#better drawn mdzs
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Alas, this beautiful dream could not last.
#dungeon meshi#falin touden#dungeon meshi spoilers#better drawn mdzs#(<- my higher effort art tag. I need to get a new one.) While it's different from my usual style I really loved how this came out!#Strolling back to the art scene to remind everyone I am still a lover of botanicals.#I had a blast with the symbolism for this one:#White lilium longiflorum (easter lily) for rebirth. Purple hyacinthus orientalis for sorrow and forgiveness.#Red spider lily (Lycoris radiata) for loss and death.#'Rebirth into something new' is so well done in Dungeon Meshi. She is back but she is not the same.#The last few episodes/chapters gives her this dreamy quality to her. As if she's not quite real. She's so perfect in their memories.#And as we know of dreams - no matter how sweet- they must end once we wake up.#It is so painful to lose someone twice. To see someone you loved in a dream and wake up and remember that loss again.#Dungeon Meshi being a grief allegory is important to me. I'll explain more as the story continues B'*)
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this is the first time i'm explicitly putting a name to a character that canonically exists, xiao laopo doesn't count cos that's a title but madam lan didn't have a known title before she was madam lan, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
they're talking mad shit about u tho
#mdzs#madam lan#lan furen#my art#fanart#i still don't have a tag for this i'm open to name suggestions#layzeal sold me on golden-eyed madam lan when i was firmly in the golden-eyed qhj camp with her love for jwqs#& i hope i did poorly-drawn-mdzs proud with my horses cos vhvhdsoihvcs 🥺#ur horses are infinitely better than mine & ur comments keep me going o)-<#mo dao zu shi#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation#forces qhj to be bisexual because i said so#qourmet: aga
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I wanted to take a little break from the Nie greys and greens and asked for suggestions of MDZS characters to draw, so here they are!
full individual drawings bellow the cut!
#i loved doing this despite it taking me some time#the only one i had drawn before was song lan#i went with mostly cql designs because i like them better; but for the first 3 i mixed some bits of the donghua designs#mdzs fanart#cql fanart#qin su#madam yu#yu ziyuan#jiang yanli#ouyang zizhen#luo qingyang#mian mian#song lan#now i'll go back to the nies#i miss them already
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Just to show that my WIP comic is in fact coming along
#my mdzs art#kinda#my mdzs wip art#that’s better#don’t let this fool you I’m still nowhere on the lineart stage#I just wanted to line and color the first drawing in order to see how I wanted it to look#also wow i don’t know if I have ever actually drawn teen!WWX but here he is
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So here's the thing: I don't usually engage with or care about top/bottom discourse EXCEPT when I think it's funny, sooo...
Let's do some Science and examine Pingxie in a Very Serious Manner.
To do this, first let's take a look at some data gathered from all the danmei novels and shows I know (relevant for calibration you know, since they have actual canon top/bottom dynamics.)
SVSSS
Shen Qingqiu - Since his cause of death wasn't starvation we can assume - well, at least hope - that he can make instant noodles, if nothing else, but he will absolutely avoid having to cook if he can help it.
Luo Binghe - As the Protagonist he of course has to be The Bestest at everything (...except sex, apparently) and it's mentioned that both Bingge and Bingmei use their culinary skills to woo the people they want to sleep with. He's also the top, even though everyone involved would be better off if he wasn't.
MDZS
Lan Wangji - Becomes a pretty decent cook, as per the extras. Prefers to top.
Wei Wuxian - It's not like he's incompetent, he doesn't burn or undercook the food, it's just that his taste is so extreme that his dishes are basically inedible to anyone else.
TGCF
Hua Cheng - No special talent for cooking, but at least he's not actively dangerous. There's no on-page sex scene in the novel, but it's made obvious that he tops.
Xie Lian - Biohazard. Weapons-grade culinary anti-talent. Gastronomy's answer to Vogon poetry.
Golden Stage
Ulike in most of the other novels on the list, food doesn't really have much symbolic meaning and not much is said about either Fu Shen's or Yan Xiaohan's cooking skills, exept for a brief mention of Fu Shen pickling eggs to pass the time. This is a rare couple that canonically switches.
Guardian
Zhao Yunlan - This man considers instant noodles cooked with coffee an okay way to surprise a boyfriend. He really wouldn't mind topping, which he keeps lamenting throughout the book, but he's paired with Shen Wei who might just have the strongest set preference out of everyone on this list.
Shen Wei - Likes to dote on Zhao Yunlan by cooking for him and is genuinely very good at it.
Word of Honor (mind, I have only watched the show here)
Zhou Zishou - Can keep himself alive, but left to his own devices would probably make due with charred-and-yet-undercooked fish or something.
Wen Kexing - A competent cook. While obviously not detailed in the drama I looked it up (or asked someone, I can't remember) and he's the top here.
Erha
Chu Wanning - Perfected exactly one (1) dish, is rather... unfortunate otherwise. You could not pay this man to top.
Mo Ran - Excellent cook. Actually worked in a kitchen at one point in his life, giving and receiving food is basically his main love-language.
