#cql rambles

[yea-baiyi]

i keep thinking about the odyssey i am THINKING about wei wuxian as odysseus. you were dead. its been years since you’ve seen your family. the child you left behind is almost a man. you wear a face they don’t recognise, you sneak in through the back door. the dog gives your identity away. the world knows it’s you when you draw your weapon. the person you love recognises you by the original symbol of your love—a secret that no one else in the world knows about, still, because they kept it safe for all these years. you get the chance to go back and despite everything, you found home waiting for you; he kept your place and raised your son and he was still there waiting for you when you got back. tell me o muse, about a complicated man i am extremely not okay

#cql #mdzs #wangxian #wwx #lwj #meta stuff #greek mythology #i am not fine i am not sane in the slightest #no idea if i’ve posted something similar to this before #i definitely started my odyssey journey thinking about them but then i got sidetracked with. the actual odyssey #i have been on an absolute greek tragedy bender though so there’s. plenty more to come. but also. HHHHH #the dog thing is so silly but i couldn’t help keeping it in because that is SO funny #this is soooo self indulgent i am sorry for subjecting u all to this #thank u to helendamnation my beloved for listening to all my rambling this weekend about this #jesus. home waited. the odyssey is about many things but it is about a man coming home. #and despite everything. he gets to come home. and he gets it because his home waited for him. #despite him being dead. despite the gods. despite the suitors and the pressure and the doubt. #in most stories home moves on without you but this time. this one time. home waited. #homeric hyperfixation haze

[erivroom]

The meaning of “The Untamed”

someone asked me to elaborate and who am i to say no? (i asked for it in the tags)

The Untamed isn’t a translation of 陈情令 (chén qíng líng) so when people discuss the title they typically toss out or brush off the english title entirely.

but that’s because it’s not a translation of 陈情令 it’s a translation of 无羁 (wú jī) the theme song of the series.

yippe explaination set up

i’d also like to make this post new fan and/or cql only fan friendly so i’m going to go in depth about the significance of 无羁 before explaining how it connects to the english title.

first the chinese characters for wwx and lwjs names

Wei Wuxian — 魏无羡

Lan Wangji — 蓝忘机

in the novels the song Wei Wuxian plays on the flute, that Lan Wangji played for him in the cave with the Xuanwu of Slaughter is expressly titled 忘羡 (wàng xiàn). the ship name we all know and love consisting of the first character of Wangji and last character of Wuxian.

so the track in cql is titled 无羁 the first character of Wuxian and the last sound of Wangji.

now the translation explanation

无羁 directly translates to unbridled, unfettered, or untamed

so The Untamed as the english version of the title is literally a mixed up version of their ship name in english! when you say “i’m watching The Untamed” in a way you’re kind of saying “i’m watching Wangxian”.

how does this relate to the name 陈情令？how did this become the english title?

i’d like to refer you to this post as it explains in depth better than i can the meaning of 陈情令.

directly translated 陈情令 means “a song from chén qíng”, being the name of Wei Wuxian’s flute. however, 陈情 itself has two translations. first being to reminisce past relationship. (referring from the linked post please check it out)

Wuji is a song both played literally on the chen qing flute, but is also a song reminiscent of a past relationship. ofc it’s of a present relationship now but throughout the series, you get what i mean.

so Wuji, or The Untamed, makes perfect sense to be the english title for the show.

ALSO!! felt i should include this

《 魔道祖师：无羁 》 or “Mo Dao Zu Shi : Wu Ji” is the official name for the books printed in mainland china afaik.

i got like maybe 2 hours of sleep last night and i’m running on 3 cups of coffee so far so this is what happens

if there’s any questions feel free to ask <3

post for @baby4012

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #cql #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #wuji!! #danmei #does this count as a meta post what is meta posting idk #rambling ofc

[twenty-orange-balloons]

Are you smarter than a fifth grader AU where Lan Wangji is the contestant, Wei Wuxian is the host, and the junior quartet plus a-qing are the kids.

Lan Wangji only goes on the show so he can ask out the host. When he gets to the choice of answering the One million dollar question or dropping out, Wei Wuxian asks,

"Lan-er-gege, what would you do if you won one million dollars?"

