#I have a lot of feelings about jun wu

[xueyuverse]

Thinking here and... I'm one of who believes that Jun Wu has very similar attitudes to those of sexual abusers.

He has been obsessed with Xie Lian's virginity since his first ascension, so much so that he took him to the land of tenderness to be poisoned with an aphrodisiac;

He has a sword that tests people's virginity?? And of course he used it on Xie Lian;

The calm speech, the intimacy, the way he acts as if everything is normal and praising Xie Lian's growth too... Um, you know, it's very common for sexual abusers to act so naturally towards their victims, even if he is recognized, he will act as if he even has the right to be intimate;

Jun Wu always tries to keep everyone away from Xie Lian and make Xie Lian move away from people too, or humiliate him in some way. For example, trying to make Xie Lian move away from Hua Cheng, wanting to make him believe that Hua Cheng isn't a good person and isn't worthy of his trust, making Xie Lian feel guilty and like someone lesser than him and is being disobedient.

For some people this may not be important, I'm not going to get into the discussion of "fiction x reality", "romanticization" etc., I have no interest in discussing it here, I don't want to know about it, cause I already have my own opinions.

However, for me it's important, this language is too violent for me, and it reflects a lot on my own experiences, which is why I end up thinking about these things a lot. Anyway.

[inaconstantstateofchange]

okay so when reading the final chapter of svsss volume three, the interactions between yue qingyuan and tianlang-jun are so—

Shen Qingqiu wanted to say something when Tianlang-Jun raised his chin, squinting at Yue Qingyuan. “I remember you.” After thinking for a bit, he said with conviction, “Back then, the Huan Hua Palace’s old geezer wanted you to help him with the ambush, but you ignored him. So you’re the current sect leader of Cang Qiong Mountain? Not bad.” “Your distinguished self’s memory is also quite good.” Tianlang-Jun smiled and smiled, then gave a sigh. “If you were also trapped in a pitch-back darkness for over ten years, unable to glimpse the sky or sun, with nothing to pass the days but for reminiscing over past affairs, your memory would be quite good as well.”

tianlang-jun remembered him, and while yes, it's clear he has a pretty good memory and might also be using it as a way to throw his potential enemy off-balance, it is still a very interesting way to go about it. and the rejoinder yue qingyuan sends back at him, perfectly polite - even respectful! - totally unflappable—tell me you do not see the potential there!!

but never fear, if you are not yet convinced, i have more:

Tianlang-Jun continued to sit upon his stone, completely at ease. “I remember that you also waited until the last moment to draw your sword that day,” he said to Yue Qingyuan. “Doing the same now?” Yue Qingyuan didn’t answer.

tianlang-jun remembered a lot about yue qingyuan, even small details like his sword, and the actions he took (or didn't) upon the day of tianlang-jun's betrayal. to me, this reads as though, even then, he took note of yue qingyuan's power as something to look out for. he is also, despite all of the other people around, primarily engaging in conversation with yue qingyuan.

Tianlang-Jun pulled his hand back and smiled. “Honestly, in the beginning I had no malice, nor did I find fun in the idea of the world burning. I only occasionally crossed the border, coming here to sing songs or read books—it was quite nice. However, since I’ve already been in residence beneath Bai Lu Mountain for so many years, if I don’t follow through on something along the lines of your thoughts, I’d truly find my circumstances a bit too unjustified.” Yue Qingyuan flicked his finger. Xuan Su sprang three inches from its sheath, its spiritual energy seething. The bones of Tianlang-Jun’s body cracked and popped, almost like his joints had been dislocated. He made a sound of surprise. “As expected of a sect leader. Not bad. Your master was quite mediocre but had quite the eye for disciples and successors.”

okay first of all, the tension here is remarkable, and second of all, the compliment at the end—tianlang-jun, for the power level we know he possesses, is being practically effusive with his praise of yue qingyuan's strength something we know to be greatly prized by demons.

this segment follows the previous directly, but i had to give it it's own spotlight, for reasons that i hope will be readily apparent:

Then Tianlang-Jun reached out and grabbed Xuan Su’s blade directly, as if he couldn’t feel a thing. “But why not draw it all the way?” he said with a smile. “You can’t do anything to me with only this much.” Yue Qingyuan’s gaze hardened, and Xuan Su jumped another half-inch from its sheath.

tianlang-jun: oho, you'll need more than that much to handle me, big guy

(jokes aside, considering the rampant spiritual energy of xuan su, described as so powerful as to be oppressive in volume 2, and the susceptibility of demons to spiritual energy, tianlang-jun is truly doing the absolute Most™ right now.)

... moving decidedly away from jokes now, this is one of the most pivotal lines for them, in my opinion. it comes at the conclusion of wu chen's reveal of the betrayal-that-wasn't, and how su xiyan chose death over bringing harm to tianlang-jun, only for it to find him regardless:

“It wasn’t that she didn’t care about you, but that she was without alternative. Yet the world is pitiless, and so you passed each other by…” Tianlang-Jun’s lips seemed to tremble slightly. A long moment passed. Then he said, “Is that so?” Right after those three words, he asked again, “Truly?” “This one swears upon his life that his words contain not a single falsehood,” said Master Wu Chen. Tianlang-Jun turned his head to look at Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan. As if seeking confirmation, he asked, “Truly?” He didn’t even care whether someone was in the know; he was just asking anyone he could. Unable to say anything, Yue Qingyuan silently lowered his head. It was unclear what he thought.

it is clear that the tragedy of su xiyan and tianlang-jun was one that yue qingyuan felt keenly, not only for his response here, clearly processing some significant emotion, but also for the way that he used the same words to describe his relationship with shen jiu just a short time later:

“I really…didn’t mean to not return,” said Yue Qingyuan. “Only, it really is true that the world is pitiless, and so the two of us passed each other by…”

pardon me while a cry a new freshwater body into existence.

there is truly so much more that can be said about what makes these two a great fit for each other, especially in a canon-adjacent/post-canon scenario, but i'll save that for another day. for now, i will let these excerpts speak for themselves.

[budd-ie]

The way it has JUST dawned on me exactly why Mu Qing is so smug all the time about Xie Lian. The truth is that any time someone does something good for others, it ALWAYS comes back to bite them. Nobody is grateful, nobody is thankful, and most of the time you get physically hurt even trying. Mu Qing’s conclusion about this is “there is literally no point in being a nice person because it will only get you hurt.” He sees this pattern and he knows he’s right, and he especially sees it with Xie Lian. Think about how fucking smug Fu Yao is in the sinners pit when he finds out about “General Hua” and Xie Lian’s “death.” This is just another instance of Xie Lian’s efforts for good only ever going to waste and him getting beat to death and back for thinking he can still save the common people. What’s his problem? Won’t this idiot ever learn his lesson? When he sees the dilapidated shrine and sad excuse for a living arrangement Mu Qing looks joyous. What joy could he possibly find in another man’s suffering? It’s because it proves that trying to play good guy gets you nowhere. Mu Qing left all those years ago to focus on himself and it got him to a top martial god spot in heaven. He’s clearly right about this! This proves it!

It’s so obvious he’s right. If you want to get anywhere in life, you have to stop worrying about being “good” or “kind” because it will never bring you good returns. That’s true….so why can’t Xie Lian understand that? If every single time he gets kicked down for trying to do something nice, why bother getting up and trying again? What is he trying to accomplish?

The difference is that Xie Lian is kind not for the returns but because it is innate to him. It’s not that he never thought about himself in the past, it’s just that he’s never had a second thought about people deserving kindness in the world. Getting shot down never breaks his spirit like it breaks Mu Qing’s. Mu Qing can’t fucking stand that. He can’t stand that Xie Lian is so genuinely selfless, that he was wrong about his perception of him all those years ago. He can’t stand that Xie Lian is still trying to help him even though he knows he won’t appreciate it. If he really was only doing it for merit and to feel good about himself then everything would be fine! But now he has to grapple with the fact that he’s looking at a really, genuinely, good person and he’s just another person who shot him down. He realizes he’s looking at someone who’s stronger than him, physically and emotionally, better than him morally, despite all his talk about how they’re not that different when really they’re leagues away.

