#mdzs tl

[twistedappletree]

[3 AM]

lan jingyi: why are any of us here, really?

zoo security guard: i’m asking about you, specifically.

#based on a tweet screencap that I lost when my fb TL auto refreshed RIP 😭 #mdzs #the untamed #lan jingyi #mo dao zu shi #mdzs modern au #???? kinda ???? #mdzs crack #mdzs meme #incorrect mdzs #mdzs shitposting #apple memes 🍎 #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mdzs juniors #precious gremlin #could you imagine modern LJY #jfc that kid would getting into SO MUCH SHIT #like a ferret on crack actually andbakdAJDHAJ

[tosahobi-if]

Omg is Yul actually inspired by LBH?

they're not! any similarities are coincidental.

now in jinwol's case he was inspired by howl from howl's moving castle. i love those books (and the movie) and i'll openly admit it JAFSJJ

#anon #ro: yul #i need to reread svsss #i still haven't read the official tls it's been years #same goes for mdzs tbh #i read it on the exiled rebels site a loooong time ago LOLOL

[sorrowschengmei]

why almost every villain in MDZS breaks their expected gender role somehow

btw please notice when i say 'masculine' i'm not saying 'manly in a contemporary western POV' i'm basically saying 'appropriate behaviour for a cisgender male of his social position' so yes expect a lot of class struggle as newsflash, identity based  oppression ALWAYS walks hand in hand with social class [there's a reason upper class americans always seem more comfortable to display gender nonconforming behaviour than working class ppl of the global south]

first i'd like to use a character as pretty much an example of  almost 100% gender conforming behaviour in that show: Wangji.

yes he's gay, but that really doesn't seem to be an issue in this setting. why? bc he dresses plainly, doesn't display excessive emotion, shows devotion to his family, respects customs, doesn't mingle outside his  social class... i mean, we all watched that show, he DOES slip sometimes, but not enough to create a reputation of rule breaker or something. even in his most rebellious moments, he's still inside everything one might expect of a cisgender man of his social class.

so who fails to meet the standard? characters that are heavily punished for doing so. that become bitter and resentful, and display their suffering acting in vengeful, cruel, calculating ways. that look at the society that ruined them, and say 'i'll ruin this bitch'.

and yes, this list includes Wei Ying. so say hello to the mean girls of MDZS!

starting by the most obvious example: Mo Xuanyu, gay, gender nonconforming to shocking levels and mentally ill. taken into the Jin sect, goes there and hits on his half brother. absolutely iconic. 

no really this character spits and pisses on the face of society, and its one of the saddest examples of this list as he not only doesn't do much damage as the others, he's also driven to suicide. i won't list all the ways he's GNC bc honestly there aren't too many ways he WAS in gender conformity lol

another character that resorts to ways that could be called antagonistic and also struggles with gentlemanly behaviour is Nie Huaisang.

he's devoted to the arts, what is NOT unmasculine per se, but the fact he can't succeed at swordsmanship, won't display a traditional assertive and unattached attitude when in a leadership position and has an overall sensitive and gentle demeanor mark him as a deviant from his assigned gender role, what is harshly punished by the masculine-and-manly-in-a-contemporary-western-POV Nie Mingjue. as he cannot win in direct confrontation, he appeals to indirect ways and social manipulation [completely ungentlemanly behaviour] much like the next in the list: Meng Yao.

this one is sorta tricky to fit in this list bc he DOES display gender conforming behaviour but as we can see, its either something fucking wicked like impregnating his own sister or pretty much a role he's playing. Yao is PAINFULLY aware of how society works. he can see clearly all the roles and picks those that will favour him. does it mean he's comfortable with them?

no lol to become the perfect married, with an heir, of high status, filial etc male model he does unspeakable things. i absolutely love this character and i'm yes, based af towards him bc his tragedy is BEING TOO GOOD AT FITTING GENDER ROLES. accepting anything to dodge the social outcast status that was imprinted on him since he was born. a whoreson is not a man, he's something less than a man, he's a Mo Xuanyu, he's a Xue Yang. he has no family to honour, no place in the social pyramid, no means of starting his own family.

