#that yes he does have the ability to be good to be like yin
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what did cassie get wrong w Jem iyo? like to me he’s very proud and stubborn in an Asian way (it’s hard to explain but there’s something very chinese about it, culturally, how he’s optimistic and dramatic in equal parts but needs to be seen as separate from his illness so badly) and very conscious of the value of life yet resigned to his own fate yet holding his head up the way people in inspiration porn do (but it’s from a place of wanting to be normal, wanting to fit in and live and have meaning and love and responsibility in his life like a teenager). I’m curious though how could his character have popped more? and what does not seem realistic?? actual so curious
Okay love, bear with me, I'm just going to go on a bit of a ramble. I haven't put a lot of thought into my answer so it may be a bit incoherent.
So, as context for anyone else, I mentioned in another post where I was examining chronic pain and illness in fiction using TSC characters that I felt that while Jem was done quite well (he means a lot to me as a character and I relate to him like I haven't been able to with other characters before), there were some missed opportunities for his character to really pop and some things I felt Cassie didn't really do realistically.
Honestly, I think the two kind of tie together. While my illness is not terminal, there were many times I either wished for death or wished to live a fuller life unhampered by the pain and sickness. This still happens sometimes, but more of the latter. It's hard to look at healthy, able-bodied people. I marvel at just... how much easier existence must be for them. And I wish we saw more of this perspective with Jem.
While we do see him having a crisis over feeling like he's only half-living, half a man, and so he must take more yin-fen to be his full self for Tessa (this really hit hard as someone who was on steroids and felt unshackled for the first time in years, only for the pain to come back again and trip me up again sometime after I had stopped taking the meds), I also feel that we didn't quite reach a catharsis or angst that truly would have rounded his experience as a character. Optimism, pride, stubbornness, and his own subtler dramatics all do come into this, but I really would have liked to see a moment of weakness.
I think that night when he first kisses Tessa and is ranting about how she acts like a nurse and as if he is her patient, that he knows she cannot even see him as a full man, one who might desire her -- that was good. That was a moment of weakness. Emphasised when he sent her away because he did not want her to see him on his knees dusting up the drugs that give him life. That was so frickin' YES. I cannot even tell you the amount of times I feared as a teenager and even now into adulthood that I will not be seen romantically because I am just someone to take care of, a liability, and I try so hard to compensate for that to not be a burden, because I need to be seen as a "full person" to anyone able-bodied. This was just chef's kiss fantastic as a demonstration of something Cassie did so, so right to me with Jem. It's a common insecurity but not to be overlooked. For Jem it is his weakness and shorter life span, for me it's physical disfigurement (so far it's just one funky collarbone) that may worsen with age and limited physical ability (I say it so many times, but it really haunts me that I turned down a dance offered by a guy I had a major crush on because I was in too much pain to move much let alone dance, and the fact that many people avoided me when I was in my worst bouts of pain because they didn't know what to do).
Anyway, that was an example of something Cassie did right. What I would have also liked to see though is a moment where Jem is not calm and it has nothing to do with Tessa (well, it's at least not centred around Tessa). For a long time, I just wanted the pain to end. I had made peace with death because I wished for it. And there was a calmness to it. The same everyone sees in Jem. Acceptance. He argues not willingness because he fights for every second of life he gets to spend with those he loves, but I really think what would have popped is seeing him realise how much he wants for there to be a cure. He does give everyone permission to look before he calls it off to take the last resort option he never wanted before to be a Silent Brother, but I wanted to see him break down -- even if it's in private because most of our battles are when you're chronically ill -- and realise he wants to live because there is so much more he wants.
I know it's seen as very cool to accept a death that's coming to you in a lot of media, but honestly once I got past wishing for it, I became so absolutely terrified of it. The idea of losing control over my body, of my joints being too stiff and painful to create or do simple tasks, and the idea of any of my chronic illnesses being severe enough to become what might kill me in the end, before my time, scares me so much. There is a frantic need in me to do and see everything before I am unable to. I feel like I am constantly in a rush for everything in life.
It's basically rule of thumb in writing that a character who is calm needs a scene where they are not calm, when they snap, when the unthinkable happens, where the unshakeable are suddenly shook, and I needed that deep, deep terror in Jem to be about him, and not just Tessa or the people he's leaving behind that he does not want to cause grief for.
Not every person who can "put up" with their chronic illness is a saint with infinite patience. I see this a lot. To me it feels unrealistic that Jem feels okay about his illness, about his impending death, about all of it, that the only thing he might feel bad about is making his bride a widow too soon and leaving his best friend who might not cope without him. This is more of a typical trope in media, and by god do I just want to see someone else who isn't me go through what I do and also scream and cry at the injustice of it all. We didn't choose this life, it was given to us, and it feels so unfair. It is rare that I ever break down right in front of a person, I've gotten good at the detachment when talking about my chronic illnesses, but in private it is a whole other monster.
Not only that, but the Jem we see post-Brotherhood is so... different. Granted he had over 100 years to come to terms with no longer dying too early or being ill and weak. But chronic illness really takes its toll on a person. You don't have to make their whole personality their illness, I think we'd all rather not, but there is a fear that every little health problem might be something worse, there is even a begrudgement of those who take their bodies for granted, the fear that your children might inherit your weaknesses and that maybe you have sentenced them to a life of pain like yours was/is, that one day the chronic illness will come back and you've only got so many healthy years left before you get old and start to lose your body all over again.
For every moment of optimism and hope, there are hidden moments of despair and fight and pain. Sometimes we have to claw and bleed for that ounce of hope, for the strength to act "normal" and fit in and not be a downer around everyone else. As restless as you can be, sometimes you just want to sleep it off, even though you know this illness isn't something you can sleep off. I would have liked to see more of that with Jem.
Again, what Cassie did was really good, and I appreciate Jem so much since I have not seen many other chronically ill characters who I relate to in fiction. I just felt some things could have added to his story and character.
#that got so seriously rambly I barely knew what I was saying half the time#anyway I finally answered so sorry for the wait#jem carstairs#chronic illness#chronic pain
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Elsie rant
so this is my Elsie rant, I really wanted to talk about multiple things to really get the rant in, so I will be talking about lancia heartstrings and birdhouse
First up lancia, so I saw stars rant about lancia already, about how icia sees him as a king and how she thinks lance sees her as his queen, I'm just going to say lance dosent quite see her as an equal and that's because of her previous status, because she's stronger then him physically and had a higher social status then him, he also saw icia as a step above him, he trusts her of course, but he trusts her with the things that he can't do, and the things he can't do are supposed to be things that he can do ect getting into the stereotypical gender roles, he also saw icia as someone better then him because we all know he used to know his past before the circus, and it was either bad enough where he wanted to get away or he wanted to run from problems he created, he saw her as someone better because she didn't have to run from problems she created, he did, and needles to say he felt terrible about it. After Raina was deleted with those memories was the point in time where he started seeing her as more of an equal, where he started to understand that everyone has things that they're good at and every relationship is a yin yang of what one can do for the other
Tldr: lance saw icia as someone above him aswell because of her abilities and his cowardness
Heartstrings: I have no clue what to write here, it's very clear that Jessy sees dusk as an equal that was said to her day 1 so that's not news, I feel like I've definitely fleshed out Jessy alot since I first introduced him and that shows alot aswell. His whole mindset is around "inertia" the concept of "everything will keep moving and you can't really stop it so you gotta keep moving with it" and that has kept him sane for a long time clearly, he does want to go home back to the real world of course but he has already accepted that that won't happen and it's not the end of the world
Birdhouse: THESE TWO ARE SO FUCKING CUTE, I have no idea how else to put it. Clara, a person of a really harsh abusive toxic past and chip with no past at all, I honestly have no idea the thought process behind this, but if I had to guess is would have been dusk seeing that clara was trying to help mix, her friend, and knew she needed help but couldn't help herself, I could be 100% wrong idk but that's what I think. I honestly didn't expect child out of this but I am so happy we got child out of this, chip is 100% the reason why clara embraced themselves, if chip never ran off into that train station that would have never happened I don't think. Also I really like throwing in the detail that they're colorblind, like completely colorblind no color whatsoever, I did use Google and this is a things that can happen but it causes sensitivity to light and I think partial blindness, but this is a digital world not the real one. (yes I did just pull the "cartoon logic" card) they have never seen color in their lives, and that would make for a very cute moment (and yes that random ask for Clara's favorite color was a random color, it's a color they hear alot associated with them so that's what they choose, it's also the color described for chip)
@the-moth-from-elsewhere
@iciatheguardess
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someone stop me from writing an essay about the themes of LOCH being commonly misunderstood by later works.
okay I guess I get frustrated sometimes because adaptations and also later wuxia goes "well it's okay to want to rule the world and or be the greatest martial arts ever if you're pure of heart!" "possessing the macguffin that ruins lives won't ruin YOUR life if only you were a good enough person!!!" which. explicitly not what LOCH is about.
Like, one of the MAJOR introducing elements of the 9 yin manual is "it's a doomed book because human nature such that it is will never allow something so powerful to exist peacefully in the world! and that's why everyone who comes into contact with it either dies or suffers immense tragedy explicitly because of the book, and like, this is not just.... a... it's not just a "oh that's neat" that's a thing that happens in the plot of the book. Everyone who gets near it or hears it or touches it....dies.
For example: at the first tournament at mt hua, Wang Chongyang beats everyone else there, becomes "the strongest in the world" takes the book and doesn't look at it. He's dead within the next five years, and someone (Ouyang Feng, dw we come back to him) tries to grave rob his casket for the book.
Book then passes to Zhou Botong, Wang Chongyang's younger sworn brother, who is tasked with hiding it. On his way to hiding the book he runs into Huang Yaoshi and Huang Yaoshi's wife, Feng Heng, who are newly married and in love. HYS wants the book, so he and Feng Heng concoct a scheme to get it, tricking ZBT. HYS gets his hands on the second volume of the 9 yin manual, and within the next two years or less: 1) two of his students steal his version of the manual, betray him, and run away 2) his wife, trying to cheer him up, tries to recopy the book and dies of fatigue and exhaustion post the birth of their daughter, Huang Rong. ZBT, meanwhile, because of the book comes back to Peach Blossom Island and gets imprisoned there for the next 15 years by the angry HYS.
Mei Chaofeng and Cheng Xuanfeng, because of stealing the book and running away from Peach Blossom Island, are persecuted by the Jianghu until they make it to Mongolia where MCF is blinded and her husband CXF is killed by the six year old Guo Jing in what can only be surmised as a....weird skill issue accident. Now, MCF carries the book with her for the next ~12 years, until y'know, plot keeps happening and people keep attacking her for the book.