Now that we have examined these canon couples and have drawn all the relevant conclusions, let's apply what we learned to our non-danmei, might-as-well-be-canon-but-isn't ship.
Wu Xie - Can cook just fine both in the novel and the drama-verse even if it doesn't come up too often. In the first season he cooks up a pretty decent feast for his friends and in the Yucun books he helps come up with the dishes they would serve in their restaurant.
Zhang Qiling - The entire Thing of this poor sod as a character is that he knows how to survive but not how to live. Taking the time to prepare nice meals or cook anything beyond basic sustenance just... doesn't fit that picture.
So.
I rest my case.
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Some extra versions of this with them facing each other [sort of haha] as compensation for allowing my hanfu screw up to be on tumblr for 24 hours LMAO [i don't regret these tho]
I decided to write a blurb with it ;] check under the cut for it! It's written based on my fic but that doesn't mean it's canon, just consider this a treat bc i really wanted to write it, and if it shows up somehow in the fic it shows up somehow >:)
⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ― ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ★ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ― ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃
Lan Wangji was walking side-by-side down the street with his companion, staring ahead as he thought of their next move. His attention was drawn however as Wei Wuxian pressed into his side, hugging his arm and smiling while pointing out a nearby Jewelry stall. “Look at those Lan Zhan!” and he was soon dragged over, ears and cheeks so lightly dusted with pinks it wouldn’t be visible on first glance.
Lan Wangji was quiet, watching Wei Wuxian instead of asking him why he wanted to come over to look at jewelry and rouge. He calmly watched the other gaze at the small, delicate earrings and different colors of rouge, Not even realizing how softened his expression had become.
Wei Wuxian lifted a pair of earrings that were delicate, adorned with red, gold, and mother of pearl. “Look at these, Lan Zhan. Wouldn’t these be pretty on me?” He turned his head to grin at the other man, only to pause and smile even wider. “Lan Zhan! Are you blushing??”
Lan Wangji’s eyes widened minutely. Was he? “No.” He turned his head, avoiding eye contact with the other.
“Should I expect the world to collapse soon?” Wei Wuxian teased, a laugh escaping his throat at what he felt was likely a lie from the man. He couldn’t remember when he became quite this good at reading the other’s face, but he wasn’t complaining. “Have I finally warmed this cold jade’s heart?”
“Wei Ying…” Lan Wangji sighed subtly exasperation, “If you’re not going to buy anything, we should go.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes turned up in crescents, unable to help the mirth bubbling up from his chest in waves. “Hey, I never said I didn’t want anything! But it’s fine, You’ve already spoiled this stray so much.” He pats his chest, then places the earrings back down. “Robes, a ribbon, earrings, a hanfu cloak, shoes! As much as these are lovely, I couldn’t ask for more.”
Lan Wangji picked up the earrings and a rouge that matched well his companion’s skin tone. “There is no need to ask.” He quietly answered, handing payment to the vendor and walking away from the stand after placing the two items in Wei Wuxian’s hands.
Wei Wuxian was stunned for a brief few seconds, but then snapped out of it just in time to run after the other. “Lan Zhan! You really didn’t have to!”
He fiddled with the small box and small tin of rouge, walking in silence beside the other for a while. It didn’t take him long however to spiral into his so called bad habit he hadn’t been able to shake since his awakening- flirting with Lan Wangji relentlessly. “If you wanted to see rouge on my lips you could have just said so.” His grin turned awfully pleased when he managed to darken the color on the jade’s ears further. “Did you want me to try it out just for you?”
Lan Wangji’s short fuse was immediately burned out. “Shameless.” He muttered, trying to find an out. “We’re in public.”
“Wow, bold Lan Zhan. You want me to show you in private?” Despite how shameless he acted, that one even made him flush in quite a deep color. He laughed it off however, running ahead and pretending like he was just being his old naïve self again, despite knowing better.
Lan Wangji had never been so publicly scandalized.
-★
See other GOM/MDZS content here on my masterpost. ❤
#mdzs fic#mdzs#gom fic#my fic :]#wangxian#lan wangji#lan zhan#wei ying#wei wuxian#hanfu#chinese hanfu#earrings#cloaks#hanfu cloaks#Ghost of Mine#extras!!#i love these even though they may not be actual scenarios in the fic#let me dream#i hope u like them tho#writing blurb#fic#relentless flirting#blushy wangxian#rouge
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fic writer meme!
[RISES FROM THE DEPTHS] I'm here!! Thank you so much @uhuraisgay and @englishsub for the tags, and also for reminding me that I've missed Tumblr
1. how many works do you have on ao3?
50 even - which was more than I thought!
2. what's your total ao3 wordcount?
187,448
3. what fandoms do you write for?
