@dreamaturgy

The Untamed | Jiang Yanli defending Wei Wuxian

Ouyang Zizhen

pondering jin guangyao’s insane customer service worker energy when i realized he has literally killed every single boss he’s had. wen ruohan? dead. jin guangshan? dead. nie mingjue? Extra Dead. employing this man has a 100% fatality rate.

Don’t forget the middle managers.

That Nie captain? dead. Jin Zixuan? dead.

(yes I know JZS didn’t act like JGY was his subordinate, but literally everyone around them did)

Truly an impressive resume. Jin Guangyao is nothing if not efficient.

@flamingwell thank you for these important additions

sometimes i think about how all we know about Lan Yi is that she was the only female Gusu Lan Clan leader, and because of that she faced so much opposition she had to develop a new technique specifically for murdering people, which may sound a little too much until i tried to imagine myself being a female clan leader in a cultivation discussion conference and i immediately felt the wrath of god in my veins

they have the same love language and its Constant Bickering 4th gif it looks like jc is stopping jin ling from fighting someone but only bc hes going to do it himself  (via niehuaisangsfan)

Common misconception, but the murder twink obsessed with revenge is actually Nie Huaisang. Jin Guangyao is a murder twink obsessed with self preservation first, Lan Xichen second, and the betterment of society through public works of infrastructure third.

he had his dad raped to death lol

yeah that counts as the third one 

Some quick notes on Nie Huaisang’s nickname 一问三不知

🤔 This is translated as “Head Shaker” in the official English version, but it means more than that

🤔 I’ve previously covered this in the cql subs critique, but here’s a more detailed explanation

Ok so! We first see Nie Huaisang referred to as 一问三不知 in Ch 21 of the novel. In this scene, Wei Wuxian is talking to a man who claims to know a lot about the happenings in Qinghe.

This same conversation takes place in cql ep 34.

Quite literally, 一问三不知 means “ask once (一问), and hear three ‘I don’t knows’ (三不知)”.

According to modern writer Deng Tuo 邓拓, the three unknowns refer to three different stages for any situation in a person’s life:

Deng Tuo covered this in his piece 《变三不知为三知》, or “Turning three unknowns into three knowns”.

In sum, 一问三不知 is a rather elegant moral lesson — an admonition to always consider and understand thoroughly the history, process, consequences, and interconnectedness of things before making a judgement or decision.

The earliest mention of 一问三不知 was in the pre-Qin text 《左传·鲁哀公二十七年》. In this anecdote, a certain general, Xun Yin 荀寅, gave inaccurate information to his superior Chen Chengzi 陈成子 on the enemy’s plans and was admonished as a result. In response, Xun Yin said with regret, “今我三不知而入之，不亦难乎” / “today I’ve made a report without thinking through the three unknowns. Am I not making the situation worse?”

There is an additional layered meaning to 一问三不知! While it largely refers to someone being uninformed about the origin, process, and conclusion of a situation, it can also refer to someone who is deliberately pretending to know nothing about anything.

Whoever in the cultivation world gave Nie Huaisang the title of 一问三不知 likely figured he lacked a clear understanding of events. In truth, the title was especially appropriate because he understood more about the “three unknowns” than he cared to let on.

Finally, it’s funny when you contrast Nie Huaisang’s title of 一问三不知 against that of the man Wei Wuxian was talking to, 清河百晓生 (reflected in the English translation as “The Know-It-All of Qinghe”). This title quite literally means “Qinghe man who knows of a hundred matters”.

It’s clear that there are gaps in this man’s knowledge — despite his boasts, he doesn’t know very much. In contrast, Nie Huaisang appears not to know anything, but he does!

My original explanation of 一问三不知 from ep 34 of the cql subs critique, para 349

References

Original post on Twitter

So I'm scrolling twitter and this picture of Wang Yizhou as Nie Mingjue is cropped like so and holy COW the family resemblance to Ji Li as Nie Huaisang jumps out

And sure some of it's hair and makeup, but my goodness, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the cheeks - well done, CQL casting people.

Yeah, that casting director was a wizard.

i just want everyone to know that i was the one who put this in a clarifying app and posted it to tumblr. you’re all very much welcome.

Thank you for your service *salutes*

not to be a fucking nerd but like look at the exquisite acting here:

nmj slowly opens his eyes in the first gif, his gaze unfocused for a beat before flicking upward. you can see the moment he registers that it’s lxc who’s holding him in his chest in the way how, when he exhales heavily, he allows his whole body to sink down; this is especially apparent in his head as it tilts back when he releases the tension in his neck.

in the second gif, the way lxc’s expression starts off as concerned before he half-blinks it into one of hesitant relief - “hesitant” being evident in the brief pause as he swallows before breathing, “Mingjue-xiong” and in the way he holds the “M” in “Mingjue” for a few frames. and he’s still fighting off concern in that moment too - you can see it in how his brows flex downward and how his breath catches in his throat at the end of “xiong”. the whole time, there’s still a lot of stress in his eyes (you can see it in how his lower lids don’t really respond with his tiny smile).

