Wei Wuxian: *talks a lot* *insert long paragraph here* *insert long paragraph there* *insert long paragraph everywhere*

Lan Wangji: Mn.

Meanwhile, in another universe…

Xiao Zhan, accepting an award: *talks a lot* *insert long paragraph here* *insert long paragraph there* *insert long paragraph everywhere*

Wang Yibo, accepting an award: Thank u bye.

[Kidding aside, Xiao Zhan’s speech was lovely.]

Xiao Zhan’s Speech | Wang Yibo’s speech

Video Source

watching some actor try to be dramatic and compelling and thinking to myself you are not zhu zanjin and you never will be

random question friday: what sport do you think lxc would play?

Random question Friday I answer several Tuesdays later! This fox cannot be tamed.

So lucky for you this happens to be a subject near to my heart and those closest to me are at dire risk of having it outlined to them at any given moment that LXC is without a doubt a tennis player. Here are my reasons three:

Tennis is a sport associated with wealth and social status. It has traditionally been a sport of the middle classes and above, which I have been informed is also true in China and is one of the reasons for the tennis boom there in recent years. As the leader of a prestigious clan, LXC is at the pinnacle of his society and in a modern AU would therefore participate in such sports.

Tennis requires extraordinary mental discipline. When you're on the singles court you have to solve your own problems and your own mental strength is vital because there's no team playing around you and every single point counts. That mental discipline is not a million miles from the kind of discipline required to become a truly powerful cultivator making maximum use of their talent.

Sexy Wimbledon whites.

I happen to love tennis so I'm aware I have a shocking bias, but I think it's just two keen interests I have happening to fit together surprisingly well.

As a bonus, this is my opinion on professional playing styles for the tennis AU I will never write but have bored on about privately for the past three years:

LXC - your classic elegant all court player, the most powerful one-handed backhand on the tour, as much as he enjoys singles in his heart of hearts he never has more fun than when he's playing doubles with a good partner

JGY - counterpuncher, scrambles like you would not believe, literally never knows when he is beaten and has pulled out more wins from match point down than any other player, has a completely undeserved reputation for gamesmanship via taking bathroom breaks and medical timeouts as a strategy (EVERYONE DOES IT)

LWJ - technically an all court player but drifts into pusher territory a little too often because he likes to hit perfect shots until his opponent makes a mistake - however when he does step up to play offensively, beware

WWX - loses points he should win because he's hitting tweeners for the lolz, gets seriously injured playing doubles with JC and changes his playing style drastically to shorten points, becomes serve and volley king and still hits tweeners and underarm serves whenever he wants, literally the worst doubles player known to man

JC - offensive baseliner constantly being berated by his mother (coach) to COME TO THE NET and can never volley as well as WWX does, hugely outstrips WWX in ranking after the Incident and is constantly paranoid that without said injury WWX would always have beaten/outranked him

NMJ - servebot, breaks rackets on court, has been defaulted from matches for rage hitting balls, is the toughest prospect out there on grass and hugely respected for it, retires early due to health and becomes his brother's very ineffective coach

NHS - defensive baseliner bc that's the farthest position from the balls shooting at him at 200kmph, hasn't even cracked the top 200 and all his tour-related costs are covered by NMJ, has won a couple of doubles titles where NMJ did all the work, still somehow makes more in endorsement deals than most of the rest of the cast put together

Hello! Wish you to have a wonderful mood :) I have a mood for theories, so question is about that.

If you believe that they got together even before shooting the Untamed, isn't it sounds like a miracle that web character traits were so similar to Lan Wangi?

Like, ok, I can see that when xz was given a role he could recommend his boyfriend to be casted as Lan Wangi, since he is an actor too. But what are the chances that they would cast his bf AND he would be famous for his cold appearence to stranges and being very quiet, speaking very few? Because I think that's the main reason he got casted on a role, because he had this in him. In the interview it was said, that they saw Lan Wangi in him, it was his character.

Especially it would sound like a miracle if he got Lan Wangi role and they didn't know those two were dating.

I just think that they really didn't talk much after DDU, as they said, and got to know each other on set. Things like this happen in life and it certanly sounds more realistic to me.

So what do you think?

Hi Yaqay, what a nice sentiment - thanks so much, I wish for you to have a wonderful mood as well! 💖

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

I love digging into theories, and I'm always interested in looking at things from a different perspective. Yours is an interesting one, but I admit I don't quite follow the logic here.

For readers who are unfamiliar with my thoughts on timeline, here are a couple of posts you might want to read before going any further:

Timeline of a Relationship

The Devil’s Timeline

If I'm correctly following what you're saying, here, your basic premise is that it would be wildly unusual and a deeply unlikely coincidence for DD to be so well suited for the role of Lan Wangji and to be cast in that role while also dating the man who was cast as Wei Wuxian. Much more unlikely than them both being cast in those roles because they were suited to them, and later getting romantically involved with each other. There's no way they could have been cast opposite each other without production knowing they were a couple.

Here are some of my thoughts on that:

While GG was basically handpicked for the role of WWX, there is no evidence to suggest that DD was recommended (by GG or anyone else) for the role of LWJ, or had applied for the role of LWJ specifically. All we know is that he submitted a photo during casting. It's possible he was being considered for other roles. His photo had been passed over a couple of times before they decided to bring him in for an audition. At that time all the roles had been filled except LWJ. When the producer saw him in person she immediately thought he'd be perfect for the role.

If - IF - DD was recommended by GG (or anyone else) for the role of Lan Wangji (and I really don't buy that theory - I think it would be more likely that they just wanted to work together on a queer production, regardless of their roles) he might have been recommended for that role because of the sense that DD would make a good LWJ, not just because he was GG's BF.