he's unmasculine by definition. and much like Huaisang, Yao was graced with a soft and gentle presence, more appropriate for a Mianmian than a sect leader. talking of Xue Yang.... 

yes, he's pretty much 'manly' in a western contemporary POV. he kills ppl and displays antisocial behaviour, what is pretty much tied to our current view on manhood [see the soldier and the CEO as peak examples of the ''alpha male'']

 but whose family is he going to honor? what kind of emotional restraint is laughing during a massacre? which customs are being respected when a working class-born man kills an entire highborn clan for something that according to the custom he should just accept as his fate and move on?

add to that the fact he's very much satisfied with assuming a housewife role and hits on upper class men obscenely in any opportunity he has, and you have a walking menace to the entire concept of masculinity of this setting. *throws kiss* for Xue Yang, ancient Chinese working class queer icon.

then we have Su Minshan, who BETRAYED HIS CLAN out of devotion for a WHORESON, and has a lifelong grudge with who? yes, THE masculine role model, Lan Wangji, who honestly couldn't care less, he's just trying to live his already hard enough life in peace.  Su Minshan offends almost everything that means being a man in his setting. plus he's cunning-not a good look.

and finally we have the Yiling Laozu, that one that broke all the taboos, offended all the customs, rejected swordsmanship and embraced music, all while being romantically involved with a Lan of Gusu when he's merely a Jiang associate. and the most iconic part?

MXTX made him the fucking protagonist. yes. the dude who went there and dishonored everything that means being a man in his setting, she doesn't want us to think he's lowly, dirty, unworthy of empathy--there are enough characters doing this already. she wants us to join this gender nonconforming gay man as he lifts all the veils of society, wrecking mayhem in their little extremely rigid feudal system, intriguing the a-Yaos, a-Yangs, Minshans, Huaisangs and Xuanyus with his ways so similar but so different from theirs. it's like the author is saying:

'we know you are hurting. we know society fucked you up. but please, dont become bitter. you still can create a beautiful life for you. you don't need to be stuck in a coffin, left to rot, suicided or tossed aside. you CAN write your WangXian song and cultivate until immortality'

and honestly i dont think i've ever seen any work so obscenely thought-provoking regarding gender roles, social roles and trauma as MDZS....

#the untamed #wei wuxian #xue yang #jin guangyao #the untamed meta #tl;dr: every villain in mdzs is gay and traumatised and this IS supposed to make you feel bad [and revolutionary] #Sorrowful Thoughts

[iamwestiec]

hello! i was wondering, do you know of any (if there are any) blogs that track mdzs fandom events? i know one of the fic rec blogs does but are there any that are only for tracking events?

Y'know, that is a fantastic question.

Short answer: I don't know!

Longer answer:

Not a tumblr, but there is a MXTX Events Discord run by the illustrious @wrecklwj with an excellent tri-fandom calendar

Over on dreamwidth, the pan-fandom fandomcalendar tracks submitted events, and they've got a tag for the MDZS Universe and another for all MXTX that I personally would love to see more used

As you mentioned, @wangxianficrecs is not an event tracker, but they do boost fandom events

Similarly, if it's a polyshipping MDZS event, you can bet I'll plug it on @polyshipweek

Also not what you asked for, but if you're looking to see more mdzs on your timeline in general, I can recommend: @dmdiaspora @mdzsartreblogs @mdzsnet @mxtxnet

Anybody know of an active event tracker blog?

do NOT fucking start one westie you do not need another project

#mdzs events #westie answers #tossing this one out to the TL #mdzs event

[grewlikefancyflowers]

I'm sure other people will discuss it as well, but when you're done with volume two could you say your problems with it? I'm considering whether or not to get it.

sure ! this is mostly nitpicky grumblings, and i haven't read the yi city or nmj empathy flashbacks (aside from the parts where wwx/lwj appear or are mentioned) & i don't plan to any time soon.

