tl;dr

Margo/Sergei time travel fix-it idea

2026-05-03T00:00:00.000Z

After being shot and killed in his hotel room, Sergei Nikulov wakes up 20 years earlier, on the plane on the way to the US, where he’ll meet Margo Madison for the first time.

Maybe he considers defecting to the US on that first trip, but shit happens and also he realizes he and Margo being in the US and in the Soviet Union is what stopped World War III, so THAT has to happen. And by then she's already let him know about the O-ring problem with Challenger, so the catalyst for their whole tragedy has happened.

Maybe he realizes, even if he defects to the US, she won't be safe. They need a third option: Brazil. But he hasn't met his Brazilian contact. So he has to wait to meet him to try and set in motion them running away together.

And of course a further complication is how to convince Margo of this: She's on an upward trajectory at NASA, why would she leave? He tries but knows he can't resist the KGB at this point, he's managing to hold them off on REALLY compromising stuff, but pressure is mounting. He considered somehow making it a dead end, but he knows to keep furthering the relationship AND to meet his Brazilian contact he has to be going to those conferences and be in good standing with the powers that be. So it's a tightrope, and it's not clean.

The easiest way to get Margo to see the reality of the situation and the danger is to come clean... but then she might not trust him.

I really want to read this 🥺

Oh, Sergei 💔

2026-05-02T00:00:00.000Z

Am rewatching the 4 previous seasons of #ForAllMankind before watching 5.

Sergei and Margo's relationship was always like catnip to me, because, well, the yearning, the slow burn, the lack of resolution.

And am now (re)watching Sergei turn away from the safe stable life he's built to go chasing after her, with a giddy smile on his face. And I know what's coming, because this is a rewatch.

Oh Sergei. 💔

I posted this yesterday on Mastodon and Bluesky.

Going back to the end of that episode, when Margo does go to meet him and the conversation they had, and okay, yes, he did not simply go find her because of idealistic or romantic reasons. There was a reason he wrestled with: he knew her to be in danger. She basically fucked her own life up to save his life. He probably did feel, well, after what she did for me, how can I not?

This doesn't take away the reality that he absolutely still has feelings for her. It's very obvious:

The way he smiles when he decides to drive the other way at that fork in the road (a literal fork, not metaphorical) and go try to get in touch with her instead of going on with his normal day and his normal life. The way he smiles when she does come up to him in the parking lot. He cares for her. He has his life and his wife, but the two of them, they have so much in common, if there is such a thing as soulmates, it's more likely to be her than anyone else. He thought she was dead all these years and she's not.

And well, fact is, he didn't have to actually see her. He could have just gone to find Aleida and just as he explained to her the truth about why Margo did what she did, he could have explained why she is in danger, and had Aleida pass it on. It probably would have been much simpler... and safer for him.

If Margo Madison was just someone he used to know, he could and should have just done that.

But she isn't that. She's so much more important to him. And so he didn't just do that.

He had to see her.

ETA (one episode later):

HE WANTED THEM TO RUN AWAY TOGETHER!!!!HE WANTED TO RUN AWAY WITH HER TO BRAZIL!!!!! 😭

(I forgot this little detail)

BRB crying forever 😭😭😭😭😭

Under Heaven

2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z

I just finished rereading Guy Gavriel Kay’s Under Heaven.

I will start of by saying I love how he writes, I love his books. Ok, I’m kind of so so on Fionavar, but everything from Tigana on I have loved. The Lions of Al-Rassan is one of my very favorite books ever.

When I originally read Under Heaven I gave it 5 stars. On this reread, I feel I need to knock that rating down some. I still enjoyed. Especially the end. The sense of scope at the conclusion of Guy Gavriel Kay's books is always very powerful and one of my favorite aspects of his writing, and I feel this one in particular does that amazingly well.

My issue is simply that, unlike 10 years ago when I first read it, I now know something about China and Chinese culture. And that knowledge means that I can now see the ways in which this story, set in a fictional land inspired by China, is just not very Chinese. On a broadstrokes level it passes well enough, but it misses the mark in many more nuanced ways, some small, some not so small. Starting with names, of people and places. Sometimes I would read one and be like, yeah, that combination of letters just does not work. Things like that. Or things that I have come to expect in Chinese stories. Or details that I know about from having learned about Chinese history (not about what happened, but about how things worked). In the details it just misses the mark, sometimes by a lot.

