#I love CQL / The Untamed / MDZS with all my heart

[tallochar]

Sometimes I write OC backstories and ideas for myself that never see the light of the day. I tend to write male OCs more often than female OCs, so I was kinda confused why my brain kept coming up with female MDZS OCs.

And then I realized just how raw-ly women get shafted in the MDZS / Untamed universe.

List under the cut because of potential spoilers for new people in fandom and also so this post is easy to skip for anyone not interested in me pointing this out.

That I can remember, off the top of my head:

Jiang Yanli (amazing, perfect, queen of all our hearts, who is the only girl born to a major sect leader who is legitimized has a terrible fiance and then they break up and then he's more horrible to her but then he turns around and redeems himself and they get to be happy for a little while and then he dies and then she dies and leaves behind a child)

Wen Qing (amazing, kickass, fantastic, a queen, we stan, who dies)

Assorted Wen women like Wen Popo (who all die)

Lan Yuan's Wen mom (who died before the Wen got out of the labour camps)

Madam Yu (who is a bitch and a queen and HIGHLY controversial for very good reason who has a terrible marriage and dies protecting her home and people after sending off her son)

Madame Jin (whom we don't know much about except that she supposedly was Madam Yu's best friend and adored Yanli and was a bitch about Wei Wuxian and had a terrible marriage to a known philanderer that had bastards all over the place, who dies sometime off screen in the time skip)

Madam Mo (who is a terrible woman who treats her relative horribly and enables her family's shitty actions and her son's shittier ones and then dies in short order)

Mo Xuanyu's mother (who was the daughter of a servant, got into an affair with Jin Guangshan, we don't know if it was voluntarily or if he pressured her / cajoled her into it, was the subject of praise and jealousy when her son was brought to Jinlintai and then when he was booted out for being a homosexual and a not that great of a cultivator 'died soon after' because she was 'unable to bear the shame', which I always read to imply that she killed herself)

Qin Su (who gets to have a shitty marriage because she unknowingly marries her own half-brother [who knows he is marrying is half-sister but can't figure out a way to get out of it], this half brother then [uberknownst to her, at least for a while] kills their child for being the product of said incest and then he threatens her before she decides to die by suicide)

Meng Yao's mom (was a prostitute who was left pregnant by her client and then abandoned to the wayside and died at some point)

Women that were abused by the lecherous Jin Clan head (most of whom died except for like, one or two)

Supposedly a matriarchal sect Madam Yu came from that we never actually see characters from

Madam Yu's lethal handmaidens (who both die)

Wen Chao's concubine (who is depicted as a jealous, crass, bitchy, terrible woman and who dies)

Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen's mother (killed the teacher of her future husband, future husband became husband because HE decided that that was the only way to protect her and then she got confined to the Jianshi and only allowed to see her kids once a month until she killed herself)

Wei Wuxian's mom (who died pre-canon in a hunt gone wrong with her husband)

Baoshan Sanren (mentioned immortal woman with her own peak and disciples that we only hear about and never see)

Lan ancestor lady (who self-proclaimed herself as having failed at her aims in life and spent centuries of her afterlife watching over a piece of the Yin Iron until she finally got to hand it over to the two protagonists and then moved on, died centuries before canon started)

A-Qing (who lived on the streets and faked a disability to get by and then died before we even met her and remains around as a spirit)

Luo Qingyang / Mianmian who actually gets to live even post timeskip but only because she quit the Jin and retired from the Sect world to live as a rogue cultivator but hey, at least she's alive and she's got a husband and a female child (who gets to interrupt Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian while they are about to have sex in the appedinces)

The girl who got cursed by the fairy statue that we never see beyond the very beginning of the story.

Most of these are dead, almost all the ones who were married had terrible marriages and only a couple escaped the novel with their lives.

Like, holy fuck this is such bad percentages.

[deathbyoctopi]

send xuexiao to marriage counseling!!

just fresh off Yi City. Pick them up from their worst moment together (keep stabby objects away from xxc please) and put them through an honest-to-god marriage counseling session. 

I would pay gold to see that.

[pumpkinpaix]

Spotlight 1:

"Introduction: The Single-log Bridge"

(interview questions answered by Alberto)

What drew you to this topic?

When we realized this would be the first scholarly book on The Untamed, we wanted to prioritize writers with lived experience and cultural backgrounds most pertinent to an initial discussion of it!

Was there anything you were surprised to discover while researching?

For me personally, I was surprised to see all the records that The Untamed kept setting as we wrote, revised, and submitted the collection! Some of the sources cited here were added quite literally the week before our deadline.

Did researching/writing your chapter change how you saw the text, the fandom, or the media? How so?

We had to pull together conversations on a lot of different topics for this introduction, and it was very neat to see the big picture coming together.

If there’s one thing you hope the fandom takes away from your article, what would it be?

I hope that English-speaking fandom in particular comes away with a better sense of how complex production was and how much nuance there is to the show. I've seen a lot of discussions that try to read CQL in the way they would a show made in the US or EU, and that just misses so much of what this show is doing!

What is your MDZS/CQL origin story? (i.e. how did you come to this text?)

I (Maria) started watching CQL after seeing it all over my dash and getting rave recommendations from friends in a wide variety of other fandoms! From there, I branched out into the novel and other danmei texts, both webnovels and dramas.

Favorite adaptation, if any?

The live-action drama will always hold a special place in my heart because this is how I first encountered these characters!

If you were isekai-ed into MDZS/CQL, what sect affiliation would you choose and why?

This is such a tough question XD I think I'd have to say Qinghe Nie because I admire their leadership and I'm most drawn to their style of cultivation!

What’s your favorite fictional trope in MDZS/CQL?