My fic-writing impulses come along like cicada seasons, except without any regularity whatsoever: I do a lot of dabbling in a lot of fandoms, I can never really tell if something's going to light my brain on fire. Most of my fic output came from Yuletide for a long while (I loved the grab bag aspect and writing little treats for small fandoms, but then my holidays got busier), and then Yuri on Ice and MDZS were my biggest fandoms by far, especially MDZS. I've written Yuwu recently, and I'd love to write some Trigun, LoZ, or Mysterious Lotus Casebook one of these days.
4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?
grow
the only way out
The Guests of Cloud Recesses
detente
bespoke
And the soft animal is our runner-up at #6!
5. do you respond to comments?
I usually don't unless it's a request or a question, but I read and treasure every one.
6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I am too tender for Bad Endings for the most part, but my canon-verse Nie Huaisang fic after me comes the flood does not end in a particularly good place for anyone involved. (But even then, we know it gets better for him eventually... albeit at the expense of several bystanders)
7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
I tend to write pretty gentle, occasionally LIGHTLY bittersweet happy endings (that's the cafecliche guarantee baby) but part of me wants to say 'the only way out' (and probably 'the yunmeng accords' series in general) here. I tend to write fic when I want to play around with the emotions or relationship dynamics that can already be found in canon, so 'the yunmeng accords' is probably as close to a fix-it as I'm going to get.
8. do you get hate on fics?
Not usually! I was part of the Great MDZS Anon Hate Train of 2021, but that was the worst I've ever gotten by several magnitudes - the vast majority of commenters are fabulous.
9. do you write smut?
Not yet! It's not off the table, though.
10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you have written?
I actually don't think I've ever written a crossover! The closest I've ever gotten was when I look over my shoulder, but even that's 'Wangxian in a Conjuring-esque ghosthunters in love situation' and not really a formal Conjuring AU.
11. have you ever had a fic stolen?
I've had plagiarism brought to my attention a couple times, but truly just a handful. I still remember getting a message on FF.net that someone had ripped off a line from my Black Lagoon fic. The SCANDAL of it all.
12. have you ever had a fic translated?
MDZS is the first fandom where I've gotten translation requests, which is always so cool! To my knowledge, I've had fics translated into Russian, Spanish, and Ukranian.
13. have you ever co-written a fic before?
No, but brainstorming fic concepts with my brilliant friends is one of my favorite thing in the world.
14. what's your all time favorite ship?
omg ever? Well Victuuri and Wangxian have been the ones that really lit my brain on fire (if I own the Nendos, it's serious) but let me also throw it back to Fakir and Ahiru in Princess Tutu. That is ROMANCE.
15. what is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I would have really liked to have one more entry to 'the yunmeng accords!' I had a couple of ideas that I really liked, but nothing that caught fire quite enough to dive into it. That said, I am currently working on something short and Yunmeng Shuangjie-related, at the very least...
16. what are your writing strengths?
Emotional through-lines, pacing, and that sweet, sweet catharsis. I'm drawn to particular fandoms when they leave me with an emotion that I need to break down over the course of several thousand words, and I know that shows through in my writing.
17. what are your writing weaknesses?
Choreography! I'm not a very visual thinker, so sometimes it takes me a while just to figure out how to block the characters in a given scene. I also have a lot of trouble getting into a draft until I figure out the voice, which, when it comes to fanfic, will either come to me extremely easily or not at all.
18. thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?
Yeah, absolutely! (But if you don't speak the language, do your research!)
19. first fandom you wrote for?
[rubs my temples] an X-Men crackfic.
20. favorite fic you have written?
Oh my god. WELL. 'grow' and 'the only way out' I think are the best fics I've written, and 'when I look over my shoulder' and 'the soft animal' are also extremely close to my heart. But 'detente' might be the favorite child. It just gushed out of me.
I think a great many of you have been tagged at this point, so sorry for any double-tags, but: @bluecrystalrainingdaggers @tigerjpg @floofyfluff @vinelark and anyone else who'd like to go for it!
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MDZS AU in which everything is the same but when Wei Ying dies, he doesn't realize he's dead
He "wakes up" after the events of the First Siege but he has very scarce memories of everything that happened and he decides he should go ask for help
He manages to escape the Burial Mounds, the spirits allowing him to leave in their endless, messed up love and gratitude
He doesn't notice it
Doesn't notice how people don't see him, how they pass him by like he's not even there
(He's glad they don't recognize him. Or maybe they do and choose to ignore him. Alas, better than being hunted down).
Doesn't notice how he's never hungry or thirsty anymore, how he doesn't seem to get tired
Doesn't notice that nobody is answering him when he asks anything
He goes to the Cloud Recesses
He doesn't know why he's drawn to that place
But he walks in through the gate and nobody asks, nobody says anything, they don't even look at him
He wanders, aimlessly, confused
Why aren't the Lans doing anything? Why are they letting him roam free in their home? Has everyone forgotten him already?
He winds up visiting a little house. It seems to ve unlived in and he's figured if nobody has said anything about him being there, he might as well take advantage of it
But the house isn't empty.
Lan Zhan is there, laying in bed, on his stomach, his back bloodied.
And he's crying.
Wei Ying rushes to his side, kneels by the bed.
"Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, please talk to me, tell me what happened, tell me who did this to you!!"
Lan Zhan doesn't react, doesn't respond. He's staring ahead, empty and distant.
Wei Ying knows Lan Zhan hates touch. So he insists. "Lan Zhan, please look at me! Please, I want to help you! Let me help you!"
No answer still.
"Lan Zhan!!" Wei Ying's sobbing now, almost hysterical. "I know you hate me but at least-"
"...Wei Ying..."
"Yes, I'm here, please-"
"...i wish...i wish i died with you..."
Then Lan Zhan closes his eyes, motionless, asleep.
Wei Ying stares at him, confused, shaken, wanting to cry but not being able to.
Dead? He's not dead, he's right here, he's-
He reaches to touch Lan Zhan's face and can't.
"No, no, I can't be dead, this isn't- Lan Zhan, wake up, I'm not dead! I didn't- why would you-"
The boundaries of the Cloud Recesses finally vibrate in distress.
There is an intruder on the premises.
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Still reading MDZS (I’ve been taking my time) and I have a question that I was wondering if anyone could answer about colors, as someone who wishes to draw fannart. Is the blue often drawn in Lan uniforms book-cannon??? I can find no textual evidence that Lans having any details in their robes that aren’t white, and would like some. Personally, rn I have the inclination to draw the forehead ribbon embroidery in silver/grey. Additionally, I can’t find Wei Wuxian’s outfit description, and definitely can’t find him wearing a red ribbon. WWX definitely wears black as the Yiling Patriarch, and is probably wearing it during present timeline given ch 14 his description of his father and mother and comparing them to him and Lan Wangji (his father wore black and his mother wore white), but I can’t find any explicit mentions of colors for his robes. The red seems to come from chenqing’s tassle. I can’t even find the color of WWX’s sword glare :(
Further color questions/comments below:
Also only note I could find on WWX eye color is that they were originally dark. In Mo Xuanyu his eyes are described as bright but I can’t find any other mentions. Additionally, it’s unclear if they look alike to me; ik WWX described Mo Xuanyu’s face as definitely not the face of the Yiling Patriarch but this seems to be more about the fact that his face has pristine and bright and youthful vibes. Also he’s shorter lol.
Also for the Jin’s robes the only one that specifies a single flower that I can recall was Jin Guangyao’s, and I think Jin Ling was introduced with flowers (plural) on his robe, so I want to know if anyone knows about this discrepancy. This feels like this could be a translation discrepancy though as according to my minute google search Chinese doesn’t have plurals. “The embroidery on his robes was indisputably exquisite, swirling together into extraordinary white peonies.” Is Jin Ling’s robes vs “the full bloom of the Spark Amidst Snow family insignia embroidered on the chest of his round-collar robe, matched with a nine-ringed belt and a pair of tall boots.” For Jin Guangyao.
I also can’t figure out if WWX wears Jiang’s purple robes when he was head disciple.. I can’t even figure out for certain if all Jiang disciples wore purple, as the mentions of it I find are associated with Yu Ziyuan or her kids (Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli). Because WWX’s robe gets specified as black post burial mounds but I can’t find it before it I’d assume he wears Jiang colors, if they were Jiang colors. If not, and he wears black otherwise, I think this would be because it’s the color his father wore not because Yu Ziyuan is particularly jealous. Actually, it could just be that bells were what indicated being a sect member instead of clothing color, but idk if not color coding sect members is common??
Also can’t figure out if the studying disciples at The Cloud Recesses wore white. My guess actually leans towards yes as at the archery competition all the disciples had to wear Wen red, so if that’s the standard I’d assume they’d have to wear white in the cloud recesses (though the Wens may have been doing a power play).
Also if anyone has a chapter/page number for a description of Wen robes that would be appreciated. I started this post like 30 minutes ago and spent a long while looking for textual evidence (luckily I’m on kindle so I have a search feature) of each clan’s robes but I’m feeling done. .. same with what the burial mound Wens were wearing bc I always see them in Wen robes which in my mind kinda makes sense but also kinda doesn’t, but I haven’t reread to that point.
If anyone has any clothing information of sects/characters that hasn’t been mentioned from book cannon and wishes to share with me I’d appreciate it so much I’m going insane. Or if you have any particularly good resources on embroidery/robes/swords/instruments/hair/other things that understanding would give better idea on how these babies actually dress. MDZS isn’t trying to exist in a particular time period is it? I’ve seen guestimations on the internet of like 2nd century to 6th century, but my understanding is that it’s kinda like high fantasy novels which just get set in vaguely-Western Europe and unmodern.