It's a shame but in a way it makes sense, and I wonder if maybe I'm now expecting something from this book that it never meant to give. Guy Gavriel Kay is not Chinese, however much he researched (I do have to wonder how much he did or did not immerse himself in Chinese fiction, however). And he does very purposely say he writes “historical fiction”, inspired by real places and events but not really those places and events. Is this a case of "sir, this is a Wendy's"?

Still, in the end, it makes me wonder: if I knew more about the Reconquista and the Iberian peninsula in that time (something I've wanted to learn more about for a while now), would I like Lions of Al-Rassan less?

MDZS 1.5 (20): Adventure time

2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z

Webnovel 20

Clan leaders usually night hunt with an entourage, instead it’s the two of them (Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji)
Wei Wuxian tries to escape lots of times, Lan Wangji hauls him back, changes tactics
Why is it improper to carry a money bag? (This is me wondering)
Wei Wuxian, clown supreme, suspects there's something between Lan Wangji and MXY
When nearing Qinghe, left arm stops pointing and makes a fist
Small city in Qinghe
Wei Wuxian says he wants makeup for himself
这时，一旁有人喊道：“夷陵老祖，五文一张，十文三张！” “Coin” is unit of measure for money
Wei Wuxian being vain: "Wei Wuxian was known for his beauty!"
Jin Ling beating up dude for peddling yllz stuff (mentioning his name)
Wei Wuxian thinks how violent and arrogant, he inherited all of his dad and uncle’s flaws, none of his mother’s virtues, must bring him down a peg before it's too late
Jin Ling whistles for Faery. Black, half as big as a person. Rare breed, present from JGY
Explanation about Wei Wuxian’s fear of dogs. Jiang Cheng used to tease him about it. Not many people knew about his fear.
Lan Wangji as or more intimidating than Lan Qiren in his time
Faery well trained and v smart
Jin Ling afraid Lan Wangji will kill Faery and then beat him
Wei Wuxian climbs Lan Wangji, who freezes
Dude gifts Wei Wuxian the yllz stamps, says he can sell at a discount, vain Wei Wuxian upset the price is down again
Wei Wuxian asks dude about weird things happening
人称清河百晓生。the know it all of qinghe
5 or 6 li xinglu ridge 行路岭, called 吃人岭, man eating ridge

MDZS 1.5 (19): Back to the present

2026-02-09T00:00:00.000Z

Webnovel 19

Horario Lan: del conejo al cerdo 5 a 9
Horario Wei Wuxian: serpiente al bufalo 9 a 1
Corner (watch)towers, 冥室 mingshi, canara del inframundo, invocaciones de almas. Bell means something is wrong. Nothing has ever gone wrong before since the mingshi was built.
Sangrar por los 7 orificios (de la cabeza) qiqiao
Mingshi mas de 3x3 zhang (10m)
Invocacion/evocation 《招魂》zhaohun soul summoning. Summons soul using body, body part or object, soul appears inside the circle soon.
Because nothing happens it means soul was torn apart along with the body.
安息 Reposo/Rest
Both famous melodies
Chenqing 陈情
Playing badly on purpose
Lan Qiren reacts even though unconscious. This was not in v1! Instead it says if he had been awake, he’d be telling Wei Wuxian off
Disciples cover arm with bronce bell
LSZ deduces that someone set the arm loose at Mo manor prior to them coming. The spirit luring flags had a range of 5 li (2.5 km), if the arm had been that close there would already have been a massacre. In V1, LSZ didn't deduce this, it was just stated in narration.
Lan Wangji says they need to go to root of the problem, Wei Wuxian agrees that they should find the rest, identify him and pit him to rest.
Jingyi at this point very snippy at Wei Wuxian “as if it was that easy”
Lan Wangji says go northwest, Wei Wuxian explains that the arm is pointing either to the rest of the body or to its killer

MDZS 1.4 (18), flashback part 4 (end)