They would have been looking for someone who was very beautiful, cold and reserved. While DD is definitely all of those things on first impression, those are by no means his only traits (he can be a lewd, crass, hilarious gremlin, for example). It's just fortunate that his demeanour when meeting someone new - particularly in a formal setting - is very polite, obedient and reserved. It gave the producer an immediate taste of that side of his personality, which was suitable for LWJ. And of course DD is definitely A JADE. So beautiful. The photo sent in by his team was wildly unsuitable for LWJ, which was probably the biggest reason he wasn't taken seriously for the role at first.

I strongly disagree with the notion that production would have had any idea they were dating. GG and DD are quite good at pretending not to know each other - we've seen this with our own eyes. I'm not sure why you'd think they'd out themselves to strangers, or let the nature of their relationship be known to people who were considering hiring them. Queer people are exceptionally skilled at hiding their queerness, their relationships, etc. as a matter of survival. That has to be even more true for queer celebrities in a country like China. Even in a queer-friendly production such as the one I believe The Untamed was, no one's going to just barge in and let it all hang out on the first day. Those relationships of trust are built up over time. In the early stages, even if a team was rumored to be queer friendly, everyone would have been very cautious and reserved until they knew for sure.

There are also reasons why the idea they 'got to know each other and fell in love on set' just doesn't hold a lot of water for me. I've talked about that in some detail in the two posts I linked above, so I won't go into it all again.

I think it would be much more unlikely of a coincidence for two shy, 'slow-starting' guys like GG and DD to go from complete strangers to being joined at the hip (and in their own little world with their own language/rapport that's practically incomprehensible to others) within days of meeting, than for a couple of talented actors who are dating and want to work on a queer production together to be hired for the leading roles and do a good job.

But we'll never know for sure, so everyone should feel free to speculate and theorize and come up with their own take on things. As I've said before, there's no need to marry ourselves to one theory. It's fun to consider all angles.

alright beloveds i think i might change my url soon; i still adore t/gcf especially many of the minor/supporting characters and dont plan to wholly stop reblogging it any time soon but if with the advent of the live action the fandom becomes anything like the m/dzs fandom did, theres probably going to be a ton less t/gcf stuff here and more of the same video game fandom reblogs that ive been doing

The single greatest thing about the MDZS/Untamed fandom is that there are THREE separate AMVs (1 live action, 2 animatic) set to “Ready As I’ll Ever Be” from the Tangled animated series, all with the same perfect heartbreaking casting of WWX as Varian, LWJ as the queen, JC as Cassandra, 3zun as JC’s chorus, WN as the king and WQ as Rapunzel. “I’m the bad guy, that’s fine / It’s no fault of mine / And some justice at last will be served.” The reversal of roles in the Wens’ casting yet the lines still being perfect. Sometimes I watch all 3 videos back to back and just revel.

Hate on LQR is funny because he's just an in-law being a bit petty for WWX thinking he "ruined his perfect nephew" when I'm pretty sure LQR knows LWJ is just like that and WWX just awakened it.

He is pretty inflexible, but it doesn't really extend to him having no heart given that he did let LWJ take in LSZ in the Lan Sect and raise him as a Lan, instead of him being raised as an outer disciple. I'm pretty sure LQR was a bit peeved at that time too, but eventually conceded because, well, that's a kid in need of a home! I'm pretty sure he's not like Madam Ew and yell at A-Yuan but just helped LWJ raise him as strictly as he raised LXC and LWJ. It would mean that, as much as LQR complains about WWX, he'll probably warm up to the guy. Maybe he already is, given that WWX is allowed to take on the juniors in night hunts as seen in the Hook extra.

If he's really LWJ's uncle, he might just be complaining because he can't handle the fact that he's slowly seeing WWX as his nephew in law. It might be breaking his mind lol.

YES peeved in-law lmao. I'm sorry but people are just missing out on the humor factor of LQR. I cannot be expected to take this man's fits seriously :

After finishing the insipid meal, the house servants removed the plates and tables. Lan Xichen began a customary summary of the recent family affairs. But after only a few sentences, Wei Wuxian noticed that preoccupation seemed to weigh on Lan Xichen’s heart to the extent that he recalled wrong the places of two night hunts. He did not realise it even after finishing speaking despite the sidelong glances cast by Lan Qiren whose goatee quivered several times. After listening for a while, Lan Qiren couldn’t refrain from finally opening his mouth to interrupt.

I mean here's WWX's reaction to him :

After Lan Qiren returned from Qinghe, rather than making Wei Wuxian copy the Lan clan rules at the Library Pavilion again, he instead roundly denounced him in front of everyone. After the references to the classics were trimmed out, what remained of the elder Lan’s speech was roughly the following: he had never seen anyone so utterly obstreperous and shameless; leave, quickly, the further away the better; don’t get close to other students; especially don’t tarnish his favorite pupil, Lan Wangji, ever again.

While Lan Qiren was castigating him, Wei Wuxian listened with a smiling, merry face and wasn’t the least bit embarrassed or angry. When the old man left, Wei Wuxian sat down and said to Jiang Cheng, “Isn’t he shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted by asking me to leave now? I’ve already done the tarnishing, it’s too late!”

And WWX is not burying his pain under a smile. He just literally doesn't care. In fact he goes right on to pestering Wangji with his gay bunny love language after that:

The aquatic abyss near Caiyi Town brought tremendous trouble to the Gusu Lan Clan. There was no way to eradicate it, and neither could the Lan Clan behave like the Wens and drive it off someplace else. As the Chief of the Lan Clan had been in isolation for many years, Lan Qiren had to exert the mental and physical effort to deal with the problem in his stead. Consequently, the lectures grew shorter and shorter, and Wei Wuxian spent more and more time strolling around the mountains with the others.

Today, he was surrounded by seven or eight young cultivators again, and they were all headed out. As they passed by Lan Clan’s library, Wei Wuxian glanced up through the magnolia branches and could just see Lan Wangji sitting near the window alone. ...

Wei Wuxian had climbed up the magnolia tree outside of the Library Pavilion. Radiating joy, he said, “Lan Zhan, I’m back! How’ve you been these few days I haven’t had to come here and copy books? Do you miss me?”