(Some book 8 spoilers below)

It messed with the flow of the paragraph so I didn’t mention it earlier, but in that second paragraph, Mu Qing’s mindset sounds a lot like Jun Wu. Jun Wu is trying to prove to Xie Lian that his path of kindness and selflessness is stupid and that when people knock him down he can choose the other (lesser) path. I always say That Mu Qing is like a foil to Xie Lian (I think this is that explanation) but if Jun Wu and Xie Lian are connected in this way then it’s almost reasonable to bring Mu Qing along too. And it makes sense that he doesn’t shine as bright in this point of view between the three of them, just like he always has. There’s something here but it was a wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat and a revelation kind of thing so it’s not really fleshed out at all. We’ll deal with it later.

[makedonsgriva]

anyway I had a thought today where crown prince xie lian is younger than everyone else.

He is probably 6-7 when he gets mu qing and feng xin (who are 16-17) and they coddle him a lot. Basically XL is their baby brother and baby prince wants to be as strong as his older brothers because they are both so cool!!!

baby lian meets hong-er on the streets one day and please gege can’t we keep him??? I don’t have friends!! You two don’t count cause you’re not my age. Please just please!!!!

So that’s how the trio becomes a quartet and feng xin and mu qing are not only the body guards of the prince but also baby sitters of two very unruly kids who are never up to any good

(They are not getting paid enough to deal with them) (it’s a damn good thing they love the fuck outta those kids)

anyways XL starts his training and ofc Honger tags along. they grow up training together, challenging each other, competing but falling in love at the same time and yeah celibacy is easy for XL except every time he sees HC his thoughts go haywire

When XL ascends, he has three generals by his side.

When he falls, he has two because honger died in the war

And XL truly thinks he is to blame. He went from being the darling of the heavens to someone who has now lost everything. he can’t bear the loss of his beloved

(And he never even got to confess)

Ofc HC keeps him company as a ghost fire because he’d never let his beloved be alone. (XL does not know who the ghost fire is because knowing the love of his life is not at peace would hurt him immeasurably) FX and MQ try their best to stick with him but circumstances deteriorate and they are forced out of his life once again

although this time, MQ does stand up for XL in front of the 33 gods (and gets subsequently banished from heavens). In the end, he still has to leave XL. FX gets forced out of his life after the entire sword ordeal and XL’s subsequent mental breakdown.

Unknown to XL tho they are still both watching over him from a distance because ain’t no way they are leaving their baby bro like this

When XL enters his calamity era, they both lose their minds and are trying their best to subtly stop XL from doing the worst things but THAT STUPID FUCKING GHOST ALWAYS FOLLOWING HIM AROUND WILL NOT STOP ENABLING EVERY BAD DECISION XL TAKES

fx and mq are losing their minds. when xl lies in the streets for three days, they try their best to disguise themselves and go help him but that NAMELESS GHOST!!! He does not let them!! “Your highness would be heartbroken when he realizes you two have seen him in such a state and he’d never forgive himself and you two suck at disguising yourselves anyways~”

wu ming does end up getting dispersed but not before XL realizes his true identity and absolutely loses his mind with grief because how did he manage to lose his loved one not once but TWICE and both the times it was HIS FAULT

He gets banished from heavens again because ofc

knowing xl won’t be able to cope fx and mq finally reveal themselves. xl can feel all ashamed of himself for his actions it’s fine they are not leaving him alone again and they will help him heal and move on

Except one night when the two aren’t paying attention, XL ends up running away. He can’t bear being around them, knowing they know what he did and how he caused honger’s death twice.

(fx and mq never blamed him at all. They were just heartbroken and guilt stricken for not being able to do enough for their darling brother)

Cue 800 years of searching.

This time when XL ascends, he is greeted by two powerful generals who have been reduced to a tearful mess because THEY FINALLY HAVE XL BACK WITH THEM!!! THEIR BABY BRO IS SAFE

they accompany him to mount Yu Jun as themselves and HC comes to XL’s aid

he does not reveal his identity but XL just knows this man is special

FX and MQ then tell him about Crimson Rain Sought Flower, the elusive ghost king who challenged 33 gods and crushed them all

(But he was super nice to both of them and it kinda freaked them out)

When XL meets San Lang. He knows. He just knows it’s Honger and feels like he can finally breathe again because in those 800 years he never once stopped loving him but he waits for him to reveal his identity to him because what is stopping him from telling him and fx and mq?

HC, meanwhile, is sort of embarrassed to meet them, not sure if they would be able to accept this new form of his. He missed them all dearly but he is just not able to move past his self doubts.

It is not until the cave of 10k gods that it revealed who HC really is and instead of FX and MQ freaking out, there is a tearful reunion

Um yeah. A thought was thunked. Bon Appetit

[gwldcnz]

hello everyone!!! for those who may not know me, i'm calie and in the last year i have dedicated myself to making resources for rps whenever i can. i've been unemployed and for over 13 years relying on my meds that currently cost between $190 (R$1,000) and $240 (R$ 1,300) per month, taking in consideration that minimum wage per month here in brazil is $261 (R$1,412) and i rarely get any freelancer job, that won't cover even 15% of my meds. so with a lot of shame, i depend on my parents to keep up my treatment that cannot be discontinued. my city is broken, has no jobs, and i currently have no conditions to move and start over somewhere else. besides, my city had been once of the cities hit by the big flood in brazil for over a month, which made finding a job even more difficult, since establishments are trying to recover from losses. in these last few months, despite needing money, i've been feeling emotionally exhausted and worried with the situation (of expenses and the tragedy in my state), that i simple cannot focus in any project, therefore not being able to take in commissions (that helped me a lot). with all of that being said, i decided to come here, very ashamed, and expose my situation to offer packs of all my sources that i've done in my time as a creator. if you can help me buying any pack, or a ko-fi (source link), that would immensely help in my situation and i'd be really REALLY grateful. under the "read more" are more details about the packs and pricing.

*se você for brasileiro e desejar adquirir algum conteúdo meu separadamente ou pack, me chame na dm!

pack psd templates & graphics: 12 psd character templates; 15 psd dash icons templates; psd graphics (enchanted = 2 promo banners; parker = 4 promo banners; carnival). [ link here ] $18

pack colorings: 22 colorings (corrects reddish, bluish, yellowish, greenish, dark and whitewashing scenes when adjusted). [ link here ] $18

pack gifs (gif icons & gif packs): [ link here ] $26

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mega pack (all contents of all the packs above - psd templates & graphics, colorings and gifs): [ link here ] $36

thank you very much for your attention. my askbox and dm are open for any questions!

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello!

TGCF is the first fictional book I have read (that I know of😅) where the book was officially printed, then it was revised and printed again. I know this isn’t a new thing for fiction writers to do, just new for me to have read a book like that.

I’ve read some fan translations of the revised version but it’s still an incomplete picture as things come in snippets. (Not a dig on this, just noting that observations I make on changes are incomplete right now)

Have you encountered this with any fictional stories you have read before? If so, how did you adjust to what’s canon? Did you hold them as two separate versions or let the revised version supersede the unrevised as canon? Or did you make a third path? 😅

What’s your take on any translations of the revised TGCF you have read (if you have had the chance to read them)?

For me, I think I hold them as two separate canons. Characters, and how we understand them based off the text, can sometimes subtly or drastically change after a revision. And I don’t mean minor changes, I mean the ones that gave a clear picture on why x character did such and such, and why they now do x action vs not before, etc. And personal preferences will determine if one likes the changes or not.

