The Untamed - Nickname Edition

[rheasilvia]

It took a surprisingly long time, but solo and I finally finished watching The Untamed. I really enjoyed it! So of course, there is a pressing issue I must adress: NICKNAMES.

For the purposes of clever (?) commentary, solo and I came up with a number of nicknames while watching. We replaced some with actual names in due course, but others stuck around till the very end. ;-) (I should add that few of them are complimentary - but my surprise fave is among those with a really bad nickname, so...)

• Stoneface


• Jin Douche


• Canary Guy


• Sulkmeister


• Pretty Evil Guy, or PEG for short - also known as Cray Evil Guy by solo (who failed to appreciate his charms)


• Jin Douche.2, or JD2


• Slimeface, also Slimedude or Slimer


• Cute Baby Cultivator, or CBC


• Jim, also known as Golden Guy - named Jim because of solo's passionate non-spellchecked outbursts of "I really hate jim"


• Bonus nickname I came up with too late, but that I wish I had though of in time: Soup Girl

I now have a number of burning questions for all of you. Namely:

1. Can you tell who these people are?*

2. Do you have nicknames for The Untamed characters?

3. Why does nobody appreciate my darling properly?

So many qestions!


*If anyone guesses all of the nicknames, I will write a drabble for them. ;-)

ETA: Unsurprisingly, there are spoilers in the comments! Just in case anyone is even slower than I in watching this. ;-)

Comments

[solo]

The perfectionist in me wants to look up Jim's name just to finally know what it is, but the H8R in me stops me looking it up every time because it doesn't deserve to be known.

[marycrawford]

Okay I have watched the series ONCE and I still barely know half the names? And am too lazy to look them up? so, have a very uninformative list:

Stoneface - LWJ, who I call Potato (I'm sorry,I feel guilty about it, don't @ me, I know he suffers (like a potato in pain))

Jin Douche - the fancy arrogant guy Soup Girl is in love with and wants to marry? Whatever his name is?

Canary Guy - Nie Huaisang? Who is our Secret Mastermind pretending to be a failboat, and I love him

Sulkmeister - WWX's stepbrother who never met a sulk he didn't like

Pretty Evil Guy - the guy who just hangs around blinding and torturing people for no reason except LOLs

Jin Douche 2: ummm

Slimeface: ummm not my darling Meng Yao, I hope, he is no slimeface, he is an innocent little snacc

Cute Baby Cultivator: WWX and LWJ's son the turnip

Jim, the golden guy: not a clue

Soup Girl: WWX's stepsister the rib soup queen

How did I do? XD

[goss]

Aww. LOL! Why you gotta do poor stoneface Lan Wangji like that? :|

Huh. Let's see. For the rest, my guesses would be...

Jin Douche - Jin Zixuan

Canary Guy - I have NO IDEA. Wei Wuxian?

Sulkmeister - Maybe Jiang Cheng?

Pretty Evil Guy - Xue Yang (He *is* pretty)

Jin Douche.2, or JD2 - er...Zixuan's son, Jin Ling. (Or maybe the arrogant cousin)

Slimeface, also Slimedude or Slimer - Meng Yao

Cute Baby Cultivator, or CBC - Lan Yuan

Jim, also known as Golden Guy - Jin Guangshan

Soup Girl - Jiang Yanli

[rheasilvia]

LOL! Let him languish in nameless obscurity forevermore!! It seems a fitting fate - Jim definitely would not want that. ;-)

ETA: So, I did find out his name... should I apologize? ;-)

[rheasilvia]

You did very well!! I am honestly impressed - Jim is really difficult, and I doubt anyone will guess him, but other than that you almost have them all. :-)

LWJ, who I call Potato (I'm sorry,I feel guilty about it, don't @ me, I know he suffers (like a potato in pain)

LOL! A potato in pain! But *why* is he a potato? Please tell me, I must know! :-)

WWX's stepbrother who never met a sulk he didn't like

Indeed! His pouting, sulking, door slamming, foot stamping and huffing is the envy of a whole theme park full of middle schoolers. ;-)

Jin Douche 2: ummm

Well, a new edition of Jin Douche...

not my darling Meng Yao, I hope, he is no slimeface, he is an innocent little snacc

I'm sorry, but yes, that's the one. :-)

WWX and LWJ's son the turnip

LOLOL! Turnip? Because... he's the son of the potato? I must say I am impressed by your root vegetable approach to nicknames!

[rheasilvia]

Why you gotta do poor stoneface Lan Wangji like that? :|

Hee, perfect emoticon is perfect! Why indeed? ;-) But we did learn to read his stoneface better as the series went on...

Canary Guy - I have NO IDEA. Wei Wuxian?

This is Nie Huaisang, who is my second favorite, and who smuggled a canary into a Lan sect lesson at the beginning of the drama.

Xue Yang (He *is* pretty)

He is, isn't he? I even suspect WWX was copying his style in some moments. But what a shame about his personality...

