Fandom name The Untamed (or "Chen Qing Ling"/"CQL" but just calling it The Untamed is pretty popular!)
What medium is it and where to find it A cdrama that's on Netflix and Viki! The subtitles vary between the two versions; Viki is free iirc. The Untamed is based on a popular cnovel Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS) and there's also a donghua (cartoon) version, but the series differs from the novel and its other versions in major ways including characterization of the main character and major parts of the worldbuilding and plot. You...have probably heard of The Untamed....? But I am reccing it to you just in case!
A summary The Untamed is about a necromancer who dies hated by everyone and comes back to life more than a decade later, but that seems like a kind of poor summary. It's sort of about fantasy cultivation politics and sort of about solving a mystery and VERY about the main character and his love-interest-who-can't-be-his-confirmed-love-interest-in-the-cdrama-because-censors.
(Also because censors saying he's a necromancer is also pretty inaccurate...the cdrama couldn't have zombies...but like basically zombies, basically necromancy.)
Content warnings Mind control, lots of death, non-graphic torture, genocide, one instance of sex workers being forced to sexually assault someone but you can skip that 5 minute explanation/flashback combo without missing anything.
Why you like it More than half of the show is one long, wonderful, tense flashback that was hard to get into when it started but that had me SO HOOKED once I settled in. It has a large cast of characters and lots of interesting and complex friendship dynamics as well! Even if you don't like the main ship, you will probably find an m/m pair to obsess over.
Here are some ships that have been nominated to consider!
Lan Wanji/Wei Wuxian - This is the main ship, and it's canonical in the cnovel! LWJ is stoic and was raised in a place with a lot of rules; WWX is a carefree genius, emphasis on genius. They have a kind of rocky road to their friendship that I really liked!
Nie Huaisang/Wei Wuxian - NHS and WWX are friends while attending cultivation school together during the first part of the flashback! They swap porn and goof off before things go off the rails, and then don't see each other for a long time, so there's lots of interesting unexplored corners to their relationship.
Lan Xichen/Meng Yao - It would be a little spoiler-y to fully explain this ship but do you like bromances that are fascinating train wrecks? This one's for you!
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Re: Rec me Cnovels and Cdramas! - The Untamed
Date: 2020-08-18 09:58 pm (UTC)The Untamed (or "Chen Qing Ling"/"CQL" but just calling it The Untamed is pretty popular!)
What medium is it and where to find it
A cdrama that's on Netflix and Viki! The subtitles vary between the two versions; Viki is free iirc. The Untamed is based on a popular cnovel Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS) and there's also a donghua (cartoon) version, but the series differs from the novel and its other versions in major ways including characterization of the main character and major parts of the worldbuilding and plot. You...have probably heard of The Untamed....? But I am reccing it to you just in case!
A summary
The Untamed is about a necromancer who dies hated by everyone and comes back to life more than a decade later, but that seems like a kind of poor summary. It's sort of about fantasy cultivation politics and sort of about solving a mystery and VERY about the main character and his love-interest-who-can't-be-his-confirmed-love-interest-in-the-cdrama-because-censors.
(Also because censors saying he's a necromancer is also pretty inaccurate...the cdrama couldn't have zombies...but like basically zombies, basically necromancy.)
Content warnings
Mind control, lots of death, non-graphic torture, genocide, one instance of sex workers being forced to sexually assault someone but you can skip that 5 minute explanation/flashback combo without missing anything.
Why you like it
More than half of the show is one long, wonderful, tense flashback that was hard to get into when it started but that had me SO HOOKED once I settled in. It has a large cast of characters and lots of interesting and complex friendship dynamics as well! Even if you don't like the main ship, you will probably find an m/m pair to obsess over.
Here are some ships that have been nominated to consider!
Lan Wanji/Wei Wuxian - This is the main ship, and it's canonical in the cnovel! LWJ is stoic and was raised in a place with a lot of rules; WWX is a carefree genius, emphasis on genius. They have a kind of rocky road to their friendship that I really liked!
Nie Huaisang/Wei Wuxian - NHS and WWX are friends while attending cultivation school together during the first part of the flashback! They swap porn and goof off before things go off the rails, and then don't see each other for a long time, so there's lots of interesting unexplored corners to their relationship.
Lan Xichen/Meng Yao - It would be a little spoiler-y to fully explain this ship but do you like bromances that are fascinating train wrecks? This one's for you!