2026-02-08T00:00:00.000Z

Webnovel chapter 18

Wei Wuxian buys cheap souvenirs from Caiyi Town for the other disciples, more evidence it was Lans just plus ymsj
Because I don't think I noted it before: The Cloud Reccesses is 云深不知处 Yún shēn bùzhī chù “deep clouds, whereabouts unknown.”
The full poem by Jia Dao, "Searching for the Hermit and Not Finding Him," sets the scene: "I ask your lad beneath a pine. / He says, 'My master's gone alone / Herb-picking somewhere on the mount, / Cloud-hidden, whereabouts unknown.'"
Lan Qiren still at Qinghe, no classes.
Every night disciples hang out in Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng’s room, drink, eat, play dice, look at porn all night
Wei Wuxian lost at dice, has to go down the mountain to buy emperor’s smile
All hungover the next morning, Lan Wangji shows up
Jiang Cheng headache, throws Nie Huaisang’s out of print porn at Wei Wuxian
Wei Wuxian hugs book and turns over to keep sleeping, Lan Wangji grabs him by scruff of neck
Jiang Cheng chases after
Room messy, so many rules broken
Ancestral hall, 8 elders, 4 of them holding sandalwood discipline rulers inscribed with characters
Other disciples arrive, made to wait outside
Lan Wangji kneels with Wei Wuxian
Jiang Cheng carries Wei Wuxian on back after punishment. Wei Wuxian whines, Jiang Cheng yells. Jiang Cheng: encima de que te cargo, te quejas! Wei Wuxian: yo no te lo he pedido! Jiang Cheng: (yada yada) Ya no te cargo, bajate ya! Wei Wuxian: no! estoy herido! (I love them)
White gravel path
When Lan Xichen asks, Jiang Cheng is too embarrased to explain what happened. As he sees it, they were ALL part of it, so they all should have been punished. So he downplays it.
Lan Xichen says it'll take 3 or 4 days for Wei Wuxian to heal
Jiang Cheng is angry because he hadn't realized how hard Wei Wuxian was beaten ("how can Lan Wangji let this happen!"). Wei Wuxian pokes him because he shouldn't say that.
Lan Xichen tells them about cold spring
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji at cold spring, Wei Wuxian tries to befriend Lan Wangji, invites him to Gusu, Lan Wangji tells him to get lost.
Coger flores de loto y castañas de agua
Lan Qiren scolds Wei Wuxian when he comes back from Qinghe. No punishment but stay away from the others especially Lan Wangji
Lan Qiren has to deal with waterborne abyss because clan leader in seclusion so classes are shorter and shorter
“Wei Wuxian and friends” spend time wandering around the mountain
One day out with 7 or 8 others, including Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng, they see Lan Wangji staring at them (him)
Sangchengxian interaction:
Nie Huaisang susurró: —¿Puede ser que esté mirando hacia aquí? Pero si no estábamos gritando. ¿Por qué pone esa cara? Wei Wuxian le respondió: —Estará enumerando mentalmente todas nuestras carencias. —De «nuestras» nada —lo corrigió Jiang Cheng—, pensará en las tuyas. Yo creo que solo te mira a ti. Wei Wuxian se rio con desdén. —Ah, ¿sí? Pues espérate. Ya verás lo que le haré cuando volvamos. —¿Tú no estás siempre quejándote de que es un insípido y un aburrido? ¡Pues déjalo en paz! ¿Qué necesidad tienes de buscarle las cosquillas todo el rato? Estás tentando a la suerte. —¿No lo entiendes? Que exista en el mundo una persona tan increíblemente aburrida como él es lo más divertido que hay…
Jiang Cheng: you always say he’s boring, why do you keep pestering him, leave him alone! Wei Wuxian: the fact that he’s so boring is so much fun
江澄道：“你不是嫌他闷，嫌他没意思？那你就少去撩拨他。老虎嘴上拔须，太岁头上动土，整日里作死。”
“So stop teasing him. Pulling a tiger’s whiskers, breaking ground where Taisui presides—you’re just asking for it, every day.”
They come back at noon, Wei Wuxian climbs a magnolia tree and comes in through window. Rabbits.
