#and all the praise to mxtx

[lurkinginnernarrator]

You know, genuinely, the transmigration setting of svsss fascinates me. Shen Yuan adapts remarkably quickly (makes you want to explore exactly how attached he felt to his home in the first place? An interesting thought for another time.) but I have to wonder, how does his past shape his psyche?

I'm sure most people are familiar with nature vs nurture, and that the situation you were raised in shapes you fundamentally as a person (It doesn't define you though.) . Moreso, the culture you were raised in, and participated in, contributed to and perpetuated.

I think it can be easily argued that the world of 'PIDW' moves differently to Shen Yuan's modern day China. I think there is some bleed-through or carry-over, but the cultures are different. (Perhaps with Modern Day as the 'mother culture' to PIDW, seeing as Shang Qinghua may or mayn't be the creator of said world.)

If you take the same culture at different points in time even, the cultural mindset and cultural awareness ( I like to think of it like a portfolio lol), there will be a marked difference. You just have to wonder the difference of perspectives, not even from a character point of view, but culturally.

And! You have to marvel at the fact that Shen Yuan adapted as well as he did! He was speedrunning integrating into a new culture! I mean sure, he had foreknowledge of the world, but knowledge of, say a different country is not the same as learning to truly live there.

I can have knowledge of a foreign country, know it's stories and songs, it's celebrities, traditions and way of governance: the climate, the flowers and the pathways of its waters.

Yet, that would not make integrating into the culture any less eye-opening and educational. It would not make me any less of a student to that culture I'm learning.

This isn't even bringing up that there are multiple cultures in Shen Yuan's PIDW.

I won't argue that Shen Yuan could navigate all these cultures well or easily, but that he did at all is fascinating. Shang Qinghua does have a few legs up, being the author and getting a PIDW childhood.

Shen Yuan's different cultural perspective, I would like to posit, is another reason the Cang Qiong Peak Lords got suspicious. The difference in personality could only be highlighted by Shen Yuan's different cultural foundation. He's operating from an absolutely different place than Shen Jiu!

Anyway, this contrast and concept, this facet of svsss delights me and I enjoy rotating it in my mind.

It seems that this just turned into a SY appreciation post. But what can I say? The funky dude deserves it.

[mxtxfanatic]

Lan Wangji's Mementos Pt. 1

One of the cutest things about Lan Wangji's expressions of love is that the man is a hoarder. There is not a single thing that Wei Wuxian has given him that he has not not secretly kept, because everything that Wei Wuxian has given him—no matter how small, no matter how annoyed he pretended to be—he considers as a precious gift:

Notes and Sketches:

Wei Wuxian was so peeved that he rolled over his mat, climbed up, and wrote another. He slapped it in front of Lan Wangji, who crumpled it into a ball and threw it away again. The Silencing Spell didn’t lift until after Wei Wuxian had finished his copying. The second day, upon re-entering the Library Pavilion, he discovered that all of the wads of paper littering the floor had been removed.

...

But sure enough, Wei Wuxian grew tired and miserable after not too long, and started to lapse back into his old bad habits. He sent a piece of paper over to Lan Wangji and pestered him to take a look. Lan Wangji thought it would contain yet more random, pointless nonsense, but some god or demon must have induced him to glance over it anyway. Surprisingly, it was actually a remarkably true-to-life portrait, portraying a figure sitting upright and still, reading quietly under the light streaming through the window. The figure was, in fact, Lan Wangji himself.

—Chapt. 15: Elegance V, fanyiyi

Flowers:

As Lan WangJi pondered with downcast eyes, he suddenly felt something weigh onto his head. He raised his hand. A pink medicinal peony, at the peak of its bloom, had landed flawlessly on the side of his head. From on top of a building came a grinning voice, “Lan Zhan—ah, no, HanGuang-Jun—what a coincidence!” Lan WangJi looked up to see an airy pavilion lined with layers and layers of gauze curtains. A black-robed man lay on his side over a red lacquer divan. One hand of his slender body dangled down, holding a fine liquor jar made of black clay. Half of the jar’s crimson tassel wrapped around his arm, while the other half swayed back and forth in the air.

—Chapt. 71: Departure, exr

Lan WangJi’s bookmark was a dried flower in a light shade. It had been kept with much care, its color as vibrant ever. The petals and the veins were so delicate that it seemed to be alive. Between pages, it let off a soft aroma. Wei WuXian picked out the bookmark and asked, “Herb peony?” Lan WangJi, “Mn.”

—Chapt. 65: Tenderness, exr

Bunnies:

Hastily, he said, “Hey, can’t you be less scary? I’m here to give you a present and apologize for my wrongdoings.” Without even considering the offer, Lan Wangji refused. “I do not want it.” “You really don’t?” Wei Wuxian asked. He saw a guarded note in Lan Wangji’s gaze. As though he was performing a magic trick, he pulled two bunnies from the chest area of his robes. He held the two chubby, perfectly round snowballs by the ears. The snowballs were still kicking around wildly when Wei Wuxian placed them before Lan Wangji’s eyes. “Your mountain is strange. There aren’t any pheasants, but there’s lots of wild bunnies who aren’t even afraid of people. So how about it? Aren’t they fat little things? Don’t you want them?”

—Chapt. 18: Elegance VIII, fanyiyi

The Lan WangJi at this point in time was also just about sixteen. He frowned slightly, as though he was worried about something. What he held in his arm was a white rabbit, sniffing its pink nose, and beside his foot was another rabbit, its long ears perked up as it stood clinging to his boot, trying to climb up. Lan XiChen, “How could the casual remarks between two boys be considered a serious promise? Is it really because of this?” Lan WangJi looked at the ground and said nothing. Lan XiChen smiled, “Fine. Then if by any chance Uncle asks of this, you must explain things to him properly. These days, you have been spending just a little too much time on them.”

—Chapt. 119: Incense Burner Extra, exr

Wei Wuxian touched the back of [Little Apples's] neck and thought about the jade passage tokens the juniors carried while pointing at the round, white rabbits covering the ground. “I’m really not allowed to cook them? So if I cooked them, I’d be chased off the mountain?” As though facing a major enemy, Lan Jingyi opened his arms and stepped in front of him immediately. “These are Hanguang Jun’s rabbits. We just help watch them once in a while. Don’t you dare cook them!”

