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Wen Kexing!!
My focus here was to channel his coolness even through warm colors, and to get his... "essential vibes" through one picture.
More (rambling) below!
(this is essentially a post about WKX's personality)
A big case can be made about "who or what is the 'true' Wen Kexing". So; let's be real, I don't know if anyone makes a "big case" out of it, but I sure have seen people seemingly arguing against a vague 'common opinion' regarding Wen Kexing's personality.
The """common""" opinion (allegedly): the true Wen Kexing is [insert one of WKX's facets] (or something along those lines)
The case against it: all Wen Kexing's are the true Wen Kexing
Now I do agree with the fact that "all Wen Kexing's" are Wen Kexing, technically. For clarity, let's list and name those various facets (most are commonly accepted, some I'll just name on the go):
- Wen Kexing: I'll use his full name for the personality we're first met with in the book. Someone cold, rather quiet, analytical and distant. Giving off strange vibes in social situations (ZZS thinking he's weird, other jianghu figures being creeped out by him or thinking that he's up to no good), contemptuous
- Philantropist Wen: The more extravagant, (bullshit) storyteller, outrageous and shameless flirting enthusiast version of WKX.
- Valley Master Wen: cold, calculating, quiet, cruel, unbelievably patient, dislikes fun and games, barely feels anything
- Wife Wen: The over the top dramatic wife whose life is made difficult by his difficult and shameless husband, essentially a lot of roleplaying the good littol domestic wife and whatnot
- The wooden man: similar as Valley Master but demure and apparently subservient? (for calculated purposes)
Okay they could be more I guess, but the point is, we have an array of WKX personas and personalities and the actual consensus (I think, my sample is like 10 people so....) is that every one of those is "true" to WKX and that not one of them is a fully constructed persona.
Now, while I agree, I guess that what I wonder is: what is WKX in his resting state? If nothing is happening and that he's not in a particularly social or specific situation, what do we get to see?
I think that the answer mostly resides in extra 4, which is an INCREDIBLE retelling of TYK from WKX's perspective; someone who thinks quite a lot, and for long, someone who observes things with distance and little to no emotion. Someone who is used to having one goal (revenge, taking care of ZZS during his coma), and who will probably go through a lot of quiet thinking when finally faced with the void of not having one specific thing to aim for. Someone who will have to learn to find joy/happiness, and who probably doesn't... get there "naturally"? (and by that I mean, without ZZS or without directly following ZZS around). Someone whose ties to his own emotions have been severed a long time ago, I guess. Someone still quite contemptuous of many things and people and who has a whole life he didn't plan for or even consider ahead of him.
Which is............ what I tried to draw............ here.....................
(That and also I wanted to draw a pretty looking hanfu in sepia colors)
(but I SWEAR that was not the main goal)
(I think)
(anyway please ignore me)
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my pet tian ya ke headcanon is that during the mountain recovery period they play a lot of cards in the evenings. when zzs and jby ask wkx to play with them he's like hehe im going to use all the cheats i learned in the valley from hardened criminals and win every time. (when they ask wu xi to play, he just says no. previous great shaman didn't raise a fool.)
now of course wkx expects zzs at least to try to cheat too, but wkx grew up gambling with total scumbags, his skills are gonna be superior. except once the game gets going not only is wkx not winning a single hand, zzs and jby are ABSOLUTELY cheating and he cant even figure out how they're doing it. they're on like 5d chess of cheating and wkx is playing checkers. sorry wkx, you learned from a bunch of petty thieves and murderers, most of whom couldn't even read. these guys have been conning a whole political regime into sucking less for so long they won and got bored. also, they're bastards.
jury is out on whether jby is winning because he's the best at cheating or if, partway through, zzs realized that jby winning would piss off wkx most, and started helping him.
#i think its the second thing#tyk#qi ye#wu xi in the corner reading a book instead. we love an introverted king#this is canon to me#tian ya ke#qy meta
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Hot take: Wu Xi and Jing Beiyuan are such an odd couple because they don't really understand eachother (like WenZhou do).
Hotter take: But like? They do? Wu Xi sees through Jing Beiyuan's affectations to his deepest motivations and understands how much he feels bound by duty and circumstance, and even accepts the 'worst' parts of him. While Jing Beiyuan knows exactly who Wu Xi is and later what Wu Xi wants (him) but just doesn’t necessarily approve because of said duty and circumstance. Superficially, yeah there are misunderstandings (planned and unplanned), but they are actually very connected past even all the karmic trappings of "life."
Hottest take: The grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one, but the grumpy one and the sunshine one aren't the ones you think they are.
#qi ye#wu xi#xiyuan#jing beiyuan#priest#like I usually don't meta but I love these two so much#and it's probably time to read qi ye again#I love them your honor#tian ya ke#word of honor
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Last night I couldn't fall asleep so I wrote an 800 word essay about TYK as a meta-narrative. Voilà.
"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." – Jessica Rabbit, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
One of the things I think many fans of Tian Ya Ke like about it is that, unlike the tv drama, it is something of a satire or deconstruction of the wuxia genre. If you are familiar with the usual wuxia tropes (of which I am by no means an expert) it becomes clear how Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are merely side-characters in what normally would be Zhang Chengling's Hero's Journey. Wen Kexing should, as the mastermind of the plot that killed Zhang Chengling's family, be the manipulative and enigmatic final boss. Zhou Zishu should be the scruffy old retired martial arts master who reluctantly takes the young hero under his wing – and then conveniently dies in order to encourage the hero to come of age. Instead of following this usual track, we are shown the scandalous underbelly of the conventional wuxia narrative – which I think Priest really digs into with Tai Sui (so go read it!!!).
As a result, TYK often reads like really good fanfiction of a novel that doesn't exist. You know the type, some author's 150k magnum opus on two side-characters that in canon have barely any depth and the fanfic author goes on to add so much new characterization and world-building that it feels like an entirely different work. The kind of fanfic that makes the source material look lacking by comparison.
But it was reading lianzi's translated chapter 15 that made me look at the narrative from a different perspective as a post-modernist piece. If you've read Hamlet you're familiar with the idea of a play within a play. But then there is another play, Rozencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, which is Hamlet from the perspective of two minor side-characters mostly taking place "off-stage". And that's really what TYK reminds me of. You know those two old muppets who sit in theatre box seats and always make snide remarks about whatever the other muppets are doing? That's where Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are situated.
In this Chapter 15 scene they are quite literally seated on the balcony watching Cao Weining fail to pay his dinner bill while making commentary and bickering. Zhou Zishu inserts himself into the narrative by paying Cao Weining's bill, and when Cao Weining comes up to the balcony to introduce himself Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu intentionally start acting like heroic figures from fiction. As I imagine it: the camera was originally only on Cao Weining, but then the camera pans up to see the pair on the balcony and then the camera follows Cao Weining up to the balcony bringing the narrative with it. Once the camera arrives on the balcony Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are effectively "on stage" now and have to act the part.
Thinking about this scene reminded me of many other scenes where Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are simply standing to the side and watching the action. Two obvious examples are outside the Scorpion's brothel and Liu Qingqiao's death, but there are also other smaller scenes where Zhou Zishu alone intentionally removes himself from the frame, like when Wen Kexing and Ye Baiyi fight. I imagine the stage where the spotlight is on Liu Qingqiao as she struggles to fight for her life, while Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing are in the wings, covered by darkness, whispering to each other. They don't quite have the powers of breaking the fourth wall and become fully self- or genre-aware, but they definitely have a cynical insiders perspective on the wuxia story they have become a part of. The themes of acting and wearing masks is a common one in the whole novel, especially the differences between how people are in public vs in private. But all of this gives the novel a voyeuristic tone at times.