The next day Lan Wangji stops going to class
Wei Wuxian’s seating: first next to Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Cheng pays attention in order to mend the clan’s rep and he moves to the first row. Wei Wuxian goes to sit behind Lan Wangji so he can hide behind him and sleep or doodle. Lan Qiren makes them switch.
After the porn and rabbits incidents, Lan Qiren is afraid Lan Wangji will be influenced/corrupted, so he stops coming to class
Wei Wuxian back to his old seat, two weeks of peace
Hallway with big windows every 7 steps, blinds showing scenes of Lan ancestors. The 4 oldest and more famous are about founder Lan An.
Lan An born in buddhist temple, when adult takes surname Lan (comes from sanskrit for monastery), becomes musician. Meets fated one in Gusu. After she dies goes back to the temple y puso fin a su vida. Implication of suicide? 在仙侣身陨之后，又回归寺中，了结此身.
Jin Zixuan sits at the front of the orchid hall. Proud and handsome.
Wei Wuxian for once not smiling, hostile expression. Jiang Cheng usually scolds him when he starts shit, now he’s quiet and looks angry
江厌离是江枫眠长女，江澄的亲姊。性情不争，无亮眼之颜色；言语平稳，无可咀之余味。中人以上之姿，天赋亦不惊世。在各家仙子群芳争妍之中，难免有些黯然失色。Spanish: Jiang Yanli is amiable, well spoken, prettier than average, but not outstanding. Compared to other female cultivators “eclipsed”
Jin Zixuan is the only legitimate son of Jin Guangshan, as handsome as he is talented.
Jin Zixuan’s mother was not a Yu, but from a related clan. She and Yu Ziyuan grew up together.
Jin pride and arrogance, which Jin Zixuan has inherited
Not only was he unhappy with the choice of bride, but he was even more resentful that his mother had decided on the marriage without his consent, fueling his growing rebellious spirit.
Jiang Cheng jumps up to defend Jiang Yanli, Wei Wuxian shoves him aside and gets in front of him
Jin Zixuan doesn't like YMJ because of the engagement and disapproves of Wei Wuxian’s character and actions
"If you like her so much why don't you ask her father to marry her. He’ll be thrilled, doesn't he treat you better than his own son?"
Jiang Cheng upset at hearing this (gaze sharpened/se quedo helado), Wei Wuxian punches Jin Zixuan in the face, Jin Zixuan punches back
JFM and JGS come to Gusu that same day. They go see the two being punished by kneeling, are scolded by Lan Qiren, then JFM suggests cancelling the engagement, it was all Yu Ziyuan’s idea, he never agreed with it.
JGS taken aback, breaking off engagement with another great clan bad. JGS: "what do the children know? Let them make a fuss, we don’t need to pay attention Fengmian-xiong". JFM insists.
If jgs had wanted a marriage alliance YMJ wasn't the only or best choice, but he didn’t dare to go against his wife. But now the other side brings up cancelling. they’re the groom’s side so have less concerns/to lose than the bride’s side, plus he knows Jin Zixuan isn’t into it, so he agrees
Jiang Cheng goes to see kneeling Wei Wuxian, who says he should have stayed out and let Jiang Cheng punch Jin Zixuan because then jfm wouldn’t have come
Spanish: Sabía que tenía razón. Jiang Fengmian nunca se había apresurado a volar a otro clan y personarse el mismo día por ningún asunto que tuviera que ver con él, fuera bueno, malo, grande o pequeño. Nunca.
Jiang Fengmian never flew to other families in a single day for anything concerning him, whether good or bad, big or small. Never. 江枫眠从来不曾因为他的任何事而一日之内飞赴其他家族。无论好事还是坏事，大事还是小事。从来没有。
Wei Wuxian thinks he’s upset about what Jin Zixuan said
Story about Lan Wangji and ants, Jiang Cheng says you better hurry back to Yunmeng, he never wants to see you again.
于是，当天晚上，魏无羡就收拾了东西，和江枫眠一起滚回云梦了。that night Wei Wuxian packed his things and went back with jfm

MDZS 1.4 (17) flashback 3

2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Chapter 17 of the webnovel

Shadow in water doesn't have human shape, constantly shifts
Lan Wangji sends Bichen into water, comes up with nothing.
A Lan does the same, his sword doesn’t come back. Older guy scolds him: Su She, why send in sword if you don’t know what’s there? This is the first time time Su She is named.
An interesting detail, right before that it says: "El chico, que aparentaba más o menos los mismos años que Wei Wuxian y los demás cultivadores jóvenes" (The boy looked about the same age as Wei Wuxian and the other young cultivators). So the way this is phrased indicates that Su She was not at the lectures Wei Wuxian is attending.
So first of all: all this time my assumption has been Su She WAS at the lectures, but the more I think about it the more I realize that what makes more sense is the lectures the guest disciples attend are not the same that the actual Lan junior disciples attend.
In chinese both Su She and the older guy are referred to as disciples: 门生
Su She did sent in his sword because Lan Wangji did. Embarrassed because he realized he isn’t in Lan Wangji’s level.
Jiang Cheng at Wei Wuxian: 你闭嘴吧 (Ni bizui ba!)
I suspect I’m going to have more empathy for Su She this reread due to the fact that I don't really like Lan Wangji anymore and also due to just from thinking about Su She's frankly shitty situation all these years.
Lan Wangji figures out the creature is luring them to the center of the lake
Whirlpool, like a black mouth
All jump on swords except Su She, Wei Wuxian is the one that thinks to help him
Jiang Cheng was already at height of 20 zhang (Spanish says 35+ meters, Internet says about 66, 1丈 = 3.33m)
First time Sandu is named in past timeline 三毒
Suibian has superior lightness and agility, but lacks power
Lan Wangji grabs Wei Wuxian by the collar and pulls them up
Jiang Cheng thinks that if he had done that on Sandu, he wouldn’t have been able to rise so quickly and steadily
Abismo acuatico 水行渊
Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian know what that means: bodies of water develop a taste for drowning victims or shipwrecks, when this happens with certain frequency and then they (the bodies of water) don’t get them, they cause the deaths themselves.
At Caiyi Town people are comfortable in the water and there wouldn't have ever been many drownings or shipwrecks, so it has to come from elsewhere.
To get rid of it, lake has to be dredged, bottom cleaned of remains and exposed to sunlight for 3 to 5 years.
Pointing to the sky = QSW
与日争辉，与日同寿 To shine as brightly as the sun, and to live as long as the sun.
名为不夜天，又称“不夜仙都” Spanish: por eso lo llamaban el Cielo sin Noche, también la Ciudad sin Noche. Buyetian is actually literally Nightless Heaven, Buyexiandu is Nightless Immortal City. Will track such is actually used (suspect Buyetian)
因为无论门生人数、力量、土地、仙器，其他家族都是望尘莫及，没有能与之抗衡者 Because in terms of the number of disciples, strength, land, and spiritual artifacts, other families are far inferior and none can rival them.
“Wei Wuxian volvió a hacer de las suyas. / Soltó la pértiga, apoyó un pie en el borde de la barca y miró su reflejo en el agua para asegurarse de que no se había despeinado.” Wei Wuxian is so vain 🤣
“Sereno y relajado, comenzó a lanzar miradas sugerentes a diestra y siniestra.” Wei Wuxian has swag 😆
LOQUATS = NISPEROS!!!!
Jin = 500g
他年纪极轻，相貌又明俊，这般神采飞扬，真真是如轻薄桃花逐流水。”Era tan joven y apuesto que encandilaba, tan seductor como aquellas livianas flores de melocotonero de las que hablaba el sabio poeta[24].” Footnote: “[24] Alusión a Du Fu, quien, en los últimos versos del quinto poema de la serie titulada Nueve cuartetos improvisados, hizo esta alegoría de la sensualidad: El polen se entrega al viento con frenesi, livianas flores de melocotonero por el agua van. Du Fu = Tang 712-770.
Woman calls him 小郎君 Xiǎo láng jūn
“Cupped his hands” 拱手 “se cubrió el puño con la palma izquierda a la altura del pecho.”
勿要介客气，看你生得俊。”You needn’t be so polite. It’s for how handsome you look!”
姐姐生得更是美！
Wei Wuxian does the "Isn’t he handsome? Give him some!" Routine, then says he knew Lan Wangji wouldn’t take it and tosses loquat to Jiang Cheng
Jiang Cheng, que justo pasaba por su lado a bordo de otra barca, levantó la mano y cazó el níspero al vuelo. Se le formó una sonrisa en los labios, pero luego refunfuñó:—¿Ya has estado tonteando?
For the above passage, in English “snorted”, scoffed?
Also for the above, I think it's sweet that Jiang Cheng smiles because Wei Wuxian tossed him the loquat. And that it's super Jiang Cheng that he then immediately covers it up by criticizing Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian wants to learn to swear in Wu dialect, because of course he does.
After he pesters Lan Wangji to another boat, Wei Wuxian takes a drink and 杀过去打江澄了。” Goes to attack Jiang Cheng “
Very good chapter for chengxian interaction.