Her copy of the book ends up accidentally with Guo Jing, who, right after learning it gets Suicide Boated by HYS who is also now his father in law. Also on the Suicide Boat are ZBT and Hong Qigong who were only tangentially involved with the book.
Ouyang Feng (told you we'd get back to him), wants the book and uh. lets just say he loses his nephew, gets nearly drowned several times for multiple days in the ocean, and then finally loses his mind. Which, turns him from a nobleman and a respected grandmaster to a crazy person for several decades.
Oh, and as for Guo Jing who is pure of heart and a good person and learned the martial arts in the book? Yeah his reward for having the abilities he does is...defending Xiangyang for the rest of his life. The next like three decades. Yes. He dies there. With the love of his life, 4/5 of their children, their grandchildren, and his teacher.
I don't know about you but that's not a reward that's a curse on his entire family lmao.
#I just. perpetually chewing over how anyone got the idea that#if you're pure of heart the curse will skip you#arguably#the curse did not skip Guo Jing so much as kill his entire family#yes that was a choice he made#but it was a choice he made with the understanding that he had the ability to do something and so therefore he felt morally obligated#Jin Yong is really fond of macguffins that kill people not because they're horcrux beacons of innate evil#but because the concept of power and the lure of it corrupts you!#and if it doesn't corrupt you it manages to hurt you in different ways#yes even if you're the protagonist#like the entire Guo family except for Guo Xiang dies in Xiangyang when the city falls to the mongolian army invasion#I cannot tell you how tragic that ultimately is#legend of the condor heroes#my meta#meta
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Hi! It's me again lol.
I can wanna show you my old concept idea backstory my lmk oc Ren if you remember her, my mind can't really decide whether I should bring it back or make a new one from scratch, or either combine them making something.. Something.
Old concept:
•Ren wasn't originally a shape-shifter demon, instead a created child of LBD, basically a puppet. Imagine Genshin impact where Ei creates sacaramouche. their species is the same as her mother.
•Ren has a negative relationship towards LBD, make sense because LBD is quite obsessed making the world perfect and as any means using your child like a weapon doesn't make their relationship look healthy at all.
•She wasn't supposed to be a girl but a boy. However they still go by the pronouns of he/They.
• Ren's original name is Xuefei but since I dont know any Chinese name and I am outright scared I might anger lietrally anyone here, so I scrapped it..
•Personality? I kinda base him as the opposite as Mk since his supposed to be the one will directly find a way to kill Mk. (Ho boy my old oc seems so brutal-)
•Speaking of Opposites, there's an confusing idea I did where Fei (That's I'll be calling him now. Aka the old Ren.) Is related to Mk, dunno what old me was thinking but I am recalling because LBD founded some strands of Mk and just did random magic and le behold my oc began existing.
•after Fei left from LBD cruel treatment towards him, I felt this is lazy so his backstory is inspired by Wanderer from genshin impact.. I have nothing to say other than I don't like this concept very much.. Well half of it.
Current Concept: (It's still in draft)
•I scraped everything about Ruifei and changed them entirely to what they are in present. Ren remains a villian but I guess chaotic neutral.
•Ren's personality is now based on Rocky from Lackadaisy and Double Trouble from She-ra. Trouble maker but less reckless unlike Rocky.. (*cough* I may not have too included Furina form GI, yk being flamboyant and overconfident-)
•Again Ren is a shape-shifter demon, with having ability to create illusions and mind controlling. Although they can't fully do mind controlling very much.
•Ren's used to be a human her former name was Genji Hua, she lives in a poor family and not so good village. Due to a plague happening she died and became a ghost/spirit wandering the world centuries.
•In short she wasn't able to go to celestial, and uh may have strike a deal with LBD wanting to be alive just so she could see her family again.
•I have another confusing concept where Ren aka Genji is LBD's puppet who ran away, eventually becoming a shape-shifter demon. And yes they have fully white hair in her true form hence why she activate a glamour.
•Yin and Jin does not know the whole preordeal of Ren between LBD only Ren's fear of coldness, I forgot to mention but their scared of coldness due to being trapped In LBD's prescene there stuck somewhere a room that's ridiculously cold, being stucked too with blue strings attached their bodies.
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Thats all you can comment a feedback what you think, take your time though for answering this.
Have a good day/Night ^^
first off, im really thankful that ur comfortable telling me this!
I say, since both of these concepts are pretty well made, to mix up certain ones together.
For example, keep that Ren/Genji made a deal with the LBD to be human again, but keep her still young so when her family dies, LBD becomes a mother figure and turns Ren into a weapon.
To put it in short: take the best parts you like of each concept, and put them together!
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Hey! I really enjoyed reading your analyses of the Naruto series, so I was wondering this: how would you compare Izuna's personality to Madara's? Were they both naturally conservative people? Did they both seem reserved? Also, how did their innate confidence in their decisions seem?
This took me by surprise! I’m super happy to hear that my analyses are enjoyable to read, anon :)
Your question is definitely a very fascinating one, if a bit tricky to answer as Izuna is on the mercy of interpretations. But I will do my best to answer your question, even if it will be more of a subjective answer rather than objective.
Let’s see…comparing their personalities is not that easy, but if I were to make a quick list of traits (that we do know whether stated or implied) it ends up looking like this:
Madara: charismatic, expressive (as a child), idealistic, perfectionist, prone to self-doubt, very focused on his goals (keeping Izuna safe as a child/youth and his Eye of The Moon plan as an old man), arrogant
Izuna: harmonious and devoted (databook), calm and focused (child during the river confrontation), admires his brother, arrogant (Pitying those without the Sharingan), prideful/distrustful (goes willingly to his grave rather than accepting Hashirama’s offer of peace)
And now to answer your first question in depth.
I tend to see Izuna as someone who is similar to Madara in certain aspects (both are proud of their abilities and talents as natural prodigies, arrogant and perfectionists), but Izuna has certain traits that balance out Madara’s more emotional, impulsive nature.
Short answer: Madara and Izuna are Yin and Yang to one another in my eyes.
Long answer: According to the databook, Izuna is described as a harmonious and devoted person. We never got to see these traits in Hashirama’s memory (the devoted part is implied in the act of Izuna giving Madara his eyes to keep their clan safe) but the harmonious part feels even a touch ironic considering the fact that they are at war with the Senju/other clans, but then again, as humans we are neither entirely good nor entirely evil. We are a mixture of many different traits that depend on context and who is part of that context. If only we had gotten Madara’s perspective…
Madara is a rather calm individual, but a part of that goes out of the window the moment he is allowed to fight someone powerful and capable, I picture Izuna as someone who is stoic - partly to compensate for Madara’s more temperamental nature - but that calm nature of his also anchors Madara in general.
In my head Izuna is the voice of reason (whether good or bad) but he is also surprisingly affectionate and cares deeply for his brother and clan.
Hmm…whether they were naturally conservative individuals? My first response would be to say yes. But that is mostly because of the era they grew up in. Izuna is the more conservative of the two. Madara showcased a strong desire for change as a child (although he was not entirely sure how to bring about that change at the time), and while it easy to say that Izuna is conservative on one hand, on the other hand I picture him as someone who wants the fighting to end (like many I imagine), but who knows nothing else and therefore he cannot really picture a solution the same way Madara does (thanks to Hashirama to be fair). That is not to say that he did not have ideas, but living in an era of war cannot be easy.
If they both seemed reserved enters pure headcanon territory. Whenever I write Izuna and/or Madara I tend to write them as guarded, reserved and cold to people around them (whether AUs or canonverse) due to trust issues and other factors, but they are extremely loving and affectionate towards one another in private.
Their innate confidence in their abilities…let’s see…While Madara is expressive as a child, he is guarded (and considering the era they lived in it’s understandable) and seems to be prone to blaming himself for failure (being unable to keep his other three siblings safe, as well as failing Izuna later in life).
The decisions that involved Izuna (the river confrontation and the moment Izuna is mortally wounded) are decisions that Madara makes without hesitation; he chooses Izuna over his desire for peace/change both times (river and battlefield where Izuna is wounded). After Izuna’s passing Madara seemed forlorn and not quite so sure about…anything really. He did not see himself fit as Hokage, he probably tried to do his part for Konoha but Hashirama and Tobirama made it not so easy for him to have any influence. It is safe to say that Izuna probably was someone capable of reaching Madara when he was stuck in self-blame or decision paralysis.
I mentioned that Izuna reads as someone prideful, and that pride of his is most clearly seen when he goes willingly to his grave rather than accepting Hashirama’s offer of peace. It takes courage to remain that loyal to yourself, and after they escaped the battlefield, Izuna (probably) had to convince Madara to take his eyes.
Honestly I cannot see someone more confident than that.
I hope I answered your question in a way that was satisfactory, anon. It was fun and I thank you once more for the ask :)
Feel free to ask more questions if you like.
All the best and take care o/
#madara uchiha#izuna uchiha#anon ask#thoughts ahead#a bit of a mess#2am here#had a lot of fun answering this though#:)
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Villains like Juri from Street Fighter and Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender are good examples of villains whose concept is about how being evil and selfish sucks. That is my own simplified way of saying that even with the terrible stuff that happened to them, with Juri getting her eye ripped out my M. Bison after her parents got murdered by him (hence why she’s nicknamed the “Evil Chun-Li”) and Azula being the 14 year old daughter of a tyrant who also abused her, manipulated her, and put a ton of pressure on her, they are still evil people.
Juri has similarities to Chun-Li and the entire point of Juri is that she is the Yin to Chun-Li’s Yang. The Moon to Chun-Li’s Sun. The red to Chun-Li’s blue, you get the idea. Juri could’ve been like Chun-Li and used her ability of Taekwondo to help people, but she chose to be selfish and only do things that benefit her. For example, her kidnapping Bosch for money in SF6’s world tour story.
Azula is also the Yin to Zuko’s Yang. Both abused by their own father Firelord Ozai, both have had pressure put on them, and both have been manipulated by their father. It really does suck for both of them. BUT, and you NEED to pay close attention to my wording here, so none of that “I ain’t reading all that” and assuming I’m being “sexist” here. Zuko CHOSE to turn his back on his father and decided to listen to his heart, mind and his Uncle Iroh and join the good guys side. Zuko CHOSE to defy his father despite what happened to him last time. Zuko CHOSE to make amends with Iroh and gave him a heartfelt apology.
Azula CHOSE to continue the cycle of tyranny. She SMILED happily when Zuko got his face burned by Ozai. She ruthlessly chased Team Avatar to the point where they all couldn’t even afford to fall asleep, again, with a sadistic smile on her face. She played mind games with Sokka by dangling his girlfriend Suki’s imprisonment above his head. She tried to kill her own brother. She tried to kill Katarra KNOWING that Zuko would try to save Katarra from her lightning.