Soulmate tropes will always get me! Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen are my very favorite characters and that relationship is so compelling to me: I also love how Xiao Xingchen forms a little found family in Yi City for a time, later on :,)

Chaotic one-sentence pitch to get your friends into MDZS/CQL?

Picture this: disaster gays reunite after dramatic death and reincarnation, then have the slowest slowburn while dealing with post-conflict politics!

If you could ask anyone who worked any adaptation of MDZS/CQL one thing, who would it be and what would you ask?

To any cast member, I would be so curious whether they anticipated how big and visible the show became!

If you could ask MXTX one question, what would it be?

What do you think of how popular your work has become?!

What is one (1) book/media you would recommend to a MDZS/CQL fan? Tell us about it.

Word of Honor, in case there's anyone hasn't seen it yet (heart eyes)

Anything to say to potential readers of the collection?

On behalf of myself and co-editor Yue, we truly hope you enjoy it!

You can find Maria on Twitter/X @MariaKAlberto.

(FAQ) (all posts on Catching Chen Qing Ling)

[temnurus]

More Wangxian Faves: Post-Canon & Canon Divergent

This list was made to honor the request in the notes on my WWX recs post from @100percentserenity for some more fics featuring Wei Ying set in canon or canon divergent fics. Now, not all of these are strictly from his POV, but they all feature him at his quick-witted, charming, & hopelessly oblivious best. Canon divergent can be a pretty wide category, so do keep that in mind if you see a rec & think, "This isn't very canonical.." Haha. There are two repeats from my first Wangxian rec list, but they fit the ask & are both excellent & worth mentioning twice! Now, in no particular order, may I recommend:

Far Away You Are by cqlorphan (E, 17,358)

Thoughts: I absolutely loved the idea of the esteemed Hanguan-jun being this not-so-secret purveyor of comfort hugs & heartache advice. Wei Ying’s shock upon finding this out was so funny I couldn’t help but laugh, & my amusement only intensified when he made the scary Yiling Laozu face while asking who broke Lan Zhan’s heart, only to be told it was him who’d done so. I wanted to hug all the Juniors myself. They’re all so very precious. This was a lovely story where very little hurt in the end, & sometimes that’s just nice after the gut punch that canon gives us.

my age has never made me wise by idrilka (E, 63,439)

Thoughts: I absolutely loved this. It was pretty CQL (The Untamed) compliant & told the post-canon story of Wei Ying wandering alone as a rogue cultivator after the events of the show. Of course he was pining after his zhiji the entire time, so when he heard gossip that the Chief Cultivator might be married by summer's end it nearly undid him. The angst was excruciating, but One Brain Cell WWX Strikes Again fics somehow always manage to be fun at the same time. I've read several post-canon, wandering Wei Ying stories, & this one was particularly good.

Not What We May Be by brooklinegirl (E, 29,222)

Thoughts: I love Wei Ying’s cleverness in this. He’s his usual irreverent, chaotic, charming self, & I never get tired of how wonderfully his mind works. The odd phenomenon occurring in the town he’s staying in was an interesting mystery to solve, & I had to laugh when Lan Zhan arrived with the usual Lan Juniors ensemble in tow. Watching them all work together to figure out how to fix the issue while also dealing with the healthy side helping of oblivious Wei Ying & searing sexual tension between him & Lan Zhan was a fun treat.

All Caught Up by brooklinegirl (E, 36,934)

Thoughts: Wei Ying proposing to Lan Zhan to get him out of an arranged marriage he didn’t want is so something he’d do. There is no character more quintessentially chaotic good than Wei Ying. You can’t change my mind. The practice kissing was a lovely regular feature from this author, & my particular favorite thing in this fic was Nie Huaisang’s cameo as their pseudo wedding planner with his classic meddling while insisting he’s useless shenanigans. This was super cute. I liked it a lot.

love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360,042)

Thoughts: This was an example of a cool MDZS-specific trope I hadn't seen before, & in it Wei Ying, the infamous Yiling Patriarch, was a cultivator who had achieved immortality (aka, he's OP as fuck but in a fun way). The great sects enlisted his help to win the Sunshot Campaign, & what did he demand in return? Lan Zhan's hand in marriage, of course! It was a fantastic slow burn in which poor Lan Zhan suffered the mortifying ordeal of falling in love with his own husband. An amazing & complex plot, chock-full of angsty goodness.

Birthday Party by waffles_4_breakfast (E, 100,123)

Thoughts: I loved the idea that Wei Ying would actually get to attend Jin Ling's one month celebration, but I was, of course, still concerned about the continued danger he'd be in. This fic nicely showcased Wei Ying's sharp wit, charm, & ever-present sass. I also loved his dramatics when it came to his interactions with Lan Zhan (and in general, of course, haha), but their sweetness together was ultimately my favorite thing about them. The continued threat to Wei Ying's life & all the plotting surrounding it was interesting, but the best things about this fic were the characters & their bonds with each other.

