#drawing while rewatching The Untamed

[modao18]

[zishu-arts]

owie my hand hurts from drawing these OKAY SO:

chodark au where chosen is. dragon hybrid and dark is an overworked researcher who accidentally found her

[imma-bunni]

Xianbad! *cackles* a Sinbad/Untamed au Below cut: au notes and cursed concept photos cause I'm too busy to draw them 😅😅

I rewatched Sinbad sometime last year and was hit in the FACE with this idea! The color palettes!! I watched the movie in like a fever of ideas but then it just faded over the year until me and my sister started talking about it recently and we're seriously considering writing a fanfic or something together. Mwhahaha but for now here's this sketch idea and some notes!

au notes: · Sinbad: wwx · Proteus/Marina mashup: lwg · Crew: Wen siblings, mxy, zy · Syracuse (main city): Gusu · Monster (either sea monster or that giant fish): xuanwu of slaughter · Wwx's ship is named Chenqing · The book of peace and the goddess Eris all stay the same · Tartarus has burial mounds vibes · Basically same exact plot - wwx and lwj knew each other growing up and big time Flirted but then wwx left/was thrown out of the Jiang (high status family) for some wen drama or something and left to be a pirate and lwj never sees him again until wwx's crew attacks his ship while he's transporting the book of peace to Gusu and he's all "...Wei Ying..." etc etc!

[moxieestar]

Thank you for the tag @honey-everlastings <3 I haven’t done one of these in a while!

Last song: Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus.

Favorite color: Pale blue, navy, crimson, and forest green.

Last movie/TV show: Rewatched The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Just started 陈情令/CQL/The Untamed. 

Sweet/spicy/savory: Sweet!

Relationship status: Ask Lizzie.

Last thing I googled: “citation generator.” I’m working on an essay :’)

Current obsessions: CQL, ATLA, writing, animating, working on my comic, martial arts, getting more than 6 hours of sleep, boba tea, weird jewelry, and ink drawings.

Tagging @boudicca as always @nizynskis @meadowsidevalley & @thalassiokhtos <3

[sandalwoodbox]

Vid you're the proudest of?

What are some fandoms and/or ships you'd like to vid for but haven't yet?

Bonus q: Is there a vid that you have watched/rewatched that has inspired you or informed the way you approach your vidding?

Thanks for asking!

(This is part of the Get to know the Vidder ask meme. See all my responses here and feel free to send me asks!)

I think I have to go with Trust+Fall as my top pick at the moment, for two reasons. First, I think it came together really well just as a vid - the audio edits worked out really well and let me structure the vid the way I wanted; I think the faster and faster cutting in the second half is effective in terms of increasing the tension, while still staying parseable (mostly?); and there were just a lot of interesting visuals and parallels to work with from the source, which was satisfying. Second, I was really worried about using a song that already has such an iconic vid associated with it (Parachute by thingswithwings for Leverage), because I wasn't sure if people (including myself) would be able to believe such a different read of the lyrics. Parachute was one of the first songs I thought of for this vid, and then I spent a long time searching for other romcom-type songs that might support a similar comedy -> tragedy read, looking for songs explicitly related to Romeo & Juliet, and even considering whether I could do some kind of mashup where the first half was a romcom song and the second half was a heavier / more tragic song (which I ended up abandoning mostly because all the romcom songs were in major keys and all the tragic songs were in minor keys, who would've guessed.) And in the end I think I managed to make something that's pretty convincing!

2a. Warrior Nun - Ava/Beatrice. I loved this show! It had no right to be any good at all and then it was fucking amazing. Jesus Doesn't Love Me by runawaynun is the vid that got me to watch this show.

2b. 911. I want to make a vid for Taylor (because she's awesome and deserves some spotlight) and I have an idea for a zombie apocalypse AU maybe? It's so many seasons! But hopefully having targeted goals will make it manageable.

2c. Ted Lasso - Roy/Keeley/Jamie. I'm currently rewatching the show with a friend and there's just. So. Much? Of them? They're so much.

Bonus q: MCU Dance Off by lim - the way it uses splitscreen and frame within frame is just mind-boggling to me. I would love to be able to do something like that someday! Also shout out to Candy Girl by vassalady for Princess Princess Ever After which is for a still source but has so much rhythm and movement, and does really cool things in terms of drawing your focus to different parts of an image by only revealing it piecemeal. And finally, 【暗黑向】如果江厌离是反派（不喜慎入）by 王秫秫 for The Untamed, which I think was the first AU vid I saw that really blew my mind, by taking the sweet older sister from The Untamed and portraying her as a poisoner and/or ghost - I think about it a lot in terms of how I can make vids lie to people (in little and big ways) about what happened in canon.

[tatchling]

Tag game

tagged by @lunanoc and @shaish

Favorite color: Radioactive green, lime, green overall, that one shade of purple, scarlet, crimson, and then most of the shades that are on the edge between two colors, like teal, indigo, orangeish yellow, lavender, etc

Last movie: errrrrrrr I'm honestly not sure? could be either 2012, World war Z or Misty Creed (dmbj)

Currently watching: Beyond Evil (rewatch)

Other things I watched this year: The witcher, Sweet home (rewatch + season 2), Black Knight, Blood Red Sky, Into the Night, Untamed?, Word of honor?, Locke and Key, Pending Train, Alice in Borderland, Stranger Things (season 4), Castlevania Nocturne, Happiness, Trigun, Sandman, Nimona, Raising Dion, Bird Box Barcelona and probably a lot more but brain is fritzzing at the realization (@shaish tatch never watches anything HUH?)

Shows I dropped this year: The witcher, Locke and Key (not fully dropped but Idk when I'll pick it up again), and I feel there's a third one I'm not remembering right now

Currently reading: Mdzs (in french), Flowery night (somewhat), This is how you lose the time war (I haven't opened it in a while but it seemed nice)

Currently listening to: Beyond Evil soundtrack on shuffle and Timeless is playing right now

Currently working on: finishing some fandom things so I can set my mind to others, original stuff, teaching myself more excel and some more programming (maybe sql if it gets to that), getting myself to try to draw a bit more

Current obsession(s): Jingbai, Heihua, OCs, making sure my plants survive this bitch ass winter

tagging: errrrrrrrrrrr @kelly42fox @frankiethezombie @ilgaksu @kyanve @veraverorum (I'd tag @shaish and @lunanoc but they've tagged me already, the heathens) and anyone else who wants to play along can consider themselves tagged

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 25, part one

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Holy crap, Episode 25! We’re halfway through! *Cue Bon Jovi*

Hunt Invitation

After taking a nice long break to watch Word of Honor pick lotus pods, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Yanli return to stressing over the shitshow that is the post-Sunshot cultivation world. Jin Zixuan has come to invite them to the Phoenix Mountain Hunt, with a special invitation from his mother to Jiang Yanli. Jiang Cheng reacts to this in a mature and reasonable manner, while Wei Wuxian...doesn't.

On the surface, Jiang Cheng has matured in recent months; much more than Wei Wuxian, with his secret burdens, has. But it's only on the surface, as we'll see later in the episode, when Jiang Cheng's insecurity will take the reins.

Jin Zixuan is adorably pleased by Jiang Yanli's acceptance of the invitation. Wei Wuxian is less pleased, but sort of tries to suck it up. 

Jin Zixuan kind of undercuts the romance of his errand by asking Wei Wuxian for the Yin tiger amulet as soon as Jiang Yanli is out of earshot. 

As always, Jin Zixuan makes an impression by being the best Jin currently in existence, but the Jins are terrible. JZX is working to advance his dad's ambitions, and as such he is currently Wei Wuxian's enemy.  

(more after the cut)

Opening Ceremonies

There's a bunch of cultivators arranged for the opening ceremony. Later someone will say that this is more than 5 thousand people. Ok, sure.

As I've said before, it's best to think of it like a theatre production and assume the other 4,900 people are offstage or, you know, painted on the backdrop.  

The young lead cultivators from the four main clans are standing together. Nie Huaisang is trying out some new body armor.

The clan leaders are seated up on the stage, along with Jin Furen and Jiang Yanli. Unfortunately Jin Furen doesn't seem to have a personal name that I can discover. Her title Fūrén ( 夫人)  means she's the primary wife of the head of the family, according to this excellent meta. 

So “Madame Jin” is a decent translation...if you're French?  I feel like instead of English subtitles including borrowed words from French (”Marquis” in NIH), Greek (”Water of Lethe” in WOH), and other European languages, we could try borrowing Chinese words instead. Jin Zixuan's mom is titled, not named, Jin Furen. Since we don’t know her actual name, I'll call her that and abbreviate it JFR.

