The MDZS novel readalong - chapters 1 & 2

[solo]

And here we are, our discussion post for Novel chapters 1 & 2, or web serialization chapters 1-5. The format might be refined as we go ^_^ - let's get started!

What happened?

- We got the general gloating at Wei Wuxian's death
- first info on the siege and how Wei Wuxian died
- Wei Wuxian's resurrection 13 years later
- an evil left arm running rampant at Mo Manor
- the introduction of Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi
- a glimpse of Mo Xuanyu's sad life
- Lan Wangji making an epic entrance
- and finally Wei Wuxian departing with the donkey.

How are we feeling about it all?

Any character observations? What did you make of the character intros?

Anything that surprised you even on re-read, or coming from the adaptations?

Spot any difference to other MDZS media?


Discussion notes

Spoilers for all adaptations are permitted.

The questions above are meant as potentially helpful starters, not mandatory. :)

Commentary and comparison with other translations is welcome, as is commentary on the original Chinese. (The readalong mods don't speak or read Chinese so this won't come from us, but any dedicated thread or un-dedicated observations will be received with delight.)

Jumping into threads and replying to other people's comments is not just encouraged, but part of the point.

Disagreement is fine. Keeping it friendly is encouraged, keeping it civil is required.

We encourage tracking the post or coming back to it over the week - the fun part of doing this on Dreamwidth is that discussion can happen over time and doesn't have to be instantly!

If you have any questions or concerns you want to ask the discussion mods, feel free to email us at haikuesque@gmail.com.


The reading schedule

Saturday 22 January: Chapter 1 Reincarnation + Chapter 2 The Intractable (web serialization chapters 1-5)
Saturday 29 January: Chapter 3 The Prideful (web serialization chapters 6-10)
Saturday 5 February: Chapter 4 The Elegant Flirt part 1 (official translation pages 119-168, web serialization chapters 11-(halfway through) 16.6, ending as the group set out for Caiyi )
Saturday 12 February: Chapter 4 The Elegant Flirt part 2 (official transllation pages 168-204, web serialization chapters 16.6-18)
Saturday 19 February: Chapter 5 The Sunny Pair (web serialization chapters 19-22)
Saturday 25 February: Chapter 6 The Malevolent (web serialization chapters 23-27)
Saturday 4 March: Chapter 7 The Morning Dew (web serialization chapters 28-32)

Comments

[hhimring]

Also, maybe this is too obvious to mention, but whatever suspicions we are meant to develop about the Jins, the comment clearly also shows the Mos' rudeness and stupidity. Suggesting that cultivators can be expected to practice demonic cultivation is not a good idea, if you are talking to a Lan cultivator who you want help from! She's lucky that it's Lan Sizhui who she is talking to, not that it makes a difference to her own fate, in the end.
And it also doesn't seem factually very correct in another way, given that you can do demonic cultivation without a golden core.

[sunshine304]

Yes, perhaps it's really mainly meant to highlight that she doesn't have a good grasp about cultivators at all besides that they are quite prestigious and fight evil things, but that there are some who also practise darker stuff?
She should have tried making these insinuations to Jiang Cheng's face... XD
But I also think that she perhaps noticed that the Lan Juniors were a bit out of their depths as well, and as the narration says, she was looking to vent her anger. Teenagers are perfect for that, especially such well-behaved teenagers like the Lans who will not talk back! I don't think she would've made the same spectacle if Lan Wangji had stood there.