—Chapt. 19: Sunshine I, fanyiyi

+1 The memento Lan Wangji never received:

That night was the first time Lan WangJi ever drank, as well as the first time he was inebriated. He had no memories of what he did when he was drunk. For a long time, all of the Lan Sect’s people, no matter disciple or cultivator, held disbelief in their eyes when they looked at him. Some said that night he broke through the storage room of the Cloud Recesses, ransacking the chests in search of who-knew-what. When Lan XiChen asked, he said he wanted a flute, his eyes lost. Lan XiChen gave him the finest flute made of white jade, yet he threw it away in fury, saying this wasn’t the one he wanted.

—Chapt. 111: Wangxian, exr

Pt. 2

[heraldoftrash]

I love how Wei Wuxian is an empathetic, caring, brilliant protagonist. He’s the only one to stand up for a group of civilians/former fighters, including a child. What a great demonstration of his empathy to what was formerly his enemy. His sacrifice of his golden core was such a great reveal. It really showed just how far Wei Wuxian would go for another and how selfless he can be.

It’s always sad how “fans” say he is morally grey and that somehow a morally grey character is superior. The book would’ve gone way differently if he was morally grey. If his supposed moral greyness is being self-centered, likely many more cultivators, including some of the heirs, would’ve died in the Xuanwu cave.

Sure there’s things that Wei Wuxian regrets happening. But his decisions were always for the good of others and never selfish. Maybe people need to look up what morals mean.

It’s like they take the beginning of the book as gospel. The book is written in a way to slowly unravel the reader’s preconceived notions based on rumors and the title of the book. It’s a quite brilliant way to engage the audience with the themes of the book by setting up the reader in the position of the masses/ignorant cultivators then to use the alternating flashback/forward structure to challenge the rumors and the readers.

Thinking of Wei Wuxian, just makes me want to reread the book while comparing it to my Japanese copies, but I must reach level 60 in WaniKani first!

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

[factsilike]

As hilarious as it is to read about WWX initially being unable to perceive his own attraction to Lwj as anything other than the typical reactions of a woman, I wish more people would realise that it was not due to obliviousness, but rather because of compulsory heterosexuality and him simply not being aware such things existed. The time period he grew up in speaks for itself, as well as his unsafe (because the Jiang household was anything but secure) environment.

It was funny when it was treated as a crack idea, but it's frustrating when it's treated as a canon trait of his, when it's not. This guy is highly intelligent, both emotionally and intellectually, and the conclusions he came to regarding his own feelings as well as Lwj's were based on the information he had at the time. I see people point it out most in that scene at the start of the novel where Lwj gets drunk and points to WWX saying 'Mine."

But I can't believe how obtuse those same people are when they don't realise that while it's obvious to the reader (because duh they're reading a danmei novel about romance between the two main leads, and they let themselves be blinded by their own perceptions) that he's referring to WWX, to him it's not. Because what was he supposed to think? When all Lwj had ever been towards him was tolerant at best, and outright hostile at worst, and with his previous cold behaviour, was WWX really supposed to think, oh he must mean for me to be his! Because that would have made no sense at that part of the story. It was only logical for him to try to find a rational explanation, and the only one WWX could come to was that LWJ was referring to his sword, because obviously WWX wasn't going to take him seriously even if he had confessed, he would have only thought that he was drunk rambling or something. He didn't have any reason to believe him at that point.

It's not until the rest of the events of his second life progress and give WWX many opportunities and chances to reflect on his own feelings and Lwj's (changed and more affectionate) behaviour, does he start to think, could it be that I like him? Because WWX is no idiot; he realises his own feelings for Lwj pretty early on. And he catches onto Lwj's love for him too! Which is what the whole getting drunk at the inn thing before Guanyin Temple was about; he was scared to find out whether or not Lwj's love for him was platonic or not. (Which is a valid thing literally every person who has ever had a crush can relate to; worrying over whether the person of your affections feels the same or not. And it's difficult enough navigating these things in heterosexual relationships, let alone same-sex ones)

I think the way MXTX wrote WWX's journey of discovering his sexuality as well as his budding love for Lwj is beautiful and deserves more praise and recognition, rather than just glossed over as tee hee 'obliviousness'.

[randomness-is-my-order]

since i’m on my third mdzs brainrot of the year, let me just say: it’s enlightening how this story, spread over multiple volumes, goes over the simple but undeniably true reality that even while doing almost everything “right” you can still be horribly “wrong” in the eyes of society. how wei wuxian would bend over backwards to follow his morals (which have been narratively shown to be somewhat the standard) but still be condemned at large because he didn’t go about it the way that was perfectly compliant with what his social superiors and other authority figures expected of him. how “good” deeds in the mdzs world (and ours) will only be accepted and praised, coming from someone of lower social standing, if they are packaged in an unobstrusive manner–and sometimes, not even then. and it’s funny how some people miss that, how they wonder what would have happened if wei wuxian had been just a bit more tempered, a bit more subservient, a bit more polite. how the expectation of delivering his kindnesses in the most unhindering manner possible is somehow an acceptable train of thought–how the burden to do better is not unequivocally placed on people like JGS, Jiang Cheng, Nie Mingjue, the Lans, etc.

some people think that wei wuxian using demonic cultivation in the eyes of the cultivation world is his downfall. nevermind the fact that he literally isn’t practicing mo dao–this whole issue is NOT about what he’s doing, but about who he is. mxtx has made that clear at multiple points in the novels but the most glaring example is, ofcourse, how the nie sect is allowed to mess with resentful energy all they like and since they are a powerful enough sect, they face no social or political backlash for it–not in the way that wei wuxian does. even then, during the war, those people had no qualms against weaponising wei wuxian’s powers for their benefit. if it truly was about the dubious morality of using mo dao for them then wei wuxian should have been condemned from the get-go. but it’s not. it’s about the son of a servant wielding enough power to change the tides of a war and then surviving to tell the tale and continue to live with the kind of power that shouldn’t be held by someone of his station. it’s about people quaking in their boots because wei wuxian has shown himself as someone who won’t conform, who won’t become a dancing monkey for their tunes.

yes, wei wuxian is not some perfect angel saint but then, why the fuck should he be??? this expectation from some readers and the members of his world alike, that wei wuxian should have been the one to give it his all and more to avoid conflict is blasphemous. in the end, wei wuxian chose his path, stuck to his ideals, and went down throwing a big fuck you at the larger cultivation world’s back, while the rest failed to break the cycle of power abuse. the fact that it took them more than a year to see him to death is just a testament to how well wei wuxian handled things than some grace given by the cultivation world. the whole “wei wuxian’s first death was inevitable” is, for me, not about wei wuxian slowly spiralling and things getting out of hand. his death was inevitable because corrupt people with power will always choose to exploit and silence, will always choose to exert their will, will always choose to hurt those lower in the chain. and that is exactly what happened with the ambush and everything that led upto it.