I asked a lot a questions. 😅🫣Happy to hear whatever feedback you have on the topic. 😁

Hm, good questions. I guess I never thought too deeply about this because I just figure that whatever latest version mxtx puts out is The Canon™️. Also, these works are already being filtered through translation, so unless I one day learn Mandarin fluent enough to read in their original language, I’ve already accepted that there are going to be multiple variations of a text floating around. With that said, the revised tgcf is the real canon to me, but other than some additions and a wholesale deletion of the ghost kid from the story, I have not heard anything to suggest that the unrevised and revised are so radically different as to be considered different books. Hualian still get together, the Xianle trio still have their issues that they work out, Jun Wu is still the final antagonist, and the moral of the story remains the same. For the sake of limiting confusion, I try to mention which version of the story I’ve read and am pulling my ideas from, but considering them separate canons as if they are adaptations by different creators feels a little excessive.

As for what I think of the revisions that I’ve seen so far? Good shit 🔥

[color-coded-bear]

SVSSS/KHR AU:

I'm incapable of brainrotting a piece of media w out making some sort of fusion/crossover AU, so now I've got SVSSS but in the KHR universe AU

Tianlang-jun would be a true earthling, thoough i haven't decided what flames he'd have. Aesthetically, I'd say Storm because red. But also, because of the whole heavenly demon healing, I wanna say Sun.

Zhuzhi-lang is half true earthling, half human. He is also with out a doubt a Cloud imo.

Also, Kawahira still exists in this AU because I absolutely do not trust TLJ to keep the Trinisette going, and so by extension the Giglio Nero line still exists as well. But this ain't about them rn, so we're going back to scum villain characters (Does this also mean KHR storyline continues on as in canon? Maybe! Haven't decided because a lot happens in KHR, but a lot also happens in SVSSS. Maybe they happen parallel to eachother and just never intersect. Who knows, I certainly don't!)

Su Xiyan is human and working under Huan Hua. I haven't decided if she'd be Sky, or some other flame type. A Sky would work in relation to a forever unattainable flame bond w tlj while also keeping her available to inherit HH. But a different flame type would work in relation to the OPM being scum and trying to lure SXY into his Harmony and keep her tied to him.

Regardless, it plays out how you'd expect, w SXY dying, TLJ incapacitated/imprisoned (I'm thinking trapped in Vendicare somehow), and Luo Binghe orphaned.

Cang Qiong and all the other Sects would be organized crime families to fit in canon. And Cang Qiong would continue to be a dozen sects/crime organizations in a trench coat pretending to be only one big sect/crime organization.

Yue Qingyuan would be a Sky, no doubt about it in my mind, but i haven't figured out who he'd be bonded to. Or if he'd even have anyone in his harmony.

Shen Qingqiu is a Cloud. I imagine people assume he's a Classic Cloud because of how he is and that he obviously has classic cloud traits- tho no one can figure out what his territory is- but in reality, he's an Inverted Cloud and just really good at pretending not to be, and only reason he remains with Cang Qiong instead of wandering away is because of YQY.

Speaking of, YQY and SQQ were once bonded, back when they were still street kids, but not anymore.

They were flame-active street kids who managed to keep their flames hidden, because it was well known that street kids who went flame active were taken and never seen again. But then Shen Jiu's flames were noticed by Qiu Jianluo and he was taken. (And then Yue Qi promised to save him, and we all know how that goes.)

The Qiu family is a wealthy family that amassed their wealth via criminal activity (a small one in the grand scheme of things tbh). And QJL is set to inherit, so finding a Cloud with no connections is great fortune. Clouds are rare and known to become powerhouses if they make it to adulthood, if he can force this stray cloud into his harmony, he'll be set! First however, he needs to train this little cloud into submission...

Shen Jiu endures the Qius for as long as he does, because he trusts his Qi-ge to come back for him, and feeling their bond still there comforts him throughout it all.

And then there bond breaks, and SJ can endure no more. The Qiu massacre occurs, and newly flame active Qiu Haitang who was unaware of her family's involvement in the underworld is the only survivor.

Shen Jiu is taken under the wing of Wu Yanzi, a Mist and a freelancer, who teaches SJ but also has his own ulterior motives for doing so.

And then, during a hit at a conference (haven't yet figured out what to replace the IAC with yet), SJ kills WYZ and meets YQ again, only now, he's Yue Qingyuan.

Their bond broke all those years ago and SJ nearly went into Discord over it. He had assumed that that meant YQY had died, because the only other way for a flame bond to break was if the Sky had chosen to break off a bond with an element.

So the fact that YQY was standing here in front of SJ alive and with flames stronger then before, meant that YQY had chosen to break off their flame bond and abandon SJ.

Obviously that's not what happened, but the chances of YQY actually explaining that is abysmally low.

So what actually happens, is that YQY gets recruited by Cang Qiong after catching the eye of the current Head/Boss. YQY works tirelessly and rises through the ranks until he's being considered heir to CQM (CQM doesn't do the whole "inheritance through blood" thing the rest of the Underworld does, they decide through other means.)

But "being considered" isn't enough to save Xiao Jiu. Not only that, but he's too desperate to wait. So he looks for a faster way to get stronger.

I'm not entirely sure what the Xuan Su equivalent will be in this AU. Currently I'm imagining a magic/cursed item or ring, as KHR has plenty of those things. Regardless, YQY takes this Xuan Su equivalent and.. Well. He gets stronger yes, but the immediate effects push him into Discord.

The current CQM Head obviously isn't happy about this, as YQY was going to be the heir to Qiong Ding, as well as his chance to ensure Qiong Ding continues leading CQM for another generation (CQM switches leadership around based on whichever peak manages to raise a Sky as an Heir, and QD has managed to keep up it's currently leadership for a few generations now. The current CQM Head doesn't wanna break the streak now. Does this system have drawbacks? Yes but we're not getting into that rn)

So he orders they do whatever is necessary to ensure YQY survives Discord. There's gonna be punishment later for breaking into a restricted area and stealing a magic artifact, but that's only if YQY survives.

Something they do while trying to make sure YQY survives, is break any possible flame bonds he has. There willll be some lash back on the other end, but they need all of YQY's flames uninterrupted/present while they work on him. Plus, bonds can be reforged at a later date.

YQY is too out of it to be aware of or object to what they're doing, and so his bond with SJ is broken.

YQY survives Discord, coming out the other end with Inverted Sky flames flipped and now Classic. Not only that, but he can no longer actually use his flames. (I actually haven't figured out the specifics of this, mainly because I can't decide if he'll still be able to form flame bonds or not. On one hand, it makes sense if he's expected to form flame bonds with some of his fellow CQM heads for inner sect politics. And it would allow for YQY to try to reforge his bond SQQ, only for SQQ to reject his harmony because he believes YQY is doing it out of pity and doesn't actually want SQQ in his harmony (thus leading to the rest of their martial siblings being outraged on YQY's behalf). But on the other hand, it'd be more tragic if the reason YQY and SQQ don't reforge their bond is because YQY can't and SQQ is left believing this is proof YQY doesn't want him anymore. A hard choice indeed.)

YQY is upset at the state of his flames, but what upsets him more is the loss of his bond with SJ. While dealing w the consequences of his actions, YQY at least comforts himself w the thought of seeing SJ again.

And then he learns of the Qiu massacre. While the media covers it up as a "freak fire" and "terrible accident", the rest of the Underworld know that wasn't actually the case.

YQY doesn't care about all that, instead, he's too devastated at the news that there was only one survivor and it wasn't his Xiao Jiu.

Cue YQY grieving whilst continuing on in a position that no longer matters to him if it means he can't use it to take care of/protect his Xiao Jiu.

And then he's at the (IAC equivalent) and there's SJ in front of him and alive.

Things progress from there as you'd expect them to, YQY and SJ angst, SJ joins CQM after YQY begs for him to, SJ joins QJ and becomes the current head's heir, etc etc.

I haven't figured out what the other peak lord's flame types are

Qi Qingqi is a Classic Cloud, born and raised in CQM, so Xian Shu is her territory. Making her a cloud also adds to her animosity with SQQ because there's always general friction between Clouds when their territories are too close together.