Wei Wuxian's childishness continues at the opening of the hunt, as does Jiang Yanli's encouragement of his childishness. I know she's had a rough couple of years, and it's understandable to want to baby her little brother out of a sense of nostalgia. But it's not good for him, and she shouldn't do it; she should encourage him to be more mature, just as she does with Jiang Cheng.

War Crimes Contest

Jin Guangyao says they're going to have an archery competition, and they're going to liven it up by endangering some prisoners. These prisoners are Wens in Wen cultivator uniforms, meaning they're not the noncombatants that were being hunted down earlier. But they’re still helpless people in chains. 

There are three different reactions when the Wen prisoners are brought out.  All the Jins are pleased, or neutral. All of the Jiangs, including Wei Wuxian, are upset.

The Nies and the Lans, what we see of them, are a little shocked, but not obviously upset. Based on those reactions, it seems like this is a maneuver that in-world is considered shocking and cruel, but not necessarily unethical or immoral.  Shocking, cruel displays of power are pretty normal in this world; remember when Wen Chao lit a Lan cultivator on fire just to say hello, and nobody complained? 

This whole scenario, of course, has been designed to provoke Wei Wuxian. One major goal of this event, and the whole reason for wanting Wei Wuxian to come,  is to get the Yin Tiger amulet.  Making him lose his shit in front of 100 5000 cultivators is a good step toward compelling him to hand the amulet over.  

We see Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli both signaling Wei Wuxian to keep it together, and he takes a step back and tries to chill.  

Meanwhile, Jin Zixuan seems annoyed by all this, and goes to take a shot at it, making it clear from his demeanor that this is easy and JGY is making a show of nothing. 

He hovers in the air and makes a perfect shot, pleasing most of the crowd and impressing Jiang Yanli. 

Then his cousin Jin Zixun taunts the crowd, challenging anyone to do better.  This presents a bit of a problem for Wei Wuxian. For the sake of the Wen prisoners, Wei Wuxian should just take this taunting and let the contest end, if no-one else is willing to take a shot. But for the sake of the Jiang Clan’s status, and his continued control of the Yin Tiger amulet, he needs to put the Jins in their place.  

Every Day is Blindfold Day

This moral dilemma is resolved with an abrupt tonal shift, where the humanitarian concerns of all parties seem to vanish. Wei Wuxian flirts embarrassingly with Lan Wangji and then goes as far over the top in besting Jin Zixuan as it's possible to go.

The flirting hits differently, incidentally, when you edit Jiang Cheng's annoyed reaction out of it: 

Lan Wangji doesn't seem embarrassed by Wei Wuxian's request, despite it happening in front of 100 5000 of their fellow cultivators. He looks Wei Wuxian straight in the eye for longer than necessary before turning away; it’s not exactly stern disapproval. We’ll get very used to this look, in Wei Wuxian’s second life. 

Fortunately, Wei Wuxian carries a blindfold with him wherever he goes, (gifset here), and he is such a good cultivator he can hit 5 parallel targets simultaneously without even holding his bow straight or tightening the string.

(OP fixed the angle of the bow for this gif, which is why everyone is standing on a hill in the background).

Everyone is pleased by this shot except Jins Guangyao and Zixun; even the Jin cultivators are clapping, and Madame Jin is presumably this happy any time Jin Guangyao’s plans go wrong.

With that they start the hunt. Jin Zixun challenges Wei Wuxian to do the whole hunt blindfolded. Wei Wuxian agrees, but the censorship committee said no, apparently, so we don’t get to see that.

Flute Hunting

We do get to see Wei Wuxian luring monsters into his nets by being too sexy for his robe, too sexy for his robe, and playing the flute.  

We also get to see Jiang cultivators looking puzzled while random monster roars happen in the woods around them. We do not get to see any monsters, which is probably just as well.

Jiang Cheng is annoyed and concerned, muttering "I told you not to overdo it" which means he didn't, you know, tell Wei Wuxian NOT to do this, just not to do it quite so well. Jiang Cheng knows what Wei Wuxian’s abilities are and he is making use of him, as he should, but he doesn’t have the courage of his convictions. 

Tree Confession

Wei Wuxian sees Lan Wangji and starts to say hi, but then he has a desaturated flashback to Lan Xichen telling him to back off, so he stops himself.  But then Lan Wangji comes over to talk to him.

Lan Wangji starts off talking to him about his latest anti-resentment musical discoveries, and Wei Wuxian pushes back, even calling him Lan Wangji, but gently.  Wei Wuxian asks "who am I to you?" and Lan Wangji turns the question right back at him, then waits a looooooong time, eyes downcast, while Wei Wuxian thinks of a serious answer.

Wei Wuxian says "I used to treat you as my zhījǐ" --which, as we’ve discussed before, is variously translated soulmate, confidant, intimate friend--with a strong meaning of "the person who truly knows me." Lan Wangji says "I still am." Coming from Lan Wangji, who NEVER says how he feels about Wei Wuxian or about anything, really, this sounds a lot like a confession of love. 

It definitely takes the form, visually, of a love confession, as Lan Wangji speaks, then gazes at Wei Wuxian while he waits for a reply.  Wei Wuxian's reply is this:

I don't think Wei Wuxian is oblivious (I'm speaking strictly of CQL, not MZDS, as always with these posts; they are different works). I think he loves Lan Wangji back, and knows it. But Chenqing and everything it represents are between them.

Lan Wangji is quite literally NOT his zhījǐ any more, because he doesn't truly know Wei Wuxian right now. He loves him desperately, but he doesn't know about his core, and hasn't accepted his cultivation method.  So Wei Wuxian answers his confession by showing him Chenqing, effectively declining to accept his still-conditional love.

Snake Measuring

Next we get terrible hetero courtship in the form of Jin Zixuan finding snake discharge on the ground and talking to Jiang Yanli about comparative snake measuring. Seriously: that is the actual conversation that they are having.

Jin Zixuan boasts for a bit, and then awkwardly tries to ask Jiang Yanli on a date. When she turns him down he gets mad, because he's a typical heterosexual dude even though he's secretly a delightful person...very, very secretly. Jiang Yanli, for her part, can't string a fucking sentence together to save her life whenever he's around, so she's not helping their mutual understanding. 

Lan Wangji attempts to hold Wei Wuxian back from beating Jin Zixuan’s ass yet again, but eventually JYL wants to leave, JZX tells her to wait, and WWX intervenes. Why doesn't Jiang Yanli have a maid or Jiang cultivator with her while she's on a date, incidentally? These kids are confused about whether they're doing feudal patriarchy or whether they're doing modern social life.

Jin vs. Jiang

Wei Wuxian jumps in between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan, which JZX objects to. Jin Zixuan has no fucking business objecting and Wei Wuxian is 100% right, at this point. As soon as WWX shows up JZX should hand her off to her Shidi, bow, and leave her the fuck alone. Instead, he draws his sword on Wei Wuxian, and kind of on Jiang Yanli since she's right behind Wei Wuxian.  Fortunately, Lan Wangji blocks him. 

This instantly blows up into a Jiang-Jin Clan conflict, with Jiang Cheng unfortunately absent since he let his unmarried sister go off in the woods alone with the son of the Cultivaton world's most famous lecher. It looks like it’s a personal conflict, but since Jin Zixuan already told Wei Wuxian directly that Jin Guangshan wants his amulet, any arguments between them are part of a larger power struggle. 

Cousin Jin Zixun comes running up to start shit. Wei Wuxian pretends--I am SURE he's pretending--not to know who he is. The dude hassles Wei Wuxian every time he sees him; Wei Wuxian is a troll, and right now CJXZ is butting in to something that doesn't concern him. Rather than argue, Wei Wuxian insults him by telling him he’s not memorable.

Jin Furen shows up with several maids and cultivator dudes in tow, which is the proper way for a highborn woman to wander around in the woods. She also brings Clan Leader Yao, because if it's Wei Wuxian Blaming Hours, Yao is going to be there.  

I initially found the deep friendship between superhot Yi Zuyuan and dumpy Jin Furen implausible, but then I remembered that my lifelong bestie is a smokin' hot redhead with impeccable fashion sense, while I am a roly-poly nerd.  Friends don’t always match. Also, Jin Furen's actress, Hu Xiaoting, looks like this: 

...so she is actually hot in real life. Not as hot as Zhang Jingtong (who plays Yu Ziyuan) but literally nobody is as hot as Zhang Jingtong. Don't @ me, you know I'm right.