(also sorry these are all screenshots but you can't copy/paste from ibooks and i don't wanna type these out 😅)

that/those—why is he switching between singular and plural ?? and the word 'cosmetics' seems out of place in the setting. it's sound very modern and corporate

i think this is a misuse of this saying. wwx here is making sure the juniors will follow his orders in yi city. giving an inch/taking a mile is used when like, a guest overstays their welcome, or when you offer someone a little of your food and they help themselves to as much as they like. basically, person a makes a small concession and person b takes advantage of the situation to gain more than was initially given. it’s very negative and doesn't fit what is happening in this situation imo.

two problems with this

1 is tense. the juniors are burning paper money on someone's doorstep as wx are speaking—why is it 'didn't' rather than 'don't' ??

2, lwj speaks 'blandly' but 7s for some reason chose to emphasise 'you' with italics. not only does it contradict itself, but it is not hanguang jun's style to speak with such inflection. it sounds weirdly accusatory too. this is how exr and fyy translated it,

‘Lan WangJi replied in an indifferent tone, “You can stop them.”’ (exr)

‘“You can stop them,” Lan Wangji replied with indifference.’ (fyy)

i really like this line for lots of reasons and i feel like 7s did it completely wrong.

weird mix of chinese and english terms of address

i am. pretty unhappy with this.

7s have translated 鬼道 and 邪魔歪道 interchangeably as ‘demonic path/cultivation’ so the fact that in this exchange jingyi uses the proper, neutral, term for wwx’s cultivation, whereas jin ling does not, is lost. this issue was present in vol 1 too.

from exr, ‘Lan JingYi joined in as well, “Why are you being so angry about it? SiZhui did not say that Wei WuXian should not have been killed. He just said that not everyone who cultivates the ghost path is the same type of person as Xue Yang. Did you have to throw things? I did not get to eat that one yet…”’

(*throws rotten fruit at seven seas* why did you do this)

uhh, they probably shoulda gone for younger uncle here?

jin ling alternates between using chinese and english terms of address...

what does this even mean, 7s?

fanyiyi—‘“Hey, kid! What do you mean by ‘messing around with other men?’ I’m not like that! Forehead ribbon? What’s the meaning of the Gusu Lan Clan’s forehead ribbon?”’

#i have left my 'hesitating to critique the official tl because i'm trying to focus on the positives' era and am entering my #'complaining bitterly about everything that mildly annoys me' era #mdzs #also i have. more complaints but tumblr only lets you out 10 images in a post apparently ? #put* #and post editor hates me right now and does not want me to make another post either :( #hellsite (not at all affectionate)

[morethanwonderful]

God, Jiang Cheng must have been so pissed when Wei Wuxian showed up to his "I'm defecting" duel with Wen Ning there to fight on his behalf.

Jiang Cheng was furious at the defection because he thought Wei Wuxian was choosing the Wen clan above him and the Jiangs, and he was almost certainly bitter about how Jgs accused Wei Wuxian of not respecting him. And then Wwx pulls this shit? He shows up to their formal duel with a Wen as his number two, and he won't even deign to fight his brother and sect leader sword to sword one on one like he ought to?

Like obviously there is a very good reason why Wwx couldn't fight a proper duel with him, but from Jiang Cheng's point of view? Here Wwx is making a very public demonstration of how he's siding with dead Wens over his brother, and how he refuses to follow proper conduct to the very last. Talk about adding insult to injury.

#again. not that wei wuxian did anything wrong here #but I just reread that scene #(just bought vol 4 of the 7seas tl!) #and god. that must have pissed off jc something fierce #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #english major hours #jiang cheng my beloved #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #twin prides tag #mdzsposting

[loosingmoreletters]

For the fic title challenge

I vow my dreams to these dark symphonies

For any fandom? Just seems like a pretty killer title to me tbh

Honestly the first thing that came to mind was a mdzs role reversal with YLLZ!LWJ. Or maybe one where after WWX's death he tries to make sense of the why, someday followed by the how. He's not stupid and he was watching WWX all this time, perhaps if he just steps into his shoes, he could figure out what pushed WWX so far.