And with zero hesitation he replies, "If you were amendable, I would like to take you on a date."

The audience cheers and whistles.

#cell rambles #wangxian #mdzs #cql #cell's plot bunnies #brought to you by my grandma watching nothing but that show all week

[limitbreaker23]

It’s my Sunshot Campaign fic’s anniversary, Before the Sun Sets, so I’m suffering with feelings trapped on the battlefield that I need to ramble about. This beautiful Chengzhan Sunshot Campaign piece I commissioned from @rounove is too big for this site, but please look at a cropped version.

The full image in all its low-res beauty and me gushing about things below:

I always enjoy taking the opportunity to gush about all the details in artworks. Like, obviously I’m forever in love with my otp’s expressions here. Jiang Cheng’s cheek was cut in battle, narrow escape situation for our beloathed companions, and after they found the illusion of shelter, they can take care of any injuries. Lan Wangji is focused on this, completely, diligently, and wipes the blood away so carefully, leaning close. Jiang Cheng, sitting on this tree, sore and in pain, stares up at this unscathed, seemingly radiating face and appears to feel a different kind of ache. His expression murders me every time, he’s fighting a battle he’ll lose here, reaching up to cup Lan Wangji’s face with his bloodstained hand. AH! And what does Lan Wangji see and feel, with his eyes trapped on Jiang Cheng’s mouth, with his lips already parting, when he should take care of the wound? AH!

Jiang Cheng’s hand with Zidian on it already found a resting place on Lan Wangji’s thigh, a trail of blood left where it ran up from his knee. Steadying Lan Wangji as he leant in to look at the injury? Pulling, perhaps? All the white, so pristine robes draping over Jiang Cheng’s purple robes makes me feel all the things. Lan Wangji is a protective cloud brighter than anything in this moment. AH!

Their swords resting next to them, a mirror of their positions. Sometimes I just love to stare at the swords, all the details, the small, delicate patterns on the sheaths, the ruffled, soft looking tassels. Bichen would slip to the forest ground if Sandu weren’t steadily holding it up. And Sandu is safely shielded by Bichen. AH!

And the background! The rainy darkness that followed them to this spot to haunt or shield them, down a river that looks like spilled ink rippling the reflection of the trees. And this ancient, magnificent tree that keeps them dry from the rain with those thick leaves. AH!

I just love falling into this picture and thinking of how they ended up here. The pain, the suffering, the brushes of skin and fleeting touches that lead to them literally falling into each other’s warmth here. Now kiss!

#chengzhan #zhancheng #cql #the untamed #mdzs #jiang cheng #lan wangji #twin lotus of yunmeng #zhancheng museum #sunshot campaign feelings #when I start to ramble about my ship and never stop and ramble a little more cause I love them so much and am a very rambly person #bless keep reading for saving people's eyes #there was only one river #please just kiss already

[mimi123meg]

the untamed is great because no matter how powerful a given character is, it takes away nothing from their ability to be the dumbest motherfucker in the world

#meg rambles #the untamed #cql #mdzs #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #lan xichen #nie huaisang #nie mingjue

[travalerray]

honestly never having watched CQL beyond the part where WN gets randomly possessed (???) at Biling Lake is pretty funny because I hear the most random of things about it later. what do you mean there's a conversation between Lan XICHEN and Wei Wuxian where LXC is all "Wei-gongzi pls come back to Gusu so that my didi can chill" in his previous life and Wei Wuxian wipes off Jiang Cheng's tears in the Guanyin Temple. How did the XiYao meeting end up as a sexually charged gift exchange. What do you mean they had Lan Yi and Baoshan Sanren as tragic lesbians. What is a Yin Iron. Why does half the cast know demonic cultivation. Why is Wen Qing getting dramatically threatened to spy in the Cloud Recesses. WHO MADE LAN WANGJI THE CHIEF CULTIVATOR