This is a heck of a long scene, so we’ll pick it up in part two! 

Soundtrack: Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi

Writing prompt: Newly-divorced, cold-hearted CEO Yu Ziyuan buys an apartment next door to newly-divorced, warm-hearted pastry chef ...uhh let's call her Jin Dàngāo (蛋糕), sure. She can name her business after herself. 

They discover their daughter & son are in the same college class, and so they meet up over coffee....several times...trying to matchmake their hopeless, hapless kids, while bonding over their own terrible (former) taste in husbands. Who will Cupid strike first, the kids or the moms?

[ginsoakedgirl80]

dramas I watched in 2022

The Legendary Life of Queen Lau (2022, my first cdrama, damn the ppl who brought this one down, will probably rewatch because now I get more about the cdrama tropes they subvert, Li Jiaqi hopefully will get more main roles despite this debacle)

Love Between Fairy and Devil (2022, tumblr loves it for good reason, so good, well written and gorgeous costumes and scenery, I laughed, I cried, I shaked my fist at communication failures, learned to like Yu Shuxin's voice, who doesn't like a story about a demon lord who lost all his emotions and regains them with the help of a cute fairy, cultivation in several senses xD, some songs made it to my spotify 100 most played songs of 2022 list, will rewatch now that it is on Netflix)

Word of Honor (2021, the hype has a reason it is so goood, started out not liking WKX, how the tables turned, hahahaha, side characters who rock, morally grey main characters yay, "A'Shuuuu", you don't need on screen kisses to feel the love, character dump was confusing as hell, somehow missed that WKX is also boss of Ghost Valley in the beginning bc of that. 🤣🙈 Taught me to rewatch the first episode a little bit into the drama to actually get what's going on when there are a lot of characters.)

Old Fashion Cupcake (2022, my first jdrama, cute office romance about finding joy in life again, will make you hungry)

The Rational Life (2021, watch it if you want soft, caring, loyal WH but it is actually about Qin Lan's character overcoming bullying at work and being a model employee in a car company (and promoting e-cars 😄), could have been shorter)

The Blue Whisper (2022, wrecked me with all the suffering but so good and pretty, Ren Jialun going from cutiepie to badass, rocking his ear jewellery, red flags but you ship them anyway, Diliraba and Guo Xiao Ting, another talk it out already yelling at the screen drama, going from hating SML and his attendand to pitying them, LuoLuo 🫶, side characters you will root for, some songs made it to my spotify 100 most played songs of 2022 list, story is by the author who wrote LbFaD, not set in the same universe)

The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020, Zhao Lusi the Queen, much needed comedy after TBW, loved it, nothing like a writer caught in her own badly written drama world trying to rewrite it while the rules of the world she wrote fight against the rewrites. Su Mu and First Lady just needed to talk to each other aaaargh)

Who rules the World (2022, find yourself a person who looks at you like Hei Fengxi looks at Bai Fengxi, geez Yang Yang, Zhao Lusi is a delight in this, they wrote the two lead characters too perfect??, draws you in with wuxia, gives you a lot of palace drama, including emo first prince who deserved more screen time but they ran out of ideas for him, Writing, editing and fight scenes got worse in the 2nd half of the drama, I guess because the director had to leave, needed to give more side characters a life, the sismance is perfect)

The Untamed (2019, watching to be finished in 2023, I was intimidated by the amount of characters and episodes so only started watching late in the year and am glad I waited because now I know wuxia storytelling better and can fully enjoy it, taught me that you don't need great cgi, sets or fight scenes to tell a compelling story, Wang Yibo 🥹, Xiao Zhan 😼, great side characters)

Semantic Error (2022, my first kdrama, watched it because of this and was not disappointed, enemies to lovers at university, cute quick watch)

The Blood of Youth (2022/2023, just started, the character dump is a lot but it is a romp so far, despite the kinda choppy writing/editing, also geez Youku those youtube subtitles are too fast for my tired eyes)

As someone who enjoys series/movies like the UK North and South, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, etc, where a small touch or little gestures can already be a big deal, slow burn romances in cdrama fit me perfectly. (The barbie kisses are something to get used to though. Props to Wang Hedi and Yu Shuxin who went for organic kisses once the feelings hit their characters.)

(and as someone who likes men with long hair 🤣)

Thanks to my friend B who got me into cdrama. 💕

[sweetlittlevampire]

Once upon a time, I drew a cover for the personal e-pub version of @huacheng-zhu ‘s fic the recluse at the end of the moonlit path . Back when we first talked about potential covers, they were like:

“even if it was a tiny little chibi remp! wangxian being cute at the bottom of a white page, I'd be honored and over the moon🥺“

Disclaimer: Never enable me like that. I WILL be thinking about it two months later still, and ruminate until I’ve got something presentable on the page.  😂

But I also used as excuse to practice chibi drawings. I’ve been rewatching a few MDZS Q episodes, and I love the drawing style, so I’ve tried to emulate it, while giving it still a few Rima™ touches.

Wei Wuxian / Lan Wangji / The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi © Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

REMP © @huacheng-zhu

[gaytransgirl]

Outrunning the Universe: The Troubling Implications of City Seventeen (Sonic Riders Fandub Analysis)

That’s right. After the success of my 06 dub analysis, I’m throwing my hat back in the ring with a stab at the Sonic Riders (plus Zero Gravity) fandub. Originally, I had hoped to track the development of Sonic’s toxicity towards his friends over the course of the dub series. However, as I rewatched the Riders fandub, I began to notice something sinister. Or... Someone sinister, really. That person?

Jet the Hawk.

I understand that this initial pairing might mystify you. “But Lily,” I can hear you saying, “Jet is a wholesome friend who appreciates Storm and Wave! What’s so sinister about that?” And you may be right. The Babylon Rogues are a much more positive and uplifting friend group than Team Heroes. The trouble lies with everything else Jet does, especially his development from after five years have passed. First, though, we have to take a look at what Jet’s untamed power can do by sifting through the original Sonic Riders’s dub portion.

Three main scenes depict the truth of Jet’s power on its own. First, we’ll draw upon the scene depicted at 4:30. Sonic makes an illegal left, and Jet notes this before announcing the first sign of his boundless powers. “Revali’s Gale is now ready.” For those of you who don’t understand the implications of this, it shows that Jet either has achieved a massive level of control over his own flight that he is able to take off from the ground on his own, or that he has freed Divine Beast Vah Medoh from Ganon’s control. Neither is any small feat, but we can deduce that it is indeed the latter, since Jet’s take-off is done while riding his Extreme Gear. We know now that Jet has defeated Ganon. (Also worth noting, as it happens between now and the next Jet Moment™, is that Storm is shown to have immense power of his own, thanks to his possession of an enemy stand. More on this later.)

Jet’s next great display of power is shortly before the race at the Great Colosseum In The Middle Of The Desert, specifically the 30-second scene at 16:23. Jet recounts a Redbox encounter in which he almost drowned in quarters, and upon hearing Wave’s concerned rebuttals, he replies with a surprisingly sinister line. “Here, I’ll show you.” Cut to footage of Jet surrounded by money, laughing maniacally. This tells us two things. First, Jet laughs in the face of death, something not at all uncommon in the Sonic Dub Franchise. In fact, in the Sonic 06 dub, Sonic proclaims that he can never die. Second, Jet can project his memories directly into the minds of others. This is admittedly not as monumental a feat as defeating Ganon, but it shows a great level of control for someone as unrefined as Jet.

Jet’s next great accomplishment is in his control of the Chaos Emerald-powered Gamecube 2. This scene, taking place at 19:18, displays three rapid-fire uses of Jet’s untapped potential. In order, he turns up the graphics settings of the entire world around them, showing that he not only knows the limitations of his universe, but can manipulate the world around him at will. From here, he fires a laser into the distance, which is admittedly just his channeling of the Gamecube 2′s power; it’s the least notable of his three accomplishments in this scene, though that can only be said because it lacks a destructive impact. He then proceeds to dig up Pompeii solely with the power of his mind. Jet not only can locate Pompeii, which has allegedly been lost in this universe, but can raise it into a state of permanent levitation.

Only one more scene is notable from the Riders portion of the dub, and that is at 22:28. Jet fails to beat Sonic in a race, yet Sonic does nothing to physically stop him. What is it that tampers with Jet, sending him flying off his board? That’s right. The hand of God. Jet is only able to be physically stopped in this state by God himself. And that is with his powers not even fully explored. However, there is one flaw in this logic: Sonic himself. We need to stray briefly outside of the Fandub and draw upon local Sonic expert, Brian David Gilbert. He is quoted as saying that “... if a hedgehog could commune with the dead, be resurrected, run with infinite energy, and have his gospel prophesy the future, then either Sonic is a god, or could kill God, and I do not care if there is a difference!” Sonic lives in a universe of immense power, and while Jet’s feats are certainly not anything to be scoffed at, they pale in comparison to direct tampering with Sonic.