in the third gif!!! THE WAY LXC’S FINGERS MOVE!! it’s both a readjustment and a comforting gesture. and the way! they tense!!! and get a little twitchy just at the end! that’s lxc’s worry/concern talking!! and also - watch how lxc’s breathing here. his chest is heaving pretty heavily throughout (you see it in the first and fifth gifs too) - which, again, shows just how worried/anxious he is - but watch!! how! the rhythm is thrown off when nmj whispers, “xichen”. ok so this is. maximum animation-nerd speaking. but. hear me out: in this gif, it takes him roughly 13 frames to go from the peak of his first inhale to the peak of his first exhale. by comparison, the second exhale (the one that comes after nmj speaks) takes only 8 frames!! my man is feeling EMOTIONS when nmj utters his name; his breath is punched out of his lungs by nmj’s “xichen”. (aaaa)

we see the quick “ha” of this sharp exhale in the fourth gif (look at his throat), and it is this that prompts his smile to finally travel to his eyes, where his lower lids crinkle extremely subtly upward for half a second - just long enough for us to read his relief and happiness that nmj is lucid and uninjured enough to still be able to recognize him and speak without coughing up blood, before his expression returns to one of concern.

and then! nmj in the fifth gif! oh, man. first, he slowly blinks, and his eyes close, he lets out an exhale, like he’s letting himself sink a little bit into lxc’s arms, then with his eyes still closed, his lips twitch into the smallest of smiles, answering lxc. he opens his eyes to stare up at his friend for a moment before his eyes extremely subtly lose focus and begin to drift downward, at which point, he closes them again, then exhales again, except this time!! with his second exhale, he tilts his head towards lxc, letting himself sink into his arms even more. (AAAA)

this scene, man……… i’m.

(they care about and trust each other so much 😭)

wangxianfics​:

MDZS Resources & References:

OR, a collection of meta fiction for MDZS writers and enthusiasts:

Grandmaster of Demonic Timeline by chrisemrys

MDZS Timeline by thewickling (Diviana)

On Character’s Ages by thewickling (Diviana)

Mo Dao Zu Shi Writer Reference: Novel Chapter Summaries by threerings 

Reference for Modao Zushi Writers: Chinese terms & Naming Conventions by chaoticjoy

Chinese naming basis for fanfiction writers by miqqumi

The Untamed / MDZS, resources link post, stuff I needed as a writer by AteanaLenn

MDZS Audio Drama Episode Guide by pumpkinpaix 

MDZS Meta Collection on AO3

Gusu Lan Sect Rules by @my-otp-list​

Map of Sect Locations in MDZS by @lalunaticscribe

MDZS Sect Locations II. by wangxianling

MDZS Sect Locations III.

Wuxia, Xianxia & Xuanhuan Novels - Basic Terminology by @bingleycharles​

Daoist Elements and More in the Untamed/MDZS - (Part1) - Cultivation, Golden Core, etc. by @tendaysofrain​​

Daoist Elements and More in The Untamed/MDZS (Part 2) - Weapons and Magical Objects by @tendaysofrain​

Dual Cultivation & Golden Core

The story behind Wei WuXian’s name by@relatetonothing​

The story behind Lan WangJi’s name by @relatetonothing​

Some thoughts on character naming conventions & cultural significance of name-shortening by @tonyglowheart​

Characters & Multiple Names by @bingleycharles​

Forms of Address by @bingleycharles​

Honorifics Guide by @cleyra​

Chinese Wedding by @tofixit

Funerary Traditions (Clothing - Hanfu) by @hunxi-guilai​ , @aoiyuuzora

Why Wei Wuxian’s cultivation is considered demonic by xianyunmp3

And there’s MORE:

MDZS Fandom Wiki

WangXiantics: The (unofficial) Untamed Episode Guide by @trensu​

Master Chart for Familial Relationships by @drwcn​

Chinese Terms of Endearment by @besanii

tips for choosing a Chinese name for your OC when you don’t know Chinese by @fineillsignup

List of Differences Between MDZS and CQL/Untamed by @unforth

brothers (gif version of this post by @br-disaster)

lan qiren’s look of disapproval when they’re all stuck in the cave during the second siege of the burial mounds and nie huaisang asks “how can we mend the array?”

being on the receiving end of that resigned sigh would kill me

#they’re stuck in a cave their lives are in danger and a necromancer is wearing his nephew’s underwear #and he STILL has to deal with nhs never doing his goddamn homework (via autumnslantern)

I can protect you for the rest of my life

otp: loved I not duty more, no good things for the poor sad cultivators, g-d this breaks my heart so much!!, they both know he could protect her alone if she was willing to defect, but they also both know she would never leave her people, and that he doesn’t have the power to protect them all, he met her people!  he saw what she would do for them!  he knows better than to think she’d ever leave them, but trying to protect hers will only get his own people killed, and she knows he could never do that!  /she’d/ never do it in his position!, and these two people who share the same values and understand each other so well, both understand that there’s nothing they can do.  that being together would mean betraying those shared values, but— he can’t just say nothing; he can’t just offer nothing.  he lets her know that the option is there even if he knows she’d never take it, and THEN, he gives her the comb.  he can at least give her the gift he carried next to his heart even as he fought her people on behalf of his own, he gives her that without putting any expectations on her.  he doesn’t even stay to see if she takes it., he knows this is goodbye.  he just wants her to go knowing that he loves her, and she— continues to carry it.  through everything.  until she knows there’s definitely no hope, and then she gives it back.  she gives up the chance of a favor; she too is unable to let them part without letting him know she loves him, this is something neither of them ever share with any other character.  it’s just between them, they think the same way!  they love the same way!  their lines in the sand are /identical!/  they would have been such a good match!, but she had to be born a Wen and he a Jiang and that’s what starcrossed means and I’m SAD. (via @silentstep)

#‘you’re only my second priority’ (declaration of love)  (via @sapphicdalliances)

the news/social media: NHS (National health organization)

my brain, immediately: