#I did NOT intend for this to be so long

[revenantghost]

Man, I think the best and worst part of Knives’s character is just how compelling he is*

I get it. You get it. We all understand exactly how and why he is the way he is. So many people have put this idea into better words than I could. He witnessed an unspeakable horror at an incredibly young age. He knew he was different, that he was other, and a worry set deeply into his bones that humanity would reject him for being born who he is. 

And he was right. It was so much worse than he could have ever realized. He was born to be an object for humanity to use as they see fit. All he wanted was love and peace for himself and his brother. And after seeing that? What they did so mercilessly to Tesla? Who can blame him for not believing in any future with humanity in it. Who can imagine a future without unbelievable strife and prejudice when you’re outnumbered and are seen as an item to dissect and toy with as you see fit

And yet

And yet

In his fear, in his need to control and correct, the cycle continues. The abused becomes the abuser. He assaults his brother multiple times. He takes away Vash’s autonomy and manipulates his body without his consent. Hell he happily experiments with/tests and uses Vash’s body while unconscious. He says he loves Vash while refusing to hear a word coming out of his mouth. Because, if he has a moment of doubt, any hint of weakness, all of that anger slips away and he becomes that boy again--afraid and weak and alone

In his fear, he takes plants. He strips them of their independence and will, denying them their souls. Again, he uses the bodies of his siblings against their will. He displays their corpses to keep him angry instead of putting them to rest. He kills and breaks apart the body of his sister so that he doesn’t have to die, so that he can be reborn. He willfully denies the thoughts, dreams, and pains of his sisters and instead absorbs them, impregnates them, tries to kill them in the “right” way

In his fear, he drove humanity into hurting his kind more. He forced their hand into injuring and killing more plants than they’d ever dreamed of harming. He’s the one that put Vash into a constant position where he’s gaining mountains of scars. (His brother who, on the opposite end of the spectrum, has let the cycle of abuse continue while using himself as a shield instead of breaking free from the pattern.) He uses and discards the humans near him no matter the kindness and devotion they shows him

The same behavior Knives shows everybody and everything else

He’s awful. Absolutely sick and perverted and so stuck in his own mind that all he does is hurt and hurt and hurt

And yet

I get it. I’ve been traumatized to the point where all I want to do is cause pain in return. To feel that justice can exist and will come to pass, no matter the cost. To be so afraid that anger is the only safe emotion you can cling to. It’s what makes him one of the most compelling antagonists I’ve ever seen. Kudos to Nightow for fucking me up about Knives and his pain more by the day, honestly

*Except for ‘98 Knives lmao, that man is fabulously unhinged and overly dramatic about everything and I love him for it

[deathbind]

Alright, here's what we're going with. I'll polish all this later.

First, it's important to know that Meket tends to be matrilineal + matrilocal (except for the oldest son), but it tends to be sons, specifically nephews, who inherit. So say you have a nobleman. It is not his son who inherits but his nephew, specifically his oldest sister's son. If he has no nephews, then it goes to his oldest sister; if he has no sisters, maternal aunts will be favored, although his children will have a stronger case for inheritance if they choose to pursue it.

To put the matter as simply and concisely as possible, it is traditionally women who own land and through whom descent is traced. The oldest son is traditionally the executor and guardian of the family estate. The land belongs to the sister; the son administers it. Younger sons typically move in with their wife's family when they marry, but the eldest son will remain with his family. This does affect his marriage prospects; he usually marries someone who is a younger sister not expecting to inherit much.

Men and women do both own property, though. When couples marry, their assets remain separate. They may administer their affairs as they see fit, but it's not the norm for all their assets to merge or for one's property to automatically become the property of the other. The wife's property typically passes to their children while the husband's typically passes to his nieces / nephews.

There's always nuance when looking at different time periods, different social classes, different regions, but I'm already very off topic. The small details of inheritance and property rights are a discussion for another time.

What's important is that, in roughly 1368 DR, Serot had been reincarnated as Neheb: the son and only child of the reigning monarch. As such, he would never inherit. This was never an issue for him. However, much of the rest of the continent is patrilineal + patrilocal and practices a patrilineal inheritance. In short, sons inherit from fathers. Certainly this is the case for the Grand Caliphs. This is relevant for a handful of reasons:

Grand Caliph Khalil al-Assad al-Zahir believed a strong Grand Caliph was necessary and that Zakhara should be unified.