Fentao-laoshi's Guide to Cut-Sleeve Pleasures by occultings (E, 31,775)

Thoughts: This was set during the Cloud Recesses Study Arc, & it was so, so good. The sexual tension between them was just simmering the entire time, & the idea of them “practicing for marriage” on each other was fucking hilarious. Their banter was top notch, & I absolutely loved Lan Zhan’s nearly overwhelming desperation for Wei Ying, not to mention Wei Ying’s bullshit getting him in over his head (as usual, but this time in a fun way, haha). The feelings were actually very sweet, too. I enjoyed this a lot.

wide enough and wild by impossibletruths (E, 64,120)

Thoughts: I love the tag “Noping Out Of Society With Your Boyfriend And Your 50 Wen Refugees: The Novel”. It made me laugh before I’d even started the fic. While this was set during the time period in which Wei Ying frees the Wen refugees, they didn’t end up in Yiling this time. I won’t get too specific, but they still ended up rebuilding their own little settlement & farming to survive, basically. Lan Zhan found them & decided to stay. The slow burn was so good, & I loved the pining in particular. I cried a couple of times in this. It really was just that good.

your problem as a mountain. by cupofwater (E, 30,989)

Thoughts: It was so cute to see the difference between Wei Ying’s & Nie Huaisang’s fantasies, & Wei Ying’s turning out to be more vanilla & romantic in nature absolutely cracked me up. I nearly hurt myself laughing when Nie Mingjue sent Lan Zhan some of the letters by mistake, & I was delighted by Lan Zhan’s reaction. I won’t spoil it, but the smut was lovely & despite the misunderstanding our boys definitely both got their happy ending, haha.

The Vermilion Ribbon by Unforth (E, 233,368)

Thoughts: This sat on my Marked For Later list on AO3 for the longest time, & I really did myself a disservice by not reading it sooner. It was absolutely fantastic. The world-building, pacing, & intricate plot were all brilliantly done, & Wei Ying being in the Wen clan was nothing like I imagined it was going to be in this. Instead of his core family being the Jiangs, we get Wen Qing in Jiang Yanli’s role & Wen Ning in Jiang Cheng’s. Now I’ll warn you that this got super heavy in some places, so mind those tags & take care of yourselves. Nothing was graphic enough that I had to stop reading, but it didn’t shy away from the serious subject matter it covered either. The whole fic was a real emotional roller coaster, & I can’t recommend it highly enough.

[mrcformoso]

mrcformoso's Fanfic Directory

First off, if you love my work, if my stories have touched you, and you would like to offer monetary compensation (only if you are able to!), you can buy me a coffee here!

You may request prompts by sending an ask! :D I have a wide range of genres under my belt, and I hope you enjoy them!

My AO3!

Fandom: MDZS / Modao Zushi / The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

New Perspective Series - (WangXian, Heavy Angst with Happy Ending) Character analysis one-shots deep diving into their thoughts and how they develop from the events in CQL/The Untamed, and beyond.

New Perspective (LWJ POV, T, 8K, 1/1)

The Choice is His to Believe in Me (LWJ POV, T, 11.8k, 1/1)

Smoke and Mirrors (WWX POV, T, 6.9k, 1/1)

Revolution (LSZ POV, T, 8.4K, 1/1)

A Matter of Time Series - My Dark!LZ story! After Wei Wuxian's death, Lan Wangji went insane, doing everything in his power to get back his most precious person. Willing to sacrifice every single person in the cultivation world to reclaim his love. PLEASE read tags and warnings!

A Matter of Time (WangXian, E, 41k, 7/7 + Announcement chapter)

A Matter of Choice (WangXian, E, 17.6k, 1/1)

A Matter of Devotion (WangXian, E, 11k, 1/1)

A Matter of Closure (WangXian, SongChen, M, 13.9k, 1/1)

A Matter of Change (WangXian, NieLan, QingMian, SangNing, T, 7.5k, 1/1)

A Matter of Happiness (WangXian, NieLan, QingMian, SangNing, ZhuiYi, M, 9k, 1/1)

The Art of Communication - Modern!AU Fluff where Everything is Nice and Nothing Hurts (WangXian, G, 4k, 3/3) Lan Zhan can only say so much before the words get caught in his throat. In contrast, Wei Ying never seemed to run out of words. So the Gusu University students found it rightfully strange that the two were dating. (Podfic by Straynyx)

Just Ask Me to Stay - Modern!AU RomCom Hurt/Comfort (WangXian, M, 20.9k, 5/5) After a nasty breakup, Lan Zhan comforts his best friend Wei Ying, and does everything he can to reaffirm his self-worth. Including sex. And sometimes, it takes a good railing too see what has been in front of you all along.

When the Words Stop Coming - Angst with Happy Ending (WangXian, T, 7k, 1/1) Wei Ying had been openly declaring his love for Lan Zhan ever since they met at The Cloud Recesses. Confused and emotionally constipated, Lan Zhan rejected him, until everything went wrong, until he lost Wei Ying in the end. 13 years later, Wei Ying cannot trust Lan Zhan with his heart.

Window of the Waking Mind - Heavy Angst with Happy Ending (Wangxian, M, 8k, 1/1) Wei Ying always said he has a terrible memory, but the truth was that he was very, very good at packing away the most horrible parts of his life into a closet at the very back of his mind and shrouding it in the dark. But when a night hunt went wrong, and those memories were released, it is up to his family and closest loved ones to take the burden of his memories, lest Wei Ying implodes in his own grief.

-----

Fandom: TGCF/ Tian Guan Ci Fu/ Heaven Official's Blessing

Paper Flowers for the God of Gods - FlowerGod!XieLian AU with Rapunzel vibes and Hades & Persephone vibes, with a LOT of flower language. (HuaLian, M, 54k, 10/10 + announcement chapter) In another universe, The Crown Prince of Xian Le, Xie Lian, did not ascend as a martial god, but as a god of flowers, a minor god. Fanart Directory Here!

Paper Flower Extras - (HuaLian, T, Oneshot compilation) Extras from prompts for the Paper Flowers for the God of Gods universe. Current number of Extras: 4

And the Show Goes On - Modern!Idol!AU that is a horror mystery thriller. Featuring Idol!XieLian and CEO!HuaCheng. (WIP, HuaLian, M, 48k, 9/9) Eight years ago, the Xie Family was killed in a fire. A month ago, a new idol debuted on stage under the name Taizi Dianxia. Yesterday, a mangled body was found.