And ngl, it would be high key funny if WWX is resurrected and the first thing he learns is that whoops, HGJ is now a demonic cultivator.

#mdzs #ask #tls 1234

[luobingmeis]

once i start reading mdzs it will be over 4 me

#beginning w/ the ‘i want to bring a man to cloud recesses’ scene chefs kick #barring the fact that w/out reading another tl of mdzs i am already a bit disenfranchised w/ 7s’s tl #bc there were enough typos in vol3 to warrant me. wanting 2 go a little out of my mind #+ hearing other people talk abt other tls that make me 👁 #i am v excited to get back into the story i’ve missed canon v much

[mowmowmice]

frankly the fact I didn’t post for Wei Wuxian OR LAN WANGJIS BIRTHDAY?? criminal. disgusting. anyways happy late birthday to them. they have already celebrated a million more ways than I could possibly count.

Here now though, so wooooo!!!

#MDZS #wangxian #im back #probably not actually but like #I love them #also seeing way too much jc on the Twitter tl #im Running here to hide

[lovefrombegonia]

Jiang Cheng haters can go suck a dirty dick. Thank you for coming to me Ted talk.

#antis dni #jiang cheng #i don't like seeing anti jc posts on my tl that implies jc is nothing but misery personified. #especially when fans compare him to their own favs. like stfu and slap yourself ig idc #cql might as well have ruined mdzs for me considering how the popularity of the drama attracted the worst type of stans ever #anyways #block me jiang cheng haters #p.s. i lied. i will always love mdzs. i just have ptsd from the worst cql onlys i have come across on twt

[lanliingwang]

I feel like the larger point of that jgy post I made regarding translations is...I just wish more mdzs fans who mainly/only read translations of the text (specifically English ones) and cite it as their source took into consideration that there is a strong chance they may be missing something (oftentimes nuances) when they make metas and the like based on that... plus translations can be subject to a translator's own perspective on the text too so that's something else to take into consideration...

#lulas's randomness #mdzs #aaa I hope my wording doesn't come off as rude I really only mean it as a gentle nudge at most #it's just. the same text in the source can be translated with different wordings phrasings etc from my experience #because people will read things differently based on their perspective of what goes on in the original text and that influences their tls #(among other factors as well!) #anyway in the long run I'm not like. mad or anything I just kind of want to mention this since it's been rolling around in my brain #(also this applies to other translations of non-english language media in general even if I largely mention mdzs bc it's seeing some things #in that fandom that spurred these thoughts orz)

[tepidblue]

deeply unserious thoughts -> guy realising tumblr courtesy after posting

need to write out the mdzsf1 post bc i wanna talk to ppl abt it but mostly abt yingcheng .. ik people wld want to know abt wangxian & like yes there is that but it is fundamentally abt how cultivation can be transplanted onto the graft of being an athlete but especially f1 cos talent & hard work are a given but marketability has gone up as a deciding factor & being the first/headline worthy is relevant as well .. honestly this is a little abt how daniel, even when he is losing, is actually winning. (internal thought that even though i’ve switched from having nothing to say -> saying things all the time but is there intent? purpose? thought? behind it? does there need to be? & then i want to be a membrane or a sea sponge because the water is very nice to the basal ganglia or something.) anyways this is why i like thinking abt people who are where they want to be but it is still not enough & it is fundamentally abt wanting & loving something that could never love you back. i love sports when i think abt it thru that lens. there is always something to love about something you thought alien to you. i love performance & media & how celebrity renders ur body no longer ur own body. objectification splintering the self but this is all for the purpose of this thing you loved enough to make ur altar as a child. and then there are the drivers who are religious & that’s so interesting to me. like you believe in this & at the same time you are trammelled still by the want of a child who loved to drive & found themselves in it. but then you achieve everything but it still isn’t enough. it can never be enough. [listening to eve, psyche, and the bluebeard’s wife] love thinking abt the intersection btwn kpop deliberate parasocialisms & the product being music & the image. and then there’s the concept being embodied. the throughline btwn interests .. i do think abt media production & adore joanne revill for her being behind the am content like ❤️ you are insane for coordinating lance & the largesse of the am socmed & media production like rbr’s media production could be bettered a hundredfold if you were on their team. anyways, f1 is so interesting as it exists in relation to my previous interests. the money is real & then it isn’t. much like dbz’s power levels ❤️ i stopped caring once i found out goku had grandkids ..