... that is, until the introduction of City Seventeen.

Up until now, all we’ve drawn upon is the original Sonic Riders, where Jet hasn’t taken five years apart from Sonic to live a toxicity-free lifestyle. This toxicity cleanse has clearly left him powered beyond belief, and while this power is not shown throughout the Zero Gravity dub as it was during the original Sonic Riders dub, one scene tells us all that we need to decipher the true scope of Jet’s power. That scene takes place at 56:21, and is the introduction of City Seventeen, The World Of Thematic Resolution. He feigns confusion, but this very city is a mindscape of his own creation, founded with the sole intent of imprisoning Sonic until he unlearns his toxic mannerisms. The very creation of City Seventeen is a feat entirely unforeseen within Sonic. Solely by his own means, Jet forces the gang to enter his own universe within the XBox of Friendship.

I know what you may be thinking right about now, too. That one man claimed to be the creator of City Seventeen, and thus the universe has nothing to do with Jet. However, consider the scope of great religions over the course of humanity. A true god never reveals himself directly to the universe as a whole; there is always a divine prophet. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad. This human man is simply the prophet through which Jet shall tell his cautionary tale of toxic masculinity and Adam Sandler movies. Now that that’s been covered in full, let’s briefly cover a comparative display of Jet’s powers to that of his own friend Storm.

When confronted by City Seventeen, Storm is fully unable to cope with his surroundings, and loses control of his limbs, his eyes, and his mouth. Left completely motionless, he is left to beg for death from Hatsune Miku. Before you ask about her, she’s just a universal constant. Anyway, in comparison to Storm, how is Jet able to move around? Perfectly freely. Storm, a powerful stand user who nearly drowned Knuckles in his own lungs, was completely dwarfed by Jet the Hawk. And with good reason.

In conclusion, while the scope of Jet’s power is admittedly still unknown, he reigns far supreme over any deity whose power has been showcased in the Sonic Fandub Cinematic Universe. Sonic may be a god, but Jet operates on a level above theism. Jet has full and complete command of not only this universe, but infinite others, and the fact that we remain in somewhat peaceful times is a sign of Jet’s mercy. We can only thank Redbox and his busy schedule for not allowing him to watch Grown Ups 2. If he had fallen in line with Adam Sandler’s toxicity, the multiverse would be walking upon a tightrope.

[causticsunshine]

i was tagged by both the lovely @dyingstars-x and @harrymegirlfriend to answer twenty questions about myself! this was a lot more candid than i anticipated but here we go~

💗what do you prefer to be called name-wise?

alex!

💗when is your birthday?

july 21st! cancer season baybee

💗where do you live?

in the US! i've been in the pacific northwest for about eight years but i'm definitely still a californian at heart

💗three things you’re doing right now?

1. jobhunting 2. trying to open my online shop 3. attempting™️ to finish deadline stuff and this HSLOT drawing i've been working on since saturday 🤞🤞

💗four fandoms that have piqued your interest right now?

i go through little phases where i have my one big primary interest—one dee since returning to it last summer—that sticks around for awhile and then some smaller, less involved ones that tend to come and go, so i'd say right now the only other 'fandom' i'm kinda in is for MDZ/the untamed/cql, even though i'm a very late member to the party!

💗how is the pandemic treating you?

okay i guess? i'd really like to be moved out already as being in therapy and gaining confidence since my big mental breakdown last fall—accompanied with quitting my job of nearly four years that didn't get me anywhere in life—i've realized how many unhealthy behaviors and mindsets are perpetuated in my household and how they're....really not good for me at all. but i also know i can't get to the place i'd like to be mentally and emotionally without moving out, i also can't move out until i find a 9-5 with bennies with all my health problems + me losing my insurance in the new year so it's been....a time.

buuuut besides the soul crushing terror of being an adult living at home with people who don't understand you, i'm confident now and a lot of my mindsets have changed to healthier ones and i've regained my love of art and being creative?

💗song you can’t stop listening to right now?

it's a combination of 'i wish i never met you' by loote, 'crowd' by sophie cates, and...... 'stay' by the kid laroi + justin bieber (although i think that one's just an earworm i need to work out lmao)

💗recommend a movie

i just got to rewatch 'cowboy bebop: the movie' and it's sooo fun....(spoilers) i know the ending of the anime is supposed to be purposefully open as it just covers a section of time in the characters' lives where they're all together but i kinda wish i'd watched the movie after as opposed to when it takes place because it's a little bit...of a nicer (and much clearer) wrap up!

💗how old are you?

twenty five 🧓

💗school, university, occupation, other?

currently jobhunting for a Boring grown up job just for some regularity and insurance (and $$ to get my ass OUT) but i want to take on freelance commission work again too! i dropped out of uni in like 2018 because the school i was going to kept fucking me over with credits just to get my associate's but maybe i'll go back one day.....maybe.....

💗do you prefer hot or cold?

HOT only because it's so gd cold and wet where i live now and even when the summers are warm they're super short and don't compensate for the months i spend not moving out of arthritis pain and freezing my ass off

💗name one fact others may not know about you.

i always come up with fun ones when i don't have any reason to share them lmao but i guess.....staying on-brand with 1d stuff, and i might've said this before, but louis gave me my first bout of gender envy that i recognized as actual gender envy when i was like, fifteen? and as i was coming out of my obvious emo phase into one more subdued, i totally dressed like twink louis for almost a year....haircut and everything....

if i can find the one photo i'm thinking of i'll post it but until then use your imagination sjkgdf

💗are you shy?

i can be? i think once i vibe with someone enough it becomes easy to talk to and open up to them but before that i can be pretty closed off and a bit impersonal.

💗do you have any preferred pronouns?

they/them!

💗any pet peeves?

i'm one of those 'people talking or random noise being made near me while i'm trying to concentrate on something fuels my murder response out of nowhere' people but otherwise...outside of common courtesy/manners stuff being ignore, i don't think so? although i genuinely hate when people walk right behind me or right in front of me...shit makes me anxious and ticks me off dfjkngdf i got shit to do!!

💗what’s your favourite “dere” type?

am i boring if i say tsundere just because it's relatable? although dorodere is kinda fun in the right setting....i love a good character twist!

💗rate your life 1-10. 1 being really crappy and 10 being the best you could ever be.

i'd say a 5? there's a lot more i want to do and achieve and things i know i could have right now if my ADHD and anxiety didn't still have such a death grip on me but i'm also in the best headspace i've been in in years so i'll take that as a win!

💗what’s your main blog?

this one!

💗list your side blogs and what they’re used for.

swmpwxtch is my art-only blog because i'm slow at finishing things and know there's no point trying to make this an 'art blog' when i reblog so much, and then prickelndauge is my insp blog (so if you're wondering why there's a startling lack of fashion and art on this blog, it's mostly over there!), then i have one for creepy/spooky stuff (bonepickng) because i know not a lot of people want to see that on main, aaaaand am-ref a ref blog for art tips, life things, donation pools, etc.! (and some old urls i have saved)

💗is there anything you think people need to know about you before becoming friends with you?

at the risk of sounding like a YA protagonist: my heart is full of love and i try to be as understanding and open as i can be but i also have a very short bullshit fuse, so while i'm still happily understanding of certain behaviors and mindsets, if you cross the line that i put very bluntly in the sand, you're not crossing back over.

(ie i love my friends but don't be a dick and if you are you get one warning and that's all <3)

uhhh i know a lot of people got tagged already and have done this so! i'll be tagging @grimmpitch @hershelsue @niallnailme @dragmedown @ialwaysknewyouwerepunk @justmehernthemoon @non-binharry @genius0flove @mamaharry @theymetinthetoihlet @saintqueer and uhhh anyone else that would like to!! and if you've done this already please ignore me~

[nikosomething]

Thought it might be fun to share my concepts for my Beautiful Sacrifice Series

My Concepts

The women of The Untamed are so amazing ughhh

This whole series happened thanks to @mdzswomen​ s event to honour the women of MDZS. When I read about it I noticed I had never tried to draw any of these amazing women and I knew I needed to change something about that.