You have every right to feel for these characters. I felt the most sad about Azula since she is significantly younger than Juri when we see the events of the series play out. And this is yet another BUT, because these two still did evil and selfish actions which has done a lot of damage. I mean, guess who’s the reason why Chun-Li retired from being a cop?
Now. Don’t get this twisted. I love both Juri and Azula as characters. They are my favorite female villains from both animation and video games respectively. I just wish that most people realize that just because bad stuff happens to a villain, doesn’t mean that they are labeled as sympathetic. Juri and Azula both did things that are so unforgivable, it doesn’t make them sympathetic.
This also applies to Albert Wesker and Reboot Vergil as well. Wesker did get abused as a child yes, but he could’ve chosen to do good in Resident Evil, but instead chose to continuously backstab, experiment on people, kill a bunch of people, and attempted genocide starting from wiping out an African and a tribe. Reboot Vergil could’ve went down the same path as Reboot Dante after taking out Mundus who killed their mother and imprisoned their father but instead chose to try and rule humanity and acted like Homelander, and I think Reboot Vergil would be an even worse ruler than Mundus with how much of a black hearted psychopath he is after Vergil’s Downfall.
When we really think about it, bad people have been raised by bad people. Such as most serial killers where we hear about their horrific childhoods. By the end of the day, they are still serial killers. Dictators like Ivan the Terrible also had crappy childhoods and were abused, but they are still dictators.
Another form of reality affecting fiction.
TL:DR: Not all villains with a sad backstory or have been mistreated, abused, manipulated, etc. are going to be sympathetic and redeemable like Prince Zuko or Trish (Devil May Cry).
Edit: Another example I forgot to include is Ruvik from The Evil Within. Dude got turned into KFC by a green eyed mob, lost his sister in the fire, abused by his father, and thrown into a machine that started everything in the events of the game. While I felt bad for him, he still chose to be a serial killer and did unethical experiments that would make Albert Wesker blush, and he has a sadistic streak to him.
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🎧 ⭐ 💣 for cory and caleb :)
🎧 - what are their favorite music genres?
Caleb loves all kinds of rock/alternative music - you can really tell his mood based upon what kind of rock he's listening to! He'll listen to anything from "dad rock" like Journey/Styx/Guns N Roses to Linkin Park and Green Day to the Smiths to Arctic Monkeys to Hozier and so on. He also secretly loves "pop music that might make you cry" lol like Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Adele, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo... he'd never admit that though!
Cory actually doesn't listen to a lot of music - he finds it distracting and noisy in most situations. He's the kind of person that would much rather listen to a sports game on the radio or a podcast/audiobook. Even when he works out he doesn't listen to music really!
⭐ - what's their star sign? does it fit their personality?
They were born on June 16th, so that makes them both Geminis! I do think this fits their personalities for completely different reasons if that makes sense. Caleb and Cory are like opposite sides of the same coin, or like yin and yang. They both have a little bit of the good and bad traits commonly associated with Geminis, but hardly have anything in common. It's also kind of ironic that they're twins and (I'm pretty sure) the symbol is twins lol.
💣 - are they a destructive person? if yes, in which way? at which level?
Oh I'm so glad you asked this question!!!!!
Caleb - He is far more destructive and emotional than Cory. Caleb has always been very reactive and hard on himself, and he's a sensitive person. Seeing injustice pisses him off and he can react rather impulsively at times which can get him in trouble. He loves deeply, feels deeply, and he walks around constantly worrying about all the world's troubles... this is a heavy weight on him if he bottles everything up for too long. He is mostly destructive toward himself, and if we're talking a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being not destructive at all to 5 being extremely destructive... he's hit that 5 before. But at his best honestly he is a 1, maybe a 2 on really bad days! He's actually so gentle and loving by default, and has dealt with a lot of hardship at the same time.
Cory - Cory is a pragmatic and logical person. His approach to conflict can be externally destructive because he is prone to being insensitive, snide, or unintentionally dismissive to emotional people (obviously this causes a lot of tension with his brother). At his worst and most stressed, he's only ever maybe been a 3 on the destructive scale, and by destructive I mean toward his relationships with others, not himself. He has been known to shut people out in stress or just out of anger, and in doing so he has lost people he cares about. He just isn't good at being vulnerable or talking about his feelings, and he'd rather just deal with an issue and move on. If something is too heavy, he'll sincerely avoid it to the best of his ability. But he does feel guilt when he hurts someone or cuts someone out... but he's the kind of person that would say "What's done is done" and he would move on, not allowing himself to really grieve the loss :/
Ask prompt here!
#woah this is a lot haha!#thank you so much for the ask! <3#*thecarters#*carters#*carterlegacy#oc ask#ask game#caleb carter#cory carter
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Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
Read time: 4 Days
Rating: 4/5
The quote: "I'm afraid my brother wants to see the stars, not be one." — Valora Luck
Well, I'm not okay... That ending is so beautifully painful. And really not what I expected coming into this. Yes Luck of the Titanic is set on the Titanic and you expect death, you know the framing of what is coming to come to a degree. But the surprise is more what role are your protagonists and their allies going to play in the sinking, what are their social statuses what is their best level likelihood of survival and how much ingenuity is going to be needed to improve their odds.
Leaving the plot alone in this review as I usually do, you can find that in other reviews, characters are my drawcard so my reviews focus on that. From a very early point, I referred to half Chinese half British protagonist, Valora 'Val' Luck as ingenious but almost desperate that part of my opinion of her didn't really change. But she has managed to absorb parts of both of her parent's skills sets, as well as those of her recently deceased employer. She uses them all well and her upbringing and employment mean that her ability to pass both as the 'Merry Widow' and in Third Class is logical. She blends with both, can socialise with both but does expect some loyalty (which she does get from the other women in the book Charlotte and April). Overall I did end up really liking Val. She is my kind of female character taking risks to go after whats she wants, taking s*** from no man and willing to love.
I will mention Val's love, Bo, first before Jamie. Bo, Chow Bo Wah, his Jamie's best friend and one of the few people that know about Val before she arrived on the Titanic. Bo is about the same age as the twins and is all but warned off Val by Jamie when they meet not for her good for his. Bo is burdened by a lot of pain after he lost his brother in a fight, the beautiful ring he wears was made by him for his brother An. The chemistry between Bo and Val is instant but they are in an awkward situation with them both wanting different things Jamie, what they think is best. I like this relationship though it's so sweet. As are their nicknames for each other 'Stowaway' and 'Wagtail', it also involves one of the cutest love tokens I've seen in historical fiction in a while. 17-year-old Jamie 'Valor' Luck is Val's twin. Jamie's nickname from his crew is Little Captain. They will follow him like he is their captain, helped them learn English and keeps them all together like a little family. He disliked the acrobatic work that Val and he did as kids, he's happy working on the ship and enjoys the freedom, the stargazing. He's a brilliant contrast to Val. I like his growth and the life lessons he learns, the way the events of this books shapes his future.
Jamie's crew is a mix of sweet, cute and understandably grouchy. All of the crew have their pair, their best friend that they are almost always with Olly and Wink are never far apart and roomed with Jamie and Bo who protect them as need be. Olly and Wink are just so adorable, not much more than kids they would basically follow Val anywhere. My favourite was Drummer, we find out so little about him. I like his restless energy and caring heart. I particularly like the line "Little sister, there is much sorrow in your face", at that point there was and he know exactly how to help her. All of them have their stories. One of the best characters for me is the American Miss April Hart, couture designer ballsy as hell and something of a saviour for Val. April spends most of the book in men's suits, we find out towards the end that she is LGBTQ+. I just really like her and her attitude.
A quick comment dump
Timing is everything in this book. Something big happens as the ship hits the iceberg.
The whole book is set over the 5 days the Titanic sailed. April 10 1-83, April 11 p84-143, April 12 p143-218, April 13 p219-246, April 14 247-293, April 15 p294-359 and an epilogue.
"Dragon and phoenix twins are yin and yang opposites that usually create harmony together. But when we disagree, we won't usually stand down, especially the more masculine 'yang' dragon, which in our case has always been me" — (Val, p48) The dragon and phoenix thing is hugely important to the book and to the Chinese culture, I think. Val is willing to stand her ground and more than once it gets them in trouble because they both rise to anger, Jamie in her defence.
This is one of those fantastic books where the discriminated-against group own the slur. There is nothing quite like it.
"Taking risks gives fashion its passion." — (April, p132) I adore April and her fashion analogies and quotes.
"If you always give, you will always have." — (Tao, p195) This is a saying not a quote but I really do like it.
Bo, Val and Jamie's complex relationship is done justice. It's best friends sister but not.
""See that circle? The bigger fish create a whirlpool, helping to stir up the smaller fish. Makes them easier to catch. We call it that a kiss from Tin Hau, the goddess of shipwrecks and sailors. It means good luck is on the way. Maybe for you." [...] "Tin Hau is generous but quick to anger. Some believed she sent the monsoon to destroy our village because we had taken too much from the sea."" — (Bo, p242) My mythology loving self really liked this it fits in perfectly. Val regularly pays respects to her parents, she practices Chinese traditions, Bo has proved by this point he does too. Winding a goddess in there was a fantastic choice and Tin Hau (Mazu in Mandarin) was the right fit. Her demeanour feels like it fits Val's a little too, I don't think that is a coincidence. That said this moment is also kinda heartbreaking once you look back at it. Oh and this says a lot about the ties that bind on the ocean.
"a woman with the punched-in face of a bulldog." — (Val, p314) I think this is one of the iconic women from the Titanic. A brutally American woman who alienated most of the first class.
There are some wonderful descriptions in this book, from colour to clothes to acrobatic acts. The description is an important part of the story in a way.
A personal issue I had with it. The writing took a while to get into its stride. Almost like it took a while for Val to find her voice, or maybe it took me a while took to understand and appreciate her voice. Val is frank and bold as a young woman, forward and borderline bossy, especially to her brother and his crew that is reflected in her manner of speech. For me, this book will likely end up being unmemorable. But it is a great execution of a fantastic idea. Drawing attention to a little thought of a group of people from the Titanic and provoking thoughts of social status and racism. If I do remember Luck of the Titanic it will likely be for the devastating ending. That said recent books I've thought would be unmemorable haven't been. So we'll see. I do recommend it though I did find it to be an enjoyable read.
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This has been on my mind for a bit but... and I have no idea if people have pointed it out. Colors play a role here. This is not a shipping post.
Mori and Fukuzawa
Dazai and Chuuya
Atsushi and Akutagawa
These three pairs parallel each other. No?
Okay, wait, let me ?briefly? explain.
Mori and Fukuzawa
They're the first, they became partners, or kind of I guess, because of Natsume. He saw potential on the pair being together and he was not wrong since, from a flashback, they were a good pair.
Their colors are red and blue. Mori is red, Fukuzawa is blue.