Resembling a monk entering meditation, who saw the world and saw nothing, Lan Wangji seemed somewhat numb as he continued to organize the small mountain of books.

Intentionally misinterpreting his silence, Wei Wuxian said, “Even if you don’t say it, I know. You must miss me, or else why would you have been watching me through the window?”

Immediately, Lan Wangji stared at him, his gaze full of silent denunciation.

WWX doesn't care because he doesn't care. He didn't care as a teen. He's definitely not going to care as an adult.

Wei Wuxian remembered how, back at the Abyssal Tower, he had played so unbearably badly that, infuriated, Lan Qiren rose from his unconscious stupor and vomited up blood before losing consciousness again. He nearly fell over in laughter.

Plus LQR is admonishing everyone, including LWJ and LXC lol.

"After the conclusion, Lan Qiren stubbornly called in a severe tone Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, looking as if he wanted to admonish and lecture them."

Hi..... if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 favorite characters from MDZS? And your top 5 (or top 3) favorite moments from the novel (or the drama)? Sorry if you've answered this before....Thanks

Hi, hi! I have NOT, in fact, been asked this before, so thank you very much!

The top five characters I can definitely pick! They are:

1) Jiang Cheng (no surprise there. I just... I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! He's so MEAN but he feels and loves so so so soooo much! He's hard working and dedicated and has fought and triumphed in the face of impossible- yeah, I went there- odds! He's not perfect by any means, but his personality fits together perfectly in light of nature, nurture, environment, and circumstances... you know what I mean? And that is just straight catnip for a writer/people analyzer like myself.)

2) Jin Ling (MY BABY!!! He's adorably spoiled, adorably short-tempered, and adorably bratty... then he gets some SERIOUS character development that builds on the worthwhile foundation that was clear to see UNDER the brattiness. Like how he's ride or die for anyone who takes him into consideration-- the juniors, Faux Xuanyu, and of course JiuJiu-- or how he's trying to be a better person, or how he very bravely stood up to THE two most revered cultivators and his supposed blood relative as they tried to break into his little uncle (and Chief Freaking Cultivator)'s private rooms, and how he's trying his best as his dad's murderer and dad's murderer's puppetmaster come back to life and start hanging out with his only friends who don't really try to understand where Jin Ling is coming from only to find out that his second-most-trusted-person in the whole world was actually behind it all. MY BABY!!!)

3) Nie Huaisang (This dude's hilarious! I support him in his messy murder-revenge endeavors! When my mutuals started getting into the Untamed, before I knew jack-squat about what the whole thing was about, I saw him and Jiang Cheng and I was like "I have no idea what is going on but these two idiot assholes are gonna be my favorites, I just know it..." And I was right!)

4) Wen Qing (My tag says it the best: Very Desperate Older Sister Does Not Deserve This Please. She is in SUCH impossible situations, over and over again, and she just keeps trying to keep those she cares for safe, despite the risk or hardship or principle-violation it poses to herself! Also I want her and Jiang Cheng to make beautiful, bitchy, cranky, supermodel babies.)

5) GAH, this is hard... I mean, the amazing thing about CQL is they got such an AMAZING CAST that you just either love everyone or utterly delight in hating them! But I'm going to pass on Romantic Muffin Ouyang Zizhen and Yet Another Grumpy Single Dad Uncle Trying His Damned Best Lan Qiren and ULTIMATELY pick... Lan Xichen. His compromising and vacillating are SO! ABSOLUTELY! MADDENING! but he is such a pure person in such a cruel world, and he tries so HARD to please everyone, and he really does go above and beyond when Wei Wuxian comes back to life-- letting him hide at Cloud Recesses and hearing WangXian out when they're accusing his dear a-Yao. I'm really proud of him for the latter, tbh, and it's the reason he's nabbed spot number five.

(It might be noticed that WWX and LWJ are *not* in my top five. Please rest assured that I still love them oodles and boodles! Their actors are absolute *perfection* and are hella impressive and make it impossible NOT to like them! It's just that both characters are I-do-what-I-want-and-to-hell-with-everyone-else types and I am more the overburdened-with-responsibility-oldest-sibling type, so it makes me perhaps a little harsher than others in my "favorites" rankings.)

Top *moments* are definitely harder! But I'm going to try! (This will be The Untamed/CQL *only* as that is currently my only direct exposure.)

1) The Death of Jin Zixuan (HOW COULD I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!?!? But it is just... soooooooo! well! done! The acting, the pacing, the music, the abruptness, the lingering dawning horror... 1000/10 for exquisitely done maximum-grade tragedy! *upside-down smiley face*)

2) The Second Siege of the Burial Mounds (Hoo boy, but this runs the gamut! The grief of the return to the burned out husk of their old home and the ghosts haunting their memories, the hilarity of the Juniors bickering, the showdown outside, Jiang Cheng's sexy, sexy stride to the front of the battlelines, his resulting repressed panic at his spiritual power draining followed by *Wei Wuxian's* repressed panic at Jiang Cheng's panic, the showdown INside with Jingyi and Huaisang gossiping like hens right in front of a deliberately-ignoring Lan Qiren, the GORGEOUS FIGHT SCENE with Wei Wuxian's blood talisman written out on Lan Wangji's borrowed underoos, Jiang Cheng trying DESPERATELY not to show the rest of the cultivation world how BATSHIT WORRIED he is about Wei Wuxian's survival and YES he's still angry at him what does THAT matter... Cap off the whole thing with the scene at the docks in all ITs heartwarming/ breaking /reassuring glory... IT'S JUST... *CHEF'S KISS*!)