MDZS chapter 1.4 (15-16), flashback part 2

2025-12-27T00:00:00.000Z

Chapter 15

Wei Wuxian unable to sit properly.
Wei Wuxian was always leaving Suibian all over the place, not carrying it properly
Wei Wuxian epic non-apology all about shifting the blame to Lan Wangji
蓝忘机亏就亏在不会骂人 Lan Wangji’s biggest disadvantage is he didn’t know how to insult/argue/swear
About the porn shenanigans, honestly Wei Wuxian is an asshole. Yes, he’s funny too.
Lan Wangji concentró su fuerza espiritual en la mano derecha y el álbum estalló en mil pedazos que flotaron en el aire antes de caer lentamente al suelo. Blow shit up with spiritual energy.
滚！Fuck off!
Wei Wuxian proud to piss off Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng says it's nothing to be proud of (generally acts grumpy about Wei Wuxian's shenanigans).
"Jiang Cheng laughs coldly"
Wei Wuxian is very touchy with Jiang Cheng. Slings arm over his shoulders, Jiang Cheng pushes him away and kicks him 🤣 “next time don’t tell or male me watch” 江澄一脚踹过去：“滚滚滚！下次干这种事情，不要让我知道！也不要叫我来看！”

Chapter 16

Wei Wuxian slept hugging his sword to defend himself in case Lan Qiren or Lan Wangji came to punish him
The next morning Lan Qiren has gone to Qinghe for the cultivation conference, will be gone “several days”
“Los cosmos están de mi parte” 果真鸿运当头祥云罩顶天助我也 Indeed, good fortune is upon me, auspicious clouds gather overhead, and heaven is helping me!
Jiang Cheng polishing his sword carefully
“No es bueno vivir pendientes de lo que pueda pasarnos una vez muertos.” 生前哪管身后事，浪得几日是几日 Why worry about what happens after death? Live each day as it comes.
Los tres salieron a dar una vuelta cogidos de los hombros.
Yashi, sala de la elegancia, Cloud Recesses reception area
Lan shuangbi look the same except for their expression. Originally twins in coat draft, supposedly
Nie Huaisang voz de mosquito “Xichen-gege”
Lan Xichen has just come back from Qinghe (why didn’t he stay for the conference?)
“Frosted melon” = shrinks when asked about passing
Yunmeng land of rivers and lakes
“Ansioso por reparar los daños sufridos por la reputación de su clan desde su llegada a Gusu”
Nie Huaisang wanted to go along and “join in the fun” but didn’t because Lan Xichen made him think of dage and said he would stay to study, hoping Lan Xichen would speak well of him the next time he saw dage
江宗主的首徒与独子在云梦素有佳名，不一定只会玩笑打闹 Jiang-zongzhu’s chief disciple and only son have a good reputation in yunmeng, they certainly know more than playing and joking around
Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian return caring swords on their backs, the FOUR of them fly off (apparently Lan Xichen left other Lan cultivators in Caiyi when he came back to get Lan Wangji)
水鬼作祟之地名为彩衣镇，距云深不知处二十里有余。caiyi town 20 li from cloud recesses
Casas blancas de tejado plomizo (gray tiles), canals full of people selling their wares
云梦多湖，却少有这种水乡小镇。魏无羡看得稀奇，掏钱买了两坛子糯米酒，递了一坛给江澄 Yunmeng has many lakes, but few water towns like this. Wei Wuxian found it fascinating, so he bought two jars of glutinous rice wine and handed one to Jiang Cheng.
A dozen boats, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian each ride alone
Biling lake
No water ghouls in over a decade
Lan Xichen’s nets caught over a dozen
Second time caught a lot
Weird that people don’t recognize the water ghouls because they tend to stay where they drown
Yunmeng Jiang also uses nets to catch them but Wei Wuxian is a good swimmer and swims to catch them
He’s musing about having something to lure them or a compass to find them. Jiang Cheng thinks this is ridiculous.
The thing with Lan Wangji’s boat. Jiang Cheng gets pissed at Wei Wuxian and tells him to shut up and come over.
Suibian has reddish sword glare
Wei Wuxian calls jfm Jiang-shushu
Jiang Cheng being very diligent and watchful, first to see more water ghouls come

Notes on MDZS chapter 1.4 (13-14), flashback part 1

2025-12-08T00:00:00.000Z

Longest notes so far, this corresponds with chapters 13 and 14 of the webnovel.