Dazai and Chuuya
Second pair which goes by the name Soukoku or Double Black. They were paired because of Mori thinking that they can make something good together.
Their colors are also red and blue. Dazai is blue, Chuuya is red.
Atsushi and Akutagawa
Third pair, most likely the last except if we see either Akutagawa or Atsushi pick their next generation kind of thing. They got paired by Dazai because of plans that needed them both.
If you can't guess, their colors are red and blue. Akutagawa is red, Atsushi is blue.
Except of their colors, something just feels parallel with them. Okay, let's say this.
In season 3, episode 11 (idk manga chapter), Mori's fight with Fukuzawa, although it felt like it's own thing that has nothing to do with the other pairs, it somehow reminded me of them, mostly Dazai and Chuuya because they were/are closer than Atsushi and Akutagawa are.
Imagine this, Dazai was Mori, Chuuya was Fukuzawa. Does this go against their colors? Yes. But, imagine that placing because reality is, just like Mori, Dazai knows he wouldn't win against Chuuya. Chuuya doesn't need to use an ability, he knows how to fight and that was proven in the dungeon. And since I said dungeon, take that scene. Chuuya could have killed Dazai, but didn't because Dazai backed him up into a corner. That same method of talking before you die, distracting or manipulating your enemy and then gaining the upper hand is what Mori used too. Do you see it? (I also didn't do a mistake with the colors, it's to show the role change.)
But the thing about the pairs is that they differ from each other.
Let me list them:
Fukuzawa's and Mori's abilities don't compliment each other. Mori was most likely to use a scalpel to kill his enemies than his ability. While Dazai/Chuuya's and Atsushi/Akutagawa's abilities do.
Atsushi and Akutagawa don't trust each other at the beginning, even as we continue with the story, they don't trust each other quickly. Of course, they show they trust each other at a certain chapter later on. While Dazai/Chuuya and Mori/Fukuzawa show to trust each other from the start, maybe Fukuzawa had doubts but all of them did.
Dazai and Chuuya started from the same path. Of course Chuuya was with the Sheep when he met Dazai but he very quickly becomes part of the Port Mafia. While Atsushi/Akutagawa and Mori/Fukuzawa were/are never in the same organization.
Mori would never risk or die for Fukuzawa, rather he would kill him if that's what was needed. Chuuya would risk his life for Dazai. Akutagawa died for Atsushi.
This one is stupid but... Fukuzawa and Mori are not called a particular way. While Dazai/Chuuya have Soukoku (double black) and Akutagawa/Atsushi have Shin Soukoku (new double black). -learned that Fukuzawa/Mori do have a name which is Zenki Soukoku but I will not edit this out bc it's 5 on 5 and I'm a weirdo.-
What about similar things? Let's list those:
Created by a third party. Natsume made Fukuzawa/Mori. Mori created Dazai/Chuuya. Dazai created Akutagawa/Atsushi.
The colors. Red and Blue.
Yin and Yang. More apparent with Akutagawa and Atsushi, even in the hair. While Chuuya and Dazai have a more soulmate feel to them. Still Ying and Yang.
Their love/hate relationship. More apparent with Dazai and Chuuya.
This attacks point number 3 in the previous list but, different paths, at least in the present.
This was not a BRIEF explanation. Oh well. I didn't expect to play so much with color either but here I am. Will anyone read this? No. It's too long but it might grab someone's attention. Has anyone pointed this out? Probably. But I promise I didn't see it from somewhere, it was shower thoughts. 😂 My thoughts about this are a bit all over the place but whatever.
Whoever read this. Legend. I thank you for reading my rambling.
Goodbye!
#bsd#bungou stray dogs#possible spoilers#bsd characters#bsd dazai#bsd chuuya#bsd fukuzawa#bsd mori#bsd atsushi#bsd aktugawa#bsd double black#bsd soukoku#bsd shin soukoku#parallels#red and blue#soukuko#shin soukoku#color play#feel free to ignore#ignore me#ok bye
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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 26, part two
(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)
Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!
Content note: This episode has a lot of lightning, but this post does not have lightning flashes--I’m using mostly stills for those parts, or I’ve snipped out the unfriendly frames before giffing.
Qing-Jie
Having successfully ruined Jin Guangshan’s party plan to get the Yin Tiger seal, Wei Wuxian dashes off to tell Wen Qing where her brother is. She hops up to hit the road with him, but then sorta-faints because she’s starving. In a rare moment of tenderness between these two, he catches her and gently sits her down again.
Normally they’re busy out-toughing each other, both before and after this moment, but right now Wen Qing is openly vulnerable. Wei Wuxian responds to that, predictably, with all of his kindness and with his usual slew of unwise, impossible-to-keep promises.
As she eats the bread he’s brought her--a parallel to an important piece of bread in his early life--he says they have to believe in Wen Ning’s survival. Cut to: Wen Ning, not surviving.
I mean, yes, yes, he’s only mostly dead, but he’s never going to be fully alive again, so.
24 Hour Party People
Back at the party, Jin Guangyao, deliberately, I think, goes to offer his pops a drink while his pops is still super furious and looking for someone to take it out on. The servant lady is like, better you than me, pal, and helps JGY get his drink ready. Pops, predictably, knocks the drink onto Jin Guangyao.
(more behind the cut)
Lan Xichen is standing by with a hanky and a face full of worry. Lan Xichen is so Lanny that he thinks JGY needs to go change clothes after getting clear alcohol spilled on him, rather than just letting it evaporate and smelling pleasantly of booze for the rest of the evening like a normal party guest.
JGY launches into a criticism of Wei Wuxian, which Lan Wangji listens to very carefully, frowning. Lan Xichen, Nie Huasang and Jiang Cheng listen as well, and don’t speak up.
A Clear Conscience
Then Lan Wangji *literally* steps out of his brother’s shadow, and speaks in defense of Wei Wuxian. This right here is Lan Wangji’s turning point, as far as I’m concerned. Xichen is gazing at JGY, totally on board with JGY’s spin of the situation, and his shadow falls away from Lan Wangji’s face as LWJ steps forward.
Lan Wangji says, isn’t what WWX said true? JGY puts on his customer service smile and says that the truth isn’t something you’re supposed to go around saying out loud.
I’d like to say this is what’s wrong with cultivator society but this is really a universal human thing; every society has rules about upsetting the social order, and they are very frequently at odds with basic compassion and morality.
Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng stay silent but Lan Xichen goes and throws Wei Wuxian under the bus carriage, saying his character has changed.
Lan Wangji nods decisively at this, and bows to Lan Xichen, silently asking permission to follow Wei Wuxian. Lan Xichen grants permission, telling Lan Wangji to do his best. Lan Xichen probably thinks he and Lan Wangji are in agreement, in this moment, but that nod of Lan Wangji’s was nothing of the kind.
That nod was Lan Wangji agreeing with himself; he is going to try to bring Wei Wuxian back but he is also going to listen to him. Meanwhile Lan Xichen is tying himself in knots to appease Jin Guangyao. The divergence between the brothers will just grow, from this point onwards.
Lan Wangji leaves to go follow his boyfriend conscience, while Jiang Cheng continues to silently listen to the commentary of others, and gets so mad he crushes a wine cup.
It Was A Dark and Stormy Night.
Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian arrive at the prison camp, and the first person they encounter is Granny, with a defaced Wen Banner in her hand and Wen Yuan on her back.
Whenever I read a meta or a fic that talks about how the juniors are so sweet partly because they are “untouched by the war” I want to point to this moment. A-Yuan endures an absolute truckload of war trauma by the time he’s four years old, and while Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both deserve a lot of credit for saving him at great risk to themselves, Granny and Uncle Four are the first heroes of A-Yuan’s story. His kind, mellow personality has a lot in common with theirs.
This is followed by an eternity of Wen Qing running around asking if anyone’s seen her brother. Eventually Wei Wuxian gets tired of this and gathers the guards together, threatening them with Chenqing.
He doesn’t need to play it; just holding it up has every Jin dude instantly kneeling and scared.
The guards send him and Wen Qing go to a giant field of corpses, where Wen Qing runs around checking to see if any of them is her brother. Wei Wuxian starts off kind of detached and angry, but eventually snaps out of it, tucks away his flute and starts helping her to search.
Wen Qing finds Wen Ning, mostly-dead with a lure flag speared into his belly. Wei Wuxian grimly takes in the situation from across the field of corpses.
When he arrives at Wen Qing’s side he sees this talisman in Wen Ning’s hand.
This is the talisman that Wei Wuxian made for Wen Ning back in Gusu summer school, before the war. It’s the one that Wen Ning was wearing at his waist when they met up after the massacre of Lotus Pier. It’s supposed to literally protect Wen Ning from having his spiritual consciousness snatched, as well as being a symbol of Wei Wuxian’s sense of responsibility for, and affection for, Wen Ning.
Wei Wuxian, understandably, loses his shit at this point. Less understandably, he is about to decide that the best way to express his sorrow and rage is to re-animate the corpse of his friend, right in front of the corpse’s sister. Like, seriously, dude. Dude.
Ghost General
This super-questionable decision leads to one of the most badass sequences in the show, which is unfortunately chock full of lightning flashes, so not everyone can watch it. Wei Wuxian and his flute and swirls of resentful energy come marching out of the darkness of the corpse field, back to the guards.
The guards have decided to slaughter all of the prisoners and then run away, which would be a good plan except they should really have skipped right to the running away part of things. When Wei Wuxian accuses them of killing the prisoner in the corpse field, they claim that the Wens have a habit of falling off of a hill and dying. Wei Wuxian can relate.
At this point Wei Wuxian summons up Wen Ning 2.0, ultra badass edition, who comes flying through the air with his odd, straight-armed fighting stance and cool solid-black eyes and rock-and-roll hair.
Soundtrack: *Four Sticks*
Wen Ning proceeds to whale on the guards and scare the shit out of his relatives.
Then Wen Qing shows up and begs Wei Wuxian to stop. She explains that Wen Ning is only mostly dead. Like, if he was fully dead would she be okay with this?
Wei Wuxian tries to reel Wen Ning in and realizes that he is not actually in control of Wen Ning. Ok, see, right from the first day of Wen Ning 2.0, WWX is aware that his control is iffy. Why does he think he’s going to be able to control him later?
Anyway, this is where we learn Wen Ning’s grown-up name is Wen Qionglin. Wei Wuxian yells this name, and Wen Ning looks up like a cat hearing the “food noise,” and then proceeds to get control of himself.
This is such a nice symbolic moment, that will be replayed later in the temple, when Wen Ning saves Jin Ling from Baxia.
