#mxtx too can we talk… esp about the Yi City arc | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

imaginaryelle · 4 years

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@tonyglowheart, tumblr is still not letting my do replies in a logical way, so hopefully you’ll get this notification. Thanks so much for engaging with all my questions!

@tonyglowheart replied:

so tbh my understanding comes mostly from the show; I've got the audio drama and donghua on my list, and one of the novel TL's at some point - but not quite there. So my take might be more biased towards the show, if there's any difference in how it's portrayed there vs in other adaptations.

I know it's mentioned somewhere that the scions of the major families go through some kind of ritual or cleansing to prevent them from coming back as fierce corpses; not sure exactly how the Nies fit into that, or if bc of their differing origins/way of cultivating they do something else.

Ah! yes, I remember this now. It’s when Jiang Cheng is talking about wanting to die so he can come back and have vengeance (after he’s captured and hit with the discipline whip and has his golden core taken). And yeah, because of the butcher-style cultivation this happens less/not at all for the Nie clan. I’m honestly not sure what they do, it seems implied that they just … die young. Over and over. And have their special burial system. I think from that I will conclude that cultivation, whether it’s the inherent fighting involved in the profession/life path or something else, might indeed lead to a higher chance of a fierce corpse. And go on with that idea until I find a contradiction.

of the spells you named, 4 of them are Lan sect spells and are generally shown as guqin-based (although it seems like other instruments can play it). Tbh I think chord assassination and sound of vanquish might be the same thing, just different translations? my understanding of the talismans thing is the wide usage seems unique to WWX. I feel like in other novels this isn't the case, but in CQL that does seem to be the case

we're... kind of only showcased the Lan Sect technique and WWX's, but I kiiind of assume that the "standard orthodoxy" within MDZS/CQL is sword-based routes. I think MXTX doesn't really explore the cultivation side as much in MDZS, compared to some others?

in general, my understanding of mo'dao vs other cultivation is that mo'dao is harnessing resentment - an external energy - and channeling it, and the ability to channel it depends a lot on force of will, like you said. But I think there's also an idea that if just any rando tried it, they'd be overwhelmed by the resentful energy and corrupted by it and maybe consumed by it instead of being able to channel it? I think other means of cultivation probably provide a better base for ppl to practice mo'dao with...

You’re probably right on Sound of Vanquish and Chord Assassination, and yes, as I’ve watched more of the show I agree that the sword technique seems to be fairly standard/orthodox. It makes sense for the plot that we get showcased the Lan sect things, but I find it... interesting, I guess, that we don’t really learn, say, what’s special about the Yunmeng Jiang sect style, beyond the existence of Zidian. The Jin sect have spirit bells or something, and the Nie have their cleavers, but I think that’s most of what we get. I really like Wei Wuxian’s talisman usage, especially in the show—it seems so adaptable where sword techniques are relatively rigid. I know there’s at least one instance of Lan Wangji using one, but it’s still implied WWX was the one who made it. I just wonder where he learned it now. If his parents died when he was 4 and he hardly remembers them, but Jiang Cheng and Yanli don’t use this sort of spell at all … where did he get it? Is it a level of cultivation thing, or willpower again? I do definitely get the impression from the show especially that music as spells is pretty highly advanced. We see very few people use it, even though it’s extremely effective and pretty flexible. So maybe the talismans are a bit like that too, or, looking at the way the canon material treats gender and class roles and such, maybe they’re considered less “manly” or even just less “proper” in general. Like they’re just toys, but WWX makes toys do actual work. That would be very in-character for him. (Honestly, I would love to see Nie Huaisang invent or use a fan style of cultivation. That should exist.)

The “anyone non-cultivator would be overwhelmed by the resentment” is an interesting point. The show definitely seems to lean toward that with the way the whole Yin Iron plot is set up. Hmmm, I will want to ponder that more ...

re: burial vs cremation.. don't quote me on this since I'm hazy myself, but I believe there are traditional beliefs - esp in Ancient times? - surrounding being buried with your corpse intact and how that affects your ability to have peace in the afterlife? I was to say this ties into other traditional ideas I see in period pieces, like the cutting of hair thing. But I think we do see this reflected in MDZS/CQL - where the sects called for the Wens to be cremated/ground to ashes, and how NMJ isn't able to rest because his corpse was scattered and I want to say you also see this belief reflected in how they talk about other things, like I sort of have an impression of them talking abt WWX dying and how he didn't even leave a complete corpse or something? I think modern beliefs are different, but I think in trad settings there's very much the idea of having/being able to leave a complete corpse being important.

Having a complete corpse is brought up a few times, true. I’d forgotten about that beyond NMJ’s situation. I think the thing with WWX was that there was speculation that not only was his body destroyed and scattered, but also pieces of his soul. And later in the Yi city arc we see other souls that are damaged/not complete, but possibly they can be mended? With enough time and good energy. But the destruction of a soul into pieces was directly linked to never reincarnating in the novel, so maybe it’s all an extension of that? In which case Jiang Cheng’s trauma over his parents’ deaths gets even worse, oh no.

#the untamed #the untamed spoilers #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the untamed meta #long post

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