#like ???? why is wq spying in cr now. What plotline is this #cql #chen qing ling #the untamed #mdzs #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #lan wangji #no but really who saw all the cultivators in the generation and went ah yes. Make Hanguang-jun the chief Cultivator. Clearly the guy who's #sole priority is wei ying won't fuck this one diplomatic task up. Never mind the fact that he can't argue with a thirteen year old to save #his life. I love LWJ but man's wouldn't survive in that post. I hope JGY is laughing at them from the coffin #man #kk's rambles tag

[littleglasselephants]

MDZS is just…so good?? Like I truly don’t know how to move on, every book I read or show I watch now I’m like yeah it’s fine but like….I’d rather be watching cql/reading mdzs/reading fic/watching the donghua etc etc you get the idea

It’s just…the themes?? The central romance?? The way EVERY SINGLE character goes on their own unique and complex journey?? The wei wuxian of it all?? I firmly believe he has the single greatest and most believable character arc I’ve ever encountered in fiction.

#ramblings #people around me are starting to get annoyed but I simply cannot move on #mdzs #lan wangji #wangxian #wei wuxian #the untamed #lan zhan #wei ying #cql #mo dao zu shi

[pharahsgf]

minor things that are important to me: the distinction to make with wei wuxian is that he won't shut up, rather than can't shut up. he's an observant, calculating character: him talking back to people like jin guangshan & wen chao is almost always in service to a ploy that requires him to draw attention to himself or an attempt to manipulate the flow of conversation, and he talks back to authority figures like lan qiren because he's deliberately mirroring the exact level of disrespect they show him. compare and contrast his interactions with, eg, yu ziyuan and post-res jiang cheng: he's perfectly capable of obedient silence around them because he knows it's his best option.

#cql #idk just rambling! enjoy today's episode of Wei Wuxian Character Details that Are Done Mildly Wrong and It Annoys Me

[evuwus]

Lan Wangji is a rigid, stern and emotioneless man on the outside but on the inside, he is just a silly guy with so much love to give. He is so overflowing with love and he is terribly afraid that others would see it; notice his vulnerability or even worse, feel like they owe him.

He raised Lan Sizhui and treated him as his own son and younger brother, taught him everything and even protected him from the world and the truth. Anyone can imagine how hurtful that was to Lan Wangji; the fact that he couldn't share the wonderful memories he had with Wei Wuxian to Lan Yuan, he couldn't talk to him about the man that was taking care of him as a baby, the very man Lan Wangji loved. There was no one in the world except Lan Yuan who saw Wei Wuxian in the same way Lan Wangji did. And yet he chose not to say anything, out of unconditional love. He didn't want to impose the burden of the past to him, he didn't want to selfishly take away his happiness. He even burried him in a pile or rabbits, in attempts to give him the joy that Wei Wuxian provided him.

I can't not mention here the fact that Lan Wangji took care of the bunnies of Cloud recesses, feeding them by himself and taking care of them, despite keeping pets being against the rules. He had been following rules his whole life and yet when an opportunity arose to take care of some bunnies, he willingly took them under his protection, not caring if he would be seen as childish or a violator. Even to small creatures like this, Lan Wangji is affectionate and involved.

He appears wherever chaos is, not paying any attention to things such as lofty rewards and fame-gaining expeditions. His actions are out of care for others and commitment to high ideals. His choice of becoming Chief Cultivator in CQL was done out of care for the world, out of his passion for justice and fairness. Holding such a position seems to be against his character; (him being ascetic and staying away from wordly affairs) but he later must have realized his responsibility to create a change in the world, for his people, for Wei Wuxian.

And at last, of course, Lan Wangji has so much love for Wei Wuxian. His love is unconditional in the way that he will take care of him,not expecting anything in return, scared that Wei Wuxian would feel like he owes him his love, to reciprocate his feelings. For this reason (in the novel) he never tried to clear up the misunderstanding with Wei Wuxian, he selflessly accepted all of Wei Wuxian's teasing and flirtations as he was content with giving his love even if there was no hope for anything further. The only condition Lan Wangji had for their relationship is to be able to see the person that he poured the most love into, thrive and spare him a warm smile.