Wen Ning has a remote-code-execution OS vulnerability throughout the story; his soul is at risk of being stolen, and he is magically controlled by Wei Wuxian, Xue Yang, Su She, and Baxia. Meanwhile Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian, and random kids on the street mostly treat him as a child, despite his clear adult capabilities. Wen Ning’s journey in The Untamed is at least partly about asserting his full adulthood, and his ability to overcome magical control is directly connected to that journey.
After getting Wen Ning to chill, Wei Wuxian calls the floating resentful energy back into his own body, which looks about as comfortable as swallowing a burp.
On the plus side, apparently resentful energy keeps your hair dry even when it’s raining.
Wei Wuxian should take a page from the guards’ book and slaughter all the Jin witnesses to this situation, but he decides to be the better person and let them live. They go running off down the road, where they encounter Lan Wangji and give him the 411, saying that Wei Wuxian resurrected dead people.
Meanwhile Wei Wuxian collects Wen Qing--half-fainted, again, in an echo of the start of their journey--and collects the Dafan Mountain Wen group, who are hiding, wisely. When they see Wen Ning, Uncle Four and some others start to freak out, but Wei Wuxian tells them that fierce corpses are cool, and they all grab horses and mount up.
Where Are You Going?
Lan Wangji is waiting for them, nonconfrontationally indulging in some visual poetry while he waits.
In a show where every prop is exquisitely, carefully designed to enhance our understanding character, his Gusu-toned umbrella reveals surprising red and yellow threads woven in, right above his eye line as he looks at Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian speaks first, saying “you came to stop me?” Lan Wangji doesn’t answer, but asks him where he’s going. Then Lan Wangji warns him that he’s about to abandon orthodoxy forever, if he follows through.
Wei Wuxian challenges this idea of orthodoxy, asking if Lan Wangji remembers the promise they made together, back in Gusu. It’s worth noting that they both appear to think of it as a co-promise, even though Lan Wangji didn’t speak aloud at the time.
The conversation will continue in the next episode, because what’s better than a rainy romantic cliffhanger?
Soundtrack: Four Sticks by Led Zeppelin
#the untamed#the untamed gifs#wangxian#wen ning#restless rewatch the untamed#canary3d-original#my gifs#episode 26
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Ilmestys ✥ Ⅰ
YIN AND YANG
✤ she/her
Summary: [Name] hints at a possible escape from her prison, and Chongyun tries to grasp the idea of having a spirit not fleeing from him right away.
※_────── ~ _ ❅ · ♰ · ❅ _ ~ ──────_※
,
"Just my luck, I suppose,"
The same wolf from a minute earlier appears in a black mist beside the spirit, pawing the ground with a low growl echoing from its throat.
A hand caresses the top of its hand, muting its threatening voice and reducing it to a loving grunt.
Chongyun flexes his fingers around the handle of his claymore, his stance not presenting any opening lest the familiar attacks.
Seeing this, the [c]-haired spirit crosses her arms, scrutinizing his form up and down as if appraising something.
Not a second later, she drops her arms and shakes her head, saying,
".. That energy is extraordinary—but you don't have it under control. What a disappointment," he recoils, stunned, "And here I thought you're my ticket out of this place. Ah, what a pity."
Is she...
The exorcist can't help but fidget under her derisive eyes, the blackness of her sclera doing nothing but agitate him further.
Is she insulting me?
The realization sends fire swimming in his blood, heating his temperature at the sheer audacity this- this girl has to say to him. He has met a couple of rude people, but never to this extent!
He hasn't encountered anyone who has no filter in mocking his abilities.
Yes, he still may not be in full control of his Yang energy, but his travels with Aether aided him in learning how to manage it better than before!
Ah—Aaaah, it's not like isn't used to receiving these scornful jabs (like those who couldn't believe his ability to ward off spirits just by sitting in their house), but this is... this is just too surprising!
An exorcist—being mocked by a spirit, who comments on how he lacks proper management with his positive essence. What derision!
He can't believe such an entity exists!
Oh right... she's, well, evil.
"I'd prefer you silence yourself. You know nothing about me, after all," he says with a measured tone, careful not to be swayed by the works of a supernatural being. A malignant one, at that, "Spirit."
Her visage clenches visibly at this, her lips pursing as she kissed her teeth. She doesn't look too happy being referred to as one, even when she's nothing but a fragment of who she used to be.
Does she not like being reminded that she's dead? He can understand that at the very least. Even he won't be able to adjust existing as a spirit when there's still so much that life has to offer.
Ah, no, no, Chongyun, he scolds himself with a disapproving shake of his head. This is what she wants you to feel—to pity- to empathize.
Classic for those who aimed to possess vulnerable people.
The notion of the victims who probably surrendered to the dark arts of this intimidating Yin-spirit... oh, it's getting harder and harder to keep himself from bursting. But he knows better.
He mustn't be strung along her obvious works to pull him six feet under.
He's read about all kinds of evil and their tricks to manipulate humans into feeling any kind of negative sentiments, for they feed off negative energy.
And—knowing that this girl in front of him is a literal counterpart of his; a host with excess Yin, it won't do him good if she's able to sap his energy.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, I'm going to get going now." says the [c]nette with an intricate roll of her eyes,
"If you don't want to be like me, it'd be better if you tuck your tail and scram. This place ain't for the likes of Yang."
You'll get corrupted. She means.
He's heard of it from his family of exorcists and read about it in the scrolls that spoke of every known thing regarding the behaviors of those to be exorcised—from demons to poltergeists, you name it.
Corruption is an affliction akin to an illness.
Everyone has a small seed of corruption, budding continuously when they continue to feed it with negative energy and sentiments such as anger and despondence.
The process is referred to as the darkening. No one is ultimately safe from it, hence why exorcists tend to meditate when they're driven by negativity.
He is no exception, though he's more difficult to succumb to it due to his Yang.
To be honest, he is surprised that the spirit informs of this before she departs.
One is not aware of their own darkening, after all, and they will not be in their right state of mind when they're fully encompassed by it—when they're corrupted.
He falters because of this, astounded.
This is the first—... oh.. no.
He can't really be the judge of that because this is his first and only (he hopes not) encounter with a spirit that didn't run away or fade into existence within the initial seconds of sensing his aura.
From his fellow exorcists' stories, however, there aren't any evil spirits who show an ounce of concern for people.
Especially to exorcists.
Obviously.
Chongyun snaps out of his stupefaction when he notices that the unnamed girl is beginning to depart for good, her trusty wolf familiar ambling after her with a wag of its tail.
She's really about to—without even... !?
"W-Wait!" he's not able to contain his shock, his voice already betraying him before he can even realize it.
He drops the weight of his Archaic on the ground, though his clutch remains on the handle in case a battle does spike up.
The [c]nette swivels, her expression exasperated as she places her hands on her hips.
The exorcist stops in his steps, swallowing at the eye contact. He's certainly not going to get used to seeing the atypical colorization of her sclera.
The very feature is straight out of a fairytale; a grim one without a happy end.
The surface of her skin chips off a little as she clicks her tongue in impatience, revealing the blackness inside. It nearly mutes him for the second time, but he quickly recovers from being stupefied with a bunch of blinks. He really ought to stop being carried away.
"You're not-?" he's unsure how to word his question.
Possess me?
Attack me?
I don't know, maybe even corrupt me??
Either way, she's able to decipher what he wanted to ask by the look on his face.
You won't hold it against him, what you're doing is very unusual for... normal malevolent beings.
Although there's a reason for being malevolent (not just because you harbor excessive Yin), it's not like you plan to smite every single human you come across. Seriously, being stereotyped is such a pain in the ass.
It doesn't help that this Yang-guy is an exorcist! Can you even call him that?
With his overflowing congenital positivity, it's a definite fact that he's had complications with proper exorcism.
What a pity. And he can't even control it for the life of him.
"Standing this close is making me nauseous," you groan, stepping back and widening the distance between you and the bluenette, "What is it? I may have until the end of time to wait, but I'm not a patient person, Yang. So out with it."
The first thing he does is frown.
There's plenty of reasons as to why he showed genuine offense, but you're not up for it—seriously, you may not flee, but that doesn't mean the feeling when you're near him is pleasant.
It's the exact opposite.
You feel like you're burning just by talking to him and you're not fond of that at all. He's utterly oblivious to this, of course.
Other than knowing that he's aware of what his excess Yang can do to spirits, he's not aware of the tiny, tiny details that spell why they flee the instant he's near.
You never had a Pyro Vision, but it sure as hell feels like you're drowning in a sea of fire.
"Yang..." he says in a strained whisper, as if he's grateful and hateful of it at the same time, "Don't call me that."
You groan, unable to control your shiver. Definitely not because of his Cryo.
"Shit, even your voice is painful to listen to."
His lips part open, appalled at your comment.
Ah crap, you said that out loud.
At his reaction, you raise your hands in surrender.
No shade! You mean it literally!
It's like there are dozens of knives digging into your ears whenever he speaks. Because of this, you're unable to hear his voice clearly.
There's always some interference like you're submerged underwater. To top it all off, just looking at him is enough to make you go blind!
There's this aura of pure white (literally just Yang) around him, flickering like the tips of a flame—a white flame.
And you know better than to touch a flame.
"Are you or are you not going to speak?" you demand, impatience evident in your tone, influencing your wolf to start growling.
You do not do anything to tame him now, it is better to imply that you're not willing to wait for him to speak.
The exorcist stiffens at the puissant malice, an outline of blue starting to trace his claymore in preparation to unleash cryo lest you attack.
You bite back the urge to sigh.
You only ever attacked because he did it first!
"Why aren't you doing anything?"
FInally.
You lift your chin with another click of your tongue. Gosh, was it that difficult to ask something? It took him a solid two minutes.
Eh, that doesn't matter now.
"Possess you? Corrupt? Sorry, Yang," he frowns again, "But I don't do those kinds of things. I have something to fulfill, and possessing random humans won't help me in my goal."
He makes another attempt to interrogate you on the spot, but you're not having it.
You're not going to waste time making small talk when you can search for things that can actually help you out. So you raise a hand and start waving it, unimpressed.
"No, I'm not here to play twenty questions. You asked enough. I'm dying just talking to you and I'm already dead."
The poor exorcist flinches at this, but you can only laugh. He's not one for dark humor, huh? Ah, that should be expected, he's basically a child of positivity—he will not be able to handle you at all.
"Besides," you turn away, "You're deliberately pushing yourself off a safe cliff just being near me. The darkening will consume you, you wouldn't want that, right? I'm doing us both a favor."
You don't plan to stick around, anyway, so you vanish in black fire. There's an echo of his stutter, but you dismiss it.
There's no need to.
As much as his ability as Yang is of tremendous aid, the fact that he cannot control it is beyond dismaying.
You're not going to risk the chances of evaporating into thin air, to be nullified from existence, just because he doesn't have it in him to manage his congenital positivity.
