#where was WWX's spirit for the last 16 years

[syrena-del-mar]

For the BL trope ask game: 4, 13 and 17

#4. Long-Term Pining

Oh man! This might be BL adjacent due to censorship but nobody will ever have Lan Wangji, from The Untamed, beat in terms of long-term pining. 16 years of waiting, without actually knowing that Wei WuXian would someday come back, will always make me pity LWJ.

Sometimes I wonder how many times he attempted to communicate with WWX's spirit as he played the Qin. How many times he replayed WWX's last words in his head? Or did he see him fall off that cliff every time he closed his eyes?

#13. Grumpy/Sunshine

There's so many to pick from but my favorite will always be Seojoon/Jiwoo from To My Star! Hands down never seen a better Golden Retriever x Wet Cat relationship depicted. The premise itself was great, a celebrity forced to live with a normal guy, is already set to create hijinks and mayhem. But Seojoon's complete opposite personality to Jiwoo's, and where Jiwoo starts becoming protective and attentive to what makes Seojoon tick, really seals the deal on this one. I know many people were upset about season 2, but honestly I loved this exploration of the Grumpy/Sunshine trope for them, because it made sense! They were so different, it was bound to strain their relationship.

#17. Ugly Duckling

I have come to the realization that I only have one to pick from, so that means this category is going to Secret Crush On You.

This show…. Man, I struggled to watch it, I’ll be honest. But I suffer from the sunk cost fallacy, so I did finish it. The one thing I enjoyed though is the constant reassurance Daisy, and even Toh, got from their significant others. They were loved because of who they were and not in spite of it.

Send me a trope and I'll respond with my favorite BL

#asked and answered #secret crush on you #grumpy/sunshine #the untamed #long term pining #ugly duckling #to my star #bl trope game

[stiltonbasket]

[soulmate au! prompt] Lan Wangjis reaction to hearing his soulmate laugh for the first time in 16+ years after wwx is resurrected

“Wangji! Wangji, wake up, look at your Huan-da--daifu, what���s the matter with him?”

His brother was beside him, shouting into Lan Wangji’s ears while the thick, cloying scent of battle gore seeped into his nose; but for once in his nineteen years, Lan Wangji could not find the strength to answer him. His spirit was nothing but an open wound, forever rent in two by the blow of his zhiyin’s demise--and no matter how desperately Lan Xichen called, the anguish in his voice could not match the bone-deep torment of Lan Wangji’s frayed bond, slashed to ribbons and cast asunder like a tattered war-flag left to unravel in the wind.

“Come away from him,” he hears one of the healers cry. “His soulmate is dead, Zewu-jun--it will be a wonder if he knows you at all until the shock is over!”

But the shock never faded, not entirely; and when Wei Ying reappeared at the Yiling courier station three months later, Lan Wangji cleaved to him heart and soul, almost as if he were the lost beloved whose name Lan Wangji would never have the chance to know.

__

When the part of his heart that once belonged to his mingding zhiren awakes for the first time in twenty years, Lan Wangji is certain he imagined it. After all, he felt his soulmate’s death as if their life was a little beating heart, being torn bodily out of his flesh so that he would perish in his absence; but he had lived on after that, and often imagined that he could feel his soulmate’s laughter despite the gaping void in the bond they left behind.

But when the laughter rings out again--insistent, wild, desperate like Lan Wangji would have been, if he ever had the chance to welcome a beloved newly returned from the grave--he leaps out of the tea-serving stall where he meant to wait for Sizhui and Jingyi (Jiang-zongzhu has already gone ahead, so determined to see his nephew win the hunt that he refuses to let the child lead his disciples on his own) and rushes up the mountain, neither knowing nor caring where he goes as he goes somewhere.

It can’t be, he thinks wildly, suddenly remembering the battlefield in Heijian where he felt his soulmate die. That feeling cannot be mistaken, not like this, and it has been half my lifetime since--

And then, as if today’s revelations have no limit whatsoever, he hears a warped, broken strain of music warbling out of a flute.

That is a terrible musician, is Lan Wangji’s first thought.

That is Wangxian, is the next.

Almost before he knows it, Lan Wangji reaches a flat, dusty turning in the road, and freezes at the sight of a thin young man standing there, playing his heart’s song on a crude bamboo dizi as if the melody had been written for him, and drawing Wen Ning away from the rest of the crowd. Lan Wangji is rooted to the spot, unable to think or move or breathe as Wen Ning leaps away amid the chaos, jumping straight past Jiang Wanyin--and Jiang Wanyin gives chase, letting out a roaring bellow and charging into the trees with the Jiang disciples at his heels, and then the man playing the flute falls to his knees and weeps.

But he is laughing through his tears, sucking in air and expelling it again as if he fears that he might suffocate, and Lan Wangji watches as his son and nephew run to his side, helping him lift his head while Jingyi fumbles in his qiankun bag for a bottle of water.

“He really is a lunatic!” Jingyi cries, clearly panicking: he most strongly resembles his Nie xiao-shushu in moments of crisis, especially when the crises involve ghosts or unquiet spirits. “Is it safe to make him drink water, Yuan-ge? Will he choke?”

“Gongzi,” Lan Sizhui says urgently, patting the man’s hand as Lan Wangji finally musters up the strength to move towards them. “Gongzi, did Jiang-zongzhu frighten you? You don’t have to worry about him, all right? You saved all our lives at Mo Manor last night, and we wouldn’t make you go with him anyway--you haven’t done any harm, even if you do cultivate the dark path!”

Cultivate the dark path--

Lan Wangji’s head is swimming. On the ground about six paces in front of him, the young man seems to be working himself up into a frenzy, letting out shouts of manic, high-pitched laughter and sobbing at the same time, and his eyes--a curious shade of grey, which Lan Wangji has only ever seen on a single beloved person--are fixed upon Sizhui’s, drinking in his every feature like a man guzzling water after nearly dying of thirst.

Wangxian.

Zhiji.

Lan Sizhui, who was first his beloved’s child before he became theirs, A-Yuan--

Vaguely, he wonders if his own heart, still registering the joy of his fated beloved after over two decades of silence, could possibly have stopped beating.

“Lan Yuan,” Lan Wangji says: loudly, and clearly, making the man crumpled in the dust shake from head to foot. “Hold Mo-gongzi upright for a moment, so I can lift him. We will bring him back to Gusu.”

Wei Ying--for this unfamiliar-looking Mo-gongzi can only be Wei Ying, to play Wangxian so earnestly and nearly cry himself sick at the knowledge that A-Yuan is alive and well--gives a little gasp in Sizhui’s arms, tearing his gaze away from him and staring at Lan Wangji, and then he makes a small, hurt sound and faints dead away onto Jingyi’s lap.

“Shufu!” Lan Jingyi howls, completely forgetting that Hanguang-jun is the correct honorific to use in public, even for him; and looking ready to faint himself, unless Lan Wangji intervenes. “Uncle, I think he’s dead!”

A sharp pang goes through his chest. “Do not say such things, A-Yi,” Lan Wangji scolds gently, rushing to Sizhui’s side and lifting Wei Ying into his embrace. “Look, he is still breathing. Now, round up your classmates and follow me. We are leaving.”

When Sizhui and Jingyi finally turn away (casting several glances over their shoulders as they go, as if afraid that their mysterious savior from Mo Manor really might die by the time they get back) Lan Wangji waits for the rogue cultivators to clear out, and then he bows his head over Wei Ying’s and cries.

You came back, he sobs to himself, taking Wei Ying’s cold hands in his and pressing them to his lips. Wei Ying--you came back to me!

#wangxian #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #soulmate au #my fic #HERE IT IS AT LONG LAST #*jazz hands* i just think they're neat #pls reblog guys i beg on my knees #more reblogs = more prompts rip lol #but just #they!!!!!!

[mikkeneko]

For the “Where are they now?” meme: 16 years later, “brother, the password and the plans of our city are safe with me”

(yeah I’m predictable, what of it)

You people know me too well, okay.

I will have you know that I made this meme entirely because I got a comment on that fic and was thinking about it!

So now I have to actually think about it. Uh.

Well, the upside to this particular break from canon is that it doesn’t really affect the Jin or Nie affairs much at all, so the canon events that lead to WWX’s resurrection still happen! The question instead is what he finds when he does.

1. The biggest difference is going to be in the way Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling were raised. Emotions between LWJ and JC are still going to be complicated; there’s still an unavoidable element of “why did he choose you over me/why didn’t you do more to help him before it was too late” going on both sides, but they’re able to work together in a way they weren’t in canon.

Lan Wangji is a lot more involved with Jin Ling’s wellbeing in this timeline, since he is allowed to be and because he recognizes that Wei Wuxian loved his shijie more than anyone else and would want her son to be cared for. With the Lan Sect’s backing, JC is able to get a little more control over where Jin Ling spends on his time than in the canon.

Lan Wangji still adopts A-Yuan, I think, since he’s the one who went to get him, but during his punishment and seclusion he entrusts Lan Yuan’s care to Jiang Cheng rather than having him placed in the Lan creche (or raised by LXC/LQR, depending on how much of a role you think they played in LSZ’s care in canon.) 

In this canon, since he 1) knows about A-Yuan and 2) doesn’t hate all memories of Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng is going to look at Lan Yuan as being the last remnant of his brother in the same way that Jin Ling is the last remnant of his sister, so he is going to be very  fiercely possessive and protective about it. I think that when Lan Wangji shows up to Lotus Pier after his seclusion is up with the intention of reclaiming A-Yuan, they nearly come to blows. 

JC is of the opinion that since LWJ and WWX were never officially anything, LWJ has no formal claim on A-Yuan. LWJ thinks that since JC threw WWX out of the Jiang Sect, Jiang Cheng doesn’t either. Jiang Cheng angrily retorts that he never really  terminated Wei Wuxian from the Jiang Sect. Lan Wangji replies that attending the pledge conference counts as pretty definitive termination of that relationship. The impending slugfest only ends when one or both of the kids intervenes (or bursts into tears, depending) and after that they grudgingly compromise on a time-sharing system. 

Ultimately the biggest difference when WWX comes back is that Lan Yuan is going to be much more of a Jiang than he was in canon; still sweet and full of potential, but a lot more cheerful and carefree and outgoing in the way of the (non-JC) Jiang disciples tend to be. (Lan Wangji encourages this behavior because it reminds him of Wei Ying.) 

With two parents in on the Dark Past I think Sizhui knows a lot more about who he was and where he came from than he did in the canon; he at least knows that he had a parent who was in the Jiang Sect, whom LWJ was in love with, who died at Nightless City, even if he doesn’t know the exact identity. But when WWX returns he starts to remember the details, and the whole Wen thing is still going to be a surprise to him.

2. As for the meeting on Dafan Mountain itself...

Lan Wangji will still recognize WWX by the song. I do think Jiang Cheng would still pull out Zidian, despite his lack of antipathy; it’s been discussed in other meta and I am sympathetic to the argument that if Wei Wuxian really were a ghost possessing somebody, that’s not good either for the somebody or for Wei Wuxian’s spirit.  Ooh! Here’s an idea. Try this on: 

Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng encounter ‘Mo Xuanyu’ on Dafan Mountain and come to the conclusion that it is Wei Wuxian’s spirit haunting the kid and that, as much as they both love and miss WWX, this can’t go on. They take WWX into custody and take him away somewhere private; their intention is to say their goodbyes, exorcise the spirit and, once it’s out, Lan Wangji will cleanse and liberate Wei Wuxian’s spirit so it can move on. It’s a double-team routine they’ve done before. Except, of course, that Wei Wuxian is not actually a ghost.

And now I’ve talked myself into almost wanting to write a sequel to it.

Where Are They Now?

#mikke memes #mikke fics #the untamed #long post

[bigbadredpanda]

Helloo, would it be a possible interpretation that the ideals and mindset that wwx follows is close to the religion and practice of Taoism?

Hello! That’s a fascinating question and I wish I had more knowledge to delve deeper on the subject but I’m a bit more familiar with the philosophy/spirituality part of Taoism than with its religious practices and rites. As always, anyone is welcome to add to the discussion or correct me if I misconstrue something, this is a vast topic and I’m just an interested layperson!

Xianxia in itself is a literary genre rife with references to Taoism: the pursuit of immortality, the internal alchemy to form a golden core, the Taoist exorcisms to drive out evil spirits, Taoist incantations and talismans, etc... But that does not necessarily make cultivators Taoists.

At the heart of Taoism is the philosophy of espousing harmony with nature, with the self, with the Tao. It’s about simplicity, spontaneity, non-attachment to worldly desires. In the introduction of my copy of the Zhuangzi (庄子), one of the main Taoist texts, the translator chooses the hero Yu the Great to epitomise the “going with the flow instead of fighting against the current” attitude dear to Taoists. Yu the Great is a legendary figure whose father, Kun, was tasked by the emperor Shun to protect the country from floods. Kun built barrages and dykes that held momentarily the waters in check but they ended up bursting, causing a flood even more devastating. The emperor banished Kun and entrusted the son, Yu the Great, with the same mission. Yu the Great succeeded by digging canals to help the course of water and let it flow to the sea. Yu the Great is referenced several times in the Zhuangzi and, interestingly, Wei Wuxian himself takes him as a model when he challenges Lan Qiren in the classroom and sows the seeds of what would become the foundation of his demonic cultivation:

魏无羡道：“横竖有些东西度化无用，何不加以利用？大禹治水亦知，堵为下策，疏为上策。镇压即为堵，岂非下策……”

Wei Wuxian said, “Anyway, there are some things that cannot be liberated so why not make use of them? Yu the Great who controlled the waters knew that building barrages to block was ineffective and dredging canals to reroute was the superior method. Suppression counts as blocking, wouldn’t is also be considered ineffective...” (ch.14)

The carefree and unfettered part of Wei Wuxian’s nature does fit Taoist ideals, you even have the opposition of the more Confucian-oriented Gusu Lan Sect and its rigid abidance with rules and ethics. However, Wei Wuxian is at odds with a key concept of Taoism: the principle of non-action (无为 wuwei). It’s not passivity or laziness, it’s letting nature runs its course, letting things fall into place. Wei Wuxian is very much shown to be assertive, even wilful, when his mind and heart are set on one thing. He does not hesitate to take matters into his own hands and jump into action. That’s especially true of his younger self who would rebel instead of do nothing, his older and wiser self after he is reborn is a bit more circumspect and knows when to speak out and when to hold his peace. Non-action is seen as the guiding principle of an ideal ruler, without the interference of government meddling, the state would (hypothetically) flourish on its own. I’ve seen some good meta on both the Chinese and the English-speaking sides of the fandom that makes good arguments that it’s actually Lan Xichen who personifies best this concept (x). Speaking of other characters from MDZS that parallel Taoist parables, Nie Huaisang reminds of the good-for-nothing tree which is praised by Zhuangzi. Because it bears no fruit, no one tore its branches to strip the fruits from them, because its wood is of poor quality, no carpenters cut it down. It is left alone and it is able to live long.