Mu Qingfang would be a Rain. Haven't decided if he's a Classic or an Inverted rain with really good self-discipline. While it'd probably make more sense to make him a Sun because of the whole healing association, I've always been a fan of unorthodox flame usage and I like the idea of MQF finding a way to use his rain flames to heal. His unique and unorthodox flame usage would be what helped him become the next Head to Qian Cao, too. I imagine they also help when dealing w difficult patients, too.

Liu Qingge would be an Inverted Sun. He mainly uses his flames to heal himself during hunts and as an excuse to avoid going to Qian Cao for medical assistance. The excuse works about 50% of the time.

I'm not entirely sure what Wei Qingwei would be tbh. Maybe a Lightning? TBH I don't have enough of a clue about him as a character yet to really figure out what flame type to give him.

I can't decide if I want Shang Qinghua to be a inverted Mist or a inverted Lightning. Mist suits OG!SQH, and also because it gives him the element of surprise because you wouldn't imagine someone from An Ding being a Mist. Lightning works because you'd expect someone from An Ding to be hardy, also, Lightning abilities are just all around very handy when dealing with goods.

(I also just liked the irony of Airplane transmigrating into a lightning after dying to electrocution, but that's only if i chose to go the transmigrators route.)

I can't actually decide what to do with Airplane and Shen Yuan in this AU. I could go the transmigrators route, but I also don't feel it suits this KHR AU very well.

I could make them already exist in the AU, but I don't know how I'd go about getting them involved with with everything else.

[blood-orange-juice]

What are your favourite kinds of tea and how would you rank them?

(you can't ask me about tea and not get hit with a wall of text. so... enjoy)

I don't really rank teas, I think tea should be picked for the occasion, depending on the season, company, scenery, food pairing (if there's any), the quality and type of water available, etc. There isn't really a single best option.

Also good teas are a lot like wine, it matters a lot who made it and how. A simple variety that is processed with proper care and is fresh will be better than a low-grade or old tea of a fine variety.

That said, if I had to pick favorites...

Wu Yi oolongs. You just can't beat that flavour profile, the mix of flowers, roasted nuts and what they call "cliff melody" (basically Wu Yi mountains terroir). They are complex, versatile (some teas can be ruined by water that's too hard or to soft, with these guys it just draws out a different part of the flavour spectrum) and pair with anything. Proper tea ceremony? Perfect. Something to serve to guests with mild blue cheese and some nuts? Even better, cheese enhances the flower aspects, it's honestly better than any wine pairing. Casual cup that goes together with vegetables roasted with herbs (yes, I sometimes drink tea with my dinner)? Great as well.

My favorites would probably be Wu Yi Shui Xian (daffodil, a bit of dried plum and a bit of gentle smoke), Roi Gui (eglantine and cinnamon, roasted notes, a bit of malt) and Da Hong Pao (this one is tricky, the versions of DHP you can get your hands on without being a government official are all blends, so technically it can mean anything, but most versions keep a lovely balance of smoke, sweetness, currant flowers and metallic notes). Bei Dou if I can find it (bisquit, oak, orchid, smoke, a bit of minerality).

Jin Jun Mei. My autumn favorite, the *prettiest* tea in the universe when done right, with notes of malt, rye bread, and wild strawberies, usually still very good when done wrong (chocolate, rose, physalis plants, orchid...).

Dong Ding oolong, one that I would use for introducing someone to fine teas. Freshly cut grass, wild honey, a touch of caramel and what I can only describe as a feeling of cold wind from a lake. Delicate and ridiculously pretty.

Hei Cha, "true" black teas that are more fermented than even pu-erh. Teas of bordelines dwellers and northern barbarians and I am one, after all. "Korla Pear" Hua Zhuan is my latest favorite. Wood and pear notes, one can't really describe it. Lu Bao if you live in a dry climate and let it sit on a shelf for a couple of years is also very good (wet autumn leaves, ink, charcoal and snowdrop flowers). Don't ever drink it fresh, it's awful and bitter and has a note of rotten vegetables. If you can forget it on a shelf for twenty years it's a transcendent experience and I can't recommend it enough.

Anything white, really. White teas are a very special art. They are pretty much tea herbarium. They are made with next to no processing and mostly are just gently dried in the sun, so you get the purest interpretation of the leaf itself. This leads to... experiments. There are the classics, like Bai Mu Dan with its notes of peony, wormwood and plant milk. There's the experience of drinking teas gathered before Ching Ming (if the year is good), the first tea of the year with its gentle minerality that's a bit like the scent of thawing snow.

There are insane things like letting them age for years like you would shen pu-erhs (Yin Zhen is honestly better in this version, if you ask me), I can't really describe that scent, it's wildflowers and autumn leaves both and something that feels like a mix of wormwood fluff and dried strawberries.

There are leaves that would normally be used for pu-erhs processed as white teas and these tend to have lovely cantaloupe and honey flavour. Honestly, the fun part about white teas is often not just the taste but how punk are the things teamakers do with the leaf and the fact you can taste nuances that would be otherwise overshadowed by the processing technology.

Chinese yellow teas. I actually don't remember names, I used to pick them by scent. Some have a "flowers and ink" scent that is very precious to me.

I think that's about it. I can't choose a single favorite between these.

[traineecryptid]

NPSS Weibo Q&A (20240831) Part 6

This is a Q&A session held on Weibo. People will tag their questions with the hashtag #南派三叔藏海花在线答疑# (#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A#) and NPSS will look through the tag to pick some to answer. The event started at 1500 hours on 2024 August 31st.

Folder with screenshots and big compilation google doc is here. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here.

1847

Q: Shu, how would you like us to treat the DMBJ dramas and the novels? Are they parallel universes? For example, the Sha Hai drama had an ending while the novel didn't. Also a lot of novels have characters that haven't appeared in the novels. 

A: Usually, I view the novels as the real world and the dramas as a version that the characters in the stories tell others. There's two good things about this. 1. It can explain all sorts of differences between the novel and the drama. 2. It allows the dramas to present extra emotion that the characters have when retelling the story. By looking at how a person retells their own story, you can see how they see themselves and this story.

1902

Q: Sanshu, will you do a drama adaptation of Sea of Lights? That one is really scary. But I’ll say this first, if you are going to make an adaptation, you must finish writing it first, okay?

A: Do you like scary scenes? I thought everyone wouldn’t be scared anymore.

1913

Q:Can you talk about the casting? What’s the deciding factor or what changed that ended up with this Xiaoge and Wu Xie being cast?

A: The entire process from Naive Wu Xie to ZHH Wu Xie to Sha Hai Wu Xie is too difficult. Wu Xie’s luck ended when ZHH Wu Xie ended.

1936

#Zang Hai Hua# I’ll ask everyone a question. Between the two storylines in ZHH, do you like Wu Xie’s storyline or Zhang Qiling’s storyline?

2011

Everyone please give some practical responses, okay? (T/N: There were an amount of people responding with “Pingxie’s storyline!” to the previous post.)

2031

Q: How many times has Zhang Qiling guarded the Bronze Gate? Has Zhang Haiyan guarded the gate with him before? [Excerpt of Blind Tomb: Little Brother Zhang? Could it be that in one of the ten years in the past, he was the one who accompanied Menyouping into the Gate?]

A: Nope. You’re overthinking it.

2031

Q: Has Tu Dian done something to Xie Yuchen causing Hei Xiazi to hate him?

A: Hei Xiazi knows that this man’s bottom line is too low and he also doesn’t fear death.

2033

Q: Bing, they only want you to answer their questions. I’m different. I only care if you’re tired from answering so many questions every day. (With deep emotions)

A: I think there are too few questions and there is too much repetition. I want to see strange questions.

2051

#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A# Everyone go watch the drama first. I want to write an update first. I’ll come back and continue later.

20240901

0129

Q: Speak!! Sanshu! Good evening (Very loudly)

A: Coming right up.

0145

Q: Where is the update you wrote? 

A: It will auto-post at 12pm tomorrow.

0152

Q: Sanshu, would you consider writing a guzhuang mystery drama with the Five Succulent Beef? (T/N: this is the group name for: Wu Xie, Xiaoge, Pangzi, Xiao Hua and Xiazi) I think it would be very interesting.