Zhou Zishu already chose to leave the stage of the capital city, and although he got sucked into Zhang Chengling's story he could disappear from this new stage at any moment. Wen Kexing more actively plays his role up until the bitter end. In the end, Wen Kexing is supposed to reveal his True Identity and be killed by Zhang Chengling, allowing both of them to fulfill revenge for their families. This is the ending that Wen Kexing imagined for himself, and that's the part he knew he was playing. That's why it's so touching when he asks Zhou Zishu if it's okay that he survives. If it's okay that he selfishly violates the rules of the narrative.
Then they choose to leave the stage completely. Once off the stage (in the Extras) they can act like whoever they want. The only way to live freely is to quit the main story. And acting like a good person is pretty much as close as you can get to being a good person, regardless of how your character was written.
#misc#tyk#ruth reads light novels#tyk meta#tian ya ke#further opinions / criticisms / discussion welcome#somebody could definitely write a much longer academic essay on this theme
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Hypothetical Rank Ups No. 86-88: Jing Ke
[Okay I know I usually do these in order of Passive - S1 - S2 - S3 - NP, followed by the same priority of the less necessary "EX" rank ups, but I'm gonna move the S1 to last for this because it's a complete ground-up rework that'll take a lot of explaining.
So instead it'll be Passive - S3 - NP - S1]
New Passive:
Qin Slayer (Augmented)
-Apply Special ATK [Qin] to self (33%).
-Immune to Immobilization from [Qin] enemy skills.
((Unlocks after clearing Lostbelt No.3 Section 13))
Self Explanatory really. Honestly EVERY assassin deserves an Oberon style ??? unique skill that reflects the kill(s) that made them famous, particularly since it allows a way to offset the natural damage penalty assassins have to deal with...even though they're, ya know, specialized killers. 33% effectively brings the damage up from a base .9 to a base 1.2, which I think is a fitting enough offset. The immobilization immune is reflective of how things went the second time around between the two in Lb3.
Insolent A -> Insolence Towards the Sun
Increase own Quick Card effectiveness (3 times, 3^ turns).^
Increase own Critical Strength (3 times, 3 turns^).
Gain Class Affinity half-advantage against [Ruler] class (3 turns).
[Quick scaling increased to 20-40%]
Pretty simple here. As always i cannot overstate how bad Quick has it, and that's made even worse when the only quick buff you have is both 1 turn AND only a max of 30%, so we're raising that slightly to 40% (but with the same base amount of 20%, to place more emphasis on leveling the skill to get its worth) and making both the critical and the quick buff split from one turn, to three attacks across 3 turns. Same number of hits, but with much more flexibility, and that flexibility is needed because if you're using Jing Ke as intended then the new effect makes it so you want this skill active as often as possible, emphasizing individual precise strikes that rely on both specific color and criticals rather than a constant boost to strength
Now against ruler enemies, Jing Ke gains both offensively and defensively the 1.5x advantage that extra classes typically get (such as what Rulers have defending against the standard non-berserker classes, or Alter Egos have when attacking cavalry classes). When combined with their new passive this also means they have near full advantage against any Ruler enemy with the Qin trait at. How oddly specific. 1.8x base damage means by default they're just as effective at taking out a certain peacocking emperor as any berserker, but without the berserker's weak defenses.
Name wise, I'm particularly proud of this one. Not just with the parallel's to Jing Ke's recurring connection to the moon through their poems, but also just the idea of that idea of "Insolent towards authority" taking up a few notches in scale to match them standing up to the "one true human". The idea of standing up to something that's all encompassing and omnipresent, that is the center of the universe, something that is unfathomably bigger than oneself, and still managing to defy it.
All I Do is Kill B+ -> EX-
Deal significant damage to a single enemy.
Grants self On-Death buff (2 turns). [Activates First]
- When defeated, Decrease NP Gauge by 2 and inflict Stun on a single enemy (1 turn).
Reduce your HP by 2000^. [Demerit]
[Caution: This can kill Jing Ke if her HP is below 2000!]
<Overcharge>
Medium chance to apply Death for a single enemy.^
Gain Critical Stars.v
Restore a large amount of NP Gauge to yourself.
[NP Refund scales with overcharge at 20/28/35/43/50%.
Instant Death chance scaling increasing to 50/75/100/125/150%.
On Death debuffs will default to last enemy to attack Jing Ke, or failing that the rightmost enemy. If Jing Ke dies from her own NP and the target survives, these effects are applied to the surviving target.]
God Jing Ke's NP ticks me off. Such an emotionally moving concept, such a significant event, and it's just....a mediocre damage single hit NP whose main use might as well be generating a star bomb. I'm not saying its the only NP like that but god it's the one that's always irked me since day 1. So yeah, this one had a LOT of rewrites before I finally settled on what it ended up as.
The damage is unchanged, and we're also getting one of the rare times I'm nerfing the base abilities by bringing the number of crit stars down by 10 to 10/15/20/25/30. Not only was this effect redundant, given they're a triple quick unit with a star bomb skill already, but anything I want to give this NP would be too much if I let them generate THAT many stars, and I very much want to take things in a different direction. You could frankly argue that I should just get rid of the star bomb on NP entirely and the only reason I'm not is because while Jing Ke is a triple quick assassin with a Quick Np on top of that, they have the dreaded year 1 hitcounts - including a 1-hit NP - meaning they're completely gimped for both NP and Star generation
So on the subject of NP generation, that's why they get a massive refund on their NP now that effectively makes them Assassin Medea in terms of NP spam, with the same base refund and significantly lower but still notable scaling with overcharge (7.5% as opposed to an entire additional 20% per level). Oh and her other overcharge effect is getting buffed but to have double the level scaling, but...well It's an instant death effect so whatever. So let's just move onto the hook of all this!
Put simply, Jing Ke now has 500-Year Old Obsession on steroids directly built into their NP. Rather than 2 turns NP seal and a useless DOT though, it instead immediately reduces charge by 2, which depending on the situation could be much more or much less useful AND it also ensures it doesnt make the CE obsolete AND even more than that allows the two to stack with each other should you so choose to orchestrate that scenario.
Of course, this comes at a cost.
The NP actually has a second nerf compared to before....though depending on how you view it, it might not actually be a nerf. Jing Ke now loses double the HP, at 2000 per NP. This combined with their new refund potential means they risk burning through their own HP, even recreating their own death as they strike out at an opponent only to die immediately after. Should they die this way, instead of being based on who last damaged them their grudge will instead target the one they used their NP on (assuming the enemy survived, otherwise it once again defaults to the rightmost enemy remaining).
SO, tldr, their np is now much less about the crit stars and more about spamming it until either Jing Ke or their target dies, and even if the former goes first it's not without the last laugh as they throw a massive wrench into any enemy plans to buy their remaining allies a moment of opportunity. Which is a perfect lead in to Jing Ke's completely reworked first skill:
Restrain A -> The Perfect Moment EX-
Increase own Critical Star Gather Rate by 200% (3 turns).
Gain Critical Stars.
Apply Ignore Invincible to self (1 time).
Apply Evade for yourself (1 time).
Apply Target Focus to all allies except self (1 turn).
Apply Fated Hour (Opportunity) to self if there are at least two of this unit’s normal command cards available:
-Locks currently dealt set of Command Cards (2 turns)
-Decrease your Critical Star Gather Rate by 500% (1 turn).
-Apply delayed buff: Increase own Quick Card Star Gathering Rate (1 turn).
-Apply delayed buff: Gain Critical Stars after 1 turn.
-Apply delayed buff: Increase own NP Strength after 1 turn. [10-40%]
-Decrease own ATK by 35% (1 turn). [Demerit]
[Skill cooldown changed to 9/8/7. Star bomb scales from 5-10, NP Strength up scales from 10-40%]
I love you deck manipulation <3
...even if you along with the sheer number of other effects are forcing me to increase the skill cooldown by more than i'd like. But hey that's why it's a full on rework i guess.
This is the first of a potentially reoccurring effect I've decided to call "Fated Hour." The general idea is Fated Hour always involves either shuffle or deck lock mechanics combined with other effects that reflect an attempt to recreate what could be seen as the servant in question's "zenith" or otherwise pivotal moment in their legend.
