#WWX: Ah no wonder he's scary
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sharing my wangxian phlebotomist!wwx/blood donor!lwj au from twitter here (a summary here if you wanna see)
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The hardest part of the adoption process was supposed to be endless paperwork and screenings and the anxiety of not being good enough to meet high standards of the court.
It wasn't supposed to be A-Yuan's first doctors appointment.
His pitiful screams fill the small doctor's office. He's clinging to Lan Wangji's shoulders like there a lifeline, hiding and all LWJ wants to do is bundle up his son and carry him back to safety.
But these are mandatory vaccines he needs in order to attend pre-k. So he cant.
Nurse: Shots are never fun at this age, huh He would beg to differ; they're never fun at any age But see lwj isnt afraid of the shots themselves. Hes terrified of the sight of blood. His BFF loves horror movies & he watches them with her bravely by staring at the corner of the tv
When lwj gets his blood drawn, he looks closes his eyes and imagines being in a cold pond somewhere. But he's never been afraid of just the shot before.
He's helpless in the face of his son's distress. The nurse sighs, saying theyll have to try again another day.
A-Yuan sniffles into his baba's shirt, exhausted from the crying fit. His eyes are still watery and he looks around the room with such fear in his eyes, before withdrawing back into the safety of his baba's chest.
Lan Wangji has no idea what to do, only cradles him closer
Thankfully, LWJ has someone who can help. His best friend, Jiang Yanli is a child therapist and has been helping him prepare his home for A-Yuan.
If anyone knows what to do, it's Yanli-jie
JYL: Zhanzhan, have you tried showing him its not scary?
LWJ has not, bc he's terrified
JYL is the only one allowed to call him Zhanzhan. In Uni she was the one who mentored him his first week of school. Someone slipped him alcohol and he got deliriously drunk.
Yanli-jie was the one who found him and took him home.
This is what they told the cohort but actually…
JYL: seeing his Baba get a shot and be okay might motivate him to be more brave
LWJ certainly doesn't feel brave. He's thinking of the blood flowing from his veins and then LEAVING them to go who knows where. It sounds barbaric
He has the distinct memory of learning what a period is in middle school and promptly passing out
He is not a fan of anything related to blood
But LWJ has learned that Yanli-jie knows what she's doing, so, despite the way he can swear he feels his blood pumping with fear, he agrees...but there's a problem.
LWJ: I am up to date on all my shots. How can I show him it is safe?
JYL: Hmm....I have an idea. My brother is a phlebotomist! He can help.
LWJ is confused. Last he heard, the younger Jiang is a prosecutor who makes a living viciously yelling in a courtroom.
JYL: Not him, Zhanzhan. My adoptive brother, A-Xian. I bet he would be happy to help you. He works at the blood bank at Yiling Clinic! The perfect exposure!
For who?, LWJ wonders. A blood bank sounds like a house of horrors to him. And a person who chooses to stick a needle in people and remove the very force that gives them life? He cannot imagine getting along with this person at all.
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Yiling Clinic is a community clinic in a part of town Lan Wangji has never been to, especially since the Gusu Group has their own private hospital.
But this is where Yanli-jie's phlebotomist little brother works.
A-Yuan clings to the back of his legs as they approach the receptionist, a young man with amazing cat eye makeup named Mo Xuanyu
These two definitely do not fit the bill for their usual patients, with their designer clothing, so he asks with some skepticism: Um, can I help you?
LWJ has spent the last two hours siking himself up for the blood part, he isn't prepared at all for social interactions. He flounders like a fish.
LWJ: …I am…We are here for…
A shout comes from behind them: Ah! A-Yu, is that A-jie's friend? Zhanzhan?
LWJ flinches until he sees a man sprinting towards them. The 1st thing he notices is this man is wearing lilac scrubs with little white rabbits on them.
The 2nd thing he notices is this man has the most enchanting smile he's ever seen. Already, LWJ feels more relaxed.
The man winks at him: You like the scrubs? A-jie said A-Yuan liked bunnies, I figured this would help keep him calm.
LWJ does not blurt I like bunnies too. But only just.
Beside the man is a pediatric nurse named Wen Ning, no relation, who says he's here to help with A-Yuan
Yanli-jie's little brother, the phlebotomist, introduces himself: Ah! Sorry, Lan Zhan. Jiejie always calls you that so it just stuck. I'm Wei Wuxian. You can call me Wei Ying if you wanna make it even.
Strangely, LWJ feels no need to correct him: Lan Zhan is fine, Wei Ying.
WWX smiles so brightly, LWJ feels dizzy with it.
WWX: Now where's the little bunny himself?
A-Yuan has been clinging behind LWJ's pant leg, tilting around just enough to peek with one eye at this strange gege.
WWX: Maybe not a rabbit then, a radish who likes to hide away!
A-Yuan becomes offended: I don't like radishes!
WWX laughs: Me neither! But Qing-jie says they help us grow big and strong, so they can't be all that bad huh?
WWX is crouched in front of A-Yuan, draping both arms across his knees and resting his chin in one hand. He waits.
LWJ admires his patience. The longer WWX waits, crouched and rocking back and forth in front of A-Yuan, smile gently and welcoming, the more A-Yuan's natural curiosity gets the better of him.
Eventually, his son comes out from behind his leg to touch a black bunny on his sleeve
A-Yuan: I like this one. We only have a white bunny at home.
WWX: I like the black bunny too! What's your bunny's name?
A-Yuan: Banana, bc she tries to eat Baba's banana every morning, and you are what you eat.
He recites this with all the solemnity a 4 yo could possess
WWX's laughter echoes through the lobby: Well! You're very right, A-Yuan. Maybe you aren't a radish after all then. Tell me, what do little boys eat?
A-Yuan: I'm not little! I'm 4 and a half!
WWX: Right, right, I sincerely apologize for my mistake. What do big boys eat then?
A-Yuan purses his lips and taps his chin, pondering his question carefully: Hmm… jelly beans?
WWX looks like he wants to laugh more, but instead says: I see, I see. Thank you for your wisdom A-Yuan.
He looks up at LWJ, dark eyes dancing. LWJ's heart rabbits against his chest
WWX: If your baba is ready, we can head down to my cave if you'd like. I have a lot of cool machines I'd love to show you.
A-Yuan's eyes widen into saucers as he gasps: A cave? Wowww
They grin conspiratorially at each other, before turning bright eyes up at LWJ
LWJ feels warm and much more relaxed inside, so he nods: Mn. We may go.
A-Yuan cheers and holds WWX's hand as the head downstairs.
LWJ trails behind making small talk with WN, watching WWX and A-Yuan swing their hands and skip ahead, feeling something warm blossom in his chest.
The hallway to Wei Wuxian's lab isn't anything like Lan Wangji expects.
The rooms at Gusu are all perfectly pristine and sterile, painted white to promote serenity, rest, and healing.
For one thing, he'd raided a Halloween store at some point and hung up all sorts of decorations, mostly vampire themed. There's one that's says "I vant to suck your blood!" except suck is crossed out and replaced with "donate". Wwx and A-yuan giggle together at wwx's fake accent
It's definitely not up to Gusu General's strict standards. For one thing, there're beanbag chairs in the hall outside. Wwx says it's to feel more comfy while others wait, as he's the only phlebotomist on staff and it can take a while. A-Yuan personally tests each one.
His lab is…adequate if far too small. There's a desk that's overrun with stacks of papers and textbooks and a shelf that's filled with even more. The actual space where blood is drawn is, thankfully, sterile and clean. Though he's decorated with demons demanding blood for food
There's a temp controlled room where the blood is stored, with a red door and the words "Blood Pool" written in menacing barely legible font
Despite the…interesting decor, the room is homely and, surprisingly, welcoming. A-Yuan at least is having a very fun time getting a tour
Wwx patiently answers all of A-Yuan’s questions, even the endless why's, with utmost sincerity, even when his answers are purely nonsense.
Lwj can't stop the fond smile from lifting the corner of his lips. A-Yuan had never warmed up to a medical professional so fast.
He's pulled from his musings when A-Yuan grabs his sleeve: Baba! Blood-gege says this machine makes blood spin around!
Wwx burst out laughing: Blood-gege? I love it!
Lwj is enchanted, head repeating those last 3 words again and again as wwx fondly ruffles A-Yuan's fluffy hair
Wwx: alright, now that you're familiar with my beauty Chenqing (referring to his bloody spinny machine lwj does not want to think about), shall we get down to business?
He says this with his bright dark eyes glittering at LWJ. Right. The blood donating part.
Lwj gulps, nodding. A prisoner walking up to the gallows.
TBC
(If you're interested, I'm probably going to continue at least up to the end of the first part before i just make it into one long fic! You can follow it on my twitter!)
#i tried the threadfic thing on twitter and im finding it hard to get any engagement there and i think this au is cute okay#and i cant write it until a couple weeks from now so im just gonna share it here#call me wwx the way im shameless with my self promotion#hehe#bushy writing#mdzs#wangxian#mdzs fanfiction#mo dao zu shi#if the formatting looks dumb its cause im copying and pasting from shitter djfksh i dont actually write like this i just wanna share this o#anyways someone tell me how twitter fandoms work why are they so hardddd#from what i've seen the writing mdzs fandom is most active on there but i cannot understand how to get recognition there#to be fair i've always been a tumblr girlie and never posted much on my twitter besides retweeting art anyways#but i want validation for my writing T___T#also threadfics are a challenge of themselves and i admire writers who have the patience to deal with them because i am very much losing#mine like what do you do about all the typos and the mistakes and just ahhhhhhhhh#also i think its because im joining in the middle of twitter's mass exodus but idk where else to go#anyways
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#xiantober Day 6: The Streets of Yiling
It's been years since WWX's parents told him they'd be back.
It's been years of WWX having to fend for himself on the streets of Yiling.
It is an unforgiving place for a child but he's learned to adapt.
Always smile sweetly and be kind, people are far more generous to happiness. If food is acquired, climb up somewhere high (either on a roof or up a tree) as quickly as possible or the dogs will come. When it is cold, stay by an inn's kitchen wall. Never show weakness.
In WWX's humble opinion, the dogs are the worst part of being on the street. Well, aside from the starvation, lack of shelter from the elements, and minimal human contact. The dogs are vicious and painful in a very different way. Those other things are manageable.
He's dealt with hunger and cold and loneliness for long enough, it's not as scary now.
Fortunately, over the years, WWX has built something of a rapport with a number of the shop owners that they started trusting him to do minor jobs and run errands in exchange for food.
He's quite proud of his reputation in Yiling. He is well aware that he is one of the fortunate ones. It is an unfortunate truth, but WWX has seen many a street rat fail to find a means of survival, succumbing to the elements or starvation or thievery.
Stealing is far too risky. He has seen far too many kids get caught and then...
Well, he never saw them again after that.
So, he works honestly. If no one has any work for him then he is a little hungrier for a while, it's not the biggest deal.