The Tao Te Ching (道德经, Daodejing) expounds three basic virtues called the Three Treasures (三宝): compassion (慈), frugality (俭) and humility (不敢为天下先, lit. ‘daring not to put oneself before others’ or ‘daring not to be first in the world’). The first two are for sure among Wei Wuxian’s qualities but the last one is more contentious, not because he is arrogant or boastful but because he dares setting himself apart. The following analysis in from a commentary of the Taoist text:

The third treasure, daring not be at the world's front, is the Taoist way to avoid premature death. To be at the world's front is to expose oneself, to render oneself vulnerable to the world's destructive forces, while to remain behind and to be humble is to allow oneself time to fully ripen and bear fruit. This is a treasure whose secret spring is the fear of losing one's life before one's time. This fear of death, out of a love for life, is indeed the key to Taoist wisdom. (Ellen M. Chen) 

Wei Wuxian did not hesitate to ‘expose himself’ by being willing to be the first practitioner of demonic cultivation and in the end his downfall was at the hands of ‘the world’s destructive forces’, warmongering rumours and bloodthirsty hostility. Wei Wuxian is also not subject to fear of death, there are a few quotes that exemplify his carefree, devil-may-care mindset:

使我徒有身后名不如即时一杯酒。

Better have a cup of wine here and now rather than leave behind a posthumous good name. (ch.75 & Wei Wuxian’s CQL character song Qu Jin Chen Qing)

The quotation above comes from A New Account of the Tales of the World (世说新语), a collection of various anecdotes that was compiled in the 5th century, fittingly it’s from the “The Free and Unrestrained” (任诞) section.

生前哪管身后事，浪得几日是几日。

Why care about what happens after death while one is alive? Better live life to the utmost while one can. (ch.16)

I’m not sure if this one is a literary citation or not as I haven’t been able to track down a quote with this exact wording but it was very reminiscent to me to a chapter of the Liezi (列子), another Taoist text, attributes the following thoughts to the hedonist philosopher Yang Zhu:

One hundred years is the limit of a long life. Not one in a thousand ever attains it. Suppose there is one such person. Infancy and feeble old age take almost half of his time. Rest during sleep at night and what is wasted during the waking hours in the daytime take almost half of that. Pain and sickness, sorrow and suffering, death (of relatives) and worry and fear take almost half of the rest. In the ten and some years that is left, I reckon, there is not one moment in which we can be happy, at ease without worry. This being the case, what is life for? What pleasure is there? For beauty and abundance, that is all. For music and sex, that is all. But the desire for beauty and abundance cannot always be satisfied, and music and sex cannot always be enjoyed. Besides, we are prohibited by punishment and exhorted by rewards, pushed by fame and checked by law. We busily strive for the empty praise which is only temporary, and seek extra glory that would come after death. Being alone ourselves, we pay great care to what our ears hear and what our eyes see, and are much concerned with what is right or wrong for our bodies and minds. Thus we lose the great happiness of the present and cannot give ourselves free rein for a single moment. What is the difference between that and many chains and double prisons?

"Men of great antiquity knew that life meant to be temporarily present and death meant to be temporarily away. Therefore they acted as they pleased and did not turn away from what they naturally desired. They would not give up what could amuse their own persons at the time. Therefore they were not exhorted by fame. They roamed as their nature directed and would not be at odds with anything. They did not care for a name after death and therefore punishment never touched them. They took no heed of fame, being ahead or being behind, or the span of life."

The myriad creatures are different in life but the same in death. In life they may be worthy or stupid, honorable or humble. This is where they differ. In death they all stink, rot, disintegrate, and disappear. This is where they are the same. [...] The man of virtue and the sage die; the wicked and the stupid also die. In life they were Yao and Shun [sage-emperors]; in death they are rotten bones. In life they were Jie and Zhou [wicked kings]; in death they are rotten bones. Thus they all became rotten bones just the same. Who knows their difference? Let us enjoy our present life. Why should we worry about what comes after death?” (A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, trans. Wing-tsit Chan)

It’s quite a long extract so I highlighted the most relevant parts that echo Wei Wuxian’s ideas and in particular his motto in life:

是非在己，毁誉由人，得失不论 。

Right and wrong are decided by oneself, praise and condemnation depend on others, gains and losses are insignificant. (ch.75)

This is for me the defining quote of the novel that encapsulates the overarching theme of the story. This sentence is so popular that it’s the go-to quote on Wei Wuxian-related merch and it also features on the cover of the book in simplified Chinese.

We find in the Yang Zhu chapter of the Liezi the same ‘carpe diem’ attitude, the nonchalance about death, the disregard of social conventions and the futility of reputation. Nevertheless, Yang Zhu does not exactly have a place with other Taoist thinkers as he promotes acting in self-interest, a form of ethical egotism that does not take heed of other people’s benefit. The translator from the extract above calls it ‘negative Taoism’. As we are well aware, Wei Wuxian has a much more benevolent and altruistic outlook:

我娘说过的，你要记着别人对你的好，不要去记你对别人的好。人心里不要装那么多东西，这样才会快活自在。

My mom said that you should remember the kindness you received from others and not the kindness you gave. That's the only way to find happiness and be free as the heart can only carry so much. (ch.113)

Wei Wuxian’s life philosophy is about remembering the good you've been granted and keep giving without expecting anything in return. If you let yourself to be fettered by bad memories, if you dwell on the past, negative feelings like anger and envy will take roots in your heart. It takes great courage and integrity to be able to move on from painful experiences without holding grudges and retain the ability to greet the future with a smile.

These themes remind me of the lyrics of the song Enlightenment (悟) from the film Shaolin,《新少林寺》, it’s a moving song that draws a lot from Buddhist influences:

为何君视而不见 规矩定方圆

Why do you look without seeing and let conventions decide the rules?

悟性 悟觉 悟空 心甘情愿

I open my heart, coming to my senses and awakening to emptiness

放下 颠倒梦想 放下云烟

Let go of your confused dreams, let go of the things fleeting like mist

放下 空欲色 放下悬念

Let go of idleness, desire, pleasure, let go of the trouble weighting your heart

多一物 却添了 太多危险

One thing more adds too much danger

少一物 贪嗔痴 会少一点

One thing less and vices will be alleviated [lit. ‘greed, aversion, delusion’, the Three Poisons in Buddhism]

唯有 心无挂碍 成就大愿

Only with a heart without worries can your wishes be accomplished

唯有 心无故 妙不可言

There is no greater marvel than an unburdened heart

This ended up to be such a long-winded and maybe inconclusive answer but to me, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, have all deeply shaped Chinese customs, ideas and culture with sometimes no clear boundaries where one begins and the other ends. Wei Wuxian’s ideals, his free-spiritedness and his probity, are reflected in these different schools of thoughts and spiritual currents but there is not a single all-encompassing one that matches him to a tee. In the end, what perhaps defines him best is his name that befits his nature, Wei Ying, the guileless innocence of a child, someone who can cheerfully go through life with a clear conscience and an unburdened heart.

#mo dao zu shi #cultural notes #philosophy #wei wuxian #majesticshayshay #i'm unable to quote anything from buddhist scripture but this is very good song #一世随缘，随缘一世，才能活得自在 #mdzs meta

[gloriousmonsters]

...goddamn, I’m still thinking about this wen ning-su she swap AU, because the question occurred ‘if you can use demonic cultivation without a core, and awakened fierce corpses seem pretty similar to humans aside from the lack of spiritual energy... could an awakened fierce corpse use demonic cultivation?’

anyway in this ‘verse WWX decided to go on a little sabbatical to the Burial Mounds to meditate or something, and then wound up staying there because the pressure for him to Stop Being Him kept growing and him and Jiang Cheng’s relationship was becoming more strained; this was still meant to be temporary but it gets complicated when rumors spread that he’s starting a sect based on demonic cultivation, and wwx is like ‘lol no I’m not?’ only to poke his head out of the cave he’s been napping in and find out that sms has returned from wherever he went to brood last and has been recruiting people that show up as disciples

screaming arguments happen where sms is like I’M SORRY FOR ATTEMPTING TO GET US MANPOWER WHEN WE’RE ABOUT TO GET ATTACKED ANY DAY NOW and wwx is like STOP TELLING PEOPLE THINGS AND SAYING I SIGNED OFF ON THEM oh wait i’ve packbonded with some of these losers you brought in now. i guess i’m a bit more ok with it

(jgy is currently hiding the whole wen fam in his basement and repeatedly hurrying his assistant, a-ning (who definitely isn’t a wen who thinks he looks like  a wen? don’t be silly) away from jin zixun before things go bad on either side)

I’m seeing wwx’s death in this ‘verse either being a modified Qiongqi Path - there’s no Hundred Holes Curse in this scenario, but look, I REALLY don’t think you need to try hard to make jin zixun want to try and take out wwx; and it would be so easy to play a scenario where wwx and sms argue about him going, causing wwx to slip off to go alone and get caught without backup--or some kind of scenario where the Jin kidnap one of the Yiling Wei’s younger disciples and use them as bait for wwx to come over and get killed. either way, he still dies around the same time, but sms--and the rest of the sorta-sect--still have demonic cultivation on their side, and they successfully defend the Burial Mounds against siege. everyone thinks about their life choices for a bit, someone yells ‘we’ll get ‘em next time, boys!’ and we cut to 13-16 years of very very uneasy peace

(in this scenario you could TOTALLY still have at least jiang yanli, and maybe even jin zixuan, alive if you wanted! just realized that.)

(in the wwx-is-dead interim, wen ning assists jgy in killing nmj quick n’ sweet with some untraceable poison or something. rip nmj. wen ning is also REALLY useful in knocking people out for ‘assassinations’ to be conducted by ‘outside forces’, etc. he also gets along great with all the kids! great guy)

i could see sms as, before wwx’s death, basically trying to pretend he hadn’t died (don’t read into the amount I cover up or the fact I never use qi in public anymore! I still carry a sword AND my robes are wrapped the right way. shut up) but after, leaning ALL the way into the oldstyle Yiling Patriarch, nightmare of the battlefield aesthetic. the Yiling Wei have almost a Ghost Valley rep--are they human? are they demons? we just don’t know, etc; and sms gets ALL the atmospheric mileage he can out of being Actually Legit Dead. god. he’d probably get some kind of White Grim Reaper moniker and encourage the fuck out of it. wwx is going to die of secondhand embarrassment when he comes back to life and sees how edgy everyone’s aesthetic is

(look I don’t know HOW this happens exactly but in this AU i need jin rusong to live also. usually I don’t really care but I just reread what i wrote above and pictured Wen Ning--possibly not able to see his family all that often because jgy got them settled somewhere safe, but rather out of the way, and he has duties in Jinlintai--bonding with jgy’s kid, and my heart is FULL i need this)

also there’s so much delicious tension in the idea of WWX coming back to a world where the Yiling Wei/Burial Mounds are an entity, and are locked in a vicious semi-cold war with Lotus Pier (sms would Absolutely capture and torture jiang disciples as retaliation for losing his demonic cultivators) meanwhile LWJ is. still just trying to do his thing, waiting to see if wwx’s spirit ever shows up, wishing he didn’t really fucking hate everyone else who used to know wwx

#gay necromancy: the show #i will not write another fic i will not write another fic #su she #wen ning

[robininthelabyrinth]

That time WWX got reincarnated as a goat; or why nobody could raise him from the dead for 13 years

(set in Untamed verse, where nobody dies but WWX does disappear for 16 years)

WWX’s fall from the cliff was - dramatic, yes. But everything had gone so very out of control - Jin Zixuan dead, at Wen Ning’s hands and therefore his own; the whole Nightless City up in arms because of him; everything going out of his control; the attack on the Jiang sect from the flute that wasn’t him; his shijie -

His shijie -

Anyway, when Jiang Cheng struck the rock next to his hand, he’d known what he needed to do. He needed to let go - to fall -

To...get caught in some sort of spiritual fluctuation and transformed into a spirit that was then trapped inside the body of a goat?

(As far as he can tell, the mountain goat in question had been quietly cultivating for a long time on the hills of the Nightless City, and had the bad timing of reaching its breakthrough just as the fighting broke out above. It hadn’t survived the breakthrough - but it had managed to yank in Wei Wuxian’s unstable spiritual consciousness.)

And now...he’s a goat.

Well.

Now what?

Not much, it turns out. Goats, Wei Wuxian finds, don’t do very much, provided they stay away from hungry cultivators, famished after a hard battle. Grass is also much tastier in this form, though that seems to be true for just about everything; he’s able to fill his belly from eating lots of things. Grass, weeds, carcasses of small animals, clothing...

Jiang Cheng, covered in rock dust and exhausted after another day of fruitless searching for Wei Wuxian (his brother or his body, he wasn’t sure which he’d prefer to find), a search that had by now gone on for several months, stared at him.

Maybe, on second thought, Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have started gnawing on Jiang Cheng’s spare set of robes.

Why is it always the second thought, he wonders. It’s never the first thought. This is why I get into trouble. Jiang Cheng is going to kill and eat me.

Jiang Cheng does not, in fact, kill and eat him.

He brings him home, instead.

“...Sect Leader Jiang?” one of Jiang Cheng’s new subordinates says cautiously. “Is that - a goat?”

“It is,” Jiang Cheng said. “I caught it.”

He had, too. Using an immortal-binding net, the wasteful scoundrel. 

“Is it...for dinner?”

“No, I’m keeping it,” Jiang Cheng said, and rubbed his face. “I miss having something around to keep me company and - and it can’t be dogs. So, a goat.”

That’s pathetic, Wei Wuxian marveled. That’s so sad. I’m crying. Do not adopt a goat, Jiang Cheng. You can do better than a goat!

“...is this because of what the last young lady said right before you were blacklisted from the matchmakers?”

Or maybe you can’t. How did you get blacklisted?! Can you do nothing without me? Have I not taught you the art of flirting - no, actually, I didn’t, that’s on me. Still!

“It is not,” Jiang Cheng said, in the tone of voice that suggested it really was. “Anyway, take the goat, clean it, and tie it to something in the courtyard, then get it something to eat that isn’t my clothing.”

The subordinate struggled for a moment, then gave up and accepted it. “Yes, Sect Leader Jiang. Is there anything else?”

“No,” Jiang Cheng said, then frowned. “Actually, I should think of a name.”

Nooooooo!

That’s it, Wei Wuxian is running away to the Cloud Recesses.

#my fic #my fics #mdzs #wei wuxian #jiang cheng

[missholland]

The one(s) who never stop searching

I sometimes wonder whether Hanguang Jun grew up with a role model, is there anyone he looks up to, or that just doesn’t exist because LWJ is too busy being admired and respected by pretty much everyone else (apart from his biggest anti-fan Su She).

Of course, he adores his soulmate. BUT, now rewatching the Coffin Town arc, I just really want to write something about LWJ and his admiration for Xiao Xingchen/Song Lan.

LWJ first met XXC and SL in episode 10 when checking out Chang clan’s manor in Yue Yang with WWX and JC. The duo captured Xue Yang there, and introduced themselves to the gang.

‘Xiao Xingchen, the moon in the breeze. Song Zichen, the Gentry despite the frost. Your decency is known to us’. This was probably the longest sentence LWJ said to another human being since the beginning of the series. Even his eyes scream ‘I’m a fan’ and makes WWX turn around in surprise. 

During their later conversation as NHS and JGY arrive, XXC and SL talk about how they’re not interested in bloodlines and just cherish those with same ambitions. LWJ has obviously been listening very carefully, and even actually asks where they cultivate and how others can find them. I mean, since LWJ has not really opened up by that point, it’s truly impressive coming across new characters that manage to generate so much interest from LWJ within a very short time. Let me repeat. he even ASKS PERSONAL QUESTIONS!

His admiration becomes VERY clear just a few minutes after during the farewell scene. It’s probably only the 3rd time LWJ gives us a mellow facial expression since episode 1. He watches on as XXC and SL depart - quite a long look with a mix of emotions: appreciating, pondering, wondering, with a tiny bit of sorrow, somehow. He was clearly in his own world until WWX calls him back down to earth. He then gives his soulmate a soft look before nodding and following the gang. WWX clearly senses that LWJ has something in mind, as they walk, he turns and looks at LWJ.

