beach bum

Happy things make a post!

Thing 1: Holy smokes, y'all. I posted a story ten days ago, and the kudos on it have already outstripped the story that previously held the distinction of getting the most kudos of any story I'd written, and that one has been accumulating kudos for fifteen years. I kinda don't even know what to do with that. I mean, I'm sure the next one will be back to my usual levels, but it's certainly knocked me sideways for the mo'.

Thing 2: Amazon has brought me loot! It actually brought me the first bit of loot a bit ago, and if you're on Twitter, you already know about it, but behold:


It took some experimenting to get the English subs to play (hint: selecting "English subtitles" from the disc main menu is Not It), and the subs are not as, hmm, smooth as the ones on Netflix. They're more accurate, though, which is what I was hoping for. It's making my fourth rewatch extremely enlightening, if slower, but that's probably good as well. I find myself noting details I might have started glossing over at this point, otherwise. I'm especially giving more attention to Nie Huaisang, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning this rewatch, and continuing to ruminate on the highly unusual central triangle of Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji. In particular, the subs on the DVD translate part of the Jiang credo in a way that reads radically different from how Netflix translates it, and illuminates Wei Wuxian's actions and character (and Jiang Fengmian's favoritism) to a stunning degree. Aside from the central tenet of "attempt/achieve the impossible," Netflix translates Jiang Fengmian's admonition to his sons as "do nothing until you will achieve something." The DVDs, on the other hand, have him say, "If you see a wrong, then there is something to be done." Wei Wuxian evokes this advice when Jiang Cheng tries to hold him back from helping a limping-on-his-broken-leg Lan Wangji by saying they need to think of their own clan and that Wei Wuxian can't even protect himself right now (it is, after all, only a matter of days after Wei Wuxian's night with a monster dog in the dungeons of Nightless City, and aiding Lan Wangji is risky when his clan has been declared rebels and he is openly a political prisoner). All of that is immaterial to Wei Wuxian, however, because he is constitutionally incapable of not helping where he sees the need. As Jiang Yanli says of him at the very beginning of the flashback part of the drama, he is the living embodiment of the Jiang ideals, including "when you see a wrong, do something about it."

But I'm certain both this instance and the events in the Xuanwu's Cave were what Jiang Cheng had in mind when he later accused Wei Wuxian of being the cause of the Wens' destruction of Lotus Pier and slaughter of the Jiang Sect, including his parents, and I'm certain his later conviction of Wei Wuxian's disloyalty stretches back to the lectures at Cloud Recesses and the first moment—probably when he saw Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in silent communication after returning from the Cold Pond Cave with the Yin Iron, bound by at least one secret and a mutual oath—when he truly realized himself to no longer be his brother's best friend and first choice of companion (which is why he makes the jab about Wei Wuxian just staying in Gusu and becoming part of the Lan Sect). Jiang Cheng is really bad at separating different types of loyalty, attention, and love, especially when it comes to Wei Wuxian, for which I solidly blame his parents. Because boy, is it their fault. And I'm not sure he ever quite grasps that Wei Wuxian's withdrawal from him post-Burial Mounds has nothing to do with Lan Wangji, even though he was there for Wei Wuxian's first epic brush-off of Lan Wangji, and for several of the follow-ups. But then, without knowing about the golden core transfer, without knowing about the Burial Mounds, he's at a loss for how to explain Wei Wuxian's behavior, and for all his worry, he'd prefer to think of his brother as indestructible. So, while Lan Wangji worries about the influence of resentful energy, Jiang Cheng falls back on the answer to when he first felt separation, and retreats to anger and jealousy.

My goodness, I do seem to be getting purple about the purple a lot in here lately, huh?

Anyway, the other thing Amazon brought me arrived just today, and oh, my loves. I'm not ashamed to say I cried when I pulled it out of the box and this wave of nostalgia just rolled me under:


Might there be crossovers on the horizon? Never say never.

Thing 3: 30 Days of Guardian

Day 23: Favorite Soft Moment

I thought I was going to go with the bench, which solo talked about and which is, absolutely, one of the most perfect soft moments. But then I realized there was another one that had just made me melt when I watched it. It's in that void after Zhao Yunlan is sucked back out of the YOHE by the Hallows, and he finds Shen Wei waiting for him, and they share this look and Shen Wei says that he looked for Zhao Yunlan for ten thousand years, which may not be literally true (or may be, depending on your preferred headcanon), but you can see in his eyes felt true, and you can see in Zhao Yunlan's eyes how he finally understands so much of Shen Wei's reticence, so many of the things Shen Wei couldn't say, or was careful about he phrased them. And that moment is really achy in retrospect, for the lost potential of it, and for how clearly Zhao Yunlan thinks going back in time has showed him more of Shen Wei's secrets than it turns out it did. But that doesn't take away from the softness, from Zhao Yunlan standing there, being Kunlun—even without the wig and clothes—finally being Kunlun, looking back at Shen Wei ten thousand years in the future, and recognizing him, and loving him. So, yeah, Shen Wei's looked for Kunlun for ten thousand years, and it's in this moment that Kunlun returns to him.