In Jing Ke's case, they find that once in a lifetime moment to strike a seemingly untouchable enemy, and they take it. Naturally, this has the qualifier that Jing Ke must have the ability to launch a precise attack, meaning Fated Hour will only activate if at least two of Jing Ke's command cards is currently available (which in combination with an NP would mean an Extra Attack chain is available). If not, then the skill's effectiveness is drastically reduced meaning you need to actually plan this out by counting cards to get the skill's real value rather than bank on RNG.
Without Fated Hour, The Perfect Moment becomes, if nothing else, a powerful survival tool. For the current turn target focus is applied to all other allies and Jing Ke gains an evade charge for insurance against the likes of AOE NPs, as well as a single hit of Ignore Invincible for the same indefinite duration as the evade. Fated Hour wouldnt trigger simply from having an NP available, so this could be used to grant Jing Ke a temporary Ignore Invincible ST NP while they have less than the required 2 command cards available. That said, Fated Hour is clearly what everything really revolves around.
Laying in wait among their allies, Jing Ke spends the current turn preparing to strike. They decrease their star gather to nothing, both to prevent their own criticals drawing attention to themselves and to allow their allies a better crit chance. They also give up a hefty amount of their already below-par attack stat this turn in exchange for a an even heftier and much more valued NP strength buff the next turn; the aforementioned survival tools naturally exist to increase the chance they're going to make it to that next turn. This is all naturally in addition to the usual benefits of locking command cards.
...On that note, however, this is where it becomes important to count cards. The ignore invincible applies to the next attack from Jing Ke regardless of whether it is needed. This combined with the fact that fated hour requires you have at least one of Jing Ke's normal cards means in order to get maximum efficacy you'd HAVE to have no more than the minimum requirement of 2 of Jing Ke's cards available. Most of the time you won't need that ignore invincible in theory but the sheer fcking number of bosses they slap it on says otherwise but it'd certainly make dealing with a certain Ruler's NP much easier. How very fitting that they'd remain a particular challenge for Jing Ke to properly assassinate...but either way, Jing Ke will still receive a hearty buff next turn. Their actual attack stat will remain unchanged aside from the aforementioned NP buffs, and they're still reliant on their third skill for Quick and Critical buffs, but they'll have the tools to take full advantage of those buffs with a delayed activation on Restraint's original star bomb and a burst of quick-star-gather. The fact that the gather is color specific of course means there's yet another requirement to optimizing the skill, as you'd ideally need not only 2 of Jing Ke's cards, but specifically 2 of their quick cards for maximum damage. What's more, 10 stars is not enough on its own to guarantee two crits, in fact double that would be needed, so if you dont want to leave it up to chance you'll need to make sure that Jing's allies be it by card or skill can generate an additional 10 stars between turns.
This is all a very long winded way of outlining all the requirements needed to truly take advantage of ALL this skill now offers, but given all the new kit brings it's hopefully worth it. More flexible burst damage, anti-ruler F2P niche, sacrifice tactics, and now quick crit synergy with everything from ignore invincible to deck lock.
I dunno if it rounds out to Ten Steps per say, but it's clear that when Jing Ke is allowed proper planning, naught will stay their pace.
#artist: JinGreyPaladin#artist: EnduranceEX#yes i am aware that Insolent is the localized version of a skill that's actually supposed to be#about Jing Ke getting drunk and violent. I dont care. I prefer to treat these characters with respect.#fgo#fgo meta#fate grand order#hypothetical rank ups#jing ke#my beloved....#without question the most time i've put into one of these since Jekyll and Hyde#i always feel like im forgetting an important tag but screw it it's 3am and ive been trying to get this out for months POST
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Kes's MCU Rewrites
Since I've made a few now, I wanted to make a compiled list of the "scenes that didn't happen but are canon in my heart" and "I will take a hammer and I will FIX the MCU" posts I've made because some of them kinda slap imo. I've linked the ones I have so far here but they'll also be under the tag #kes Rewrites the MCU for future reference!! You're more than welcome to use these for fics/art, no need to credit or anything, all I ask is you send me the link because I would love to see what you create!!
((they're very Bucky-related because I have a brand and I stick to it))
Meta/fixing or adding things:
On Changing the ending of FATWS/who the Powerbroker is revealed to be
On Flerken!Alpine
On Bucky's hair in FATWS
On Bucky/TWS's storyline in What If Episode 2x02
Headcanons:
On Bucky being friends with the Space Dwelling Heroes
On Carol and Sam being buddies
On Bucky's body temperature and how his body feels
On Bucky and Legos
On Bucky, and Zola's Algorithm
On Bucky making money in Romania
#kes rewrites the mcu#mcu#marvel#marvel cinematic universe#i will take a hammer and i will FIX the mcu#bucky barnes#carol danvers#sharon carter#the powerbroker#alpine the cat#sam wilson#mcu meta#mcu headcanons#guardians of the galaxy
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i dont think zzs has relationship ocd, but i can see a lot of myself in him. his insecurity regarding what other people (people he cares about) might think and feel of him, this obsessive need to find out the „truth“ and this almost conspiracy-like conviction that there always is a „hidden truth“ beneath. this crippling fear that others might lie to you and you might not be able to see it. this conviction that others lie, even when they do not, because the sincerity of their emotions, their honest expression without traps or fallbacks or holdbacks, is just too unbelievable to not be artificial. this seeing patterns where none might be, and obsessively following clues that might lead nowhere. thats why i prefer the reading that zzs essentially misunderstood both jq and ljx (ch.47 and ch.61 of qi ye respectively), and that for the latter, it signed zzs‘s downwards spiral. if u interpret their last conversation in qi ye as zzs viewing ljx as rejecting him and as all ljx does is trying to save him from himself and understand him, zzs‘s later habits post-tianchuang and how he views some of ljx‘s words from that conversation (ch.20, ch.27) (and the discrepancy as can be seen in ch.76 of qi ye in what zzs believes ljx‘s very last words on this earth were vs what they actually were, which lends strength to this reading as it fits the „theme“), his failure at reading ppl he feels personally a lot towards, even though he technically has all the facts or there might be an easier explanation that is not as abstract as the one he favours, makes a lot of sense. now, i have started a new reread of tyk and im seeing wkx in a somewhat different light. he is incredibly odd and off-putting and even i, who knows the final and should know his character, have a hard time getting a read of him almost all the time during much of their earlier interactions (ch. 6-13). what is wkx doing here? is he lying or does he believe what he says? is this an act or are his thoughts truly this jumpy? how much of his „im an odd ghost im odd“ persona is a persona, how much is a reflection of the truth? that means zzs‘s conviction that wkx is trying to deceive him is not that off-track, and considering that wkx gives me the strong impression that he IS instrumentalizing the one weakness he found zzs, that glib vagrant, to have (being flirted with), and seems to maintain it all the way until he realizes zzs is going to fucking die (ch.29, moment i personally view as wkx‘s breakthrough), im not even faulting zzs for, well, picking up on it. still. you can tell that his thoughts and his explanations are obsessive and self-destructive, that this is less about whether or not wkx is playing him, and more that zzs does not believe he is worthy of love and sincerity (ch.18, first time he actually spells it out). so, i do not think zzs has some type of ocd in that regard; he only needs a heart-to-heart with wkx and then he is „cured“ (ch.65). but i do think his narrative reflects a lot of what it can feel like to live with relationship ocd, to be in the mind of someone who has ocd, and all the convulted and bizarre actions and conclusions such a person is comitting and drawing, because of their twisted worldview
#tian ya ke#qiye#there is a slightly different interpretation ive been cultivating that overlaps with this one#but that does not read zzs as being ‚afraid‘ rgearding others#where potential misunderstandings might be not a source of any anxiety#and potential lies might be not destabilizing#like i dont think zzs is afraid or destabilized up there in my post either but i do think he is easily ‚turned‘#he is shy. he likes to believe others lie more than that he would believe they are sincere#and he spends too much time in his own head and too little with really talking to others#so. it is a little too easy for me to. project a little on him#(my theory is that zzs is actually a fearless motherfucker who is both shy and incredibly steadfast. what a fucking concept!!!)#zhou zishu#faraway wanderers#tyk#meta#lord seventh#wen kexing#liang jiuxiao#天涯客#七爷
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As if you don’t have enough on your plate already, but what other setting and characters are you planning to make for your YW universe? Because I’m really interested in what Roshaun’s palace looks like 👀
It's fun to think about, but I suspect there's only so much gold-and-precious-gems stuff I can stick into a given image without seriously taxing the abilities of my present graphics machine. (Not to mention that I'd have to invent a whole alien artistic aesthetic... but then there's at least some of that already in the Roshaun novella in Interim Errantry 2: On Ordeal...)