This is how I interpret LWJ’s thought process in that sequence. As he looks on XXC and SL leaving, it feels like he has a bunch of ‘What if...’ questions in his head. Probably something along the line of ‘Darn, wouldn’t it be nice to just roam the world with your lifelong confidant, protect the weak, exorcise the evil without the burden of playing clan politics? What if I was not restricted by 3,500 rules at Gusu? What if I could actually live a life as in my name WangJi - to not seek fame or wealth, forget about worldly matters, and be at peace with the world?’. As soon as WWX calls him he turns around and.... ‘What if I could live that life with this person?’.

I’m convinced from this point, LWJ already has a vision in his head about going on adventures with his soulmate. We know he eventually got his dream come true from episode 34 onward, but it was a very very long and painful way for him to get there. At the end of episode 35, when filling WWX in about what happened to XXC and SL, LWJ was visibly upset which led him into having himself a drink. Some may argue that his frustration is due to people still shitting on WWX after all these years, or about the injustice related to Jin clan and Xue Yang rather than XXC and SL. I still think that being reminded of the duo’s tragic fate when talking to WWX does have some impact on LWJ’s emotion. 

It was a clear case of extreme clan-related injustice that brought so much pain to the lives of 2 people who are not even attached to any sect whatsoever, 2 people who just purely wanted to protect the world from evil while not taking side. They were simply caught up in the whole major clans corruption shamble, and clearly the last people on earth who deserved to die/gone missing because of the clans’ mess. For someone who has long admired their decency, how would that NOT frustrate LWJ - someone who’s already in a long battle against injustice that screwed over his soulmate’s life?

Fast forward to the end of the Coffin Town arc in episode 39, it’s now revealed that Xue Yang murdered everyone at Snow White Pavilion, turned SL blind and led XXC to give his eyes to SL. As LWJ was searching for WWX, elsewhere, someone else was also looking for their other half. Unfortunately, SL arrived to find XXC being deceived by Xue Yang, and basically all of them ended up with tragic fates. Once all of the misunderstanding is finally clarified, we find WangXian and the junior disciples in front of A Qing’s grave. Once again, WWX notices LWJ being miles away in his own thoughts. He looks up and stares into his soulmate’s beautifully surreal face. It has an odd sense of relief in his vision, mixed with a bit of fear - a ‘close call’ type of fear, like... ‘Something even more awful could have happened’. 

LWJ then mumbles ‘Fortunately...’ to a confused WWX and probably because of censorship, we never get to hear the end of that sentence. Putting in the context of everything that just happened to them, it’s not too difficult to work out that LWJ was acknowledging how extremely lucky he was being able to reunite with WWX safe and sound. Sadly, XXC and SL did not get that chance.

 They then returned to XXC’s coffin to find SL. LWJ looks on, apologetically, as WWX gives SL what’s left of XXC’s spiritual cognition. Just a quick side note, I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME watching SL write in the soil with this sword ‘Roam this world with Frostwork. Exorcise evil beings alongside Xingchen’. 

LWJ then looks up to SL and it feels so strongly that he wanted to say something. He’s been there - he saw his soulmate falling off the cliff. He started to invest most of his time searching for WWX, from appearing whenever chaos was to communicating with spirits asking for WWX’s whereabouts. 16 years of mourning the dead and living with the pain, feeling incomplete and empty without his counterpart. 

LWJ is the only person who can relate to SL. And that’s probably why he knows there’s nothing to be said that could ease the pain. He proceeds to respectfully present SL with XXC’s Frostwork and bow. 

LWJ, with sadness in his eyes,  watches SL walk away, this time without XXC by his side. The scene cuts to WWX thinking to himself ‘I wonder if the two of them would be able to meet each other again’. The same thought must have gone through LWJ’s mind as well. WangXian then exchange a mournful look - if only the camera has stuck around longer for us right here, as I’m sure, this could have been the ‘We should be thankful that we are still standing in front of each other’.

I really appreciate The Untamed crew setting a good 3-episode arc aside to tell the tragic story of XXC/SL/XY the best way they could. It’s also a good idea to change the timeline of certain event so that XXC and SL cross path with WangXian in WWX’s first life, as it lets us see from very early on that LWJ is not just a rigid guy to follow rules all the time. He doesn’t have all the answers to everything in his life just because he reads all the books at Gusu. He does have certain insecurity and curiosity about a different path, now that there’s someone in his life that make it worth considering. It also provides more context to the unfortunate contrary between the fates of WangXian and SongXiao.

If you’re also impressed with this arc as much as I am, I would strongly recommend checking out the novel as it tells us a lot more about SongXiao origin story and how their feud with Xue Yang started. Besides the main couple whom all of us obviously stan, this storyline definitely impressed me the most rather than anything else. I really wish one day Song Lan would succeed in nursing Xiao Xingchen’s spiritual recognition back to wholeness and they would meet again.

#xiao xingchen #song lan #xue yang #wei wuxian #wei ying #yiling laozu #lan zhan #lan wangji #hanguang jun #the untamed #chen qing ling #mo dao zu shi #thoughts

[hunxi-guilai]

I hope you don't mind me asking but I am brand new to MDZS/CQL and wanted to know, how is the ending of the book different from the show in regards to lwj and wwx's relationship? (I don't have the resources to read it so I don't mind being spoiled) I loved the show but the thought of them being apart after going through so much makes me sad ;_;

oh hello and welcome!

so I’m afraid I haven’t actually read the novel, so anything I write below is just what I’ve generally absorbed through osmosis on my tumblr dash/via consumption of the audiodrama (which I’ve heard is pretty faithful to the novel)

THIS MIGHT BE TOTALLY INACCURATE JUST GONNA PUT THAT DISCLAIMER OUT THERE

(oh god this got long putting it under a readmore)

the general arc of wangxian’s relationship is pretty different between MDZS and CQL; in CQL, you can tell that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have some Serious Connection from the get-go. Call it soulmates, call it true friendship -- the point is that they love each other deeply, painfully, heartbreakingly, and the only reason why Wei Wuxian fell from the cliff’s edge at Nightless City is because Wei Wuxian wrenched his hand out of Lan Wangji’s grip to protect him from also falling off the unstable cliff, because Lan Wangji sure as hell wasn’t going to let him go

and so when Wei Wuxian returns from the (un?)dead after 16 years, they pretty much resume from where they’d left off -- trusting each other wordlessly, moving in seamless tandem. The only revelations that really happens is that Wei Wuxian finally -- finally -- realizes just how far Lan Wangji is willing to go for him -- down the single-plank bridge, side-by-side against the rest of the world.

And the ending, when they part? Lan Wangji takes up the mantle of chief cultivator; Wei Wuxian goes off to wander and heal and see the world. There’s a fade-to-black, fade-back-up (and honestly who knows how much time has passed in this moment because this show’s track record with continuity/pacing  is Not the Best). Wei Wuxian returns from his journeys and stands on the edge of the ridge where they parted; he plays the melody of their hearts on Chenqing, only to hear Lan Wangji’s voice behind him saying his name. He turns around, smiles with pure, unrestrained joy, and --

the end.

I remember seeing a post go by about the costumes Wei Wuxian wears, and the one he’s wearing in the last scene is called 云游归来, or returned from wandering, so I’m pretty sure wangxian ends up together in CQL canon as well! Do not fret! They just took a well-deserved break for a hot sec!

MEANWHILE IN MDZS (the audiodrama and maybe the novel)

oh god MDZS Wei Wuxian is a dumpster fire from day one. He completely misinterprets pretty much every signal Lan Wangji gives him, loudly announces that he doesn’t like men, and despite all this continues to accidentally do all sorts of unintentionally romance-related things with Lan Wangji -- most notably, pulling loose Lan Wangji’s headband and not finding out the significance of that action until he’s literally died once and come back to life. 

During the interval between the confrontation at Nightless City and the First Siege of the Burial Mounds (which did not happen in CQL, it got condensed into the confrontation at Nightless City, and further discussion of plot differences between CQL and MDZS can be answered by this meta by @pumpkinpaix that I will never cease to promote), Lan Wangji is the one who spirits a delirious and grief-stricken Wei Wuxian away from the battlefield (Jiang Yanli, unfortunately, dies in Nightless City in every version of this story). Lan Wangji returns Wei Wuxian to the Burial Mounds, spends a few days giving him spiritual energy to bring him back from the brink, and during this time, confesses his love to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian is, however, Extremely Out of It and Not Making Any Sense, so all he says in response to Lan Wangji’s confession of love is get out.

and then the Gusu Lan Sect comes for Lan Wangji; he fights, injures over thirty clan elders, and returns to Gusu to receive punishment.

When Wei Wuxian dies in the First Siege of the Burial Mounds, Lan Wangji is unconscious, back flayed open by the discipline whip, and doesn’t find out until too late that his soulmate had been torn to pieces by the backlash of his own invention.

When MDZS Wei Wuxian wakes up in Mo Xuanyu’s body, he picks up on Mo Xuanyu’s reputation as a profligate gay (let’s not get into homophobic stereotyping in MDZS at this particular moment) and leverages it as best he can to get everyone to stay the fuck away from him. This backfires stupendously because Lan Wangji 1) sees through him in approximately 0.02 seconds, and 2) Lan Wangji is More Than Happy to have Wei Wuxian get flirty with him. 

Oh! Another important detail: Wei Wuxian remembers nothing between the confrontation at Nightless City and the First Siege of the Burial Mounds.

which is to say, he doesn’t remember Lan Wangji confessing his eternal undying love to him.

So the first few episodes of the audiodrama are Maximum Cringe to listen to, because Wei Wuxian is trying to disgust Lan Wangji into kicking him out of Cloud Recesses by Flirting Shamelessly, only to find that Lan Wangji is an old hand at gay chicken, and plays to win

in fact, Wei Wuxian continues to be oblivious about Lan Wangji’s romantic feelings towards him while slipping sideways into falling in love with Lan Wangji (by the time they’re bowing in the Jiang Ancestral Hall, Wei Wuxian is already thinking of their marital bows). It’s not until that confrontation at Guanyin Temple that Lan Xichen fucking chews out Wei Wuxian for his treatment of Lan Wangji (and god is it heartwrenching and satisfying at the same time), telling Wei Wuxian exactly how deeply Lan Wangji is in love with him, has always been in love with him, and how much Lan Wangji has suffered and bled and sacrificed for this love

the point I’m trying to make is that Lan Xichen smacks some awareness into Wei Wuxian by saying shape the fuck up and stop playing with my little bro’s feelings or I will become the TVtrope Good is Not Soft

at which point Wei Wuxian promptly forgets he’s being held hostage by Jin Guangyao and tries to fight his way out of Guanyin Temple to get to Lan Wangji

there’s the truly iconic confession scene where Wei Wuxian, one move from getting his throat sliced open by Jin Guangyao’s garrotte, loudly yells that he is, in fact, in love with Lan Wangji, from now until forever, and would love to sleep with him

have I mentioned that this iteration of Wei Wuxian is a disaster 

anyway stuff happens, wangxian take off after the temple to go wandering the woods together. sexy times ensue. they nearly scar Mianmian’s daughter by hooking up in the woods. there is the iconic ‘every day means every day’ line. wangxian lives happily ever after, married with a son, and have lots of loud, athletic sex, to Lan Qiren’s eternal torment

#and that is where I sign off #I was halfway through writing this post and was like 'wait how do I know so much about novel wangxian' #I'd forgotten I'd inhaled the audiodrama last month #anyway I could be totally wrong who knows #check the notes for people issuing corrections because there's bound to be stuff I missed/got totally wrong #wangxian is a wild ride from start to finish #mdzs #cql #wangxian #Wei Wuxian #Lan Wangji

[farmerlan]

Farmer Lan’s Rewatch Guide to The Untamed - Episode 1

HERE WE GO I am strapped in with my Topo Chico and ready to take on Episode 1 of The Untamed. It’s going to be wild. I have no idea what I’m doing. If you’re reading this and have a better suggestion on how I should format everything, feel free to tell me because right now this is just the diary of a madwoman.

CAUTION: Due to the chronological differences between the novel and the drama, there will be instances where I bring in references further along in the novel and/or drama to explain what is going on, so there will be spoilers if you haven’t finished the series.

[Starting scene – there’s a voiceover of people rejoicing over WWX’s death, we see a chaotic battlefield and people fighting over the Stygian Tiger Amulet (here forth abbreviated as the STA because abbreviations are my jam). WWX commits suicide by falling off a cliff, LWJ tries to stop him and then JC sends him to the depths of hell. Flash to the present when some storyteller is narrating this story, and we’re told 16 years has passed since the Nightless City incident and WWX is seemingly gone forever – although his body has never been recovered despite extensive search efforts.]

Differences from the novel:

In the novel, there is no mention of clans trying to fight over the STA during the bloodbath at Nightless City. It’s definitely true that the existence of the STA and WWX’s unchecked power led to the actions of the Nightless City, but it was a combination of multiple events that led up to the battle, and not an explicit cause and effect.

It is also explicitly stated during Chapter 1 as people recount the tale of WWX that he destroyed the STA prior to his death.

In the novel, it is stated in Chapter 1 and confirmed by WWX himself (in Chapter 43) that WWX’s death was caused by his own power rebounding upon him and he ended up being torn apart by his own undead creations. So unfortunately the epic cliff scene was entirely scripted for the drama.

13 years has passed in the novel vs. 16 years in the drama. I can’t remember if there was an exact reason why they switched up the timeline, but just know that the timeline of the novel series of events itself is also very confusing and I will probably do a post with my take on it sometime later.

[Cut to present – WWX is summoned by MXY’s sacrifice, there’s some weird mask action going on, WWX creates a ruckus at the arrival of the Gusu disciples, they set up shop with the Demon Summoning flags, tell WWX to go wait inside and then they wait for the spirits to come their way.]

Differences from the novel:

The mask does not exist in the novel. In the novel, the body that WWX is summoned into is that of MXY’s, and MXY is a different person in every way from WWX in terms of face, height, etc. So everyone who sees WWX thinks he is MXY up until he finally reveals himself. It’s obviously a stylistic choice made to reflect why no one can recognize WWX in the drama series even though they are played by the same actor, because otherwise I can see how it can get confusing for viewers.

WWX is shown to be playing the WangXian melody in the room but this does not happen in the novel, although it does lead to a pretty epic snark from my favorite boy LJY about how awful WWX’s playing is (which IS in the novel, but happens later in the story instead). WWX does NOT use a flute at all until the Da Fan Shan arc in the novel. Also Jingyi, never stop being you.

It is not explicitly mentioned that MXY went to Lan Ling Jin sect in the novel at this current point, only that he was accepted as a disciple by a sect before being kicked out. We find this out later.

Other than that, the scenes with MXY closely follows the novel up until the Demonic Left Arm (DLA) to show up.

[WWX is hauled in to confess his crimes by Matriarch Mo, things go to shit in about 3 seconds and the disciples realize they need to call for backup STAT, the flare for LWJ is sent. WWX realizes this needs to end fast in order to avoid meeting LWJ and exposing himself. A-Tong becomes possessed by the DLA, dies, and then the DLA possesses Matriarch Mo. Attempts to restrain her fail and WWX revives the other now-undead Mos to fight her.]

Differences from the novel:

The sassy verbal takedown of Matriarch Mo by WWX is indeed in the novel and just as great.

The drama identifies the black marks on the victims’ necks as being caused by the STA. There is no such scene in the novel. Basically, there is no mention of the STA being the cause of ANY of this, because in the novel, it’s not.

In the novel, the disciples send flares for back up but are uncertain how quickly back up will arrive, and they definitely did not specifically call for LWJ. However, WWX realizes he needs to intervene to end this quickly because the spirit is too powerful for the disciples to deal with, and he can’t leave the Mo household until the revenge curse put upon him by MXY is lifted (i.e. until everyone MXY wants dead is dead).

