Here Is Part 5 Of My Annotations Of First Edition MDZS, Volume 1, Pages 264 - 341.

I have some Nordic heritage and this hit me right between the smile and the tears.

I drew a little something for the Hiveworks micro comic summer~

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Hiveworks Comics

It's time! Today is the day. Share the comic you've been working on all summer with the tag #MicroComicSummer

all right guys, let’s have a conversation about linguistic register, Lan Wangji, and I guess Wei Wuxian can come too

(and I do genuinely mean conversation, I’d love to hear other people’s input on this, because I did just write a long-ass post about the subjectivity of interpretation in translations)

So when I started interacting with the fandom and reading people’s fics, I got really confused by the way some folks were writing dialogue for Lan Wangji; he often sounded super awkward, spoke in fragments, and sometimes exclusively in third person. To be fair, all of those are elements of his speech at various times, but like, seeing it in English-language material felt like a really heavy-handed way of rendering it in translation?

I guess when you use third person within the first three episodes of the show, it makes a pretty big impression on the audience

This is not at all intended to be a criticism of people who are 1000% writing and creating wonderful work, which is more than I can say for myself, but I want to poke and prod and tease at some linguistic nuance here.

Take a deep breath, grab a pot of tea (this’ll take more than a cup), because we’re going to take the scenic route on this one–

Keep reading

I recently started keeping a list of all the ways I hear/read Chinese people say "death / dying". This has got to be the most artistic rendition of that question that I have seen to date :)

MDZS Vol 2 Annotations, part 3

Here is Part 3 of my annotations of MDZS Volume 2, pages 163 - 198.

The Untamed Cast: modern vs. ancient look

The tiniest WangXian doodle.

I feel like I am under attack here...he certainly killed me...no question

How would you lure someone into reading MXTX's novels beyond the usual "the main CP is this and that"? Cos for example, every time someone tells me to read MDZS, they mostly just say Wangxian is married and have a child and leave it at that, which isn't encouraging at all??? Sorry to bother you with this question. I love reading your responses though!

Hi there anon!~

I think pitching MXTX novels as purely “couple is so-and-so” is also a bit of a disservice, too! One of my favorite things about many danmei novels is indeed that they are very plot-heavy and contain lots of thought-provoking concepts. For the sake of this answer, I will limit it to MDZS since you gave that as an example.

For me, the most interesting thing about MDZS is not necessarily that “Wangxian are married and have a son” but the actual struggles that both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji endure in order to get to a point where they can be happy together. It takes one of them dying and coming back, plus the shattering of social complacency that occurs during the present timeline of the novel. And even then, that’s not even really the main focus of the novel, it’s more like a product of everything else that happens. Their history is also long and marred with anger, confusion, heartbreak, and understanding.

I have my own preferences of how I read Wei Wuxian, for example, that I think differs from other people’s. Same for how I like to interpret Wangxian. In an effort not to rock the boat, I’ll just say that I think Wangxian is a very compelling and interesting couple because they both put in work to make it work. I like thinking of how they are just very fundamentally different people, but do well together because they choose to.

But again, I think MXTX made a point also in not focusing too much on their relationship itself, but rather the plot and how/why it develops the way it does. She had something she wanted to say with this work, as she does with each one of her works. MDZS is first and foremost a murder-mystery with the background of a war story. It’s about the dangers of mob mentality, how fast the crowd will turn against you if you step out of line. It’s about how rocking the boat has far-reaching consequences, and how society often wants the easiest and cheapest way to morality. It’s about how the pressure to be perfect will shatter someone, yet the cracks may not show until it’s too late. How oppression can make both heroes, and monsters – and that sometimes, that distinction is simply a matter of who is telling the story.

(I also want to note that there’s also the one theme that MXTX seems to really favor, and is present in all 3 of her works: having one person on your side can be enough.)

These are all incredible concepts that I think are really worth reading the novel for. Not to mention, they are eternally relevant conversations to have. MDZS is a novel painted in gray, and deserves thoughtful consideration of such. (Of course, it can also just be a lot of fun!) Even how you view the main character is absolutely dependent on what perspective you want to see him through. This itself is really interesting and unique.

The way the novel ends, with a lot let unsaid – intentionally so – is bittersweet yet satisfying. Fascinating in the sense that yeah, not everyone gets a happy ending, but in a way that genuinely makes sense. (But if you’re worried, fear not, Wangxian do end up married and with a son, after all lol!)

Ultimately, these are adult novels, meant for an adult audience – and created as much for the purposes of having fun, as they are to be discussed and analyzed through a scholarly lens. So I definitely share your frustration in being pitched a novel purely on the couple, because YEAH I do care a lot about the couple (see: how I devote at least 80% of my brain power to thinking about Hualian kissing), but I also do want a story that is satisfying in more than just one way. I.e., is stratifying in both terms of its main couple’s relationship AND a fleshed-out plot line with lots of themes to analyze, because I like having fun in both of those ways!

I think even when we pitch other MXTX novels (or danmei novels in general), it’s helpful to do it the same way. To focus on what makes the novel great in its entirety, not just a small, reductive portion of it. Especially when it’s very clear that the author has so many things they’re trying to say with the work. However, I’ll end this here because this answer is getting so long lol! I hope this helped you out, anon, and maybe even sold you a little more on MDZS haha! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

Nothing to add. Perfectly put. ♥️ Our poor murder twinks ♥️

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.

some baby kermit gifs to brighten your day 💚