...Leave it with me and I'll see what I can come up with. :)
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hola. acabo de leer tu análisis de la estructura familiar de los mellark y me dio curiosidad algo. decía que peeta esta acostumbrado a pagar por su derecho a existir y eso me hizo pensar en la conversación de la cueva y como le quita importancia al pan que le dió a katniss. crees que de verdad no fue algo importante para él?
Hola! Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de leer mis desvaríos en discord jeje
La conversación de everlark va más o menos así:
«--¿Te dejó ir porque no quería deberte nada? --pregunta Peeta, sin poder creérselo.
--Sí. No espero que lo entiendas. Tú siempre has tenido lo necesario, pero, si vivieras en la Veta, no tendría que explicártelo.
--Y no lo intentes. Está claro que soy demasiado tonto para pillarlo.
--Es como lo del pan. Parece que nunca consigo pagarte lo que te debo.
--¿El pan? ¿Qué? ¿De cuando éramos niños? --pregunta--. Creo que podemos olvidarlo. Es decir, acabas de revivirme.»
No creo que para Peeta no fuera importante o que no entienda el concepto de deuda porque sea tonto. Lo que sucede es que él nunca ha debido nada porque paga por adelantado cada mínimo aspecto de su vida.
Eso es lo injusto y hasta cruel de la situación de los niños que nacen como mano de obra, que no tienen opción en cuanto a su utilidad. Y no la tienen porqué de su trabajo (pago) depende su supervivencia.
¿Quieres desayuno? Tienes que levantarte temprano a tu turno y empezar la preparación de tus deberes.
¿Quieres tu hora de comida? Tienes que haber completado tu cuota de trabajo a tiempo o te la vas a perder.
¿Quieres dormir un número decente de horas? Tienes que terminar tus responsabilidades del día o de lo contrario tendrás que ir a dormir hasta que termines.
¿Quieres usar tus escasas horas libres? Puedes hacerlo siempre que todas las responsabilidades estén cubiertas y no te necesitemos, porque el negocio va primero.
¿Quieres tener un techo? Sé útil y cumple con tu parte del trabajo.
Y tampoco tienen la opción de fallar porque cada error le quita comida de la boca a ellos mismos y al resto de la familia, el dinero necesario para mantenerse a flote o cuesta recursos valiosos que no pueden costear reemplazar.
Quitando la parte de su crush con Katniss. Para Peeta recibir un ojo morado por ese pan no fue un acto valioso o valiente, fue el precio que se paga por “arruinar” producto del negocio. Y cuando dice “Creo que podemos olvidarlo”. Es porque ese pan fue su pago adelantado para que Katniss lo salvara en los juegos, aunque esa no fuera su intención.
#peeta mellark#thg meta#anon#amo que me pregunten cosas de mis desvaríos#y no me lo esperaba en tumblr#ke emozion
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My version of the wardrobe template! yay!!
I had a LOT of fun doing this and feel like I could elaborate a bit more on each of those.
It's already linked up here, but here's once again a > link to the post.<
Anyway! More about these designs below!
So first, for WKX's template!
- Chapter 2: Grey robes
I had already made my design of those for the full TYK lineup I made a while back. I really, really like those, and took inspiration from some of the robes SHL!WKX wears in the show for the shapes.
- Chapter 69: dark robes with dark red belt
I expected to like that style for him, but not that much! I had seen a tutorial on how asymetrical hanfus were worn by archers in the past and that inspired me, purely on a fashion level of course. I like how intimidating he looks with those and enjoy the touches of blue in the inner layer of the robes.
- Chapter 75: dark red robes
The GVM robes! which I also designed a while back when researching for the illustrations of the Mt Fengya battle scenes that I wanted to make. I reworked them just a little bit and got rid of some details that I didn't like anymore. I tremendously pleated skirts for WKX so I went at it once again. I also used shifts in hues to make it look like it could have been drenched in blood.
- Extra 5: deep red robes
For the reminder (since apparently some people are not aware of extra 5's existance), this extra is set 5 years post-canon. I wanted WKX to wear something that looked comfortable for traveling but also practical and fashionable. The teal jacket is of course another nod at SHL since the red and teal combo was an absolute banger. Let's say I didn't want WKX to just sport an all-red look. Furthermore, the teal really works to adorn the red hues.
- My personal favourite
I actually don't really know whether those are my actual personal favourites, but I've come to LOVE WKX dressed in red and white thanks to @kwehxing's designs. I think it really suits him and on top of that it avoids the question "is this Hua Cheng" LMAO--okay jokes aside, I combined most of the shapes that I really like for WKX (wider shoulders, wide sleeves, and long robes with pleated inner robes) and I find him very elegant like this.
Now, for ZZS!
- Chapter 1: sapphire blue scholar robes
Those had already been designed before as well! They're my go to generic TC!ZZS robes, haha. I was a bit extra with the blue colour here, but oh well. I'm quite obsessed with the silver brocade cynching his waist, haha.
- Chapter 2: stolen farmer robes
A classic as well as far as I'm concerned--of course, inspired by his hobo fit in SHL because it was quite efficient. I'm forever fond of my scruffy hobo!Xu and his toes poking from his sandals.
- Chapter 18: luxurious robes from the Gao family
Those were a new design! Which I had a lot of fun coming up with. Putting ZZS in a different colour scheme was also really nice. For those who don't remember, ZZS feels quite ridiculous when he sees himself in a mirror wearing those fancy robes while being so emaciated and still sporting his hobo mask. I wanted to give this "out of place" feeling; and also work on a very "wuxia" style for the robes, since this is jianghu and they were provided by Gao Chong.
- Extra 5: black robes
I'm incredibly fond of this design. I worked quite a bit on it, since I wasn't sure of where I wanted to go. My main guidelines were: practical and cool. I really like ZZS having a lot of room to move so ideally not too much fabric in the way, and I think he also needs arm braces to be rid of annoying sleeves. Of course, him looking much healthier and having a dynamic ponytail really works to "complete the look", and I find that he looks really cool there haha.
- My personal favourite
This one has been refined over the months, but it's definitely, overall, my favourite look for him in terms of shapes and construction. I like that the robes are short, I like the more fashionable jacket. I'm especially into the "pants tucked into the boots" silhouette, as well as the little ribbons keeping them tight around the ankles. I'd say that this leg shape + short robes + a bun (or sometimes a ponytail) is THE ZZS design combo for me, haha. It looks practical and fun and adventurous, just how I like it.
To conclude the whole post, I had more fun doing this than I even expected, and needless to say that I'm very excited to see other versions of them following this template. It was a good opportunity to try and project what the characters look like throughout the book, and a fun design exercise as well. I actually don't really like doing character design usually, but for characters I'm obsessed with, it's of course a much nicer experience.
Anyway, thank you for reading!
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Analysis of Tian Ya Ke Lyrics
(line-by-line with literary references and context)
Analysis: Weibo user 认真看剧的打字机器 (original Weibo post)
Translation: keishi, first posted on Twitter @_keikaku
Full text is also available here. Long post warning!