A funny scene that gets left out of the drama is: Matriarch Mo leaps to attack LSZ, who can’t dodge in time. Instead, WWX literally KICKS LJY into her path because he knows that the Gusu robes are imbued with magical protective spells, so he basically used LJY as a human talisman as a last resort. LJY did not find this funny, and WWX plays the “I didn’t do anything, I have no idea what I just did and I can’t be held culpable because I’m batshit crazy” card. Ah, my boys.

 [LWJ appears just as Matriarch Mo appears to have gotten the upper hand, and subdues her with the POWER OF MUSIC dundun (also sensually massaging the guqin strings helloooo). WWX is hiding but HE IS HERE for all of his boo’s actions. LWJ clarifies that the DLA is a spiritual sword ghost with traces of the STA, everyone gasps because didn’t WWX die? OR DID HE NOT? Time will tell, my friends. Anyway, with the DLA subdued for now, LWJ hears the footsteps of WWX running away and chases after him but sees nobody. He thinks….”WEIYING IS IT REALLY YOU??” WWX A MYSERIOUS PERSON (to be revealed...but OK it’s NHS I told you there would be spoilers) gives money to the storyteller, and then we see WWX with Little Apple and he has one more wound left on his arm, indicating there’s someone else he needs to kill on behalf of MXY.]

Differences from the novel:

In the novel, WWX leaves the moment he hears LWJ’s guqin and does not stay to spectate.

See above re: no mention of what caused this, and certainly no discussion of the STA.

There’s no mention of LWJ suspecting that it is WWX in MXY’s body, or even suspecting that he has returned at all.

In the novel, the four wounds left as a physical reminder of the body count for the revenge curse is for the three members of the Mo family and for A-Tong. Therefore, WWX leaves the Mo family effectively free of his debt to MXY, but in the drama, he is shown to still have one remaining person left to kill…dun dun dun.

Storyteller man is not around in the novel – consider him a convenient voiceover tool for the drama ha. Thanks to the @redisthecolouroffate​ for the catch, I missed this but this is also the episode where NHS first shows up to reward the man for his storytelling, which is a nice bit of foreshadowing done by the show which is not in the novel at all.

Overall Thoughts

The drama does a really good job of setting the tone from the beginning. There’s not too much deviation here compared to the first five chapters of the novel (which covers this whole Ep 1 arc) since the majority of it was to set up the premise for the show and introduce our main characters.

The main difference here is we can see the drama is already setting itself up for the STA to play a much bigger role than in the novel. In the novel, our protagonists really have no idea what is behind the DLA at this point, and they certainly don’t immediately assert that it is a ‘sword ghost’ that has been tainted by the STA. In the novel, the only explanation for the DLA at present is in Chapter 5, when WWX notes that the spirit is more powerful than most, given that this spirit has already claimed three lives in the span of a few hours. WWX also deduced that this was the arm of a person who died by dismemberment, and to summarize the novel, the ghost arm is effectively trying to find the rest of its body. Until then, it moves between ‘live hosts’ like a parasite.

Also – WWX is also noted to be wearing badly applied make up in the novel but not in the drama. It is clarified in Chapter 1 that MXY was homosexual and was kicked out of his cultivation sect as he harassed a fellow male disciple and is now basically a gay lunatic, which is unfortunately not a great look in ye olden days.

Lastly, cute tidbit in the novel in Chapter 3 that didn’t make its way into the drama – WWX secretly marveled at LSZ’s knowledge and manners, and wondered “Who in that godforsaken, old-fashioned place (referring to the Cloud Recesses) could have brought him up/taught him so well?” OH YOU’LL FIND OUT WHO HA.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #lan wangji #wei wuxian #the untamed #魔道祖师 #episode 1 #it's about to get crazier #cql #recap

[a-very-fond-farewell]

Wen Yuan and the Prisoner of Koi Tower

*

the only HP!au I will consider for mdzs is the one where WWX acts as Sirius and LWJ as Remus.

also Cloud Recesses already acts as a magical school of sorts so I would not go as far as plant the entire cast in England, but a modern Chinese setting would be a very nice touch and will allow many writers to play around with both pieces of media imo.

my take would be:

*

- WWX has escaped a secret and hidden magical prison 13 years after protecting the remaining Wens from facing justice after the entire Sect had been accused of being a threat to the laws protecting the cultivation world.

- while some of the Wens (Wen RuoHan and his sons) had actively tried to oppose the allicance by messing with commoners and revealing themselves to the non-cultivation world, other Wens were completely innocent and yet they were still persecuted after the war (Sunshot Campaign) that had exterminated the rest of their Sect.

- WWX sacrificed himself by pretending to be completely unable to control his demonic cultivation and causing the explosion of resentful energy that destroyed the Burial Mounds (the Wen Remains’ hideout), turning the lush forest in a wasteland. the magical barrier dividing the premise and the non-cultivation world was compromised and WWX was accused of having sided with the Wen-dogs to jeopardize the anonymity of the cultivation world.

- by attracting all the attention on himself and destroying their hideout, WWX convinced everyone he accidentally killed the Wen Remains to allow them to escape. with the barrier growing weaker, the Wens slipped into the shadows of the non-cultivation world and pretended to be commoners for the time being.

*

- Wen Yuan (i assume he would not have a courtesy name if he were to live outside of the modern!cultivation-world, before enrolling in school) has lived 13 years in modern!Yiling with Wen Ning and he’s now 16 under a different name (idk what name, but they certainly don’t plan to be sought out by announcing the world they are called Wen). they live pretending to be commoners and can only rarely see Wen Qing, who was able to work at the “magical school” as a physician only bc the headmaster Lan QiRen is more interested in her talent than her last name.

- Wen Ning and Wen Qing decided not to reveal their little cousin about the happenings of 13 years ago. when they tried to step into the common world the first time after the explosion, A-Yuan had slipped from their grasp and they didn’t know where he had disappeared to (imagine the mishaps of the Floo Network and such or when someone disappararates). A-Yuan, “splinched” and feverish with no memories of his past, was found by LWJ who brought him back to the Wen siblings and helped their entire clan to disappear from the radar.

- upon discovering A-Yuan had, in fact, a golden core at 10/11 years old (although I would also like to see him enrolling in school at 8 or 9 tbh), LWJ offers to pay for his education but asks the Wen siblings not to reveal his identity as a benefactor. so A-Yuan only knows someone in the Lan Sect saw potential in him and... offered him a scholarship? I guess?

*

- he enrolls under the name Lan SiZhui and tries to find out more as he grows and learns. his suspicions fall on LXC at first, because he’s very kind and pleasant to talk to and he frequently visits the school even though he’s not a teacher. then he suspects LQR or one of the elders to be his benefactor. but when he enters the third year and he’s finally allowed to study with the Qin Language Master (either that or an Array Master or even Spellwork Master, you choose) LWJ... A-Yuan knows.

- so A-Yuan spends roughly two years trying to crack LWJ’s exterior... but it’s actually easy bc LWJ is very fond of him. yet, the elusive teacher doesn’t even try to talk about WWX with him. nobody does. Wen Qing looks after A-Yuan while he’s at school, but they have to pretend they don’t know each other: all the school staff knows she’s a Wen but none of the students have a suspect; if their families were to discover this fact, they would take the children away from the school in retaliation against LQR for having betrayed the alliance by protecting a Wen.

- A-Yuan spends a lot of time with her anyway, sharing meals and gossip in the medical wing late at night. he also tries to injure himself at times during night hunts so that he can meet with her and be scolded by her. it is a delicate balance and a dangerous game they’re playing, but only LWJ knows about it. not even LQR is aware that A-Yuan is a Wen: he trusted his nephew when LWJ told him he found a promising child to bring to the cultivation world and he trusted him.

- Lan JingYi was also “found” in a similar way and he adopted the Lan name and lives with LXC during the summer bc he doesn’t have a family. OuYang ZiZhen is one of the few representing his Sect while Jin Ling leads the way for his Sect and its many members. Jin Ling tries to be a rival to A-Yuan so bad (just bc A-Yuan seems perfect, not bc he’s a Wen. only Lan JingYi knows about that) but they end up being friends.

*

- Jiang FengMian leads Yunmeng as a Sect Leader while Madam Yu teaches how to wield spiritual weapons. JC was born without a golden core, but WWX sacrificed it for him with a forbidden spell and developed demonic cultivation to balance the absence of his core. LQR saw potential in him and offered him an opportunity to form another golden core... but his attempts failed miserably and WWX graduated following the demonic path before studying to become a teacher himself to explore other cultivation methods.

- Jin GuangShan’s alive and kicking [*cough*sons from staircases*cough*] at the top of Lanling and three of his bastards kids are teachers: JGY, MXY, and Qin Su.

- Nie MingJue rules over Qinghe and sent Nie ZongHui as a teacher and protector of the students from their Sects. Nie HuaiSang visits sometimes to discuss Sect matters with him

- LQR’s older brother is the head of Gusu and only LWJ is a teacher, taking his mother’s place (I envision his mother as an outcasts of sorts, similarly to Trelawney, but less............you know. we still love a cryptid woman in this house tho. basically she was kept away bc she knew too much and went mad with the knowledge she held and vowed to never speak again or something + also I like the idea of LWJ teaching in a secluded place. not necessarily a tower, but I remember Lupin’s office to be quite fetching nonetheless and the Jinghi can still keep all of its minimalist furniture and still be cooler than anything else ever existing in-universe).

*

- when WWX escapes from prison, the first thing he wants is to find the Wens. the teachers think he’s after Wen Qing and they make sure to destroy every corpse surrounding the school so that WWX cannot summon them. night-hunting is put on hold for the entire year (which would be a parallel with quidditch championship being shut down... also sports being put on hold bc of an emergency sounds oddly familiar...)

- JC still has his brother’s dizi, protected under spells in one of his mother’s cabinets at the school... but Jin Ling is a silly boy and wants to prove to his friends that he knows that his grandma Madam Yu is hiding something important in her office. so during a late exploration night after curfew, the juniors find the cabinet, take the dizi to inspect it and flee the corridors. Madam Yu finds them first, but LWJ defends them and feign ignorance when the woman demands to be the one punishing them. LWJ then asks Jin Ling to give him the dizi and the boy begrudgingly does as the teacher says.

*

- people start disappearing soon after. one by one, people from MoLing and Baling from the school staff vanish into thin air, then it’s the Jin and Jiang’s turn. By the time LXC disappears as well, LWJ gets worried but he trusts his brother.

- Jin GuangShan’s however, after his younger son’s disappearance, point his finger against the Nie Sect and its dangerous method of cultivation: why nobody of the Nie Sect had disappeared? the culprit must be one of theirs! and if MXY cannot be found, then the Jin Sect will demand reparations from Nie MingJue himself... with his life.

- when the dizi disappears from LWJ’s office, JGY suggests the Yiling Patriarch has finally made his way inside the school and that maybe he’s after the disappearance of so many cultivators and students. then, when the dizi is found among Wen Qing’s possessions, LQR expels her from the school to save himself (?) and his Sect from being accused of shielding someone hiding the Yiling Patriarch... but she is able to snatch the dizi and flee, promising A-Yuan to be back for him when nobody is watching.

*

- ...nobody aside from Jin Ling, who sees Wen Qing embracing “A-Yuan” one last time. the heir of LanLing demands an explanation from his best friend, asking him why that woman had called him with a different name and why was he talking with such familiarity to a Wen dog even though he knew what the Wens had done to his family. how JZX, his father, had died because of a Wen and how his mother had died because of WWX. on top of that, if Wen Qing was really helping WWX, then it was still a Wen’s fault if his uncle MXY was now missing!

- feeling betrayed, Jin Ling disappears on his own volition and Jin GuangShan accuses the Yiling Patriarch of having abducted even his grandson now. the rest of the juniors look for Jin Ling and they travel into the night until they find a lead: JC, apparently, has found a way to lure WWX out by calling the sword-spirit Suibian through his lend-me-down version of a golden core. feeling someone “pulling” him in, WWX was certainly bound to come back and meet with the heir of YunmengJiang , right? (is this the equivalent of the Patronus thingie? maybe not?)

- the juniors figure out that Jin Ling would follow his uncle JC and so they follow the man as well. they end up where everything started, in the Burial Mounds. but Jin Ling has arrived there even before his own uncle. the juniors see WWX holding an unconscious Jin Ling in his arms when JC arrives wielding Sandu. they duel and in the cave there are a lot of ancient corpses WWX can order around with his dizi. JC is close to have the upper hand... when LWJ enters the cave and knocks JC to one of the walls in WWX’s defense.

- [just like in the movie, I would like the narration to be hinting at LWJ having helped WWX all along. even if there were to be POV from LWJ’s part up until this moment, I would still not let it show he’s still in love with WWX. (eg: is he were to look at an old photo with WWX, maybe LWJ’s POV would show him tossing the picture aside and A-Yuan would accidentally see the scene and the POV would switch... so the kid would assume LWJ had beef with WWX instead)]

*

- A-Yuan, who up until then has never had any reason to think of WWX as anything but a menace to the cultivation world, feels winded. why does his mentor, his father figure, his benefactor... side with a criminal? and why does WWX have the dizi? did Qing-Jie really give it to him? but wasn’t she framed? the dizi must have been planted in her closet when they found it... right?

- LWJ tries to explain that WWX was not behind the disappearances. and that Wen Qing had not taken the dizi from LWJ’s office: Nie ZongHui had. After so many people disappeared, after Jin GuangShan’s accusations against the Nie Sect, Nie ZongHui panicked and wanted to protect his Sect. and since he knew LWJ was hiding something... since he knew how LWJ and WWX were close during their youth... he snooped around until he found the dizi and planted it on the only person every teacher was suspicious of: Wen Qing.

- Wen Qing, after being framed, seeks out WWX and helps him hide in the Burial Mounds, taking down the barriers the cultivation world has set around the area. she then sent a message to LWJ telling him that JC was being lured as well by WWX into the cave to talk... but that Jin Ling had attacked first.

- tired and still incredulous about being finally, finally free, WWX himself explains the truth about the Wen Remains and what he had done to save them. LWJ holds him tight as the other explains that he cannot use resentful energy as he used to and that -when he had tried to protect himself from Jin Ling’s attacks using the dizi- his first attempt had knocked down the kid. JC had found him at the worst possible moment, really.

- but then... who was behind the disappearances? then appears Su She. who had followed the juniors pretending to be invested in their well-being.

*

- the first cultivators to disappear were from MoLing after all, but not because they were abducted... but because they were the one abducting people to begin with. leaving out cultivators from the Nie Sect had been done only to satisfy Jin GuangShan’s request to find Nie MingJue at fault: the man’s only sin being that he would have never voted in favor of Jin GuangShan for the position of Chief Cultivator (something like the Minister of Magic, I suppose??) wishing to get more power for his Sect, Su She accepted to give an opening for Jin GuangShan’s plan... after being ordered as much by JGY.

- JGY... who had been very quick to “suggest” WWX was behind the disappearances after finding out the dizi Madam Yu and LWJ were hiding had disappeared.

- LWJ duels with Su She, but eventually has to take a step back after the other uses a transportation talisman and disappears himself. if they let him go he will tell everyone that WWX is back, that LWJ is with him and they they both took JC and the juniors as hostages. a siege will be called upon them and they need to flee ASAP.

*

- WWX takes them to Wen Ning’s and A-Yuan is really confused. if it’s true that WWX helped the Wen Remains, then it’s probably right to assume that WWX and Wen Ning were friends... but why did that never occur to him? why neither Wen Qing nor her brother told him anything??

