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franniebanana · 3 years

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CQL Rewatch - Ep 19

Wow, Wei Wuxian looks so rough here. He’s spent some time under the knife (with no anesthetic), and then after that, he has just been waiting around for Jiang Cheng. It’s been seven days since Jiang Cheng went up that mountain. And of course Wei Wuxian is worried about him. What if something happened on his way down the mountain? What if he’d been captured or killed by the Wens? All the while, he’s basically defenseless here in Yiling (iirc). He’s sweating profusely, clutching at his middle—it’s possible he’s even suffering from an infection due to the transfer surgery. Seriously, the poor guy!

I love the visuals here: all these cloaked figures just filling this tea house, and not another soul in there other than the waiters. It’s both comical and heartbreaking the way that Wei Wuxian tries to immediately nope out of there, because he knows it’s a trap right away. Even with his Golden Core, I don’t know if he could have escaped them all—there were too many Wens, including the Core-Melting Hand. This part always really gets to me, because it truly is the first death of Wei Wuxian. It’s the death of who he once was: that smart, quirky, rascal of a youth, who made a very honest oath that essentially guided him to this point.

No joke, the first time I watched this, I was like, “Is that Lotus Pier? How tf did he get there?! How much did they change the story?!” And then a few seconds later, I realized this was a super sad dream/vision that Jiang Cheng was having and I channeled all my anger into sadness. This part is also super depressing. He has this vision of this happy family: his mother laughing, his father kissing his hand, just the picture of love. But it’s so far from what he had growing up, and you just realize that his greatest desire was really to have that happy family. But his parents are dead, he’s lost just about everyone at Lotus Pier—it’s so heartbreaking.

God, he just looks so broken! I’m sad now.

So even though I know the cost of Jiang Cheng’s happiness is Wei Wuxian giving up his own Golden Core, I still feel so happy here, seeing Jiang Cheng feeling like himself again. It’s because Wei Wuxian knows Jiang Cheng’s heart truly that he could offer up his own future so that Jiang Cheng could have a better one. I also just love this shot of Jiang Cheng kowtowing to the Immortal One, thanking her for healing him, and the camera pans past him, showcasing the beautiful scenery again. And then he walks down the mountain path with such a spring in his step! I love it!

I love that Wei Wuxian is still able to use his mind and play to their weaknesses. Wang Lingjao is extremely superstitious and fearful of the supernatural, and just the idea that he could haunt them scares the shit out of her. It’s just very cool to me that with all the abuse he endures, he still maintains a clear head and is able to fight back with his wit. This is yet another reason why I get annoyed when I see Wei Wuxian characterized as an idiot or someone who isn’t very smart. He proves his wit in just about every scene, so I don’t know why he gets this reputation in fanon. I feel like it’s derived from some overused yaoi/shojo trope where the “girl” has to be less smart than the “guy.” I don’t know how many things I’ve watched and read with a scatterbrained (but not charming) female lead—it’s overused.

This is so cool, because Wei Wuxian is scared out of his mind—he’s terrified of being left to die in the Burial Mounds. He’s heard all the stories: people don’t return, their souls get torn apart, etc. But what is cool is that he turns everything around and makes this place his source of power. He’s the man who conquered the Burial Mounds. It’s very satisfying to see that. FYI, I’m not going to talk about how he falls for like 20 minutes.

But I do think it’s really cool how the dark spirits catch him (and that’s all I’ll say).

This part still gives me major chills: you hear so many people calling out Wei Wuxian’s name, and then a “Wei Ying” breaks through. My breath always catches in my throat the first time I hear it. And then you hear it again, and the other voices have faded away before you hear it a third time. And that all feels nice until the screaming starts, which is hard to listen to, let alone hard to watch Wei Wuxian go through the mental turmoil.

Lan Wangji is back, bitches! He’s got a new title, a new headdress, and he’s hotter than ever. Jokes aside, though, this entrance is beyond epic. Other than that tiny glimpse of him in the last episode, it’s been ages since we’ve seen him, and it’s so satisfying that we get this great entrance, walking up this enormous staircase. Obviously by this point, I’m ecstatic to see him (it’s been way too long). Everything about this scene is great, from his entrance, to the way he uses his guqin as a spiritual tool, to the way he and Jiang Cheng are now a team. I don’t think there’s an awful lot of comradery there, but they have a common goal: find Wei Wuxian.

So we’re not really used to seeing a ton of emotion from Lan Wangji. Even when he’s annoyed, he doesn’t tend to show it. But, man, he is pissed here. Because of the magic of fiction, he’s probably heard the Wens’ conversation as he was walking up the stairs, so he heard them mocking Wei Wuxian (and the Yunmeng Jiang Sect), and he is not happy about it. He even uses the Chord Assassination Technique right off the bat against at least two of the Wen soldiers. Lan Wangji means business, and he’s not leaving until he gets what he wants.