He has found that he can go for longer periods without food before feeling the sharp pangs of hunger.
Life is fine. He can't really complain.
It's a warm, spring day when the town feels like it's abuzz. WWX wanders around, listening to the aunties gossiping.
From the snippets of conversations he could hear, it seems that there's a small group of cultivators from one of the major sects in town, specifically the two heirs of the clan.
Ah, well that makes sense then. It's always exciting when cultivators visit.
In another life, perhaps WWX could have been a cultivator. From the little he can recall of his parents, he remembers that they both were. He wonders what that may have been like, he thinks he would have liked it.
Curious, he follows the growing sounds of gossip like a trail.
It leads him to an inn with a slight crowd amassing out front, people all trying to get a glimpse of the cultivators. WWX weasels his way to the front easily and finds a grouping of about 6 teen boys in white robes at a table and an adult talking to the innkeeper.
WWX stares with wide eyes at the way the boys hold themselves, so tall and proper. His eyes catch on one boy in particular off to the side, standing rather than sitting with the rest. His face is serious and he appears to be about WWX's age.
Oh, and he is stunningly beautiful.
WWX wants to talk to him.
He doesn't get the chance to because the adult returns and the group heads upstairs to the rooms. The crowd gathered begins to dissipate but WWX wants to stay and see that boy again.
So, he climbs on the roof across from the inn and waits.
It's not too long after that he sees that very boy walk out beside another, slightly older boy. They look very similar, so WWX assumes they must be brothers.
The elder one says something and the younger one nods before leaving the inn. The older boy walks back inside.
WWX slinks down to the street below and begins following the younger boy from a distance. He wants to approach him but doesn't know how to yet, and he is curious about where the boy is heading.
He quickly becomes confused when the boy turns down a narrow alley.
When WWX turns the corner, the boy is nowhere in sight. WWX feels his brow furrow as he enters the alley, his eyes flitting around for any sign of the boy in white robes.
Then, suddenly, his world spins and his back is slammed against a wall.
There's the press of a forearm against his throat and, when his vision stops spinning, his gaze meets with a molten gaze of golden amber.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
The voice (and the anger) makes WWX shiver. He blinks.
"Wow," he whispers in awe.
The boy's eyes widen in shock before quickly narrowing to a glare. "Who are you," he repeats in low tones, "and what do you want?"
WWX brain finally reboots. "Oh!" he exclaims. "I'm Wei Wuxian—but you can call me Wei Ying—" he winks "—and I just wanted to talk to you!"
The boy narrows his eyes even further, jaw tense. "You 'just wanted to talk' to the second heir of Gusu Lan?"
"Um... yes?" WWX squirms and the boy presses his arm against him more, pinning him to the wall. He swallows. "Look, I didn't know you were an heir! I swear it!"
Right as WWX lifts a hand to raise three fingers, the boy snatches his wrist in a bruising grip.
"Ah, ah! I wasn't going to do anything! Aiyo, you're a feisty one. I just thought you looked cool and I just..." He sighs. "I wanted a friend," he murmurs.
There's a funny sensation in his wrist, like a trickle of something foreign but comforting, and then the boy (he still doesn't know his name, but he can only assume it's Lan something) stiffens. "Come with me," he says and begins to walk away, dragging WWX along by his wrist.
WWX trips over himself to catch up. "Ah? Where are we going? I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable! I swear! I wasn't trying to steal from you. You can just let me go and we can pretend this never happened, yeah? I'll just... I'll leave. Okay? Just please—"
"Quiet," the boy snaps and WWX complies instantly.
Anxiety courses through him. He has no idea what is coming for him and he's scared. Of course, he'd be the idiot that follows a sect heir of all people. This is exactly why he keeps his distance, getting close only causes pain.
He only hopes that whatever punishment he will receive won't be too bad. He follows the boy morosely, walking to his impending doom. He doesn't bother looking up at all, he just lowers his head and allows himself to be lead, not fighting it.
"Wangji? What are you—oh! Who's this?"
The boy (Lan Wangji, he supposes) stops. "Xiongzhang, I need to speak with Shufu."
WWX ducks his head further, shrinking in on himself.
"Alright," the boy's brother replies. They begin walking again and make their way up the stairs.
The elder boy knocks on a door and they all wait. WWX hears the sound of the door opening.
"Shufu," the elder boy says. "Wangji needs to speak with you."
Their shufu hums in response and then they are moving again. The sound of the door shutting causes WWX to flinch.
They stop in what seems to be the middle of the room.
"Speak, Wangji. Why have you brought this boy here?"
WWX braces himself. The grip on his wrist tightens briefly before loosening. "Shufu, I ask that you check his meridians."
Stunned, WWX can't even find it in himself to react when another hand takes hold of his free wrist—LWJ hasn't let go yet—and there's another weird sensation, this one is far less comforting.
The hand pulls away and WWX tucks his arm close to himself, making himself smaller.
"Who taught you cultivation?"
"Huh?" WWX whips his head up, meeting a stern-looking man's gaze. "I'm not a cultivator."
The man hums, stroking his beard. "You have quite a strong core for someone not affiliated with a sect. Who taught you?"
WWX is flummoxed. He has a core? He can cultivate? How had he not known this? "I—I'm sorry. You said I have a core?"
"Yes, and quite a strong one at that."
"I don't understand... I don't know how to cultivate."
The man looks at him closely. "What is your name?"
"Wei Ying, courtesy Wuxian."
He watches as the man's eyes widen. "I suspected as much. You are telling me that your parents never taught you how to cultivate?"
WWX's mind is reeling. "I... what? No, they—wait. You knew my parents?"
"Indeed. How come they never taught you?"
"They died years ago," WWX admits quietly.
The room seems to fall into a heavy silence and the hand still on his wrist twitches.
"I see," the man says. "My condolences. They were both lovely people, if a bit of a nuisance on the part of your mother."
"Shufu," the other boy speaks up. "Perhaps Wei Wuxian could come with us? Join the Gusu Lan sect?"
The man hums and WWX's heart pounds. What is happening?
"He certainly has the core for it, if he works hard he could be quite an astounding cultivator," the man says.
"Will you come to Gusu?" LWJ asks, drawing WWX's attention to him.
They stare into each other's eyes for a heated moment before WWX turns to look at the other two in the room. Slowly, he nods. He could have a home. Food. Shelter. People to talk to.
He could have a friend.
"Yes, please. I would like to go to Gusu if you will have me." WWX bows as much as he can while LWJ still has a hold on him, the movement shifting LWJ's grip from wrist to hand. Neither of them change that when WWX rights himself.
"I will speak to your guardian while you pack."
WWX blinks at the man. "Oh, uh... I don't have a guardian. Or anything to pack."
Again, the room falls into a heavy silence. "I see," is all the man says.
"He can stay in the room with Wangji," the older boy says. "I can stay with you, Shufu."
"Very well, Xichen."
The older boy—LXC—nods and smiles at WWX. "We are here for a night hunt but you may stay in the room and order whatever you need, we leave to return home tomorrow."
WWX stares at him with wide eyes. Whatever he wants? That's too much. He bows his head. "Thank you."
"Wangji, why don't you show him to your room, I'll get a bath sent up."
"Mn." LWJ grips WWX's hand and pulls him out of the room, WWX follows easily, mind still reeling. Perhaps he died and this is all a fantasy to make his life seem nicer before he moves on.
They enter another room and only then does LWJ release his hand. WWX finds he misses the warm contact more than he would have expected.
"So..." WWX starts. "Do I call you Wangji?"
"Mn... Lan Zhan, courtesy Wangji."
That's... not really a response, WWX notices.
"Lan Zhan," he says, testing the boundaries.
LWJ looks at him with a glare, but it's softer than the glares he sent his way when they first met. He doesn't tell him to not call him that, so WWX will take it.
They stand in silence for a while until there's a knock.
The bath is set up swiftly and before LWJ exits the room, he pulls out a set of robes from his pouch, holding them out to WWX. "You may wear my extra set."
WWX feels his eyes widen, he's never worn white. Or sect clothes. Or proper cultivator's robes.
He feels like he'll only dirty them in more ways than one, but he would really rather dress in proper clean clothes after bathing, so he takes them thankfully and LWJ slips out.
The bath is lovely, the clothes are weird but heavenly, and he even orders a bowl of rice to eat.
When LWJ returns later in the night after their night hunt, WWX is perched stiffly on the edge of one of the beds, waiting for him. He feels out of his depth.
"How was it?" he asks.
LWJ hums. "Too simple."
WWX laughs. They get ready for bed together and lie down.
"Night, Lan Zhan," WWX murmurs from across the room.
"Goodnight, Wei Ying," LWJ replies.
WWX smiles to himself. He has a good feeling about his future now. For the first time, he has hope.
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#xiantober#wangxian#mdzs#threadfic#mo dao zu shi#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#lan wangji#lan zhan#wei wuxian#wei ying#from twitter#wisedawn13#fanfic#fanfiction
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ep38 (1/3): that which resembles a romance but is in fact a horror short film
lsz is eager to help ofc, but wwx doesn't know who he is yet
wwx asking for jl and the jiang bell matters - his connection to his old home and family. and apparently the jiang bells are powerful? they were more described in the book. I actually forgot they were even in the show since they're barely talked about
THERE SHE IS!!!!!!!! I love a-qing, such a strong personality, her own goals and motivations, curious and intelligent and out for herself and brave. it is shitty to pretend to be disabled, but I'm going to blame the author for that instead of a 16 yr old orphan girl living on the streets. it's not like it doesn't backfire on her anyway
also she's so funny. 'why do men dress nice when they're poor, this is an attack on me specifically'
FIRST MEETING!!! that blindfold is alarming but the blood looks a little pale (fake)
ohh I could swoon. saints and heroes don't really exist in this world, it's too complicated and brutal for them to survive. but xxc was as close as anyone else ever got and I think a-qing knew she'd never meet someone as special as him again
not to say he doesn't have flaws - his naivete is disastrous for all of them and he overlooks her concerns out of a patronizing dismisiveness when he should be respecting her instincts, which helped her survive all her life on the streets. also, it's admirable of him to be nonjudgemental but xy just has odious vibes and it's a tragedy he was so charmed by him that he didn't pick up on that. sort of a xxc jgy situation except xy was fully in love with him or whatever approximates love for him and I still think jgy was mostly using lxc to survive. so another dark foil to wx just as songxiao are a lighter (but still tragic) parallel
anyway he thinks a-qing is funny and is clearly endeared by her, and she clearly likes him a lot despite lying to him. their dynamic has so much chemistry and potential for being great family, it's a shame they're not more popular to write about. this is probably one of the only reasons he's had to smile since he and SL parted ways
smart girl! this guys sounds like bad news, so get outta there
ah! curse the hyperdeveloped senses of a cultivator!