3) The FUCKING COMB™ Saga (Okay so I'm cheating a little bit since this comprises multiple scenes over hours, but the whole tragic non-romance of two people who are so completely dedicated to their own people and responsibilities that they are unable to explore the potential of uniting with those same similarities... *keening screech*)

4) Yunmeng Jiang Arrives at Caiyi Town (a.k.a. When Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt. To see the pure, affectionate, adorable HAPPINESS of the Yunmeng sibling trio and their disciples, especially knowing how utterly, utterly fragile and short-lived it will be... just... excuse me. *googles directions to nearest cliff*)

5) Soft Soulmates Song (That scene post-resurrection when Wei Wuxian is nursing Emperor's Smile outside the Jingshi as it starts to snow, and he's spiraling down remembering all these bad things and how little has changed and how everyone still hates him... and the sound of a guqin playing their song starts from inside. That beautiful, BEAUTIFUL moment of Lan Wangji silently saying "I love you, I'M glad that you're here, I think you're worthwhile"... *UGLY SOBBING*)

That's what I got at the moment, but I fully anticipate reblogs and comments to spark a personal parade of "OH SHIT I FORGOT THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES TOO" regrets.

Thanks again for the ask!

Can you guys give me a guide of right characterization of the mdzs cast? Or link me into it? I want to make an attempt of jiang bashing in a time travel fix-it. ;w;

Idk how one would go about it? Here's how I see them:

WWX - Very playful, speaks in a musical tone of voice, probably the smartest and most observant person in the room, tactical, confident in his skill, teasing, will step in if someone is in danger.

Is shameless but blushes when he's sincerely complimented by LWJ. Can be ruthless when pushed. Forgiving and forgetful. He is also very adult-like and mature post-ressurection.

Can go a bit too far with his teasing. Sometimes crosses lines he shouldn't. Ignores personal boundaries that he shouldn't sometimes. But he is quick to apologise or realize his error.

LWJ - Very stoic. Speaks very precisely and will say the minimum required words to convey his point. Is very smart and observant. Confident in his skill. Can become sometimes flustered. Has will fuck you up energy.

As restrained as he is, he's more likely to attack than WWX. He's very decisive and doesn't hesitate. Not forgiving or forgetful. Very gentle and caring with people he loves.

He struggles to communicate. His concise speech and tendency to stay silent can lead to misunderstandings. Can sometimes stay the wrong thing when angered. Also ignores boundaries when he shouldn't sometimes.

WQ - Stern, no-nonsense. Very blunt with her words and straightforward. Strong but can be vulnerable. Can be a bit mean if the situation requires it but is never malicious.

WN - Soft and timid. Is gentle with everyone and very respectful. However, he has many suppress feelings in him that can burst out at times. Very attached to people he loves, inclusing LSZ and WWX.

JC - A mountain of insecurity with a sharp tongue. When torn between the right and easy, he takes the easy path. He can be mean and is always malicious about it. Blind to his privilege and has a victim mentality.

JYL - Soft and kind. Also blind to her own privilege. Always aims to maintain peace, regardless of the cost. Considers family harmony more important than personal feelings. But she loves with compassion and could possibly do better in a better environment.

JL - Prickly baby bear but obviously has a heart in a good place. With guidence, he will be a great man.

LSZ - Perfect angel. Just perfect angel. But seriously, very calm and steady but also a bit stubborn. He's a lot like LWJ, only softened a bit due to his gentle personality. He is also a lot like WN, only more confident.

LJY - Lively, helpful, righteous, and courageous. I can actually see him being the Lan Sect leader if Zewu-jun doesn't have any children.

JFM - Brow-beaten husband, trapped in a life he doesn't want. With YZY, he has great potential. Gives me so much mentally-exhausted by my family energy. A better wife would've made him a better father. I consider a spousal abuse victim.

YZY - Cruel, malicious, horrible mother who probably loves her children but is absolutely wretched about it. She is the main reason why her family suffers. She undermines JFM in every way.

JGS - Cunning, manipulative, and a shrewd politician. Not stupid but also outclassed by JGY. He'll take advantage of every opportunity presented to him, regardless of the consequences.

JGY - had the potential to go right but went wrong. Very intelligent, also very manipulative. Fairly apathetic if the situation doesn't affect him personally.

NHS - Very sharp and does care for others. Is somewhat traumatised by everything. Hardened because of life, because he's pushed into a position he has never wanted to be in. Very sly and cunning but out of necessity. Will only act if is pushed into a corner but he otherwise content to live and let live.

NMJ - Honorable and hot headed. Very bold but very rash. But he can be kind and when presented with proof, he will change his mind. Loves his brother but is also a nagging parent.

LXC - Honorable and cool headed. Confident and a little too cautious. Trusting but also blind to his privilege. Has a subtle shade of classism (excused NMJ for doing the same thing he criticized WWX for). Stubborn but will change his mind when presented with proof. Is fair-minded and loves his brother.

LQR - Typical Asian parent. Hard-headed, expects to be respected at all times, loves very much but will never show it. Is unfair sometimes. Very set in his ways and will probably never change his mind on some things. But the kind of parent you end up loving and respecting anyways because of a combination of upbringing and affection.

Note - this is how I characterize them for my fics. My baseline, so to speak. You will probably need to establish your own baseline. The best way is to read the novel a few times and read a few metas. I'd say that you explore blogs of people like rynne, plan-d-to-i, orion-flux, crossdressingdeath, grewlikefancyflowers, moonlightflowersblog? Off the top of my head, they're the ones who either write good metas or reblog resources that can help.

Listen. I just think. That y’all. Don’t consider Wei Wuxian as a knitter. Enough. And I don’t even mean in just modern stuff (knitting has always been a gender neutral thing okay anyone can have a kid and when y’all got wool but no Walmart it’s make clothes or have nakie babies die in the winter) I mean WWX who’s never knit before the burial mounds and suddenly has a toddler on his hip and twitchy fingers. I like to imagine that when Wen Qing was trying to calm him down from deciding to become Satan’s whore in his cave, she’d shove him outside in the general direction of Granny and some of the other older uncles and aunties and say ‘hey, A-Yuan needs a new pair of socks, ask Granny, she knows his stitch count’ or ‘*insert random person in BM here* needs a new shawl/sweater/scarf/hat/anything can you plz cast on for granny she keeps forgetting the count halfway through and making it way too big’ and WWX just gets sucked in immediately. Perfect vision, twitchy fingers, a love of making things, the realization that you can do colourwork talisman sigals directly into the fiber itself AND it’ll be super pretty, a reason to fuss over people around him, sitting still long enough for A-Yuan to get a full nap in his lap, the fact that his future husband is breeding RABBITS which if you get them with long fur they can be spun into yarn, why are none of you writing this lil ADHD mess sitting in a knitting circle and gossiping like an old biddie with the aunties and uncles. Give him knitting needles.