Tian Ya Ke, being Word of Honor’s ending theme, has appeared in many important scenes throughout the show. Moreover, the lyrics were penned by the script writer herself, thus it can best express the show’s overarching idea, much worthy of a detailed analysis.
[Part 1 - ZZH]
天苍苍事了功成渡寒江
Under the grey sky, I crossed the cold river as the job was done
Meaning: The deep blue sky was vast and endless, ZZS’s service as Tianchuang’s leader under King Jin had come to an end, and he was about to cross the cold river to leave the Northwest region.
Analysis: “Cold river” points to the river water during the autumn and winter, in this context it points at ZZS leaving the Northwest in a very cold and harsh winter. A line from Jet Li’s (Li Lianjie) Flying Swords of Dragon Gate can also be aptly quoted here: “A lone silhouette on the cold river, an old friend from jianghu”, which accurately portrays ZZS’s current state.
夜茫茫杯中月影笑荒唐
In the vast night, the moon in my cup laughed at the absurdity
Meaning: The vast darkness of the night, whose ends were nowhere in sight, there was only the reflection of the moon in my cup, laughing at my years of living in absurdity.
Analysis: “The moon’s reflection in my cup” comes from Li Bai’s Drinking Alone Under the Moonlight - First. In this poem, the author experienced an extreme sense of loneliness —— “Pouring out a cup, for no friend or kin” (WKX has also quoted this before), so he decided to take the moonlight and his own shadow as drinking companions, “Raising my cup to invite the moon, with my shadow we made three people”. In the lyrics, the moonlight is personified, purpose is to express ZZS’s solitariness at this point, where he can only find company in wine and the moon, and he mocks himself for self-righteously believing that he was sacrificing for the greater good, while in fact, it was just a preposterous case of feeding himself to the tiger.
谁许我策马江湖闯四方
Who allowed me to gallop off to traverse the world?
Meaning: Who can accompany me to travel the world on our horsebacks?
Analysis: A complement to the solitariness in the upper sentence, lamenting about how there’s no one around ZZS who can accompany him to fulfill his wish of galloping off around the world.
谁醉遍天涯 梦醒不见故乡
Who had travelled to the ends of the world in drunkenness, yet couldn’t face their hometown when sober?
Meaning: I can go to the ends of the world and the corners of the four seas to drink wine, but I can never return to the hometown that I dream of going back to.
Analysis: “Wandering the world, drinking to death” is not in ZZS’s romance, but the last punishment that he gives himself. There’s an old saying, “falling leaves return to their roots”; it’s also a traditional mindset of “even if I’m dying soon, I want to die in my hometown, where my roots are”. Even the most highly regarded, powerful court officials also requested to “bring their bones and ashes back to their hometowns” upon reaching their old ages. Du Fu, the God of Poetry, died on a boat heading back to his hometown. ZZS is aware that the countdown on his life has already begun, so he can’t not be thinking about returning. “Couldn’t face their hometown when sober” actual meaning isn’t “sobering up from the wine”, but rather “only can see the hometown in their dreams”, which hints to us ZZS’s reminiscence of his home. However, ZZS is set on believing that he has let down his teacher/forgone the teachings imparted in him, thus feels ashamed to face Siji Manor. Despite clearly having hometown on his mind always, since the departure from the Northwest, he leaves Kunzhou in the Southwest and heads towards the Southeast (Chengling’s home is located in the now-Zhejiang region). This kind of nomadic life, though the heart yearns for a place he can’t return to, is also one of the final punishments ZZS gives himself.
(Which is also my reasoning against hobo-Xu = freedom… he isn’t just drinking wine… he’s using wine to numb the pain in his flesh and mind…)
Summary of Part 1: The first sentence describes ZZS’s current state, the second sentence describes ZZS’s sorrow about his ideals destroying half of his life, the third describes ZZS’s loneliness, the fourth describes his yearning for home.
(Between these three types of emotions, just experiencing one is already torturing enough, yet he’s experiencing all three at once, how can he feel happy…)
[Part 2 - GJ]
西陵下凄秋凉雨吻我窗
Under the dreary autumn sky of Xiling, cold rain kissed my window
Meaning: In the middle of Ghost Valley, there was only desolating autumn rain landing on my window.
Analysis: This sentence comes from Li Shangyin’s The Tomb of Su Xiaoxiao: “Under the Xiling sky, winds blew at the falling rain”.
This poem by Li Shangyin was one of his “ghost poems”. Through the imagery of Su Xiaoxiao’s tomb, he drew up a series of strange illusions, portraying the beautiful yet fleeting ghost of Su Xiaoxiao, thus creating a resplendent but ghostly atmosphere. It bodes well with Wen Kexing’s image in the Ghost Valley: an outstanding beauty with dark and terrifying aura. And although Wen Kexing sits at the highest position of power, there is only the cold autumn rain knocking on his window, illustrating his inner feelings of loneliness and desolation.
(T/N: The author, whose writings were dubbed as “ghost poems” was actually Li He, a poet from mid-Tang dynasty, and not Li Shangyin, a poet from late-Tang. Likely a typo on OP’s part.)
任人憎任人谤 未妨惆怅是清狂
Let people hate, let people slander; but perhaps melancholic “clear madness” will do no harm
Meaning: No matter how others hated me, slandered me, I always persisted with my own desire, without a care for people who said that I was obsessed.
Analysis: “But perhaps melancholic ‘clear madness’ will not do any harm” comes from Li Shangyin’s Untitled Twin Poems. The full line reads, “You may say that it is completely futile to be lovesick; But perhaps melancholic ‘clear madness’ will not do any harm”. However in this context, this part has no relation to lovesickness; we must interpret it in tandem with the former part in the lyrics “let people hate, let people slander”. It conveys WKX’s mental state during his time in Ghost Valley: although hated or slandered by the so-called righteous sects, WKX has never quite cared, and in a state of near-obsession, he step-by-step makes preparations to avenge his parents. Despite deeply knowing that in doing so, he will end up sacrificing himself/can’t step away when it ends, he still wants to go absolute bonker, using the complete destruction of jianghu as a way to return justice to his parents.
春风吹得绿江南水岸 吹不暖人心霜
Spring breezes blew greens to the banks of Jiangnan river; couldn’t blow warmth to a frosted heart
Meaning: Spring winds could bring back luscious nature, but couldn’t melt the frost and coldness in my heart.
Analysis: The first half comes directly from Wang Anshi’s Anchoring At Guazhou. The poem continues, “when would the bright moon shine on my way back home”. Here, the “spring breezes” refers to the spring day of WenZhou meeting, at which point WKX’s heart is still a block of icy frost, but in actuality, he begins to yearn for a bright moon to bring him home, thus the latter half in the lyrics.
猝不及防 那是不是我们的光
Taken by surprise, could that be our light?
Analysis: The bright moon whom WKX yearns for, the bright moon who will bring him home, right on that spring day in the 27th year of his life, he comes in all glowing light, and barges into WKX’s world unannounced.
Summary of Part 2: The first sentence describes WKX’s current state, the second sentence describes WKX’s mental state, the third sentence describes WKX’s yearnings, the fourth sentence describes the effect of WenZhou’s first meeting on WKX.
[Part 3 - GJ]
相见恨晚幸未晚 不再辜负四季花
Hate that we couldn’t meet sooner, happy that it wasn’t too late. Flowers of four seasons no longer bloomed in vain
Analysis: WKX meets ZZS well into his adulthood, at the age where most people celebrate early life achievements, so it can’t be considered late. The fortunate part is, he meets ZZS where he considers to be “near the end of his life”. He then finds his own redemption and is able to live on, that’s why “it wasn’t too late”. “Flowers of four seasons” refers to the beautiful sceneries of Siji Manor: “Spring bathes in a sea of azalea, summer appreciates blooming phoenix flowers, autumn comes with wafting red osmanthus fragrance, winter beholds snow-like plum blossoms”. It also signifies WKX slowly letting go of his obsession to destroy the world after meeting ZZS, breaking free from his vengeance, and learning to admire the everchanging sceneries of four seasons along the journey of living – from then on, the beauty of ever-blooming flowers along the path of life shall not go unnoticed. And it marks the development from “as long as I can burn down this murky water of a martial world and its so-called righteous sects, there’s nothing that I can’t risk” mindset to “as long as we let go of vengeance, we are alive and living”.