[yingandzhan]

I keep seeing people condemn WWX for his actions at Nightless City and I just can't understand how they arrived at that conclusion.

First off, WWX was an innocent man being condemned for no reason other than people didn't like the fact a son of a servant was more powerful than anyone from the reigning bloodlines. He was a hero, praised for his new cultivation method, until he wasn't needed any more and they made him into a pariah. They attacked him on the way to a social event he was invited to and he defended himself. That's allowed... Otherwise he'd be dead!

A tragic accident occurs, and while the cultivators might not know the truth - they know some people ambushed him and accused him of something without hearing his side of the story. To anyone else, that would be an injustice! Even WQ and WN were given a trial!! However rigged it was, they still had one. The clans demand WQ and WN hand themselves in and they will let the matter go for now - leaving WWX and the Wen remnants alone for the time being. But they go against their word! The minute the Wen siblings are apparently dead and they are dumping their ashes at Nightless City they are plotting to attack and kill WWX and the remaining Wen remnants anyway!! That's absolutely disgusting. They gave their word and instantly went against it. WQ died for nothing.

WWX witnesses all of that and is of course distraught. Then one idiot shoots an arrow at him because they choose to ignore how morally wrong the whole thing is (murdering innocent people because of their name - people that were once free AFTER the war, put then recaptured and put into labour camps at a later date) and is even rubbing shoulders with people who were on the Wen side and actively on the Wens side during the war (as WWX pointed out during his gatecrashing antics at some gathering). Yet we should feel bad for the person who blindly follows the mob and shoots at a man that's actually innocent? All of that damning evidence against the people he's siding with and all the truth WWX spoke and he'd rather just ignore all that? It was his choice to make and he was morally wrong in shooting at WWX.

WWX only ever acted in defence during this scene. Yeah, maybe he did go over the top because he was traumatised and grief stricken - but he was trying to defend himself and keep the Wen remnants safe as well. This is ancient China!!! Not the modern times! Stop viewing this novel through a modern lens!

For the millionth time - regardless of your opinion, MXTX was right to state WWX is the moral ideal of the story because she literally wrote him as such. She's not claiming he was perfect or never did a single thing wrong. She's saying he's the moral ideal because he learns from his mistakes!!! Unlike 99% of the characters in the novel! He learns from them and vows to never do such things again - which we see throughout the story. She wrote him as the moral ideal because he is willing to do what is right despite any backlash or consequences. That's what makes him the moral ideal. Not some fairytale bullshit, but real life moral ideals, where people aren't entirely perfect but do what is right, even if it's not the easy option.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Mo Dao Zu Shi and Self-Yearning For Reconciliation

There is an overarching lesson within the writing of MXTX that forgiveness and moving on doesn't entail non-verbal consent for a relationship to be salvaged once more or reclaimed as it used to be.

Within SVSSS, we are given the character of Yue Qingyuan desperately seeking the friendship and brotherhood he had with Shen Jiu. Only for that relationship to be provided by another way of Shen Yuan who finalizes he is not the man Yue Qingyuan needed closure from, but is the only one able to give it for the man to find peace with his own choices.

To a lesser extent this is also shown with the relationship between Xie Lian, Mu Qing and Feng Xin at the end of TGCF. This time though, despite Xie Lian associating with them with no ill will, he does not let either man make choices for him and resoundingly makes his own boundaries aware within the reclamation of their friendship.

MDZS does not offer this reclamation of a friendship or the start of one previously lost with another. Unlike the previous two who did yearn for friendship what was between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian had been a stipulation of burden and assumption that started with Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Cheng was to see Wei Wuxian as a servant made friend when brought in, and Wei Wuxian was protector over friend. There was already a set imbalance due to neither naturally being able to choose the roles within their lives for the other and extending parties stating who and what they were to each other.

Jiang Cheng in his already tenuous esteem with himself and resentment of being told he was already viewed as less from his mother, took Wei Wuxian's existence in his life as a displacement of his own claims within life. His sacrifice of his dogs was the precursor for the beginning of their relationship on the allusion of debts between them.

Jiang Cheng gives up the loyalty of a literal pet, for the loyalty of an eventual man. In other words, I will shelter and protect you in exchange. Jiang Cheng does keep to this as children, with the expense of mocking Wei Wuxian's fears as he is want. His stipulations for this begun to escalate over the years and as such the giving of shelter and safety cannot be made up for Jiang Cheng, forever loyalty is now not enough, but why must Wei Wuxian also be adept at cultivation, why is he to be praised for his deeds more so, why must Wei Wuxian be a bright mind of the war.

If he is to be that, it at least would be overshadowed that he is still only under Jiang Cheng's rule. Otherwise every other action against this, is to demean Jiang Cheng, to oppose him, to cause trouble with ingratitude. It is also why, despite Wen Qing and Wen Ning having sheltered him and Wei Wuxian as well as collected his parents and provided their ashes, Jiang Cheng is able to disregard his obligation to help them. If not for Wei Wuxian's supposed insubordination, Jiang Cheng would not have suffered his own losses. Even when he did protect Wei Wuxian, the loss of it was too much, as with the dogs he had given up as a child, he did not get an active said promise of more dedication made up tenfold for the minimum kindness exhibited by Jiang Cheng. As said by Fang Mengcheng, "Atonement? You cannot actually be feeling grateful to him!”

