For baby cultivator conversations...

[rheasilvia]

So I was talking about The Untamed with galaxysoup and, you guys, I've found the perfect group noun for Lans!

A regulation of Lans. :-)


ETA:

A few more clans have acquired group nouns in the comments! Namely:

• An extravagance of Jins (discovered by the brilliant glymr)


• A devastation of Wens (also a glymr creation)


• A valor of Nies (which I think suits all of them!)

None are quite as perfect as the regulation of Lans, IMO, but still. ;-)

Comments

[lauand]

XDD!

Very apt :)

[rheasilvia]

Isn't it? :-) That regulation of baby cultivators running around...

[extrapenguin]

Oh no, it's perfect! (Now I want to know the group nouns for the other sects, too. A tantrum of Jins? *g*)

[solo]

A rage of Jiangs?

[rheasilvia]

I thought about a sulk of Jiangs, but it doesn't really fit the clan as a whole. :-)

[solo]

True, neither does the rage... a variation of Jiangs?

[rheasilvia]

That would work better, but it's hardly distinctive. :-) There are other clans who that would also fit... including the Jins, really.

[glymr]

An extravagance of Jins. :)

[rheasilvia]

YES, I like that! That works well for the Jins - they do all go a bit over the top, whatever their individual leanings. ;-)

[glymr]

XD Perhaps a "passion" of Jiangs?

[rheasilvia]

Hmmm, well, I don't really see Jiang Dad or Soup Girl as particularly passionate, and Jiang Mom isn't actually a Jiang. ;-)

[glymr]

Not sure I agree that Yanli isn't passionate - she isn't as loud as her brother(s), but her feelings for her family and for her eventual fiance ran quite deep (to the point that she was secretly sneaking him soup). Don't forget her defense of Wei Wuxian, too.

But keeping in mind the Jiang family motto, how about:

An impossibility of Jiangs?

The Nies are tricky...I like "A rage of Nies", though it doesn't really fit Huisang...or does it...?

[rheasilvia]

I suppose it comes down to how we interpret "passion"! Soup Girl certainly does feel deeply, but I wouldn't equate depth / sincerity of emotion with passion. It may just be me, though!

(What is the Jiang family motto? I confess I don't remember...)

The Nies are very tricky indeed. Most of them would probably be well-served by the rage, but no, I would definitely not group Huisang in there... he's something of an outlier in that sect, but since he's also the most prominent representative in the series, we can't really ignore him. ;-)

[glymr]

The Jiang family motto is "accomplish the impossible" (at least, I believe that's how the subtitles I saw interpreted it). Hence, "an impossibility". :)

I think Huisang does feel rage, though - it's just a cold, quiet rage. If I were to create a group noun based on only him (which is admittedly a paradox) I would call it a "revenge of Huisangs", but I don't know that 'rage' is inappropriate for him either. It just shows up differently.

You suggested "a murder of Wens", which I like, but I want to suggest "a devastation of Wens" fits both what they did and what was done to them.

[rheasilvia]

I think I have it! How about "a valor of Nies"? I feel valor is more representative of all members, including Huisang. Rage doesn't feel right to me for him, but valor, most definitely - even if it takes a different form than the more typical "huge swords and fierceness" type. ;-)

A devastation of Wens is nice! That certainly fits the bill for all of them.

We are doing so well! :-) Only the Jiangs are being difficult...

Maybe a difficulty of Jiangs? ;-)

[glymr]

I like valor! I was also going to suggest a "pugnacity" of Nies. XD

A difficulty of Jiangs! They certainly are. The three actual Jiangs we know are all very different, Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng are polar opposites, and we don't see all that much of Jiang Dad. What do they have in common?

[extrapenguin]

(What is the Jiang family motto? I confess I don't remember...)
It's 知其不可而为之, which is a quote from the Analects of Confucius. I gathered some translations of it last year; it's roughly along the lines of "do the right thing, even if it'll fail".

[rheasilvia]

Ah, I see! Oh dear, that only appears to fit Soup Girl... and maybe the Dad? I don't really have that strong an impression of him.

[extrapenguin]

Based on the novel, it only applied to Wei Wuxian, sort of, in that he did what he considered to be the moral thing, but in the worst possible way. IDK how much they changed the characterizations for the drama.