On that note: imagine WWX who still doesn’t know that Lan Sizhui is his son, who’s sitting in Cloud Recesses, waiting for the discussion conference in Koi Tower, who’s bored out of his mind, and one day Lan Wangji comes back with a basket of yarn and knitting needles, so WWX starts busting out socks (easy, quicker than sweaters or scarves, nice and tidy, can be worn immediately) and first he’s got a pair for LWJ (who only cries a little promise) and then a pair for LSZ and LJY who are delighted with presents from nice crazy man, but then LSZ is sitting there just looking at one of the sigals WWX had worked into the fiber, a nice contrasting pale white to the dark brown of the socks, and it’s just a nice little sigal for safety and happiness and he just. Starts. Tearing up. Right in LWJ’s living room. And LJY is confused (he got the sigals for protection from spirits and wisdom lollll) and LWJ just sorta pulls him into his arms and pets his hair, and WWX hasn’t quite got it yet, but he’s watching LWJ pet LSZ’s hair (which means touching his forehead ribbon as well) and he knows there’s... something there... maybe the boy is LWJ’s family...

But LSZ looks confused and unsure of himself like he can’t figure out why he’s crying and he doesn’t know why he knows why these sigals are getting to him and he just sorta chokes out the one thing that this confusing memory is giving him as a clue-

“Xian-Gege?”

Wei Wuxian’s heart clenches. It’s hard to breathe. He’s crying too. “A-Yuan?”

Oh boy. Oh wow. Oh boy.

concubine/sleeper agent!wwx and prince!lwj bullshit continues: 

[story board 1] -  The two empires and the Imperial Lan Family [story board 2] -  WWX, Qishan Wen’s sleeper agent   [story board 3] -  The inner court (harem) of Hanguang Manor, prior to WWX

→ [Story Board 4] - “A-Xian”, the attendant of Jiang Yanli 

Wei Wuxian lived with the Jiangs for 2 years. After he came to Gusu as a 16-yro, he charmed/scammed his way into the Jiang manor, won the favour of Jiang Fengmian, the affection of Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng, and waited.  For a long time, no further instructions were given to him from Wen Ruohan. Then, one day, he saw Zhao Zhuliu on the streets of the Capital. Zhao Zhuliu was the head of Wen Ruohan’s intelligence bureau and incidentally, was also Wei Wuxian and Xue Yang’s shifu.  

— “Shifu, does bixia finally have an assignment for me?”  — “He does. Jiang Yanli is set to marry Lan Wangji. You are to find a way to accompany her to Hanguang-fu and get close to him.”  — “Close to him as in...?”  — “Any means necessary. He has a harem already, so you will not be the only one vying for his attention. Do think you can handle it?”  — “Well I don’t know, shifu,” responded WWX coyly. “ Word on the street is that this Hanguang-wang prefers pretty men. His ce-wangfu Jin Ziyan is famous for his handsomeness, and that mianshou Mo Xuanyu he keeps around is a looker too. Do you think I’ve grown pretty enough?” — “You seem very aware of his household, I’m surprised.”  — “Bixia sent me here to observe and learn; I’ve not been idle.”  

Wei Wuxian knew Jiang Yanli was set to marry Lan Wangji before she even knew herself. This was not a coincidence. Originally, three years ago, when Lan Wangji was first choosing members of his harem, Jiang Yanli had been considered, but at the time Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan were already engaged to be wed. Jin Zixuan had promised Jiang Yanli that as soon as he passed the imperial scholarly exam and secured a position for himself in His Majesty’s court based on his own merit and not on the influence of his father Jin-guogong (Duke Jin), that he and Yanli would marry. It was a marriage that his late mother had arranged with her best friend Yu Ziyuan, and both Yanli and Zixuan were amenable to it. However, when Jin Zixuan finally passed the exam and ranked 6th in the national polling, he chose to take a position far away from the capital and left without a word of affirmation regarding the engagement. The position was an important one given to Jin Zixuan by Emperor Lan Xichen himself and so in some ways, it was understandable that he could not refused. After Jin Zixuan left the capital, Jin Guangshan went to his “old friend” Jiang Fengmian and “apologized” profusely on his son’s behalf, spewing all sorts of words about how a young man ought to make his way in this world and such. However, this left the Jiangs in an awkward position. Jiang Yanli was 21 yrs old, already older than any unwed noble lady should be. The Jiangs were angry with this outcome, but given the politics of it, they could not say much...and that was when Lianfang-jun Meng Yao revisited an idea that had been put aside three years ago. — “Hanguang-wang...desires to marry A-Li?” Jiang Fengmian was somewhat flabbergasted. “But...” — Meng Yao smiled, “Jiang-houye*, three years ago I came on behalf of er-di to broker a marriage between our two families, but you and Yu-furen both refused on account of her engagement with Jin-xiao-gongye. But I must say ling’ai* is a fine young woman, eloquent and mild-mannered and would make a fine wangfei* some day.” — “Wangfei? but -” — “Yes, Hanguang-wang did say he would choose his own princess or prince consort, but as you can see, even with Jin Ziyan as he ce-wangfu, Qin-fu’ren and Luo-fu’ren at his side, our prince has not shown any desire for any of them to be his legal spouse. He is still waiting, searching, and who’s to say Jiang-gu’niang is not equal if not better than the lot of them?” 