The other great thing is that he doesn’t even need to come up all the way. He defeats them at a distance, while he’s still on the stairs. And the power and respect he commands is so great that they all know him by his face.

What Wen Chao does here is so relatable. His girlfriend is freaking out, having nightmares, convinced Wei Wuxian is going to turn into a ferocious ghost and haunt them until they lose their minds, and he, of course, rationalizes: they’ve sent so many people to the Burial Mounds and none of them have ever come back. In other words, “You’re being ridiculous.” But when he turns away from her, you can see the fear in his own eyes. When something spooky happens, my first step is always to rationalize—there’s a logical explanation for most things, right? And it always makes you feel better to rationalize it to someone else, but when you’re alone and thinking, your mind starts to wonder, your imagination starts to go wild. It’s easy to psyche yourself up in the dark and quiet of the night.

There’s this really gorgeous cello version of “Wuji” playing during this scene—it’s so beautiful, so moving, hitting me right in the feels. The look on Lan Wangji’s face when Jiang Cheng is telling him about how he and Wei Wuxian were supposed to meet in Yiling, how he thought Wei Wuxian had abandoned him to meet up with Lan Wangji in Lanling—he looks so defeated there. Defeated despite taking down the Qishan Indoctrination Bureau. Defeated because he hasn’t found who he’s been searching for. And then he holds Suibian so tenderly and lovingly—I’m emotional, okay?

It’s really cute and heartwarming to see Jin Zixuan starting to fall for Jiang Yanli. We’ve known for quite some time how Yanli feels for him, so it’s quite satisfying to see his walls come down as he starts to care more and more about her. He becomes protective of her. When she gasps at the hanging head at the gates of Qinghe, his instinct is to hold her—of course, he stops himself, but it’s very obvious that he wants to comfort her physically (and not in a dirty way, get your minds out of the gutter).

I love the dichotomy here: on one end, you have Jin Zixuan asking Lan Wangji where Wei Wuxian is, while you have Jiang Yanli echoing that on the other end with Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng can’t answer—he’s crying, trembling, emotionally responding to his sister without speaking. And Lan Wangji can’t speak either. His lips part, but no words come out. Again, you get this great sense of defeat from him—he’s completely at a loss, but he can’t or chooses not to show those emotions.

It’s also interesting how they kind of clipped the reunion between the Yunmeng Jiang siblings in favor of showing the conversation between Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji. In my opinion, it’s to remind us of the reunion that isn’t happening right now—the one that should have been—the one between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. And why isn’t it happening? The conversation reminds us that he’s still missing. I don’t doubt the importance of the Yunmeng Jiang siblings in this story—they are obviously instrumental to the plot and to Wei Wuxian—but it’s choices like this where the writers/scene directors remind us that the relationship to focus on is the one between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji, and not Jiang Cheng, holds onto Suibian, the only remaining item that is most spiritually connected to Wei Wuxian. Isn’t that interesting?

“A-Cheng, you’ve grown up. As your sister, there’s nothing I can do but worry about you.” Such a wise line—such a sad line. This really brings out how powerless she feels in the lives of her brothers. She’s a bystander, she has no influence. All she can do is watch and worry, and nothing either of them says or does will change that. It’s something we as parents and caretakers and guardians at some point have to admit: we can’t control our children’s lives, we can’t control those we take care of. Once they reach a point in their lives, it’s them who has to make their own decisions. They must thrive on their own, they must fail on their own. And all we can do is watch and worry and hope for the best. God, Yanli breaks my heart.

Me in bed when I watch a scary movie any time of the day.

She does crazy so well, though.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |

#cql #the untamed #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #jiang cheng #jiang yanli #jin zixuan #wen chao #wang lingjiao #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #cql rewatch #ep19

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aerialflight · 4 years

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So I was talking to @adelmortescryche about how I've recently gotten into the Untamed. And since my mind is mad hellspace, it spawned out this.