Mind in Madness, Heart in Peace - ReverseAU resulting from a canon divergence. Calamity!XL and Amnesiac God!HC. (WIP, HuaLian, M, 83k, 18/24) The Martial God of Death, Hua Cheng, ascended with little to no memory of his mortal life before godhood. Except…he seems to have caught the eye of The Scourge of Heaven, the Lord of the Ghost City, and The Mad Calamity: Fangxin, the Crimson Sword Deathly Flower.

Sleep - Yin Yu Appreciation Week 2024 Day 1 Prompt - Vacation (HuaYin Friendship, Minor HuaLian, Minor QuanYin, T, 3k, 1/1) Hua Cheng tells Yin Yu to take a break, but Yin Yu doesn't know how. He finds solace listening to Hua Cheng read aloud.

[tavina-writes]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

This is a difficult one! I've loved a LOT of characters over the years even if the current blorbo of interest is NHS from MDZS/CQL bc he's just such a fun little guy BUT lets see if I can try to do this chronologically and not in like, any character ranking fashion:

1 & 2: these two characters are absolutely the rulers of my heart: Huang Rong and her father, Huang Yaoshi from Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong. I just love my beloved spoiled conwoman princess and her insane evil wuxia version Maes Hughes dad so much. I could write so many essays about the Huangs and how they mean so much to each other and also to me. I'm always insane about family members who have complex relationships with each other and that's super evident with them.

3. Uchiha Madara from Naruto. Now, people who have known me for a long time know that I am a Naruto girlie, and that I skipped all the way to "Sasuke's Insane and Sad Pathetic Ancestor" on the character likes list. I love insane murder men and Madara is an insane murder man! He's also very sad. What's there not to like about him truly.

4. Mirasol from Chalice by Robin McKinley. I have a deep love for beauty and the beast narratives and this one ALSO had magic bees. I love Mirasol for her kindness and her devotion even in the wake of massive change and I have a special fondness for the entire story of Chalice both for the lovely worldbuilding and also Mirasol herself.

5&6. Sansa Stark and Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire. I really really love both of these characters for entirely opposing but also really similar reasons! I love them for their flaws. For being stuck in their positions in a world that's really just! not! kind to them! and how they take that and go in such different directions.

7. Sheng Rulan from The Story of Minglan. I have such a soft spot for Rulan. She's petty, she's spoiled, she has so much love and holds onto her principles and her dreams so tightly, she's her father's least favorite child despite also being a legitimate daughter, she finds love, she's so cute, she's the clearest sighted of all four of the Sheng sisters, she's got such a growth arc to her, I love her SO SO MUCH. (I love all three of her sisters too don't get me wrong, Rulan is just my favorite.)

8. Wei Yingluo from The Story of Yanxi Palace. Yingluo! My girl! Never have I ever seen a female lead with so much pent up rage and desire to get even in a story that does not judge her for her hard edges and her propensity for violence. I love that about her. I love how kindness and cruelty and how her quest for vengeance never destroys her ability to love and care for others and recognize other people's genuine kindness and the difficulties other people face in life. I love her shrewdness and her determination to survive too! I'm just! So fond of her!

9. Jaskier from The Witcher (TV). I RARELY TALK ABOUT. MY UNAGING BARD BLORBO. BUT I LOVE HIM. I love the messy relationship Jaskier, Geralt and Yennefer have in the Witcher TV show and I REALLY love the way that Jaskier is portrayed. I don't know anything about the games but! I just! I love! This annoying kind of foppish man because annoying foppish male characters are another beloved character archetype for me, see below.

10. Nie Huaisang from The Untamed/Modao Zushi. Beloved Blorbo. Little crimes man. Unfilial and spoiled. Beloved for being SO jiggly and full of trauma and his tragedy is writ large to me because it! powers! the plot! without his tragedy there is no plot! he burns down his social circle because he loves his brother! There's just so much in here that's like, oh god. I love that he's an annoying foppish dandy and that he loves his pets and creature comforts and that he doesn't enjoy working hard and has so many problems. This too is life. I love this little guy I want to rotate him for a good long time.

[theleakypen]

Fic Writer Interview Game

Thank you for the tag (almost 2 years ago) @gusu-emilu!

I am tagging literally anybody who sees this and wants to play :D

name: Puck

fandoms: multifandom! although Untamed/MDZS continues to be my main

two-shots: I never understand this question but it looks like it means to rec your own two-chapter fics so here we go: Stories More Beautiful Than Answers (CQL, Mianmian gets to meet Jin Ling post-canon) and Rhûnlanders (I published it as a series of 2 separate fics, but it's basically 1 thing: Songxiao in Middle Earth - Xiao Xingchen is an Elf and Song Zichen is a Man, both from Rhûnland so they're still Asian)

most popular multi-chapter fic: Obviously Yunmeng In-Laws (my and @iamwestiec's CQL modern AU groupchat fic which had bafflingly runaway success) has to be the answer to this. But if we're only going by ones written solely by me, it's But, After All, I Am A Wen (incomplete Wen Qing canon divergence wherein she actually takes and uses the comb Jiang Cheng gave her to commit treason and save her family's lives)

actual worst part of writing: having the fucking brain space to fucking write, fuck. it's been really hard bc i have so many other obligations and they eat my brain so even if i have ideas i can't get them to turn into prose :(

how you choose your titles: in order of likelihood: first, quote from the fic itself; joint second place, something kinda descriptive of the fic or lines from a poem or song

do you outline? not generally. I did outline my multichapter Wen Qing fic bc it's so much more ambitious than anything else i've ever worked on and I occasionally do something resembling in an outline in the doc of my one shots when i know what happens in the sections but don't have the prose yet; it's usually, like, a series of bracketed statements.