Meket is one of only a few places that does not owe allegiance to the Grand Caliph.

The two groups have warred in the past.

Makin al-Mutrattab, the Grand Caliph's chancellor + cousin + closest friend, was possessed by an agent of the Yikarian Empire with the intent of infiltrating + destabilizing the court. This has gone unnoticed.

Meket has also warred with the Yikarian Empire.

The Grand Caliph has only two children as of 1367: daughters Janya and Dalia.

The plan was simple. Makin, or rather the entity possessing him, proposed they sow discord in the Meketi royal family. They planned to manipulate Neheb into marrying one of the Caliph's daughters and challenging his cousin's right to the throne. But, there was no ambition, discontent, or discord upon which they might prey. He could have been talked into a political marriage with one of the Caliph's daughters, but he had no desire to rule, let alone war with his kin.

The more this conspiracy failed, however, the harder it tried to succeed. Meket was experiencing civil unrest during this period exacerbated by this conspiracy which took every opportunity to destabilize the country. The Spellplague hitting them like a freight train in 1385 DR made matters worse. All of this enabled the conspiracy to drive a wedge between Neheb and his family, causing him to pull away from public matters as well. He claimed illness and isolated himself.

Then it became known that he was a reincarnation of Serot and that the only way to activate the failsafes Serot has built was for him to sacrifice his life as Serot had. An unforeseen complication when those failsafes were built over a millennium prior. Neheb ultimately agreed. This sealed the necropoleis until the end of the Spellplague and overall protected the land from the worst of its ravages, but the damage done to the ruling family was irreversible.

Their popularity had been in decline for some time, again exacerbated by outside forces. When it came out Neheb was an incarnation of the Saint Eternal, people accused the Monarch of knowing all along and simply allowing the country to suffer. Some even whispered the Monarch / the royal family was the cause of the Spellplague; that Serot had been reborn into their line to lead back on the proper path but they'd been heedless of this gift, alienated him, and so brought divine retribution upon the whole country. Worst of all was the sacrifice itself.

Neheb had not wanted to die. He had been no more than twenty at the time. He had estranged himself from family and friends, gave up all he could, isolated himself to preserve peace with his kin and thus within his home. He loved his family. He loved his home. But, he did not want to die. He begged the Anactaci, the priesthood, the court, his family to find another way. He begged the Monarch as their subject, and he begged the Monarch as their son. But, the devastation was worsening; the death toll was mounting. There was no other way, they insisted. They would not find one in time.

They would not kill him. That would be barbaric. But if he should see fit to draw slit his throat and wash the land in the mercy of his blood, they would supply the knife. Neheb had to laugh.

In the end, he agreed. Really it was more resignation. He wanted to be remembered as someone who died with dignity, who had sacrificed his very life for his home. He would not be remembered as a ram dragged to slaughter. He was adored and honored for this. His family, the priesthood, the Anactaci less so. The grief and shame sent the Monarch spiraling as well as tearing the family apart. The people of Meket, already dissatisfied with their rule, turned on them within a handful of years. The following coup was not the blood bath their neighbors had hoped, however. There was no civil war, only a forced abdication to a unanimously chosen noble.

Now how does all of this link to Mystic Carrion? Meket was far from unknown on the continent of Faerûn, but tales of what happened during the Spellplague ensured they were on everyone’s lips. Someone thought to take advantage of Serot’s Neheb’s bond with Refhremmit for their own purposes. I have not decided exactly who. End result is this person went to great pains to steal Neheb’s mummy and canopic jars. They used these to resurrect him as a mummy lord, but they proved incapable of controlling him. His bond with Refhremmit makes him atypical.

On top of that, they were only able to snatch and corrupt fragments of his soul. The rest continued to be reincarnated. Always drawn toward Mystic Carrion, always meeting a tragic end, but reincarnated nevertheless. Meanwhile Mystic Carrion remembers little of his life. He carries mainly impressions of Neheb’s darkest moments further amplified by the corruption necessary to make a mummy lord. As Mystic Carrion’s power grows, the more of his soul is corrupted, and the more of Serot / Neheb is lost. Refhremmit is negatively impacted as well. One more reason to bring Serot back as a reborn than reincarnate again and one more reason to bring him back in Faerûn rather than Zakhara. I’ll decide on his options when confronting Carrion later but here’s to facing off against the embodiment of some of your traumas.

