#cql: episode 41

[dailyayao]

[jin-zixun]

OK I need to just appreciate the boost in confidence my boy has post-timeskip like. The little smirk at the Lans while just straight up calling them out. Not even responding to WWX's inane shit talking here, just running interference like a very good boy.

Like I...

Just immediately spinning the situation against WWX, it's great. How much of this is planned? I don't know. He walks into frame like he's the hero of the day right after JGY's "et tu Er-Ge" moment on the stairs.

As he should! He is the hero of the day! And the hero of every day! If you're JGY I guess, from now on at least.

[br-disaster]

CQL's crybaby Nie Mingjue appreciation post

I always see people talking about CQL's Nie Mingjue crying constantly, and they're right to do so, but I haven't seen those scenes compiled so I thought it would be a good idea to do it, since it's one of my favorite things about this version of NMJ.

*I'll consider the times he was tearing up too because I think they're important, but i'm only considering "full crying scenes" the ones where there are actual tears falling down his face.

*It's all in chronological order.

Episode 41 - defending Meng Yao

Why is NMJ crying? Crying is his response to everything, okay? NMJ is very emotionally invested in everything he does. He's very mad these men for saying terrible things about Meng Yao while benefiting from his labour. He's so emotionally invested in everything he does.

Is it a full crying scene? No, he tears up the entire time he's scolding the cultivators but those tears don't leave his eyes.

Episode 10 - being threatened by Wen Chao

Why is NMJ crying? Wen Chao is being very disrespectful, as he often is. And it's understandable, NMJ is hurt, his home was invaded, some of his soldiers are dead and it's overall a terrible time for everybody. To be honest, though, I think he's tearing up out of pure rage because Wen Chao just mentioned what Wen Xu did to the Cloud Recesses.

Is it a full crying scene? No. I almost didn't include this one because it's very subtle but his eyes look too shiny to be ignored.

Episode 10 - expelling Meng Yao from the Unclean Realm

Why is NMJ crying? It's a very emotional and conflicting moment on top of a terrible day, on top of a very stressful period of his life. He was betrayed by his friend who saved his life right afterwards; his home was invaded and they're at war! He has every right to cry as much as he did.

Is it a full crying scene? Hell yes, and it's glorious. They even end the episode with his miserable little crying face.

Episode 41 - Everything, really

Why is NMJ crying? Everything sucks, he's defeated and hurt in front of the man who killed his father. He didn't get his personal revenge and he didn't free the world from Wen Ruohan's tyranny either. Instead, he watched helplessly as his men were murdered and now he has to watch his former deputy mock his father's death and threaten to have Wen Ruohan damage Baxia like he did with his father's blade.

Is it a full crying scene? No, only because he's being very brave about it. I have no idea how those tears didn't fall.

Episode 41 - confrontation at Jinlintai

Why is NMJ crying? Very difficult topics being discussed here. People who are way better with words than I am have already written amazing meta on how having his worldview challenged like this affects NMJ emotionally, so I won't go there. But between the song of turmoil making him more emotionally unstable and the disdain with which JGY talks about the men he killed, evoking this very traumatic moment I just mentioned on the previous crying scene; I think it's very understandable.

Is it a full crying scene? Yes! Most of the time he's holding back tears, but you can see the one dramatic tear running down his nose (on the outside of it) on the second gif!

In conclusion: he has so much to cry about, it's surprising he didn't cry more, it must have taken so much strength (or he was just crying offscreen, which is plausible, because sadly this isn't The Nie Mingjue show and we don't see him all the time)

Anyway, I am not here to claim he's not a crybaby because he absolutely is, but on the actual show we only have 2 full crying scenes. They were so impactful it feels like much more crying happened. Fatal Journey is it's own thing so I made a separate post for those tearing up, crying and emotional breakdown lovely scenes <3

[thatswhatsushesaid]

every so often i'll just be hanging out minding my own business, and then i'll remember the time i read some commentary about cql episode 41 that insisted jgy was using nhs as a human shield against nmj during his qi deviation. then i get mad and stomp around complaining about it to my lovely husband (who does not know/does not care about this nonsense but patiently listens to me anyway). at some point in the recent-ish past i could have sworn i wrote up a thing specifically detailing why nhs-as-crybaby-meat-shield doesn't track, but since i can't find my own post about it, i'm just going to make another, shorter one with some visual references.

here they are. (zanzan stop looking at the camera, you're supposed to be a professional.) i wish i could make gifsets because the stills don't quite show you what's happening. but imo this is a perfectly analogous moment to the 'beguiling boy' section of the novel, where nhs is fully prepared to throw himself onto the burning pyre of all his most treasured personal possessions after nmj has set them on fire. the only reason he doesn't burn more than his hands is because jgy is there to grab him and hold him back.

in this moment, nhs is struggling to get out of jgy's grip because he wants to go to his da-ge--the same da-ge who just finished hallucinating that jgy was pulling a mcu loki maneuver, and was wildly swinging baxia around trying to kill him. if jgy had let go of nhs in this moment, nhs would be badly injured--just like what happens in the novel during nmj's qi deviation--or worse.

--- this post has been added to my dreamwidth meta archive here: https://thatswhatsushewrote.dreamwidth.org/8336.html

[mostlikelytofangirl]

I just listened to the finale of the mdzs audio drama and I’m so impressed by the way JGY’s actor delivers his lines, especially JGY’s last words addressed to NMJ. I love all adaptations of mdzs and Episode 41 of cql made me start shipping nieyao in the first place, but this one really strikes at the heart of JGY’s hate, love, and unhinged devotion to NMJ.