#mdzs#lan robes#Lan Wangji#Wen sect#idk I don’t want to just tag every character bc that feels like too much#Wei wuxian#please I have questions I need answers#give me a month and maybe I’ll make a big post of all textual evidence for colors#where is WWX’s red ribbon???#mo dao zu shi#rant
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Bonus 7: Time moves sideways
[First] Prev <–-> Next
#poorly drawn mdzs#better drawn mdzs#mdzs#wei wuxian#Despite a whole ass inspiration board for reference - it turns out drawing and colouring half submerged people is a CHALLENGE.#I am channeling the zoobie bunny and internally screaming “WHY DID YOU THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA”.#What I wanted was a cool transition between present and past! What I got was a very full mouth of my own foot!#That said: there are aspects I really like about this one and I feel like I got most of the way to where I wanted it to be.#Water is hard to draw and I am saying that even after dedicating a full 4 page comic with people in the water.#Forget hands. Water is my new nemesis.#I love how floaty this flashback transition was. The hazy mind wandering as LWJ carries him as a set up to recollection!#Aren't memories an incredible thing? To relive a moment in your mind? To have time repeat again and again?#And yet it is always a little different when we go to recall it once again. We are different people than the person we once were.
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and the ghosts in the attic, they never quite leave
Wei Wuxian: a character study in meta (also known as the director's commentary to my fic, Gratitude【感恩】)
Many characters’ traumas and angst within MDZS are fundamentally straight forward from the events of the plot. Wei Wuxian's trauma, however, is at times more difficult to parse.
Specifically, it seems to be because Wei Wuxian was socialized to believe that if he does something good, it is because it was something that needed to be done anyway, and if he is involved in something that leads to bad events, he is a causal mechanism and it is because because he is a bad person. This is made especially obvious by the way he clings to the axiom that his mother passed down to him: that he should always remember other people’s kindness but forget his own. The most straight-forward example of this is juxtaposition of is Wei Wuxian giving up his golden core to Jiang Cheng because he feels it needed to be done but also feeling responsible for the Yunmeng Jiang sect’s slaughter by the Wens despite that responsibility lying with the Wens. These ideas are frequently reinforced by by characters throughout the novel (first Yu Ziyuan, then Jiang Cheng).
Wei Wuxian’s greatest character flaw is his excessive kindness.
Because of this socialization, Wei Wuxian consistently acts (even from the beginning) in ways to drawn scorn to himself. If he acts badly, then he can draw scorn that he can anticipate (re: breaking Gusu Lan’s rules and the traditionalist Lan Qiren’s ire). His actions themselves will be justifiable in people’s scorn, and therefore he is aware of why people scorn him. More simply put, it’s not that Wei Wuxian likes to be hated, but rather he finds comfort in knowing the specific reason why people hate him. This also is likely why he finds it so off-putting when people attributes evil and misdeeds to him that he had not done... and then jokingly comments about how he would do a better job if he did do it.
This is also likely why Lan Wangji’s feelings blindsided him so much despite being so obvious to many characters in the series itself. Lan Wangji had already developed strong, if conflicting, feelings for Wei Wuxian by the time he left the Cloud Recess, but it was probably the initial rush of feelings that made Lan Wangji catch onto how Wei Wuxian used the drawing scorn/being scorned cycle to hide his excessive kindness by the time they were trapped in Xuanwu’s cave. Wei Wuxian, however, never realizes that Lan Wangji had cottoned onto this trait and thus continued to act in ways (by flirting, or fighting) with Lan Wangji that he believed would draw Lan Wangji’s ire and scorn. This is why after Xianwu's cave, even when we see Wei Wuxian attempt to rile him up, it doesn't have the same effect. Look at the juxtaposition between Lan Wangji's reaction to being thrown a flower at the Discussion Conference / archery tournament vs. when he went to Yunmeng and saw Wei Wuxian with his undead harem. Once Lan Wangji cottoned on to this, it was almost impossible for Wei Wuxian to rile him up the same way. This happened in their first life, not after the grace of their second life, and it wasn't only because Lan Wangji had time to sort through his feelings for Wei Wuxian.
This juxtaposition between self sacrifice and self blame is also why Wei Wuxian had gone to the grave believing Lan Wangji hated him despite Lan Wangji’s consistent actions entirely in the opposite direction.
Wei Wuxian is extremely bad at accepting kindness, possibly because he thinks he does not deserve it; he seems to feel better if he believes he "tricks" others into "giving" kindness to him, even though he does it rarely. This in itself seems to play into the draw scorn/be scorned cycle -- if he is “tricking” someone into kindness, they will scorn him when they realize because they “know” he is a bad person. In the same way, Wei Wuxian is bad at accepting love even though he deeply craves it. First, because events of the plot continuously reinforce that loving him is dangerous and that people who love him will be punished his perceived fundamental badness taints other people’s goodness. However, he is someone who is content with loving unreciprocally and without condition. Wei Wuxian does not care if Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng love him back, as long as he is able to love and protect them.