[martanis]

first meeting, but make it Sauron's perspective The Rings of Power 2.01 "Elven Kings Under the Sky"

[piningintrovert]

Can't tell or won't tell? Sooner or later, you'll have to tell me everything anyway. You can't hide anything from me.

Sailub Hemmawich as OAB and Pon Thanapon as PLAWAN THIS LOVE DOESN'T HAVE LONG BEANS (2024)

[unipacas]

wake up babe new best friends dropped

[dracanboys-m]

sticker of shame on top of my head that says "i turn everything i love into a monster hunter au". some boys that bite just dropped

[anistarrose]

The possible explanations for why the fuck Barry could've felt the need to open that scene with "are you afraid?" have been analyzed by this fandom for basically ever since the Red Robe identity reveal, and a lot of people have brought up good theories that I've adopted bits and pieces of from each. But one thing that I haven't actually seen proposed as a factor is this:

Talking to Tres Horny Boys through the facade of the faceless "Red Robe" might've just been Barry's backup plan. Plan A was, quite possibly, to sneak Junior's ichor out of Lucretia's private quarters, be able to actually inoculate THB, and actually have them recognize him. (A proper reunion, with no cryptic warnings. With no dancing around static — just Barry and Tres Horny Boys, actually trusting each other innately.)

Why do I think this is plausible? Let me clarify the timeline a little: at the start of the Petals arc, before THB leave the Bureau, all is normal with their soon to be ex-roommate Pringles/Robbie (Ep. 18). Upon return, THB are informed that at some point during their (overnight, so 24 hour-ish?) absence, Pringles was thrown in the brig (Ep. 28).

It's eventually revealed by Pringles and Barry, in The Suffering Game and Reunion Tour respectively, that Barry possessed Pringles to do "reconnaissance" on the Bureau, specifically on where to find the second Voidfish (ie, Lucretia's private office, which is where Pringles "woke up" and was "arrested summarily").

I will note that Barry describes this as just recon — implying information gathering, and not necessarily a Voidfish ichor heist. However, this was an explanation he gave through a recorded message in the coin, where he was likely choosing his words carefully to confuse THB the least amount possible. And moreover... I just find it hard to believe that Barry wouldn't let himself hope, leading up to and during this infiltration, that he could make it out with the ichor he so desperately needed.

After all, Barry may be Going Through It during the podcast, but he definitely knows that as much as he needs information, it's going to be a lot harder to pull off his eventual heist if Lucretia catches him in the act, and winds up knowing that he has that information. Barry also chose to make his infiltration attempt while the Bureau was distracted, monitoring the Gaia Sash — in a lot of ways, this might've seemed like not just his first chance at the ichor, but also his best chance at it.

Barry's both an incredibly determined and opportunistic, calculating guy. I don't think Barry would've left Pringles' body unless/until he was absolutely cornered; no hope left of getting out with the ichor this time. He wouldn't pass up a chance to restore his family's memories — because of his deep, deep emotional and practical stakes in restoring those memories, first and foremost — but he even feels kinda bad about possessing Pringles (calling it "unfortunate collateral damage"), and would certainly prefer for his unsavory tactics to be, you know, worth it.

So when Barry fails? When he comes away from his mission he's no doubt been planning for weeks, waiting intently and single-mindedly for his chance with the right Relic-based distraction — and it turns out he has information, but no ichor, to show for it? When he fails, Barry's left on the back foot.

He'd dared to hope it might turn out better than this. He'd dared to hope this might be a turning point, and the world might remain in danger, but at least he'd have his family back. He'd dared to hope he might be able to speak to them, in his right mind, with his memories, and be recognized for the first time in a decade.

So when none of that comes to fruition? When he knows his boys won't recognize him yet, no matter what he does? Yet he still needs them on his side? He still needs them to be prepared for the horrors coming?

Well, he just fucking improvises.

"Are you afraid?"

[insertsomthinawesome]

Trying out a post for Repostober!! and idea by @marlowedobbeart!!