A: Is this the dream about the five famous investigators? Godly Investigator Wordless, Godly Investigator Sight-less, Godly Investigator Dustless, Godly Investigator Joyless, Godly Investigator Thin-less. 

0156

Q: If Zhang Haixia survived and met Wu Xie, how would they interact with each other? What identity would Zhang Haixia use and how would he participate in the Ten Year Plan?

A:”Are you the one who makes others worry or the one who worries about others?” Zhang Haixia asked. Wu Xie didn’t know how to answer at that moment. 

“Both at different times, I guess,” Wu Xie said after giving it a thought. “That’s making others worry,” Zhang Haixia said.

0213

Q: Sanshu, why isn’t Xiaoge midlane solo? I feel like both Wu Xie and Pang-ye are the Iron Triangle’s top-middle jungler. Walking around providing help, starting the team fight and setting the tempo, DPS carry, sitting at the most important location on the map, excelling in every area. If Wu Xie and Xiaoge partner up for the bottom lane, would they get into an argument? Is Aphelios the most suitable AD for Xiaoge? A: Xiaoge appears and disappears whenever. If this isn’t jungle-ing, what is it? If the midlane solo keeps walking around, [the others] might go nuts. 

0218

Q: Lei, I’m getting you. I’ve been posting for the entire day. Tell me Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Haixia’s first impression of each other. 

A: Is he going to snatch my food? —Zhang Haiyan

He’s so skinny. I’ll give him half of mine. But is it too much? I’m hungry too. —Zhang Haixia

90 posts and we've passed the 1st day mark of q&a! also yes npss was answering questions at 2am. but the best part of this section of q&a is the appearances of the southern archives characters! so fun! if i manage to get a good chunk translated tomorrow, i'll do another double update... but we shall see...

[atamascolily]

All Hail the Bug King

Today I want to talk about the Big Bad of Thunderbolt Fantasy, Huò Shì Míng Huáng (aka Kasei Meikō, Locust, and/or the Bug King, depending on what language you're using and how irreverent you're feeling at the moment) and what his deal is.

First of all, his name is written as 禍世螟蝗, which is usually translated as "Plague of Moths and Locusts". This is fine, but there are a couple nuances to appreciate here (caveat: not a native speaker, just an interested person with a dictionary):

禍 is the character for calamity, misfortune and disaster.

世 is the character for "world".

螟 does in fact mean "moth", but more specifically pyralid moths, which are very small and have notably large "snouts". I think they're cute, but this family includes numerous agricultural pests like wax moths, rice moths, flour moths, and various borer moths, and that's the sense in which it is being used here.

蝗 is the character for "locust", which is a generic term for any kind of grasshopper with a swarming phase. Under certain environmental conditions, normally solitary grasshoppers will form impressively large groups and devour everything in their path.

"Plague of Moths and Locusts" doesn't really get at the scale of this guy's ambitions, imo, but it's accurate and concise while still inculcating some existential dread and establishing the bug theme. However, I wanted to lead with the breakdown of his name because it's actually a very clever way of establishing his other theme, which is unleashing global calamity... or something, anyway.

Our first glimpse of the Bug King is in this weird liminal space where he conducts meetings with the members of the Order of the Divine Swarm ("Divine Locust Alliance"). It's basically a giant 3-D Zoom meeting where participants can either talk with their cameras off or pop in directly.

Each member of the group has their own distinct sigil; Locust's is a grasshopper with what appears to be an eye on its back, which is fitting given that he's just used his surveillance orb to spy on Shang Bu Huan from a distance.

In the beginning, we know two things about Locust: he wants the Sorcerous Sword Index, and he's powerful enough to make Shang Bu Huan start running. But it isn't until halfway through Season 3 that we finally see the man in the flesh, in a terrifying flashback where he kicks our heroes' asses.

(In classic Thunderbolt Fantasy tradition, cue the "oh, shit, he's hot!" moment.)

This scene is a lot to take in on first watch because there's so much going on, but became clearer to me after repeated viewings:

First of all, Locust's line, "Only a blade whose existence defies reality can hope to destroy me" screams of foreshadowing, and I fully expect him to meet his comeuppance through exactly this method, even though I don't know how or why it happens. It also reminds me of Lin smugly remarking that words are enough to take down foes that are immune to blades in S2, which I suspect is also relevant here--and I'd be very surprised if Lin is not at least partly responsible for Locust's ultimate downfall through some clever rules lawyering, just like he engineered Zhao Jun Lin's defeat in S3.

Two, Mu Tian Ming is specifically targeted because she tells Shang that the whole thing is a trap to make him use the Index. "[He] is a master of heretical magics! He's bound to be up to something!" Locust blinds her not just to bait Shang into reacting, but because she sees too much. The Index is the one weapon that Shang cannot use under any circumstances, because somehow Locust will turn it against him; somehow, it is the key to Locust's plans or else he wouldn't be making such of an effort to acquire it in the first place.

In the end, Locust's gambit backfires: maiming Tian Ming causes an infuriated Lang Wu Yao to gain an unexpected power-up and wallop the Bug King with a lightning bolt. It doesn't kill him, but it does cause him to retreat, allowing Shang to ultimately take Tian Ming's advice and flees the country.

In Season 3, we learn more about Locust's ultimate goal: although his agents believe they are fighting for the future of Xi You, he doesn't want to usurp the throne of Xi You at all. Using a scale as a metaphor, he tells Yi Piaomiao (actually Lin Xue Ya in disguise) that his ambition is not to choose between one side or the other, but to become the scale itself. In other words, all roads lead to the same end; all choice is an illusion, just like the ones the Bug King surrounds himself with, obscuring their true nature.

And in a final episode twist that made me scream obscenities at the screen, all of this is proven even more true with the reveal that Locust is also the Emperor of Xi You, who has been in seclusion since his ascension as part of a prophecy. In the end, there's no difference between the Order of the Divine Swarm and the Imperial army; for all of Wan Jun Po's agonizing over his perceived treachery, he served the same master the entire time without knowing it, right up to the moment of his death at said master's hands. Absolutely masterful writing there on so many levels.

But this brings me to my next point, which is What exactly does Locust want? He already has plenty of worldly power at his disposal and he's a master of heretical arts. What exactly does he need the Sorcerous Sword Index for, given what he's already capable of? (Okay, so technically at least one of the swords belonged to the Xi You royal family, but somehow I don't think that's what this is about.)

Here's my guess: Locust wants the Index not as an end in itself, but as the means to a larger end. His ambitions are cosmic in scope, and somehow the Index is key to unlocking or unleashing whatever it is he has in mind. Maybe, like Mie Tian Hai, he's fine with letting the demons destroy the world so he can be recognized as a savior, but I think Locust's plan is so much bigger than that.

There are so many dualities in Thunderbolt Fantasy--Dong Li and Xi You, Imperial government and the Order of the Divine Swarm, human and demon worlds, etc, etc. I think Locust wants to move beyond them all, to become a god--the "Divinity" in "Divine Swarm" is more than merely poetic.

When Locust says he wants to become the scale, I don't think it's a metaphor. I think he literally wants to fuse with the world somehow, so that he becomes the arbiter of fate itself, so that choice and free will either no longer exist or they become co-opted, to the point where they are merely illusions, and nothing happens that Locust himself does not personally will or desire. Rebellion would be impossible, especially since most people won't even notice what has happened in the first place!

(Oh, and if you want further proof, the name of his weapon is 諸業俱毀, "All Karmas Destroyed Together", which is, er, a little on the nose, don't you think?)

Fate is a key theme in Thunderbolt Fantasy, so it's not surprising to me that Locust's plan would center around becoming it. Shang makes no secret how important choice is to him--how even villains can actively choose to be better--and his refusal to let fate define him. Meanwhile, Lin Xue Ya is out there actively manipulating fate for his own ends--see the dolls he crafts specifically to take advantage of his connection with Shang.