ideas you probably won't get around to, but wouldn't it be nice? oh god so many lmao. i have an entire channel in my writing discord that is just these ideas. One idea I have is a Songxiao no eye transfer AU because BSSR doesn't open the mountain back up to XXC and how they have to deal with that. Also I have yet to write any Witcher fic but I've been playing Witcher 3 and I really wanna write a Vesemir POV fic that's 5+1 "5 times Geralt sent some random-ass stranger to Kaer Morhen and 1 time he came home" inspired by all the times in Witcher 3 when you can help someone and then be like "Oh yeah you'd be welcome at Kaer Morhen"

spicy tangential opinion: not that spicy but i wish more people would comment, especially on the smaller/less popular fics. i see your kudos! it makes me happy! but i'd love to know your thoughts if you have any!

callouts @ me: none of my self-callouts are writing-related, it's all just - clean your room, go the fuck to sleep, you're not a teenager any more and your body hurts less when you do basic life maintenance tasks. (honestly i'd probably also write better/more if i did basic life maintenance tasks so it counts lol)

best writing traits: Westie once said I'm good at making soft things hurt and I hold that compliment close to my heart <3

[azems-familiar]

I am This Close to watching the untamed

So if you want to perhaps yell about it or something (since you’ve gotten me into stuff that way before) that could be cool idk

OH MY GOD PLEASE WATCH IT

okay to start with. the live action show is very good and a great place to start but it has some important differences from the novel and the donghua (animated show). i personally prefer a combination of cql (the untamed/the live action, that's the acronym i'll be using for it from now on) and the donghua; the novel suffers a lot of lost in translation effect and whatnot and i personally dislike the way the relationship is built in several places in it as opposed to how the adaptations do it, but it's definitely still worth reading. (dm me on discord if you want a copy of a pretty good fan translation of the novel and also like, a link to a place you can watch the donghua, btw.) other problems with cql: censorship hits the live action the hardest and their budget was i'm pretty sure basically nonexistent (they very clearly spent most of it on the costumes and the props, which you know what, the costumes are fucking stunning so great choice). so they changed the worldbuilding some and like.... the fight scenes? are really not good. they're really not good. also the special effects are universally pretty bad. it can make watching some parts of it difficult to get through, and there are some plot elements that are changed as well that i dislike, and a lot of the moral greyness of the original story had to get removed because again, censorship issues (if you want the most accurate, non-morally-whitewashed take first, you'll want to start with the novel, which is also what has the explicitly gay stuff). it's also not explicitly gay - but the actors played it as gay and there are multiple marriage metaphors and holy fuck like. honestly. there doesn't need to be a kiss or a confession or anything it's REALLY FUCKING GAY.

what cql excels in is its character interactions. the acting is absolutely stunning, the soundtrack is beautiful, and every single scene is just done with so much heart and emotion in it. so definitely keep that in mind going into it. i've watched it all the way through i think 3 or 4 times and i still keep seeing new fun details in the background that i hadn't noticed before.

the donghua, on the other hand, has an absolutely stunning art style, very very good voice acting, the worldbuilding and plot are more accurate to the book, and the magic and combat scenes are much more realistic for a fantasy and the powers they have. however, it, especially specifically the third and final season, is very rushed (and it has its own plot changes to fit how much they had to condense things, mostly just in the second half of season 3) and excludes some details, so it can be confusing if you don't know what you're seeing first. i recommend either watching cql or reading the novel first, then watching the donghua!

in terms of like, actual fandom stuff! so the main character of mdzs is, obviously, Wei Wuxian. i'm not sure how much you know but he's like. an incredibly ADHD man with horrible self-worth issues (despite being arrogant as hell) and a very strong sense of justice who is extremely brilliant and goes through a shitton of tragedy. he is known for inventing a viable form of necromancy, which is considered incredibly heretical and, among other things, gets him killed, and then gets him resurrected, so you know. pros and cons. he does magic by playing the flute. he is a disaster bisexual and also a bit of an alcoholic (okay a lot of an alcoholic) and i love him. his love interest is stoic and serious and incredibly autistic-coded and has been in love with him since they were teenagers and literally wrote him a love song. the two of them get trapped in a cave together and have to kill an ancient corrupted divine monster without weapons. it's very romantic. wei wuxian as a younger teenager is basically the epitome of a child pulling a girl's pigtails because he has a crush and is desperate for attention.

anyway, i'm not sure how much you know about the plot, but there's two timelines going on - the present and the past. the present is after wei wuxian is resurrected, and he and lan wangji (the love interest, in case you haven't picked up on the names yet - everyone has like two or three names and it can be hard to tell them apart at first) are basically going on a fun little murder mystery quest while also babysitting a bunch of teenagers which then abruptly devolves into politics, murder, more politics, and more murder. the past on the other hand goes from a high school definitely-not-a-romance to a goddamn war drama to politics and back to. hm. not exactly a war drama anymore but i'm really not sure how to describe everything that happens after a certain event. it's all very much a tragedy and the real "villain" of the story (which is less obvious in cql, again because of moral whitewashing due to censorship, though honestly i feel like they did a pretty good job of staying as true to the source material as they could all things considered, a whole lot of the scenes were word for word from the novel just slightly edited to fit the adjusted worldbuilding or plot changes) is the mob mentality, rumors and gossip and hearsay, and society itself!

lastly, because i am trying not to overwhelm you here, i am going to link you a couple great amvs i've found on youtube that will probably not make a lot of sense without context but will at least hopefully intrigue you?