You're not going to disappear now.
Not yet.
✥﹤┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈﹥✥
「 Ilmestys's Scrying Glass 」 Ilmestys/Rancor Taglist
「 Joint Book : Rancor / Xiao 」
a/n: did i mention that this is an enemies to lovers fic because it is ehkjhfewgfe also- i mentioned it in rancor but will mention it here, too~ this is post-genshin au! i.. don't know what happens after the game but this takes place after Aether left Teyvat with Lumine. Assuming Teyvat isn't snapped away lmao.
✥taglist✥
@windyventi @lost-in-alula @alatusorrow
#chongyun#chongyun x reader#reader insert#post genshin au#chongyun fluff#chongyun angst#enemies to lovers fic
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What are your opinion on the similarities between bingqiu (shen yuan/luo binghe) and quanyin (quan yizhen/yin yu)? I don't know why but when I first read quanyin in TGCF their dynamics really remind me of bingqiu from SVSSS....(Sorry if I'm wrong).....Thoughts?
Lmao they’re definitely an evolution of ideas that first appear in Bingqiu. I’ve talked before about how I side-eye the notion that there are no intentional subtextual secondary pairings in Mxtx’s works, and they’re definitely one of those.
One of my favorite things about following an author is the ability to see how their ideas develop over time and throughout their works; their novels are often very different, but similar themes and character flaws can be present.
So yes, I see them as evolution of Bingqiu with other elements mixed in—both QYZ and LBH have issues, but not of the same sort. Honestly Quan Yizhen is one of the better gods, and that’s why he, along with Shi Qingxuan, are the only two gods Qi Rong really misunderstands during his epic Speech of Foreshadowing in Book 1. Yet despite being a good person, Quan Yizhen is even more isolated than Luo Binghe because of his lack of social skills/autistic coding, yet he not as loathed as Luo Binghe because of LBH’s more villainous tendencies of lashing out in his pain.
Yin Yu and Shen QingQiu both try to hide their issues and run away instead of talking, and like Shen Jiu specifically, Yin Yu is jealous of his pupil. But, he does not abuse QYZ like Shen Jiu abuses LBH. Yin Yu’s intense timidity also reminds me of Wen Ning, and his insecurity of Jiang Cheng, etc.
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Let’s Watch: Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity
I have watched this movie 85 Whole Entire Times and I do not regret. The only thing wrong with this movie is that it wasn't a fifty episode series. I cried, I laughed, I fell in love. The cinematography is on point, the acting is amazing, the crew member who put snow on people's eyebrows did an amazing job, and the acting! The subtlety, the gentleness, the love and affection, the discussion of race is one of the best I've ever seen.
As people have pointed out before in series like X-Men that fear of mutant's is practically if not thematically justified due to the laser eyes in a way that fear of ethnic minorities just isn't in real life. In Dream of Eternity however humans are equally if not sometimes more super powered than the yao they hunt. Demons - very much not in the Christian sense - are a mixture of spirits, resentful souls, and animals and plants who cultivated to human form. They often appear human at first glance and in some cases the extent of their power seems to be the limited to turning into a smaller more vulnerable animal. Qingming's deliberate care and gentleness not only reflects his upbringing as a Yin Yang Master, but parallels the experience of racial minorities labelled as aggressive.
The movie takes particular care as well in the way it looks at trauma, grief, and love. The three of which haunt the main characters and send out ripple effects into the world around them. In the world of Dream of Eternity no loss is purely private, it spools out into the world around the person effected until they make an effect to acknowledge and deal with their experiences. Qingming's warmth and gentleness isn't just marked by his behaviour but by the orange light he's lit by and his variety of shishen - but he is also separate, standing alone in frame and facing away from the people around him. Boya's loss has made him unforgiving and as cold as the blue light he's lit in, and yet he is open and instinctive, talking and acting as soon as the thought enters his head. The Empress is lost and drifting, trapped and grief stricken, vulnerable to those who profess to love her. The film is simple, it says and shows what it means when it means it - but it is also as complex as the very human characters it depicts.
The movie is made even more complex by its pull from theaters. Claims of plagiarism drench the edges of the movie, which as true as the assertion that Fan BingBing went on a spa vacation in 2018. Although this blog is about Chinese censorship dealing specifically with BL content, Chinese censorship also effects those who criticize governmental policy. I hope that supporters of this blog will also support Chinese media threatened by censorship for many reasons so that artists and others involved in film making can continue to make meaningful content.
Doing a watchthrough of a movie is not feasible, but please enjoy a few thousand words - with spoilers on Yin Yang Master included:
* That gentle chiming and rain soundscaping is so soothing, what a great way to calm and lull the audience before the movie even starts
* Qingming is so small and isolated in the frame - cinema!
* The lighting and cinematography is just so good
* Shifu, soft gentle teacher
* So much love stored in the Shifu
* Instant grow
* This boy is Sassy
* This theme of deflection in Qingming's character is established early
* Deflection with a teleportation portal and then immediately deflection verbally
* Shifu is certainly an attractive man aged up, but his face is also soft and gentle, something to note when his double pops up later
* Also the awkward question of don't you have someone you want to protect, maybe part of the problem is that shifu is just really bad at wording things
* The answer that yes he does has several meanings, one of which is immediately apparent when Shifu acts out one of those Father Saves Child By Yeeting them youtube videos
* ACtion MuSIC
* I love them your honour
* The spirit guardian's design is so specific and elegant, absolutely superb you funky little shishen
* I wonder if Qingming ever thinks about that if he didn't come back with all his fellow disciples that Shifu would have been fine
* Maybe it's not that he doesn't have someone he wants to protect and more that he believes that he's not capable of protecting those he wants to
* subtle indication Shifu's qi is corrupted
* Precious Magic Childe ;-;
* The framing, I'm living for it
* The Serpent graphic is lovely
* Also the way they set things up
* Qingming cares so much about his shifu
* Mark Chao just has the ability to crumple his face like paper
* Sad Time exposition involving the corrupting influence of desires
* "When you're gone I'll be all alone" in just about all you need to know about Qingming at this point in the story
* Also like, sympathy for Shifu in raising this lonely child. By all accounts he was an absolutely superb father figure, and Qingming I'm sure was not an easy child to raise. He's the sort of kid that would take a lot of calm and patience.
* Slumber party!
* It's kind of interesting that this is an activity Fangyue and He Shouyue are doing together. He's definitely obsessed and in love with her and she's just doing friends and family activities with him
* Also yellow/gold lighting is kind of their thing
* It's interesting how they do the make up for He Shouyue. The actor is very attractive, but they make him up to look doll like, a little too pretty, a little too shiny. Like a porcelain doll.
* Cool lit Boya and warm lit Qingming appear!
* Camels!
* The framing is so good, they're careful to be sure he's shown as obviously isolated as much as possible
* And it should go without saying that I adore the City
* The matte painting is outstanding
* But there's also the lighting, the vignettes, the clusters, the foliage
* It is a supremely beautiful set
* The irony that Killing Stone is playing along with Boya's music and then it's Boya who kicks him around
* A small note, but one I appreciate - even when Boya has warm highlight's they're red instead of orange
* "It's Jason Bourne!"
* I hope Qingming paid for that water taxi
* It's interesting how Killing Stone goes from the safety of Qingming's orange light to the danger of Qingming's blue
* Colour related foreshadowing!
* Look at this poor sweet man, how could anyone suspect him of anything. He's just a sad man who loves his dead wife
* Qingming's use of a fan is interesting - battle fans show up all over wuxia and xianxia, but it feels like it also ties into the way he's so very careful in how he presents himself. There's that quote that a sword can only be a sword but other weapons are also able to serve other purposes - not a perfect quote but the point is got across.
* The way Qingming just knocks Boya back, like get An Clue, my dude
* The way that Killing Stone curls around the pipa ;-;
* So the movie is based on the book series 'Onmyoji' by Yumemakura Baku. The books start with Seimei (Qingming) and Hiromasa (Boya) already in a relationship talking about various cases Seimei has recently experienced. Plotwise, obviously the stories are different, however thematically Seimei and Hiromasa discuss why some yao stick around and solutions to the difficulties and dangers they might cause - which is generally from Seimei's very successful perspective to listen and treat them like humans. So in that way the plots of the books and the movie are quite different, but the themes are just about identical.
* Boya says Don't Talk Me I Angy and also that demons don't have feelings and Qingming's face takes out a billboard that's just like Ah, Another Fantasy Racist, Excellent
* Qingming also does what should be done in this situation, taking care of the victim not the racist
* Fight scene! Fight scene!
* Qingming's first few moves aren't to attack, they're to distract and just hold his fan up to block Boya's way and his view - it's only when Boya persists in attacking that Qingming fights back
* Qingming's sassy smile, he is very much deliberately irritating Boya as much as he's refocusing his attention and distracting him
* "nICE sWORD"
* I've sighed that sigh before
* This boy is taking great pleasure from teasing Boya, but also he makes a really good point
* I understand and relate to what Qingming did, but also I can understand why Boya was ready to throw rocks at Qingming when he saw him again
* Killing Stone lit in Qingming's orange light again
* Killing Stone, my beloved
* A good gauge to the state of the world for yao is no one has told this sweet boy before that demons have feelings too
* There are several lines like this in the movie that just drop kick you with Implications
* The same way Qingming clung to Zhongxing, Killing Stone wants to join up with Qingming to have some compassion in his life
* The way he asks to be a spirit guardian is so formal too, and Qingming is so gentle with him, I cry ;-;
* The warm orange light of Qingming's love ;-;
* He heals the wounds
* It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realise it's the actual imperial degree speaking and not one the of Jingyun Temple Masters
* The mutual this guy again is delicious
* "Is it because of your pretty face"
* Boya draws his sword so fast and Qingming is so amused by it
* Longye! Queen! I love her!
* The two of them seem to understand each other instantly
* Those sassy little smiles
* He Shouyue looks even more like a doll than before
* Longye has her head on a swivel from second one, she plays the Maiden so well like she's not a skilled master
* And her customer service smile
* Qingming is shooketh
* What happens next? You'll have to watch and find out!
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The Mo Village arc and establishing the MC
MDZS is a sprawling book with many characters, but it seems that it was clearly important to MXTX to establish her MC’s characterisation very strongly from the start. Although the novel in its entirety leans toward providing a strong characterisation for WWX, I thought it’d be fun to look back at how it is conveyed to the readers in the first few chapters before the inciting incident at Dafan Mountain
(N.B. I’m using a composite translation made of different translations so the wording/format might be slightly different than the version you are using)
Framing
The prologue starts with a conversation between unnamed characters in an inn, discussing the news of WWX’s death. While it was a clever way to already introduce an important theme of the novel (the effects of public opinion and how easy it is to make someone into a irredeemable villain) and get the exposition out of the way, it also frames WWX as a character: as readers, we are introduced first to perceptions of him, a characterisation-from-hearsay we’ll be able to compare to his characterisation in the novel. WWX is a “scourge” whose death is celebrated, who “defected” and bit the hand that fed him, a “deranged” killer who took thousands of lives. But before he went on the crooked path, he was a promising youth--although others seem to think he was corrupted from the start.