What the Jiangs didn’t know was that Jin Guangshan was a traitor and had already sold his loyalty to Wen Ruohan, who promised him to make him a fanwang* when Qishan eventually annexed Gusu. JGS was a mole inside Gusu’s government secretly helping to further Wen Ruohan’s agenda. Nevertheless, Wen Ruohan wanted Wei Wuxian to get close to Lan Wangji, because as helpful as Jin Guangshan was, he was never fully trusted by the royal family and did not know their inner workings. Breaking Jiang Yanli’s marriage with Jin Zixuan was just a matter of convenience. Jin Guangshan was not fussed regarding a simple marriage when the reward would be much greater. As per WRH’s instruction, he used his influences in court to maneuver Lan Xichen into giving Jin Zixuan a position far away from the capital, thus removing his son from the dangerous political atmosphere and freeing up Jiang Yanli as a potential concubine for Lan Wangji. Then, Jin Guangshan sat back and allowed Meng Yao to finish the game that he started. Meng Yao was not a willing participant. He loved Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue but Jin Guangshan held the secret to his past and thus a noose around his neck. Everyone in court knew that Lianfang-jun Meng Yao was once a lieutenant in Nie Mingjue’s army and later became his personal secretary. He was known for his wit and silver tongue and the charming dimples on his cheeks whenever he smiled. However, not many knew that Meng Yao was the bastard son of Jin Guangshan and a prostitute. Meng Shi’s hope was that one day her son would be legitimized by his father, but alas her hopes were in vain. A child born to a whore would be condemned to a live in the “jian” caste unless otherwise freed. It was Nie Mingjue who chose to raise Meng Yao above his station and respected him as a person for the first time in his life. When Nie Mingjue and his long-time sweetheart the crown prince Lan Xichen were set to marry, Meng Yao thought his days of freedom would be over. To his surprise, Nie Mingjue opted to bring him back with him from the borderlands where Nie Mingjue’s battalion was stationed and introduce him to court and to Lan Xichen. It seemed almost impossible that Lan Xichen would love him as unapologetically as Nie Mingjue, but somehow he did. Meng Yao became the only concubine person in Lan Xichen’s harem other than Fengjun Nie Mingjue. Life was perfect, so perfect in fact Meng Yao even entertained the idea of coaxing Lan Xichen to take on a lady or two to be his concubine so that the palace could be filled with little ones. Of course he’d be a little jealous...but they would have children...and Lan Xichen loved babies.  Then of course, Jin Guangshan found out who he was, and from that point on, Meng Yao was no longer a free man. Every single moment of his life, his father threatened him with exposure. If anyone were to find out just how unseemly his origin had been, how not only was his mother a prostitute, but he himself had been nearly no different (given to the Nies as a gift by a stupid pandering official), his life would be over. At the very least Lan Xichen would be forced to banish him, at the worst, he’d be dead. Oh there would be no public announcement of course, but it would be said that he had taken ill and succumbed to his frail health, and with his death the smear on the Lan imperial family would be cleansed.  Meng Yao didn’t want to die, so he did as Jin Guangshan asked, even when the ask became Nie Mingjue’s life. (But NMJ isn’t really dead...Meng Yao was nothing if not a fighter. He could not let the father who’d cursed him to a less than hellish existence take away from him the first man who’d ever shown him love and kindness.)   — “Jiang Yanli must marry Lan Wangji.” Jin Guangshan instructed. “And you must ensure that when she does, the boy goes with her.”   — “What boy?”  — “The ward of Jiang Fengmian: Wei Wuxian.” 

So when Meng Yao came to speak with Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan, naturally he brought up the subject of Lan Wangji’s “preference.”  “The Qin family did very well in this regard. They were quite clever in allowing Mo Xuanyu to serve Hanguang-wang; the boy is too low-born to be of any threat. Even if Hanguang-wang’s harem of today becomes the imperial harem of tomorrow, Mo Xuanyu would not be more than a mianshou. His success, on the other hand, would ensure that Hanguang-wang’s favour stay with the Qin family. As we can see, their effort was not in vain. Qin Su became with child rather swiftly. Little Kaisong was born more no later than three months after Jingyi.” Meng Yao explained the delicate nature of the situation to the Jiangs. “If Jiang-guniang is to marry Hanguang-wang, forgive me for my boldness, but she would be wise to bring a male attendant of her own. Wangji is kind and would honour her as his concubine, but the man cannot control his inclinations, as none of us could.”  Yu Ziyuan exchanged a look with Jiang Fengmian. Yanli was older now; waiting for Jin Zixuan to keep his promise had delayed her and possibly ruined her prospects. If this marriage to Lan Wangji were to succeed... he is an honourable man who treated all his concubines equally and with respect. If he grew to like Yanli enough to make her his legal spouse as Meng Yao seemed to think is possible...then one day she would be Empress.  — “Hanguang-wang’s preference is men. Would he not prefer to have a wangfu instead of a wangfei?” Jiang Fengmian was still hesitant.  — “Indeed I’m sure he would, but politics being what it is...” Meng Yao sighed. “I’m sure Wangji understands that having the mother of his heir be his wangfei and his future empress is the best course of action to ensure the stability of the nation. We certainly have no shortage of examples to learn from in history: a shuchu prince with competing shuchu brothers walks a perilous road.”  — “Lianfang-jun is wise.” Yu Ziyuan nudged her husband. “Which young man do you suggest we include in the bridal party?”  — “That I have not decided, which is why I’ve come to see you today. Jiang-fu is a large manor, surely there must be some servants worthy to catch the eye of our Hanguang-wang. Yu-fu’ren, why don’t you assemble them, and we can have a pick?”  — “Lianfang-jun, that is a delightful idea.” 