The relationship between these three is going to be incredibly important going forward, but I want to specifically to talk about Lin vs. Locust, because that's the least examined and has some interesting points.

Both Lin and Locust are masters of illusion who manipulate others. For the first time, Lin is going up against someone with a similar skillset--someone who is almost certainly more powerful than he is. That doesn't mean Lin can't win, merely that Locust represents a different kind of challenge in scale and scope than his previous targets.

Both Lin and Locust are hiding things from each other. If Lin hasn't already figured out the implications of the scale speech, he will soon, thus knowing a secret Locust takes pain to keep hidden. What will he do with that knowledge? The real question for me is is, how long will it take Locust to figure out "Piaomiao" isn't who he seems--and what will he do with it? The stakes are incredibly high and neither side has a definite advantage at this point. How many twists and turns will this game of cat and mouse get to before the end?

Finally, those of you who are familiar with Puella Magi Madoka Magica (also written by Urobuchi) have probably noticed the parallels between Locust and Walpurgisnacht, the Witch of Calamities, a collective of fallen magical girls who appears as a storm and brings destruction in her wake. Walpurgisnacht is the Stage-Producing Witch, for whom the whole world is a stage, who manipulates the real world as if it is her labyrinth (as it may well be!) and for whom everyone is a character playing out their assigned parts. Walpurgisnacht's nature and true identity has yet to be revealed, but it's highly likely that as with Locust, she will be intimately connected to someone we already know, or think we know.

It's not that that Madoka Magica and Thunderbolt Fantasy are the same story--far from it--but they share the same author, and so it's only natural that their themes and motifs echo each other, turning up in different forms and different ways. Ultimately, in each case, the antagonist is a collective directed by a single intelligence that hides behind illusion, brings complete and total destruction in their wake, and represents fate itself--and who is challenged by heroes who believing in defying that fate to create a world where human choice still matters. In a way, it's weirdly fitting that the next installments in each of these two series will likely come out at around the same time, juxtaposing them even further.

[sisislair]

Continuing my TGCF re-listen/read, and fuck. Shit.

The first time we encounter Jun Wu after now knowing everything that happens is so sickening. There's this obvious camaraderie and banter that they have, it reminds me a lot of how I acted with some of my favorite teachers in school. The ones who were in charge of clubs I went to, and would sometimes give me a pass on assignments being late because they knew I did good work. I still had to be respectful, but there was a little of the backtalk that was acceptable from being a favored/gifted student.

(just realized Xie Lian gives me a lot of gifted student burn out feelings, aughhhh.)

Like, I can feel how even with the banter, Xie Lian really respects Jun Wu and wants him to be proud of him. He's so eager to do any task that Jun Wu asks of him. This is someone who supported his first ascension after all. Especially in the face of his father's wishes for him to remain crown prince at the time, I know that he must have latched onto Jun Wu as being one of the only authority figures in his life who he trusted.

The first thing he does is apologize for the wounds he inflicted on Jun Wu during the mock battle of his second ascension. One of the first things Jun Wu does is chide him for not keeping contact. When we know that Xie Lian did cry out for him, but he ignored him in order to try and mold him.

With reflection, you can definitely tell that he's trying to steer Xie Lian away from Hua Cheng, and there's something about the way that he recreates and gifts and exact replica of Xie Lian's old palace to him without asking him first that sits wrong with me. Maybe it's because it's in tandem with a dig about Xie Lian's living situation at Puqi shrine.

It makes my skin crawl, because he definitely feels patronizing, enough so that Xie Lian comments at least once that he's not nearly as naive as Jun Wu seems to think he is. He's lived through a lot of suffering, and has 800 years of experience and decisions behind him. It's uncomfortable how Jun Wu treats him. Especially with the foreknowledge that so much of Xie Lian's initial suffering and hard learned life lessons where at Jun Wu/Bai Wuxiang's hands!!! How dare he act like Xie Lian is still that boy of 17, when he is the one directly responsible for most of Xie Lian's suffering?

Just reading through it that first time and thinking, wow, it's nice that someone in the heavens from Xie Lian's past seems to genuinely care about him, even if they don't seem to understand his current self all that well vs listening to it now, and knowing exactly what this man has done to Xie Lian. My heart kind of leaps out of my throat everytime he touches Xie Lian.

Like I remember reading through the first time and thinking that something about this conversation and the way he treats Xie Lian/the way Xie Lian reacts to him makes me feel uneasy. And to be right about that at the end was still way more horrifying than I thought it would be.

[xueyuverse]

I would just like some clarification if you can help! I see you post excerpts from the web novel and say uncensored on them. Does the web novel follow the books with extra info or are they the same? What is the difference between the two?

There is a lot of new content in practically 80% of the novel revised version, right? In the uncensored version there are only the scenes that were actually censored. Some new content in the revised version:

Characters like Lang Ying (the ghost child) and Prince An Le were cut.

Xiao Ying recognizes Xie Lian and calls him "prince" before she dies, so I have a theory that she replaced Lang Ying's role (I haven't finished reading it yet).

Xie Lian chose Lang Qianqiu as a disciple to protect him from Qi Rong, who chased and haunted him when he was a child. As for the Gilded Banquet massacre, Xie Lian knew that it was Qi Rong's work, and at the time, he suppressed him.

Xie Lian cannot enter the Xianle Imperial Mausoleum because the place's enchantment recognizes Xie Lian as the prince who destroyed Xianle.

Xie Lian's feelings towards Hua Cheng are also much more intense, in the Ganbler's Den arc, for example, their interaction is hotter than in the original, with lines like Xie Lian asking Hua Cheng to spend a night with him and Hua Cheng replying that "it would be my first time".

In the Qi Rong arc, Hua Cheng doesn't take Xie Lian straight to his lair, but rather takes him to wander around different cities for days under the pretext that he needed Xie Lian's help with something. It's in this new content that we have Hua Cheng competing for a golden flower and, upon winning, he gives the flower to Xie Lian.

Mu Qing appears to be much more concerned about Xie Lian as well, he's always teaming up with Feng Xin to help and protect him. When Hua Cheng "kidnaps" Xie Lian, for example, in the original the only one who appears together with Shi Qingxuan is Feng Xin, in this version he, together with Mu Qing, ask for Shi Qingxuan's help disguised as Nan Feng and Fu Yao to find he.

Jun Wu's influence is also sharper. For example, his influence on Ling Wen is more apparent than in the original, with her always saying that he's good and fair and that he is "someone who forgives easily", always trying to convince Xie Lian that everything will work out for him cause the final decisions are in Jun Wu's hands.

The censored version cuts kissing scenes and other hot scenes, while the uncensored version has more freedom, although it's still a little censored. In the Mount Tonglu arc, for example, in the uncensored version, Hua Cheng is practically touching Xie Lian's entire body, while Xie Lian cries during the kiss.

The audio drama even adapts this revised version, so if you've seen any scene from the ad, or are following the updates, know that it's the same.

For now this is all I have :)

[transmascxielian]

its MY tumblr blog and i get to painstakingly write out an animatic i'll never make. SO ive got a heaven official's blessing piano man animatic in mind and i just can't shake it

ages ago i was listening and came up with this stupid concept just for the sake of funniness where i was imagining it as xie lian singing, mu qing and feng xin passive-aggressively going back and forth at each other with piano and harmonica respectively, hua cheng backing xl with the accordion, and shi qingxuan playing the lyre/mandolin in the background. and that was it for the longest time and was just a joke. but then i listened again and now have accidentally associated the lines with everyone

'he says 'son can you play me a memory? i'm not really sure how it goes, but it's sad and it's sweet and i knew it complete, when i wore a younger man's clothes''-- this is fairly nebulous because i don't know enough about him (sorry!) but this just makes me think of mei nianqing.

'now john at the bar is a friend of mine, who gets me my drinks for free, and he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, but there's someplace that he'd rather be'-- shi qingxuan. their whole feeling of lost potential. 'he says 'bill i believe this is killing me', as the smile ran away from his face, 'well i'm sure that i could be a movie star, if i could get out of this place'' once again. you're there and you have a role and youre good at your role. but can't shake the feeling that you could do so much more.