This is a transcript of my conversation with her. Morty, my friend, what have I done.

im fucking screwed

you know how i know im screwed?

cause im thinking of fic ideas of ichigo being in the untamed world

that is the first sign of madness

because i only put ichigo in fandoms that im really, really into

it is a sign that all is lost

it is a sign, that im a dead man walking

fudge me

and here's the best part, the worst part, whatever

i have two running fic ideas and they're both terrible

for my health

idea 1: ichigo comes in like a wrecking ball and basically fucks everyone over and hates the lans (to hell with those guys) and hates meng yao and just, hates everything

cause he'd like to go home, he did not sign up for this shit

or idea 2: ichigo wakes up as a kid after dying, reincarnated, but here's the thing

he's just a street kid at the age of 8 and has no fucking idea where the hell he is

so he books it. he goes fucking feral. he runs to the woods and becomes a woodland creature. he is one with nature.

and he avoids everything. except the nice wen doctor and her brother. he adopts children along the way and takes care of them because of course he does

and he somehow adopts meng yao because meng yao sometimes feeds him, or ichigo feeds him. and he Approves how meng yao takes care of his very nice mother.

and he finds wei wuxian. wei wuxian follows him around ironically like a dog and the jiangs never find him. cause ichigo is too competent and will not lose this child to political bullshit, he will not

when in doubt, run to the woods. follow the ASL brothers route.

and ichigo teaches them how to fight, all of them. ichigo learns how to read and speak chinese cause language barrier. sign language. it only increases his reputation as a child who grew up ferals in the wilderness and beyond

and ichigo is waiting for the day zangetsu appears, he can feel the bastard vibrating in his soul, reaching for his partner in his inner world and finding it murky. typical of the hollow to want to make a dramatic entrance

fuck me morty i hate this

i'm screwed

omg, dude

what if ichigo accidentally creates a new sect without even knowing he's doing it

all these children willing to die for him, wen qing thinking he's a fucking riot and appreciates how ichigo wants to protect his own, and ichigo respects her for how much she wants to protect her very kind sibling that reminds ichigo way too much of yuzu (god he misses her)

wen qing and ichigo helping each other out and ichigo knows her position and offers, hey, if you're ever in trouble, call for me. i'll be there. no conditions, no deals.

and ichigo wins her loyalty right then and there.

she sends info to him where the wens are moving, ichigo saving wens left and right and basically being a Decent Human Being.

he has a reputation now. anyone who are outsiders and need protection, go to kurosaki ichigo, he will help you.

and his sect keeps fucking growing

and by the time he hits 12-13, he's the head of a gang and other sects are beginning to take notice. and the plot thickens and just omg dude why

why

the more im writing this the most it keeps expanding in my head fuck me

i hate this

god what if renji and rukia somehow appear in this world also as children

they were born street rats too, they could be ichigo's seconds. or something. rukia insisting they should be near society. renji is just where the party is at and resigns himself to wherever his friends will take him cause hell if he's getting involved with the decision process

he's just rolling with it

what a guy

ichigo points to the lans and says "3000 rules rukia, 3000 rules. like hell im gonna be anywhere near a civilization where they actually think that's humanly possible to follow and are exalted instead of deemed as fucking weirdos"

"even byakuya would die swallowing that kind of bullshit*

"we're strong, we can survive here."

"think of the kids rukia"

"fuck you ichigo. you're just an antisocial punk who hates dealing with people"

ichigo points to society

"can you blame me?"

rukia sighs

rukia relents

renji is just glad that everyone has stopped screaming

what if one day, in a newly topsy turvy world that ichigo created, somewhat, ish, grimmjow just pops out of a garganta and is like FIGHT ME

AND ICHIGO IS DONE

FUCK YOU GRIMMJOW I THOUGHT I'D AT LEAST GET SOME PEACE AND QUIET AND I HATE THIS. I HATE YOU.

WHY ARE YOU HERE

FIGHT ME grimmjow roars

sighs

thats how i picture this fic ending.

thats how i picture this fic ending

i can imagine an ending scene stop me now

also, it is a given fact that ichigo and nie mingjue gets along like a house on fire. this whole fic idea wouldn't have started without that already established.

BONDING OVER THE FACT THEY'RE OLDER BROTHERS. BONDING OVER DEALING WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S BULLSHIT. BOTH WAY TOO FUCKING HONEST, BLUNT, AND RIGHTEOUS TO HANDLE. THIS WORLD CAN'T HANDLE TWO OF THEM

BOTH HAVING FIERY TEMPERS AND HAVE SCREAMING MATCHES OVER THE WENS AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM ICHIGO IS READY TO FUCKING GO YESTERDAY

ichigo thinking xichen is an ineffectual nice guy and would like to yell at him to stop sitting around doing nothing chop chop move it.

and wangji is just, the definition of repressed and ichigo yells at him to stop being repressed

and wei wuxian has a crush. ichigo is willing to voodoo doll the two of them and smush their mouths together, or open their mouths so they can fucking communicate omg i hate all of this

jiang cheng. ichigo likes.

this kid. he likes this kid

ichigo straight up murders the head of the jins. yup.

f that guy

#The Untamed #Bleach #Crossover #Fic Idea #Snippet #aerial snippet #AU Plotline #adelmortescryche

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