- Wen Ning cries of happiness upon seeing WWX and they embrace for a long time. Wen Qing is there and has put barriers around their apartment in Yiling to protect them from being found. there are spirits (invisible to the commoners) lurking around and flying in the sky, prodding at every window and door. A-Yuan looks out for danger close to the widows, trying to find a solution... and also as a way to stay away from his family for a bit as he tries to figure the truth out all on his own.

- however, he cannot help himself from listening in on what is being told, not with Lan JingYi asking a million questions per minute to an exhausted Yiling Patriarch. Jin Ling and JC are still unconscious on the sofa and A-Yuan holds his friend’s hand by the window for comfort -more for himself than for the other boy- when he learns that Wen Ning defended WWX by accidentally killing Jin Ling’s father JZX 13 years back. and then how, in one last attempt to save her own step-brother, even Jiang YanLi had died in the explosion that should have destroyed Burial Mounds completely.

- WWX had seen her only at the very last minute, dragging her body over to the mostly ruined cave before he could lose his senses to prevent her to turn into a vengeful corpse. to preserve her body until other Sects could arrive. he had truly no idea his sister wanted to talk to him and he accepted to go to prison for it.

- (JC had been the one to find his sister’s corpse and WWX’s unconscious body in the cave 13 years ago. he cried and took both of them back. after his sister and brother-in-law’s funeral, soon after WWX’s incarceration, JC revealed his mother he had found the dizi. she decided to hide it in the school, where nobody could have found it, all to prevent the rise of another demonic cultivator. WWX’s sword was believed to have been destroyed in the explosion... only JC can feel its existence through his lend-me-down golden core. but he doesn’t reveal this to anyone.)

- WWX reveals he should have been brought to the “magical prison” (maybe on Phoenix Mountain?) but he was instead trapped within the dungeons of Koi Tower, the ancient residence belonging to Jin Ling’s family. Jin Ling had spent most of his life there... unaware that his uncle WWX was there.

- WWX also tells them that someone helped him run away, a man younger than him that used to keep him company in the shadows, listening to his stories. someone who brought Suibian back to him... even if he would not be able to wield it without a golden core (he tried in school under LQR’s tutelage a la “Legilimens lessons” you feel me?).

- WWX has met with this person for a long time, even if he cannot be sure how many years exactly. maybe five or less. still, he would like to find this person and repay him in kindness, even if he doesn’t know what his name is. when asked to describe him, WWX tells them his eyes had been shut close all along with talismans and that he would be able to recognize the man only by voice alone.

- Jin Ling is awake by the time the story ends and squeezes A-Yuan’s hand back. they both discovered horrible things about their families and they can barely share a glance between them before they start silently crying. LWJ notices and steps in to try to comfort them... but Jin Ling asks him why he helped WWX instead. demanding to know if he helped him 13 years ago in destroying his family as well.

*

- LWJ only looks back at WWX and smiles as he shakes his head. then the two of them reveal they had lived together for a while in secret before the fallout. they even got married without anyone but Wen Ning and Wen Qing knowing, just right after the war (Sunshot Campaign)... before WWX’s control over the resentful energy grew unstable and he had to flee to prevent LWJ to be caught in the aftermath of his actions.

- WWX pretended he didn’t love LWJ anymore and asked to be left alone. heartbroken but still mindful of the other’s boundaries, LWJ thought he didn’t have any right to control WWX and let him go. in the following year or two, WWX found a home with the Wen Remains and defended them until the end.

- LWJ had tried to defend them from the hatred festering the cultivation world from within... but treaded maybe too carefully in the attempt not to disrespect his father and the elders of his family.

- when the Burial Mounds exploded, LWJ disappeared to help the Wens find new homes instead of lending his hand in containing the magical power from spilling over into the non-cultivation world. this was seen as an insult from his family’s standpoint and he was forced into seclusion for years. so while WWX was trapped in a jail covered in suppression talismans, LWJ had been forced into a prison of his own, in a freezing cave where he had to focus all of his attention on developing his cultivation in order to survive such temperatures.

- this led both of them to develop a trauma they don’t know if they will ever be able to overcome, unless they learn to live with its consequences one step at a time. during seclusion, LWJ figured that WWX had lied to him, but that he had been too in love and to young to see the truth at the time. so after he left seclusion he looked once more for A-Yuan, who WWX had loved like a son, and was willing to adopt him... but the child already had a family and it would have been cruel to separate him from them.

- that was why he offered to pay for his studies and never wanted to be found out... but A-Yuan was too smart not to find out and so LWJ allowed himself to hope for a future when he could tell the boy the truth. he wouldn’t dare to hope for WWX to ever leave prison, but he could still dream to see him again.

- at the end of the touching story, JC punches LWJ square on the jaw. he was still weak and couldn’t handle the dizziness, but he had listened to everything and now is furious with LWJ. he demands to know why he didn’t tell anyone WWX and him were married; why he thought possible that such a lovelorn idiot like JC’s brother could ever not be in love with LWJ after obsessing over him for the entirety of their academic career. JC and the entire Yunmeng would have helped them! JC would have even convinced Madam Yu to wield Zidian to protect them and the Wens if necessary! why did they have to do everything by themselves?!

- WWX finally sits close to his brother and lets him punch his chest and arms as much as he wants, until the younger man collapses back on the sofa, exhausted. A-Yuan observes all of this and yet he cannot understand: he doesn’t remember WWX at all, nor to have ever lived in Burial Mounds. he will not trust WWX until he finds out the truth by himself.

- Wen Qing, ever so practical, reminds them they have the entire cultivation world breathing on their necks and that no amount of family drama will save them from execution if they keep hiding doing nothing. that’s when LWJ receives a spiritual butterfly (this is the Patronus thingie! I guess??) from his brother LXC: the butterflies goes under the radar and slips inside the barriers set by Wen Qing easily; it says that “Nie MingJue is innocent and that JGY is helping them”.

- none of them could see how that’s possible, since it was JGY the one ordering Su She to kidnap all of those people just to give Jin GuangShan an opportunity to mess with the Nie Sect. yet, LWJ trusts his brother and decides to send another spiritual butterfly in response, asking where they should meet with LXC.

*  

- while they wait, they eat and try to get along. the Wen siblings distract the kids while WWX and LWJ talk by themselves for a while. they need some alone time and they move to the guest bedroom to figure things out (i doubt they would go for the papapa after all that distance, longing, exhaustion and touch-starvation... especially because last time they saw each other WWX told LWJ he didn’t love him anymore. but... you know.... they did miss each other a lot, and WWX desperately needs a shower, so.......................... yeah.)

- Wen Qing coax the juniors close with food and tells them all sorts of stories about the infamous Yiling Patriarch and how he didn’t even know how to properly cook for the Wen Remains. she tells them how interested he was in the non-cultivation world (Arthur vibes anyone??) and how he was the one teaching the Wens how to use all sorts of common objects, like cars and toasters, washing machines and ovens. Wen Ning sadly suggests that maybe WWX had already imagined how they would need such knowledge for when they were going to leave the cultivation world for good. everyone becomes somber afterwards.

- Jin Ling is still wary of Wen Ning, but he accepts his food and doesn’t try anything funny. Lan JingYi asks Wen Qing to teach him how to make a television work and he eventually blasts the volume up until he wakes JC and receives a knock on the head for the trouble. OuYang ZiZhen starts flipping through the romance novels Wen Ning collects and gets hooked on at least three of them at the same time bc none of them are related to the cultivation world. A-Yuan spends time with Wen Ning and they promise to talk about everything that happened as soon as this nightmare will be over.

*

- the following morning: the kids are sprawled on the floor, JC somewhat surrounded by them and cushioning their heads with his limbs; Lan JingYi slips and calls him “dad” for some reason; Jin Ling boinks his head with a fist and tells him he already has A-Yuan as a cousin and he doesn’t need another one; A-Yuan sobs a little when a sleepy JC tells the kids he has enough love for everyone; OuYang ZiZhen declares he wants to be a cousin too; Wen Qing slips the equivalent of Veritaserum down JC’s open mouth as he snores and they ask him all sorts of questions just to mess with him.

- all is well and the wangxian lovebirds come out of their room: all combed out and clean, WWX looks almost a respectable member of society, but dressed in non-cultivation clothes he still looks too skin for comfort. Suibian held close, LWJ’s hand in his, WWX properly introduces himself and asks for forgiveness.

- still under the effects of the potion, JC reveals that he’s just glad he’s still alive and as annoying as ever. WWX cries of happiness and LWJ has never looked more serene and moved since A-Yuan got to know him properly.

- right then, a spiritual butterfly (a shouting one! like the Howlers this time around!) passes through the window of the apartment and only says: “they’re coming. hold onto Suibian, all of you”. the group has barely enough time to huddle around the sword when the windows of the flat explode and spirits swarms their way inside!

- the sword activates (like a Portkey!) and they get sucked in through a passage until they reach a dungeon in Qinghe Nie. WWX realizes the engravings in the metal had been slightly changed to accommodate a transportation spell that would be invisible to the eye. LWJ takes his sword and point it at their host... but he only finds his fellow teacher MXY. for a moment he had thought the butterfly had come from JGY, because that had been the man’s voice screaming at them to take Suibian... but he couldn’t be sure. spiritual butterflies only speak to the one they are directed to, so nobody heard when the message had been opened aside from him.

- but... what did MXY have to do with all of this? the younger teacher doesn’t speak, simply gesturing them to follow along. then they reach the throne chamber through a secret corridor and there they find... NHS. who finally explains to them what is happening.

* (flashback)

- NMJ and JGY had planned to stop Jin GuangShan’s plan to take over the non-cultivation world. initially they thought they could postpone the inevitable by letting NMJ voting against the Jin Sect Leader in the election for Chief Cultivator... but then the pig ordered JGY to find dirt on NMJ and to orchestrate something to trigger a new war between Sects.

- JGY asks Su She (who he knows he’s a spy under Jin GuangShan’s wing) to start taking people away from the school and help him “frame” the Nie cultivators. JGY has full permission from NMJ to do so and LXC is informed as well. LXC pretends to be “kidnapped” and protects the teachers, students, and members of the staff that had been taken away in the meantime.

- JGY needs to take one specific person out of the school (out of sight from his father’s spies): his brother MXY, who had learned how to use transportation talismans long ago. MXY gives JGY some low-level talismans for Su She and his cronies from MoLing, just to make his older brother appear more trustworthy to the spie. but he’s otherwise preoccupied with perfecting a spell to lead an activated Suibian (aka, the Portkey) all the way in Qinghe.

- JGY needs MXY to finish the “receiving end” of the spell and the array that would have welcomed the Yiling Patriarch back. and to achieve that JGY has to sneak MXY out without people from the Jin Sect suspecting him.

- Qin Su conveniently “suggests” to Su She to take MXY away for good measure: she got news from her brothers of their plan to dethrone their father and she’s on board. so her suggestion was taken seriously by Su She and he himself sneaks MXY out of the school despite the (uuuuuuuuh) lockdown (??? too soon? too soon)

- Jin GuangShan now has what he wanted: an opportunity to seek NMJ out... but Nie ZongHui panics and steals WWX’s dizi, planting it in Wen Qing’s belongings. JGY knows his father will still try to ignore the WWX situation in order to pick on NMJ no matter what... but if the cultivation world hears about how the Jin Sect didn’t care if the Yiling Patriarch was behind the disappearances... JGY knows a siege will come for his father all right, but it will come for him and his siblings too.

- so JGY suggests WWX is the one behind the kidnappings, reminding his father -this way- how the entire Sect will be under scrutiny if he refuses to acknowledge the disappearance of the dizi. JGY doesn’t want for the name of Jin to be followed by hatred and disgust just like it happened with the Wens.

- his father luckily catches up on the tension in the room and for the time being accepts to look for WWX like the others instead of trying to come for NMJ’s head (ahahah)

- while MXY works on the array to activate Suibian from afar, LXC is confident LWJ will find WWX all on his own and convince him to help them. but in case LWJ will fail in convincing him... well, activating Suibian they will still be able to summon WWX whether he likes it or not. but LXC doesn’t have time to send the butterfly that LWJ has already left the school (after receiving Wen Qing’s message). so the little butterfly looks for LWJ for the entire night before he finds him... and a bunch of children (including JC).

- which is unexpected, but LXC trusts his brother. he informs JGY and the two of them entrust to MXY the task to send another butterfly to LWJ, activate Suibian, and welcome the group in Qinghe. all while LXC, JGY and NMJ meet in Gusu to plan a siege against Jin GuangShan.

* (end of flashback)

- NHS finally reveals how he had been the one suggesting MXY to give Suibian back to WWX after transforming it into a (raw and unpolished) transportation talisman before freeing him from Koi Tower (roughly at the beginning of the school year). MXY would have needed more time to finish the work on Suibian, but rumors had it WWX was soon to be executed bc now useless to Jin GuangShan after 13 years.

- tense under the scrutiny, MXY remains silent as WWX slowly falls at his feet and thanks him for keeping him company all of those years. MXY still refuses to speak when WWX marvels at the wonderful job he had done with Suibian as he kneels in front of him and tries to take one of the younger man’s gloved hands in his.

- “Finally, Yiling Patriarch,” utters MXY as he graciously accepts WWX’s offer and takes his hand. but WWX tenses, trying to take his hand back, still kneeling in front of MXY, who is smiling down at him.

- “You’re not him,” is all WWX is able to say before Xue Yang reveals his real identity (the changing-faces thingie is apparently called “face-changing technique” and works here in place of the Polyjuice potion). XY activates Suibian (still in WWX’s hand) once more and disappears with WWX.

*

- now that he has the whole story (and the Yiling Patriarch all for himself to play with!), XY can go back to Jin GuangShan and be given his two fierce corpses back (SL & XXC), who had been held captive for experiments in Koi Tower.

- XY took MXY’s place upon discovering JGY’s younger brother had secretly let the Yiling Patriarch run away with an unfinished transportation talisman. Jin GuangShan’s ordering him to keep the traitor MXY under control and to find WWX. retracing the spell-work backwards only from MXY’s notes would have taken ages so XY hid MXY behind a mirror in a secret chamber, torturing him to force him to tell him how to find WWX. but MXY refused over and over again.

- XY transformed his features into MXY’s ones, but his missing pinky would have jeopardized his mission, so he wore stuffed gloves on both hands, shrugging it off as a stylistic choice. his acting so spot on, not even Qin Su or JGY noticed anything missing, not even NHS, MXY’s best friend, or Jin Ling.

- but JGY never told him the whole story. and now that he knew the truth about Jin GuangShan’s intention to conquer the non-cultivation world... now XY has leverage to get what he wants and flee with his (partners?? lovers?? guinea pigs??) fierce corpses.

- working on a double array to activate Suibian (whatever that means) took almost an entire school year, but in the end he got to drag WWX all the way back to Koi Tower... where the siege will soon take place.

*

- WWX gets nails in his skull (which I assume could work in place of an Imperius Curse, even if he’s not a fierce corpse) in order to defend Koi Tower from the siege by organizing the corpses against 3Zun’s army of cultivators.

- LWJ looks for his brother as the others and NHS look for more help. they still don’t know WWX is in Koi Tower or for who XY I start working, but NHS knows Jin GuangShan will not wait for the siege to take him down so he suggest they move to LanLing.

- the juniors are exhausted and yet they fly to Koi Tower in the attempt to warn LXC of what had just occurred, when they hear the dizi Chenqing summoning the dead. the battle begins, but doesn’t culminate until 3Zun show up and destroy most of WWX’s corpses.

- WWX himself is fighting against the nails in his skull and his demonic cultivation is deeply unstable, so much his corpses crumble down easily enough. still, there are so many: Koi Tower must have harvested them against the laws of the cultivation-world (XY being one of the mad scientists/magicians behind the project under Jin a GuangShan’s guidance... all in order to terrorize the commoners and eventually rule over the non-cultivation world)

- eventually, LWJ is able to face WWX and take him down, forcing him to come to his senses after taking the nails out. Jin GuangShan is captured and will face trial. Madam Jin takes over the Sect and makes JGY her General.