Wei Wuxian was not surprised at all when all the young men of Jiang-fu under 21 and above 16 were assembled in a courtyard. He scanned the crowd; there were about 20-ish of them. One by one, they were beckoned forward, and when it was his turn, he walked with his head bowed towards the man sitting under the eave on a luxurious wicker chair, holding a fan. The fan was very expensive, drawn by an artist in the previous dynasty. An antique. This must be Zewu-di’s* only concubine, Meng Yao.  — “Greetings to Lianfang-jun.”  — “Raise your head, boy, let me take a good look at you.”  — Wei Wuxian obeyed. Meng Yao looked him over once, appraising and evaluating, before making a pleased little noise. “Hm. Your name?” —  “Wei Wuxian.”  —  “Wei...Wuxian?” Meng Yao gave a pretty laugh. “A rather boastful name for so young a person. My, but you are a lovely thing. Tell me, what is your age?”  —  “Eighteen.”   —  “Eighteen, excellent. It’s unfortunate that your name isn’t something a little more humble. What does your family call you?” —  “My family calls me A-Xian, dianxia.” — “Well A-Xian, if I were to tell you that you’ve been chosen to accompany Jiang-gu’niang to serve Hanguang-wang, what say you?”  — WWX thought *I’d say Lan Wangji better sleep with one eye open*, but said with a gracious and deferring bow of his head, “That would be my honour.” 

[next]

Note: 

houye - marquess ling’ai - a formal way to address someone else’s daughter  wangfei - princess consort  fanwang - a type of high-ranking prince with their own region/land to govern and possibly even their own army to command under imperial rule.  Zewu-di - emperor zewu. 

ep9: dafan wens my friends the dafan wens

imo this is def the weakest arc in the show. this episode was fun but whew, I think ep8 might have been my least favorite and we're still getting out of it

he asks this question way later in eps 20 and 43 or something and each time lwj is like 'we just gotta rush them' king of rigid problem-solving and only having one solution to any problem <3

threatening jc with lwj is kind of funny but on a rewatch it's like. ah

credit where it is due. jc almost expressed concern here for wwx

wwx defending lwj for zero reason and then turning and giving him such a sweet smile. bud you are so far gone <3

NOW IT'S DAYTIME?? not even dawn but BROAD daylight. mama mia

yeah, I feel like putting the zombied people in the cage would have been safer than putting the healthy ones in

IS HE. HMM

god this is so sad. look how miserable wq looks to see her popo like this

I don't like any of the surreal, drawn-out, misty sequences interspersed with fight scenes. I mean the waterborne abyss. I mean this forest fight. I mean a chunk of yi city. I mean the maze forest. I just hate the hazy atmosphere and there's usually no good character moments and there's a ton of worldbuilding magic that I can't follow very well and don't rly care for

this fight isn't bad tho! there's some fun banter and some cool angles, like the one above

ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT STRANGLING WWX. WHEN WILL HE CATCH A BREAK. this is the first of...four? jc, wrh, and jgy way later...let wwx breathe 2k23

also this is a VERY funny thing to worry about. lwj is very good at going Heady Empty (meditation) but wwx found it challenging due to having so many thoughts

I SEE BABY A-YUAN!!!!!!!!!!! HELLO!!!!!!!!

as much as I complain about him as a character I was THRILLED to see this little guy. I LOVE baby a-yuan and I think he's just precious. his survival was one of the things I needed to be spoiled for in order to watch the show without significant distress

though given the timeline this can't be a-yuan...he'd be way too old by the time the post-sunshot timeline rolls around. that's at least two years later. so I guess this is his older sister who looks the same as him. god but that's a cute little actor. love him and his big chubby cheeks and his little fingers and his baby wig

GREAT choice for little wn and wq too. they look just like their adult versions. actually I think the casting for all the kids versions of the adult characters was perfect except for a-yuan doesn't look a great deal like lsz imo

HA. wrh may be power-hungry and getting more unhinged by the day with the magic of the yin iron but he's still a more savvy political actor than his stupid fucking son. 'of course wen qing is going to intervene if you mess with her family, you fuckhead' lmao

SUCH a pretty shot I love how saturated the colors are for their outfits and headpieces

literally such a fucking funny scene. well-dressed young nobles hunting in the woods for a chicken. and wwx being so clever and getting wq alone so he and lwj can question her in private. curious how quick he was to cut nhs and jc out. nhs isn't from either of their sects, but jc should theoretically be trustworthy. except! wwx doesn't trust him. hmmm. even this early, he and lwj act as a unit. lwj's entirely given up trying to go it alone and now they work together nearly seamlessly

literally seconds apart. I fucking give up. and I don't think it's the translations because this has been a consistent issue in all the versions I've watched. it's 10! wq and wn are clearly around the age of the others so it's not 20

remember that post that's like 'jc: lady wen may I rub thine shoulders? massage your feet? feed you grapes? vs. wwx and wq doing a six-step handshake and laughing together' that NAILED it. jc trying to be attentive and gentlemanly bc he views her as a Woman and he's trying to fulfill the role he understands to be expected of him, as a man, in society ( to Intervene and Protect). meanwhile wwx views her as an independent actor in this shitty situation they're in. dgmw wwx is also sexist but he treats women more like human people than jc does, esp wq. he also thinks out of the box and isn't afraid to challenge social norms, unlike jc who's guided by social expectations because his parents haven't given him strong positive role modeling and he doesn't have strong instincts on how to behave outside of what he's been taught by society in general

but like I said. still sexist. it's not like being a creative and original thinker can save him from Living In A Society

lwj is very polite to wq, as he appears to be to all women, but I don't think he'd get close with any women because he doesn't get close with anyone at all. also I don't think he meets many women so he doesn't have much interaction with them outside of professional and impersonal settings so they've been at an arm's length from him since he mama died

jc is consistently so unpleasant to wwx. like would it kill you to be supportive of your brother when he's trying to solve a mystery. for ONCE

I like this waiter <3

be nice to the waiter my GOD jc. chill out. he's just telling a story

ohhh cinematic parallels to post-sunshot hmm 👀

overall the yin iron plot is overly complex, kind of silly, and imo feels extraneous, and I can def tell why novel fans dislike it. but it did give the boys and girl some quality time together and an excuse for exposition/backstory development and really, that's all the purpose it needed to serve before its bigger role later. now if only jyl was on more of these trips :( I miss my girl. I love wq but jyl is probably my favorite female character

personal highlights

wwx's cute little smile directed at lwj for no other reason than that he likes him

wwx finding it hard to concentrate in the woods because he just has too many thoughts, which he interprets are being so so smart (and he IS I love you wei wuxian)

nhs and jc going chicken-hunting in the woods

BABY A-YUAN DEBUT!!!!!