unlike the tragedy of wwx, this could literally have all been avoided if not for a single person - there are many ways to rewrite this and just have them never cross paths. of course, that misses out on the richness of this story and the themes at play, not to mention their significance for the wider narrative, so I don't particularly like yi city fix-its before the fact. but they're definitely easy
christ he's bleeding like craxy. what did they do to him. and why didn't they do it better
of course as soon as he sees xxc he's like FUCK
yeah and if xy lets xxc touch his hand he'll know he's missing his pinky
...not that I like to think about them having a relationship but IF they had sex I wonder how he managed that
god this is so kind 😭 why couldn't it have been wwx that xxc found and they just had a nice little family time (they're cousins or something) for a decade or so before wwx was comfortable enough to leave. MAN
a-qing sleeping in that coffin then hopping out is so cute I love her
it's only been a day and already he looks perfectly groomed clean robes clear skin fully hydrated etc. the man knows how to look good I gotta say
and he starts right off by being a piece of shit to a-qing. I think the siblings dynamic can be really funny but lbr in canon he terrorized her and she hated him for it
I thought this was kind of dumb. like even if she was blind anyone would feel a SWORD. and if he learns she's not really blind, what, xxc is disappointed? I suppose it means he's less careful around her. bc she was able to witness a lot of his crimes bc he wasn't as watchful, assuming she couldn't see (and therefore could never understand what was happening? ableist of him)
a-qing: please don't leave me alone with this scary stranger we picked up by the side of the road, he's really aggressive and he's lying about who he is and I think he's dangerous
xxc: oh you silly girl. he'll be leaving soon *immediately starts flirting with him*
actually xy comes at this with a very specific angle. it's almost like he's emulating wwx - he presents himself as someone hardworking, uncomplaining, and good-hearted despite the hardships he's clearly gone through. of course xxc was taken in
haha no big deal! I'll just casually drop this little fact! it's definitely not something I want you to know about me so you can sympathize with me while admiring how blase I am about it! MAN
on the one hand I can see why xxc is being so open-minded and I appreciate his kindness. on the other hand he IS misled by his own feelings and she is also literally right. she gives him good reasons not to trust him and he's like *pats her on the head* we'll be fine
the head-pats are sweet when coming from adults to their kids (or jyl to wwx) but it just feels patronizing here
literally this is blatant flirting. a-qing off to the side going 😭 he has a crush what I am supposed to do now!!
and THIS??? I was so shocked the first time I saw this I was like THIS is allowed but wwx and lwj can't hug??? huh??? idk the exact specifications of the censorship but in some ways xy/xxc hits you harder with the gay subtext than any other couple including wx which is so wild to me. and also deeply tragic obviously
I think it helps that the writers have a very solid idea of what this relationship is and exactly how each character felt at every moment of it. meanwhile for wx interactions can be very inconsistent and confusing. anyway GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM YOU FREAK
so yeah overall super eerie and frightening to see xxc fall so readily in love with someone you KNOW is cruel and sadistic and lying to him and deceiving him. like this could have been a cute second-love kind of deal with a new family in a new city. fresh start. but then again, no it couldn't have
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Psst!
Hey!
Heeeeeyyy!
So I had a draft prompt, of Luo binghe meeting his demonic younger half brothers Wei wuxian and Hua Cheng.
To start off, Luo Binghe is already on his 15th year and treated with the outmost kindness by Shen Qingqiu after the skinner incident and the dream escape. He doesn't know why the sudden change but he doesn't question it either.
Rather he is quite content with this new life where he also gets to go on a lot of missions after proving his work.
One day, Shen sends him to go and help the Yummeng Sect since Bai Zhan Peak had gotten into a fight with them and now they needed to mend relationships, so Shen brought forth Luo Binghe to go on his first solo mission.
With his new and improved skills, Luo Binghe has a breeze of a time hunting down the demons that spawned on this place and with all of the time in the world, he goes to eat at the streets of the Yiling city.
This is where he finds a young kid, no older than ten possibly, running away from dogs and crying when he reached a corner.
And on the other side he sees a bunch of children running away with some left over food while all of the dogs are chasing the boy.
The sight of the helpless boy brings him back painful memories of his past and how he used to get beaten up by others while fighting in the streets, until they are overshadowed by Shen Qingqiu's words that were uttered back at Meng Mo's dream.
It only took a few small steps before the dogs started running away, though even when every dog had been shooed away, the boy was still trembling and crying, so Binghe decided to give him a small peach to eat.
At the moment their eyes met, they noticed a resemblance to one another.
They both shared their mother's feminine features.
But anyone could look the same as the other right? Luo Binghe shook his thoughts off and just carried on.
Unfortunately for him, that boy was a sticky one and eventually followed him all the way to the end of Yiling city and Lotus pier, where Jiang Fengmiang noticed the boy and immediately recognized him as his friend's son.
"What's your name little one?"
"Wei Ying." He said while still clinging to Luo Binghe, dirting his green and white robes, though the other didn't seem to care much about it and just kept him close to his leg.
Binghe noticed that at the sound of the name, the sect leader paled and quickly tried to get the servants to clean the boy up and also ask him questions of his parents and who they were, [Though Luo Binghe kind of saw through his smile that he might have known them already.] Which scared the boy off and surprised quite a lot of people.
I mustn't make Shizun wait more, so Luo Binghe choose to let the boy stay in the Lotus pier sect so the boy could be cared for and then go back to Cang Qiong Mountain sect, unknow to him that somewhere along the line, Wei Ying decided to run away and hide in the carriage that Binghe had gone back in to Qing Jing Peak.
Shen Qingqiu is just full on confused as he sees the young protagonist with a little boy... who looks somewhat like him... but is in fact not even a character that was supposed to appear in PDIW.
So
What
The
Hell
Is he system!! ??
Where did this child come from!?!??!
Oh great now Ying-er has stolen everyone's hearts he can't chase him out now.
He also can't believe that someone [Ming Fan and Ning Yingying] had told the other students who in turn told everyone else about Ying-er and how his "Shizun (and A'Luo) was so kind to save such a cute child from the slums!"
Jiang Fengmiang eventually found out but seeing that Wei Ying was leaving a good life, then he let him stay under Shen Qingqiu's and Luo Binghe's guidance. [And it's not like Yu Ziyuan will take kindly to Fengmiang's favorism towards Wei Ying so-]
Wei Wuxian stays on Cang Qiong Mountain sect. Which alters the story a lot as Ning Yingying becomes more of a mature Jiejie to Wei Wuxian and Ming Fan stops bullying Luo Binghe so that Wei doesn't tattle on him to Shen Qingqiu.
Luo Binghe becomes overprotective during all these years. And can only be called Bing-ge by A'Xian.
[Also the baseless rumours about Shen Qingqiu start to change as the other peak lord's become over protective over a soft Shen Qingqiu and Wei Wuxian.]
+100 points!
SQQ: I didn't even do anything!!
AND THEN THE IMMORTAL ASSEMBLY CONFERENCE APPEARS.
Shen Qingqiu comes back brokenhearted to mourn Binghe's death, Wei Wuxian is told by everyone that Luo Binghe is dead, but he doesn't believe anyone except Shen Qingqiu who says he is just gone [Though the rest think he is just delirious and suffering so they don't correct him at all.]
This is where Wei Wuxian starts taking an interest in demonic cultivation and ghosts in hopes that he can connect with his Bing-ge. However he doesn't get that far since there is just not a lot of demonic references to draw from in Qing Jing Peak.
But a terrible fate meets him after a year when Wei wuxian is sent by Shen Shifu to study under the guidance of the Jummeng sect in hopes that:
1) Wei Wuxian doesn't meet a terrible fate after Luo Binghe comes back.
2)Or, if he doesn't meet a terrible fate, then he hopes Wei wuxian doesn't plan on getting revenge after Luo Binghe tells him the truth.
3) He really shouldn't be here at all, he should be with kids of his own age, and Jiang Fengmiang has a son of his own that us around the same age as him. <This was the only point he told WWX>
So Wei Wuxian is now taken in as a student and lives for more than a year under the sect leader's guidance, getting along really well with Jiang Chen and Jiang Yanli who seems to have this motherly aura just like his Jiejie.
[That protective side of Yanli also reminds him of Luo Binghe who had caught him in time when Wei wuxian had climbed the bamboo shoots and broken one due to him climbing so fast after a dog had appeared around
Some time passes by, Wei Wuxian comes back to ask Shen Qingqiu if he has permission in going to the Cloud Ressess pwetty pweasee~ because his friend Jiang Cheng is also going and Shen Qingqiu wanted him to socialize with more kids his age soooooo-
Shen can see right through him [he isn't as sneaky in hiding the truth as Luo Binghe], sighs and hesitates in letting the boy go [He's lonely. No system, no Binghe, no A'Xian. No one is here to annoy him at all it feels weird and he is getting tired of Airplane-bro's shenanigans].
But before he can give him an answer, a message appears.
A new mission: to go to the Jinlan city and help the people with the Sowers' problem.
Wei Wuxian jumps at the chance of going along with him so that he can prove to Shen Qingqiu he can start to learn cultivation in Cloud Ressess.
And Shen Qingqiu takes on the offer, even though he doesn't want him to go away from Qing Jing Peak, yet he isn't willing to let him cultivate here in fear of... well the first two points.
And oh boy.
Oh boy oh boy oh boy...
It's a mess.
Th start with the mess, Wei Wuxian meets a new disciple of Shen Qingqiu who had been sent to study here because he wanted to learn the fourth arts [and because he was recently set off from his mountain.]
Xie Lian! Hiding crown prince of Xianle Kingdom [WWX tries not gasp too much at the sudden appearance of a crown prince.]
And he is older than him by two years as he just reached 17 not long ago!
Wei Wuxian at first feels a bit of envy as he sees that Shen Qingqiu is willing to train everyone except him, but the boy did seem to be really kind and heroic as well as quite the troublemaker who didn't really like following rules and rather went by what his heart told him was right! Just like him!(kinda)
The plot is pretty normal, nothing changes as much in Jinlan city which is a breath of relief to Shen, Wei Wuxian is however a bit curious as to why this Huan Hua palace sect disciple [Gonyi Xiao] was friendly with Shifu, because Shen Qingqiu never told him about him too!
Granted he thought Shizun seemed to still be mourning so he didn't try to write him letters about what he was doing un case he only made it worse.
Anyways both Xie Lian and Wei Wuxian spot a sower crawling out and try to stop it before it can hurt anyone else.
Xie Lian eventually manages to catch it and with a smile on his face he turns around to see... Wei isn't here??
Oh! No! Xie Lian turns around while carrying on the sower to try and find them as fast as possible. And it wasn't as long as he thought since he can hears a small voice calling him "Xie Shixong!" From the streets.
And Xie Lian is met with a familiar face.
"Hong-er!"
The little boy immediately goes towards him while also bitting Wei's hand who proceeds to curse as he lets go.
Both of them notice that they have separated from Shen Qingqiu, so they, bringing Hong-er along after he faints in Xie Lian's arms (since he is so tired after following XL for so long).