i keep on saying things & none of it has weight. it’s the magical realism i read earlier, derealises the weight of gravity. but also i have things to do & i should be doing them.

#nim.txt #mdzsf1 #lol at that not being a tag.. the intersection btwn mdzs & f1 is me. it’s just me. #i will do something abt it .. she’s arnd 700w & i can get people to be obsessed w it. however i do need to get the tl straight in my head #like i need to fix up 2027-2029 & 2034-2035 for naomi cos it’s not working (guy talking to a wall) #squinting at the void. i need to get at least three things done before i can nap u_________________u (guy suffering.jpeg) #my typing is so. it is so deeply internet & then wtv thing i decide is expressive (guy locked into monolingualism in certain parts) #vagueposting on main ^_________^ or is it i still don’t get tumblr like that.

[mxtxkinfessions]

It's kinda ironic to me that I kin both A-Qing and Wen Ruohan when, in my aq canon, he was my father ( I even met him once ), whereas for my wrh canon, we had absolutely nothing to do with each other . Half of me finds it hilarious ( and as I said, ironic ) in a looking back sorta way, while the other half of me mourns the fact that I wasn't great to her but feels odd about it because like,,, I didn't know her and had zero to do with her at all, so why do I yanno lol

I don't know . Kinning is so weird sometimes

💚❤️

#yeah it really super is sometimes there are characters who are like. my partner and then my inlaw in different tls #and it just gets wilder from there #canon confession #longing confession #(somewhat) #a-qing kin #wen ruohan kin #mdzs kin

[krisisunmanaged]

Aaaand Still scrambling to get my twt infrastructure at least halfway onto tumblr… not the same, but I would do Anything for the MDZS twt fandom. Anything.

(Even trying to do fandom on tumblr lol)

(It gives so many flashbacks and I’ll stay on twt until it drops too… but maybe something fun’ll come off it?)

#MDZS twt #MDZS twitter #curate your experience #… but that’s really hard when u want to just see the exact same ppl on the dash you’ve had on the tl for the last 3 years 😭

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

Exposing SVSSS Fanon: 5/∞

MING FAN AS HEAD DISCIPLE OF QING JING PEAK

Rating: FANON - CONFLICTING

Most fanworks I've come across call Ming Fan the Head Disciple of Qing Jing Peak-- because of the prevalence of this idea, I even held to it in my own writing for a while. However, in canon, Ming Fan is NOT and never was Head Disciple.

This is another case of a fairly honest misconception, though.

In an earlier translation of SVSSS done by BCnovels, Ming Fan is referred to as Head Disciple:

"Descending the mountain this time is for the sake of gaining experience. This teacher will not be able to help you. Ming Fan, as the head disciple, you will need to vigilantly prepare so the demon won’t harm your fellow disciples." (BCnovels Ch. 6)

Shen Qingqiu said affably, “They were harvested from my head disciple Ming Fan’s family’s tea fields. As for whether they’re high-quality or not, won’t Shang-shidi know if he comes to take a meal at Qing Jing Peak?” (BCnovels Ch. 93)

(Many thanks to @shen-qing-qiu for providing these quotes!)

Even in terms of translation, the mistake is fairly honest as well. The exact position Ming Fan holds is 大弟子 (Da-dizi), and he is called 大师兄 （Da-shixiong) by Ning Yingying.