My idea was to create a tribute to these strong women and their decision to sacrifice everything. My choice of characters was based on the week one prompts: Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Mian Mian and A-Qing. There were more prompts and women, but at that time I didn’t even think I’d manage to draw more than two of them let alone a conceptual series.

It all started with Wen Qing, actually, even though she was the prompt for day two. I knew I wanted a really tall format like a banner hanging from a ceiling (as they are often used in an honorary context) and parts of the character to stick out of its boundaries.

As you can see at first I experimented with Wen Qing fiercely staring into the distance. I tried another sketch with her eyes closed and that’s what inspired all other elements, really.

I decided that I wanted to depict one of the saddest, but also most beautiful and strongest aspects of their journey: the end. I’d call it their final moment, but that doesn’t quite cut it. Jiang Yanli saving Wei Wuxian might have been instinctive, but it wasn’t done to her, she chose to push him away, whatever it may cost her. Which is why I want to go for the phrasing of it having been their final decision. It was an action. And a strong one at that. MianMian chose to end her career, unwilling to tolerate those close-minded people. Wen Qing chose to face the Lanling Jin clan, knowing death was a very likely result. A-Qing chose to signal Xue Yang’s position knowing how dangerous he was.

I didn’t want to portray the scene too realistically, but rather in a symbolic way. For the Beautiful Sacrifice Series I wanted to focus on ease/liberation, sadness and beauty. I chose to portray the deceased with closed eyes and a peaceful expression (as they don’t regret their final act), which is why Mian Mian’s eyes are wide open with her determinedly looking ahead. I also included the last sentence we hear each of these women speak in the show before their (old) life ends.

WEN QING

The first character I had a concept for was Wen Qing. I knew immediately that I wanted to include fire as the cause of her death, but I also wanted to simplify it, to turn it more into a symbol than the actual scene of her being burnt alive.

(At least I imagine that that’s what happened, I may be wrong, though. We know they got her ashes. However, she may have been killed first and burnt later. Or they made it a spectacle to watch one of the last Wen die in flames. Very cruel, but perhaps some found it satisfying).

Wen Qing’s hair is floating in the upwind of the fire’s heat. The flames point to the last thing we hear her say. The background is red for the Wen and fades to black to make the fire shine bright.

The colouring process was quite challenging. I spent days on it, it was really giving me a headache hahaha, I just wasn’t satisfied with anything, the colour palette, the shading, the lighting (it’s the first time I tried a more fancy lighting situation). In the end I put some layers on multiply, which actually helped as I now know her robes were coloured too light, which meant there wasn’t enough contrast to the bright flames in the background.

I was really insecure about the whole piece. I am still stunned that Wen Qing is the drawing with the most notes of this entire series. Thank you so much, it gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep trying out new stuff!

JIANG YANLI

Immediately after I had scribbled my Wen Qing concept I knew what I wanted Jiang Yanli’s tribute to look like. Soft and tender, like she is. With Wen Qing it’s the powerful flames that make her hair puff up, resembling Wen Qing’s fierce personality. For Jiang Yanli it’s a gentle breeze that lifts a strand of her hair and carries the lotus leaves with it.

Her eyes are closed as she is deceased. A lotus flower is located where she received the lethal wound in her brother's stead. The flower symbolises her sect, family and fond memories (be it playing by the water with her brothers or making lotus root soup).

Jiang Yanli is wearing my favourite outfit of hers and not her mourning robes which she died in, because I think it captures the gentleness of her personality perfectly with the pastel Jiang colour palette (and it’s actually a layer of see-through fabric in the show).

I really enjoyed colouring this piece and while it was the second design it was the first one I did the lineart and colour for.

MIAN MIAN

I wanted to include an element of disillusion since she experiences that moment of humiliation which is followed by the realisation that the Jin clan doesn’t have her back and goes against her morals.

In the caption I wrote: She spoke up, she stood her ground and then she left all these narrow-minded people behind, choosing to walk alone rather than be silenced. She was the true spark amidst plain snow and she had to realise that the white peony she served was rotten. That day she escaped these golden robes, shedding this old skin which had gotten too tight, and stepped into the future that was hers and hers alone.

The white peony is the symbol of the Lanling Jin sect and while it shines brightly on the outside Mian Mian learned to see through the façade, recognising all the rotten parts she didn’t want to tolerate any longer. With her leaving the peony sheds its petals until it vanished from her life.

In my initial sketch Mian Mian is portrayed with the simple robes she wears underneath her Lanling Jin attire. Since I didn’t give Jiang Yanli her mourning robes and didn’t plan on drawing A-Qing in her white robes either it didn’t feel quite right, though.

The phrase “shedding old skin” and the image of a snake came to my mind. First I thought about experimenting with an actual snake or the pattern of its scales. In the end I settled on the Jin robes being that old skin and showed Mian Mian’s personal robes as the shiny new skin underneath. I wanted to show that she may be stepping out of the Jin sect, but that she is starting on a new, meaningful path.

(Drawing the Jin robes was quite bothersome hahaha. I took tons of pictures of me wearing a robe, but it was so slippery that I almost pulled a muscle while trying to make it look right in the photo. I spent an hour or so on it without any satisfying result and ended up drawing it from imagination after all.)

While I loved my sketch the execution was a p-a-i-n. Colouring her personal robes almost drove me mad and the face, the face was such a struggle. I think I redrew it four to five times. I still think I could have done better, but after days of trying to fix it I decided that perhaps I need some more months of practice to get her expression right (so I might re-draw her in the future).

A-QING

I didn’t think I’d enjoy the A-Qing piece as much as I did!! After having drawn three artworks I was worried that I may have exhausted all possibilities / ideas and that it would end up being a repetition of what I had already done.

I rewatched her episodes for inspiration. I watched all significant episodes of all the women I drew for that matter haha. The last thing we hear her say is directed at Song Lan, actually, which in retrospect surprised me. I could have sworn she talked to Xiao Xingchen last. Or Xue Yang (like in the novel). But nope, it’s our poor poor Song Lan.

Given that A-Qing died the youngest (I think?) I wanted to make her look younger than the other women, so I kept her head round and used pastel colours on her face.

I like moths (unless they eat my clothes or settle down in my food). Moths seek the light and in some way Xiao Xingchen was that light in A-Qing’s life. With the glow they symbolise A-Qing’s soul leaving her body through the lethal wound Xue Yang inflicted on her.

I placed one moth on her mouth as she has been muted by Xue Yang. The new moon in the background stands for the eternal darkness Xue Yang cast on her as moonless nights are the darkest.

For A-Qing I wrote in the caption: She couldn’t protect the man who had taken her in and cared for her. But she stayed. She became a lonely guardian, watching out for the remains of her lost brother in the silence and darkness which were forced upon her. Until that fated day when she gave her life so that the culprit who had shattered this tender soul would be brought to justice.

I finished A-Qing’s artwork way quicker than expected. The robes were tricky with all the torn spots and loose thread, but the rest came easy. I had lots of fun with the moths and the moon. And the glow. I love that cool light blue glow.

THANK YOU

All in all I really loved drawing this series and I thank you for your support, for your wonderful tags which make me smile and giggle and for every reblog and like! Whenever I have a hard time I revisit your tags and find strength within them.

[neuxue]

I rewatched The Untamed up to where I stopped before (ep 10), and ended up thinking a lot about how there's an aspect of highly competent characters beyond the competence itself that I love, which is watching characters cope with that competence.

Competence is a funny thing. Faced with someone in whom they cannot immediately find a weakness to complement the excellence...people don't respond well. So for all that it is supposedly a virtue, extreme (and, particularly, generalised) competence can be intimidating, off-putting, and isolating.  

Which brings us to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, who are both highly and broadly capable, and who both deal with that by taking a kind of arrogance and turning it into a shield, but in almost opposite ways.

Lan Wangji accepts being set apart, and so makes that a part of himself, turns it into armour. He is untouchable, so no one bothers to even try, and because they do not try, they cannot be repelled, and so he cannot lose them. People look at him and see perfection, and so perfection is what he gives them, icy and unassailable. (And he tells himself he is not lonely).

And then there's Wei Wuxian, who takes the route of this self-effacing arrogance of obnoxiousness: at once drawing attention to himself and yet deflecting it away from his formidable capacity. It creates the illusion of approachability, of -- perhaps ironically -- harmlessness, even as it exasperates every breathing creature within screaming distance. He doesn't quite downplay his competence, but instead sort of masks it. It lets him pretend to have peers, because if they're exasperated by him, then they're not in awe of him. And if they're not in awe of him, then he's not a threat. (And he tells himself it does not hurt when they roll their eyes and dismiss him).