'now paul is a real estate novelist who never had time for a wife, and he's talking with davey who's still in the navy, and probably will be for life'-- this may be a little bit gauche but pei ming and shi wudu. pei ming's fuckboy reputation which may or may not be a front for just not having enough energy to give to one person. and the navy -> sea association aside, spending time with the other person there who can't commit. and they both definitely fucked but regardless of that this brings us onto

'and the waitress is practising politics as the businessmen slowly get stoned, yes they're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone'-- ling wen. reduced to serving the other gods despite being more than capable (or perhaps because she's more than capable) intellectually. finding escapism from this place she's put in through others who are similarly disregarded in a sense based on reputation. the three tumours as three people who bonded initially only out of having nobody else really to turn to.

'it's a pretty good crowd for a saturday, and the manager gives me a smile, cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see to forget about life for a while'-- jun wu, and how xie lian is such an emblematic figure for better or worse, representing everything idealistic and perfect about the heavens, and in the end being such a figurehead (and, when needed, an easy punching bag) that everything wrong with his heavens goes unnoticed for so long.

'and the piano, it sounds like a carnival, and the microphone smells like beer, and they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say 'man, what are you doing here?''-- hua cheng, watching and waiting for him the whole time. giving xie lian support and sustenance in everything he does for the heavens, and never telling him to leave, but wondering the whole time why he does all this for a system that doesn't deserve him. loving him enough to let him live by his own choices, but loving him too much to not be eaten up by watching him do this and receive nothing in response.

this is by no means perfect nor the best character analysis/song application. and it does bug me that nothing stood out to me to be right for mu qing and feng xin (i think about the xianle quartet a lot.) but i had such a vivid feel for everyone i mentioned here that they didn't feel right for the song. anyway if you've read all of this i love you and please talk to me about tgcf

[veliseraptor]

top 5 fictional villains

oh man how am I supposed to choose from my entire villain warehouse. let's see.

1. Xue Yang. I mean, if this wasn't obvious from my [gestures] whole blog. But boy did I fall hard from pretty much scene one of my first watch of The Untamed, and then never looked back from there. He's just! What a guy. An icon. I love him so much. Fucks up his own life irreversibly and doesn't even realize he's doing it until too late. Whoops.

2. Maeglin. #my trash son. I waffled between putting him and Celegorm on this list (I could've done both, but, well, I felt like I should pick one per canon) and decided to go with Maeglin because he's arguably worse? Though I guess it probably depends on your metric. (I'm not really interested in arguing on that one, I don't particularly care, they're both my beloveds and there's no changing that at this point.) Seriously fucked up childhood that's got to fuck some things up in one's head to begin with, and then making some terrible choices later on that just go rapidly downhill, and again, tragedy of condemning oneself but also how doomed was he from the beginning (pretty doomed).

3. Vegas Theerapanyakul. I kind of hesitated about putting him on here because it feels sort of weird to call him a "villain" but like. He did sexually assault the protagonist in an early episode and threaten to kill him later on, so, like. Even if the story turns around and gives him a happy ending (iconic) I feel like he counts. Disaster of a man, kind of an awful person ("kind of?", you say, and okay, that might be so), and it's very sexy of him. Pete thinks so too, apparently.

4. Shen Jiu. Yest all right I know he's technically Sir Not Appearing In This Book but he is technically the titular scum villain so I'm counting him. Awful man. Miserable history, miserable story. I'm irresistibly drawn to tragedies created by characters themselves and that's what this guy's got going on.

5. Moridin/Ishamael/Elan Morin Tedronai. We! Love! A nihilistic villain just craving the end of everything! Of tenuous sanity and an abiding obsession with the protagonist! Anyway I didn't have a lot of feelings about this guy the first couple times I read Wheel of Time but then on my second to latest reread he came roaring out in front and plop, in the villain warehouse he goes.

thought about including He Xuan but he only sort of feels like he counts as a villain somehow; honorable mentions here go to Celegorm (disney prince murderer), Jun Wu (king of creating a toxic work environment), Clytemnestra (queen of my heart), Azula (since I just mentioned her), Jin Guangyao (generator of infinite discourse) and Jinx. I feel like I'm forgetting folks here. but that happens, I suppose.

and this is not including villains who are just so much fun for me to watch, who live in a slightly separate corner of my brain but are beloved of me nonetheless.

[sillyxaly]

hi hello talk to me about junmei :3

i prefer post-canon stuff but i will gladly take anything!! also. do you perchance know of any jun wu redemption fics because i could only find one on ao3 ;;

yes he’s a villain but. it’s fanfic! he comes with a complimentary sad backstory! he’s stuck under a mountain to think about his actions! he’s stuck there forever, he has plenty of time to reflect on his behavior

First up @witch-is-writing do you know?

I only remember ones that vaguely count as redemption really but in my defense I woke up a minute ago, saw "Junmei" and scurried to write this text. Also do tell me which fic you found so I can check if I read that pls :3

Jun Wu is just the personification of 'hurt people hurt people' for me and if you wish I may write an essay about that thazs vaguely structuered and more of a ramble. I do however very much consider mei nianqing to be important to his healing. I dont even call it a redemption arc but oh boy that man needs some Healing. Mnq does too and they really should do that together because their issues are so intertwined. I have so many loose thoughts about this right now oh ma god.

The path to Jun Wus redemption or healing will always lead through the vassal that stayed longer and the vassal that left in the end. The one man he couldn't kill in two thousand years. The one man who knew him before he put on one mask after the other.

And truly they have all the time in the world for that post-canon. Let nianqing (...nian...nyan....nya... Yeah i didnt sleep enough.) visit him in the mountain. Return day after day to make it stick a little. That hes there now. Bring tea, bring books to read, whatever really. They are both so incredibly hurt it makes me sick (positive) and it would be a journey. One thats hard and rocky. One where JW still falls back to lash out and bite because its what saved him for hundreds of years but MNQ stays now no matter how he growls.

Yes JW is just a rescue dog to me and I will never get that thought out of my head ever again but I have one and the similiarities of it are striking. Funnily enough that also means most people should just ignore him (for now). Let one person get closer for now, more than that would be too much and if he starts to feel cornered he will growl and then he will bite. Its an intricate play ot trial and error to figure out when to actually step back and give more space and when to take him by the scruff even if he tries to bite. So MNQ got a lot of work and figuring that out ahead because thats his rescue now (has always been really) and JW will always remain a little more at ease with him than the rest of the world.

At last those who caused the pain have died and after that, by all means, it was all a grasp for control because for as long as he has control he can never be hurt. I believe we all try to hold control over at least something in our lives and its natural to do so. We are all scared to be hurt. But nobody can control everything (much less forever) and he needs to learn to live with that fear and uninternalize the mask of anger that hides it.

No matter what he needs to feel safe first. Not ultimatly safe but at least safe to show that hes afraid. Safe enough to stop wearing a mask of stirkes to hide the vulnerabilty. He needs to be scared and he needs to be vulberable and it need to be safe and okay for once.

And who better to grant that safety than that started the whole tale of his demise and his crimes by telling our main character to the face that this man shone so much brighter than he ever did. A fact i will never get over. The contents of what MNQ tells XL and us is like: War crimes, attempted murder on me, wiping out the heavenly capital, bringing ruin to Multiple kingdoms and how does one start such a tale best? Logically by refering to the man in question as the sun. But thats not enough. He wasnt just any source of light. He outshone you and all of us and all the other gods which are now dead because he murdered them.

MNQ is crazy for that and I absolutly adore that and that is literally all it will ever take for me to ship this. You can not tell me that is not a subtle love confession?? JW attempted to murder him multiple times i don't think people normally talk about such a guy like that??

Uhhhhhhhhhh anyhow

*subtly slides discord link*

I also made this where witch is also inside and so far nobody else but uh yes in case you want that because I dont know how to tell people.