The top one was an old FFXV post I'm honestly still quite proud of! The second image is actually one I never got around to posting. I thought it needed more work/that it wasn't good enough. Looking at it now tho I think it looks fine aldskfjLSKDJGSD. So sharing it now :D -NO ROMANCE INCLUDED-

[kelocitta]

There is currently a rather large discussion ongoing about the RW fandom behavior, drama, etc. I am not going to talk about the specifics of whats happened for a number of reasons. But what I do want to say is that if at any point you've harassed people over it, whether that be through anon asks or public posts- you did nothing but damage the ability for people to correctly process what is happening. You contributed nothing but harm to an already delicate situation. It does not matter what "side" you were on and I will not tolerate further interaction with me or my work if I found out you did such. If you let your personal hate for anyone boil over into threats, wishes for long term harm and petty comments meant to contribute nothing but slander or mental distress for the individuals involved who were already distressed (or acting irrationally) you did nothing but make it harder for people to process their emotions, thoughts and behaviors constructively. Regardless of who you think was in the right, who fucked up, whatever. It doesn't matter if they deserved it, or earned it, or if its an eye for an eye. Its difficult enough as it is to think clearly when presented with any kind of stressful situation and heckling people does nothing but make it worse and harder for them to explain themself in any capacity. I don't want you anywhere near me if you think that is an acceptable way to act.

[corntired]

Fanfiction is so goated actually

No monetary incentive, just writing in one's free time. Some incentive for like kudos and comments, because who doesn't want to hear that someone else enjoyed what they wrote. Just writing a story that is good and/or enjoyable, no real-life pressure to keep it going because god forbid you and other people are depending on it financially.

Writing a story because you want to write a good story, so you can write what they want the way you want, at a pace that is realistic for you, with exactly the plot pacing you want there to be.

[fist-of-vengeance]

thinking about how essentially every relationship john locke formed in the early seasons of lost has completely disintegrated by the time of his death.

of course there's his relationship with jack, which starts tense but manageable and culminates in jack pointing a gun at john's head and pulling the trigger. but even his smaller, less narratively prominent relationships either implode or drift apart. he bonds with walt in season one but then walt leaves the island, which is itself a severing of their bond since it was mainly based on being the only two people who wanted to stay. still, he goes and visits walt off the island so this is probably john's most successful relationship. I dont think i need to explain how he fucked up with boone, "the sacrifice that the island demanded." charlie viewed john as a mentor and claimed to trust him more than anyone on the island, but after the events of fire and water, that trust is destroyed and charlie despises him. at the same time we get john bonding with claire and having a pseudo-paternal dynamic with her, but their closeness basically drops off the face of the earth as he gets less and less involved with the other survivors.

his arc in the series is essentially a gradual distancing from everyone around him. it starts when he abandons hunting (providing for the others) in favor of trying to get the hatch open (it's extremely clear his primary motive isn't any survival applications but getting answers to the mystery). when they do open the hatch, he spends more and more time inside, underground, cut off from other people. he spends more and more time interacting with ben, a human mystery box that he's obsessed with cracking even if it gets him killed. he follows the proverbial white rabbit deeper down the hole and leaves his connection to humanity behind. the island and its mysteries become more important to john than anything or anyone else.

then in season three we get him claiming to go undercover with the others only to unceremoniously tell sawyer that he's actually going to join them. and it doesn't feel shocking, it feels inevitable. because john has spent the entire series becoming less and less connected with the people he arrived with. in that sense he actually makes a fascinating foil to juliet, who is introduced as one of the others and yet never really fits, she's increasingly sympathetic and kind in a way the rest of them aren't, her redemption arc feels so natural that she actually starts referring to her old people as "the others" like she's been one of the crash survivors from the beginning. her and john basically have inverse arcs, which is probably accidental but very neat.

in season five john tries to convince everyone to go back to the island, and fails spectacularly. and of course he does, because he was so consumed by obsession that he stopped maintaining his relationships, and in many cases actively alienated people (this is also basically what happened with helen) and now he can't wrap his head around why they're all so hostile to him. i am forever obsessed with the scene where he confronts kate and she brutally calls him out for wanting to return to the island because he doesn't love anyone. it actually struck me on rewatch how well the two of them got along in season one, and how badly their relationship has degraded by this point. john repeatedly casts aside interpersonal relationships in favor of his obsession with destiny, so when said destiny actually involves persuading the people he once shunned, he's at a loss. this is because john treats purpose as a supplement for connection, destiny as an alternative to love.