It's about choosing how to be perceived, because when you have that kind of capability, people will look. But if you direct that focus, it becomes a shield in your hand rather than a weapon in theirs.

And while there are a lot of factors that play into why they each take the route they do, I think part of the reason Wei Wuxian basically defangs his competence is because if he's not a threat, then he's not a threat to Jiang Cheng.

Because the sibling dynamic here is...complicated. As the elder, Wei Wuxian should protect his younger brother. But as a not-quite-adopted not-son, he should not overshadow or challenge Jiang Cheng, the heir. And Jiang Cheng seems to have a great deal of insecurity, especially around his position in this world.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian seems incredibly protective of his siblings, and I wonder if some of this deflection of attention away from his own competence, painting himself as an easy and obnoxious target, is a way of protecting Jiang Cheng by making sure people don't compare the two of them in Wei Wuxian’s favour.

Whereas Lan Xichen doesn't seem to have that same kind of insecurity; he doesn't appear to feel threatened by his brother's capability, or uncertain of his own. (He's also possibly the only person in the series thus far who understands the concept of 'chill', which helps). So Lan Wangji doesn't need to protect anyone else from his competence; he only needs to protect himself.

And it all feels like the beginning of a polarisation where both Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian let people's perceptions become reality, but opposite. Lan Wangji allows himself to be put on a pedestal. And Wei Wuxian allows people to think the worst of him, by shielding himself in irreverence and obnoxiousness. Early on, it's harmless. ‘The worst’ just means shaking their heads and seeing a troublemaker first and a talented cultivator second.

But it would be so easy for that to shift into something more sinister. Because what happens when the stakes are higher? When it's not just mischief but some greater transgression? And when he’s already conditioned them to not look past the surface, to never think he has truer motives than mischief?

Maybe I'm just desperate for this to be a story of Wei Wuxian hounded into villainy by people’s perceptions that he himself helped craft -- because it's all too easy for 'let them think the worst of me, if need be; I can take it' to become 'what's to stop me becoming in truth the monster they already think I am?'

[farmerlan]

Farmer Lan’s Rewatch Guide to The Untamed - Episode 14

*Jiang Cheng’s expression is literally me staring quietly at my initial assumption that I can do an episode recap a day*

episode masterlist here

obligatory spoiler warrrrning and also, quickly:

Format update: I think it probably makes a bit more sense for me to just list out the differences from the novel and do a brief recap of the main events of the drama upfront instead of recapping the entire episode scene by scene. This is partly laziness (honestly tho), but also otherwise I feel like these posts are kind of ridiculously long and I’d actually rather focus more on analyzing the novel instead of typing out recaps? I’ll love to get feedback if anyone is reading. If not, I’m just going to go ahead and do what I want…

Quick recap on the drama:

- Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji fight the tortoise and win, Wei Wuxian passes out. They are rescued and they return to their respective sects.

- A lot of talking ensues between the Jiang family members and Wei Wuxian, including a special guest appearance by the ever-bitter Madam Yu.

- Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian establish their bromance, only to set the stage for what we know will be inevitable heartbreak later.

Differences from the novel:

In the drama it seems like they’ve spent only one night in the cave because we start Episode 14 with Lan Wangji waking up, but in the novel they’ve actually waited four days by the time they fight the tortoise. Although the events unfold over seven days in both the drama and the novel, it’s laid out a bit more clearly in the novel - four days, the attack, and then 2-3 days waiting for rescue.

Lan Wangji actually goes with Wei Wuxian to investigate the cave exit in the novel (he’s passed out and Wei Wuxian goes alone in the drama), but even after several attempts, they still can’t find anything. Wei Wuxian suspects that it is blocked by the tortoise’s body, but they have no way of drawing it out.

Knowing that if they keep waiting for rescue, their bodies will start to weaken from not having anything to eat or drink, they decide to attack. The plan is basically similar to what happens in the drama. Wei Wuxian sneaks into the shell to lure the tortoise out, finds a rusty sword that is imbued with some ~sick demonic vibes~ and disturbs the tortoise, which begins to attack. 

The fight actually goes on for a full six hours in the novel, during which Wei Wuxian is literally in the tortoise’s mouth, hanging on to the sword that is wedged between its roof and tongue like a toothpick in order to prevent himself from being swallowed whole. When Lan Wangji is finally able to strangle the tortoise to death, he then has to force the dead tortoise’s mouth open to retrieve Wei Wuxian - now passed out in a fetal position, still clinging on for dear life - from the throat of the monster. I feel like in the drama this comes across as a little less dramatic because Wei Wuxian is hanging on from the outside and Lan Wangji can clearly see him (although extra drama points for the blood so I guess it evens out), but I can’t imagine the torture of trying to kill a monster for 6 hours while having NO idea whether your friend soulmate is still alive or not.

Also, this is the end of the sword’s appearance in the novel. Although Wei Wuxian was really fascinated and wanted to retrieve it for further research in the novel, it was unfortunately lost in the water.

The episode then cuts out the rest of Chapter 55 with a flashback to skirt around censorship. Some scenes that were missed in the drama:

Wei Wuxian requests to lie on Lan Wangji’s legs (let’s be real - lap) because why not? He has a fever and you know he is gonna milk that for all its worth. Wei Wuxian is all “But why don’t you like meeeee?” and Lan Wangji staunchly refuses, but secretly moves him onto his lap while he’s asleep. Can this man be any more tsundere?!

The only thing keeping Wei Wuxian’s condition from worsening is Lan Wangji channeling his energy into him. Lan Wangji is insistent on not talking to Wei Wuxian because he needs rest, and Wei Wuxian clearly wants to do anything BUT rest. So after some attempts at conversation, that’s when Wei Wuxian asks Lan Wangji to sing to him while he falls asleep. Like in the drama, he never catches the name of the song.

It’s only Jiang Cheng who rescues them in the novel, Jin Zixuan doesn’t appear (honestly, the drama is SO much more sympathetic to him). Wei Wuxian wakes up back at Yunmeng so we don’t see that dramatic reunion-fainting scene in the drama.

Pretty much the rest of the conversation between the Jiang family and Wei Wuxian, as well as the showdown of Madam Yu vs. everyone else (again) happens as it does in the novel.

Also, know this - Wei Wuxian doesn’t praise Jiang Cheng for his rescue efforts during his conversation with Jiang Fengmian in the novel. It’s a really small thing, but it kind of pains me that they don’t really discuss Jiang Cheng at all in their conversation except for the ‘wish you were there!’ part even though he’s  right there, after slogging 7 days without rest to bring Wei Wuxian back.

The Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian scene literally happens basically word for word as it does in the novel so I really have nothing to add, but they cut out the ending of Chapter 57, which, to me, was actually the best part of the chapter, so here’s what is missing:

Wei Wuxian notices he is missing Mianmian’s perfume satchel in the novel, and asks Jiang Cheng if he’s seen it. This gets cut in the drama since the medicinal herbs came from Wen Ning, but in the novel we later learn that a certain sly tsundere Lan someone stole it off his body while he was asleep in the cave...and kept it as a coin purse. ;)

There is a conversation that goes:

江澄皱眉道：“你又来了。你不会真的喜欢她吧？那丫头长的是还可以，但是一看出身就不怎么样。恐怕连门生都不是，像是个家奴之女。”

Jiang Cheng *frowning*: There you go again with Mianmian - don’t tell me you really like her? She‘s got good looks but you can tell that’s she not from a distinguished background - I’m afraid she’s not even a disciple of the Jin sect, more likely the daughter of a house servant.

魏无羡道：“家奴怎么了，我不也是家仆之子吗。”

Wei Wuxian: “So what if she is? Am I not the son of a servant too?”

江澄道：“你跟她能比吗？谁家的家仆像你这样，主人还给你剥莲子、熬汤喝，我都没喝到

Jiang Cheng: “Are you really comparing yourself to her? Which sect’s servant is like you? The mistress* peels your lotus seeds for you and makes soup for you that even I didn’t get to drink.”

*Mistress here being in reference to Jiang Yanli, since technically Wei Wuxian would be a servant to the Jiang household by birth, making all of them his masters/mistresses.

I love this scene. In fact, I just love the interactions in this entire chapter, but particularly the complex dynamics between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. In the drama, by cutting out this scene (and I think several others that reference Wei Wuxian’s background), they almost feel like siblings, but I think it undercuts the real dynamic between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, because it’s a huge deal that he’s not family. It means Jiang Cheng’s allegiance should and will always lie with the sect first, even if Wei Wuxian didn’t do all the things he did. I already talked about this in Episode 11 so I’ll save the ranting here.