"Liu-Shidi!" Both of them suddenly heard their master from afar, and immediately, they raised their sword to go after the voice who was in a frantic.
Just what could be so bad that their Shifu Shen Qingqiu had to call for backup!?
Though it was in the evening, the sun was slowly setting down and the clouds where begging to cover all of the sun for themselves.
It was not raining, though it seemed so.
Xie Lian was the first to see a man pouring all of his body's spiritual energy into his legs, only to abruptly stop as he coughed up blood.
Wei Wuxian only got in a bit later as he saw the tremendous amount of force bring used to push Shen Qingqiu against the wall and hear something in his body crack.
"SHIFU!"
Without wasting a breath, Xie Lian gave Hong-er back to Wei Wuxian and headed on his own to fight the monster that had pushed his Shifu against the wall like that.
Luo binghe gets some words out to his Shizun before giving a glare down at the new disciple that almost managed to stab him.
Wei Wuxian's face goes white, then red, then so many emotions and colors cover his face as he doesn't know just what he should feel.
-Luo Binghe is alive.
-Bing-ge is alive!
-No...
-Luo Binghe is a demon.
-His brother is a demon.
-His brother is hurting Shifu. Bing-ge would never do such a thing!
-But this wasn't his caring and kind Bing-ge now was he?
-He had died in the Abyss.
-No he stayed in the Abyss. And only the gods would know just how much he has suffered.
-And his Shifu... He threw him...
-Bu-but That doesn't sound like the kind Shifu who dotted on Bing-ge and him!
-Nor the Shifu that stayed mourning for a long time and buried Bing-ge's sword!
-This doesn't make sense!
-This doesn't make sense at all!
All in a span of 1.5 seconds before Hong-er bit his hand and proceeded to run away again. The little brat!! He even tried to hit him in the balls!!
However he shouldn't be thinking about the boy right now because Bing-ge. is. not. alright. at. ALL.
More importantly. How is the new student Xie Lian just able to keep up with his brother who spent years in that abyss. His Shixong is so cool— Right BINGHE!
"Gege!"
Binghe manages to stop as he sees Wei Wuxian whose words look like they have been stuck on his throat the moment he laid eyes on him.
Shit.
What could he say?!
"Gege?" Xie Lian is confused by the wording, and thus stops too, waiting for an answer from Wei Wuxian.
Who is mentally screaming so much Shang Qinghua would 'Mood' him for it!
"Why..." He can only get those words out before Shen opened his mouth again, "You got a lot of guts to come back openly. Aren't you afraid of others discovering your true identity?"
WAIT HE KNOWS. SHIFU KNOWS THE DEMON.
They watched the two of them just talk to each other in the most dramatic way possible, not knowing how to address this or in what way they could help.
The two of them just decided to stay there, quiet.
"Now that you are back, what exactly do you intend to do?"
"I missed the way Shizun treated me so well. I've returned to see him."
Shizun. Xie Lian finally started putting the pieces together. This man must have been the one beloved disciple that had died a long time ago, Wei wuxian's brother, and the talented one that many many other of the Qing Jing Peak disciples compared him to.
Luo Binghe.
Wei wuxian could feel it, the sincerity in Binghe's voice, that was Bing-ge talking, no one else except Bingge who would be so bold as to declare his love out towards his Shizun.
But Wei wuxian and Shen Qingqiu had different views on his words.
Wei Wuxian and Xie Lian's faces turned blue after hearing Shen Qingqiu's thoughts:
"Just to kill me? What about the plague in Jinlan city? It can't be that all the residents of this city have all 'Treated you well'."
Alas...
Shifu... you are digging your own grave!!!
Both of them where snapped back to their fighting stance as Luo Binghe's eyes turned cold and his smile disappeared. No. Wei Wuxian didn't like this man at all! It was the first time he ever saw Luo Binghe so cold and distant like this. Even when he was bullied by Ming Fan, or when he had those dreams landscapes where the kids on the streets hurt him worse than the dogs did for Wei Wuxian. He was never such a cold person!
"Shizun really abhors the demon race." The more steps Luo Binghe took forward to Shen, the more Xie Lian moved. Irritating him enough so that he would pop another vein when he saw Xie Lian in front of Shen Qingqiu while Wei Wuxian quickly went to help Shen Qingqiu up, In the end only irritating Luo Binghe even more as he saw that not even A'Xian was on his side.
"No. It would be more correct that he abhors me." Seeing as his master was able to get his brother to side with him.
"Does Shizun really think that because of half of my bloodline... sooner or later I will doing things such as murdering, arson, massacring everyone in a capture city, destroying countries?"
At that last part Xie Lian had his air cut off, Shen Qingqiu said nothing and Wei wuxian, he still couldn't process anything at this moment except for the need to get Shizun to a medical doctor before his poison keeps acting up... and later have a word with him about what really happened to his brother.
But they needed to deal with Bing-ge first.
"You are such a hypocrite!!"
This was the moment where Wei Wuxian took Shen to find Mu-Shifu while Xie Lian kept his focus on Binghe—
"Hong-er!! MOVE!"
Wei Wuxian's eyes flickered as he saw the small boy below the buildings where Xie Lian and Binghe were still fighting, both unknowingly had caused the degree to fall right over to him.
"HONG-ER!"
A flashing light of white appeared out of nowhere, and before anyone could see it coming, a new person had arrived.
The promised disciple of the Gusu clan and already a prodigy at 15.
As well as holding a few connections with the Xie Lian when they met at the Shangyuan festival.
Lan Wanji.
#SQQ: Luo Binghe is just like a puppy#WWX: Ah no wonder he's scary#---#Jinlan city...O O F#scumbag self saving system#shen quingqiu#luo binghe#wei wuixan#wei ying#lan zhan#shen yuan#lan wangji#hua cheng#xie lian#jiang fengmian#ning yingying#ming fan#feng xin and mu qing are training under liu qingge#also im sure Ning Yingying would definitely get along with Jiang Yanli#mo dao zu shi#tgcf fanfic#mdzs#spoilers#prob#likely#and to explain-#There is the heavenly-Earthly and Demon realm#which the demon realm is shared with the ghost realm as the place is quite vast#also yes Luo Wei and Hua do have shared bloodlines#mxtx crossover
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Commentary ~ Little Red Little Green Episode 18, “Fruits & Found Family”
Link to original post in Chinese, posted 2021/05/23.
Link to official English translation.
(Disclaimer / Notes + Commentary under the cut!)
(TW: possible eating disorder)
Disclaimer / Notes:
While the posts by Little Red Little Green (LRLG) are among my most favourite candies, I’d like to remind everyone that they are fake rumours, and should be read and enjoyed as such. ie, all CPN below!
The English translation linked above is the only one authorised by the Fake Rumour House; therefore, please treat all content below as a very casual, very *unofficial* convo between fellow turtle friends! ❤️💛💚
With Chinese being a highly region-specific language, my reactions to it is necessarily filtered through my background, which is, admittedly, somewhat removed from Gg’s, Dd’s and LRLG’s. However, it is not uncommon for even c-turtles (and several times, LRLG themselves) to be lost with what they read / heard due to regional differences ~ which reflects the reality of communicating in the Sinosphere. In fact, the regionality of the dialects used by different “characters” in LRLG’s dialogues is among the most critical elements that make these posts so authentic-sounding, and so difficult to replicate. A fun activity of following LRLG is to watch c-turtles patch their regional knowledge together, from local slangs to food choices, to make sense of what’s going on.
Okay, with that all said *phew* ... onto the commentary! “p. X” refers to the panel number in the official English translation (there are 7 total in the Twitter post).
p1. “Fairy”
Likely referring to the similarity between Gg’s current role for 玉骨遥 (The Longest Promise) and LWJ. Dd was praising Gg for being “fairy-like”; Chinese “fairies” (仙) have a certain style especially in visual media, similar to ... LWJ’s ~ otherworldly, white robes that billow in the wind, peaceful to the point of distant, scholarly, delicate. In between the lines, Gg likely said he was simply playing LWJ (hence, the ”act another me” in the translation), which Dd protested... and said Gg was simply playing himself. Whether that means DD IS NOT LWJ!!!!! 😡😡😡 or something else, we’ll know what we get to watch the show!
p1-p2. “Heat”
Yes about the Chang’e 嫦娥 reference!! Despite Houyi 后羿 shooting down 9/10 suns and saving the day, his wife is, indeed, more famous (and therefore the star, the more powerful one), because she’s frequently featured in Mid-Autumn festival art, along with her pet rabbit 玉兔 (”Jade Rabbit”),:
(Chang’e with her bunny, traditional Chinese painting. Source.)
Below is Gg’s rendition of Chang’e / Jade Bunny pair ~ Chang’e being the superman in the drawing while Jade Bunny is crouching on the planet!!
Guess of the missing convo from Gg’s side: Gg had wanted to bring something to Hengdian (where the filming of The Longest Promise was taking place) to cool himself down, and Dd had said it wasn’t necessarily. Hence Dd’s “My bad my bad” and the promise to send that something to Gg.
The loveliest line in this segment for me—and for many c-turtles— is the one about white hair. Turning grey a common, but very old-fashioned way of expressing worry and poor Dd, who hasn’t even turned 24, is claiming he was turning white because he got so worried every time Gg complained about the heat (Aww).
Turning grey with worry isn’t limited to romantic situations — it may happen to doting parents with wayward children, for example, or to ancient patriots over their crumbling kingdom. However, it’s also one of the more (very!) dramatic ways to communicate tragic love in Chinese fiction before Western influence allows “love”, as a term / word / character, to be used explicitly in writing romance.
Here’s a little example, a little diversion that may be of interest. Those who are familiar with the Wuxia classic Return of the Condor Heroes 神雕俠侶 by Jin Yong 金庸, whether it’s the book or its numerous visual adaptations, may remember how the hero, Yang Guo 楊過, went white at his temples overnight after his Shifu and lover, Xiao Long Nv (小龍女), didn’t show up at the cliff at the end of his 16-year wait for her.
Set photo from a TV adaption of Return of the Condor Heroes, 1995. Turtles may find the actress playing the perenially white-wearing, calm-to-the point-of-aloof Xiao Long Nv, Carmen Li 李若彤, familiar ~ she also played Lan Yi in The Untamed.
The 16-year wait, the invitation to Carmen to play Lan Zhan’s ancestor (when the two shared similarities in aesthetics and personality), were two of the three references from Return of the Condor Heroes I picked up from The Untamed (the last one was more specific—WWX mentioned Yang Guo’s master 獨孤求敗). This tribute is unconfirmed, but MXTX did say before that Jin Yong’s works were her inspiration. I also read a (small) discussion on whether LWJ’s hair carried a few pieces of white in the final episode, or if the lighter strands in it were a trick of the sunlight. (Here’s a screenshot of the approximate place to look!!)