*

- during the battle, A-Yuan gets hit in the head and the other juniors try to use a spare transportation talisman (disapparate) to get him back to Wen Qing... but they don’t know where she is fighting and so they go back to Cloud Recesses.

- A-Yuan gets (Splinched) injuried even more and the pain reminds him of his past, of WWX and the rest of his family in the lush mountain of Burial Mounds.

- the school is empty, but Jin Ling finds a way back to his uncle JGY’s office where he knows there are medicinal herbs and talismans they can use. inside, they only find XY who’s looking for something by the desk in a hurry. XY tries to kill them (with an hex??) with a curse... but Madam Yu saves them by capturing him first with Zidian.

- Jin Ling embraces his grandma and explains what happened and where JC and WWX are, but he also insists on the need to save A-Yuan. once that is settled, Jin Ling forces XY to tell him where his younger uncle is -fearing he may be dead- by pointing his father’s sword at him.

- after getting what he wants, Jin Ling runs to MXY’s office and finds the bronze mirror... but he cannot step inside of it. he wishes and wishes and wishes, but nothing happens! he slides on the floor and cries his heart out.

*

- WWX and LWJ arrive with JC and Wen Qing at the school. Madam Yu is cold towards WWX and accuses him of destroying their family and of disrespecting the debt he owed them. WWX listens carefully and then embraces her anyway. it doesn’t last long, but he doesn’t care.

- LWJ steps inside JGY’s office and asks XY to tell him where MXY is. the other offers to tell him only if LWJ helps him find something in JGY’s room: a key to the (magical, I guess) cell where SL and XXC have been trapped.

- LWJ tells him they already freed them and that they are waiting for him downstairs. restless and eager to meet them, XY tells him nobody aside from someone with MXY’s face can open the mirror door in MXY’s office.

- tired of all that nonsense, LWJ drags XY over to the office, Zidian still cracking and squeezing him in place like a snake, and forces him to perform his imitation magic once more.

- WWX runs behind them and they find Jin Ling sobbing on the floor. WWX smashes XY’s now transformed face into the mirror and they barge inside. MXY is there, some fingers missing, a lost ear, too skinny for comfort, traumatized beyond recognition. but he immediately recognizes WWX and weakly allows the older man to embrace him and hold him tight.

- A-Yuan sees all of this, after Wen Qing got to work her magic on him and starts to cry. he too once had been too skinny and weak, he too had been saved by WWX and then once more by LWJ.

- he remembers everything now. LWJ hugs him tight as they made their way to WWX and MXY. A-Yuan holds WWX tight as MXY marvels at him.

- “Is this... is this A-Yuan? Wen Yuan?” MXY asks, smiling even in his weakened state, “Your dad told me so much about you... so it was you all along, Lan SiZhui?”

- and even if MXY had never been anything but one of his many weird teachers, now that A-Yuan finally sees him after one entire year, knowing he kept WWX company in Koi Tower for so many years... A-Yuan cannot do anything but feel a great deal of affection for him too. so he hugs MXY as well and he laughs as WWX and LWJ hold him tight.

*

[what a ride. what a fucking ride. I want 150k words for this but I cannot do it. any volunteers? anyway you can interpret the WWX/MXY thingie as strictly platonic, but you are talking to a wangxianyu shipper so........yeah. no but really, I just wanted these poor characters to be happy. also, even if this is a “HP: POA” inspired au, I’ve always loved the mindfuck that was discovering the truth about Mad-Eye Moody in “HP: GOF” so..... sue me.]

[XY will face a trial don’t you worry]

[ignore all the plot holes, Su She would be proud of me for them]

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #wangxianyu #wangxian

[words-writ-in-starlight]

I've always thought that LWJ didn't really spend 16 years hunting to find WWX. I'm sure he kept his eyes open and looked for any sign of demonic cultivation, sure. But I also think he spent 16 years looking for danger so that he could increase his chance of dying young. Trouble is, he's too skilled to die easy. I headcanon that Lan Xichen made LWJ take the juniors with him on night hunts because he knew his brother wouldn't put /other/ people in clear danger, & he just wanted to keep LWJ alive.

ANGST!  No dialogue, noplot, just ANGST!  This is who I havealways been!

It’s not—Xichenknows that his brother isn’t likely to die on a night hunt.  It’s not thatsimple.  In a way, he’s not even worried for him.  No matter whatelse he is or may be, Xichen’s brother is still Hanguang-jun, the bearer oflight, who stormed Wen supervisory strongholds and who stood against most ofthe cultivation world and whose skill as a warrior is very arguablyunparalleled.  The only one who could match him—

Well.  Xichen doesn’t worry about his brotherbeing beaten in battle, these days.

And he doesn’t worry about Wangji allowing himselfto be killed, either, although that’s a closer way to define it.  There islittle A-Yuan, sweet-eyed Lan Sizhui, to think about, who Wangji loves with adesperate ferocity Xichen has only seen in him once before.  Sizhui is twelve and the best son any father could hope for, in Xichen’sadmittedly biased opinion, talented and kind and earnest, easy to love andquick to love in return.  Xichen loves him almost as recklessly as heloves his brother.  He can do nothing less for the only person who seemsto bring his solemn didi joy anymore.

He is utterly confident that Wangji would neverleave his son, never, not for all the peace that might be found on the otherside of a sword.

This absolute truth,this wholehearted confidence that Wangji will always return, no matter thechallenge, no matter the risk, makes it difficult to explain why Xichenworries.

The thing is, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun, A-Zhan, is dimmed, in away that tears at Xichen to see it.  He is less, as if he abandoned more than just color when hestopped wearing blue.  There were days, when Xichen would visit duringWangji’s seclusion—and the elders be damned, for trying to stop him, for tryingto keep A-Yuan away, he is Sect Leader and he was not having it—when he wouldhave sworn that he might have seen straight through his brother.  Wangjihas always been quiet, he was a quiet baby, but since—since, he’s been aghost of himself.  Even after three years in seclusion and nearly a decadeto heal, Xichen still barely recognizes him.  A thick shade has settledover the light in Xichen’s brother, and he is afraid that someday, whileHanguang-jun will come back from a night hunt, that faint light will not.

Xichen is supposed to be wise, he’s supposed to beZewu-jun, he’s supposed to be the calm, enlightened Sect Leader of GusuLan, buthe doesn’t know how to help his brother.  He hasn’t found a good answer inall this time.  He knows that the wound of—that the wound won’t heal becauseWangji won’t let it heal, and he doesn’t know where to go fromhere. 

He remembers when Sizhui first began to learn toplay the guqin, and brought a piece to Xichen in childlike pride.  Hislullaby, he had called it as he plucked out a careful melody, learned by heart. Without spiritual energy directed and channeled, without the complexities of anexperienced hand, it was only music, but Xichen had listened to Inquiry toomany times not to be able to translate it.

Are you there?

Are you lost?

Are you at peace?

Are you with your sister?  Your parents?  Your people?

Are you waiting?

I miss you.

It’s not—it’s not a search, not anymore, Xichendoesn’t think.  It’s been too long to expect an answer, and Wangji hasnever been a fool.  But Wangji can do nothing else.  There’s nowherefor him to bow, there was no vigil to keep, there will never be anyone whoburns paper money or grieves with him.  So Wangji plays Inquiry, over andover again, to a spirit that doesn’t answer, and someday Sizhui will learnInquiry himself, and know that his lullaby was always a eulogy spoken insecret.

Once, Xichen tried to make his brother stop. Tried to make him leave off his long, slow grief, to shakehim out of his ghost-self and back to life and light.  He hadn’t been ableto think of anything except to take Wangji’s guqin, an attempt to force him tostop, stop, playing that damned unanswered query.  Andit had worked, in a way.  The cold, blinding flare of rage, when Wangjiswept uninvited into Xichen’s rooms and demanded flatly that his instrument bereturned, please, Sect Leader Lan—it had been good to see.  Proof that,even if the embers were banked and dull-glowing, there was still a fire to bewoken in Xichen’s brother.  But the days of bitter silence, afterward,wasn’t worth the short-lived victory.

Sizhui had sided with his father, of course, even ifhe didn’t then understand what the point of contention was.  He had given Xichen affronted looks andorbited closer to Wangji than usual for weeks.  Sizhui had always knownthat there was a wound somewhere in his adopted father, in that sharpperceptive way that’s entirely too unlike Wangji, entirely too himself to beanything but a relic of before Cloud Recesses, the time that he doesn’tremember and Wangji won’t discuss.

Xichen has his theories.  But Lan Sizhui is thepride of GusuLan Sect, the brightest light in his father’s life, and Xichen isgrateful that someone else loves his brother enough to be angry on hisbehalf.  Xichen’s theories have been buried in a shallow grave for manyyears.

And Wangji is only himself, in any way thatXichen can recognize, with Sizhui.  It’sbeen like that ever since he first brought the boy back, when A-Yuan, feverishand delirious and calling for people none of them knew, crept into hissickbed.  Wangji had been barely responsive,had allowed the physicians to tend his scourged back and had stared at the wall,not sleeping, not meditating, not speaking, just waiting.  When Xichen got word that his brother hadspoken, to call the weeping A-Yuan over and tell him, quietly, that the man hecalled for was not going to come back, he’d felt a rush of relief like hislungs trying to jump out of his mouth. But he hadn’t spoken to Xichen, not that day, nor for several more, onlyholding A-Yuan close while the boy slept.

Xichen hadn’t gotten a word out of his brother foreight days after he was whipped, and then, when he finally did, it was only toclaim A-Yuan as his son in a tone that broke Xichen’s heart.  He had forced the elders to accept the child withoutarguing or demanding details from Wangji, had simply put him in the sectrecords as Lan Yuan and stared down anyone who questioned his actions.  Xichen would have done anything Wangji askedof him, in that moment, anything to keep him talking, anything to keep A-Yuan nearhim.  Wangji had been nearly a corpsehimself, in those early days, lightless even in the presence of A-Yuan’s tinysun, but he had moved and spoken and lived when A-Yuan was near.  The effect should have grown less pronouncedas Wangji returned to himself, but instead it has only made the difference moreapparent.  

Maybe that’s what he’s worried about, when Wangjileaves on night hunts.  Some part ofXichen never got over the fear of it, of seeing his solemnly brilliant diditransformed into a shell, silent and detached, the heart of him carved out.  Some part of him is terrified still, thatbeing away from Sizhui for too long will let Wangji slip back into thatnumbness, that corpse-cold stillness, so different from his familiar reserve.

Hanguang-jun would never die on a night hunt, notthrough anything but dire misfortune.  Heis still the best of the Lan, their bearer of light.  But Xichen is secretly, desperately afraidthat, someday, one of the reports they receive of resentful spirits and demoniccultivation will be true, and he will not get his brother back.

Wangji never allows anyone else to investigate thosereports, the ones that claim in half-hysterics to be the Yiling Patriarchreborn, or trapped as a spirit, or the dramatics of the day.  He always comes back with flat unfeelingreports of frightened villagers and exaggerations and resentful spirits easilydispatched.  And when Xichen gets down tothe bone of it, the living core of his fear for his brother, Xichen is horriblysure that someday, someday, Wangji will come back from one of those nighthunts and say nothing at all and shimmer out of existence at last, a heatmirage under a cold wind.

It isn’t suitable for Zewu-jun, Sect Leader Lan, tohate someone.  Xichen thinks about itsometimes during meditation, about how foreign it feels, this hard hot chip ofloathing, and worries at it like a loose tooth, tries to pry it out of place tobe discarded.  He can’t manage it.

He hates Wei Wuxian, for what his death has doneto Xichen’s brother.  

For standing up when everyone else knelt down, eventhough it cost him everything, life and family and sanity all gone in a merehandful of months.

For what finding his resentful spirit would do tothe last light in Hanguang-jun.

So.  He just—hehas to find a way to keep Wangji from following these leads.  It isn’t healthy for Wangji, and none of themever have any sign of the man himself anyway, dead or otherwise.  Xichen has to find an excuse to send othercultivators after fantasies of the Yiling Patriarch, and that means findingsomething to keep Wangji busy.

Wangji is only himself around Sizhui—a quieter,sadder self, to be sure, but the honest adoring boy that Xichen half-raisednonetheless.  Sizhui, while a prodigy, istoo young for night hunting.

The junior disciples are promising and bright, andWangji needs a—a check, for lack of a better word.  Something that will force him to speak, tointeract, to think of safety and security rather than only results.

He will not appreciate what Xichen is going to do,but someday, Sizhui will be on night hunts too.  This is—this is practice.  Maybe then Wangji will brighten again, traveling with the son headores.  Maybe then Xichen will be ableto sleep while his brother is gone.

#the untamed #mdzs #lan xichen #lan wangji #the untamed fic #starlight writes stuff #hellooooo friends!!!!!!! #i hear you wanted angst?????? #i have angst #my case for the name usage here is lxc calls lwj by courtesy name pretty much exclusively BUT only calls him lan wangji in formal context #otherwise it's just wangji. i assume that he extends this to other people to whom he is close #anyway i did a bunch of research today on name meanings and um #it hurts me that a different 'yuan' is used in 'wen yuan' than in 'lan yuan' #('lan yuan' the character used means like...'to wish' or 'to hope' and also 'sizhui' means 'to remember and long for' so! that's fine!) #i'm writing a fic about that also! actually it's just...lwj's perspective of that eight days #it's ALSO only angst! #but yeah #*sits down with a powerpoint and fifteen pages of conference notes* y'all wanna talk about sizhui growing up hearing inquiry every night? #he worries a LOT about his father after young master mo shows up because suddenly there's no music at night #and like. he understands that playing inquiry over and over again isn't the healthiest coping mechanism in the world. #but the only time he's known his father NOT to play every night is when lwj is hurt or that one day that lxc took his guqin #sizhui is WORRIED until he figures out what's up #a queue we will keep and our honor someday avenge #Anonymous #asked and answered

[frizzyanya]

The Untamed Episode 33, My Commentary!

Spoilers included in commentary obviously.

I’m past the time jump! I might have to go back and re-watch the beginning because I’m so confused. So as far as I’m told, the worst (for now?) is over. It’s been intense!

Okay WHY did we have to restart with JYL dying? Couldn’t they have had the kindness NOT to remind me of that?

Yo, Alliance clan leaders, you being abusive to the demonic possessed guy is not going to make things better or him calmer…..

Also, don’t chant that you’re going to kill him, if you give him time, he can pull up the flute and he has a chance to kill you all… (hopefully)

WWX and LWJ both injured!

Just a thought…….it’s lucky LXC is a decent brother……..if LWJ was part of any other clan, I’d imagine he’d be DEAD for fighting on WWX’s side here….The fact that he doesn’t get murdered and have his ashes exploded (I mean, presumably he doesn’t) is a little unbelievable though, even under LXC. He’s WWX’s only ally in this battle.

WWX is playing with what is presumably the STA and Lord only knows what it’ll do here.

Okay, this scene is brought to you by how fucking hot Lan Wangji is.

I do not say that lightly. 

Normally I wouldn’t pick him as most attractive. But in this scene? *dayum* *fans self*

All of the demon spirits flew into the STA and then it exploded. Ummm what?

Everyone there is killing each other over it???? 

But aren’t they supposedly on the same side…

WWX is trying to laugh but keeps crying. Poor baby. 

OH SHIT

This is it, right?

Where WWX falls off the cliff and LWJ tries to grab him and pull him up?