Also, in the novel, Wei Wuxian turns the topic back to Lan Wangji at this point and learns that Lan Wangji’s father has passed away due to wounds inflicted during the burning of the Cloud Recesses. BIG OOF.

[ruanbaijie]

Merry Christmas!

Yeah I feel the same, it's 2021 and March at the same time lol.

It's still interesting though! Maybe it will be handy at some point, you never know!

My German is horrible lol, it's been a while since I was taking classes!

My Chinese is slowly improving! Definitely can't watch things without English subtitles yet, but I catch words, phrases and sentences I understand some times! I can't really speak it yet, though! Grammatically it's very simple, my biggest issue is the tones and characters for sure. I'm using duolingo and I bought 2 notebooks so I can properly write things down, I've written stuff down already but it was on paper and it doesn't look very pretty lol. I also am rewartching (slowly) Handsome Siblings and writing all the dialogue down so I can learn how conversations work, and even though I've only got a few minutes down, I've already learned new words! It will take time for sure but I think it's worth it, there's only so much duolingo can teach.

I was basically entering my exam period when corona hit. It sucked, it was quite devastating. Because I did drama, there were several plays/pieces we had worked so incredibly hard on, that just had to be scrapped last minute. We wrote essays instead. Of course it was the right thing to do, but the sadness over not being able to complete our work, mixed with getting new assignments and our teachers instantly going on Easter break and not talking to us was.....stressful. It was definitely a rough time! I struggled so hard with my dissertation too! Fun fact, amidst all this was when I watched The Untamed!!! And it was a bit later when I decided to learn Chinese as a hobby!

I also really love Wen Ning and Wen Qing! I couldn't agree more!

My question this time is: what is/are your favourite ship/s, canon or not?

- Sincerely, your Classified Cultivator

hello!! 

ah same I haven’t touched german in... two years?? my textbooks are rotting away and collecting dust... ;-; sigh all the money I spent on those... foreign language textbooks are crazy expensive ugh

oh that’s good! yep chinese grammar is fairly straightforward, at least it doesn’t involve lots of conjugation and exception *cough stares at french cough* and really strict sentence structure *cough stares at german cough* but it’s really all the different characters that make the language difficult... ;n; ohoh you’re actually rewatching the show and copying the dialogue as they go along??? omg that’s real dedication there, I’m guessing it would take quite some time >_< and I realise you’ve got to figure out the stroke order too (although this is usually quite straightforward) hmm... 再接再厉！ᕦ(ò_óˇ)

yeah that sounds really unfortunate ): writing essays are completely different from performing the actual play, it must have been really disappointing (´,_ゝ`) but at least that tough part is over! and wow you found the untamed during that period? 0: at least it was something to hold on and look forward to during that time! d(>_< ) and reallyyyy kudos to you for picking it up as a hobby and still going strong 200+ days later, because I have no stamina when it comes to self-learning languages and in october I was telling myself I would continue self-learning japanese come november, but it’s already december and I... still... haven’t... _(:3」∠)_

ahaha I’m a very unimaginative person, my favourite ships (in mdzs/ cql) are wangxian and songxiao ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜) wangxian because angst! pain! pining! waiting for 13 (or 16) years! and songxiao because more angst! more pain! (Ｔ▽Ｔ) maybe because I don’t read fics much so I don’t go too much into the non-canon ships, but @/feiyunn draws really gorgeous art of xicheng that make me go oh damn all the time

and that’s it all for now! hope you’re having a great weekend! (the last one of 2020 omg how even)

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 21, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Flute Solo

For some reason Wei Wuxian has decided to take a walk outside of the fortress, or behind the fortress, or something? Can people just take a stroll outside during wartime? Seems unwise.

There are guards and these extra-bossy crows herding some Wen prisoners along, and Wei Wuxian stands up above and gets totally overwhelmed by resentful energy.  

He falls to one knee while clutching his chest, in the spot where all cultivators seem to stow a bag of holding. I guess this is the Xuanwu sword? Or maybe it's his surgical incision; those things can take a while to finish healing. I think the golden core is further down in the abdomen, though; this is right over his heart. 

Wen Qing, Granny, and Fourth Uncle are in the group, but Wen Qing has her hood up so Wei Wuxian can't see her, and he's unlikely to remember the other two, since he only saw them that one time at the shrine, and he doesn't remember people he's literally had dinner with.  

The guards decide to be assholes and beat the shit out of a prisoner because he fell down, which inspires some extra aggressive crows to swoop in and attack the not-dead guy on the ground. That is...not how carrion-eaters behave, generally. They're pretty good about waiting for you to stop moving.

Wei Wuxian continues to struggle, obviously having an orgasm in a lot of pain, and starting to leak resentful energy.

(more after the cut)

He brings his flute up and starts playing it, which causes the wind to rise, rocks to fall from a nearby cliff, and the whole group of people on the ground under him to start having Yin Iron lines crawling up their faces.

Would Wen Qing be a beautiful fierce corpse? She would. 

Eventually Wei Wuxian stops torturing everybody, having gotten it out of his system for a bit, and stands up.  The group gets up, skin clearing up, and starts moving along again, a little shook. Wen Qing looks up and sees Wei Wuxian and hides her face in anguish.

She was there in the dungeon, listening to the same flute music, when he was resentfully slaughtering everyone around her in Yiling. Does she understand what she’s seeing, what he’s become? 

Her hood is off and it seems that he sees her, or at least that he is trying to figure out what he's seeing. But Jiang Yanli arrives before he can do more than look puzzled and cast his eyes around.  

Jiang Yanli asks him what just happened and he laughs and says it was the strong wind, in an extremely transparent lie that Yanli nearly chokes trying to swallow. She drags him back to the meeting while he continues to look troubled.

War Council

Meanwhile, the war council is meeting. This is mostly a boring rehash of stuff we already know, but someone has drawn a nice big map that's been installed in a custom frame. Because apparently the table with the mountains on it is not a good enough representation of "and then we will walk from our house to Wen Ruohan's house," which is basically their plan. The gist of this scene is that Wen Ruohan having the Yin Iron gives him an advantage, in case we needed to be reminded of that. 

The doors fly open and Wei Wuxian and his fabulous ass literally blow into the room. 

Everyone reacts in a comically extreme way. 

He casts his eyes malevolently and/or sexily over to Lan Wangji, who is still grumpy with him, while Jiang Cheng comes up and stands almost as close to him as Lan Wangji used to.

He tells everybody that he might have something to counteract the yin iron.

Everybody: Really? Do tell!  

Wei Wuxian: Happy to!

Wei Wuxian: *theatrical side-eye at judgy ex boyfriend* 

Wei Wuxian: Actually, nope.

He says "we'll see in about a month" while fondling whatever is hidden next to his ribcage.

This behavior, while ridiculous, isn't quite as absurd as it seems from a corporate-meeting standpoint. Part of what cultivators do is invent and refine spiritual tools. So when Wei Wuxian makes this speech, the people in the meeting are going to infer that he is creating a spiritual tool to counter the Yin Iron.

Now it's Lan Xichen's turn to ask everybody’s favorite question. Lan Xichen wasn’t at the party when everyone else asked him, and we're apparently supposed to believe these gossips haven't been talking about the not-sword-carrying 24x7.

Wei Wuxian says he's just not in the mood, and we get to see Lan Xichen's impressive ability to hold his face completely still while he represses his desire to slap someone.

Jin Zixun complains about Wei Wuxian after he leaves, but for once his bitching is on point; he correctly surmises that the counter to yin iron is...yin iron. 

Now, to be fair, the yin tiger amulet is different from the yin iron because it exists in the novel Wei Wuxian specially refines it to be more manageable than the sword it started from. And maybe it’s gel coated to be easier on the stomach. But it's basically the same shit.

Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue exchange intense gazes, just to prove that the young people aren’t the only ones who know how to eye fuck. 

Lying Is Forbidden 

Lan Xichen talks to Lan Wangji, and we discover that Lan Wangji is perfectly capable of lying. He manages to maintain a reputation for not lying but I think the trick is that he just avoids talking in general, so when, for example, people in later years say "who's your masked boyfriend" he just doesn't answer, which isn't really lying. (How many times did Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen ask “where did you get this kid?” and just not get an answer, I wonder.) 

At other times he actually directly lies, as when he claims he is “just passing through” Yiling on a night hunt. The current conversation with Lan Xichen definitely involves actual lying.

Let's play multiple choice answers with the Lan brothers!