#mdzs #lan wangji #I wrote this when I was very deep into the FEELS for lwj #the untamed #Right after I rewatched the last episode of cql #Just a lwj appreciation post that has been in my drafts for a while and now has the chance to see the light of day #Allow me if you will to share my love for this man #my ramblings #wangxian

[winepresswrath]

hi! i always love your MDZS/CQL takes; can i ask what are the questions you think CQL is asking, as compared to MDZS?

I haven't actually revisited either canon in ages, which is making me nervous. what questions the novel is interested in can be pretty contentious all on its own! @mikkeneko has an excellent answer in the notes here which I reccomend to everyone. My own thoughts are honestly pretty scattered- I keep on deleting things and going hm, that's not quite right.

So, for the obvious-to-me example, people reasonably zero in on the creation of innocent doctors/radish farmers who Wen Ruohan is holding hostage. In CQL it's easy to infer that Wen Qing and Wen Ning are maybe the only cultivators and almost certainly the only combatants among the Wen remnants, and their status is much more ambiguous in the novel, which I personally think is asking, essentially, "and so what? were they wrong to run, when they had a chance? Do they deserve what Jin Guangshan will do to them if they go back? Aren't they just people, actually?" Whereas the question that CQL is asking is more to the effect of "What does Wen Qing owe these people, when she is their only defence? What is she entitled to do to save them, at other people's expense? If she fucks up that moral calculus, what then? Does it matter if she's personally fond of some of the outsiders who are going to get hurt? If one of them saved her brother? Later, this question will flip to what Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, and the parallel to Jiang Cheng's situation in particular is, I think, genuinely pretty fun. You're giving up the Wen as soldiers who've laid down their arms in exchange for Wen Qing also grappling with leadership and the question of how many horrors she can stand to look the other way on to protect her own people. one reason I keep deleting so much is that a lot cql's changes were motivated at least in part by censorship, which I think we mostly share a general and justified distaste for! but I also think that within the bounds of that censorship the creative team put a lot of work into actually doing something interesting with those changes. Or, for another example- nieyao! There's a much greater emphasis on the nmj-jgy relationship, it's unambiguously very close and they are clearly extremely important to one another, and I think that's because the cql team has a lot to say about love, trust, power, and the ways those things interact, and that reflects back on all of the other relationships in play, including Wangxian. Almost every time, when CQL chooses change a relationship they make the characters in question closer- that's true for Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, for Wen Qing and the Yunmeng contingent, for Zixuan and Mianmian, and Huaisang and Meng Yao. It's even true for Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, who have a close and trusting relationship in first life! CQL puts a much greater emphasis on "all right, so you care, what next?" How do you choose someone and then choose to be good to them? What if there's a massive power disparity between you? What if you seriously disagree about your priorities and morals? How do you trust someone who's betrayed you? When is it a stupid choice to trust at all? How do you have faith that you know someone well enough for that trust to be meaningful?

for legal reasons i would like to specify that it's not that mdzs isn't interested in these problems. i do remember wangxian's literal trust fall. cql is asking these questions all the time about everyone. also for legal purposes i'm not suggesting that cql lwj and jc love each other. but! they establish a three month wartime partnership looking for wwx and then jc immediately drops him on wwx's say-so despite apparently having a positive enough opinion of him to tell wwx he thinks they should make up twice. lan wangji will later tell wwx he thinks he should loop jc in on the second flautist! these are people trying to navigate some kind of relationship/shared interest/community, as opposed to a hateful void. cql wants to say hey, how do you go about this? while I'm here and rambling cql also puts a lot of emphasis on wwx's connection to yunmeng and changes things up so instead of feeling alienated right before he leaves our last glimpse of him there is happily picking lotuses and playing with a kid! in both stories the narrative is asking who do you protect? who do you leave behind? can you ever get it back? but the angles are very different.

