Canon Acquisition Report

[extrapenguin]

Reads
Children of Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A sequel to Children of Time. Thematically similar in very many respects, though I think I liked the spiders more than the octopodes. The critters of Nod were intriguing, and one of them especially felt like it belonged in an Alastair Reynolds novel. The ending was both more heartwarming and less apt than that of Children of Time. The epilogue, OTOH, was much too far in the future to feel ... good, IMO. I think this is it for the series – the epilogue sort of removed space from sequels – but I'm definitely requesting this for Yuletide, and perhaps next WBEX, if I have time to participate.

TBR pile: The Luminous Dead. The Monster Baru Cormorant.

Watches
I watched 13 episodes of The Untamed and quit. I'd read the original novel and had some issues and id mismatches with it, so the fact that the series changed things was a bonus. I did enjoy a bunch of the changes – Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji being actual friends in the past, the new yin iron plot – but it still had the problem of Lan Wangji being absolutely fucking boring. (No, I do not care if he suddenly develops expressions beyond "please direct me to the laxatives" in the penultimate episode.) In addition, the actors weren't good-looking enough, Lan Wangji's especially, and I could not deal with the CGI. Then came episode 13 and they took the absolute worst possible interpretation of Yu Ziyuan and made it show canon and I just couldn't. I'd already had enough trying to discuss the Lotus Pier with people only for them to declare Jiang Fengmian innocently misunderstood and project all of their mommy issues onto Yu Ziyuan; I had zero interest in engaging with an adaptation that made her look worse. (The changes to Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian are also part of the reason I ragequit the donghua, in addition to loathing Wei Wuxian's character design and the way he was nerfed.) Then came the revelations about Xiao Zhan being an asshole and his team getting AO3 banned in China, and I just couldn't engage anymore. I think I might've been able to persevere had I not known via the novel what was coming, but ... no. I have much better things to do with my time. (I also can't shake off the residual bitterness that I was in the fandom back in 2018, but no-one cared back then, and everyone's only coming in when I've left.)

I'm currently 6 episodes into Motherland: Fort Salem. It has canon F/F, and the premise is that the military consists exclusively/mainly of witches, who are all women, so I get lots of women in uniform! Like all US TV, it's mumblecore and the color grading equivalent of mumblecore, which makes me really grateful for the dubbing, subs, and lack of hatred for the color green found in cdramas. It's 10 episodes long, 9 of which are out. The plot and worldbuilding are intriguing, and there is copious eye candy (oh hi Alder, oh hi Scylla, oh hi Abigail's cousin), even if I wish the actresses had bulked up a bit. My biggest complaint is the fact that there is het there. (Turns out my greatest desires include lack of het?)

To watch: I've heard good things about 沙海/Tomb of the Sea (note: eng title is a mistranslation) the TV series that's a prequel to a drama Zhu Yilong will be starring in. I might watch that if I can find it.

Rewatches
I've been rewatching Guardian with glymr et al! It's more of a discussion thing, but here's some things people brought up:
- When Zhao Yunlan in ep 2 tells Shen Wei he thinks they've met before, he doesn't actually think so, he's just fishing for information from Shen Wei, because Shen Wei's reaction to meeting him was so strong.
- Shen Wei seems to have completely shut down Zhu Hong's hypnotism – after the hypnotism attempt in the mountains, she doesn't use it on anyone, though she does tear a leaf from Ye Zun's book and use her powers to rip the life straight out of Mi Lu later on.
I've also introduced more people to the concepts of Shen Wei's catch and release program, prize cabbages, and the very important canon moment of episode 2, where Guo Changcheng hugs kitty Da Qing.

Comments

[cyberbrain]

I was into MDZS at the end of 2018. Is the fandom really that much bigger now?

I got into the donghua first, then read the novel, so I didn't have an issue with the adaptation. The fandom is what killed it for me. Such ...passionate... fans. I actually swore off fandom for a few months because of all the hate I saw. (And then I fell into Guardian and that's been wonderful. <3)

I have zero intention of trying to watch the live action version.

In addition, the actors weren't good-looking enough, Lan Wangji's especially
Oh god, I feel so validated. Thank you! I thought I was the only one who didn't like their looks.

The book is full of epithets about how pretty LWJ is and then: WIB with that wig....... just... nothanks

...When I think about MDZS/MXTX I always lament how I haven't seen anyone write something like a comparative analysis between MDZS and SVSSS. I feel there's food for thought there, like maybe MXTX was trying to make some kind of point, but can't do anything about it myself because I can't force myself to sit through SVSSS, since it really rubs me the wrong way.

[extrapenguin]

The fandom is what killed it for me. Such ...passionate... fans. I actually swore off fandom for a few months because of all the hate I saw.
LOL, so euphemistic! But yeah, even back in December 2017, when cnovels were supremely niche, that fandom was where sanity went to die. Now it's a megafandom with all the megafandom problems of wanking in numbers, and it's still a place where sanity and good sense go to die. And the fandom is very ... monomaniac. And full of teenagers.

And then I fell into Guardian and that's been wonderful. <3
<3 Guardian is lovely!

I thought I was the only one who didn't like their looks.
Xiao Zhan and his styling are reasonably similar-ish to how I envisioned Wei Wuxian (unlike the donghua, which makes him too precious and uke-y), but it's more like an 80% to 90% match, and Wang Yibo just ... doesn't work. At all.

I always lament how I haven't seen anyone write something like a comparative analysis between MDZS and SVSSS. I feel there's food for thought there, like maybe MXTX was trying to make some kind of point, but can't do anything about it myself because I can't force myself to sit through SVSSS, since it really rubs me the wrong way.
I haven't seen one, either, though I guess that with the size of the fandoms surely someone must've written something? But probably on Twitter so it's a 182-tweet chain and no-one can ever find it again. Or Tumblr at best.

[cyberbrain]

I guess that with the size of the fandoms surely someone must've written something?
That's also what I'm thinking. But I can also see how/why such a post might not gain popularity.

I don't remember enough about the books to speak with much intelligence, but here's where I'd start the comparison:

In SVSSS, SQQ, the scumvillain, throws LBH in the, uh, Hell pit. They then become lovers? I don't know if LBH learns about the transmigration. [Insert paragraphs on character identity and body switching.]
In MDZS, Wen Chao throws WWX in the Hell pit, then WWX kills Wen Chao.
So to draw a comparison and conclusion between these points, for a moment, a hated character (Wen Chao) needs to be considered as a... potential lover? Pros and cons. Ethics. Morals. That's SO PROBLEMATIC!!!1!1!! Anyone who dares entertain this thought is a terrible person. (sarcasm)

[Insert OP getting hate and ultimately deleting themselves off the internet.]

Sorry, this is vastly off-topic from your post. Maybe I'm bitter than I couldn't enjoy myself more with these books.

Edit: added sarcasm tag because I forgot it when I posted

[extrapenguin]

So to draw a comparison and conclusion between these points, for a moment, a hated character (Wen Chao) needs to be considered as a... potential lover? Pros and cons. Ethics. Morals. That's SO PROBLEMATIC!!!1!1!! Anyone who dares entertain this thought is a terrible person. (sarcasm)
Oo, I don't think I have seen any meta like this! But tbh I'd read the canon divergence AU where Wei Wuxian turns up more powerful than ever and tops Wen Chao. Mostly because it'd be absolutely hilarious, and the wangxian monoshippers would explode.

Sorry, this is vastly off-topic from your post. Maybe I'm bitter than I couldn't enjoy myself more with these books.
Ranting about MDZS is always on-topic! And yeah, I'm bitter about the books too.