and

and

the other one i really want to link i cannot because it definitely will make absolutely no sense without having watched the show and so you have to come talk to me when you've finished it so i can give it to you. also hey please feel free to come dm me on discord i Will ramble at length about this. especially about wwx he is my BLORBO and currently taking up residence in my brain. and also i need your live reactions if/when you start watching things oh my god

be glad it's almost 2 am and i'm still recovering from my covid booster or this would be even longer

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

I posted 3,488 times in 2022

54 posts created (2%)

3,434 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gege

@yilinglaozu

@punk-weiwuxian

@damngcoffee

@luckthebard

I tagged 3,486 of my posts in 2022

#how do you want to queue this? - 2,311 posts

#the untamed - 956 posts

#cql - 862 posts

#tgcf - 724 posts

#mdzs - 645 posts

#heaven official’s blessing - 630 posts

#wei wuxian - 568 posts

#lol - 496 posts

#xie lian - 458 posts

#critical role - 445 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#it leaned heavily into this trend of sanitizing villains by showing a tragic backstory as if to say ‘see they’d be good if they hadn’t been

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Just finished TGCF Vol. 1 and s1 of the donghua

46 notes - Posted January 23, 2022

#4

I still can’t believe Feng Xin is actually, canonically the god of Big Dick Energy. People actually, canonically go to worship at the Temple of Big Dick Energy.

69 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

#3

A confirmed Kingdom Hearts IV? Without three important unnumbered console/handheld titles first?

I’ve died and gone to Quadratum.

139 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

#2

I love how KH fans essentially go into hibernation at some point between games, but the second we get a whiff of news, we all emerge from under our other fandom rocks to show up. Love to see it.

265 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

It’s happened. I’ve lived long enough to see Sora wear reasonably-sized shoes.

1,153 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

fuck yeah love these writing ask games! tagged by the awesome @seavoice!! thanks so much for tagging me :D

post the names of the last five files in my wip folders —regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

full disclosure i've hit a writer's block so bad the likes of which any writer would hate to see and haven't written at all or started anything in like,,,, 2 months. maybe more. oTL i'm dying over here. so i'm gonna cheat and post some ideas that i'd like to write, in the order they're in my personal discord channel for writing ideas. the first one is smth that is a wip tho.

also a lot of these also don't have official titles lol

1 long story short : yes it's named after the thing you think it's named after iykyk. a pet project of mine. oc-centered story, takes place in the pjoverse. third installment of this series, takes place in toa, and it's abt an oc child of apollo who fell in love with luke in the og pjo series and is now just going thru it and facing the consequences of that decision. still going, even tho i update even slower than i did for my last two stories in this series ;; oc is op. read at your own risk lmao.

2 faceblind!yuuri cinderella au : yuri on ice. yuuri being faceblind is canon to me as far as i'm concerned bc he doesn't recognize yuri p. twice and doesn't recognize minami initially, even tho he beat yuuri at nationals that past yr lol. not to mention minami has mc anime hair. the rest of what it's abt is in the title lol

3 what remains of jason grace : a what remains of edith finch au for jason grace from hoo/toa. what remains of edith finch is a beautiful game about edith finch revisiting her old family home after her mother's death. the last finch left alive. came up with this idea when thinking abt one of my favorite white boys jason grace. wanted to write smth similar to the game, smth that's as melancholy and heart-rending. i imagine it smth like jason wrote a journal after hearing the prophecy from herophile in tbm, and this was what was in the journal.

4 nie huaisang v jin guangyao : cql/the untamed/mdzs. would be a character study. would be extremely difficult. it's very hard to explain if you don't know the source material/have not watched the show/donghua or have not read the books/manhua, but these two characters parallel each other in multiple different ways in the narrative, and one of them is unknowingly battling the other in a game of wits, with the other characters in the story as their puppets and suffering the most consequences from the actions of these two, who mostly work behind the scenes until the reveal in the finale. and i think it would be a cool character study to write abt that battle bc it's not focused on enough in the source material imo

5 diary of luke castellan/halcyon green : it's actually fitting seavoice is the one to tag me! bc ever since i read their post abt hal/luke's diary and incorporating it into toa i've wanted to write a story that explores this more, but in a playwright format. bc i think it would have a lot of impact as a stage play, focusing on those quite moments between apollo and meg's travels, when he gets a chance to sit down and read thru the diary. at the very least, i envisioned it in that environment when i first read their post.

tagging the few peeps i know who write on the reg (and are moots). feel free to do this (or not): @spooderham @lucifers-favorite-child @talking0fmichelangel0 @bisexualoftheblade

thanks again for the tag!!

[aelfwyn]

Finally got my actual official ADHD diagnosis a few days ago after living in 99% sure land for YEARS, so to celebrate it is time for a

State of the Blog,

I guess.

So.

I joined tumblr to follow Sims 2 CC makers. So far, so good. Then Twitter's descent into madness began and I started following a bunch of other people and then I started watching CQL.

And it ripped out my heart and soul and tore them into a thousand pieces and then sort of smooshed them back together only to put them through the meat grinder all over again. And. I felt like I was never going to be okay again. It has been 3+ months and I'm still Not Okay about any of it.

Anyway, I was aware there was a whole world of CQL fandom and C-drama and danmei lit, so I very firmly told myself I would NOT go down that rabbit hole.

...