Jin Douche.2, or JD2 - er...Zixuan's son, Jin Ling. (Or maybe the arrogant cousin)

True, that clan has a lot of douches to choose from. But you're right! In this case it was the new edition of a timeless classic. ;-)

Jim, also known as Golden Guy - Jin Guangshan

That actually makes a lot of sense, but we didn't really have a nickname for Jin Guangshan - maybe just Jin Dad or something boring like that. This dude is actually a pretty minor character, and I don't know his real name, I confess. He most often appears in an ostentatious golden robe and likes to pontificate and spout uninformed opinions.

I should really find out who he is, shouldn't I!

Wow, you got a lot of them right. Very impressive! :-)

[goss]

:|

*giggles*


and who smuggled a canary into a Lan sect lesson at the beginning of the drama.

Ah yes, of course! Those boys and their hijinx. Hee.

[marycrawford]

MENG YAO IS INNOCENTE (okay no but I enjoy him so much <3)

I am afraid I nicknamed LWJ Potato purely because his face reminded me of one? And I feel bad about it, I DO, but. WWX charmed me immediately, LWJ took...a while.

And the turnip is because WWX was always threatening to plant him like a turnip when he was an adorable smol child, the root vegetable relationship was accidental! :D

Aah of course, Young Yin Douche, all is understood. Except for mystery Jim? And have you no nickname for LWJ's adorable twinkly eyed shipper brother?

[rheasilvia]

Introverts like LWJ always take a bit longer! But yes, I think I know what you mean. I like the character a lot in concept, but he's not an easy sell in the drama for me, either.

For some reason, "potato" to me implies a broad face, but of course potatoes come in all kinds of narrow forms, too. Clearly I must pay more attention to potatoes. ;-)

I have discovered Mystery Jim's identity, I think - he seems to be called Chief Yao (姚宗主), and is simply an opinionated elder. :-)

And have you no nickname for LWJ's adorable twinkly eyed shipper brother?

No, I don't, shame on me! Do you have one? Sweet potato, perhaps? Parsnip? ;-)

[marycrawford]

SWEET POTATO yes of course! Perfect! I do love him so.

I have no memory of Chief Yao, but then given that I can't remember about 90% of the more important people's names that's hardly surprising.

I like the character a lot in concept, but he's not an easy sell in the drama for me, either.

Yeah, agreed - I think I mostly got spoiled by Zhu Yilong's microexpressions on the one hand (I mean, not that he's in the Untamed, though that would be amazing), and WWX's effervescence on the other.

[lauand]

I just want to comment, really quickly... DID YOU ACTUALLY THINK THEM HAVING THREE FUCKING NAMES WASN'T REALLY ENOUGH??????!!!!

[lauand]

Don't ask me why because I don't think I can explain, but I actually agree on the "Potato" department.

[rheasilvia]

After careful consideration, I have come to this conclusion: NO! THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH NAMES!! THERE ARE NEVER ENOUGH NAMES!!!

(Or maybe, you know... too many. *g*)

[rheasilvia]

I really *want* to ask you why, but clearly this is the kind of knowledge that can only be intuited, not reasoned out.

[lauand]

XDD!!

(After a while, I kind of got used to it and I confess I started to love this cultural particularity, but still, sometimes someone would use a secondary character's title instead of their courtesy name and I was like: wait, who the fuck is that?)

In any case, I have to admit that I found the drama a bit lacking in comparison with the anime and the book. The rhythm is a bit off whereas in Guardian it was fantastic (so it's not me being partial to animation or books). Also, LWJ's character design in the anime is damn gorgeous and I can't get over that.

But hell, pretty evil guy sure is pretty! I had no problem identifying that one!

[rheasilvia]

Sweet potato it is, then! It's a good thing they don't have any more siblings. What would we do then??

Chief Yao is really just a blustery mouthpiece for the annoying group of ignoramuses that like to flow with the uninformed tide. He even ends up on WWX's side at the end, because that's the way public opinion is going. It doesn't make him any more palatable.

I think I mostly got spoiled by Zhu Yilong's microexpressions on the one hand (I mean, not that he's in the Untamed, though that would be amazing), and WWX's effervescence on the other.

Yeeees, OMG, I thought of Zhu Yilong so often when I watched Stoneface. If an actor of his caliber had been playing him, he could have conveyed *so much* while still being every bit as stoic and sternly reserved. It would have been amazing. I felt that the actor got a lot better as the drama went on, and I think people like LWJ are actually the most difficult to act - so I in no way want to put down the actual actor.

Even so, I think if a different actor had played Shen Wei, I might never have warmed to the character *or* his relationship with Zhao Yunlan at all. And if a different actor had played Stoneface, I might now be just as passionate about The Untamed as I am about Guardian.

[rheasilvia]

sometimes someone would use a secondary character's title instead of their courtesy name and I was like: wait, who the fuck is that?

Yep. And then of course a bunch of them have titles, too... The nicknames are pure self-defence, I tell you.

I don't know the anime and have only read the beginning of the book, so I can't draw any comparisons. That can be an advantage when it comes to uncomplicated enjoyment, I think. :-) Still, I did not fall in love with The Untamed the way I did with Guardian... and I do have some theories on why that is. I think the rhythm feeling off for me, too, might be part of it.

But hell, pretty evil guy sure is pretty! I had no problem identifying that one!