#why are there so many people who simultaneously argue that cql dumbs down mdzs and also that mdzs is the slow reveal of how wwx is a #perfect angel who has never done anything wrong in his life #being let down by everyone around him #surely you have to pick an option #but lan wangji and wei wuxian being close friends in the first life really does change everything #i have seen people (reasonably) be annoyed with this as an adaptation choice #but! i like this change a lot and i think they do interesting things with it #There's still a lot of emphasis on what makes them so particularly perfect for each other but imo moving Lan Wangji into the category of #people wwx loved in the first life #shifts the focus from #when will they get together #to #What it would take and what would they have to do for these people to have to do to have a successful partnership? #If loving someone is the first step what comes next? Who do I want to be to the people around me? #i love the focus on wwx's trust issues as trust issues! problems that he's had with lwj specifically before! #and the solution isn't just oh well lwj is perfectly trustworthy #though that's obviously part of it #wwx has to like. decide for himself to do some things differently this time around in order to reap the rewards of being really in it with #someone. and lwj does too! it's a journey they're on together #i have simply rambled in all directions i'm sorry anon

[korpikorppi]

Some thoughts on the origins of Jin Guangyao's sword, Hensheng, in the Untamed

Saw this excellent set of gifs from ep23 by @zelkam and went "Wait! Wait wait wait. That's a soft sword!"

So I went to check ep23 and indeed, Meng Yao kills Wen Ruohan with a soft sword:

Then I recalled (been a while too long since I last rewatched these episodes 😅) that this is actually confirmed by Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao's discussion during the victory banquet (in ep23):

JGY: You seemed to want to say something to me as we were greeting rach other.

WWX: It's nothing. Just that the weapon you used to kill Wen Ruohan on that day of the Sunshot Campaign seemed to be a flexible blade. Why doesn't Young Master Jin carry it today?

JGY: Young Master Wei, sorry to have made (it) a show. It was just a random blade I picked up. Later, as I found out it had dark energy, I threw it away.

(As a side note, how observant Wei Wuxian is! He was exhausted from using the Tiger Seal, choked by Wen Ruohan, about to lose consciousness, and yet he noticed that!)

Yeah, right. We all believe you, Jin Guangyao 🙄. Soft swords (rare as they are) just tend to lie around. And that soft sword looks very - very - similar to Hensheng:

In ep23, the blade has fittings that are clearly Wen, with dark-tarnished metal parts and a dark-red handle:

And as we see in ep41, for example, Hensheng has white, gold and green fittings that are very clearly Jin, as befitting Jin Guangyao's status.

But fittings can easily be changed, and the overall similarity is so great that it is quite clear (or at least I am convinced) that it is the same blade (and as already mentioned, soft swords are not that common). I am also quite convinced that it was not "just a random blade" he picked up.

If that is so, when did Meng Yao acquire the sword? Did he acquire it at some point after his banishment from Unclean Realm? Or did he acquire it during his time in Nightless City, a hidden sword for a last line of defence in an enemy stronghold? Or, was it a gift from Wen Ruohan?

As I mentioned, soft swords are not that common and high-class spiritual swords do not come cheap, so it is unlikely that Meng Yao would have been able to acquire one after his banisment, when his means must have been quite limited. It is more feasible that he could have acquired one sometime during his stay in the Nightless City, but I think I am most intriqued by the last possibility. Meng Yao seemed to have gained a high status and a position as some kind of advisor or right-hand man to Wen Ruohan, so it is feasible that he gifted the sword to his servant. This would be supported, firstly, by the custom made Wen fittings (no standard fittings for that type of blade!) and, secondly, by Jin Guangyao's mention that the sword had "dark energy" (translated sometimes as the sword being sinister) and by his eagerness to downplay the whole thing as "just a random sword I threw away" (can you just imagine Nie Mingjue's reaction to that piece of information in the aftermath of the Sunshot Campaign...).

Also, I have always found Hensheng (恨生, Hènshēng), to hate/regret life, to be a bit peculiar name for a cultivator's blade (even for Jin Guangyao's blade), but if the origin of the blade would indeed lie here, it would add an entire new dimension to why Jin Guangyao chose to name it so. Or was the blade named for him?

So in the end, if what I am speculating here is right, Wen Ruohan had his own weapons turned against him, in more ways than one.

And as an end note, there is no mention about the origin of the blade in the MDZS wiki, so it is not mentioned in the novel? Anyone remember if there is anything implied? Also, Hensheng definitely is a soft sword in The Untamed, contrary to what is written in the wiki.