as an aside, this aspect of john's character kinda ties into my opinion that several lost characters can be read as allegorically neurdivergent under a certain lens. i know this was absolutely not intended, but as an adhd former gifted kid who struggles socially, there is something uncomfortably familiar about a character who allows their relationships to burn around them because of a single-minded obsession, especially as a result of being promised the fickle status of "special."

tl/dr: john locke is a doomed idiot and i love him

[royallygray]

[bunthebreadboy]

i saw a fanart on pinterest when i decided to change my entire phone theme and i can’t get it out of my head.

the art was just after the zuko and ozai agni kai. zuko was knocked out, iroh was getting ready to take him and leave, and azula just came in and said “i took care of it”. if anyone knows what i’m talking about and has it saved or knows the og artist pls lmk!!

anyways. it got me thinking about an expansion of this au (that i will never write because i have neither the patience nor the time to do that) that (unsurprisingly) results in disasterlesbian!azula

so hear me out on this one. there would need to be an entire plot. like. what’s aang going to do??

azula killed ozai by electrocuting him. it’s the first time she discovers her lightning bending. it looks like he had a heart attack in his sleep. (don’t get too wrapped up in the details. azula’s a prodigy she can be overpowered for a bit)

why did she kill her dad? she’ll swear up and down that it was because “he really should have picked on someone with a better fighting ability than zuzu. honestly, it’s stupid he didn’t lose his honor after frying my pathetic firebender of a brother to a crisp.” it’s actually because she kind of sort of loves zuko. she will NEVER admit that.

iroh becomes fire lord, albeit a bit reluctantly. he spends the next three years attempting to end the war, stop the spread of propaganda in the fire nation, and deal with his niece and nephew bickering all the time.

so aang comes out of the iceberg. meets katara and sokka. katara convinces him to take her to the north pole because he’s the avatar, he still should probably master all four elements war or not. all of the traveling is the same (except zuko chasing them) until they get to omashu and king bumi is like “what’s up my dude, welcome back. we’re recovering from a war, so you should probably learn politics and how to not offend anyone while you master the elements!!”

(“there was a WAR?!?!!!” -aang, probably)

so now aang does a deep dive into all of the nation’s politics while also training. katara doesn’t really attend his meetings, but sokka’s a total nerd and is sat for every single one. first is waterbending at the north pole. insert canon things but add in a meeting with arnook.

this is where we introduce the REAL enemy, because the enemy can’t be the gaang attempting to learn international law at 12, 14, and 15 years old. during the full moon someone assassinates the moon spirit! (sorry yue, i love you but you still die in this au…)

so after mastering waterbending the gaang heads to the earth kingdom. they meet toph and she joins. they head to ba sing se, which, after trying to talk politics with the king, they realize is still completely unaware of the war. while in the earth kingdom, we get a name for the big bad. the dai li. after realizing that ba sing se is basically a military dictatorship, the gaang escapes and head to the fire nation.

that’s where zuko, azula, and iroh get reintroduced. aang and sokka consistently come back from meetings with the royals complaining about “oh my god, the princess is such a bitch. seriously, how is she allowed to help run this country??”

katara eventually goes with the boys to a meeting to get them to shut up. toph makes fun of her for being a people pleaser, but katara will do literally anything to get her brother and best friend to stop yapping about the same topic at her every. single. day.

azula (disaster lesbian) doesn’t say a single word throughout the entire meeting. sokka and aang walk out feeling like they were in the twilight zone. katara shows up to more and more meetings. why? definitely not cause the princess is sort of kind of somewhat cute intriguing.

insert azula’s gay awakening crisis here. she eventually starts talking at the meetings, but she’s only ever nice to katara lmao. katara does realize that azula’s an actual genius, though. she decides that the two of them could probably like, take over the entirety of ba sing se in a day if they tried hard enough. but of course that is purely hypothetical.

so one day a meeting gets interrupted by a literal dai li assassin trying to kill aang. he barely escapes the resulting fight.

so the dai li send more assassins. and even more assassins. until finally zuko gets fed up and is just like “alright i’m tired of dealing with these guys. can we please go kick their leader’s ass??”

that is how azula and zuko end up joining the gaang. and how azula can eventually lay siege over ba sing se (even if she reluctantly gives it back when katara tells her to).