While I lean towards the latter (the sunlight), turning white with worry, with love, is a tradition in Chinese storytelling. Here’s a little something I’ve noticed too, on this note ~ both in the actual interviews and in these fake rumours, Dd’s word choices, the way he conveys emotions are sometimes surprisingly traditional. It can be because of his background (which would require a study of how Luo Yang people and Koreans talk); it can be because the traditional way of talking allows for fewer words to be said, fewer things to have to be explicitly explained (example: LWJ), but the effect is that Dd has supplied the most romantic lines in LRLG’s posts because of that ~ romantic because it harks back to the rhythm, the themes of old poetry, of ancient stories that, as were true everywhere in the world, were about love.
Okay, back to the rumour (and hoping Dd won’t look like Bad Wig Yang Guo in a few more summers!) ....
The line after the one about white hair ... the way I understand the original Chinese sentence is “Heat is The Reason”: ie, anything Dd wants Gg to do and Gg disagrees, Gg would use heat as The Reason (R) to not do it. This anything may be eating, for example, which also has a strong possibility as conventional Chinese wisdom says that heat causes people to lose appetite. Dd’s worry would therefore be: Gg refusing to eat because he claims it’s too hot to do so.
“Corny joke” ~ the Chinese for this is, literally, “cold 冷 joke 笑話”, which becomes a pun as the gzry (team members)’s joke was about the (cold) winter and black hair. So... Dd threw a corny joke to combat a corny joke :D .
p3. “Apple”
The first half I also had to rely on c-turtles to help me interpret what it meant! Regional dialects aside, LRLG has captured dls’s very quick wit, the way his ideas freely hop from one concept to the next and this hopping carries traditional + popular cultural references that I know only a fraction of, not being a local after all.
I’ve read an additional interpretation of this segment: “big fruit” 大果兒 (as in dls: “Those are all big fruits, all big fruits”) is a Northern Chinese, traditional slang for women—dls might have connected that with the previous line in the convo about being Guowang, as explained in the translation, and “big and juicy” + “touch to feel” being suggestive phrases. Then, given the rare usage of the big fruit = women slang, dls expressed surprise that Dd understood what he meant, went on to say he expected Gg to know it (implying Gg could’ve taught Dd the meaning) ...
Which led to the entertaining part of this segment. Dd was like “You guys (= Gg + dls) talked?” Dls appeared to have thought of the scenario customarily inviting this question (scenario: someone on the verge of catching their spouse cheating) and began playacting that scenario, started to stammer ... as if he had just been got caught trying to chat up someone’s spouse ~ ”I-I-I....how to say it ...”. Dd caught on dls’s playacting and went along, continued with the “accusation”: “You’re stammering”. Dls then noted that Dd’s accusation was scary and Dd smiled, ending the playact ~ so, ah, readers, never mess with Dd’s spouse!! Dd gets scary!!
(BTW: ”nijia na kouzi” 你家那口子 was explained in the translation for a reason ~ It’s a warm, friendly term for a dear friend’s spouse. 😊)
p4. Lychees
Lychees. Has everyone tried them? It’s important not to over-eat them though...
In which the “Feeding Gg” saga continues! This segment is one of those that are wonderful for fic writers who wish to capture Gg and Dd in words. Gg, like many brought up in traditional families, has trouble saying “no” outright, which is often considered rude. As such, he resorted to delay tactics, something he had also done with the fried noodles in The Makeup Room BTS.
In the BTS, his delay tactics had been to argue that Dd hadn’t eaten his box of noodles and therefore, he couldn’t start (~2:35 mark)—as proper manners indeed dictated. In this dialogue, his delay tactics was to say he’d eat the lychees later, that the lychees would make him too full for the proper meal (rice).
A cute thing about this convo is that rather than pouting and grumbling his only being LWJ’s replacement (as he had hilariously done in the BTS), Dd had, apparently over the last three years, become an expert on countering such delay tactics. He peeled the lychees, which not only removed a major obstacle for eating, but also set a timer as peeled lychees get dry quickly (and Gg, despite being a picky eater, didn’t seem to like to waste food). He said the fruit could make appetiser. He got the help of their team members, who assured Gg that two lychees would be all right.
Gg’s response to the assurance... takes a little time to explain.
The original Chinese line for “Great, great, you’re so awesome” was 絕了絕了你們絕了。 “絕了”, a popular phrase used by Chinese netizens, was repeated three times.
絕, literally, means the extreme, the absolute, the end. 絕了 means pretty much the same ~ a thing that is 絕了 is standing en pointe at the edge of the cliff that is The Absolute End of a spectrum. It is the Ultimate. It can't be surpassed. It’s unbeatable.
絕了 is usually used in a positive sense, as in the English translation, with the positive being implied. If I say the LWJ photo above is 絕了, for example, I don’t need to specify that the extreme in 絕 stands on the good end. It’s understood given the audience of this post are mostly turtles (HELLO *waves*). We’re all heart-eyes here. We agree, without saying, that this photo is The Top, The Pinnacle; it can’t be better. 絕了 is higher praise than Excellent; it’s so good that there are no adjectives for it. Its own presence defines How Good It Is.
But 絕了 doesn’t have to be positive. If my audience is Su She ... he’s likely to take the same “This LWJ photo is 絕了” to mean the Mariana Trench kind of Absolute—the bottom of the bottom, the Unbeatable, Adjective-Defying Worst.
絕了 allows for that understanding too.
In this scenario, I interpret Gg’s 絕了 as taking the meaning of both extremes (which make it a fantastic phrase choice!): that Gg thought Dd and the team members were being both the Absolute Best (for thinking of Gg, caring for him) AND the Absolute Worst (for going against his wish to not eat!) Gg’s 絕了 also signals defeat; if Dd and his team members were The Absolute ... Whatever, then poor Gg had no choice but to yield to their wishes. I can already imagine his “I can’t believe I lose this way” Look (see: every rock-paper-scissors he lost, which was ... pretty much all of them), mixed with, perhaps, a healthy amount of bunny tooth warning (how dare Dd et al banded up against him)...
Those bunny teeth had to be taken care of, right? And so Dd went on to say lychees being good omen that ensure things would go smoothly for the eater... targeting Gg’s being a, as c-turtles call it, 小迷信 (literally, “Little Superstitious”, a young + adorable + superstitious person). Dd said that to help Gg justify the choice to eat, to make Gg feel better about his defeat.
(Of note: I had actually never heard of lychees being associated with good luck before, and a quick search online also didn’t yield any result. This could be a relatively rare association Google failed to catch ... or something Dd made up on the fly to make Gg happy.)
(Lychees have, however, been associated with romance. If Emperor’s Smile 天子笑 was The Love Drink in The Untamed, then what is Concubine’s Smile 妃子笑? Answer: it’s the RL name of a type of lychees, lychees being the fruit very much adored by Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環, the consort of the Emperor Xuanzong (685-762 BCE) of the Tang Dynasty and one of the four most beautiful woman in Chinese history. Since lychees had only been grown in southern China, the emperor had had the fruit couriered, in express mode involving many horses, to the palace up north to please his favourite wife. Lychees had become a symbol of love from that historical tale.)
Did Gg get Dd’s message then, the love and care packaged in those peeled, sweet fruit awaiting his bite? Yes, but not without a little more fight! “Eat eat eat, (I’ll eat) until you go bankrupt” is a literal translation of his final line. Tonally, I can see the following as being an alternative translation:
“Fine fine fine. I’ll eat, it’s not like I can bankrupt you by eating anyway!”
If it sounded a little sulky, that’s because it did ... a little sulky AND fiery. As expected from our favourite Chongqing Big Pepper 😂😂😂 (Poor Gg).
Dd smiled at that, needless to say. He won!!! He got Gg to eat!! The world shall rejoice!!
p5. “Showtime”
There’s a show coming up for Dd (the YH concert maybe?), and Gg offered suggestions.
The sweet point of this segment is about half-way down the conversation, in the piece of paper 📄 Gg gave to Dd (after “This is for you.”). Dd took the paper, noted the many words on it, and started saying 我把我整個靈魂, translated as “I bring my entire soul”.
c-Turtles have, based on these words, hypothesised that Dd was about to read out a quote that Gg had written on the paper, with the list of items Gg thought Dd should take, before Gg stopped him with a call of his name (“WYB”). The quote was included on the translation (”I give you my entire soul...only, a little good, love you.”) I have also talked about the same quote, in more detail, here.
I’m equally stumped on the final line of this segment. (Sorry!!)
p6. “Found Family”
It’s a heartwarming segment. While LRLG had previously noted that the TTXS bros had communicated with Gg, this segment made clear that they care for him like they do for Dd ~ as family.
* dls mailed Gg a lot of fruit for sharing with the film crew. “Family member needs to be impressive” is a rough translation, but this line does defy simple translation because 排面 a highly cultural concept that has much to do with the equally complex, Chinese concept of face (which this article explains... somewhat adequately). The message to take home is that dls cared enough about Gg that he wanted to make sure Gg wouldn’t lose face in front of the film crew; that, by having enough gifts (fruits) for everyone, Gg wouldn’t be viewed as cheap or inadequate or stingy, or whatever adjective that wouldn’t befit his top idol status. Because dls saw Gg as a member of his family.
* The prescription from hg had been mentioned in a previous LRLG rumour. 方子 is a Chinese medicine prescription, which, unlike Western formulations, is individualised both to the discomfort / ailment and to the “body constitution” of the person who'll take it, the latter deciding the kind of ailments the person is susceptible to, and which ingredients are expected to be more effective. Chinese medicine also places a strong emphasises on long-term conditioning, whether it’s for recovery from a certain condition or for general good health. A good 方子 is therefore a far more complex and personal thing than, say, a scribble of “paracetamol” / “acetaminophen” on a piece of paper. :D
* fg’s gift for Gg (xx) is something for the waist. A brace support, maybe? For example?
My favourite line in this segment is when hg asked what will Gg and Dd do when they reach hg’s age. Given that the last two items (the prescription and xx) were health-related, I interpreted it as hg worrying about Gg and Dd’s health when they grow old... with all the health problems they already have. It’s the kind of thing a worried parent say to their children ~ my mom has said the same thing to me as well. 😢
p6. “The Cat Paw”
Not quite sure what’s happening here ... not sure what the cat paw is. (Sorry!!) But that é in the translation is Dd’s signature laugh (collection here), which is written as 鵝 (”Goose”) in Chinese 😂.
p7. “The Cat Toy”
Dd appeared to be shopping for a cat’s toy (something that can “hook the cat” in the translation, such that the cat can entertain itself and not rely on human companionship as much). Gg had already bought the toy though and sounded quite proud of it, told Dd to return the toy. The implied cat was, of course, Nut (堅果 Jianguo)... which had been repeatedly referred to in LRLG’s posts as Gg’s daughter.
p7. “Cool vs Cute”
Gg is often viewed as cute, and Dd as cool. Did Dd dislike Gg taking cute pictures for public consumption? Were they scheming an exchange of image? :D
And that’s it for this issue! Ooh, this took unexpectedly long ... I apologise for the ridiculous delay between the original post and this commentary!
