yes, he has reasons for this and a lot of stuff happens along the way, but in terms of your typical quest storyline, it would be as if Frodo figured out how to use the one ring to kick Sauron’s ass, rather than (with help) destroying it. Again: this is why I LIKE c-drama. 

Lan Wangji tries to shut Wei Wuxian out of his quest and Wei Wuxian makes a short but utterly character-defining speech. 

You can’t stop me

I know what’s right. 

And then he says that his Grandmaster Baoshan Sanren was isolated because of the Yin Iron, and he has a responsibility to her. Lan Yi agrees. So...he just kinda quit the Jiang Clan right there, didn’t he? In favor of eventually becoming a wandering cultivator like his Grandmaster and clan uncle (Xiao Xichen), and like his mother. 

He is also going to follow in his father’s footsteps by upsetting his Clan Leader when he falls in love. Gosh, he also, like his parents, will die and leave an orphan to fend for himself. So -- the apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess.

He doesn't realize the pickle he’s getting himself into, of course. Being Wei Wuxian, he thinks he can balance all of his increasing obligations, but being human, he won’t be able to. 

Pardon Our Entwinement

Lan Yi leaves to catch the spiritual plane, the Yin iron drops, the ward breaks, and Wen Ning appears to download a new software update. The kind that breaks your video driver and photoshops your eyeballs.  

Wen Qing comes nosing around the cave wall, and Jiang Cheng stops by to ask what she’s up to. 

He hopes she’s trying to find his brother, just like he will fail to do for her & her brother one day.  

The boys fall out of the wall together, in a nice example of the “oops I’m accidentally humping you” c-drama romance trope. To keep it censor-friendly, Wei Wuxian is actually on the ground next to Lan Wangji’s right knee but the shot is framed so that at a glance he appears to be in a much cozier position. 

Lan Wangji goes on an expression journey don’t say facial through several “oh shit we’re caught” faces, while Wei Wuxian shows Lan Wangji a few iterations of his oh-face. 

Jiang Cheng wants to know what the fuck they have been getting up to for a day and a night. 

The movie wasn't so hot, it didn't have much of a plot, we fell asleep our goose is cooked our reputation is shot

Wen Qing detects that they were somewhere cold and decides it’s her turn to ask nosy questions. Lan Wangji does the guilty startle thing. 

Fortunately Wei Wuxian doesn’t have that problem.

He turns his answer into a prolonged whine about how cold it was, how lost they were, etc. This annoys Jiang Cheng into dropping it and saying they should head back. 

I’m awesome right? so awesome right?

Wei Wuxian gives Lan Wangji a significant look to show that he’s deploying a rhetorical strategy on purpose to distract his questioner. Lan Wangji super does not know how to do that. 

Flute + Yin Iron = Profit

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get to watch as Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen tame the hunk of iron and stick it in the bag of holding. Wei Wuxian pays verrrryyy careful attention to this whole “use a flute to control the Yin iron” lesson. 

Lan Xichen really should reconsider his music-lessons side hustle. Arguably this one doesn’t turn out as badly for him personally as teaching guqin to Jin Guangyao does, but it doesn’t turn out great, either. 

知己啊  - zhi-ji-ah

This mostly-tedious Yin Iron conversation with the elders includes a super-important WangXian moment.

Wei Wuxian calls Lan Wangji his zhiji. This is the same word he will use later in the “what am I to you?” conversation during the Jin night hunt, and the word Lan Xichen will use when saying why Lan Wangji wouldn’t repudiate him during his forced isolation. As always, for the full meaning of this word, @hunxi-guilai​ is brills.

A Wen spy bird shows up, and Lan Wangji really wants to chase it, but Lan Xichen says no. 

This happens a lot, actually. Lan Wangji is not a cool-headed person, despite appearances.  Likewise the boys want to go searching for the Yin Iron and the adults want them to slow their roll. 

Being a teenager is frustrating, particularly with a classic “I didn’t actually listen to you before making a decision” adult like Lan Qiren in charge. 

Lying is my First Class Spiritual Tool

Nie Huasang shows up and has his usual hilariously varied reaction to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji - an enthusiastic “Wei-Xiong!” followed by a nervous & meek “Lan Er Gongzi” and a bow to Lan Wangji.  

He wants to know what happened and Wei Wuxian once again shows his powers of rhetoric. 

I like to call it my “devil snake.” 

He puts off all of Nie Huaisang’s potential questions by really knowing his questioner well and completely distracting him.  

This time Lan Wangji seems impressed. 

Jelly Jiang Cheng

Young Master Cockblock shows up and lets loose with a display of total naked jealousy. That carving on Wei Wuxian’s bed back in Lotus Pier...is that him and Jiang Cheng? Because damn, this boi is jealous. 

...and so is Lan Wangji, apparently, or at least he’s disappointed to have Wei Wuxian taken away from him like that.  

Yearn Mode Enabled

Club Ruohan’s Foyer

Wen Chao and Xue Yang stand awkwardly in Wen Ruohan’s vestibule talking to the boss through a giant door, because sure, why not. 

This doesn’t bother Xue Yang, who as usual has no fucks to give. Except that today, Wen Ruohan tells him that the budget for his project finally got approved, which lifts his spirits quite a bit. 

His project to single-handedly slaughter an entire clan, and he is super excited about the kickoff meeting. 

Wen Chao is mopey because his brother gets all the good murder assignments and his dad doesn’t appreciate him. Boo fucking hoo. 

Periodic reminder that He Peng looks like this when he’s not playing Wen Chao.

Part 2 coming soon!

Soundtrack: Wake Up, Little Susie by the Everly Brothers

Bonus

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #the untamed meta #wangxian #the untamed gifs #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #wei wuxian #lan wangji #the untamed spoilers