Isn't he, though? And I am amazed at how gorgeous the wuxia hairstyle looks on almost all of these men. The actors with their normal hair don't look nearly as good IMO!

[abyss_valkyrie]

I'm gonna try before reading through the comments,lol,mind you,I haven't finished past episode 22!
-Obviously,Lan Wangji.
-Jin Zixuan
-Wei Wuxian(I don't know,probably wrong about this but his happy face makes me think of yellows=canary,lol!)
-Jiang Cheng
-Xue Yang,maybe,or Jin Guangyao(I'm guessing because I actually like him even though I know he's eeeviiiil)
-Jin's kid,forgot his name.
-The bad guy?!Wen Chao?
-The cute one,Lan Sizhui?!
-don't know
-last but not the least,JIANG YANLIIIII!LOVE HER!I need a shijie like her in my life!

[abyss_valkyrie]

I did not fall in love with The Untamed the way I did with Guardian.The main reason for me so far is that, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei just had that chemistry/attraction going from the start and it just kept getting better with each and every episode.Like you can just tell when they're practically married to each other from their interactions.Maybe it's an older guy thing too?!And I feel like Untamed focuses a lot on the story of the demonic cultivation and things so that takes away time from uh,LanZhanWeiYing moments.
THE TITLES!!OMG!It took me around 10 episodes to really get the hang of who is who.
Uhhh,the hair!<3 Somehow they all look great with it.I do find some of them,like Jin Zixuan's actor better looking with his normal hair,but overall,the long hair was amazing on them,especially Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng!

[lauand]

I also think the chemistry between ZYL and SW is one of the reasons why Guardian works so well. There's a lot of things unsaid between them that the audience can see in all the looks they exchange. There's a lot of focus on the characters' reactions to each other and it's done without altering the pace of the story. Even if it could be argued that SW is also some kind of cold character, as is LWJ, we can see from the very beginning that he is holding back, that there's a lot of shit going on under his distant façade. With LWJ, we have to guess (through his brother's subtle teasing or whatever), he makes it a point to be inexpressive. It's more difficult to establish a visible bond that way, I think.

[lauand]

You have to watch the anime!! It's beauuuuutifully done!!!!!

(Well, except for the fact that they haven't reached the middle of the story, so I'm not sure it will be finished before 2028, but still.)

That hairstyle should make a comeback, that's for sure.

[rheasilvia]

The main reason for me so far is that, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei just had that chemistry/attraction going from the start

Same! I would say that is also the number one factor for me. For me, it doesn't have to do with the age of the characters or actors - I just couldn't *feel* it in The Untamed the way I could in Guardian. There are a number of reasons for that, I think. And one of them is also:

Untamed focuses a lot on the story of the demonic cultivation and things so that takes away time from uh,LanZhanWeiYing moments

Same here too. :-) I don't think that Guardian is thin on plot at all, but what struck me there was how the plot was structured around the central relationship, to move it forward and to continually deepen and enrich it. This is so wonderful and unusual in my experience! The Untamed does it the way I am more used to, namely by winding the relationship around and through the central plot. It's important, but it isn't *central*.

I hope that makes sense to anyone who isn't me! ;-)

Jin Zixuan's actor better looking with his normal hair

Oooh, that's right, I did come across a vid with him in a different drama where he looked nicer... I think they tried to make him look arrogant in a number of ways, including his facial expression, so that certainly didn't help. ;-)

I cannot express how much I LOVE the long hair on Pretty Evil Guy, and I think WWX and LWJ look much better with it, too. And Canary Guy and CBC, too! This especially surprised me because I've never particularly thought long hair loked good on guys, but here... man. Mind changed. ;-)

[rheasilvia]

YES, all of this rings so true for me, and it's very central to my love of Guardian. I think a number of factors in The Untamed combine to make the relationship between WWX and LWJ come together differently for me.

It's more difficult to establish a visible bond that way, I think.

It certainly seemed that way to me. I love the concept of LWJ as a character, and I knew intellectually what was going on behind LWJ's facade because his circumstances and his actions made it clear - but I couldn't *feel* it the way I could feel it with Shen Wei, as reserved and guarded and introverted as SW also is. And I couldn't feel the intense and immediate fascination, connection and sheer depth of emotion between LWJ and WWX the way I could feel it between SW and ZYL.

[rheasilvia]

I will absolutely support the return of that hairstyle. ABSOLUTELY.

And I have heard a lot about the quality of the anime, so I will definitely keep it in mind - but I would rather wait to see it until its finished!

[rheasilvia]

That's pretty good, considering you haven't finished the series yet! :-)

Canary Guy is Nie Huaisang, because he smuggled a canary into a Lan sect lesson early on. And yes, PEG is Xue Yang - though Jin Guangyao is also represented in the list. I know many people like him, but to me he seemed incredibly shifty and untrustworthy from the start, sooooo... yeah.

JIANG YANLIIIII!LOVE HER!I need a shijie like her in my life!

She is indeed awesome!! I think everyone should have a shijie like her - although TBH, her soup... didn't look terribly tasty to me. This seems like blasphemy, but there it is. ;-)