So obviously, since I watched The Untamed, I have

read MDZS

watched Love Between Fairy and Devil (which is SO cheesy but I loved it a lot and it cured my CQL-induced depression)

watched Untamed: The Living Dead

watched a bunch of BTS and Untamed cast vids on YT because how??? is anyone??? allowed to be??? this pretty??? pretty much the ENTIRE cast seriously it's unreal (also the Untamed Boys ep 5 scavenger hunt is hilarious)

started watching the Heaven Official's Blessing donghua, read TGCF Vol. 1, then finished the donghua (well, the available season of it)

started watching the MDZS donghua

wrote down a whole long list of other C-dramas to watch / webnovels to read

watched Legend of Fei and read a Bandits fan translation because the show is ... confusing - all in all very "meh" but ok to watch while knitting, I enjoyed Zhou Fei's outfits, and hey, it has this:

finished reading TGCF

started SVSSS

started reading fanfiction. Tons of it. I have not read fanfiction since high-school but apparently I needed more ... angst? And also fix-its, after all the trauma that MXTX serves up.

re-started learning Japanese because my brain now really wants to learn Mandarin but I've made a deal with myself that I won't be allowed to attempt that until I make some decent progress with Japanese

So. Doing GREAT on the whole rabbit hole front.

Anyway, since I've now apparently decided (accidentally started) to actually use this blog for more than Sims stuff, it is as good a place as any to put stuff I don't want to put on Twitter. But, for the moment, apart from this lengthy hello, I think I will remain the person at the tumblr party who's kinda only just got there and doesn't know anyone and will keep lurking in the corner nursing their drink until they find an opening where they can join a conversation without offending/off-putting/making a fool of themselves (or until someone more extroverted takes pity on them). Whoop.

Bonus soul-soothing cat love:

[erotica-hooligan]

2020 Fic Roundup

Repost for record keeping

This is the first year I've really been able to do this, so here is my 2020 writing round up. The fics below are largely all rated E. Many of them are in the second person, a few are in first. They contain everything from sweet romance, incest, age play, to very dead doves. Mind the tags!

Original Fiction

Dizzying Rewards

M/M Ficlet, Rated E

A young submissive experiences a new milestone at a play party with his older dominant partner. CW/TW for some under negotiated stuff with the trans character's binder (but no overt dysphoria or distress).

Shore Leave

  M/NB, 3,500 words, Rated E  

A PWP quickie, originally written for Shousetsu Bang*Bang. A young lieutenant in a space military visits a brothel and has a sadistic tumble with a beautiful sex worker. Co-written with my spouse.

Glory in Your Own Ecstasies

  NB/NB 5,500 words, Rated E

 A religious sex worker and a worshiper come together to worship the God/dess of Spring. Co-written with my spouse.  

Fanfiction   CQL (The Untamed)/MDZS (Mó Dào Zǔ Shī)

Love, In Whatever Way I Can

WangXian, 5,000 words, Rated E

Modern AU The five times Wei Wuxian absolutely does NOT have a daddy kink. Or, the unbearable ordeal of wanting to be taken care of by your boyfriend. Co-written with my spouse.  

I Didn't Know What I was Harboring (It's Called Desire)

XiYao, 5,500 words, Rated E

 Modern AU. In which Lan Xichen, after several months of taking T, develops a sex drive that slams head first into his attraction to the very pretty and absurdly clever Jin Guangyao. He doesn’t think there’s anyone in the world he’d rather explore it with. Or, Netflix and Chill. 

Give Me Something to Scream About

   XiYao, 6,200 words, Rated E

 Sequel to I Didn't Know What I was Harboring, things get a little kinkier between the two.  

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

XiYao, 5,200 word, Rated E  

Lan Xichen, Zewu-jun, in bondage, in submission, in deep subspace. Canonverse  

shadows in our hearts XiYao, 10,000 words, Rated T       The ceremony installing Jin Guangyao as Sect Leader is nothing short of stunning perfection, the shared private tea between sworns brothers after leaves much to be desired. Canonverse   contradictions (the only thing i know how to give)   XiYao, 11,400 words, Rated E   Follow up to shadows in our hearts. A visit to the Cloud Recesses. A discussion on the nature of kindness; masks dropped, and words shared that cannot be unshared. Co-written with my spouse.   >

(trembling ever so little) XiYao, 13,000 words, Rated E This is Jin Guangyao without his layers of protection. This is Lan Xichen given the framework to love as deeply as he desires. This is an exploration of little space and a great deal of love. Canonverse, co-written with my spouse.

my love is building

 XiYao, 1,400 words, rated E  

A coda to (trembling ever so little). This is Lan Xichen utterly in awe of the man he loves.  

Dawning Awareness

Jadecest, 3,100 words, Rated E.  

Modern AU. Touch starved Lan Xichen.  

Silent is blue

 ZhuiYi (Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi), 7,500 words, Rated E

  This is a story about young lovers. This is a story about lessons in love and bondage. This is a story about Lan Sizhui discovering a piece of himself. Ultimately, this is a story about the many ways you can love a person. (this story hints around Or, Lan Wangji teaches Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi how to safely do bondage.  

you always open petal by petal

ZhuiYi (Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi), 650 words, Rated E

  Lan Sizhui comes home to the Cloud Recesses. A filthy coda to Silent is blue.    

your eyes have their silence

Lan Sizhui/Lan Wangji, background ZhuiYi, 4,990 words, Rated E  

This is about love that crosses a line but remains tender and precious. An optional coda for Silent is blue.  

funny that they say they belong to one another when one is married

Qin Su/Jin Guangyao, XiYao, Qin Sun/Jin Guangyao/Lan Xichen, 10,000 words, rated E

Qin Su and Jin Guangyao invite Lan Xichen into their marriage bed. Modern AU. A part of the WHAT ABOUT QIN SU collection.