Alright, I asked yall to help me find a discord server for the Untamed a little while back, and you delivered! But also a number of you requested that I not completely limit my screaming re:all of this to the discord server.

So there is the nonsense that they have been subjected to. These are fic ideas I will never write. Short concepts above the cut, longer, fleshed-out ideas below. Lots of Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng because that’s my favorite.

First: WWX gets silenced for a full week. This is only a problem for some people. 

I would like a fic where WWX gets hit with like...an overpowered silencing spell (probably he said something that provoked a Lan elder to a near qi deviation and they cast a silencing spell on him but fucked it up in the process) and he's Silenced for a solid week. Which wouldn't be so bad except he messed up his dominant hand on a night hunt a few days prior and now he can't write or talk. And there's nothing for it but to wait for the spell to wear off (how exactly he's eating and staying hydrated is a fun problem to solve). The juniors are pretty good at translating his incoherent closed-mouth noises--they get it right about half the time. Lan Quiren expected this to be a happier time for him but it turns out that WWX is somehow MORE annoying when he's communicating exclusively through extremely exaggerated pantomime. NHS gets more than he lets on, of course, and Lan Zhan gets what WWX is trying to say about 80% of the time, which is pretty good.

But the only person who gets exactly what WWX is trying to say--often before he actually tries to say it--is Jiang Cheng.

Because neither of them actually says what they mean most of the time anyway. So Jiang Cheng--who recognized his brother in the wrong body, long after he was supposed to be dead--has zero problem predicting what WWX is going to try to say.

Mostly this results in a lot of arguments that, from a safely-out-of-Zidian range, are freaking hilarious to watch. Because it's basically JC saying something, WWX starting to react, JC saying something in response but more agitated, WWX looking at him, and JC acting like WWX just said something outrageously dumb, and then WWX making a noise, and JC blowing his fuse about how stupid and self-sacrificing WWX is being

Neither of them realizes how weird this is, despite multiple people trying to point it out to them.

(Is LWJ slightly jealous and offended that JC can read WWX better than him? Yes. Can JC read that microexpression on LWJ's face? absolutely not.)

Jin Ling walks in on JC in the kitchen vigorously stabbing a bowl of soup and turns around and walks right back out before JC can explain that he's trying to make it all small enough that WWX can have pork rib and lotus root soup through a straw. ( blenders don't exist but who needs a blender when you have the power of furious brotherly love)

I would love for JC and WWX to be scheming something up, with WWX making weird expressions and JC going, "Okay...okay...no, that's dumb. what if--okay. okay...no, you'd need at least three chickens...okay...no, you idiot, you'd get hurt....well maybe..." basically like rusty and danny from Oceans 11.

And then the two of them turning to the other cultivators like, "you got that, right?" and obviously everyone is just ?????

No one got that.

By the time WWX has regained the ability to speak, he and JC have gotten on such a perfect level of understanding that it’s like they’re brothers again.

What do you think about Lan Xichen?

The poor man is Trying His Best. He doesn't always get it right because he's a product of his time and position, but he's trying. Most of his failures come from not having all the facts, but he always at least wants to do the right thing (see him trying to defend the Wens, only to back down when the people who've actually met them refuse to support his position that they might actually be innocent of WRH's crimes). And when he learns the truth he always tries to make up for it, or if he can't is overwhelmed by guilt (when he's given evidence that WWX might be not be the villain he was told he helps protect him if only for LWJ's sake, when he learns about JGY's actions and kills him he's so guilty about failing to save one sworn brother from the other and then killing the other that he punishes himself by locking himself up...). Basically he's too passive to be perfect, but his intentions are good and we love him for that. LXC doesn't have a cruel bone in his body! The worst he gets is when he thinks WWX is toying with LWJ's emotions, which is just brotherly instinct! Like... yeah, he calls WWX the worst mistake LWJ ever made, but I feel like it's important to keep in mind that from his perspective that is literally true. Up until WWX's return LWJ's feelings for him and decision to support him caused him nothing but pain and misery! So basically LXC is only harsh or cruel when he perceives a threat to his brother and otherwise he's always very nice and at least tries to do the right thing, which is more than can be said of a lot of the cast.

People tend to be super hard on LXC for either not having the necessary information to make the right call (with the Wens, where every other sect leader is swearing up and down that they're an army and he has no reason to doubt them, and with NMJ and JGY, who he tries to help but can't because JGY's a master manipulator using all his expertise to keep LXC on his side) or being protective of his brother (all his issues with WWX), and it always feels really unfair to me.

I posted 5,293 times in 2021

208 posts created (4%)

5085 posts reblogged (96%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 24.4 posts.

I added 2,490 tags in 2021

#the untamed - 904 posts

#word of honor - 300 posts

#wwx - 228 posts

#wangxian - 205 posts

#tgcf - 175 posts

#lwj - 144 posts

#jc - 144 posts

#wkx - 139 posts

#the untamed cast - 128 posts

#my stuff - 123 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#you're a modern queen. you sit to the side of the dance floor and drink out of martini glasses a perfect vantage point to look over your cou

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

@mdzsnet  wen yuan / lan sizhui birthday event

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#4

wangxian coming to ruin someone’s day

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#3

@mdzsnet​ lan wangji birthday event

2257 notes • Posted 2021-01-22 18:00:50 GMT

#2

MDZS Network’s Anniversary Requests : requested ​​

Lan Wangji being sassy, defending Wei Wuxian

3294 notes • Posted 2021-07-06 17:00:45 GMT

#1

protective boyfriends husbands

4577 notes • Posted 2021-02-01 18:01:26 GMT

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