So, looks like I’ve returned from my accidental hiatus! I’m sorry for the lack of updates; I just got swept up in so many other things, including some stuff about my real life that needed tending to, and my anxiety over that admittedly stagnated my creativity and energy. But certainly a lot of things have happened since then, so I wish to get back into the swing of things!
There are some articles for this blog I wanted to write before my accidental hiatus that I never got around to, and may not be as relevant anymore, but I’d still like to get them out of the way. But first, I wanted to share some of the stuff I’ve written on why I love Mo Ran (and by extension, Ranwan (the ship that is Mo Ran and Chu Wanning)) from The [Dumb] Husky and His White Cat Shizun (Erha he ta de baimao shizun)—because this novel has completely taken over my brain lately. Plus, Erha fans are more well-fed than ever (despite the continued lack of a release for the live-action adaptation—but that’s a topic to blog about for another day) since we now have a confirmed English translation of the novel, the manhua, and the original Chinese will soon be releasing volume 3 of the printed books.
Plus it was Mo Ran’s birthday on April 9, so you know what! I was so happily overwhelmed by all the new official merchandise coming from the Chinese book release of volume 3 and all the fan art for Mo Ran’s birthday that I want to yell about why I love this dumb (affectionate) husky!
First thing I should clarify for those unfamiliar with Erha. It’s a xianxia danmei novel, which means it’s about a gay romance and is from China and is an ancient Chinese-inspired fantasy. In it, the ruthless and cruel emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian-jun, kills himself after years of terrorizing the people, and he gets another chance at life when he wakes up as himself before he embarked on the dark path of becoming Taxian-jun. Now Mo Ran again, he decides to redo things and protect his crush, who he hadn’t been able to save in his previous life…but this is complicated by the fact that not only is his crush alive again, but so is his shizun (master), Chu Wanning, a man he shares a complex past with… This is a man he claims to hate, but who he was obsessively possessive and even intimate with in his past life. As Mo Ran sets out to rewrite his history, he finds that things were not as they seemed in the past life, and secrets are revealed as he is forced to reevaluate his feelings for people such as Chu Wanning.
And while I made the fun English pun of “Mo Ran” and “moron” for the title of this entry, his Chinese name is actually quite poetic! Mo (墨) means “ink,” while Ran (燃) means “to burn. To ignite, to light.” Not only do I love this character, I love his name too.
This is copied and pasted from my Tumblr. There will be some vague spoilers, so proceed at your own risk! I hope you enjoy perceiving my brain rot though ahaha. At the time, I wanted to write another essay on why Mo Ran is an amazing protagonist but when I attempted to on my Twitter, I felt like all I did was bark like a feral dog… It’s just really hard to do the words justice, you know?
But basically I’m just once again absolutely emotionally eviscerated over how Mo Ran is a protagonist with clear darkness in his heart from all the suffering he’s endured, and yet even in the face of that, he still tries so hard to do good.
I love that he’s our protagonist. That he’s not perfect; that he’s as capable of bad as he is good.
We see how he offers himself to Shi Mei for the flower, telling him that he wants to trade places with Chu Wanning because he has evil in his heart. And why would he do that? Because he just wants to preserve the light that is Chu Wanning in a world where such light can be so rare…even to the point of sacrificing himself. So it’s just. That dichotomy, you know? That acknowledgement by Mo Ran that he is not a good person and is thus worthy of the flower, yet the clear sign that he is still trying to do the right thing despite everything. Because saving Chu Wanning would be good for the world. And he was so young when he made that decision.
He was…He was so ready to die. He asked to be killed the moment he started doing evil—because he didn’t want to do those misdeeds, but also because he didn’t want to disappoint Chu Wanning. And he had such faith that Chu Wanning would do the right thing and strike him down immediately. 😭
How can I put into words the absolute deliciousness that is Mo Ran’s character, his arc, and his redemption?
Like he is crushed by such guilt…and he knows he is capable of some of the absolute worst, most cruel things, but he’s also not as bad as he thinks he is. Because with all the good things he’s ended up doing in the second life—a life where none of the things he did as Taxian-jun even came to pass—how could he not be a good man?
It’s just fascinating, isn’t it? That Mo Ran is like the sun, and yet inside him is this intense darkness, and it’s like…you could never guess, if you just looked at him. He always seems so radiant and warm and charming and open and kind.
But it’s a testament to his desire to be better and to do better for Chu Wanning. And you guys know I’ve screamed before about Mo-zongshi and how much he grows due to his love for Chu Wanning. How absolutely amazing it is seeing the soul-crushing guilt he feels finally settle in and the realization that the one he has been hurting is someone who has done so much good for him.
And isn’t it even more amazing, that Chu Wanning comes back and thinks, How can someone like this be so good? And at first glance, it feels like Mo Ran is “better” than Chu Wanning, because he’s friendly and shines so brilliantly. But in reality Mo Ran does all this because he wants to be even a quarter of the purity that is Chu Wanning—he wants to emulate those strict, heroic morals so that when he stands by Chu Wanning’s side, he won’t feel nearly as undeserving or dirty.He wants Chu Wanning to pay attention to him, but also wants to be worthy of Chu Wanning’s attention. And I just think that’s so beautiful. 😭