To want to be good and to protect others, must come with selfish want for exemption of guilt for the harm you have caused. Wen Ning and Wen Qing owed it to Jiang Cheng for the deaths of his parents for carrying the surname of Wen, as such he did not need to repay them. Wei Wuxian sat at the table of the Jiangs and was given a living others would envy, as such he owed his life to Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian taking on the burden of protecter of another, was a betrayal of all that Jiang Cheng's lineage had gave him. To do the impossible because it is right, is not worth the self emulation and ridicule of the many. And while he may resent that kindness in Wei Wuxian, for it to be given to others as well, is a lack of loyalty of the ideals of Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng's growing resentment of Wei Wuxian's choice of kindness over safety, is a a mirrored resentment that Jiang Cheng holds within himself and his lack of respect for his own Clan ideals. A servant under the lord of the house embodies what Jiang Cheng was born to be.

As he throws abuse upon Wei Wuxian at their penultimate clash, while he does say sorry, he is still unable to view it without the veil of debt owed between each other. As Wei Wuxian could not tell him he gave him his core out of pity for his ego to keep him from shattering, Jiang Cheng could not say he protected Wei Wuxian out of a moment of kindness without care for the consequences until it expounded as his reality.

There is a self soothing mechanism, that opening up to truths will eventually mean a mending of what had been, or the beginning of something better. Yet this is only true when both are open to stand together as equals. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng began with obligation and ended with obligation. The obligation to give for doing, the obligation of sorry for redemption.The obligation of servitude for sacrifice.

To rebuild and start again is meant to be the closure of ill will and the understanding of boundaries that cannot be crossed now. Jiang Cheng can only do one but not the other. He chooses hate for his continued nature, even while he is adamantly protecting Jin Ling by the end. While Wei Wuxian knows that resentment is not something that will create true happiness and nurturing growth that people strive for.

Reconciliation is to come to terms with that which you lacked, and to be more, to be better. Jiang Cheng accepts his core nature of resentment which would not last next to the altruism that Wei Wuxian chooses more than once. Kindness and Resentment cannot coexist at the same time. To resent is to be cruel, to be happy is to be kind. Both men are too tired to understand the other, and why they choose to part as a peace offering, an understanding that they will never thrive with the other.

[veliseraptor]

Top five spiciest untamed opinions!

man, I've been in my own little corner of fandom for long enough that I feel like I struggle a little to parse what is spicy of my opinions and what isn't, but here's a go at it

The Untamed is a show with complex, morally grey characters that's telling a slightly different but not inherently inferior story. Maybe I'm just a bit defensive about this, and I have with time come to appreciate a lot of things about the novel over the way they play out in the show, but The Untamed was the first version of the story that I fell in love with and I think at least some of the criticisms of it overstate the degree to which it morally simplifies the story. I think, whether because of requirements of censorship or other reasons, that the moral messiness of the story is subtler, I don't think it's absent, and while Jin Guangyao in particular falls victim to a pretty intense villain edit the narrative still has plenty of sympathy for him (even if the audience, all too often, does not). I think it's telling a slightly different story (as others have discussed), but I think it's a strong adaptation that still works with the underlying themes of the text.

However, that being said, The lessening of Wei Wuxian's culpability, as in the introduction of the second flautist, weakens his character. I feel like the character of Wei Wuxian as we see him in The Untamed still has the recognizable flaws of the character from the novel - I think the degree to which they're sometimes claimed to be toned down is overstated, which I think I've written some about before. He's still at least a little arrogant, causes problems, has a definite temper, and doesn't always respect other peoples' choices, among other things. But what The Untamed does do is remove some of his culpability, or at least temper it - both for Jin Zixuan's death and the massacre at Nightless City, which are two moments that contribute to a strong tragic arc in the first life, which makes for a more powerful (imo) arc in the second life. Removing, or at least lessening, Wei Wuxian's culpability for Jin Zixuan's death and Jiang Yanli's death makes him more a victim of circumstance than of his own human flaws, and at least for me, a character who is doomed by their own flaws is a far more compelling one than one who just happens to fall victim to outside forces. It makes him, I would argue, more passive and less of an active force, and I think the culpability for those two deaths - and the loss of control that causes it - makes for a more powerful narrative than that of a man who is victimized by someone else's actions.

Jin Guangyao was a good Chief Cultivator. I see people talk about him as though he was corrupt and evil and just plotting all the time, but the Bad Things™ he does mostly happen before his tenure as Chief Cultivator and, even taking those into account, have a limited impact on the world at large (with the exception of Nie Mingjue's death, but even that I would argue has more personal repercussions than broader political ones). As far as his responsibility for the cultivation world at large, we have no evidence prior to his downfall that he is negatively perceived by people, except for the fact of his birth/origins.

this is more MDZS-related than Untamed specific, but: MXTX deserves praise for writing "problematic" and messy queer sex, but it's just not hot. I don't have a whole lot to add on this one, but one of my least favorite parts of some corners of The Untamed fandom are people who are thoroughgoing MXTX antis who are quick to cry about the ~problematic~ aspects of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's sex life (which, honestly, I think are overstated a lot of the time, as is the weirdness of the sex scenes); however, in my opinion, the sex scenes as they stand just aren't very sexy, and I don't think that's intentional (as it arguably is in SVSSS). The sex scenes may be a shortcoming in the text, perhaps, but not the one certain people think it is.

this is again a stronger argument in the novel but I think it's present in the show as well: Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian are "there but for the grace of god" foils, but not in the sense of Jin Guangyao being "Wei Wuxian if he made bad moral choices" but in the sense of "who Wei Wuxian could've been if his circumstances were different." I've definitely written about this before and how much it drives me nuts the way people treat narrative foils in this story in general as Goofus and Gallant style duos, but this is a specific one. I think Jin Guangyao is an example of a story that runs alongside Wei Wuxian's, but ends in a different place, and I think the story isn't saying that he ends in that place because of something inherently worse about Jin Guangyao, but because of the way his circumstances happen to diverge from Wei Wuxian's in specific key ways. In some ways his ending is even a near beat-for-beat rewrite of Wei Wuxian's death, and Wei Wuxian receives the grace of a second life not because of any inherent merit, but actually because of his bad reputation. I think this goes for Xue Yang, too, actually.

I absolutely know I'm forgetting things and there are probably things back in my bitchy opinions tag that I could dig out, but here's at least a few that came to mind.