[rheasilvia]

I thought about the other clans, too, but its harder to generalize there. Mostly we'd just be going off one person / a sub-set of persons. Such as:

A murder of Wens
A sulk of Jiangs
An intrigue of Jins

[solo]

That is simply perfect!

[rheasilvia]

Hee! :-) "Did you see that regulation of baby cultivators coming through here...?" (No need to even mention the clan. *g*)

[solo]

A condescension of Jins? A conceit of Jins? :D

[rheasilvia]

I do like those, but they also don't apply to many ( most?) of the representatives of this clan... I mean, certain members would be better described by a lust, an intrigue or a tantrum. ;-)

I suppose not every clan can have a lovely and fitting group noun...

[dancing_serpent]

OMG, that's perfect!

[rheasilvia]

:-) Talking about baby cultivators will never be the same. ;-)

[dancing_serpent]

I was about to suggest "an ostentation of Jins", but I see you've already found something else. *g*

[rheasilvia]

An ostentation is also a very good noun for the Jins! They are just... always a bit over the top. ;-)

[branchandroot]

*nearly snarfs coffee up her nose* Oh, that's perfect. *cackling*

Hmm. A storm of Nies? Which might even have enough variation to encompass Huaisang.

[rheasilvia]

*g* If we find a few more, we will never have to use the clan names again in casual speech. ;-)

I just thought of a valor of Nies, which I quite like! What do you think?

[branchandroot]

Oh, I like that! Nie and Jiang seem to be the risk-takers, among the large clans, but Nie is more, hm, intentional about it as a school than Jiang.

[rheasilvia]

That's the impression I got - and I do think valor fits all of the ones we hear about and get to know. :-)

[trobadora]

Hee, perfect!

[rheasilvia]

It just fits so well. :-)

[ranalore]

Hah! I love all of these.

Supposedly, Jiangs are best known for their free spirits and...some other character trait I can't remember now, but there's a Tumblr post that got into the essential traits, color schemes, and typical hair styles/decorations of the various clans (the Jiangs are the only clan not to have a typical thing going on with their hair, which seems appropriate). Netflix never really clarifies what their motto is, but various bits of dialogue explicate that it includes attempting/achieving the impossible, but also attempting nothing until you will achieve something. So...yeah. The "achieve the impossible" bit is the one that gets referenced most often.

Assuming you're including Wei Wuxian (and I'd hope you would), I'm tempted to suggest an extra of Jiangs. I do think it applies to Jiang Fengmian (certainly when dealing with his wife) and to Jiang Yanli, who does a hell of a polite build-up to a diplomatic evisceration for insulting her baby brother on Baifeng Mountain.

[rheasilvia]

Ohh, interesting! None of that really came through in the drama for me, though free spirit would honestly not have occurred to me as an actual trait that defines (most/some of) them.

In all honesty, I feel like I lack the necessary Jiang expertise! :-) I don't have a proper feeling for them as a group at all, I confess, and so I think it's best I don't weigh in on their group noun...

[galaxysoup]

These are all amazing!!

I submit that any group being led by Wei Wuxian, whatever their original allegiances were, immediately becomes 'a rebellion'. :D

[rheasilvia]

LOL! I do like the idea, but I don't know... I mean, that would also apply to the regulation of baby cultivators he takes under his wing in the ghost town, and they are still so unrebelliously Lan to the bone. ;-)

[galaxysoup]

For sure... but the non-Lans in the group do start yelling at their parents in the Burial Mounds and at the docks later. Maybe the baby Lans are just more of a slow boil?

[kimboo_york]

I love all of these! But then I also thought, Wei?

A Circus of Weis
A Brave of Weis
A Courage of Weis
A Pluck of Weis

...dunno. hmmm

[rheasilvia]

Heee! :-) It's difficult to extrapolate from a sample of one when it comes to group traits, though - we'd need a larger pool of Weis to judge properly!

[unrelaxing]

Could a more perfect word apply? I DON'T THINK SO.

I'm also very very keen on 'a devastation of Wens', very badass.

[rheasilvia]

No need to mention the clan at all - "a regulation of baby cultivators has come through" tells people everything they need to know! It couldn't be any other clan. :-)

I absolutely agree, the devastation of Wens is very neat, particularly because it includes the murderous Wens as well as the non-murderous ones. That's not an easy clan to bring under a single term. ;-)