将古道西风瘦马 换小桥流水人家
Trade away the old road, autumn winds and scrawny horse, for a small bridge, running stream and a home of nestling
Analysis: This line comes from Ma Zhiyuan’s To the Tune of “Tian Jing Sha”: Autumn Thoughts. Its meaning complements “Flowers of four seasons no longer bloomed in vain”, referring to WKX’s change of heart after meeting ZZS, from a painful and desolating “thin horse trudging on an old road in the autumn winds” to a warm and lively “nestling homes over a small bridge by a running stream”.
(T/N: Tian Jing Sha (lit. Sky-Clear Sand) is the name of the tune to which this qu poem is composed (曲牌名 qubaiming), that is to say, in an oral performance, this poem is intended to be recited with the rhythm and melody of Tian Jing Sha. The english for this line is rehashed from Andrew Wong’s translation.)
Summary of Part 3: In the first sentence, WKX expresses his good fortune of having met ZZS, through which his life is no longer engulfed by vengeance. In the second sentence, he describes the change of heart after meeting ZZS.
(Plainly speaking, he’s just declaring his love to ZZS: “only after meeting you that I realise how important you are to me”)
(…Okay, enough already Wen-ge)
[Part 4 - ZZH]
万里河山万家灯 往事如烟浪淘沙
A thousand miles of rivers and mountains, a thousand lights of homes. The past went up in smokes, washed away like sands
Analysis: “A thousand miles of rivers and mountains” comes from Xin Qiji’s To the Tune of “Qing Ping Yue”: Sleeping Alone in the Wangs’ Hut under Mt. Bo, referring to the vastness of the world. “A thousand lights of homes” is from the Qing dynasty’s novel A Flower In A Sinful Sea by Zeng Pu. Here’s the full line: “A thousand lights of homes, a path lined with songs of the flute”, describing the warm scenes of houses lighting up one after another as the night falls.
“Lang Tao Sha” (lit. waves washing away sands) is the tune title. I initially thought it refers to “great waves washing off the sands”, but the meaning of this phrase is “to stand the test of ferocious battles”, which clearly doesn’t match the context. So I made a bold guess that Liu Yuxi’s Lang Tao Sha was quoted here: “With many turns the Yellow River flows with sands from afar; Coming from the sky's edge, the wind-blown rolling waves never stay”. This matches the sentiment expressed in “(the past has) gone up in smokes” to convey the idea of “no going back”, like muddy sands swept away by the past.
In this line, ZZS is consoling WKX, telling him to treasure the beautiful sceneries and the warmth, homeliness of the mortal realm. Let bygones be bygone, don’t torment yourself over the past.
将平生霜雪 与君煮酒烹茶
Use my life’s worth of frost and snow to warm wine and brew tea with you
Analysis: Wine is warmed by submerging a flask of wine in a hot water bath. This scene took place once before, when WenZhou were at the Siji Manor. Tea brewing is exactly how it’s normally done. However, both of these activities are considered refined hobbies to be enjoyed in the tea stove I brought along; A life free of worries was a hundred years well-spent”. In Dream of the Red Mansion Part 41, as Miaoyu was making tea for Baoyu, Daiyu asked, “Is this rain water from last year?” Miaoyu sneered, “A person like you is such a boor, that you can’t even differentiate water when you taste it. This is snow collected from the plum blossom, when I was at the Panxiang temple in like the heroes i It’s apparent that despite being “rootless water”, melted snow is considered a grade aboThree Kingdoms, drinking warm wine with green plums. ZZS is expressing his desire to live rainaater.20the use of melted snow to make tea would greatly enhance the elegance and appeals of this lifestyle.
Yet, to warm the wine and brew the tea with “my life’s worth of frost and snow” just adds a whole other layer to the depth of emotions. There’s a saying, “good tea must be brewed in good water”. Which water is the purest, the most elegant of them all? The ancients believed that crystal-clear and sweet water was of the highest quality. Tea brewed from water that has once been frozen yields an extraordinary taste. In Bai Juyi’s Rising Late: After A Morning’s Slumber, “Melting snow to brew fragrant tea, melting butter to make porridge”. Lu You wrote in Tea After Snow: “Sweet and clear liquid snow filled my well, simply brewed with the tea stove I brought along; A life free of worries was a hundred years well-spent”. In Dream of the Red Mansion Part 41, as Miaoyu was making tea for Baoyu, Daiyu asked, “Is this rain water from last year?” Miaoyu sneered, “A person like you is such a boor, that you can’t even differentiate water when you taste it. This is snow collected from the plum blossom, when I was at the Panxiang temple in Xuanmu five years ago.” It’s apparent that despite being “rootless water”, melted snow is considered a grade above rain water. Surely the use of melted snow to make tea would greatly enhance the elegance and appeals of this lifestyle.
(This is definitely the stuff that ZZS they all would do… This kind of thing, you couldn’t do it unless you were rich… Except them, who would take time learning this stuff… The common people were already happy to have drinkable water…)
However, ZZS saying this isn’t meant to express his hope for a future life, and definitely not to express self-reconciliation. Because he can’t reconcile with the past, he decisively sticks the nails into his own body, straight until WKX appears, under WKX’s encouragement and gentleness (*noisiness*), that a spark of hope for a future life is ignited within ZZS, kickstarting the process of self-reconciliation. The past which hardens inside his heart like frost and snow, slowly melts away in the warm and beautiful life with WKX, to the extent that ZZS can even joke about it.
Summary of Part 4: In the first sentence, ZZS is convincing WKX to reconcile with the world; in the second sentence, ZZS shows reconciliation with his own self.
[Part 5 - GJ]
芳草长烟波流云映斜阳
Flourishing grass enshrouded in misty waves. Dusky light reflected on floating clouds
Analysis: This line is from Fan Zhongyan’s Waterbag Dance (trans. Xu Yuanchong):
Clouds veil emerald sky, leaves strewn in yellow dye.
Waves rise in autumn hue, and blend with mist cold and green in view.
Hills steeped in slating sunlight, sky and waves seems one;
Unfeeling grass grows sweet beyond the setting sun.
The conveyed meaning is, the sky is painted an emerald shade, yellow foliage covers the ground, the colours of autumn stretch from the horizon to the water, and the chilly, green fog seemingly weaves itself into the water. The distant hills bathe in the dusky sun; the sky and the river meld together. The grass, who understands not the pain of homesickness, grows far beyond the edges of the twilight sky. Going back to the lyrics, we can see that “grass” and “misty waves” indicate an autumn atmosphere, whereas “floating clouds” and “dusky light” refer to sunset. In short, this line paints us the scenery of an evening sky in autumn.
If we impose this layer of meaning onto the drama’s storyline, this should tell us WKX’s emotions after he has fallen in love with ZZS (WKX himself has said this): “The setting sun is ceaselessly beautiful; what a pity that it’s too close to dusk.” Although the autumn sunset is beautiful, soon the winter night will settle in, taking away any lingering warmth of the daylight. What WKX means is, his time together with ZZS is beautiful, but once ZZS finds out WKX’s real identity —— the Leader of Ghost Valley —— this happiness will inevitably come to the end, and ZZS might never forgive him.
问何处仙乡 蝴蝶为骨玉为梁
You ask where my hometown is. I come from butterfly bones and virtues of jades
Analysis: “仙乡” xianxiang is the formal way of addressing one’s hometown. This is basically a question to WKX, asking where he comes from. “Butterfly bones” refers to WKX’s mother, while “virtues of jades” refers to WKX’s father.