[frostfires-blog]

Módào Zǔshī Hanakotoba Analysis Part 1

◤━━━━━━━━━◥✿◤━━━━━━━━━◥

-> 1) Gentian

-> 1.1.) Gentian Flower Symbolism:

Gentian flowers (Gentiana) are called lóngdǎn (龍膽) in China. They grow in the highlands, where the air is pure, inspiring an aura of dignity and refinement. They mainly symbolise loving someone despite their grief or melancholy. However, they also represent courage, perseverance, hope, and tranquillity given that they grow tenaciously despite the challenging conditions present in the alpine places in which they occur. In Japan, gentians are called rindō (竜胆) and hold the meanings of justice, serenity and loving someone despite their grief in hanakotoba. The latter of which is said to be derived from the flower’s vivid, blue-violet colour that evokes the image of sadness. In Western floriography, gentians symbolise love, intrinsic worth, humility, sincerity, passion and devotion.

-> 1,2) Gentians In MDZS:

In the Cloud Recesses, the Gentian House, the residence of Lan Wangji's deceased mother, is named after the field of gentian flowers growing around it—“the area around this cottage was abundant with purple gentians. The flowers were dainty and delicate, and their colour was vivid and captivating, capable of ensnaring the hearts of all who wandered there. They seemed to emit a faint glow under the night’s dark sky. The sight was beautiful, like a dream, an illusion” (MXTX, v. 3, p. 179). The symbolic meanings of gentians tie in well with Lan Wangji‘s character arc and his feelings towards Wei Wuxian. Like the gentian flower, he exudes dignity, humility, serenity, and refinement. Throughout the series, he has shown his immense sincerity, devotion, and passion for his love interest. Lan Wangji suffered not only the loss of his soulmate, but also the agony of watching that person descend into darkness and sorrow while knowing there was little he could do to help. This relates to the gentian's symbolism of loving someone despite their grief and melancholy. Before Wei Wuxian's full grasp of Lan Wangji, he was often characterised as gloomy and distant—“furthermore, no matter how thoroughly Lan Wangji was praised as an unrivalled rare beauty, nothing could help the fact that he looked profoundly embittered, as if he had lost his wife!” (MXTX, v. 1, p. 73). This further ties into the gentian’s more sombre symbolism.

-> 2) Pine

-> 2,1) Pine Tree Symbolism:

Pine trees (Pinus) are known as sōng (松) in China. They are considered a symbol of evergreen sentiment and everlasting affection because of their longevity and evergreen leaves. In Japan, pines are called matsu (松) and symbolise of immortality, hope and sympathy in hanakotoba. In Western floriography, pines symbolise resilience, longevity, hope, renewal and pity.

-> 2,2) Pine Trees In MDZS:

In the novel, it is mentioned that pine trees grow in the Cloud Recesses where the Gusu Lan clan resides. Despite their seemingly cold and calm demeanour, many members of the Lan clan are noted to be very passionate and sentimental—therefore pine trees are a fitting symbol given their association with evergreen sentiment and everlasting affection. One of the clan’s many rules states that “only in the presence of your fated person, in the presence of the one your heart belongs to, can you allow yourself to be free of restraint” (MXTX, v. 2, p. 198). This rule is a prime example of the value the clan places on sentimentality. Despite many trials and tribulations, Lan Wangji’s love for Wei Wuxian remains strong and unwavering. Even thirteen years after Wei Wuxian's death, Lan Wangji's adoration persists, despite the apparent reality of never meeting again in this lifetime—“just as he always had, Lan Wangji looked at him… And forever after, his eyes could never move away from him again” (MXTX, v. 5, p. 170). This further ties into the pine tree’s symbolic meanings of resilience, longevity, renewal, evergreen sentiment, hope and everlasting affection.

-> 3) Magnolia

-> 3,1) Magnolia Symbolism:

Magnolias (Magnolia spp.) are known as mùlán (木兰) in China. They are considered to represent dignity, perseverance, and honour. Additionally, magnolias are utilised in traditional medicine and are believed to represent purity and beauty. Magnolias are also symbolic of the arrival of spring and are thought to bring good fortune and happiness. In Japan, magnolias are called mokuren (木蓮) and are associated with sustainability, persistence, sublimeness and a “love for nature” in hanakotoba. In Western floriography, magnolia flowers represent perseverance, dignity, honour, majesty, pride, and nobility.

-> 3,2) Magnolias In MDZS:

In the novel, magnolias are primarily shown growing in the Gusu Lan clan’s Cloud Recesses, especially near the library pavilion where Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian studied in their youth—"The rustling yulan magnolia branches veiled the window and shut out the outside. But no matter how hard Lan Wangji fought it, Wei Wuxian’s spirited and boisterous laughter could not be so easily shut out” (MXTX, v. 1, p. 176). The magnolia’s symbolic associations with nobility, dignity and honour tie in well with Lan Wangji and the rest of the Lan clan’s values. MXTX has been reported as having developed Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s character traits in opposition to one another while keeping their core values and outlooks on life, morality and the world aligned. The magnolia’s symbolic meanings greatly exemplify this. At first glance, the tree’s symbolism of dignity, honour, persistence, majesty and nobility align greatly with young Lan Wangji’s character. However, these same traits also align well with young Wei Wuxian’s ideals along with the magnolia’s additional symbolism of happiness, pride and perseverance.

◣━━━━━━━━━◢✿◣━━━━━━━━━◢

╰┈➤ Part 2

╰┈➤ TGCF Hanakotoba Post Part 1

╰┈➤ Other Hanakotoba Posts

[Jeepers... I've been working on this on and off for months, xo I'm relieved to finally have it out... Please check out part 2 as well! Also, if you liked this post, check out my other hanakotoba analysis posts... Lastly, if I've gotten any of the kanji, romaji, hanzi or pinyin incorrect, feel free to correct me]

[asksythe]

Hua Cheng’s Design

Source: 孤世中逢影 Gu Shi Zhong Feng Ying (weibo) on Hua Cheng’s design as based on Miao ethnic group culture - with snippets from a Chinese Documentary on Miao Ethnic People and an interview with Shi sifu, one of the last traditional Miao silversmiths - Sina TV.

 Translator: Sythe / NPD Khanh

Hua Cheng’s character design. As we all know, the image of Hua Cheng was established based on the Miao ethnic group, so let's see the specific origin of things on Hua Cheng’s person.

1. Red umbrella:

The red umbrella in Miao culture is one of the indispensable props at marriage and celebrations. The red umbrella symbolizes great auspiciousness as one’s desires, numerous children and grandchildren, sheltering from the wind and rain, exorcising evil spirits, and shielding people from disasters. All of these together are a perfect fit to represent the blessings of the heavens (Tian Guan Ci Fu, the name of the novel) with no taboos or misfortunes.

At the same time, in the opening episode of Tian Guan Ci Fu, Xie Lian mistook Hua Cheng for a bridegroom ghost. The situation fits perfectly like a miracle as a red umbrella is required for a wedding. 

2. Silver butterfly, maple leaves.

The Miao people have long had an ancient song, "Feng Mu Ge" (Song of the Maple Tree), to praise the beauty of life. The Miao people also consider butterflies as the ancestral mother, who can bless the village to be peaceful, the children to thrive, and the nation to flourish.

Maple leaves and butterflies represent rebirth, and reincarnation. These motifs can be seen in the culture of the Miao people everywhere, from clothes to jewelry to household decorations. The most famous is the Hong He area, located in an autonomous district of the Miao ethnic group in Yunnan. Whether it is nature or people, maple leaves and butterflies are popular, cherished symbols.

ps. The butterfly decoration that the author saw while traveling in Yunnan is also an inspiration.

"When I was traveling in Yunnan, there was a butterfly decoration in front of the hotel elevator,” Mo Xiang looked at it and thought. After a while, she said proudly, "He will raise a kaleidoscope of butterflies." (From MXTX Author’s Notes and Interview) 

3. Silver Jewelry

This goes without saying much, silverware is an important component of Miao culture, "the more beautiful, the better;” "Miao people’s iconic silver jewelry is used to pray for peace and as a token of love or a proposal of marriage.” Speaking of which, Hua Cheng’s character design is based on ethnic Miao people. Of course, the same jewelry is used. The inheritor of the art of Miao silversmithing, Shi sifu, also said, Hua Cheng is steeped in Miao Guang symbolism and aesthetics.

4. Other

If you read the novel, it’s not difficult to figure out:

Huacheng used a red umbrella because when he was young and weak and had nothing. Xie Lian gave him a red umbrella to shield him from the wind and rain.

Hua Cheng uses corral beads because this is one of Xie Lien's lost earrings. In Taoism, coral represents the heart. Taking this into account, Xie Lian in the book had two corral earrings. The implication of this symbolism then becomes quite enticing. 

Hua Cheng strung the red string of fated love because, during the Gentle Fragrance part of the book, Xie Lian gently cut a hair strand and gifted it to him. In our country's traditional culture, tying your hair together represents binding marriage. The red line represents your destined intertwined path.

From the beginning to the end, the author demonstrated the changes in Hua Cheng. "Become a better, stronger person because of him, for him". All of Hua Cheng’s character progressions developed according to the plot, gradually revealing layers of meaning, and not built by forced intention. Therefore, in successfully portraying such a character, the author moved the reader’s heart and created a miracle. 

A Love that is unchanged even in the face of death. 

[danmeiconfession]

The reading comprehension of the SV fandom when it comes to SJ is god awful, because everyone is missing the whole point between how SJ and OG LBH are written.

SJ's only crime was abusing the protagonist, while the rest were all false accusation. While OG LBH committed every single crime that SJ was falsely accused of. Yet because OG LBH is the protagonist while SJ is the antagonist, it's SJ who got hated by everyone in PIDW while OG LBH had gotten praised for it. Because it's a huge trope in many novels and especially in power fantasies like stallion novels that the protagonist can be the worst person to ever walk the face of the earth and commit every crime imaginable, yet they will still be the hero of the story loved by all. While people who are in every single way less evil in comparison (because abusing a child is by far less worse than committing genocide and raping tons of women) are still considered the bigger evil who deserve to suffer and don't deserve redemption like the protagonist.

It's unfair and SJ and OG LBH are supposed to show how unfair the balance is all because one of them is the protagonist with his all-powerful halo and the other is the antagonist fated to fall. Yet people fail to see that it is supposed to be unfair towards SJ and keep on going on that SJ is scum who deserved it all and keeping on claiming that he did things he did not do but in fact OG LBH committed in canon. Thus they are literally displaying what MXTX was critiquing with how she wrote both of them, making it clear that they missed the whole point.

Now I am not saying that you have to love SJ and hate OG LBH or anything like that. But please use some critical thinking and stop denying the fact that SJ and OG LBH are a foil to each other.

[admirableadmiranda]

Hi, I have a question, if you are able to answer. Is WWX actually beholden to the Jiang family? I know the whole loyalty to your sect and stuff. I just want to know if he actually owed them such a big debt or if it was a way to ensure his continued servitude? JFM went out of his way to find WWX (which I wonder about sometimes, because 5 years is a long time to find a child), of his own free will and whims. Is charity supposed to incur debt? Or am I putting my modern western thoughts in places it doesn't fit?

A follow-up question that you can answer in my first. Was WWX's father actually a servant? I know YZY called him a 'son of a servant', but she also accused his mother of being unfaithful, so I take her word with a grain of salt. Plus, I can see her thinking everyone below her is a servant. We know he was a cultivator and if I'm not mistaken, he went to the Lan lectures too. So was he just a disciple that was close to JFM or was he a servant in the way that YZY's two hand-maidens were servants. I am asking because I've seen people try to say that WWX took on his dad's servitude for the Jiangs. But, as far as I know, WC left the Jiangs and so was free as a rogue cultivator. Some also say, that even though he left the Jiangs, they would hold authority over WWX because that is the sect his father was a part of at one point. I haven't read the book in a long time and on top of that I binged-read it so it is a mess in my memory. So any insight would be appreciated. Thank you!

Hi! Thank you for your patience in me getting back to you, I know it was a while there; blame the holidays. Since we have two long questions, I'll cut the post here.

So the short answer is no; Wei Wuxian is not beholden to the Jiang Clan and does have the freedom to leave as he does. It's even pretty clear in universe that leaving your own clan especially to start a sect of your own is not that unusual, Su She does it himself! In addition, taking in orphans to train them as disciples is not that unusual in wuxia/xianxia, and while the closest that we get in Modaozushi of strong confirmation on how it works is Lan Sizhui and Xue Yang, both of whom are directly taken in off screen, but are definitely parts of their clans despite not being born into it.

With Jiang Fengmian, it's tricky because we don't know how much he knew when Wei Changze and Cangse-sanren died. We only know that he found Wei Wuxian later and knew his name and description well enough to recognize him on the street. It's entirely possible that he didn't even hear about his friends dying for a while since Yiling is known to be closed off and suspicious of outsiders, and even then finding where Wei Wuxian was specifically was probably its own challenge. But one of the things not covered in universe but in interviews is that there was a nighthunt that Wei Changze, Jiang Fengmian and Lan Qiren went on that went wrong at least in part due to Lan Qiren being stubborn and rigid, and Cangse-sanren saved all of their lives. So they all owe her a life debt for that and that alone would wipe out any debt Wei Wuxian could owe to the clan.

But Yu Ziyuan is the bigger problem here and Yu Ziyuan very much pushes Wei Wuxian into the idea that he owes them for everything in what we get on screen, something that is reiterated in Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan's last scenes where she pushes the idea that he owes them and needs to protect and help Jiang Cheng and whether knowingly or not, here Jiang Fengmian confirms in just telling Wei Wuxian to take care of Jiang Cheng.

Now here's the thing on your question about debts; is that the answer is yes and no. The ideal that MXTX posits forwards is that of course you should actually honor your debts when you have them, but you should not do actions for the sake of gaining debts. "Let the self judge right and wrong, let others decide whether to praise or to blame, let gains and losses go uncommented on." People know when you are someone that can be trusted in the give and take of society. You can't just call debts out, but refuse to pay your own. Eventually no one will deal with you because they know that you can't be trusted solely from your own actions. Charity can incur debts, but in the sense that it is up to the people involved and the actions taken.

When Wen Qing comes to Wei Wuxian for help, it is Jiang Cheng's debt too. The things that she and Wen Ning did for the two of them are not an easy debt to return, and he knows this. He knows that the two of them sheltered Jiang Cheng after the fall of his clan at great personal risk and allowed him to maintain his honor to his family by getting him the ashes of his parents so they could be laid to rest with their parents. This is not a light debt, this is the sort of thing that is remembered and judged at the end of his life. Yet he refuses to pay it when it is his debt and punishes Wei Wuxian for following through.

He knows he owes it, but refuses to pay it, all the while demanding that Wei Wuxian follow through on a debt that he does not have and has more than repaid in full. A golden core for a golden core, one that Jiang Cheng knows he has because of Wei Wuxian, even if he doesn't know that it is Wei Wuxian's own core. A debt repaid in full, yet he keeps demanding it. A debt that he owes, but refuses to pay it.

I hope that clarifies on the charity question. I know I went a little off topic, but it's a lot easier to explain from that side.

As for Wei Changze being a servant, I'm pretty sure he actually was before he left the Jiang Clan. He was a rogue cultivator, but is consistently even by the omniscient narrator referred to as a servant long before Yu Ziyuan was a part of the clan, and while she's certainly the loudest about it, she's far from the only one to call Wei Wuxian son of a servant and he even acknowledges this himself by asking Jiang Cheng what's wrong with being a servant, he's the son of a servant himself. The text is just too consistent on this front to not make it clear that in universe, Wei Changze was a servant who learned to cultivate, left his clan to marry his rogue cultivator wife and died as a rogue cultivator, but due to the classism of society and the Jiang Clan, was always remembered as a servant. I have a whole meta on how the classism was in Yunmeng Jiang long before she ever got there, she just was the loudest one about it.

But he did actually leave and Wei Wuxian was not born in the clan. In addition, the way that the posts that talk about it as if Wei Wuxian is supposed to inherit his position despite neither of them being a part of the clan at the time of his birth makes it sound less like being a servant and more like being a slave. It's not supposed to be a position that's passed down from father to son with no one allowed to ever leave it and the fact that some JC stans act like that's all Wei Wuxian was ever allowed to have... is uncomfortable in many ways.

Does that answer all your questions well enough? Thanks again for your patience in me getting back to you.

[cairoscene]

fic writer meme

thanks em @uhuraisgay and lore @megafaunatic for the tag <3

How many works do you have on Ao3?

between my accounts, a nice tame 18 total

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

217,330 lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

i definitely write for fewer fandoms than i'm in, so in the past it was mxtx danmei novels and now it's batman (current obsessions pending fic...)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

what else is there? (mdzs)

2. you'll know, you'll fall (tgcf)

3. send to all (batfam)

4. one word from you (mdzs)

5. to recollect and long for (mdzs)

the wangxian monopoly....

5. Do you respond to comments?

not anymore :( i used to respond to every comment i got, but it ended up being too much stress. so i read and appreciate every comment i get, but i only really respond if someone asks me a question or needs clarification on something

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i don't really write unadulterated angst and i'm a lover of a happy ending, so i guess it would be bring the ashes to me......... my fic which famously has no ending at all...........and in fact leaves xie lian in a Pretty Bad Place.......... oops

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

probably you'll know, you'll fall, which i briefly reread not too long ago and. well. to those who continue to enjoy it, i treasure you. i will say i tied up every possible loose end in that fic including?? giving xl a job at sqx's hotel management firm????? let's just say i would do it differently now

8. Do you get hate on fics?

honestly no, never, just the occasional rude comment. i delete and move on

9. Do you write smut?

with varying degrees of success, yes. i like to think i've gotten better over time. writing porn is an aspect of craft that really fascinates and interests me, figuring out what i like to read vs what i like to write, balancing titillation with characterization and finding where the two lean in and kiss. half of my private bookmarks are random fics where the sex scenes just worked for me and i must squirrel it away to study under a microscope to figure out Why

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

not really, and i don't tend to read them, either. i think they're really hard to pull off successfully and generally my brain isn't on board with reconciling irreconcilable world-building aspects just for the fun of it