I think I watched that back in February or March, before I really got into the show. I promise you, I will remember next to nothing from the 2nd timeline. Sorry about that…

Every clan leader: WWX should die

Every soldier: WWX should die

WWX: Yes, I should die

LWJ: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Poor baby is bleeding profusely as he’s trying to hold WWX up by the hand!

JC straight up gonna pull a Scar here? Kill your brother (figure) so that he falls to his death. Nice job, bro. You’re definitely the good guy here….

16 YEARS LATER

(Should’ve been 19 years later, tbh)

(Sorry, I’m a Millennial. That’s like an obligatory reference.)

I maintain…..LWJ didn’t get in trouble for fighting on WWX’s side? That’s weird.

Okay, I REALLY am struggling to remember what’s happening here. 

So WWX and LWJ are reunited? And WWX is sleeping, or maybe was passed out? Fuuuuck this is going to be a struggle.

Gotta play Wu Ji here. Good call, producers.

Side note: Em said that LWJ has been in mourning colors every day for the last 16 years, and I gotta say I LOVE HIM. He’s so extra, it’s fantastic. It’s like a giant F U to everyone who hated WWX the whole time, and he can just be moody and emotional and hella extra and pining and it’s GREAT.

Also…..shouldn’t he be in other clothes? He’s still in black and red….

AWWW THE FLASHBACK MEMORY WITH JYL AND JC FROM BACK IN BETTER DAYS

They’re doing flashbacks to WWX’s life, which is great and all, but I need flashbacks to the timeline we’re currently in. HELP!

I LOVE ALL OF THE BUNNY SCENES

OOOOOHHHHH So LWJ is covered in scars and a brand. Must be related to the whole mess when he stood against his own people. Still good he was a Lan, or he would have been killed for it.

OKAY WHAT. WWX is now playing what appears to be a wooden (or tan colored) flute. It looks the same as the flute we saw at the end of the battle, and is distinctly not the normal black one.

I wish I could remember things. Like for example, does LWJ know why WWX is back? I’ll figure it out as I go.

Wait...where…..where is LXC? Did he get hurt in the last battle and I missed it…?

Lolololol okay so WWX and LWJ are off on their quest and WWX saw the guy selling portraits of the yiling patriarch and he was like oh shit! What if that causes me to be recognized?! And he looks and it could not POSSIBLY look less like him lmao. “Wei Wuxian was a man known for his looks!” LMAO EVEN HARDER

HOLY SHIT 

Omg, it’s orphaned Jin Ling Rulan! (Who still bears the name WWX gave him.)

“I wonder how he got like this...he has all of his father’s defects and none of his mother’s strengths” AHAHAHAHA He hates JZX as much now as he ever did.

Why is WWX screaming in terror of the wolf dog…………????????

The episode is over.

I’m wondering if I should go back and rewatch episodes 1-2………..

I spent more time being confused than actually enjoying watching……...

#this show #there's a lot going on #and I don't remember anything from this timeline #I'm a mess trying to watch #ugh #the untamed #untamed commentary #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan wangji #lan zhan #wangxian #wang yibo #xiao zhan

[13parkfilter]

a wangxian playlist no one asked for

These are track notes for a wangxian playlist no one asked for, because CQL / mdzs fandom ate my life and I somehow needed to make a super dramatic 28 song playlist that follows wangxian’s love in (extremely loose) chronological order, from their first meeting as cute battle teens all the way through the depths of angst and eventually to becoming cultivation partners and (I’m positive) really great co-parenting dads. 

Because I’m like that ™ , you can find notes for each and every song below. Any weird song choices are entirely my fault. Spoiler alert: Frank Ocean.

This is a real long playlist and you could definitely break it into shorter stretches by mood. For the happiest and most in love vibes, hit the first 6 songs and the last 6 songs. Dramatic Burial Mounds vibes are from 7 to 13. It may be very satisfying to go from the depths of sadness and grief (~16) through to the end. 

1.  Don’t Know What to Do | BLACKPINK

Inspired, of course, by WYB and XZ’s demonstrated love of Blackpink in the CQL BTS videos. For a little while Stay was on this list instead, but I kept coming back to this song because to me it gets at that excited “everything is new and I’m young and so in love” feeling. Two people could certainly have a playful duel under the moonlight to this song, if they wished.

2.  A Loving Feeling | Mitski

Something about Mitski’s melancholy, slightly maudlin and self-deprecating vibe in this song is just peak “I wasn’t flirting… unless…?”

3.  Self Control | Frank Ocean

Somehow this playlist ended up structured around two overlapping arcs carried by Frank Ocean and Lykke Li, respectively, which makes no sense in theory but maybe kind of works? Idk, let me know if it works. If it does, maybe it’s because so many Frank Ocean songs are incredibly raw love songs about loss and the work that memory does to keep your love alive, and so many Lykke Li songs are about trying to slog through all the pain and bullshit without losing sight of that kernel of untarnished brightness, whatever it was that made you want to love in the first place.

I love this song for many reasons, but in no small part for the sorry-not-sorry vibe of apologizing for making someone lose their self control.

4.  Look After Me | Cub Sport

This song is real honest and tender about people taking care of each other and it messes me up. 

“There's something in the way you look at me

Like I've never done wrong

There's something in the way you look at me

When I was wrong all along.”

5.  We Could Run | Beth Ditto

Ok, imagine this playing in the background during LWJ and WWX’s first meeting with Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan. A good song to play as you run into the sunset holding hands with your cultivation partner, is what I’m saying. 

6.  Unconditional Love | 椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo)

This is just a super sweet and painfully dramatic love song, the kind of song that plays for a man who makes grand unsung gestures like composing magical love songs and secretly adopting your child after you’ve died. This is before the latter part of that, though.

7.  Bad Religion | Frank Ocean

This is the first turning point on the list, the fading of youthful optimism and the start of choices that there’s no going back from. This is when you start to realize that you really can’t please everyone, and you can’t do what you believe is right without someone hating you for it. It’s also the point at which your neuroses and blind spots start to go from being quirky and cute to a cage of your own making. You have to deal with the bad shit you inherited from your parents eventually. If you don’t you’ll either make the same mistakes they did or make different mistakes because you’re fighting so hard to keep your head above water. 

I really like the part when Frank Ocean asks his taxi driver to outrun the demons. Feels like something a modern AU WWX might say. 

8.  Silent My Song | Lykke Li

I didn’t want to go full angst here because this playlist is about *cue Westley bellowing in the Princess Bride* TRUE LOVE and so I didn’t go as hard as I could here, but this is the start of the golden core +  first Burial Mounds arc. 

9.  Figure 8 | FKA twigs

I can hear the resentful energy swirling in this one. This is probably the most abstract choice on the list but to me something in it evokes the curdled rage and seething of an unquiet spirit. 

10.  Fantasmas | Ambar Lucid

This is a song about living with ghosts: of a failed relationship, and the mistakes that it took to get there. 

11.  Green Grass | Cibelle

I love this song because it’s a little sweet and a little scary at the same time. It’s gentle and haunting and the lyrics are as unforgettable as poetry. 

Is this a love song that a corpse is singing to someone visiting their grave? I like to think so. 

12.  I Bet on Losing Dogs | Mitski

In spite of the dog reference (lol) this whole song is a super WWX trying to live with the Wens in the Burial Mounds mood in my opinion. It has turnip energy. Trampled yet undefeated lotus energy, if you will.

13.  Godspeed | Frank Ocean

This song is the essence of heartbreak and knowing that you have to finally let go of someone. Am I imagining LWJ and WWX singing this back and forth to each other at the Burial Mounds, depending on which line it is? Am I crying about it a little? Maybe.

“I let go of my claim on you.”

“There will be mountains you can’t move.”

14.  I Know Places | Lykke Li

This is the “Come back to Gusu with me” song, even though it’s coming later in the timeline than it should. (I sort of compressed all the Burial Mounds-set songs together for a better flow). Anyway I feel like this captures all of those unspoken desires, that frustrated feeling of caring about and believing in someone so much without being able to protect them from all the people and powers that want to hurt them. But you have to try.

15.  Deeper Than Love | Antony and the Johnsons

This song is almost. Too dramatic. This is meant to be at Nightless City / WWX’s fall. I originally had 2 completely different songs here but I ended up liking the arc of this song and where it ends up. The two songs I originally had here were a much more bitter feeling, but I like that this song is tragic and painful and is still a kind of love song at the same time. I really wanted this playlist to be all love songs, some very different from each other, some more about pain and loss and regret than the good parts of love, but still love songs.

“And I have tried to shine in the darkness

Entertaining vanities in vain…

Hold on

And hold on

And let go

Let go

And fall deeper

Even than love.”

16.  Days of Candy | Beach House

To me this song is very evocative of the mingled feelings of grief in the immediate aftermath of a loss. Grief is never a pure, singular feeling, but a sticky amalgam of missing and wanting and sweet memories and a deep pit of pain. The sort of slow, half-asleep sadness full of watery light that this song evokes really takes me there, to the place where the grief is real but the loss is still almost unreal, where the feeling of that person still hasn’t left, your senses are still full of them, you just heard their voice yesterday, they might come into the room at any moment. It’s the almost— joyful?? part of grief that you don’t realize has any joy in it yet because you haven’t yet started to forget. You can’t imagine being able to forget, and you have no idea how much worse it will be when you can’t immediately evoke their presence anymore to comfort yourself. When you can’t pretend anymore that you’ll be able to see them again.

17.  Last Song | Gackt

Idk why exactly but Gackt is very yearning LWJ vibes in this song. Is it the earnestness? The intensity? The incredibly romantic lyrics? The deep, smooth voice?.. All of the above?

Anyway, if the previous song was nonverbal grief, this song is the start of the solidifying of grief, moving past rage and disbelief and self-destructive denial and gradually into a crystallization, a narrative of what the loss meant. Instead of a great crushing thing that blots out the sky and swallows your entire life, the grief becomes just another part of you— a defining part, maybe, but still part of a greater whole. And you move on. Or you try to. 

18.  Sleeping Alone | Lykke Li

This is 13 years of going where the chaos is, searching and playing Inquiry and never giving up, resigned to sleeping alone in strange places but still just never ever giving up. 

“Now was not our time, no, I let you down. 

Someday, somehow, somewhere down the line… we’ll meet again.”

19.  Busby Berkeley Dreams | The Magnetic Fields

Does every deep-voiced man singing a dramatic love song remind me of LWJ now? Maybe. At least I refrained from filling the entire playlist with Stephin Merritt songs. 

“I should have forgotten you long ago, but you’re in every song I know” is just… the most Wangxian sentiment. 

This is a bit of a modern AU LWJ, one who would definitely cry into his True Romance magazines. I do still think that this song very much captures how he must have felt hearing the song he wrote played on a terrible flute after 13 years, though. It definitely doesn’t have a flute solo in it, either.

20.  Ivy | Frank Ocean

This song is peak WWX in a mask, trying to hide from LWJ and his own emotions at the same time. But also, maybe, the start of some emotional awareness and genuine communication. Thanks to Frank Ocean for this entire playlist, practically.

21.  Fireworks | Mitski

Another song about memories and dealing with the past even when it comes back to stab you in the side. (s/o to Jin Ling, low key my favorite character, never afraid to cry in any situation) 

“I will be married to silence

The gentleman won't say a word

But you know, oh you know in the quiet he holds

Runs a river that'll never find home.”

22.  Hell | Waxahatchee

This is a song about apologizing to someone for putting them through hell. To me it’s a very adults-in-love song, and there’s a sort of gentleness to acknowledging the pain and mistakes of the past while still having hope that maybe love is really worth it after all— especially if you’re “one of those who canonize a love so true it never dies.”

23.  A letter to my younger self | Ambar Lucid

I have to admit that the title of this song makes me think of yiqie’s truly excellent time travel fic that is very heartbreaking and very beautiful. I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t read it (go read it), but it’s safe to tell you that it grapples with and transcends all the reasons I usually avoid time travel fics, like the idea of helplessness in the face of fate, and how much control we really have over our own decisions, and what it means to let people make their own mistakes. 

24.  Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits | The Magnetic Fields

This one really speaks for itself. 

Besides, “Let’s pretend we’re bunny rabbits until we pass away” is just a cuter way of saying “Everyday,” right?

25.  ”愛してる”からはじめよう  (“Let’s start from ‘I love you’”) | Miyavi

I personally feel that Miyavi has big sunshine WWX energy. This is just. A very cute and soft love song. Feels like napping in some tall grass in the summertime. Waking up next to your lifelong crush and remembering how lucky you are. Wandering from town to town with your true love and your donkey. That type of energy.

26.  Angels | The xx

The last three songs on this list never fail to give me Big Dramatic Feelings. 

I think what this song captures well is the feeling of just drifting along, lost in your thoughts, showing up somewhere— and suddenly seeing the person you know to be the love of your life at an unexpected time or place, and being struck all over again with… all of it. Your heart stutters, everything slows down, and for a second you forget to breathe. Like: Oh yeah. Oh shit. I remember why I love you. I remember how it felt when I was first falling in love with you. And I never want it to stop. 

“And with words unspoken, a silent devotion. I know you know what I mean.”

27.  Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone | Lykke Li

I think of this as the quintessential WWX love song, from the title to the sentiment of the lyrics to the moody burning joy of the sound of it. It’s demanding and soft and confident and raw all at once. 

Props to Lykke Li for the redemption arc of this playlist.

28.  Good to Love | FKA twigs

MAKE MY BODY COME ALIVE. This is the song that really says the most to me about the pain and beauty and the vulnerability and intimacy of being in love. What I love about all of FKA twigs’ music is how beautifully she merges and intertwines the messy physical and spiritual aspects of love. Her music is a sexy secular prayer to Eros imo and I’m here for it. 

#cql #playlists no one asked for #dramatic love songs #idk #this is how i deal with my obsession #wwx #lwj #wangxian #i guess

[lotus-mirage]

episode 32 + 33 liveblog

this is going to hurt

I’m going to watch the opening again - hopefully I’ve bypassed most of the spoilers.

He snuck in!? That’s an awful idea, no!

He’s gonna get blamed for something else now, isn’t he.

:,(

This is a little hard to watch

She saw him! Shoot.

No! Don’t just - walk out like that! Ahhhhh

Disembodied screaming. Great.

Aaaand hallucinations.

:,(

The bodies....

And Wen Ning lost control again.

Hmm. Don’t think he actually was burned, considering he showed up in episode 2. Explains WWX’s surprise at that, though

Wait. They really didn’t see him standing there? I assumed that they just thought he was someone else.

Aaaaand he’s pretty much lost it. Great.

What was the paper that crumbled at the gate?

Are the teacups like a pledging support thing?

Okay, a funeral rite.

‘Bandit chieftains’. Right.

:,(

And there he is. Kind of unhinged sounding now.

Did. Did nobody see him up there?

Still honest, but yeah. Unhinged.

Jiang Cheng hasn’t said anything. :,(

I hate like. Half of the clan leaders.

He’s crying. :,(

Yeah none of these guys ever really supported him.

Who shot that!?

Well. The blood disappearing thing is new.

The brass in combination with the flute music is interesting

Are they not attacking the Jiangs? :,(

:,(

Generally don’t have a lot to say during fight scenes, and this one is kind of long. Sorry.

Oh! It’s LWJ! ...where is he jumping from? It kind of looked like he jumped down, but this is kind of the highest building.

:,(

Okay so on top of all the other emotions, the flipping and flying is making me laugh a little. It’s a weird combination.

How has the situation changed?

Oh. Uh. Hmm. Okay bringing his sister might normally be a good plan but I know she dies and... ahhhhhh.

LWJ’s protecting him!

Hhhhh I’m scared

She doesn’t even have a weapon

Oh no who’s that!