[bookswithsyd]

We Got A Happy Ending! | Heaven Official’s Blessing

My journey with Heaven Official’s Blessing has officially come to an end with the completion of book 8! This was such a happy and sad moment for me. Having spent so much time reading this story and getting attached to the characters, seeing the canon story end made me so sad. I was so happy that I decided to read this, and the good news is that now I can look up fan content without fear of spoilers.

Returning to see what the verdict of Mu Qing’s odd behavior was all about, things get a bit tense. My worst fear in book 7 was that someone was going to die. This is always something that lingers in the back of my mind when reading a book that involves a lot of fighting, not knowing where loyalties lie, I just fear that the next page turn is going to end up with a character bleeding out on the ground. Mu Qing dangling over a waterfall of burning lava was not something I ever wanted to read, add to that, Xie Lian JUMPING ON HIS SWORD TO FLING HIMSELF OVER. Only to barely catch Mu Qing with Ruoye had me as worried as Hua Cheng.

The Heavenly Crossing Bridge allowed the original trio to clear up a lot of lingering issues, but I pretty much glossed over that because, just like Xie Lian, I was NEEDING to see where Hua Cheng ended up after nosediving after Xie Lian into a face full of lava.

Seeing the face book between two ghost kings was something that I didn’t know I desperately wanted to read about. Imagining the fight: the quick movements, the clash of the weapons scrapping against each other, the tension in the room marked the point in the book that I DID NOT want to put it down till I was finished.

The entire fight was a wild ride of feelings. Seeing White No-Face toss off the mask, grab his sword and power up like a Shonen antagonist, only for Xie Lian TO JUMP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIGHT WITHOUT A WEAPON was not a delight to visualize. The only good thing was the knowledge that Xie Lian’s body cannot be killed… he can be wounded greatly - but he can never die. The others in the room, not so much. There was a good three pages there where I thought that Mu Qing and Feng Xin were going to die for sure. That damn cursed shackle sucking out blood just like it did to Yin Yu, and eight arrows stab into your chest are not events that usually leads to a happy outcome.

Xie Lian trying to defend with just his hands does not seem like the best strategy, and leads to one of the saddest (non-deadly) moments in this fight is when he tries to use Ruoye, only for the magical ribbon to be torn apart! As a super sentimental person, seeing this moment upset me a lot.

I know that Hua Cheng would do literally anything for Xie Lian, but I do not know how this man was able to stand back and watch Jun Wu beat this poor boy half to death by smashing his head into a solid rock wall while belittling him with every hulk smash. Being forced to watch the love of his life, the main that gave him a reason to live, being harmed must have been one of the hardest things to watch. Back in the shrine, with the 100 sword stabs, Hua Cheng was still a little flame, he couldn’t do much aside from gather all his energy and finally end the pain. Having him be at (almost) his stronger form and having to observe without being able to step in and save him had to have destroyed him inside. He is stronger than me because the first hand rustling Xie Lian’s hair and I’m tossing his ass in the lava with everything I got, even if I went in with him.

The fight that ignites inside Xie Lian as he’s screaming that he will never change was the start of the big build up, the moment where he would get the power to beat Jun Wu. This brings us the moment of breaking Xie Lian’s cursed shackles. Being able to see Xie Lian fight at full power was something that I was hoping to see since the beginning. He is such a powerful opponent even when restricted so much, so I knew this was going to be that “through the power of love and friendship” that was going to win them the fight.

The ending of the fight created a lot of emotions. Jun Wu laying on the ground, defeated, and finally having his mentor remain by his side made me feel for the inner child that was Jun Wu in the past. And then of course we have the moment that made me so sad because I finally thought that Hualian would have their happy ending, Hua Cheng disappearing in Xie Lian’s arms. Xie Lian trying to give back spiritual energy, him crying out because he only recently came to term with his feelings for Hua Cheng, the uncertainty of how long the two would be separated.

The depression mini-arc was really the wind-down after the final boss fight. Everyone comes together to try and rebuild the Heavens and the return (against her will) of Ling Wen to take care of the mountain of paperwork was sweet to see. But, we also had to watch Xie Lian isolate himself from everyone else, staying in his little shack and cleaning it up because he knew that his Hua Cheng would return to him soon.

The fact that Hua Cheng returned on the night of the Ghost Festival was perfect. Imagining the scene of them running into each other’s arms almost brought tears to my eyes. Them going back to Puqi shrine after the villagers rebuilt it was so meaningful. It was a great way to show that the actions that Xie Lian and Hua Cheng did to her those in that town really did have an impact. Seeing Qingxuan bring all the people who helped with the human array to the shrine to make good on the promise to feed everyone was so sweet. And the sweetness promptly ends after Heaven’s Eye opens his mouth. This seems to be the brick that falls to release the flood gates that is thirsty Hua Cheng. The insinuations that happen after Heaven’s Eye announces that he can sense evil qi from inside Xie Lian’s body sent me into a laughing fit. The call out that he is just walking around after a session without cleaning up, and the smugness of Hua Cheng when he comes up to hold Xie Lian - this scene took me out.

The bonus chapter really felt like fanfictions, it was like the author knew what fans wanted. And that was domestic scene with the couple after they have officially gotten together.

Seeing Xie Lian thinking back on the time where he longed for someone to share that one special food that he could no longer remember the taste of was so sad. I’m so glad that he no longer has to think about moments like that because he now has Hua Cheng… and the residents of Ghost City to keep him company. The ghosts setting up Xie Lian with all those word puzzles was so funny. It shows that even the ghosts really love that their king has found someone that he loves and that they all adore Xie Lian. Wrapping up that chapter with Hua Cheng bringing Xie Lian back to the shrine and surprising him with a surprise meal together.

The three chapters of the amnesia section were hands down my favorite. This felt like it was the most outlandish and most fanfiction-y of the bonus chapters - which might be why it’s my favorite. Seeing Xie Lian revert back to that (somewhat) dumb 17 year old prince, seeing how different he is was a testament to how much he has changed over the centuries. The entire time, seeing Hua Cheng screwing with Xie Lian, making him call him gege, gaslighting him all day, this was the most fun I’ve had reading Hua Cheng. He comes off as such a fox character, so being a tease to his love fits him perfectly.

Who would have thought that the simple request of a bedtime story would result in one of the most unholy retellings of a relationship. I cannot imagine how red Xie Lian got while reading about himself coming to a mountain and needing to seduce Hua Cheng in order to find a bunch of dead brides. The amount of substance that Xie Lian gathers in this one is unhinged. I just have this feeling in the back of my mind that the tale got spun because of Hua Cheng and the ghosts of Ghost City.

Seeing Hua Cheng’s statues in such detail showed off that they were not a bunch of random Xie Lian sculptures, they were moments of major events during his life. One of which being his time against the land of the tender. Why he would want to remember the time where the subject of his infatuation withering in pain and struggling against desires so much that he stabs himself into the ground to keep himself from straying from his path. The fact that Hua Cheng’s first solution to the statue coming alive is to craft a statue of himself to help relieve the pain proves where his mind is constantly at with Xie Lian.

And finally we had the Birthday chapter. Seeing Xie Lian so set on making Hua Cheng’s Birthday a celebration and get him a gift Hua Cheng would love that also was meaningful was such a show of how much he loves him. The ghosts working with Xie Lian to decorate the city and helping Xie Lian with gift ideas was so sweet - I love seeing Xie Lian interacting with the ghosts. The whole journey of him making a hand crafted gift only to be struck down with intense heart pain was such a sad moment to watch. Him trying to hide his pain from Hua Cheng so it didn’t pull attention away from Hua Cheng’s birthday only for Hua Cheng to carry him away after his collapse just feels like the embodiment of his bad luck. All that work, all that pain, just for Hua Cheng to have to crush the gift to alleviate Xie Lian’s pain. This gave us the sweet moment of Hua Cheng loving that Xie Lian still wants to be by his side, even if it causes him pain.

This book was the easiest 5 star read of the whole series. Seeing everyone’s happy ending and getting the adorable bonus chapter was a satisfying way to wrap up this series.