Italicized items are the ones changed from the original meme.
1. Favorite episode
2. Favorite case
3. Favorite Hallows arc
4. How you started watching
5. Favorite set
6. Favorite character
7. Favorite SID member
8. Favorite guest character(s)
9. Favorite worldbuilding detail
10. Missed opportunity
11. Favorite headcanon
12. Favorite rarepair
13. Favorite Weilan outfits
14. Favorite villain
15. Villain you’d like redeemed or whose redemption you liked
16. Favorite conversation between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei
17. Favorite Dixing power and/or power you want to have
18. Most appealing point for a canon divergence AU
19. Which character(s) would you resurrect?
20. If /when do you think Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei get together?
21. Favorite character moment
22. Favorite badass moment
23. Favorite soft moment
24. Favorite team moment
25. Thoughts and feelings on the ending
26. Create a mini-playlist of up to five songs
27. Rec a fanfic
28. Rec a vid
29. Rec a meta post
30. Prompt for a fanwork

Thing 4: 31 Days of The Untamed

Day 7: Favorite Sub-plot

And they have a son.

Okay, look. If Lan Wangji finds an abandoned, sick child whom he knows no one is coming back for, of course he's going to take that child back to Cloud Recesses and see to it he's looked after, regardless of whether he is Wei Wuxian's adoptive son or not. And he would have fought to make sure A-Yuan suffered no ill treatment or disadvantages due to his Wen heritage. However, the fact is that he brought A-Yuan back to Cloud Recesses as his own child, and insisted that relationship be honored. Thus, Wen Yuan became Lan Yuan, and it's notable Lan Wangji changed the character in A-Yuan's name from one meaning "park" to one meaning "to be wished/desired." Then he gave him the courtesy name of Sizhui, which alternately means "striving" or "longing/yearning." So, the kid's name is his love letter to Wei Ying (just as Wei Wuxian named Jing Ling Rulan after his Lan Zhan). Then, he clearly took it a step farther than that, because Lan Sizhui is very polite and decorous, but he's not emotionally constipated, and he chooses kindness over blind adherence to rules. These are clearly aspects of his personality as a child, and Lan Wangji made sure they were not stifled during his upbringing in the Lan Sect.

A-Yuan was running a fever when Lan Wangji found him, and that combined with his youth means he doesn't remember the Wens or Wei Wuxian, at least at first. He starts to piece it together after Wei Wuxian comes back, and their reunion scene is one of the softest things ever, especially because one major motivator in Wei Wuxian's death was his certainty that his entire rescue of the Wen POWs, and his struggle to protect and aid his found family, was pointless, and he'd lost everything again. However, I also have to give a shout-out to the reunion between Wen Ning and A-Yuan, especially since Wen Ning really did lose everything, including Wei Wuxian, including himself. A-Yuan may not remember him, but there's an affinity there. I know many joke about Wen Ning as Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's undead child, but I actually see him as more of a younger brother to Wei Wuxian. I just think he needs to do a bit of travelling and living on his own to gain the confidence to view himself on that level, and to embrace such a role. Wei Wuxian could use more family (and his son could use an uncle who is neither an angry purple grape nor a tragic blue cloud).

Anyway, yes. Not only does Lan Wangji stealth marry Wei Wuxian something like half a dozen times in the series, but he adopts Wei Wuxian's kid. With anyone else, this plan would work brilliantly. Of course, with anyone else, Wei Wuxian's plans might have worked too.

1. How you started watching
2. Favorite episode
3. Favorite character(s)
4. Favorite "junior"
5. Favorite sect or clan
6. Favorite secondary ship
7. Favorite sub-plot
8. Favorite worldbuilding detail
9. Missed opportunity
10. Favorite set
11. Favorite supporting & minor characters
12. Villain you most love to hate
13. Favorite spiritual weapon
14. Favorite h/c moment
15. Favorite conversation between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji
16. Most appealing point for a canon divergence AU
17. Which (other) character(s) would you resurrect?
18. Favorite headcanon
19. When do you think Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get together?
20. Favorite character moment
21. Favorite badass moment
22. Favorite soft moment
23. Favorite battle couple moment
24. Thoughts and feelings on what was up on that cliff
25. Darkest/saddest moment (that isn't the cliff)
26. Thoughts and feelings on the ending
27. Favorite "small" canon moments
28. A song or piece of music that makes you think of The Untamed and why
29. Rec a fanfic and a vid
30. Talk about another aspect of your The Untamed fannishness not covered yet
31. Prompt for a fanwork

Thing 5: There is no Thing 5. I just prefer asymmetry to symmetry.