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i don't think so? there was definitely...... a trend of let's call it Unattributed Inspiration in the mxtx fandoms, where any fic or tweeted idea or headcanon that got passed around would inevitably show up in the tag without attributing it to the originator. i remember reading a fic and enjoying it and then suddenly being like Wait...... why is this familiar? and discovering it was very clearly inspired by one of mine lol. i wouldn't call it plagiarism bc let's just all calm down, but it isn't a phenomenon i've encountered outside mostly mdzs fandom, let's put it that way

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes!!!!!! mostly russian and mandarin. i feel like being asked if someone can translate my fic (or podfic it) is the highest possible praise and i'm always very flattered

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i was going to say no at first but then i remembered that @bluecrystalrainingdaggers helped me write a charity fic back when i wasn't really feeling wangxian but needed to fulfill on the charity raffle we ran. she basically gave me the outline and i wrote it and i would never have survived without her

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

i am a fickle creature, so i don't have one. i have ships i return to over the years when i crave a specific dynamic, like kirk/spock and wolfstar and damen/laurent. in general my ships fulfill a specific need i'm looking for, hualian for the comfort and care, ghostbat for sustainable toxic soulmates, [redacted] for the angst and misunderstandings, vashwood for the doomed clowns etc etc etc

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

bring the ashes to me. sorry

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think i can write a good sex scene

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

plot :( dialogue :(((( sitting down to write at all :(((((((((

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

i feel like i don't have strong opinions on this front. it seldom bothers me but when it's done well it's a really great element

19. First fandom you wrote for?

on ao3, mdzs. on fanfiction.net the musketeers (2014) and that wizard one

20. Favorite fic you have written?

i'm really very fond of lover be good to me. it's one of my least accessible fics on account of the rarepair but i had a lot of fun writing it and i think the final product is pretty satisfying. i feel like i was able to say and explore everything about the ship i wanted to, which is really fulfilling

tagging @englishsub @vinelark @eggmacguffin @90kon @yuebings @floofyfluff @deadchannelradio and anyone else who wants to do it

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

I sometimes see the opinion that MXTX took the clichéd tropes she'd critiqued in Scum Villain, and played them straight in MDZS. But though a lot of them appear in MDZS, I'd argue that none are actually played straight at all!

The main point of MDZS's tropes is subversion. Yes, WWX has a 'tragic backstory', even an arguably overused one (orphaned by his parents at a young age, forced to live on the streets with nobody to rely on, etc) – but how things differ in how it's used. Tragic backstories are normally used to build sympathy for a character, to make us care and get invested in them. But... we're never actually shown any of those street days, we're never shown and never dwell upon how much he suffered during them. They're only really mentioned in passing and whenever dogs come up! If the goal was to make us feel bad for WWX, this would be very ineffective writing. But what's actually important here isn't that WWX went through tragedies – it's how he doesn't let the tragedies he went through define him. He doesn't dwell on them, the narrative doesn't dwell on them, it's never used to earn sympathy points... because what defines WWX is his choices and how he chooses to act, not a backstory completely out of his control. What gets us invested in him is his personality and the character writing of MXTX, not tragic events used as a substitute for identity.

And this trope treatment fits extremely well with WWX's personality itself – he's someone who 'forgets the pain as soon as the wound has healed'*, but also who actively chooses to focus on the present because you can't change the past; someone who holds the belief that 'gains and losses [should] remain uncommented on' when choosing what to do.

The use of the tragic backstory isn't the only thing that's subverted, either – the other main thing is the 'blackening' of the protagonist, and its impact on the protagonist's fall. After being thrown into the Burial Mounds, on a surface level it does seem like this blackening has occurred: the first thing we see when he returns is his gruesome torture of the Wen cultivators; he's 'forsaken' traditional cultivation in favour of an 'evil but more powerful' path; and frankly, Sunshot-era WWX is terrifying. But MDZS is not a blackening story, and so the events of the Burial Mounds aren't used as a catalyst for that purpose. Though it's true that WWX's not entirely the same person he was before (because how could be be?), underneath it all, his morals, worldview and core** stay the same. Though gruesome, his revenge is directed towards the ones who wronged him, not those past that and certainly not the entire world. His experience in the Burial Mounds doesn't lead to him being some evil, blackened overlord... like everyone says he is at the start! That's subverted, because again, WWX's values and choices are more important to the story than genre conventions.

But the most crucial thing? What leads to WWX's downfall isn't any blackening! It isn't any vengeance or morally dubious actions***– he was praised for those things during the Sunshot Campaign! No, what leads to his downfall is something completely unrelated to that, something which would've disappeared had the trope been played straight. It's him doing what's right by defending the Wens, it's him following his moral code when it opposes the world's, it's him standing up to the injustice of others – not others standing up to the injustice of him. That's the subversion here.

(Also, once again, the fall of Lotus Pier, the Burial Mound, etc, aren't used for sympathy points – and if it was relevant, they wouldn't have been used to excuse any actions, either. Using tragic events as an excuse for doing bad things is critiqued many times in MDZS, through characters like Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao. And that's not exactly a trope subversion, but it is a critique of badly handled 'excuses'.)

These are by no means all the tropes MDZS subverts – the nature of guidao vs the usual nature of modao being another very major one – but they're the main ones that feature in Scum Villain.

So, though at first glance MDZS seems to play the tropes MXTX critiqued there straighter, it's not a simple case of using them as cliches, and we see that by how they're used to impact the narrative, and how that differs from what they're traditionally used for. MDZS doesn't fall back into clichés Scum Villain satirised – it's the subversion to Scum Villain's exploration and critique.

--

*Which I know is generally used negatively, to describe someone not learning a lesson from a punishment, but it really describes WWX in general, too. He doesn't dwell on that pain, he does his best to move on from it.

**...heh

***And, because it's often debated – whatever the morality/culpability of Nightless City is doesn't even matter! The events happened at a pledge conference against him that was already taking place. WWX's actions there didn't make people want to kill him because that was explicitly happening beforehand.

[adhdo5]

When I decided to read the MDZS novel I set myself up with a liveblog thread in the Discord that introduced me to it and guys never get yourself a dedicated liveblog thread in a Discord I'm so spoiled it's just my office in there. I go in there every day to talk about all half-formed MXTX thoughts I have that aren't salient enough for the main #mxtx channel down to stuff like complaining about (or praising) fanfiction trends and art concepting and such. Even though it is currently nominally my TGCF liveblog thread