"Probablemente todo había empezado el año en que cumplió los quince, cuando llegó a Gusu con Jiang Cheng para pasar tres meses estudiando con el clan Lan." 追本溯源，大概要从他十五岁那年和江澄一起来姑苏蓝氏听学的那三个月算起。← The ambiguity re: how long the cloud recesses lectures were drives me a little crazy. MXTX whyyyyy
Says many people avoid and even hate Lan Qiren
在他堂上教养过一两年的 "Anyone who spends one or two years studying with him" ← so maybe Nie Huaisang isn’t that unusual
对此，魏无羡表态：“我现在岂非已经足够人模狗样？”江澄则很有远见地道：“你一定会成为他教学生涯中耻辱的一笔。” —Bueno, pero yo ahora ya parezco medio decente, ¿no? |A lo que Jiang Cheng respondió con gran clarividencia: Tu vas a ser una mancha vergonzoza en su carrera.
Ninguno tenía más de quince o dieciséis años a lo sumo. 这些公子们都不过十五六岁年纪 ← All within one year of each other
世家之间常有往来，不说亲密，至少也是个脸熟 Como los clanes prominentes solían relacionarse, si bien no podía decirse que fueran amigos, al menos se conocían de vista.
人人皆知魏无羡虽然不是江姓，却是云梦江氏家主江枫眠的故人之子和首席大弟子 "Todos sabían que, a pesar de no apellidarse Jiang, Wei Wuxian era el discípulo principal del clan Jiang de Yunmeng. También sabían que era hijo de un viejo amigo de su líder, Jiang Fengmian, y que este lo consideraba un miembro más de la familia. Lo que dice es que lo trataba como a su propio hijo"
Didn’t care about families or status and all became friends
Hora cerdo y conejo 9 pm to 5am 姑苏蓝氏卯时作，亥时息，不得延误
Wei Wuxian: bufalo a serpiente 2 a 9
We don’t know if it was Nie Huaisang that asked if YMJ was more fun, it says one boy asked
那名少年立刻蔫了。这位是清河聂氏的二公子聂怀桑，其兄长聂明玦作风雷厉风行，在百家之中素有威名。虽说兄弟二人非是一母所生，但感情甚笃，聂明玦教导小弟极其严格，对他功课尤为关心。是以聂怀桑虽敬重他大哥，却最害怕聂明玦提起他的课业。
Spanish: Nie Mingjue: energetic and resolute, reknown by everyone for his bravery/daring
Different mothers, close relationship
Nie Mingjue v strict with Nie Huaisang especially in education
Nie Huaisang idolized him but is scared of talking with him about his studies
El líder del clan Lan de Gusu tenía dos hijos, Lan Huan y Lan Zhan ← Lan Xichen introduced via birth name
过了十四岁 spanish says desde que cumplieron los 15 años, do not like this random change
跟你我一般大 exactly as old (big) as you and me
Wei Wuxian thinks Lan Wangji is particularly handsome but looks like he’s at a funeral
Lan Wangji has been in seclusion recently
Wait. If Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are roommates, why didn’t Jiang Cheng know that Wei Wuxian snuck out?
Jiang Cheng cerró los ojos y apretó los dientes. -¡Acabamos de llegar y ya estás causando problemas! ¿Qué pasó?
Hora del conejo 7am - when they let people in in the morning
Jiang Cheng has Wei Wuxian induced headache
Wei Wuxian binding everyone through fuck these rules attitude
Nie Huaisang says Wei Wuxian 嚣张 arrogant
Wei Wuxian says he’s not scared of Lan Wangji, since he’s such a prodigy he must spend all day meditating and cultivating in seclusion
Classroom: large windows lanshi 兰室
Everyone avoids Lan Wangji, wants to sit as far from him as possible
Lqr: tall, thin, perfect posture, long beard but not old, handsome. Air of pedantic rigidness 迂腐死板 so he seems old. Comes in holding a scroll with the rules, everyone goes pale.
After Wei Wuxian is kicked out and the class ends, his classmates find him (not just Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang) but then only the two of them seem to talk after the first two lines
Jiang Cheng: it’s fine to spout nonsense at home, doing it in front of lqr is seeking death!
Wei Wuxian: nothing I said would make him like me so I may as well say what I want. I wasn't insulting him, I was answering honestly.
The above is why I think it's highly likely he would have gotten into demonic cultivation anyway. He’s not just saying it for shock value, he means it, he’s thought about it. (That and the bit much later about how even with orthodox cultivation there was a limit to what he could achieve)
Nie Huaisang interested in using resentful energy
Also, re: the reaction expressed to what Wei Wuxian said: I could see an au where Nie Huaisang gets into demonic cultivation outright, but I just can't see Jiang Cheng using demonic cultivation, he's too by the book.
Que el hijo de un clan prestigioso tardara mucho tiempo en formar el suyo era un hecho deshonroso, pero Nie Huaisang no parecía avergonzado en absoluto. ←Nie Huaisang does not give a fuck
魏无羡笑道：“我放着好好的阳关大道不走，走这阴沟里的独木桥干什么。真这么好走早就有人走了。放心，他就这么一问，我只这么一说。喂，你们来不来？趁着没宵禁，跟我出去打山鸡。” "why would I take the single plan bridge instead of the sunny wide road?" Smiling as he says it, tells Jiang Cheng to relax, comes hunt pheasants with me
Wei Wuxian seemed thoughtful when they found him, so I think he WAS thinking seriously and after Jiang Cheng scolds him he deflects and basically is a lying liar who lies
Lan Qiren gives the message about punishment to Jiang Cheng to tell Wei Wuxian
What lqr tests on: la evolución de los clanes a lo largo de los años, las divisiones de poder, frases célebres de cultivadores distinguidos, genealogías...
求求你啦魏兄，我今年是第三年来姑苏了，要是还评级不过乙，我大哥真的会打断我的腿！—¡Ayúdame, hermano, te lo ruego!¡Este es mi tercer año en Gusu; como no consiga sacar buenas notas de una vez, mi hermano me va a cortar las piernas de verdad! ←No mention of passing, just of good scores
Again with fandom’s assumptions about Nie Huaisang: what he says is this is my third year in Gusu, if I don’t get (a good grade), dage will really break my legs!
Lan Wangji catches everyone that is cheating, lqr is angry and sends letters home
Before Wei Wuxian students tried to pay attention and sit still, with Wei Wuxian’s arrival: sobrados de malicia pero escasos en iniciativa start misbehaving: sneak put at night, drinking, rule breaking
JFM: Wei Wuxian has always been like this, don’t hesitate in applying the disciplinary measures you deem necessary
After this he gets the one month punishment: has to copy two chapters supreme justice and etiquete principles, no one can come near or help,he can only go to the library since morning and Lan Wangji will be watching him