“But it can’t all be blamed on the path he cultivated. Ultimately, it was still because this Wei Wuxian’s moral character was too flawed, angering the Heavens and man alike! By the heavenly law, everyone answers for their deeds in the end, good and evil……”
The rumours also suggest that if WWX comes back to the world of the living he will enact his revenge upon them all, and his unimaginable powers would allow him to rain fury upon both Heaven and Earth. We get told: this guys is an incredibly powerful villain, reviled and feared by many.
But the Yiling Laozu had enough power to overturn the Heavens and smother the Earth, move mountains and drain seas—at least, that was the way the rumors went. If he wanted to resist the summoning of his soul, it wouldn’t exactly be outside of his abilities. If in coming days his spirit were restored, if he forcibly possessed a body and were thus reborn, then not only the cultivation world, but all of humanity would inevitably meet with an even greater frenzy of vengeance and curses, sinking into a chaotic age of foul winds and bloody rains.
Establishing WWX and how he reacts when he’s thrown into an unpleasant situation
When WWX is brought back by MXY, we already have something to contrast him against thanks to the hearsay and rumours, and from the get-go we get a sense that WWX is not this fearsome figure that people made him out to be.
I’ll never get over the fact that our first introduction to WWX’s is the equivalent of the “the audacity of this bitch”.
Hazily, he thought: that’s quite a lot of courage you must have to kick this Laozu.
Our MC and POV character is thrown into a situation, and from his reactions we can rapidly tell that he is someone who is observant, resourceful, good at deductive reasoning and thereby apt at solving mysteries. This is something that is reinforced at many, many points in the first few chapters and helps us buy in into what happens later in the novel when they uncover many other mysteries. WWX is a guy who figures shit out.
When WWX figures out he was summoned as a “an unforgivably evil malicious spirit“, we get his take on his public perception.
Wei Wuxian reeled at the implications. How had he been classified as “an irredeemly evil, malicious spirit”?
Yes, his reputation was rather poor and his final moments, horrifying tragic—but he had neither haunted nor had he seeked revenge on the living since becoming a spirit. He would dare to swear upon the Heavens and the Earth that you would never find a more peaceful and well-behaved lonely soul of a wild ghost!
At the same time, readers get a sense that even when he’s dealt a bad hand, WWX does not wait in despair for his luck to turn. Even though WWX describes his situation as “hopeless” and keeps “repeating over and over How could this be! in his heart “, he immediately goes into problem-solving mode, trying to figure out the situation and the wishes MXY forgot to share. This also happens later.
There was not a single thing to help him find some joy in being reborn! He might as well sit and meditate for a time, and adjust to the new body.
That same passage gives us a sense that WWX is not rushing into situations without taking the time to take it in, make up his mind and prepare as much as he can: the fact that we see him do meditation twice during that day (before he goes to the East Hall and after he checks on the Lan juniors) also contributes to that idea.
The chapters convey as well that WWX is sympathetic to MXY’s situation and does not resent him even though he forced WWX to enact revenge in his stead. As readers, we thus receive the following message: WWX is not prone to being resentful, to hold grudges.
He had originally wanted to wash his face and pay a few respects to the owner of this body, but there was no water in the shack—neither for drinking nor for washing.
WWX is also, for a lack of a better word, sassy. It’s clear that he has a flair for the dramatics and lots of attitude. Look at that dramatic entrance.... he just.... yeets the bowl he was holding....
He pondered for a moment. Then, rising to his feet, he kicked the door open.
The two servants, in the midst of making eyes at each other, screamed in horror as the double doors of the shack suddenly burst open. Wei Wuxian threw aside his bowl and chopsticks and walked outside without anyone’s leave [...]
We are also introduced to the fact that WWX does not seem to take himself seriously and loves to shock people.
When it came to wild displays of misbehavior, Wei Wuxian was a master. In the past when he ran wild, he still had to mind appearances lest others accuse him of having not been raised right. But now that he was a lunatic anyways, what face did he need! He could go straight to making a scene, acting however it pleased him.
While WWX is clearly not the one-dimensional evil monster depicted in rumours, we do see that he can be cunning: he lies easily if he feels it motivated, he is very good at talking people into a corner, apt at making them do incriminating things by leading them on, which he does by humiliating the Mo family for their mistreatment of MXY in front of a crowd. But in a way, that is also a quality of his: he is not just silver-tongued; he’s good at assessing a situation and people’s characters, able to figure out what will set them off.
We further get proof that he is not a blood-thirsty monster who disregards others when he tries to figure out if he can satisfy MXY’s spirit without having to wipe out the Mo family (although it is clearly the obvious solution) and when he is shown to care for the well-being of others. This is illustrated by the way he double-checks (through ruse) that the zhaoyin flags are properly set up and will be used safely by the Lan juniors.
During the conversation, Wei Wuxian had already finished making a rapid examination of the Yin Summoning Flag in his hand. It had been painted in the correct manner, and there were no missing sigils either. There was not a single error or omission, so they should worked as intended. That being said, the person who had painted the flag lacked experience, and the painted sigils could only attract the evil spirits and walking corpses within at most five li. That should however prove to be enough. (chapter 2)
[...]
Wei Wuxian’s first thought was that something had gone wrong with the flag arraw the youth had set up. His inventions needed to be used with extreme caution, or else risk disaster. This was also why he had gone to check earlier if there were anything wrong with the array. (Chapter 3)
As our POV character, WWX comes across as endearing through little details: it’s in the way he calls LSZ a “good little seedling (好苗子)” and calls the Lan juniors a group of “小朋友“ in his inner monologue, or when he defends the Lan juniors from Mo-furen’s accusations. Or the way he likes Xiao Pingguo because it looks at him with contempt:
A donkey was tied to the handle, chewing on it. When it saw Wei Wuxian run over rashly, it seemed like it was surprised, and eyed him sideways as if it were a real person. Wei Wuxian made eye contact with him for one second and was immediately touched by the minuscule amount of contempt in its eyes.
Establishing how WWX acts in high-pressure situations
Things escalate quite quickly into accusations of murder and death and resentful corpses. This first sequence is thus our introduction to how WWX acts under pressure and in high-risk situations (which will continue to happen to our MC until the end of the novel).
WWX is shown to be cool under pressure and quick to think on his feet, constantly re-assessing the situation and the risks. He is also seen as expecting people to arrive to conclusions without him needing to explain them out loud, like when he takes out the zhaoyin flag that MZY stole from his corpse, letting the Lan juniors understand on their own what happened. When he needs to explain, he will not do it in a straight-forward manner, giving small hints first (this preludes many of WWX and LWJ interaction when they understand each other’s thought process with only one sentence being said, and preludes how WWX will continue to act with the Juniors later on, making them think through the situations instead of feeding them the answers).
We also get the proof that WWX does not privilege self-preservation over the fate of others.
If he wanted to avoid having the situation get out of hand, Wei Wuxian should retreat. If they people who came did not know him, then all would be well—but if they happened to be someone who had dealt with him or fought against him in the past, it would be hard to guess what would happen next.
But the curse meant he could not leave Mo Village yet. As well, the spirit that had been summoned had taken two lives in quick succession, meaning it was extremely vicious. If Wei Wuxian left now, once the reinforcement arrived, the streets of Mo Village might already be packed with corpses missing their left arm, of which some would be blood relations of the GusuLanShi.
After a short deliberation, Wei Wuxian thought, fight a quick battle to force a swift resolution (速战速决). (Chapter 3)
[...]
Wei Wuxian was watching the battle attentively. His tongue was slightly curled, suppressing a sharp whistle inside of his lips, preparing it to be let out. The whistle would be able to evoke even more hostility in the cruel corpses, which might turn the tables. Then, however, it would be difficult to ensure that nobody knew that it was his doing.
In the blink of an eye, the hand moved like lightning, ruthlessly and precisely breaking Madame Mo’s neck. Watching as the Mo family grew closer to defeat, Wei Wuxian prepared to blow the whistle that he suppressed under his tongue. At the same time, the echoes of two strums on a stringed instrument came from far away. (chapter 4)
As well, we are told something about WWX when he only leaves once LWJ arrives: certainly because he’s afraid that LWJ might recognize him but mostly because (as it will become clear later on) he trusts that LWJ will be able to handle the situation in his stead. In order words, although WWX is willing to risk himself to help others, he is not careless with his life and safety (for instance he makes sure to destroy the proof of the Offering ritual before fleeing to make sure no one can figure out the fact that he is back from the dead).
WWX will not hesitate to fool people or pretend in order to help his goals. In this case, he is trying to help and fight without appearing like a powerful cultivator who can do modao, balancing self-preservation with the incentive to protect the people present. This is why he pushes LJY in front of LSZ at one point in the battle, instead of blocking it himself, while pretending to just be a lunatic doing lunatic things.
Inside of the Lan clan’s uniform jacket, there were compact stitchings of incantations using thin threads of the same color, included for protection. However, against strong ones like this, it could only be used once before it became invalid. During the emergency, he could only kick Lan Jingyi and use his body to protect Lan Sizhui’s neck.
This sequence also allows the reader to know more about modao and WWX’s skills, and how he can control corpses, as well as how WWX perceives his own abilities.
TLDR:
The Mo Village arc, in conjunction with the prologue, competently sets up a lot of the moving pieces for the novel. It also leans heavily toward establishing a strong sense of characterisation for our MC and POV character, which is neat!
NB: I think it’s also very telling that the next chapter after the Mo Mansion arc begins with us learning that WWX has been, in the past few days since his retreat, lorded over by a capricious donkey. WWX is clearly not someone who takes himself very seriously (often mocking himself):
The donkey ran over there and nothing could make it leave. Wei Wuxian hopped down and slapped its honoured buttocks. “You’re definitely destined for wealth, even harder to please than I am.” The donkey spat at him.
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SDOC 4 Ep 1 Commentary
I told myself to wait till Sunday to watch SDOC cos it was getting late already and my Sunday is free. But no, the heart wants what it wants so... I ended up watching it till 5+ am. No regrets though I'm feeling a bit like a zombie now. 😅
Sharing some stray thoughts and observations. I'll keep spoilers to a minimum.
100% watching the show for DD's reactions. The dancing comes second.
DD and Bouboo = True Love
Poor Yang Kai but if his weibo post is anything to go by, we might see some changes in future.