#oh look! it's me rambling about swords again #jin guangyao #meng yao #hensheng #wen ruohan #theuntameddaily #the untamed swords #the untamed #cql #mdzs #meta #cql meta #random late night ramblings #mine

[zestys-world]

Continuing my trend of weird au ideas:

I remember discussing this on my twitter once but I think it'd be funny if like a few years after he died wei wuxian came back as a cat and was given as a gift to young jin ling.

Pros:

- it is more socially acceptable to be afraid of dogs as a cat rather than a fully grown man

- people tell cats their secrets

- can hug your family

- shenanigans

- cats get pampered and spoiled

- you can protect your family

- keep lotus pier dog-free

- can later communicate with said nephew and let him know you're his uncle and set plans into motion when it's time

- can gain the trust of your nephew

- can cheer people up because cats are cute

- you suck at communicating so no more communicating

- can sneak around and collect data

- can piss of your brother by getting cat fur on his expensive robes

- everyone gives you affection

- when it is time you can try to turn yourself human and get married to the love of your life

Cons:

- jiang cheng sincerely names you princess fairy blossom.

#sorry for disappearing the fuckening happened again #mdzs #cql #the untamed #wei wuxian #jin ling #jiang cheng #wangxian oh so subtly #zesty rambles

[twenty-orange-balloons]

A fic I'm reading accidentally misspelled Lan Wangji's Guqin as Wangjo and now all I can picture is Lan Wangji playing a Banjo instead of a Guqin 😂

#cell rambles #mdzs #cql #lan wangji

[sweetlittlevampire]

I really don't wanna clear the ice from the front steps and the walkway in front of the house, but the Yarning Laozu and Yarn-er Gege are here to encourage me.

As soon as they stop cuddling, that is.

#Sweet is rambling #Wangxian #The Untamed #MDZS #CQL #Crochet #crocheting #fiber crafts

[unforth]

I just unironically accidentally read JFC as Jiang Fucking Cheng.

There's no more hope for me, lmao.

#unforth rambles #cql #jiang cheng #the jfc brainrot is real

[jingyismom]

never not shaking crying throwing up about the scene in ep33 when wei wuxian wakes up in lan wangji’s house.

1. lan wangji doesn’t get up to go to him, as we see him do later. he doesn’t so much as turn his body toward him, or stop playing his qin. he doesn’t even (as i scream about constantly) look directly at him. he treats wei wuxian like a cornered animal (which immediately upon waking up, he essentially is), and successfully makes him feel safe. he’s acutely aware that he’s gone against wei wuxian’s former wishes in bringing him back to gusu, but he saw no other choice. so he tries to make himself as non-threatening and calm as possible despite everything he’s feeling—his worry, his relief, his fear, his joy, his uncertainty, ETC ETC ETC

2. he immediately exhibits his growth, and starts answering all of wei wuxian’s questions fully and without hesitation. he’s here for whatever wei wuxian wants, whatever wei wuxian needs, with no agenda. until, of course, wei wuxian asks him a question he doesn’t know how to answer. he doesn’t know how to explain his years in seclusion without burdening him with A Whole Bunch of Knowledge that could be distressing in any number of ways. he starts to try anyway though, but wei wuxian misunderstands his direction and interrupts with his own preemptive line of thought.

3. the immediate nature of lan wangji’s affirmative response to “would you believe me if...” juxtaposed with the indefinite, horribly pained, restrained silence after “did you believe me before?” lan wangji is dying inside. the fact that wei wuxian has to ask him this is possibly the greatest failing of his entire life, tied up in a neat bow. he’s almost shaking, sitting there in mute, all-encompassing regret.

4. wei wuxian does not get an answer to this question!!!!!!!!!!!!! he sits there assuming lan wangji can’t bring himself to tell him the truth, and smiles ruefully out the window!!!!!!! they are both having a terrible fucking time!!!!!!!! in one of the most intimate scenes in the show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#rara rewatches #talking about cql #wangxian #i'm in pain #may have actually cried #you can block that rewatch tag i'm gonna be On My Bullshit for who knows how long #rambling endlessly #seriously rewatch lwj's quick breaths and tight muscles in this scene and see how YOU feel