RIGHT????

I sadly don't know who the voice actor is (I think he's now voicing Xie Lian in the tgcf donghua?? Don't quote me on that one tho orz), but he is SO GOOD.

He can convey such emotions, man! And especially when it comes to nieyao bc those two have an entire collection of Feelings(tm) for each other, and they move throughout the entire spectrum at any moment and even simultaneously, bless them :').

And until the very end, it's so abundantly clear that JGY still has so many emotions about NMJ, even at that point, literally at the end of the rope, it still shines, one of the persons that impacted him the most in life and death ;u;

[xueyangcatalog]

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[qinghe-s]

what’s his name?

[id: two gifs of nie mingjue from episode forty-one of the untamed. both show him from the shoulders up in a deciduous forest, the trees in the background green. nie mingjue is turned to the left, and in the first gif he turns slightly toward the viewer to speak. in the second he blinks slowly before raising his gaze, looking towards but past the viewer with slightly parted lips. end id.]

[howpeacefulislwj]

Episode 41

Lan Wangji maybe kind of Regrets letting Wei Wuxian’s Mind wander off in the middle of Hostile Territory in the body of a Very Charming but also Extremely Shreddable paperman. 3/10

Lan Wangji, aggressively: Anyways, here’s Clarity. 2/10

Lan Wangji tries out a Concerned Face on Wei Wuxian. He’s had a lot of opportunities to practice this one. 3.5/10

Wei Wuxian talks a Mad Game for a dude who was Not Responsible for taking down Literally Any of These Dudes. Lan Wangji is too busy working on a good Fighting Scowl to contradict him. Plus, you know, it’s nice to let Wei Wuxian have A Little Fun. 5.5/10

Lan Wangji has Absolutely No Patience Left. He’s got his Most Dangerous Scowl on, that Eyebrow Slant is Murderous, and it’s time to Throw His Sword at Strangers. 4/10

Lan Wangji explains using Meaningful Eyebrow Positioning alone that they have Located Nie Mingjue’s Head. Somehow this Works! Lans! 4/10

Ah yes, the Small Jiang Wanyin. The Ungrateful Child who has a Dog that Wei Wuxian Hates and Fears. Lan Wangji is not inclined to listen to the Small Jiang Wanyin. 4.5/10

As if today couldn’t get any more Annoying, Noted Loser Su She has turned up to Sneer at Everything. Look at the Sheer Judgement in Lan Wangji’s Eyes, that Pure Dislike. And Su She deserves it. 3.5/10

[januaryisnotanartist]

[ctl-yuejie]

paper man!Wei Wuxian coming back to Lan Wangji

[deliciousscaloppine]

The Untamed, Episodes 10 & 41 Nie Mingjue & Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao (Wang Yi Zhou, Zhu Zan Jin), director Wai Man Cheng

[dailyayao]

[razberryyum]

[lzswy]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why Lan Xichen is ranked first on the list of best-looking young men in the cultivational world.

“Yao, your playing is also quite good outside Gusu. If you could be instructed by some famous musician, you’ll make great progress very soon. - There’s a famous one right before me.”

[thatswhatsushesaid]

CQL/The Untamed, episode 41

bonus:

[labyrynth]

I fell in love with nieyao as a ship after watching episode 41 of cql and got hooked on it when I read the scene where they end up in the coffin together in the novel. They’re a really underrated ship in the 3zun fandom and have all the vibes of a gothic romance.

(ngl idk why you’re on anon? lol)

i honestly can’t remember when i started vibing with nieyao (somewhere through the audio drama i think) but i 100% agree on the gothic romance

they’re just incapable of being normal about each other!! it doesn’t matter how far they try to get from each other—it’s never gonna make a difference. these losers ORBIT each other. they’re STUCK. for better or for worse? FOR WORSE!! till death do us part? YOU FUCKING WISH!! for as long as they both live and die, they can’t fucking get away from each other.

now i do want to clarify that it’s more jin guangyao the one who is trapped than nie mingjue.

nmj is trapped in the sense that jgy lives in his brain rent free. he exists there for nmj to be mad about. he just KNOWS that jgy is up to something, and he’s obligated to find out what. he’s convinced that jgy is somehow gaslighting him. (he’s not actually up to anything, but nmj is so paranoid that he doesn’t think he can rest until he’s turned every stone…twice.)

…jgy, on the other hand, is trapped in the sense that nmj won’t leave him alone. he won’t just stop fixating on him. he would really like to escape this weird tandem orbit, but ultimately nmj has the higher mass, so jgy can’t leave no matter how much he wants to.

i was about to pull up that regina george meme but then i remembered this post and how much more accurate it is.

because it is!! nmj is OBSESSED with jgy, whether he knows it or not. he can’t stop thinking about him, and is convinced that everything jgy does is related to him, and is automatically his business.

honestly i think it speaks to nmj’s character as whole—he feels trapped, but jgy is the one who is ACTUALLY trapped. and nmj is the one doing it! commentary on class? nmj, who takes his wealth and his power for granted, blaming others for his problems and forcing them to bear the weight of his problems? it’s possible! there’s a lot of classism ingrained in their relationship that really only comes out after jgy is raised to an almost equal status…NOT by nmj. he seems to feel some kind of weird ownership of jgy, including the right to try to discipline him. even without knowing the full context.

idk i don’t really have a lot to say other than yes i agree!! they’re horrible for each other and that’s what makes them so great for each other!!