They’ve got a flute too. Oh no. That’s uh. That’s a great way to. Oh no.

Ohhhhh no

Oh and here’s the army from the first episode, I guess

Oh no

Ohhhh no

no

:,(

Everything hurts

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

GODDAMNIT

c’mon really

and now the vocals start up

Oh he’s got the force choke now

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

ending there.

Fine okay I have time for another episode today in a few hours fuck

End notes for that one:

Who was the second flautist there???

Everything hurts again! Huzzah! :,|

- episode 33 -

Yeah guys maybe don’t provoke the freshly re-traumatized unstable uber-powerful black magic user. Seriously.

Oh jeez is he absorbing the things that were flying around?

Not sure - they may just be being redirected

He coughed up blood? Was that from his magic or an outside thing?

(Background reprise of the romance song, ow)

I can’t tell if LWJ is killing live cultivators or just the puppets.

Haven’t heard this instrument in this show’s music before, I think. It gives a weird tone to the music, a bit.

Wait. The sky just lightened. It matches the opening scene now. How?

He broke the amulet?

Shoot, didn’t it influence Wen Ning? Is that why he seemed so out of it in episode 2?

Aaaand here’s the opening scene.

:,(

The laughing bit is new.

Owww

LWJ’s face

Jiang Cheng is still mourning in the middle of the battlefield

Owww

Ahhhhh

He’s still asking him to come with him

This scene is so slow - contrasts the last few and gives it weight. Which is good, but. Ouch.

Ohhhh he didn’t even respond, just let himself fall

Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

This entire scene is just. Very painful

Oh no Jiang Cheng

He’s not even walking quickly. :,(

LWJ’s face

All of their faces just hurt

He didn’t actually stab him. That’s. That’s actually worse. Oh my god that hurts so much worse.

The closeups on their faces, too

Owwwww

Okay I had to take a break for a minute there. Time skip time. 16 years. Wow.

You’d think that’d hurt less - it’s literally the first thing we see! But I guess if this happened sequentially I might have been frustrated too. That’s mostly staved off because I knew it was coming, so it felt a little inevitable.

Oh LWJ’s playing the song. :,(

Oh wait he’s got wwx right there

I guess the hiding-his-identity jig is up

Right, right. The recap is absolutely necessary here.

Did. Did Jiang Cheng not even refer to him using his full name? :,(

Is LWJ’s hairstyle a little different? It feels off, but I genuinely cannot tell

They really did just skip over any identity shenanigans

Three years later? Why three years?

LWJ looks tired

I feel like we skipped some things. Wasn’t the dancing statue that shattered an illusion? Where’s everybody else?

I guess they were kind of close to the Cloud Recesses, but it feels weird that they skipped over any hassle getting him there. Although I guess they can fly, so.

This music is really nice

:,( the flashbacks

Wait, didn’t this whole place get destroyed when the Wens attacked? I guess they did a really faithful job reconstructing it.

Awwww the bunnies

I’m a little confused that he seems to just be allowed to walk around here

OH

I was going to comment on LWJ not having a shirt on, but it does have a purpose. I’m no expert, but some of those scars look. Pretty deep.

Whips and a brand!?

Oh. They were probably for helping WWX. Or maybe endangering Jiang Yanli? :,(

The clans that I feel have more power and inclination towards this sort of thing probably cared a lot more about the former.

‘Underworld chamber’? That’s new.

It’s the nice baby-faced cultivator! The only one that I can recognize.

...How did that specific family happen to own something effected by the amulet?

Did. Did he have to use a spell to open the door.

WAIT. He can use non-red/black/evil magic again!

If LWJ’s taking over for the Grandmaster, does that mean he’s more powerful than him now? Wow.

Playing a flute might break any remaining semblance of a cover he still has, though?

See, even wwx knows that

He’s playing the romance song in the middle of a spell-song? Why??

Is he asking for no more flute because he’s scared or because the music is bad, haha. That might just be an effect of a hastily-made flute, though.

The sword fell, but it’s still leaking energy. Not sure what that means.

‘Infected’ by the amulet how??

Yeah maybe don’t grab the evil sword again. Remember how the last one turned out?

Oh that’s not good

At least he let go of it?

Why is Lan leader always bleeding from his mouth, anyway

Lan Sizhui is kind of being given more prominence than the rest of the group. Even in the first couple episodes. That hasn’t really happened for a while, but I guess a not-insignificant portion of our cast just did get killed off so.

Oh, WWX is talking to him! Does he know, or are there still identity-shenanigans to be had?

Oh he doesn’t excellent we need something less heavy like that

The sword was planted there, all right. I... think I did have some earlier suspicions, with the guy that tossed money at the story-teller (teacher?) that just happened to be talking about WWX as he returned.

He’s in a coma!? Yikes. They know that already?

I’m glad that somebody is asking about the mask.

I honestly cannot remember if LWJ’s hairpiece was always this big.

Oh! Okay, Xue Yang is relevant again! And. Has a piece of the Yin Iron. Which. Wasn’t the only remaining piece made into the amulet? We’re there secretly five pieces all along?????

Okay good they’re addressing it.

Oh? ‘The man in black’ - is that the guy who talked about spirits or the one who paid the teacher???

Do we have a suspect?

No, okay. I do wonder what the guy’s goal might be.

Okay no I recognize the face of the guy next to Lan Sizhui - he was complaining, I think?

And they’re off already.

This is. Moving a lot faster than I expected it to.

Oh those portraits are awful, hahaha

Hahaha his face

Strong contrast from the beginning of this episode, was not expecting to be laughing so soon.

Hahaha, that was one way to make an entrance! Why, though?

!!! It’s the nephew! :D

Well. Okay.

End notes:

Uh. Very strong swerve in tone in this episode. I was not expecting them to delve back into comedy in the same episode that the main character died.

I’m a little lost, but I guess the next couple arcs will include Xue Yang or the mystery guy who planted the sword?

I. Really don’t have a lot to say, I guess. A bunch happened, but I don’t know what’s going to happen next, and I’m not solid on how I feel about anything. Kinda bemused? I’m glad that we seem to be done with the angst, but it’s kind of weird to be seemingly done with all of that (for now) so quickly.

#the untamed #mdzs #untamed liveblog #my thoughts

[farmerlan]

Farmer Lan’s Rewatch Guide to The Untamed - Episode 2

SPOILER CAUTION APPLIES.

Alright buds we are going to get right into it - no time to waste!

[WWX hangs out by a river/well with XPG (Little Apple aka Xiao Ping Guo aka XPG from now on), cultivator scene with the demon compass argument happens (cute), A-Yan gives WWX an apple and she’s clearly not mentally all there, mountain top A-Yan dance scene with her mom disclosing her tragic story and father’s death to WWX.]

Differences from the novel:

There’s some minor choronological and setting differences between here and Chapter 6. A-Yan was not the person who gave WWX the apple, it was a random girl. There were two separate scenes with cultivators trying to use the compass in the novel, but it was condensed into one in the drama.

WWX bumps into A-Yan in the town at the foot of DFS and hears of her story from townspeople. A-Yan’s story is essentially the same in both versions, but the novel also includes an additional story about how a slovenly/good-for-nothing oaf became seemingly wealthy and suddenly wanted to get married and settle down, except he died on the night of the wedding. This would later be used by WWX to further support his narrative of what’s behind the ‘soulless people’ cases when he explains it to the Gusu disciples.

[Cut to WWX in a forest, A WILD JIN LING APPEARS! Man, I forgot what a little shit he was when he first arrived <3. WWX and JL runs into each other, except JL thinks he is MXY, banter ensues, WWX traps JL with his paper man and drops that awful YOUR MOM line to JL.

Banter continues until JC brings his posse and incredibly sharp jawline to the scene. Seriously, damn. Things are about to get physical before LWJ arrives. Shade is thrown between JC and Gusu & Co., JC literally looks like he is in pain and why oh why does nothing ever work out for him as his subordinate reports that all the spirit nets have been destroyed. JC decides against picking a fight and tells JL he better BRING HIS A GAME TO THE HUNT before dismissing him. LWJ dismisses the rest of the disciples and walks away, leaving WWX alone. Cut to WWX remembering JC + JYL by the river and then he overhears JL’s true parentage and feels baaaaaaad man.]

In the novel, there is further discussion of the LLJ sect and especially JGS in Chapter 7. Seeing JL’s reaction to him as MXY, WWX then correctly deduces that MXY is actually the illegitimate son of none other than JGS, who was known for his philandering ways.

It was also clarified in the novel that locked within the ‘paper man’ WWX sic-ed on JL was the ghost of a man who had died from gluttony, hence why JL could not get up. He was basically being sat on by a really fat man.

A bigger deal is made in the novel of how LWJ is someone who “appears where there is trouble” – JL says this to him in a sarcastic way, but it’s a common theme that runs throughout the novel, that although he can be considered an extremely prominent figure, he takes the time to help or show up no matter how ‘low level’ the situation is. It’s a sign of his strong moral character that nothing is too beneath his attention.

The situation of the night hunt itself is also explained a little bit more in detail – JL is turning sixteen this year, and this night hunt at DFS is basically a debutante ball for him as you have to be past a certain age to participate in hunts. So, in order to make sure he claims the top prize, JC made sure to come with him and also set up the spirit nets. Aww, they ruined his present!

Fun fact: JC very nearly came to blows with LWJ in the novel but chose not to do so because a) he had to consider sect relations between Gusu and Yunmeng and b) he wasn’t sure he would win since they’ve never fought before. HA.

[Gusu disciples run into old man grave caretaker, these are Wen graves! He asks them to go visit the Tiannu Temple and they move on before he can tell them that the goddess statue moooves. Spoopy. WWX also happens upon the Wen graves. Scene between him and WQ and he realizes it’s the statue stirring shit and JL is about to step in the shit that has been stirred.

Scene in the temple with Gusu disciples and JL, shit starts going down, WWX and Gusu disciples gather outside. Gusu disciples realize they ran out of flares and WWX is all like haha prepare to be punished! WWX clarifies the difference between soul-eaters and the goddess status, links it to the ongoing issues with A-Yan. LJY calls him out – he’s only pretending to be CRAZY! ]

There’s no old grave caretaker in the novel and there’s no Wen graves scene. There are ancient tombs around the area that the Gusu disciples explored, but it was only mentioned in passing as part of the larger conversation around what exactly was plaguing the mountain. What happens in the novel is – WWX encounters a spirit dressed in fancy burial clothes, realizes something is wrong because that kind of spirit (the spirit of a corpse) should not be on DFS, puts two and two together and goes off to find JL.

The scenario of WWX explaining what exactly ‘it’ is to the Gusu disciples closely follows that of the novel, except he also adds the explanation around the slovenly oaf’s story. Basically, oaf prays to the goddess statue to be wealthy, the goddess granted him his wish but took away his soul on the night of the marriage. Hence why WWX encountered the wealthy corpse spirit - essentially the goddess split open his grave and gave the oaf the funeral/afterlife offerings that were buried within it, displacing the spirit in the process.

 Also the goddess statue ate some humans in the novel but this was probably too graphic for the drama lol.

[JL shows up with the statue hot on his heels, WWX is like but wait we sealed the statue off before! WWX then builds and plays a makeshift bamboo flute. LJY changes his mind – MXY is still crazy after all, and on top of that he’s also a garbage flute player, ha. WN shows up and WWX is all ???, illusion is revealed, WWX posits whoever did this wanted lure out WN, a mysterious man in black scuttles off in the background.

Men rush WN, WN is like, uhm, y’all ain’t shit. WWX then plays WangXian to suppress WN’s rage, draws him towards himself and then we have THE REUNION – eyes meet, lovey-dovey wrist-gripping scene ensues.]

Interestingly, the drama shows JL being thrown to the ground and trying to scurry away/flinching as the statue advanced on him. In the novel, he actually stood right within reach and thought, “If I can’t kill her right here and now, I’ll die – but so what?!” Basically, he was 100% ready to kill the statue or die trying before WN showed up.

In the drama, we weren’t specifically clued in to the fact that WN is currently unconscious due to the nails in his head. In the novel, WWX realizes this instantly because Wen Ning was not capable of sentient thought and had to rely on WWX’s orders.

The drama hints that the whole thing was staged by the mysterious man in black caught scampering away – in the novel, this is not the case. There was no other person ‘operating behind the scenes’, this whole incident with the statue was not an illusion.

The reunion scene is as it happens in the novel, gripping of wrists and all. Ha. I love you directors.

[WWX is outed as the person who summoned WN and JC is like well well well, Shady’s back. LWJ tries to protect WWX, WWX tries to run away but gets whipped and decides to play crazy as JC wonders why Zidian didn’t work.

WWX appears to faint and wishes to go back to the time to 16 years ago, when he was at Lotus Pier and we start our flashback arc. Cute scene where he gets a sugar rabbit (HA I see you) for JYL. They decide to rest in a tavern. JC bickers with WWX and grouses that JYL and JFM always defends him and is reminded that being free-spirited is considered a virtue by the YMJ sect.]

The confrontation between JC, WWX and LWJ follows the novel partly (the whipping, the face-off between JC and LWJ), but the novel goes into more detail.

For one, LJY is like, ‘wait didn’t YOU kill WWX? Why are you saying he’s back?’ to JC in the drama. In the novel, no one claims that JC was the one who killed WWX in the novel – only that he was present at the battle at Nightless City along with the Yunmeng Jiang sect.

Also, in the novel, someone in JC’s sect basically tells says that there’s no way MXY is WWX because WWX would have chosen someone cooler. WWX was flirtatious with girls and a good-looking dude and MXY is a gay lunatic riding a donkey. And also, his flute skills are so, so subpar compared to WWX. Ha. WWX secretly grouses that he would kneel to anyone who’s able to play a nice melody on a dollar-store flute after not having practiced for 13 years. Touché.

In an attempt to get both JC and LWJ off his case, WWX tries to disgust the both of them by going, “JC is NOT my type but you know who is my type? LWJ uwu he’s so attractive” but it totally fails because LWJ does not take the bait. Instead, he says “Well then, I’m taking this man back to the Lan sect with me.” And that’s the end of Chapter 10. See comments on the flashback/timeskip in the summary section below.

The last conversation JC and JYL shares is very interesting. It’s not in the novel, but it really plays into the narrative that “WWX embodies more of Yunmeng Jiang’s values than JC even though he is not a Jiang”, which is also a theme in the novel and kind of a sticking point for JC obviously. One can say that JC takes after his mom, and WWX takes more after JFM.

Overall Thoughts

This is where the divergence from the novel plot line begins to get a little more serious. The novel employs a series of flashbacks scattered throughout the book whereas the drama is essentially one long flashback from Episode 2 through Episode 33. It obviously makes more narrative sense to arrange it that way in a drama series in order to make it less confusing, especially since they’re using the same actors for past and present WWX/LWJ, but just keep that in mind.

With that said, I will stop at Chapter 10 for the purpose of comparing it to Episode 2. Chapter 11 and 12 have essentially both been removed from the drama besides for the cold springs scene, which was also modified. I will discuss these two chapters when we get to Episode 33 (wow, will we ever get there??). Episode 3 picks up at Chapter 13, which is the beginning of the Gusu arc. Chapters will start jumping around (in the novel, the Gusu arc is only Chapters 13-18, and then the Wen Sect/Tortoise of Slaughter is a separate flashback from Chapters 51-59)  so I am going to try my best to match them up lol.

Ending the summary on another cute note, in the novel LWJ’s presence is often described as being accompanied by the light scent of sandalwood, which is what WWX smelled before bumping into him in the novel.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #lan wangji #wei wuxian #the untamed #episode 2 #cql #魔道祖师 #recap