#cql

[wangxian2bunnies]

[lanwangjihouse]

[muffy-the-alchemist]

Definition of beauty.

episode 25

cql ∞

[sunderwight]

One of the best plot twists of MDZS is that compared to his brother, Lan Xichen might have had the better social skills, but he also had worse taste in men.

[krispycreamsicle]

[thatswhatsushesaid]

yeah he sees this shit, minshan just. givehim a second

[ghoulishr0t]

uh oh!! it’s da-ge’s turn now [pt 1]

insta // twt

[wangxianficrecs]

Cherished Collections

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Mod Kay: Since this is a new category, let me start my recommending two collections I created myself for some rare tropes that I love to use in my own fanfics and love reading more about!

@thelastdboyy

What a Convenient Volcano under Nightless City!

maintained by thelastdboy (@thelastdboyy)

2 Works in 3 Fandoms and 4 Bookmarked Works.

Description: Collection of Stories where the convenient volcano under Nightless City erupts and solves a lot of problems!

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Off With His Hand!

maintained by thelastdboy (@thelastdboyy)

3 Works in 3 Fandoms and 2 Bookmarked Works.

Description: Collection of canon-divergence stories where Madam Yu cuts off Wei Wuxian's hand. If you're wondering why it's something I write about a lot: we gotta deal with our trauma somehow!

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost if you like – or think others might like – these collections.)

[fiftysevenacademics]

Over the recent years, the term guofeng ( literally means “national style”) has seen a rising prevalence in Chinese media to describe popular televisions, films, and musics that are considered to embody an essential “Chinese-ness.” While originated from the Chinese classic The Book of Songs, the concept of guofeng nowadays has already become a part of popular culture. National style is often utilized by the state media to emphasize Chinese history and de-emphasize the queer elements in the drama when discussing boys��� love stories. In her analysis of another BL Xianxia drama, Ye identified Word of Honor, with its soft masculinity, as comprising a larger landscape of reconstructed Chinese masculinity that includes more militant depictions, such as the Wolf Warrior films (dir. Wu Jing, 2015 and 2017), and thus being complicit in “brand homonationalism with Chinese characteristics’.”39) In The Untamed, the national style is manifested through two instruments: the historical items with clear cultural fingerprints and the martial arts chivalry extolled in Xianxia stories.

Set in the ancient indeterminate times of China, the cultural elements like Mo’e (old-style headband), Liusu ( decorative silk tassel), Chinese style gardens and architectures, and frequently mentioned Confucian quotes are prevalent throughout the drama. Some of them are savvily deployed by the producers as a hint of boys’ romance. In most Chinese historical dramas, Mo’e is always used by beautiful men with feminine traits, such as the most widely known characters like Jia Baoyu (Figure 1) and Liu Xianglian (Figure 2) in Hong Loumeng (The Red Chamber, 1984). Gradually, this code is fixated with the meaning of beautiful men (and many times, effeminate men) with fair skin, exquisite facial features, slim yet strong body figures, and graceful manner. In The Untamed, when the male protagonist Lan Wangji appears with Mo’e (Figure 3), his configuration would recall people of the early screen visual presentations and to relate the androgynous beauty with the characters. This cult of male beauty distances young men from the traditional masculinity and delivers a non-conforming gender attitude towards conventional hegemonic models. Moreover, this cultural symbol is deliberately encoded with homosexual implications by the screenwriter. In the drama, people of Lan Clan are asked to wear Mo’e to restrict their behavior ever since they are a child. As a sacred symbol, no one can touch it except for their parents, wife, and children. It represents their identity and bears a sense of belonging. Though acutely aware of its significance, when Wei Wuxian is in danger, Lan Wangji still chooses to take it off and ties it to Wei’s wrist with no hesitation. The emphasizing of “Only wife and son can touch it” in the early part of the same episode denotes that when Lan takes off the Mo’e, he already acknowledges and places Wei Wuxian in the position of a “wife.” His action of taking off the Mo’e not only breaks their clan discipline but also functions as a repudiation of social norms. 

However, all this more or less overt depiction of boys’ romance is ignored and even recognized by state media because of its application of national style. Its adaptation of ancient oriental elements was even praised by The People’s Daily for its “wonderful presentation  of Chinese characteristics,” and “manifestation of Chinese people’s confidence and pride for our own culture.”40) As a Chinese traditional clothing accessory tied on the forehead and decorated with embroidery or pearl jade, Mo’e originated from the Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1046 B.C.)41) and was used in the military for managing and distinguishing troops, but in its later evolution, both men and women, especially in the rich family wore it as a decoration. When The Untamed gets an unprecedent hit in the overseas market, the Chinese government chooses to exploit its  cultural values to exert its “cultural export” program thus turning blind eyes to its boys’ love content.

Coalition between Drama Producer and Audience: Encoding and Decoding of Boys’ Love Stories in Chinese Xianxia Drama The Untamed (陈情令) 건지인문학 2024, vol., no.40, pp. 135-174 (40 pages) DOI : 10.22830/humins.2024..40.135 by CHEN YUE

[boarloved-art]

[ID: two pieces with full body coloured sketches of wei wuxian and lan wangji from mo dao zu shi, in outfits from The Untamed. The first shows wei wuxian running, with a ponytail and a dark blue overrobe with a black leather belt and bracers, as well as a red underrobe. He is holding suibian in his right hand and tugging on the binding spell string with his right hand. Lan wangji is in his light blue travelling robes, with white underrobes, a white belt, and a silver headpiece, he is walking with one arm behind his back, and the other holding bichen. The second shows Lan wangji wearing plain white robes with faint cloud embroidery, he is holding a bloody bichen and thinking 'where tf is wei ying', and Wei wuxian in plain grey robes with a simple black overrobe and red bracers and belt. His hair is down and has streaks of grey, and there is a basket of radishes beside him. He is rolling his eyes with a fond expression at something offscreen and thinking 'man i miss lan zhan'. end ID]

this started off as lwj in my fave outfits from the untamed but...he looked so lonely without wei yings............so...

[lanwangjihouse]

[starrie-amethyst]

Good summary

Just started reading grandmaster of demonic cultivation. Wei Wuxian had feral cat energy, and Lan Wanji has the energy of someone who has had much training to become very good at wrangling feral cats.

[incorrectmdzsquotes]

Wei Wuxian: Fugitive or not, it's nice to be wanted.

[coulsandies]

mdzs headcanon of the day #493 !

huaisang likes the holidays bc he’s allowed to drink an abhorrent amount of hot chocolate without people looking at him like he’s insane

[mispronouncing-michaelangelo]

day6: reflection

no concept, you get it