Q:  Why is WWX so confident we can have Yin Iron against WRH in a month? 

a.) Because he's been walking around with that Xuanwu sword for months, and it is obviously made of Yin iron b.) because he used a fucking ghost flute to flay Wen Chao more or less in front of me, so he is clearly down with some dark magics c.) I don’t know

Q: Was the death of people in the Yiling supervisory office really related to yin iron?

a.) obviously b.) maybe he was using some other source of overwhelming necromantic power c.) no, he’s not like that

Q. When you approached Yiling, was there anything unusual?

a.) yes, the talismans had been altered to draw in evil spirits b.) yes, everyone except his particular friend Wen Qing had killed themselves in horrifying, outlandish ways c.) are there rules already set for everything in the world?

Xichen, bless him, actually lets Lan Wangji change the subject like that and answers his question honestly.

Xichen: Actually, rules are pretty much shit Wangji: fucking hell, you're telling me this NOW? What have I been doing for the past 18 years then?

They both look just ridiculously beautiful in this conversation. Lan Wangji’s affect with his brother is so interesting. He’s trusting, emotionally open, willing to be seen...but only because he knows Lan Xichen won’t push past his barriers, won’t force him to speak the truth of what’s on his mind.

Awkwardness

The Yunmeng bros roll up, and awkwardness ensues. 

Wangji is frowning hard. His frowns are of the micro variety just like his smiles, but boy they are consistent and Wei Wuxian and Xichen both know how to read them.

Wei Wuxian gives Lan Xichen a small, sunny smile--it seems genuine, not like the fake ones he's trotting out on demand for his family. 

Then he gives Lan Wangji a pointed gaze of yearning and reproachfulness, which Lan Wangji returns, switching from frowning to a softer expression that seems about equal parts hurt, apology, and thirst.

Wei Wuxian reacts to that by bowing again and leaving, with Jiang Cheng quickly following, wondering what the fuck just happened.

Lans Xichen and Wangji pivot gracefully to watch them go, which Lan Wangji should know is not correct post-breakup behavior; you're supposed to act disinterested, my dude. 

And then Lan Xichen asks Lan Wangji what the fuck is going on. Lan Wangji gets one more lie in, saying he's not worried about Wei Wuxian, before reapplying his frown and walking away from the conversation.

Macroexpression Brothers

OP was wrong about Wei Wuxian not hugging Jiang Cheng any more--here he is hanging on him just like the old days, and Jiang Cheng is shoving him off, just like the old days. However, it emerges that this is mostly an act that WWX is putting on to seem normal. 

Jiang Cheng wants to know what's wrong between him and Lan Wangji, and asks why they broke up. Wei Wuxian points out that Jiang Cheng didn't like him dating Lan Wangji before, so why is he pushing him to get back together with him now, and Jiang Cheng says that now they're allies in a war, so Wei Wuxian needs to do his duty and help keep Lan Wangji in fighting trim, nudge nudge. 

Then he starts lecturing Wei Wuxian about sword cultivation and generally good behavior, and Wei Wuxian theatrically nods and give him appraising looks, telling him he really seems like a clan leader now.

Jiang Cheng headshakes this away. Wei Wuxian actually giving Jiang Cheng a sincere compliment here, disguised as teasing, and he's not wrong. Jiang Cheng has matured and is becoming a strong leader. Not strong enough to ignore peer pressure, but that’s true of most clan leaders in this environment. They’re not supposed to ignore peer pressure. 

Wei Wuxian is pointing it out for his own reasons - he doesn't want to be having this conversation - but it's nice to see him giving his clan leader his due.

Jiang Cheng walks away as Wei Wuxian smiles after him; as soon as he's out of sight the smile falls off of Wei Wuxian's face as fast as fast as gravity can take it. It's like someone snuffed a candle.

No one bites back as hard On their anger None of my pain and woe Can show through

But my dreams, they aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance that's never free

More Awkwardness

Lan Wangji and his ambivalence come looking for Wei Wuxian, standing outside his door and raising a hand to knock before changing his mind and fleeing. 

Lan Wangji is on the back foot for the first time in his relationship with Wei Wuxian; this boy who pursued and pursued and PURSUED him is now a man who won't speak to him.  This boy who hung on every one of his words, and saw through all of his minute facial expressions, has become a man who won't listen to him. Lan Wangji is in the position of pursuer, now, and it's not a role he's well equipped for.

Yanli stops him as he's bailing. He looks so relieved to see her, but he tries to escape immediately after greeting her. She stops him so she can ask what the fuck is going on. 

Unfortunately, Wei Wuxian rolls up while Lan Wangji is in the middle of talking to her.  He's telling her about the heterodox cultivation, and Wei Wuxian busts him. Wei Wuxian steps up and asks what he was telling her, and Lan Wangji says "Wei Ying," but doesn't get much further than that.

Nunya

Wei Wuxian reminds him that he told him to stay out of Jiang Clan business. Now, here I want to mention that "private" and "not your bidness" are culturally specific concepts. OP, for example, grew up in version of Irish-American culture so secretive that the problems of a person's life and (often) the cause of their death are things only discovered by whoever inherits their papers. [OP inherited 3 generations of letters a few years ago, and HOO BOY]

In the version of Chinese culture which we see in this drama, your choices, thoughts & troubles belong to the family and clan, not just to you.  Wei Wuxian, in shutting his elder sister out of his struggles, is not family-ing correctly. Jiang Yanli is right to try to get around that by asking his friend. His friend is also right to give her--in sanitized form--the information she is asking for. 

Wei Wuxian has zero trust in Lan Wangji at this point, unfortunately. He doesn’t know that Lan Wangji has been lying to cover for him; he just knows he’s being a grumpy aggressive holy roller. Now, when Lan Wangji has just been given permission to disregard all 3000 rules and look at a person’s heart, that person’s heart has been hardened against him. 

Yanli is used to dealing with Wei Wuxian's moods at this point -- after all, a lifetime of Jiang Cheng has got her used to volatile little brothers, and Wei Wuxian is clearly a new, not-improved man since his return. 

She tries to get him to chill out while Lan Wangji gives him a death glare -- not a return to the earlier generalized frown, more of a specific "I can't believe how full of shit you are" frown.

Wei Wuxian calls him Lan Er Gongzi, like a dick. Lan Wangji started this but at this point Wei Wuxian is kind of in the lead for who is being The Worst. Lan Wangji executes a beautiful 180 and walks away at top speed. 

Wei Wuxian asks Yanli if he talked about Yiling and when she says he didn't, he realizes he fucked up. 

He goes running after him and calls him Lan Zhan and says "listen to me" but Lan Wangji is no longer in a listening mood. 

Eat A Dick Sword

Lan Wangji is so far in his feelings at this point that he just hauls out his sword and goes after Wei Wuxian, taking complete control of the interaction and forcing Wei Wuxian to concede the fight. Aww, he’s so angry! I love him. 

This is a rough moment for Wei Wuxian. He really genuinely can't hold his own against Lan Wangji, unless he's going to directly use necromancy against him the way he does later in their final confrontation. 

When they first met he was able to defend himself on the rooftop without drawing his sword, but he's weaker now; Chenqing is an adequate hand weapon against most cultivators and puppets, but it's not a match for Lan Wangji's full attack. 

Wei Wuxian is not enjoying this fight, and can’t win in, so he just throws in the towel, exposing his throat and trusting Lan Wangji's control.

On the surface, this fight appears to re-establish their former rapport, but it puts them on such an uneven footing it might actually drive a larger wedge between them.  I think that Lan Wangji has made a strategic error in doing this.  

Lan Wangji seems to want to prove to Wei Wuxian that his new style of cultivation is inadequate, that he would do better with a sword. Swordplay was the beginning of their relationship; their matched power was the source of their mutual attraction. Lan Wangji can't accept that Wei Wuxian has given it up; he doesn't (yet) respect his agency enough to assume that he has a good reason.

This fight functions as yet another punishment that Lan Wangji doles out to Wei Wuxian; not a physical one, this time, but a psychological one, and their relationship pays the price. 

By attacking Wei Wuxian and forcing him to concede, Lan Wangji is showing that they're unequal. By criticizing Wei Wuxian's lack of progress and asking him the same goddamn question everybody else is asking him -- where is your sword? -- Lan Wangji is humiliating him. 

This encounter does not re-establish Wei Wuxian’s trust in him; it just forces him to accept Lan Wangji’s authority, for now. Which is not what either of them really wants. 

Soundtrack: Behind Blue Eyes, by The Who

Writing Prompt: What would Wei Wuxian have said if Lan Wangji had listened to him instead of drawing his sword?