(I wrote half of it, then RL struck and I forgot about it.)
(I’m hopeless.)
(I need a 方子 for poor memory!!)
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Episode 34: The One where Detective Wangxian is on the Case!
WWX IS RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE!!
From Fairy the wonder dog, lol. The pupper just looks so pleased to be chasing after wwx.
Poor wwx gets himself cornered tho and jin ling looks all smug about it, the little brat
OMG I AM D Y I N G
Wwx: LAN ZHAN HELP MEEEEE
Lwj: *backflips into the scene with his scabbard held high totally ready to throw down with a kid*
Chill out, lwj, the kid’s like twelve
And as soon as lwj places himself in front of wwx to protect him from the big bad kid, wwx LATCHES ON TO HIM,
GRIPPING LWJ’S SHOULDERS WITH ALL HIS MIGHT
AND HE’S ALL PRESSED UP AGAINST HIS BACK
AHHHHHHHH
But lol, jin ling seems to seriously be weighing his options here?
Like, hmm, this is the great hanguang-jun so my odds aren’t the best but i got fairy the wonder dog and also my dad’s awesome Magic Ghost-Busting sword so…
Wwx: i’m so glad you’re here!
This is when lwj notices that wwx is actually cowering from the dog, not the child, and lwj levels a glare at the dog. Like, he really Glares at fairy.
Fairy NOPES right out of there bc animals have better self-preservation instincts than humans
Jin ling lets out this cute little gasp when fairy ditches him and then he glares at lwj
(pretty ballsy move coming from a kid, tbh)
Lwj, obvs, is completely unfazed and just gives him a cold stare in return
THEN JIN LING POUTS LIKE THE ADORABLE BRAT HE IS AND KICKS AT SOME BASKETS BEFORE STORMING OFF
LOVE THAT KID
(i mean, if i met a kid like that irl i’d probably hate his spoiled little guts, BUT BC THIS IS MAKE-BELIEVE I CAN ENJOY HIS BRATTY BEHAVIOR LOLOLOL)
Once the dog is gone, wwx makes this nervous little giggle (SO FREAKING CUTE) and peels himself off of lwj
Pretty sure lwj is like wait no come back, but like internally bc god forbid he express himself verbally
Wwx goes back to the mountebank and starts interrogating him about Plot Things
We’re gonna ignore all that chitchat and just watch his pretty face get all animated in detective mode
*dreamy sigh* wwx, so pretty so pretty
Lwj hasn’t stopped staring at him this whole time either! I FEEL YOU BRO
AHHHH WE SEE NHS BEING ALL MR. KNOW-NOTHING
“I DON’T KNOW, I DON’T KNOW, I REALLY DON’T KNOW. PLEASE DON’T ASK ME ME. I REALLY DON’T KNOW ANYTHING.”
LOVE THAT GUY
GIVE HIM AN ANCIENT FANTASY CHINA OSCAR.
Now we’re in a forest! This is MUCH better than the last time we were in a forest!!
OUR BOYS ARE WALKING SIDE BY SIDE TOGETHER LIKE THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE AND I AM OVERJOYED
They’re chatting about the nie bros, like omg can’t believe nhs is sect leader and his big brother dropped dead???
SUDDENLY THERE’S BARKING!
Wwx: DOG!!
AND IMMEDIATELY DUCKS BEHIND LWJ, GRIPPING HIS UPPER ARMS LIKE HIS LIFE DEPENDS ON IT
HE’S MAKING HIMSELF ALL SMALL BEHIND HIS HANDSOME HEROIC SOULMATE WHO WILL DEF PROTECT HIM FROM ALL THE BIG MEAN DOGS IN THE WORLD
Lwj: wei ying, there’s no dogs here
Omg wwx is clinging so close that his chin brushes up against lwj’s shoulder aND I AM SWOONING
Oh, but he lets go, all embarrassed and awkward
Lwj gives him a Look
Wwx: don’t look at me like that
Lwj: why are you afraid of dogs?
Wwx: don’t ask me why either
HE SOUNDS SO CUTE AND SULKY SAYING THAT AND HE’S GOT A LITTLE POUT
AND I’M JUST LIKE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SO CUTE I’M GONNA DIE
Lwj is a perfect gentleman tho bc he just accepts that wwx doesn’t want to talk about the dog thing and goes on ahead
But before lwj can get even 3 steps away, wws LUNGES for him and grabs his arm
Wwx: lan zhan! Alright, i’ll tell you, i’ll say it
He says this like lwj twisted his arm and forced him to or smth lol
Wwx: i was a street kid when i was little and often had to fight stray dogs for food
POOR BB!WWX :( :( :(
Wwx: thankfully jfm took me to lotus pier but he also made jc send away his puppers, just like i made jin ling do…
Wwx: they really live up to their blood; he hates me so much. Just like jc.
HE SOUNDS SO SADDDD
And then he sighs like resigned to the fact that his brother will hate him forever??? WHICH HURTS ME SO MUCH, LET MY YUNMENG BROS RECONCILE AND BE HAPPY, DAMN IT
Wwx: lan zhan, let’s go
2 seconds later he hears barking again
Wwx freAKING YANKS LWJ IN FRONT OF HIM AND THEN COWERS BEHIND HIM IN THE MOST ADORABLE WAY
Wwx: that really is a dog, right??
HE CLINGS SO TIGHTLY TO LWJ’S ARMS, I CAN’T
Lwj: it’s still far. Why are you hiding?
He asks like he's not absolutely LOVING having wwx cling to him
We get a wonderful close up shot of wwx’s face here, so please take a moment to admire it (so pretty, so pretty, i love him!!)
Wwx: just let me hide!!
Lwj: *lets him hide* it sounds like jin ling’s wonder dog. It’s barking, something must’ve happened
Wwx: let’s...let’s take a look?
Awww, wwx stutters that out and he’s all pale with fear but he’s still willing to go investigate BC HE WANTS TO MAKE SURE HIS NEPHEW IS SAFE DESPITE THE BIG SCARY DOG
I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
Wwx: h-hanguang jun, move. How can i move if you don’t move?
BC HE’S STILL ALL CROUCHED BEHIND HIM, SO CUTE SO CUTE
Lwj purses his lips here and looks back at wwx
Lwj: let go of me first
It comes off as kind of annoyed BUT WE ALL KNOW HE’S JUST UPSET THAT WWX IS GONNA HAVE TO UN-CLING FROM HIM
And now we get beautiful close up shots of wwx’s hands gripped ever so tightly on lwj’s fancy white outer robes and watch as they very reluctantly loosen and let go
He’s laughing all nervously aND CRINKLES HIS NOSE WITH A BASHFUL SMILE AND I’M GONNA DIE FROM THE CUTE OMG
I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
HAVE I MENTIONED?? BC I DO. SO VERY MUCH.
As soon as lwj forges ahead, wwx grabs him by the shoulders again and follows close behind lol
Oh great, more fog in a forest
Wwx: this is a disorientation trap! It must’ve been set by a human
Lwj: looks like the legends of walker ridge are not unfounded
(oh yeah, plot thing about a man-eating ridge which is why we’re in the forest)
Wwx: lan zhan look!
AND NOW WE GET TO WATCH THEM WORK TOGETHER
I LOVE WATCHING THEM WORK TOGETHER
LOOK AT THEM BEING BEAUTIFUL AND IN LOVE AND DETECTIVE-ING ALL OVER THE PLACE
And now we’re at a mysterious creepy bunker in the middle of the forest!
Fairy barks again and wwx hides behind lwj AGAIN and everything IS GREAT
Wwx: why can i hear the dog but not see it???
Lwj: the disorientation trap must be keeping it out
Wwx: would jin ling be kept out by the trap too??
Lwj: nah, if jin ling were out, the dog wouldn’t be freaking out
Wwx: makes sense *does that nose tap thing THAT I LOVE* sooo how do we get in?
Lwj goes to investigate and wwx lunges for him again
Wwx: ah! Lan zhan, wait for me!!
I AM LOVING EVERY SECOND OF THIS
Our boys find that the bunker’s been busted open and figure that jin ling must’ve done it so they go inside to look for him
We hear screechy noises of resentful energy
Oh no! Wwx gets all woozy from it!
Lwj: how is it?
Wwx: noisy
HE KEEPS HAVING TO PAUSE TO CATCH HIMSELF, MY POOR SUNSHINE BOY
Oh, he pulls out the evil-detecting compass to help guide them through the bunker
Following the compass, following the compass, compass tick tick ticks away
BLADES SHRINE
WE’VE ARRIVED AT THE BLADES SHRINE
Wwx starts calling out for his nephew and he and lwj start cracking open caskets like graverobbers, shame on them!
Wwx: weird. Why are they all blades?
GUQIN TIME
I LOVE GUQIN TIME
IT’S INQUIRY GUQIN TIME!! EVEN MORE FUN!!!
Wwx gets all excited: you’re associating with the spirit?
Lwj: *nods* he’s here
Wwx: ask him for me - what is this place, what is it for, built by whom?
Omg wwx take it easy, one question at a time plz
Ofc lwj just goes ahead and does exactly as his wei ying asks him
The guqin lets out a couple of notes from the spirit (FOREVER THE COOLEST WAY TO COMMUNE WITH SPIRITS)
Wwx: what did he say?
Lwj: idk
Wwx: ??????
Lwj: the spirit said ‘i don’t know’
Wwx: good for you lan zhan, you even know how to make me speechless now
Lwj keeps playing his guqin for answers
EEEEEEEEEE WWX JUST CLIMBS UP AND PLOPS HIMSELF ON TOP OF THE COFFIN THAT’S HOLDING LWJ’S GUQIN AND JUST SCOOTS HIMSELF CLOSER TO LWJ
I LOVE MY SUNSHINE BOY
So they keep interrogating the spirit and find out that the spirit knows nothing
Wwx: a spirit confined here and he knows nothing? It’s the first time i’ve ever seen a spirit like that
Wwx: lan zhan, could the spirit be...nhs?
HE SAYS WITH A HUGE SUNNY SMILE ON HIS FACE AAAAAAHHHHHH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
Wwx: lol jk, don’t mind me. Lan zhan, how about asking it’s gender. He should know this
Lwj: male
Wwx: FINALLY a decent answer
They keep asking questions and determine that jin ling is in fact in the room even tho they haven’t seen him anywhere!
Wwx: could the spirit be lying??
Lwj: i’m here. He can’t lie.
Look, i know he means it bc spirits can’t lie through inquiry or whatever but i LOVE the implication that people simply cannot lie in the presences of the great hanguang jun
Lwj starts guqin’ing again while wwx searches the blades shrine again
We get a shot from outside the bunker and see the robes of a ~mysterious figure~
Ooooh, and we get an absolutely GORGEOUS close up shot of lwj’s eye (lovin that eyebrow, man) as he listens to the spirit’s response
Wwx: what did you ask him?