Summary of Part 5: In the first sentence, WKX likens his time spent by ZZS’s side to the hours before dusk, beautiful but inevitable. ZZS will walk away the moment WKX’s true identity is revealed, abandoning him in the darkness of the cold winter. In the second sentence, WKX reveals his true origin.
[Part 6 - ZZH]
你一肩担不尽万古愁 不如分我几两
Your shoulders couldn’t bear the weight of eternal sorrow. Why not let me carry some
Analysis: Confronted by WKX’s many worries, ZZS hopes that he can open up his heart, ZZS is willing to share his burdens. Selected lines from episode 22: “I am helping you”, “I will come with you to seek revenge from Zhao Jing”, to the persuasion in episode 24, then again in episode 27: “The only way for you to step into Siji Manor today, is over my dead body”, and straight to episode 32: “Save your breaths” —— ZZS has always used actions to tell WKX this.
(President ZZS of the Care For WKX’s Mental Health Association is online)
陪君醉 三万场 从此不言离殇
Thirty thousand drinks, I’d accompany you. From here on, we’d never bid farewell
Meaning: As long as you’re willing to, we could spend our lives drinking all of the good wines in the world together. From here on, we would never part.
Analysis: ZZS is consoling WKX, and at the same time making a promise: “I will never leave, I will gladly accompany you drinking to your heart’s content”. Originating from Su Shi’s To the Tune of “Nan Xiang Zi”: With Yang Yuansu, At My Transference to Mizhou, the full line reads:
Dongwu faces Yuhang, yet (we’re) separated by seas of cloud between the sky’s edges;
When I return in glory, we shall laugh and drink for thirty thousand times.
Summary of Part 6: ZZS shows WKX that he’s there to fight by WKX’s side, to share all of WKX’s burdens, and ZZS vows to never leave him.
(Zhou-ge… Wen-ge just declared his love to you earlier, now you’re also declaring your love… I do not understand…)
[Part 7 is a repeat of Part 2]
[Part 8 - GJ]
无边落木萧萧下 不尽长江滚滚来
Boundless greenery sheds leaves. Unending Yangtze courses through its banks
Meaning: The gentle rustling as the thick, boundless greenery sheds its leaves. The roaring torrent as the Yangtze’s waves crash onto each other.
Analysis: This line comes from Du Fu’s Climbing High, which was also written in the autumn. Both this poem and Waterbag Dance describe an autumn sunset, however its mood completely contrasts Waterbag Dance: the quoted line leans towards the natural observation of which all beings will eventually be replaced by a newer, younger being. Falling leaves evoke melancholic emotions, but it also gives way for the growth of new, young leaves. The sun sets and night befalls, but it also means a new dawn will soon arrive. All objects or beings are no different from the water running through Yangtze river, new waves crashing onto preceding ones with no end in sight. Or like Yang Shen has written:
On and on to the east rolls the Great Yangtze,
Burying in its current hordes of gallant men.
Right or wrong, shame or glory, all comes to naught.
Only the green hills linger, after many a glowing sunset.
White-haired men by the river, mind the seasons not;
All they care is in the bottle, and meeting with old friends.
Stories new and old, come alive in their witty retort.
Both are depicting autumn dusks, both are expressing WKX’s emotions, but the difference is, after being convinced by ZZS, WKX no longer sees autumn as dreary and miserable. With this change of heart and his soulmate’s company, he begins breaking down his own walls to start life anew.
(T/N: the literal title of Yang Shen’s poem is To the Tune of “The Immortals by the River”: Gushing Yangtze River Flows Eastwards, although it seems more commonly referred to by the tune name The Immortals by the River 《临江仙》. English translation by Alice Poon.)
风刀霜剑皆不惧只要你我还在
Fear not the cutting winds or biting frosts, as long as you and I are still here
Meaning: As long as you are by my side and I you, we don’t have to fear any obstacles.
Analysis: “Cutting winds or biting frosts” (lit. winds that cut like a dagger, frosts that strike like a sword) comes from Burying Flower Song, a poem recited in Part 27 of Dream of the Red Mansion: “Three hundreds and sixty days in a year, ravaged by daggers of winds and swords of frost”. In context, this line talks about how a flower is always quashed by cold winds and frosts, which parallels WKX and ZZS facing great dangers everyday. But there is nothing to be afraid of, because “you and I are still here”.
(That’s right… It’s another declaration of love… This time they declare their love to each other…)
(I’m numb.)
[Part 9 - ZZH]
得即高歌失即休 无拘无束亦无碍
Sing aloud for a win, don’t dwell on a loss. A life free of shackles and hindrances
Analysis: “Sing aloud for a win, don’t dwell on a loss” is from Luo Yin’s Self Consolation:
Sing aloud for a win, don’t dwell on a loss
Deep in sorrows and hatred, still take it easy.
Let’s get drunk today while there’s still wine
Tomorrow’s worries can be dealt with tomorrow.
This describes ZZS’s mentality after he has made peace with himself —— liberated, no longer tortured by the past.
但得一知己 慰尽风尘无奈
But to have found a soulmate, is enough to console my helpless sufferings
Analysis: This line originates from Wei Yingwu’s Jian Lu Zhi. The full poem reads:
How pitiful, the Song of White Snow hadn’t found its zhiyin
Troubled by military matters, time slipped by on Huaihai shores.
Streamside trees hold on to morning dews, mountain birds chirp at spring’s remnants
I have a gourd of wine, which is some consolation to all these sufferings.
Wei Yingwu was upset at his own lack of zhiyin, lack of “the one who understands”, so he could only find “consolation to all these sufferings” in wine. In comparison, ZZS is more fortunate, in the sense that he has met his own zhiji, his soulmate, the one who understands him, which is enough of a comfort to all the sufferings he has gone through.
(Plainly speaking, ZZS is just declaring his love, “Only at the point of meeting you who is so perfect, that I can understand, everything I went through was worth it.”)
(Confession, again…)
[Together]
任山高水远 你在我也在
Mountains grow tall, rivers run far. As long as you’re here, so am I
Analysis: “Mountains grow tall, rivers run far” is derived from “mountains grow tall, rivers run long”, conveying longevity and everlastingness. This line refers to WenZhou’s final ending, forever in each other’s company, living on top of Mt. Changming.
Translator’s Notes, Bibliography and Recommended Readings:
Unless cited above, english translations of referenced poems/lines are mine. Most of them are very rough, just to capture the literal meanings. If you spot any mistakes, feel free to reach out to me.
1. Drinking Alone Under the Moonlight - Li Bai
《月下独酌四首》 - 李白
This is a quartet of poems, the cited one is the first of four (其一).
2. The Tomb of Su Xiaoxiao - Li He
《苏小小墓》 - 李贺
Recommended reading: On the auditory depiction of Li He’s “ghostly writing style”, a thesis by Wen Yu.
3. Untitled Twin Poems - Li Shangyin
《无题二首》 - 李商隐
Li Shangyin in fact wrote many untitled poems, and a quick Baidu search shows several results for 无题二首. The referenced set is this one, with translation by Li Zeng, page 211 of this thesis.
4. Anchoring At Guazhou - Wang Anshi
《泊船瓜洲》 - 王安石
Recommended reading: Commentary on Wang Anshi’s Anchoring At Guazhou.
5. To the Tune of “Tian Jing Sha”: Autumn Thoughts - Ma Zhiyuan. Translation by Andrew Wong.
《天净沙 秋思》 - 马致远
Recommended reading: On the visuals and poetic narrative of Autumn Thoughts, How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology, page 334.
6. To the Tune of “Qing Ping Yue”: Sleeping Alone in the Wangs’ Hut under Mt. Bo - Xin Qiji.
《清平乐 独宿博山王氏庵》 - 辛弃疾
7. A Flower In A Sinful Sea - Zeng Pu
《孽海花》 - 曾朴
8. Lang Tao Sha - Liu Yuxi. Translation by Frank C Yue.
《浪淘沙九首》 - 刘禹锡
This is a series of nine poems. The cited line comes from the first of nine (其一). In similar fashion to Tian Jing Sha, because a ci poem is composed to this tune, it’s called a 词牌名 cibaiming.