So about Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue being half brothers

2025-11-29T00:00:00.000Z

So I reread this post about the Nie brothers' mothers today (Original MXTX weibo post here)

I've known about that post for a long time, and before I never thought much of it, I thought, oh, she's explaining how they're different because their mothers were very different.

Today though, the bit about it becoming clearer in the revised edition caught my eye. So, firstly, this signals that it's before she revised the text (and it is, it's from 2016). And once I realized that, I started wondering, wait, does this mean that the explanation for them having different heights is "they're half-brothers, actually".

So I went to check the original version, and that whole paragraph after Nie Huaisang is first introduced explaining their relationship is missing.

Maybe she already knew that they were half-brothers and just didn't put it in because she didn't think it was relevant. Or maybe she indeed only came up with it after the fact.

Either way, I find this super interesting. 😆

Edit 12/21:

So there's more! At Guanyin temple, there is the paragraph that says Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang are half-brothers, so Huaisang's blood won't activate Nie Mingjue's killing intent, but will make him curious.

In the version currently on JJWXC, this is how that is phrased: 聂怀桑和聂明玦乃同父异母兄弟 Per Deepl: "Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue are half-brothers"

In the unrevised version: 聂怀桑和聂明玦乃同胞兄弟 "Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue are brothers"

Nie Mingjue = di son Nie Huaisang = shu son