Lwj: his age and where he’s from
Wwx: what did he say?
Lwj: 16, lanling
WORRIED UNCLE!WWX (also, i guess jl is not twelve, but whatever)
Aaaanndd we find out jin ling is inside the wall of the blades shrine!
Lwj goes and cuts the wall to pieces with bichen like a badass
And wwx immediately starts digging his little nephew out
HE’S SO WORRIED FOR HIM
He’s calling his name out and lwj goes and gives the boy some spiritual energy since he’s all unconscious from being stuck in a wall
Lol while lwj is doing that, wwx grabs bichen and starts poking it into the dirt
Seems kinda disrespectful to bichen, if you ask me...but lwj and bichen don’t seem to mind so whatever
Wwx gets all woozy from the resentful spiritual energy again
He’s starting to piece things together when jin ling suddenly wakes up (kinda)
Jin ling like, zombie-walks himself back into the wall
Lwj and wwx look at each other like what the heck??
They decide they probably shouldn’t stick around so get out of the bunker
They spot someone running away from the area and wwx is like go catch them, lan zhan!
Lwj: i’ll go. You and jin ling…
And wwx is all, i’ll get him out of here and we can meet up at the tavern after
Lwj stares at him BC HE DOESN’T WANT TO LEAVE HIS SIDE, HE JUST GOT HIM BACK LAST EPISODE!!
But wwx is like, lan zhan go catch the bad guy before he gets away!
Wwx: i’ll be there. Lan zhan, take care
Chase scene!
Huh, nhs is pretty nimble on his feet, isn’t he?
Lwj chucks bichen at him but only manages to slice off a piece of his robes
THAT’S SOME NICE LOOKING FABRIC THO
I’D BE MAD AS HELL IF SOMEONE CARELESSLY SLICED UP MY GOOD FABRIC LIKE THAT OMG
Oooh, wwx got jin ling back to his room and noticed a curse mark on jin ling’s leg
He pulls open jl’s robes to see if the mark spread to his chest (it hasn’t)
Ofc jin ling wakes up just as wwx finishes doing that
Jl: whAT ARE YOU DOING WHY ARE YOU TAKING OFF MY CLOTHES
Good boy, jl, that is exactly how you should react if some strange guy tries to undress you when you’re unconscious
Wwx: why are you freaking out bro, i just saved you from that man-eating wall
And jl is all IMMA KILL YOU!!
And wwx is like been there done that, don’t really want a repeat…
Wwx sees jl’s jade lotus pendant and asks him about it
Jl: my mother left me this! Don’t touch it!!
See, jl is such a brat but then these little moments happen and i just want to hug him and bundle him up in blankets and make him hot chocolate…
HE’S SO STARVED FOR LOVING FAMILY AND AFFECTION, THAT POOR KID ;_;
We get a flashback to jyl giving wwx a similar pendant and wwx clutches at his robes in AGONY at the memory
Lol
Jl uses this moment to put on his boots and FUCKING BOOK IT RIGHT OUTTA THERE
GOOD FOR YOU KID, GOOD FOR YOU
DEF THE RIGHT RESPONSE AFTER ALMOST GETTING UNDRESSED BY SOME STRANGE MASKED DUDE
Cut to street view, wwx is wandering around trying to find jin ling but instead he hears jc’s voice and dives for the first hiding place he can find
LOL I LOVE LISTENING TO JC AND JL INTERACT
Jc is scolding jl ofc
Jl: don’t grab me like that, i’m not a 3yo!!
Jc: you think i can’t discipline you now?? EVEN IF YOU’RE 30, I CAN STILL DISCIPLINE YOU
Omg this is freaking hilarious, i love these two
Then jc asks him where Fairy is
Wwx is all smug thinking to himself: lan zhan must have driven it away
And the world is like, PSYCH FAIRY’S ACTUALLY RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU
Wwx almost avoided a jc encounter
He would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for that meddling dog
At least we get to see jc use zidian. I love zidian.
We get a big reveal scene and jc finds out that mo xuanyu is Wei Wuxian, surprise!!
Oh no, sad/angry yunmeng bro time (I MISS MY HAPPY YUNMENG BRO TIMES, GIVE THOSE BACK)
They’re back at an inn or whatever and jc is really just tearing into wwx
We’re not gonna go into detail except for this bit -
Jc: 16 years...and lan wangji STILL wants to protect you
He’s so mad
It’s giving me Emotions™
Jc: maybe he’s not doing this to protect you. Someone with such integrity couldn’t possibly tolerate you. Maybe he had a deal with the guy who saved you.
Wwx: JC! Watch your language!
LOOK AT HIM DEFEND HIS SOULMATE FROM SLANDER
Yikes, they keep arguing and jfc they really know how to hit where it hurts, don’t they?
A wild Jin Ling appears!!
He lies through his teeth to JC. like yeah, i totally saw wen ning in an abandoned shack really really far away from here, for real :D
Now jin ling is in charge of guarding wwx after jc ties him up with zidian (seriously the COOLEST spiritual tool)
Jin ling takes it right off
I LOVE THAT THE ZIDIAN LISTENS TO JIN LING OMG
We get a lot of fun uncle wwx and nephew jin ling interaction here bc jin ling helps wwx escape into the forest
Oh look, another moment that makes me like jin ling
He helps wwx escape since wwx saved him from the killer wall
He has honor!
Also wwx apologizes to jl here for that time he stuck his foot in his mouth way back at the start of the series
Wwx demonstrates his A+ acting skills by pretending to have been caught by jc and jl whirls around in a panic and wwx knocks him out
He inspects the curse mark on jl and is all, hmmm, can’t undo that curse rn but i can totally transfer it onto myself to save my nephew
And that’s the end of the episode!
LOOK AT ALL THE QUALITY WANGXIANTICS WE GOT!!!
THANK GOD, WE DEF DESERVE IT AFTER ALL THAT PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE WE ENDURED IN THE LAST FEW EPISODES
*hugs episode to their chest, sobbing* I’VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH, DON’T EVER LEAVE ME AGAIN
Return to Masterpost
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《魔道祖师》 两亿福利•吃瓜 — [Mo Dao Zu Shi audio drama extra] 200 million farewell: Eating Melon
Xianxian why are you so cute but sad T_T
As always, please support the official audio drama by purchasing it and listening on their website. Do not repost these translations without my permission. Thank you!
---
Man: Everyone make way, make way! Time for firecrackers!
[Firecrackers setting off]
Man: Happy new year!
Many others: Happy new year!
[indistinct chattering]
Vendor: Baozi! Baozi! Baozi! Hot, fresh baozi!
WWX: Ah…
Vendor: Baozi!
Vendor: Ah, little kid, do you want a baozi?
WWX: I’m not hungry.
Vendor: You’re still saying you’re not hungry? I can hear your stomach rumbling from all the way over there. Here, I’ll give you one. Which filling do you want?
WWX: Really?! I—
Vendor’s wife: Ehhh?! Acting like our family is lavishly rich, are you? Our kid is starting school next year, and you haven’t even earned enough to buy him shoes yet. Where did this little beggar come from? Go away, shoo! What kind of way to run a business is this?
WWX: Ah… I’m sorry.
Vendor: Eh?! Kid, kid! Wait, wait, wait…
WWX: Ah...?
Vendor: I said I’d give you a baozi, so just take it.
Vendor’s wife: WHAT?! What are you doing?!
WWX: Thank you, but I’m really not hungry…
Vendor: Aiya, that kid was so well-behaved too. He wasn’t chasing after me for something to eat. It’s New Years, what’s wrong with giving him one baozi? [fades into indistinct chattering]
WWX: Ah... I can’t walk anymore.
Woman: The flavor of this baozi is so good. It’s too bad I can’t finish it.
Man #2: If you can’t eat anymore, then just leave the rest… Don’t eat so much that you squish our child in your stomach. Eh? Little beggar over there — come here, come here.
Woman: Little kid, here, have this baozi.
WWX: Thank you!! [eating noises]
Woman: You’re welcome. Let’s go.
Woman: That little kid, he’s utterly filthy but he has a cute face and a strangely nice smile. I wonder… if the little one in my belly might also have a face as nice…
WWX: Tasty…
Man #2: Nice or not, aren’t they still our kid? As long as they can grow up healthy and safe, isn’t that enough? As parents, is there anything else we can do...?
WWX: Ah… Dad… Mom…
[dog barking]
WWX: Ah… Don’t come over!! Don’t come over!! Ah!!! Somebody help!!! It hurts! Stop biting me!!
Man #3: Hey! Dahuang, [man trying to get the dog off!]
WWX: Save me! Someone save me!
Man #3: Get off him! Let go! Let go!
WWX: [crying]
Man: [to dog] Aiya, really! Let’s go. I take my eyes off you for a minute, and you run off and do this. At least it was only a little beggar. Anyone else’s kid, his parents would definitely chase me down to settle score.
WWX: [softly sobbing] Scary… [sniffling but starts to eat again] Mm… Tasty…
[sounds of the seasons changing]
Vendor #2: Watermelon! Come get your watermelon! Big and sweet, come a have a taste!
Man #4: The watermelon you grow is definitely the sweetest. Ay, what a hot summer we’re having. Even one trip with the cart and I’m hot and sweaty all over. Another slice!
Vendor #2: Don’t just toss your rinds anywhere. Put them over there. There’s a little kid who often goes over there and picks up the leftover rinds.
Man #4: ...Little kid?
Vendor #2: Yeah, he’s a little street urchin. He’s very well-behaved and smiles all the time. Look, here he comes! Here, for you.
WWX: Hehe, thank you.
Man #4: He really does smile a lot, and he’s even kind of cute. If I had known, I would have left a couple more bites for him.
WWX: [walking sounds, bumps into something] Ah!
JFM: Aiya! You’re A-Ying aren’t you?
WWX: You’re…?
JFM: My name is Jiang Fengmian. I’m a friend of your parents.
WWX: You... know my parents?
JFM: I do. Your father, his name was Wei Changze wasn’t it?
WWX: It was!
JFM: A-Ying, would you like to eat this?
WWX: Watermelon?!
JFM: I bought this just for you. Do you want it?
WWX: I want it! Thank you… [eats excitedly]
JFM: A-ying, do you want to come to Lotus Pier with me? There’s a lot of delicious food there. Right now, lotus is in season. Lotus seeds are very sweet. There’s also tasty watermelon, which is very sweet. You would definitely like it.
WWX: R-Really?!
JFM: Really. Not tricking you.
WWX: Heh, okay!
JFM: I also have a son, his name is Jiang Cheng. He’s around your age. The two of you will surely become good friends...
---
Follow me at @kyuu on Twitter for rare translations, rare fic, rare art, and tons of screaming
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Untamed episode 37 + 38 liveblog
okay, back to coffin town
All of the younger disciples are adorable, haha
What’s he adding to the pot? Are those peppers??
Were they chasing the masked guy? If he can teleport than it might have been possible.
Was that a dead animal!?