9. Rising Late: After A Morning’s Slumber - Bai Juyi
《晚起 烂熳朝眠后》 - 白居易
10. Tea After Snow - Lu You
《雪后煎茶》 - 陆游
11. Dream of the Red Mansion - Cao Xueqin
《红楼梦》 - 曹雪芹
From Part 27, Burying Flower Song 《葬花吟》. It’s a very lengthy poem. Here's one fully translated version. I’d recommend the translation by Herbert A. Gilles, published in A History of Chinese Literature as well (ebook, page 365). The english translation of Hong Lou Meng can be found on Project Gutenberg.
12. To the Tune of “Nan Xiang Zi”: With Yang Yuansu, At My Transference to Mizhou - Su Shi
《南乡子 和杨元素，时移守密州》 - 苏轼
Again, Nan Xiang Zi is tune title/cibaiming. Recommended reading: brief line-by-line explanation - Reddit.
13. Waterbag Dance - Fan Zhongyan
《苏幕遮》 - 范仲淹
This poem can also be titled To the Tune of “Su Mu Zhe”: Reminiscence (苏幕遮 怀旧) as Su Mu Zhe is another tune title/cibaiming. Translation by Xu Yuanchong, published in Xu Yuanchong Translates 300 Song Dynasty’s Poems (许渊冲译宋词三百首; ebook)
14. Climbing High - Du Fu. Translation.
《登高》 - 杜甫
15. To the Tune of “The Immortals by the River”: Gushing Yangtze River Flows Eastwards - Yang Shen. Translation by Alice Poon.
《临江仙 滚滚长江东逝水》 or 《临江仙》 - 杨慎
16. Self Consolation - Luo Yin
《自遣》 - 罗隐
17. Jian Lu Zhi - Wei Yingwu
《简卢陟》 - 韦应物
Jian Lu Zhi or Note to Lu Zhi is written by Wei Yingwu to his nephew Lu Zhi. Because I had access to the physical copy of In Such Hard Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu (translated by Red Pine), here is an alternative with much more refined wordings taken from the book:
“You still haven’t met someone who knows
the touching tune White Snow
I worry about you on the march
stumbling along Huaihai shores
streamside trees are clinging to morning rain
wild birds are singing to what is left of spring
I have a gourd of wine so big
it will wash away the dust of the road.”
Due to the lack of subject in the first line, it is unclear if Wei Yingwu was talking about his nephew’s lack of a bosom friend or his own. Despite the english phrasing, Red Pine noted that it could be referring to both. In the last line, “dust of the road” or 风尘 is a metaphorical way of referring to mortal sufferings.
#word of honor#shan he ling#woh#shl#山河令#woh meta#tian ya ke#also tagging this under#chinese poetry#long post#translation#just backing up my tls from bird app but coincidentally today is also the 3rd anniversary of WOH script reading!
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// I'm alive. Just severely depressed. Sorry.
#( meta ↷ out of character. )#I'm almost through ala/n wa/ke 2. And I'm going back through the previous game and stuff#Bc I'm obsessed and def adding muses from it to this blog
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reaver spec my beloved,,,,,,,, they’re warrior blood mages & i will hear no contrary to that, bioware told me themselves
#sigh it Is the dragon lover in me......#but also i think it's absolutely Fascinating to enter a hivemind of reaver- & dragon-kind alike through magiced dragon blood#both my cousland & mage!hawke are reavers 😌#in my da au for her i made bloom a knight enchanter & tho i never got round to picking a spec for alim in prev dai runs#i do intend to have alim specialize as a rift mage; continued conversations w/ solas abt the fade absolutely play into this#(& on a meta level i already gave him the arcane warrior n battle mage specs which ke draws from + looks at walking bomb spells for necro..)#(& hes got the death siphon spell already too so. skjshfg)#like ive said: alim wants to learn Everything of Every field#SHOOT I ALMOST FORGOR i also made bloom a reaver skfjghs#▐█ ▌ ◇ — ( now a warden needs a hat‚ needs a hat‚ needs a hat. )
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Means a disproportionate amount to me that they did this
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as i read faraway wanderers i’m already trying to work out what bits and pieces of novel!canon i prefer to show!canon and vice versa, and i’m reading through @verycharismaticdragon‘s excellent meta posts to build my own opinions upon.
i haven’t finished the novel yet so i haven’t finished my thoughts yet, but as people who saw my post about “soulmates by choice” wenzhou can imagine, i greatly prefer the novel’s complete coincidental meeting of two random people to the show’s “and they were sect-mates” (bad joke ik). i did however read a meta post about wuxia romance tropes in word of honor, and this is one of them, so perhaps it was either a way to make tyk a more traditional wuxia story or one of (many) ways to hint at wenzhou’s romantic relationship despite the censors.
on the other hand, seeing as how i love women... luo fumeng and liu qianqiao own my heart and i love them as characters in the show. luo fumeng is also peak character design with the long nails.
and the third hand that just has “obsessed with xiejie liubo” written on it is gently holding show!xie wang very close to my heart. i’m not far enough in the novel to have met his novel counterpart yet, but i know that his and zh** ji**’s relationship (censored bcs ew) is very very different in the novel and he himself is just a completely different guy.
idk i don’t really have a point i’m making here i just needed to kind of air these thoughts out. this is in part due to the aforementioned wonderful blogger having tags on one of their meta posts that mentioned giving yby a lovely boyfriend and some newfound will to live, and seeing as my url is what it is, it sent me down a spiral of “i think i prefer novel!canon in general but you can pry show!xie wang from my cold dead third hand”
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unfortunately, the scene in the underground cave system of marionette manor was spoiled for me as zhiji-esque moment, due to the way my mind works. sometimes other people’s views overlap my own and it muddles my head. (hope that will relax with time, looking forward to rereading that scene and reacting in my own way to it, no shade intended.) but there so many other moments that had me go “oh! zhiji!”
and like, one of them isnt even really a direct interaction between wenzhou. though they are on-page as wenzhou, they are speaking to someone else in that moment. and its such a quiet, introspective, lowkey moment, but extremely powerful. it encompasses an aha!-moment for zzs that ties into his character resolution, and has wkx as a silent, reliable (mouthy) backup. and the thing about it that had me go “oh! zhiji!” is when i realized that wkx’s way of quiet support is lending zzs a viewpoint he, up to now, hasnt dared to let himself consider. and also, all this time wkx wanted nothing more than for zzs to get his disguise finally off! but when a bunch of righteous sect members accuse zzs of being unfit to be seen, and suggest he sheds his cloths so he can save face, wkx (who wouldnt lose anything if zzs followed the advise) hurls that guy’s words right back at him. zzs hasnt anything he needs to be ashamed of! the thing is, im certain wkx would react a little differently if the accusation was directed at him. i dont think he would give in, but im fairly certain he wouldnt completely block these accusations off and bounce them right back, cut the idea at the root. he is shielding zzs in that moment, because he knows zzs has a thin face re: being perceived. he knows zzs doesnt want for anyone to see his nails. he knows zzs values his privacy. and he doesnt think zzs has anything to be ashamed of. thats his personal opinion, thats the principle he lives by; why should there be anything unfit to be seen on you, just because you arent a righteous sect member, just because you arent going along with the crowd? wkx has no problem at all following this. and it is in accordance with zzs’s own nature, too. but zzs has lived way too long twisting himself into shapes that dont really fit him, he is all twisted up now. wkx, though he cant know the details, somehow senses this. by speaking up for zzs in that moment, he is protecting and shielding him, and it gives him an out. because it directly precedes zzs’s massive aha!-moment.
like. they arent even speaking to each other, they are speaking to someone else, and they have never really talked about this. but, somehow, they are in such harmony.
#so i didnt cross-check the scene before writing this post#if i misremembered anything yell at me in the notes.#tyk wenzhou meta#tian ya ke#tian ya ke my beloved
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