So in that sense, Lan Wangji’s love is so good for him, a good selfishness for Wei Wuxian to practice. On a certain level, I believe part of the reason Wei Wuxian is so happy with being with Lan Wangji because he knows that Lan Wangji is someone who deserves to be loved (whom Wei Wuxian can love) and that Lan Wangji loving him makes Lan Wangji happy. And that him physically being with Lan Wangji and giving him pleasure is another thing Lan Wangji can have. This is pretty consistent with why he gets so bashful and overwhelmed when Lan Wangji is so earnest about his feelings, because Wei Wuxian is not always convinced he deserves to be loved that way, only that Lan Wangji being able to love him is a thing Lan Wangji wants and should have. Lan Wangji, of course, wants to Wei Wuxian to know he is loved because he should be. Wei Wuxian isn't with Lan Wangji for Lan Wangji, it's for himself. But it certainly doesn't escape his notice how happy it makes Lan Wangji too.
And thus every day he is loved by Lan Wangji is another day he gets better at knowing how to be loved.
Make no mistake that Wei Wuxian’s excessive kindness is truly a deep character flaw that drives forward conflict in the story. This trait of his puts many of the people who love him (and that he love) in bad positions they can’t reconcile. Jiang Cheng even mentions it to him, when he is living on the Burial Mound with the remaining Wens, how much it hurts him that he can’t support Wei Wuxian. This excessive selflessness becomes its own type of selfishness. Wei Wuxian’s difficulty at accepting love puts the people who love him through great people through pain, because part of loving someone is being able to share their pain and support them in their suffering.
In the end, it is what drives deep wedge between his and Jiang Cheng’s relationship, and why him allowing himself to be with Lan Wangji is so good because it allows him to practice relying on other people.
I think Wei Wuxian would probably find it difficult to accept Mo Xuanyu’s body. While Mo Xuanyu’s felt he had it was a fair trade, to trade a body for the revenge wrought, Wei Wuxian likely lives with an notion that what Mo Xuanyu sacrificed was more than what Wei Wuxian got in return (specifically, a chance to love and be loved by Lan Wangji).
Wei Wuxian is not suicidal, he does not want to die, but I think he would find it very difficult to accept that he “deserves” to have this, especially at the expense of someone else’s life. But it’s not something he can give back, and putting himself at risk or not living his second chance to the fullest would be disrespectful to what Mo Xuanyu had given to him.
So every day he lives in Mo Xuanyu’s body is another day that challenges Wei Wuxian to practice gratitude, to accept that he deserves good things in his life, and that he cannot always repay (or especially overly repay) the kindness of that someone else has passed on.
And I think that is a good challenge for him to have.
#Wei Wuxian#mdzs#mdzs meta#wangxian meta#wangxian#Lan Wangji#Mo Xuanyu#I found this in my drafts and I still stand by it#I actually wrote it out as the back bone to the fanfic#I practice death of the author so I very rarely share my thought processes for fic#but I think this is a fundamental part of who wwx is that a lot of people miss
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I have a cold and I want to lay on the couch and watch chinese men make eyes at each other while doing aerial stunts
This is your chance to sell me on a new fandom
Things I've watched:
The Untamed
MDZS Donghua
SVSSS Donghua
Heaven Official's Blessing Donghua
Word of Honor
Love Between Fairy and Devil
Things I like:
Couples with great chemistry
gay (Not a requirement but if it's NOT gay then the chemistry better be off the charts (See: LBFaD).) Also doesn't have to be canon confirmed. I'm a seasoned shipper, I can pull my weight.
dragons
I like xianxia more than wuxia (I'm here for fantasy and magic; less so drawn out martial arts choreography. This is not a deal breaker, though)
cool worldbuilding
complex characters
Being able to watch for free or cheap
ENGLISH SUBTITLES (they CAN be funny/bad, I DID live through Netflix Jiang Cheng calling Wei Wuxian a geek)
The culmination of the story cannot leave me feeling like I shouldn't have bothered watching it (I'm looking at you, WoH)
GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS PLEASE (simply a name is fine, but a description of why you think I'd like it is great)
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currents.07 [2024]
selections from my week in media [11-17 february 2024]
[listening]
"AOK" / Tai Verdes
"Bang!" / AJR
"Turbulence" / ATEEZ
[reading]
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree - cozy fantasy in a D&D-style fantasy setting - loved it
The Red Thread, vol 1-2 by Lazy Sheep - Loved it, although I found it surprising how closely it follows the drama, down to locations, some character looks (Sorn's bad wig looks way better drawn manga style lol), etc. The Win/Team storyline was left out, presumably because of space constraints. Or maybe another series is planned for them later? I also couldn't find any release information for more volumes, so hopefully the series will be finished eventually. I was already considering a rewatch of Until We Meet Again this year, but now I definitely will.
The Wild Geese's Tomb by TheFeelsWhale - MDZS time travel fix-it (LWJ pov)
[watching]
Argylle - Saw the movie in a theater on a date and we enjoyed ourselves a lot. It's completely ridiculous in some ways and highly relatable in others.
Destiny Seeker {finished: 3 stars} - Finished the rest of the series this week. It got off to a rough start, but overall it was much better than I expected. The last episode was a highlight. We got the angst of a separation but were rewarded by the reunion. And then an epilogue with a surprise baby! I loved it.