Chasing dead cats. That’s kinda weird.
A set-up, then?
Well it looks like the fog cleared in the morning, at least.
Hahaha
A sense of deja-vu to what? A near death experience? (A near-spice experience, lol)
Who’s that?
AH
She’s got the puppet marks?
Aaand Lan Sizhui is the most useful again haha
What’d WWX just do? Some sort of summoning?
Wait shoot is this one of the cultivators? I thought his eyes got better!
He is!
Why is he here?
The summoning thing costs blood? Yeesh.
Oh no it’s the other guy! He’s a puppet too!? D:
What’d he do?
Are they implying that they could bring his consciousness back? Wasn’t that specific to Wen Ning and his ghost weirdness, and even then only with a lot of time and effort??
I guess they have the fake amulet, though - that might have helped.
Eww
Oh so the instrument summoning is linked to the pouches, okay
What!?
I was going to wonder at why his partner might have killed him, but I’d just tally another mark towards the ‘Xiao Xingchen might have been controlled’ idea
Also: the first question sounds kind of familiar - is it the same music that sometimes plays when LWJ enters?
Yikes okay
Okay that guy’s mannerisms remind me a lot more of Xue Yang than Xiao Xingchen
Awww he’s reassured by their presences that’s cute
Is Song Lan following them outside or
Oh I guess he must have been the figure in white that LWJ was chasing huh
Yeah this is totally Xue Yang
Did he just peel his face off
What the heck. Eww.
What’s with his gloves. They’re weird.
I suspect his ‘friend’ with good acting is going to be relevant?
Oh! I was wrong - didn’t expect Wen Ning to show up for this.
Okay, was he implying that the sword he has (Frost-something?) is or is not loyal?
Is this flute reinforced? I don’t think blocking those sword swings with it is a good plan.
Wait, the friend is present? It wasn’t Song Lan who he was chasing? Wait NVM the figure he was chasing was in white, right.
Oh LWJ is back
Okay that’s an interesting sword
Wait, they just addressed him. Jin Ling hasn’t said anything contradicting that yet, at least.
Food as a disciplinary measure, pfft
Oh nice LWJ took care of the puppets already
Oh wait here’s the other guy
Ouch, his neck
What’s Empathy and why is it dangerous
End notes:
Well, that was a lot of plot. I wasn’t expecting these guys so soon, either. I also keep mixing up their names, and may not have caught all of my mistakes there. Whoops.
I wonder who’s spiritual cognition is in the bag. Also who the girl is.
I guess I have time for another episode? Let’s see what this Empathy thing is.
- episode 38 -
Awww, he’s grounding himself with the bell :,D
Also I love the disciples
Back to flashbacks, huh
None of the shorter ones really registered
I thought she was supposed to be an older teenager at current times? She looks at least 10+ here
Well there’s Xiao Xingchen. What happened to him?
This is kind of cute
Can she or can she not see???
Oh! That’s the stone by the path to coffin town. Uh oh.
There’s only so many characters wearing black, and even fewer we know to be involved here. Who is this?
It’s Xue Yang. Hmm.
Weird to see him being less Extra in his mannerisms. I guess going too far vocally would probably leave him pretty recognizable, and they can’t actually see his face so he has an advantage.
Oh, backstory? Cool.
He’s trying to tell if she’s actually blind, I presume?
Weird to see him just... doing stuff. Carrying wood.
Hold up, he was beaten? That casts a lot of what he was saying earlier in a different light, if it’s true.
Oh. He did something to the sword? Yikes, that’s pretty scary - messing with one’s perception. I wonder how this lines up with the other things Xiao Xingchen apparently has done.
Aaand there’s the crazy face
Their eyes are already white - I don’t know if that means that they were already puppets or are presently.
But she can definitely see
Does Xiao Xingchen know that the vegetable seller was being threatened? I’m not sure what that smile meant.
Well there’s the other half of the duo
Awww he’s so happy to have a lead
This is going to sad. I mean, we knew that, but.
Why is he shaking?
I wonder what was up with WWX not waking up.
Wait - the ‘where do you think his eyes went’ - is that implying that Song Lan has his eyes??? I thought he recovered???
He did! Ouch.
So by cutting their tongues the sword can’t tell if the energy is in a monster or human? Yikes.
Also: how and why did he figure that out???
I think the subtitles are confusing me with the names - it just said that ‘Song Lan gave his eyes to Taoist Song’, which ?????????
:,(
Oh that’s awful
How’d he end up in the coffin then? What’s with his neck?
Again, ew.
So is there a reason that they’re implying Song Lan can retain consciousness???
Cutting off in the middle of a conversation. C’mon.
End notes:
Again, a lot of plot! I’m just glad that I don’t have 20+ episodes worth of attachment to the characters this time. Still hurts, but like. Much less, thankfully.
I assume that the next episode will start wrapping this arc up? It seems like most of the major revelations are done or imminent, and there’s only one (possibly two) fighters left.
I... don’t really have a lot to say on the important characters this episode, unfortunately. I just wish their circumstances were better.
I wonder how things will progress after this? It’ll be a bit harder to just go ‘okay follow the sword spirit’ when they’ve got a retinue this big and, in at least Jin Ling’s case, highly important.
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Untamed rewatch Episode 21
In this episode: brief spots of military strategy surrounded on all sides by Wei Wuxian’s increasingly obvious PTSD
-THIS SIBLINGS SCENE...I WILL SCREAM
-“we’ll be together forever” GOD SHUT UPPPPP
-oooh that flinch :(
-I like that jc immediately sees nhs out once it’s obvious wwx is uncomfortable. a good brother
-this very spare arrangement of wuji is interesting
-ugh wrh...already tired of this motherfucker
-oh my god wwx is at a banquet in his honor and all he can think about is missing lwj and his trauma. what a guy
-hey this is the first time we hear the song of clarity!
-is it meant to be implied that wwx can hear this diegetically or what
-ah yes the conflict for the next several episodes: wwx not carrying his sword and wwx’s drinking problem
-my mom: ptsd much?
-interesting to see jyl compare chenqing to zidian. it’s kindly meant! she loves wwx and she knows everyone being on him for not carrying his sword is wearing on him. so I think she intends it as “hey, your spiritual tool can be something other than a sword and that’s fine!” but I think wwx is...less than enthused about being compared to madam yu.
-paused so I could explain the translation of chenqing to everyone
-please talk to yanli ._.
-my sister: I love how they only show nightless city in the nighttime
-I fully believe that at least at this stage, jc would get nothing done without yanli hassling him.
-hey the pattern on jc’s robes matches nmj’s, I wonder if he had them commissioned in qinghe
-I wonder why wwx is so distressed to see the wens being tormented here, since they’re still technically his enemies. (he’s plainly horrified even before he sees wen qing is with them, so that’s not it). My idea of what’s happening here is that when he’s this fresh off the burial mounds, he’s especially sensitized to resentful energy, and that includes the pain and distress of living people. he has to try and channel it through the music to not lose his mind, but it’s too intense to control, hence rockslide.
-this is a sexy shot with the ribbon
-holy shit the flute doubling is so bad lmao. worst thing about xiao zhan’s performance by far.
-this is where I start to get in my feelings about the plot of CQL as mental illness metaphor, and I especially have feelings about wei wuxian’s flat refusal to communicate with his family here. sometimes acknowledging that you’re suffering is so much more scary and awful than just the suffering itself, and I think that’s what his deal is here. if he were to sit down and explain what is actually happening with him, explain what happened in the burial mounds, he’d have to relive it and that’s something he’s doing too much of anyway. better to keep his mouth shut, even though it’s increasingly obvious he’s doing badly.
-wwx my guy, could you possibly have made a less supervillain-like entrance, and said less weird and cryptic shit? all these people are already annoyed with you
-I love xichen’s “what the actual fuck is your problem” expression lmao
-xichen has this discussion about morality with his brother, and i think he...kind of sows the seeds of his own sorrow, here. wangji’s obviously not there just yet, he’s really struggling with it, but he’s gonna hear “things aren’t black and white, you have to judge people as individuals” and run with it. i don’t think the twin jades ever hate or resent each other, but i’m sure that after the death of wei wuxian, after the burial mounds, after the discipline whip and three years of seclusion, their relationship is...not the same. (and frankly, i don’t think that that is xichen’s fault)
-the music that plays here is so lovely and melancholy
-oh boy a reprise of the yiling argument :/// wwx these people all love you and are worried about you
-...but that in itself is part of the problem, isn’t it? like, wei wuxian is angry at lan zhan here because they argued and wwx won’t let it go, but I think the fact that lan zhan decided to talk to yanli (which was extremely good of him, lbr, he’s trying so hard to help this boy out) is partly why wwx is so furious. jiang yanli is worried about her shidi right now, but jiang yanli will always be worried about her shidi, and being around her is one of the few things that gives wwx a sense of safety and normalcy, as raw as he is. he sees lan zhan giving her the “The Dangers Of Resentful Energy” talk as a threat to that safety! i don’t think he really gets that this is information she would like to know because she loves and is afraid for him, and her opinion of him is not going to change based on this. he is desperately, desperately trying to conceal all this from her, and he’s not happy lan zhan is not in favor of that goal!
-it’s non-obvious, since he’s so arrogant and obnoxious all the time, but I think one of the emotions wwx struggles with the most in this post-burial mounds pre-yiling laozu era is shame. i don’t think he feels that awesome about having to cultivate an unorthodox path, i think he feels pretty terrible about having had this awful thing happen to him that he doesn’t feel able to talk about, and i think he especially feels bad that he’s in enough pain that he can’t just keep it under wraps and act like everything is fine. through wei wuxian’s early life, i think he pretty consistently got told that he was a burden to his family and an obstacle to his adoptive siblings. his preferred coping mechanism for this was to smile and laugh and never take anything too seriously, and this worked up until a series of extremely horrible things happened in very short order, and now he’s not in a place where he can just hide his problems under cheerful irreverence. he’s already afraid of burdening his remaining family with his problems, since he’s the one who’s supposed to protect them, and now that people have started questioning his cultivation methods, he’s increasingly afraid that they’ll reject him outright. he’s ashamed of what he’s been through, he’s ashamed of everyone’s increasing suspicion of him, he’s ashamed that he can’t just be who he was before, and it intensifies until he goes FINE, FUCK IT, IF THERE’S NO WAY LEFT FOR ME TO BE GOOD, I’LL BE EVIL, and we get the yiling patriarch
-a lot of people have already talked about wwx baring his throat to lan zhan’s sword here but woof that sure is a call forward...if I could die by your hand...
-we talked a little bit after this about suibian and cultivators’ swords and whether the sword chooses the cultivator harry potter style
-the drama and trauma. will only increase
#cql#the untamed#untamed rewatch liveblog#mine#this set of episodes consists of me screaming WEI WUXIAN TALK TO YOUR FAMILY#while pretty deeply understanding all the reasons he doesn't feel like he can talk to his family#meta
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