Lessons in Belonging

Lan Qiren/Lan Jingyi, 1,800 words, Rated E

Cultivators joke that Lan Jingyi is the most un-Lan, but that's not the truth of the matter. He's exuberant and playful, yet he's Lan to the bone. Rules are comfortable guidance, and he flourishes under a firm hand. Canonverse  

The Love you Long to See

 XiYao, 1,800 words, Rated E

 Lan Xichen makes a request and Meng Yao attempts to give him what he needs. Modern AU  

Free

  Lan Wangji/others, 1,300 words, Rated E  

Transcript of a Twitterfic for Kinktober Day 6: Lan Zhan organizes a gangbang for himself.

First Jadecest, 2,600 words, Rated E BDSM AU. There is a first time for everything, this is Lan Xichen's first taste of real submission.

Twenty-Three Jadecest, 800 words, Rated E BDSM AU. Lan Xichen's 23rd brithday.

Fifteen Lines XiZhui (Lan Xichen/Lan Sizhui), XiYao, 5,300 words, Rated E BDSM AU. Lan Sizhui takes an important step in his training at the Cloud Recesses.

Twenty, Ten XiYao, 1,500 words, Rated E BDSM AU, Coda to Fifteen Lines. The morning after.

Formation Jin Guangyao/Lan Sizhui, background XiYao, 3,000 words, Rated E Kushiel's Dart Fusion AU. The Lans are trained to obey. Lianfang-zun pushes Lan Sizhui's obedience to the very edges of his limits on his virgin night and Lan Sizhui learns a great deal about himself. (Can be read without context for the Kushiel series).

borderlines of dreams XiYao, 3,000 words, Rated E DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT. Modern AU for the EAT ROCKS, TROLL exchange.

A-Yao laughs and gives you a push into the elevator. You almost fall over. "You're drunk, er-ge."

 "Oh, am I? I feel dizzy." You have no tolerance for alcohol.

 The next thing you know, you're inside of a hotel room. There is your suitcase, resting on the rack at the foot of the bed. You're out of your shirt, and you don't remember—

Enough to Go By NieYao, 1,200 words, Rated T Canon divergence. A wedding night discussion. WRITTEN UNDER AN ALT Enough Arms to Hold Tentacle Monster, XiYao, WangXian, Lan Sizhui, 3,700 words, Rated E Humans can only develop their golden cores so far before they need to  seek out an Ancestor to receive their true power. The Lan Ancestor is   benevolent and loving toward its children and particularly the Twin   Jades and their soulmates.

Cauldron XiZhui (Lan Xichen/Lan Sizhui), 5,300 words, Rated E DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT. Lan Xichen will bring Lan Sizhui home alive, even if it breaks them both. A kink meme fill. Let Go Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing, 900 words, Rated E Kinktober Day 1: Omorash: Jiang Cheng needs to learn to let go and give up control and Wen Qing forces the issue.(ageplay) Hungry Lan Sizhui/WangXian, 450 Words, Rated E A-Yuan finds a surprise waiting for him when he slides into his fathers' bed. Strange Intimacy Lan Sizhui/WangXian, 900 words, Rated ESizhui likes this, he likes this a lot. Likes the messy heat of  Wei-qianbei's body, likes how he's already been fucked open, how he's  eager for more even after being so thoroughly wrecked by Hanguang-jun.  This is a strange intimacy, they all know it's a queer and complicated  thing, but it's working for the three of them. A secret, sacred bond.

[huigusu]

“而姑苏蓝氏立家先祖蓝安有言，只有在命定之人、倾心之人面前，可以不必有任何规束。所以，历代以来传下的教训都是，呃，我们家的抹额，是非常非常私人且敏感的珍贵事物，除了自己，任何旁人都不能随便触碰，不能随便取下的，更不能够系在旁人身上，这是禁忌。

嗯，只有，只有……”

The founder of the Gusu Lan sect, Lan An, said that only when in front of your destined one, your beloved one, can one not adhere to any regulations. Thus, the teaching passed down through generations has always been that our sect’s forehead ribbon, is an extremely private and sensitive precious object. Other than oneself, no other person may casually come into contact with it, nor may it be casually taken off, and even more so it may not be tied onto another's body, this is prohibited.

Unless, unless...

— 魔道祖师 第45章

June 27: Two Years with CQL Event for @mdzsnet [Gusu Lan]

[qinghe-s]

of course loss is the great lesson

— from ‘Poppies’ by Mary Oliver

[id: four screenshots from various episodes of cql/the untamed and fatal journey, each with a line from the poem in the caption. the first has the line “and what are you going to do —” and shows nie huaisang, in distress, eyes wide and mouth open, facing the viewer. he is held back by jin guangyao who is looking at him, showing little emotion.

the second image has the line “what can you do” and shows nie huaisang in white, simple mourning robes. he is looking off to the right.

the third image has the line “about it —” and is showing a closeup of a sword plunged into someone wearing white robes with gold embroidery, a trickle of blood spilling from the wound.

the fourth image has the line “deep, blue night?” and shows a closeup of nie huaisang’s face as he looks down and over his shoulder. end id.]

[theheartofthekoko]

-Margaret Atwood — MDZS Bingo Event, Prompt: Memories

[id: gifs from “The Untamed”. first, Wei Wuxian looking at Wen Qing, with the text, “In the end”. second, Wen Ning demonstrating burying A-Yuan to Lan Sizhui beside Wei Wuxian burying A-Yuan. third, the ghost general beside Wen Ning rubbing dirt off his face. fourth, Wen Ning telling Jiang Cheng about Wen Qing’s role in getting his golden core beside Wen Qing taking off her Baoshan Sanren hat. fifth, A-Yuan waving a grass butterfly back and fourth beside Wen Ning giving Lan Sizhui and grass butterfly. sixth, Wen Qing and Wen Ning smiling at the rest of the Wen remnants, with the text, “we’ll all become stories”. /end id]

[kitkatsgalore]

I just think they should’ve all been friends!!