For Him {finished: 3 stars} - Very disappointed with the direction this show took in the last half. They started out so strong and then *poof* everything was different and too easily resolved, with two episodes left. It's ripe for canon divergence fanfic. The three stars are for: the leads' chemistry (hot like burning), positive therapy portrayal, and the twin thing.
Marry My Husband - I'm only a couple episodes in but I already love whatever is going on with this version of time travel. I'm glad it's almost done airing because I have a feeling when I get back to it I'm going to end up binging it.
previous Currents posts
.
#destiny seeker#the red thread#for him the series#marry my husband#argylle#mdzs#fic rec#book rec#kdrama#thai drama#manga#uwma#ateez#tai verdes#ajr band#tmtrx currents#tmtrx watches dramas
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Well, ladypfenix seems to have blocked me, which is a shame because I adore her stuff about morality in MDZS and would love to read more from her. But before blocking me she reblogged my post and I just wanted to defend myself against some of the things I'm accused of.
For the record this is the post, which I can't reblog because of being blocked.
I keep saying things about what I personally like and people keep interpreting that as me saying that my preferences are objectively better or that I think gay stories are better when they're sexless and subtextual, which is not what I'm saying at all.
(And yeah I'm probably missing some context, but expecting everyone in a fandom to have read every post people make in order to Have All The Context is unrealistic. There are new people joining this fandom all the time with no context whatsoever and it'd be nice if they didn't immediately get attacked for daring to express an opinion.)
As for Wangxian, of course I don't prefer for them to be best friends instead of husbands. I have read many an E rated fanfic about them on Ao3. People accusing me of just wanting sanitized queer stories where nobody has sexual desire are missing the mark. But I do get turned off by things like their first kiss being nonconsensual. "I just couldn't help myself, I had to kiss the guy even though he didn't know who I was" is NOT what I'm looking for in a fictional love interest. The Lan Wangji of The Untamed seems like he wouldn't do that, so I was more drawn to him than the version in the novel.
And yeah, I do think book Wei Wuxian is pretty oblivious. He catches up fast once he realizes what's going on, but as evidenced by the fact that he tells Jiang Cheng that he and Lan Wangji are "just friends" when they're at Lotus Pier near the end of the story, he doesn't realize what's going on for quite a long time. Yeah, there are reasons for that, but again, it's not what I prefer in a romance. And the trope of one person being oblivious while the other is pining is one MXTX seems to like - I'm reading SVSSS now and Shen Qingqiu is similarly unaware of how Luo Binghe feels about him for most of the novel. (And even when he does realize it, I have some trouble buying that he's attracted to Luo Binghe in return.) (Obviously Shen Qingqiu LOVES Luo Binghe, but I've been reading him as gray-ace and I don't think I'm alone in that headcanon.)
Another trope she seems to like is one where the first time the couple has sex is painful for one of them, and I just really don't like that. This DOESN'T mean I think she's wrong to write it or that people who do like it are wrong to like it, just that it's not my thing!
I prefer it when fictional couples both want to kiss each other, and when they take their time and make sure nobody is hurting when they have sex (and use lube). Preferring those things doesn't make me anti-sex or anti-gay. But I was disappointed by those scenes when I read the book, while I wasn't expecting the show to give me any sex scenes at all, so it didn't disappoint me in that sense. (I was disappointed by the show's ending where they separate, but it was ambiguous enough not to bother me too much.)
Anyway. I think the show is remarkably good for how much they had to cut out of the book in order to fit the censorship guidelines, which makes me wonder how much better it could have been if they didn't have to adhere to those. But I do think there's a romance there and it's a romantic show. Subtext isn't text, true, but it's also not nothing. The people making the show clearly knew they were adapting a romance, and the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is the heart of the show.
Anyone who thinks the part with "the feeling of sticking to the single log bridge is indeed not bad" isn't a romantic scene because they don't explicitly get together later... I just do not get that. (Some people have even pinpointed the part in the show where they are implied to get together - it's in episode 43 - and yeah it's not explicit, but it's there if you look for it.)
Anyway now that I'm blocked by half the fandom I'll go back to shutting up, at least until the next time I get it into my head to Have Opinions, which is clearly not allowed around here.
#mdzs#the untamed#book vs show fight fight fight#fandom drama#i can't seem to stop pissing people off in this fandom#which sucks because i just want to like the things i like and talk to other people who like those things#and instead i get people attacking me for saying what i like#and then i feel like shit for several days#whee!
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Q&A From The Sign Ups!
We already got a couple questions in our sign up forms (writer, beta reader, artist), so we decided to bundle them and post them here!
Q: Do I have to work together with an NSFW fic writer?
A: Nope! Writers have to provide a summary of their fic that includes rating and warnings for sexual content. Artists and Beta readers get to see those summaries and warnings and can thus decide not to work with an NSFW fic. And even if you do work with an NSFW writer, you can of course choose not to draw such a scene or beta read it - however, be sure to communicate that! It may be that such a writer is hoping for a beta reader that helps with writing smut or would love to work with an artist happy to illustrate a smutty scene.
Q: Do you need to see examples of past works?