—

other misc key points:

- azula and katara get together right before they fight with long feng. it happens cause katara notices that azula is nervous (nobody else would be able to tell) and so she’s like “zula. you’ve got this. we’ve got this” and kisses her lmao

- toph and azula are best friends, to katara’s obvious dismay

- the second azula calls zuko “zuzu” in front of sokka he immediately starts rolling on the floor and laughing. katara has to make sure his lungs are okay afterwards

- zuko: “im literally not gay??” sokka: “yeah, and toph can see”

- toph regularly comes back to wherever the gaang is staying with bags of money. she knows how to find every single illegal fighting ring in the world.

- this is a loooooong term plot. since there’s no reason to worry about the comet it can take place over many years. which also means that katara and azula literally pine for each other until they’re like 20 and everyone around them, especially (and surprisingly) aang, is like “oh my god make it stop”

[liliumofthevalleyy]

The trial of younger Louis and Will isn't talked about enough

I have no idea why I haven't seen someone talk about it yet from Baxter's prespective with how funny it is.

Imagine you are an arrogant, selfish, hypocritical, and frankly annoying nobleman, who does not deserve the wealth his ancestors have build like half the birtish ppl back then, in late 1800s Britain.

You cheat an orphanage out of it's donation money and then some kids from the slum form an agreement with you to repay it so that now you owe them instead, and you don't think much of it because 1. they're kids 2.they're "uneducated stupid dirty kids"

Those same kids take you to court for not repaying them a month later💀.

Spoiler alert, they weren't dumb.

Turns out, even without a lawyer, the older kid is dominating you effortlessly, you a nobleman (unbelieveable right?). And the kid decidsed to adhere to the agreement by taking one pound of flesh. To which your lawyer objects with a reason and his objection is sustained.

Surprise, the kids prepared against that too. And surprise, you are losing and the case and it's stressing you out while the older kid freaking asks you if you would like him to recite all of Shakespeare's plays (since this trial mimicks the trial in one of the plays) while posing. (We stan theatre kid William).

Out of nowhere the older kid pulls out a relatively large knife from his small blazer's pocket? And menacingly approaches you as everyone watches casually because ain't no way that small-ahh blazer is covering ANYTHING.

Unsuprisingly atp, you lost the case...

Out of all corrupt nobleman that actually got one-ep long screen-time before getting off-screened like Enders, Baxter's case is the most miserable to me. Like with how status was everything back then, how is he ever gonna live it down?

[whiskeyswifty]

Getaway Car - Taylor Swift

Getaway Car as a Formula 1 merch concept design. The Getaway Car Racing Team champions poster for the 6th Grand Prix in Rome where in 2017, they clinched their victory in the Rep Racing World Championship. The poster features lyrical easter eggs as the team sponsors and nods to the track number and lore around the song's subjects. Additionally, racing team hoodies and stickers for fans to rep their team. print and sticker and t-shirt in my etsy shop

[sandumilfshou]

qin su fix-it where jgy processes what madam qin has told him then immediately goes to confide in his fiancée because he trusts her, knows shes capable, and doesnt want to make their situation even worse

qin su, who knows shes pregnant with their child, is horrified. mostly at the fact that jgs is such a piece of shit that he would rape and impregnate her mother and then forget about it to the point he sanctioned their marriage. then horrified about the fact that her own mother told jgy, not her. finally, horrified about the fact that she is less disgusted by the situation and more distraught, because she loves a-yao and wants to have their child.

suyao immediately pivot to problem solving mode. theyre still going to get married. qin su isnt going to abort their baby. they still love and trust each other - even more so now. qin su is so happy that jgy came to her with this information instead of hiding it like her mother did.

they consult a few texts, and decide that qin su will fake a medical emergency in her third trimester, one that could explain any disabilities their child may be born with. rusong is born mostly healthy, but they know they'll need to watch his development with a close eye. they love their son, even if he is a little slower to speak than other children his age. he is a good little brother cousin to jin ling.

qin su doesnt have any other relationships, even though she gives a-yao permission to covertly court zewu-jun. jgy really is her one and only, even if they cant be together, even if their relationship has evolved into something else now. they have no more children, but qin su's parents dote on rusong.