In some cultivation novels, 大弟子 is also the head disciple (I believe MDZS may be this way, but I do not have a copy of the original on hand to check right now), but what it literally means is "most senior/oldest disciple." It isn't necessarily the oldest of the group, but the one who was first to become a disciple of their master/a sect/etc. and has thus been training for the longest time, and has the most experience.

Ming Fan continues to be referred to as Da-shixiong even after Luo Binghe became head disciple:

Ning Yingying tugged on the battered and bruised Ming Fan. “Da-shixiong, did you hear?” she murmured. “A-Luo and Zhangmen-shixiong are saying that person is…Shizun?” (7S Ch. 13)

Which makes perfect sense-- even if the ranking has changed a bit, he is still the most senior disciple of Qing Jing Peak-- that won't ever change.

However, this is not the same as being head disciple.

In SVSSS, this is a separate category, where instead of being determined by seniority, the head disciple (首席弟子 Shouxi-dizi or 首徒 Shoutu) is a disciple specifically chosen for the role by the peak lord. Huan Hua Palace also has this role, and though less is known about internal sect politics there, it seems to follow the same sort of rule, with favored disciples being given this title.

Ming Fan is never referred to with this title. He is senior disciple, NOT head disciple.

The two quotes from the BCnovels translation above have since been corrected in the official TL:

“This trip down from the mountain is for the sake of your training. Unless as a last resort, this master will not assist you. Ming Fan, as the most senior disciple, you must design careful strategies, lest you let that demon harm your fellow disciples.” （7S Ch. 2)

“They were harvested from the tea fields of my senior disciple Ming Fan’s family,” Shen Qingqiu said affably. “As for whether they’re high-quality, won’t Shang-shidi know if he comes for tea at Qing Jing Peak?” （7S Ch.26)

It appears that when there is no head disciple, the senior disciple fills that role and performs the same duties:

All affairs on Qing Jing Peak, whether large or small, were handed to and looked after by Shen Qingqiu’s trusted subordinate, Ming Fan. (7S Ch. 1)

However, if a head disciple is chosen, many of these duties and authority will shift to the selected disciple:

These past couple of years, Shen Qingqiu had handed all manner of miscellaneous tasks big and small to Luo Binghe to deal with. After all, for now Luo Binghe was so sweet, obedient, and useful, his work thorough and meticulous. （7S Ch. 4)

At this point, though it has not directly been stated, Luo Binghe is the head disciple of Qing Jing Peak (there will be another post on this topic later).

One last note, I have also seen Liu Mingyan being referred to as head disciple in fanworks. This is a similar situation as Ming Fan's, though she is not even referred to as senior disciple. It isn't a big enough issue with enough canonical references to be worth its own post, so I would just like to add onto this post that Liu Mingyan is NOT head disciple either.

#fanon exposed #svsss #qing jing peak #ming fan #conflicting #silver cucumber award

[grewlikefancyflowers]

hi, i like how much your blog talks about the novel! i noticed u have a lot of quotes and screenshots from the novel but they don't look like exR translations, are there other translations u r reading? can u add the translator name to these? i know lots of translations got taken down but it would still be nice to know who did these! thank u

hi! i think all the translations i reference are in the mdzs translation masterlist. though some of them have been taken down, they are still accessible via the web archive if people are interested in reading them.

i do normally credit the translator in my meta but there have been times when i have forgotten. i'll try harder to remember from now on!

#i also need to remember to put alt text when i use screenshots 😓 #also i just realised some people may not know this but when i reference 'fyy' or 'tmwx/tw' in my posts #that is referring to fanyiyi and taming wangxian respectively #which are some non-exr mdzs translators #them & exr are what i'm using 99% of the time #it just occurred to me that to people who don't know the other translations those letters probably do not mean anything lol #if quotes are uncredited it's probably 7s since idk i guess it seems unnecessary with the official tl ??