A: Also no! Even if you've never posted anything mdzs, you can sign up for the big bang! Do keep in mind that at the end of the big bang, your work has to be shared. As a writer, AO3 is mandatory, as an artist, you can decide whether you want it in the fic on AO3, on tumblr, twitter etc.
Q: Am I allowed to back out if I don't think I'll be able to finish?
A: If you don't think you'll be able to finish, you can ask for an extension, of course, and we can push posting your fic/art to the very end. We also do not expect your entire fic to be posted on one day if you're writing a multi-chaptered story! Please communicate that with us and your teammates as quickly as possible. However, once you submit your fic summary, we consider you truly signed up. If you are already really unsure whether you'll be able to finish a minimum 10K fic, please reconsider signing up, as it would be unfair to drop out when your artist has already drawn something.
Q: Can I sign up for a different role later on?
A: Writer sign ups are closed by 7th of January. After that date, you cannot sign up as a writer anymore. Beta Reader and Artist Sign ups will run until the 22nd of January. We will however keep running pinch hitter sign ups for a later date.
Q: When do we have to provide a fic synopsis?
A: Providing a fic synopsis will be the writers' first check-in. That check-in takes place during January 7th and January 22nd. If you fail to provide a fic synopsis by January 22nd, we will assume you have dropped out of the big bang, even if you have signed up previously. We also heavily encourage people to have already started writing their fic to give beta readers a better sense of the story.
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hi^^ I am very new to experiencing hyperfixations on a show and like. I got into this one show which ended like YEARS ago and I was so happy and giggly about it for a whole week (my prev and first hyper fixation is ongoing and I dropped it because I was frustrated with the way the sorry went) but then. I guess I kiinda came across very conflicting opinions on it in here (I mean it WAS. A pretty popular show so one side of people were very very happy with it and one side had been like 'the show is trash!!!1!') and I. Can't stop thinking about all of them. this was fine for a while, but now it's really interrupting my rl responsibilities and I just think I want to move on to a new show (since this show is over and has ended years ago and it's okay)?? And I am unable to do so because a part of me is scared of letting go of these characters and the impact they made in me ig? I am very sad about the fact that I might forget them(?) I just want to move on peacefully but also regain that positive impact I had when I first watched the show, which has just felt like it has disappeared since I read all of those negative comments (on surface level I can accept that not everyone needs to like a show! But it also just. upsets me to some extent, I'll admit. And it's just the fact that this show ended like. what 5-6 years ago and so I don't even need to be upset about comments made THAT ago but) I was wondering if this is just a common thing to go through when one gets into previously-ended-ages-ago shows or just a me thing
Anon, this might be a bit of tough love, but this, truly, is just the nature of fandoms.
Some fandoms never die, even though it's been years since it ended. I got into Buffy the Vampire Slayer over two decades after it ended, and that show had a lot of problems that I can acknowledge, but I searched for fandom spaces I felt safe in with plenty of content to tide me over.
Some fandoms last a long time, particularly depending on what kind of fans are drawn to it. I think older fans tend to hold on to fandoms longer so there tends to be more content, like my current mdzs fandom technically ended a couple years ago but since it's got a more mature fanbase the fanworks tend to reflect that.
Regarding your issue with getting upset about people disliking something you like, I mean this in the nicest way I can, but that's always going to happen. People are always going to dislike something you like, and that's fine. It doesn't mean anything about you or your tastes or your love for the media, it's just the nature of humanity.
You're responsible for the fandom spaces you enter. If you don't like seeing negative comments about something, then don't look. It might seem hard to do that, but once you accept that not everyone's taste is going to match yours the better it gets. I certainly like a lot of things I know others would hate and might even judge me for, but the only opinions who matter to me are my own.
If you're current fandom is quiet or dead, then my suggestion is either look for the older content like on ao3 or even other sites or, even better, make your own content. I promise there will be people who come out of the woodwork to look at your stuff and talk about the fandoms you're in. Some fandoms are smaller, and that's fine too. Again, it's just the nature of these spaces.
But at the end of the day, I promise you will enjoy fandom spaces more when you learn how to ignore the spaces that make you uncomfortable. If you can't handle criticism for something, then either ignore it or look away and practice brushing it off. It will take time to get used to doing that, but it's all about practice and catering your fandom spaces to your needs. That's the only way to truly survive being in fandoms in general; learning what your limits are and sticking to the spaces you feel best in, while ignoring the places you dont like
#like i get it's hard i had this issue the past few days because i saw fans doing some frankly appalling things because they wanted to see#an actor they liked but it's my biggest frustrations when i see folks do that#it was making me sooooo angry so i made the executive decision to just not look at the tags for a while or scroll past the stuff that was#making me mad even though it meant i was getting less content or missing out on something#but ultimately i did what i wanted and needed to do and im in a better mood because of it#also focusing on content from people who i know agree with me or being mindful of what im seeing#but anyways#the only person responsible for your enjoyment of fandom content is you#the words i live by#asked and answered#Anonymous
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