I like how the 4 captains have distinct styles for their ice breaking sessions. Han Geng be like, come let's have tea and chat 😆 while DD is all business-like "Come, who wanna go first?" (But he is very respectful and truly excited to see his team mates perform. This is in line with his straightforward nature, to just get right into the groove of things.)
DD cueing Bouboo first cos he wants to see how he has improved/changed in the past year.
Henry seems like an easily impressed, overly excited kid. I'm looking forward to see how his team does.
I like the International mix of dancers and backgrounds. I'm hoping the production team won't skew things too much towards Chinese culture. Some of the dancers kept saying things like wanna show them the beauty of Chinese culture, show them the abilities of Chinese dancers, representing China etc. It's not wrong to be proud but I think first and foremost, it should still be about street dance, engaging with and learning from one another.
I'm quite liking the Japanese contestants so far. Especially ACKY. He seems fun.
AC seems like an interesting character. I'm hoping to see more of and from them.
I like how Ibuki held her own during the battle with Bouboo. And she's excellent. I've never seen arms move that fast amongst all the past waackers. #girlpower
DD and Ye Yin makes a cute team. Love the nugget of info that DD borrowed the hat from Ye Yin. It matches real well with his outfit.
Highlight of the episode was definitely DD's locking performance. And I had a proud mama moment when several contestants, even GOGO Brothers complimented DD on his skills.
I was grooving alone in my room in the dark in the wee hours of the morning while watching the show. Don't judge.
DD's outfits choices are excellent. The white singlet should make another appearance.
Compared to S3, DD seems more relaxed and chill, more at ease and familiar with things. Can tell that he's really enjoying himself there even though it's tough. He looks like a happy and excited kid all the time, whooping and giving his teammates ample cheers and encouragement etc. Last season he was more reserved and tended to defer to his cool personna, at least on screen. From his opening dance we can already see the difference. That dance was more playful compared to his usual ones and his expressions were super on-point. This reminded me of what he said to the girls during P101, that expressions, and not just dance moves, are also important part of a performance.
I think it's also obvious that winning is less of a priority for DD this time round. Of cos he's still competitive and would try to win again but more importantly, it's the experience, the learning and street dance spirit and culture that take precedence. Last season he was all about choosing team members who are strong in battle, cos he wants the strength. But this time round, he allowed Ye Yin to go against GOGO Brothers instead of the other expected choice. On one hand, it's to sort of fulfill Ye Yin's dream (a good captain takes care of his team and listens to their opinions). On the other hand, it shows that he's confident of his other pairings, esp Bouboo and his own locking performance. And he's reserving his ammo for round 2. He's strategic and willing to take risks. He's smart. And I hope more people can see this part of him, instead of just thinking that he's a pretty face and good dancer.
I'm really happy to see DD's growth and just to see him doing things that he likes. Seeing him in his element. Seeing him shine. I can't wait for the other episodes to air!!
Still a boy. A cute, happy little boy. Love him!!
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I read Ruin and Rising because I’m bored
And I also hate myself
Like with the last book, I have a vague idea of the plot and stuff from tumblr and fanfics. I will also be refering to Darkling as Sasha for most of this.
I am still Darklina trash and don’t particularly like Mal.
On a different note, I’ve finally moved for college, but the internet here is trash, so I’ll probably have a lot more reading time now, since most games I play are online and will crash without internet.
Before
Cool story. Let’s hope Alina stays a badass.
Who am I joking, I know how this ends.
Chapter 1
So far so good. I hate the Apparat, per usual. Alina’s there basically dying and that bitch can’t wait to see her do so.
Cult leader to the core this one. He probably hates that his figurehead is alive and also not brainwashed.
Cult leader doesn’t like swearing. How surprising.
My boy David is completely right. What kind of irresponsible dingus keeps centuries old books in a fucking wet-ass cave? (Or a tree for that matter *cough cough* The Last Jedi *cough, cough*).
Genya is fun to be around.
Oh, shit, let’s go.
Chapter 2
Jesus Christ, Alina, Zoya isn’t that bad.
This is one hell of a shitshow.
I live for this version of Alina. Badass. Scary. I want more of this Alina.
Chapter 3
Out of all the random little details from crappy smut fics, I did not expect Oncat to be from the books, lol.
Mal actually has a supernatural tracking ability. Like, literally, they put a bug into the pouch with gunpowder so he could make the shot. I guess this was kinda said before, but never this directly, right?
Alina’s merzost-skyping Sasha now, yay.
Alina is horny for Sasha boy. Yay.
Alina canonically has a praise kink. Nice.
I hate LB with all of my heart at this very moment. How dare she bait us Darklina people like this? How DARE she? (Shipbaiting is the worst, seriously.)
Yes, yes, yes. These two lines. That’s what their relationship is all about. They’re each others foils, the yin to the other’s yang and... ugh. I am Darklina trash to the core and this hurts.
Darklina: You have a terrible taste in men.
Alina: I liked you once.
My boy Sasha walked into that one.
Chapter 4
Alina is a Queen. And we love her.
David, my beloved, my spirit animal.
It’s surprising they can read it at all, given it’s been centuries. Have you ever tried reading medieval manuscripts?
Honestly, with a father that crazy, it’s no wonder Baghra’s a bitch. And I’ve seen it said somewhere that the books imply Ilya’s experiments are what caused Baghra to be a shadow summoner and you know what? I can see how you’d make that connection.
Why is there so few Tidemakers in the books? Waterbenders are useful. I want more waterbenders.
Alina picking up some habits from Baghra I see.
Ah, yes, we love an educated giant.
I’m starting to think Harshaw is a bit nuts.
Shut up, Hershey. Or at least share the weed with the class. I’m not here for this “He’s mean to you because he likes you”. I might believe that in like, elementary school, but yall are (more or less) adults. Jesus.
Well, that was a bombshell of a twist.
Chapter 5
Oh boy, we’ve got some trauma bonding for out merry band of misfits. Yay.
Adrik has a crush on Zoya. And she hates it, lol. Cut the kid some slack, he’s like 15 or something.
That reminds me, I have a four-leaf clover pressed in books from close to year and a half ago. Time flies.
They’re really diving into the Mal has supernatural powers, huh?
Ghosts, let’s go.
Alina “I’m so happy to be outside I start to shine like a fucking fairy” Starkov and Mal is entranced. He’s definitelly nicer now. I’m not forgiving him for all the shit he’s pulled before and for using the silent treatment way too much, but hey, at least he’s improving.
I am not a Zoyalina person, but like... gay? Please? Rivals to grudging allies to friends to lovers, 300k slowburn? Sounds more fun than whatever Mala dn Alina have going on, lol.
(I’m starting to realize I’m not as much a Darklina person as I am anti-Malina person, lol. Like, literally everyone has a more interesting dynamic with Alina than tracker boy over there. Malina is at best boring AF and at worst toxic, codependent and emotionally abusive, while also being boring AF at the same time. It has literally nothing going for it except God herself liking it).
I can see why Nadia is gay in the show. The book version of her definitelly has a crush on Tamar. Homegirl likes a woman, who can murder her with the flick of her wrist and honestly? Same.
Alina has some big “coming out of lockdown after a year” energy atm.
The cat is one of the most realistic characters in this thing, lol.
And since Tamar is also heavily queercoded, our lovely ladies make off into the night, flirting. Or maybe not. Let me dream, though.
At least Blade Boy is aware that his tattoo is stupid. To quote someone ranting about him on tumblr: He’s embracing his identity as a tool.
Oh, boy, this will be fun.
Evil soldier is horny for Mal. Saints, is there a woman in this book who isn’t horny for Blade Boy?
And here comes Niki to save the day.
Chapter 6
Niki saved the day.
Fiberglass? And David being David. Genya being in love with her nerd of a boyfriend.
Jesus Christ, this one crazy kid has moved the technology in this universe a whole century on his own. So, when is David going to propose to him?
Baghra hasn’t changed much I see.
Baghra’s about to drop some truthbombs, but no, we have to be rudely interupted because Genya’s rapist is throwing a fit.
Chapter 7
How does Mal sound? Is she gonna say the Blade boy sounds like her dad? I mean, I know voices are partially genetic, but it has been tens of generations between them, probably.
So, we’re finally taking Genya’s trauma seriously after all this time? Good. Better late than never, I guess.
I wish that regicide was already finished and I’m pretty sure that Genya does, too. Stop defending the fucking king, narrative.
David’s a nerd in all things I see.
Someone please just kill the king already. And the queen, too, for good measure.
Now that’s a romance.
Infodumping and listening to said infodumps is a legitimate love language, Alina. Let them nerd out over poisons.
Wait, has Alina never directly killed anyone before? I thought she did... hmmm.
And just like that, it should have been over. Ugh.
Somehow, Baghra is a better teacher now than she was before. She half feels like a completely different character.
Nevermind, she’s back at it.
Chapter 8
Holy shit, Nadia and Tamar are canon. They have canon gays here.
So, which one of them is gonna die?
Chapter 9
We arrive at that scene. The one, where they should have fucked.
Jeez, girl, get a hold of yourself. Life is short, fuck a villain.
In other news, Genya and David definitelly fucked.
Chapter 10
Poor David. He just wanted to know.
Damn... I never realized just how young Baghra was, when she killed her sister.
I’ve already made a post about this, but it really does strike me like Baghra has already decided to end her life at this point in the book.
Why is that whole “but what if we’re related” thing even in there?
Chapter 11
We love a suprise attack.
When did Sasha boy learn that trick?
Baghra really just did that. Oh boy.
Chapter 12
No, don’t kill the kid... ugh.
Emotiona support cat. She should be friends with Milo.
Porrige for brains. Oof.
So Nadia was the one, who got bees set on her in the book. Cool.
That’s a good question. Why was it never brought up to Alina, that other Grisha get blocks, too?
David already thinking of steampunk prosthetic for Adrik is honestly kinda sweet.
Chapter 13
Back home... kinda.
Is that really... you really care about Mal bonking the Grisha school mean girl over a year ago? Okay.
Chapter 14
Angst! Yay!
And more angst.
Chapter 15
Sasha really went “My mom killed herself to save you? Well, I’ll kill the closest thing to parents you have.”
Chapter 16
Nikolai’s alive. Kinda.
And these two have such a sibling energy, I can’t.
And then they fuck. Ew.
Chapter 17
Wait, wait wait... so Alina isn’t even the one to destroy the Fold?
Okay. That’s... weird.
Holy shit. That was...
So, Aleksander is dead. Mal isn’t. Someone else destroyed the Fold for Alina and now she has no powers.
Okay.
That’s a weird-ass ending.
Chapter 18
The gays survived, so that’s nice.
Genya made good on her promise of making Alina a ginger, lol.
After
What emotion is this supposed to give me? Cause all I feel is kinda sad.
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