jin guangshan still dies horribly. qin su helps her husband plan it in a way that doesnt hurt any sex workers, no matter how horrible and catty some of them are, how some of them treated meng shi.

qin su learns all about her husbands past machinations with jin zixuan, su minshan, xue yang, wei wuxian. she doesnt speak to him for weeks over it, even considers running away with rusong. however much she hates it, she remembers how jin guangshan treated him, how everyone still treats him behind his back even now that he is jin-zongzhu. she doesnt like it, doesnt agree with it, but understands how a-yao was backed into a corner and felt that this was the only way to keep himself safe, to ensure a place in their society.

she still feels nauseatingly guilty every time she looks at jin ling and sandu shengshou together and knows its her husbands fault that they have only each other. they love rusong, but he cannot replace jin zixuan or jiang yanli.

she knows that her husband doesnt regret his actions, only wishes they werent necessary to take, if only because lan wangji's suffering hurts zewu-jun, which hurts a-yao. qin su talks her husband down from the manic state he works himself into after chifeng-zun kicks him down jinlintai's stairs.

then she goes to the quarters they assigned to the nie contingent and slaps chifeng-zun across the face, leaving deep scratches behind as she does so. her husband may have been poisoning the mans mind (which a-yao will no longer do if he knows whats good for him) but that doesnt give nie-zongzhu the right to disparage meng shi and nearly kill her husband in such a disrespectful way.

things are a little better in this universe, but not by much. xue yang still cant be controlled. jin ling still gets bullied for being an orphan. mo xuanyu still falls into demonic cultivation. her husband has committed atrocious, unforgivable acts that have qin su sobbing alone some nights, curled around their gorgeous, happy, but simple-minded son.

but nie mingjue lives a little longer. he still dies from qi deviation, held off as long as possible by the hard work of his sworn brothers, but this time he's lucid enough to beg huaisang to let nie zonghui put him out of his misery.

su minshan is not a great sect leader, but he does his best and is a loyal friend to her husband, and always gives rusong a present whenever he comes by jinlintai.

mo xuanyu still has to be sent back to mo village. he still uses the sacrifice ritual to summon wei wuxian to kill his birth family, but this time jin guangyao isnt on his hit list. its fairly obvious to zewu-jun and a-yao that its actually wei wuxian, thanks to hanguang-jun and sandu shengshou's reactions, and the subsequent summoning of a very much still undead-yet-alive wen ning who was living in a small village in gusu to stay close to wen yuan

(qin su had rolled her eyes when a-yao had stressed about what to do with the fierce corpse in the basement. qin su had taken out the nails herself and asked wen ning what he wanted to do. the poor boy had wanted to grieve his family, give them a proper burial, panicked when he couldnt find a child-size body amongst them. a-yao and qin su spent enough time with hanguang-jun and zewu-jun's young ward who appeared out of nowhere not long after wei wuxian's death to put the pieces together. sizhui loves his ning-shushu very much)

in the end, things are better.

nie huaisang doesnt make for a great sect leader, but with zonghui and jgy to advise him, he manages long enough to revert qinghe nie back to a sect-based succession instead of clan-based succession, and retires to spend his days with art and poetry and never has to pick up a sword again.

wei wuxian and lan wangji get married. they invite sandu shengshou, who yells at anyone who so much as looks as though they may acknowledge the tears on his face. rusong is very excited to have the yiling laozu as an uncle, though wwx's identity is still technically meant to be a secret.

jin ling is named as a-yao's heir. its the only way a-yao can make up for taking away both his parents.

meng shi still gets a whole temple dedicated to her. qin su visits whenever she can to pray to her late mother-in-law.

rusong grows up to be a fairly average cultivator, but he is the light of jinlintai. he loves his parents, and his cousins rulan and sizhui, and adores how much uncle huaisang spoils him.

qin su and jin guangyao still share a bed, are as close as twins, secret conspirators together. sometimes qin su looks at her brother the way a wife looks at her husband and sighs sadly. she doesn't begrudge the days their bed is empty because her brother is sharing one with zewu-jun, because lan xichen makes a-yao happy in the way she once thought she could.

its not the life she thought she'd have, but its one she is content with.

sometimes she goes into their treasure room and sees the faces of strangers trapped in a dagger on one of the shelves.

qin su never touches it. she has no reason to.