#There were also demon stories
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one of the things about (mostly evangelical) christian culture people don’t talk about is angel stories. I remember growing up and everyone had at least one of these. They’re in a pickle and someone appears out of seemingly nowhere, helps them out, then disappears. All in all, they function almost exactly like ghost stories in wider society, just those are usually frowned upon.
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despite Laios low self esteem making him think that if he’d been eaten, Chilchuck and Marcille wouldn’t have helped Falin,
theres a small part of me that thinks the reason Chilchuck stayed with the party and went back in the dungeon in the first place was because he didn’t want to leave Laios alone. That Laios was moreso the reason he stayed.
#dungeon meshi#chilaios#OK SORRY. THE DEMONS. I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO LIKE THIS PAIRING. I DIDNT. BUT. HHH. FHFHJFJV. I FEEL CRAZY. LET ME EXPLAIN.#Pre canon it seems Laios is the person Chilchuck is really the closest to#He gets along with Namari and they are probably way better as buddies than he and Laios but#He and Laios seem *closer*#If that makes sense#Laios calls him his first name enough and without any issue or hesitation from Chilchuck#That I sort of inagine its not like. A misunderstanding. Laios is on a first name basis with him for a reason.#He also worries probably more than anyone about Laios#And his biggest criticism of him is that hes “reckless”#he’s comfortable around Laios in a very specific way and so is Laios around him#and in the series he shows many times that he’ll risk his life to protect Laios#Like staying with him to confront the elves because he was worried Laios would say something stupid#Hes the first one to run up to him when Falin punches him#I mean I think he was also going back for Falin like its not like I think he doesn’t care about her or anything#He clearly does#But I don’t know if he’d have gone back if Laios hadn’t#And if Laios had been eaten I think he wouldn’t have even had to be convinced by Falin#I also think Marcille would’ve gone back for him but probably more bc Falin was going back#Like sort of a reversed thing#AGAIN not that I don’t think she cared about Laios at the beginning either#But she before the story she was mostly Falin’s friend who knew Laios through Falin#She only really got to know him when Falin got eaten and they had to do a team building exercise#Though now I sort of want to see an actually reversed scenario#Bc we also know that Chilchuck is sort of uncomfortable around Falin (said in relationship chart)#So I would love to see them be forced into a team building exercise to find a person they both love the way Laios and Marcille were
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Man, it's cool and all if you see a metaphor for marginalisation in the monstrous, and if you want the power fantasy of 'what if you could just eat anybody who threatened you/pissed you off'. Me too.
However, as soon as you start saying 'no, these monsters are a 1:1 on Specific Marginalised Group, and you have to treat them in the fiction like they are directly representative of real human members of the marginalised group', BUT you also, in the fiction, make them hurt/kill/eat humans? And then try to shame me, your audience, for noticing or engaging with the bit where they kill people, because you made them directly representative of a real-world marginalised group? You have lost me, and also, I think, the plot.
#hear yourself. for the love of whatever you cherish.#'but they only kill bigots so ACTUALLY they're the GOOD GUYS -' your metaphor of monstrosity is entirely premised on the question of#'what if what you went around righteously killing; believing your actions to be justified;#were actually people and it was not in fact righteous or justified to just kill them'#'what if the world isn't neatly split into 'good guys' and 'bad guys'#who gets to decide who or what is 'bad'? because that's the original problem of monstrosity-as-metaphor-for-marginalisation#(if as a creator you say 'oh my intention with this was X' cool!#if instead you go with something like. well.#'well in this setting monsters are so rare it doesn't matter that they kill people and you'd have to be a homicidal sadistic psychopath >#< to hunt them; but sure I guess if you want to play a Bad Person' well I might have#but if you're going to explicitly judge me for wanting to engage with the moral question of 'how justified is this and who would do it#versus how justified are these monsters if they do have to harm or kill people to continue to exist'#then maybe I just don't want to play your game at all)#anyway I'm sick to death of poor uwu cozy vampires who are SO marginalised so I'm not Allowed to care about all the people they murder#it being fucked up is what's fun about it! do all the other shit but let me take the murders seriously!#and inb4 someone accuses me of being a bigot for saying 'actually I don't think you get a free pass to kill and eat people if you're gay'#remember when the CW's famously reactionary and conservative Supernatural tried to just gloss over the part where every time its heroes >#< killed a demon with a magic knife it also killed the person the demon was possessing#and say 'oh no it's fine we don't care about those killings; they don't matter; don't bother caring about them either'#but they were doing it to glorify exactly the kind of people that these 'monster as metaphor' stories are trying to cast as expendable?#I have other examples that are like. real dramas. but That Paranormal Show is the one that's in the same niche that I'm talking about here#it feels more insidious when it comes through a fantasy show where there are monsters involved#so you can say 'no it's not real so it doesn't matter'#but then ALL of it is equally not real. and vampires are not actually an oppressed group. because they don't exist.#you can say 'these vampires are a metaphor for an oppressed group so this fiction matters in real life'#or you can say 'don't care about the murders because they weren't actually real'#but you can't say both and then get mad at ME for treating the murders as seriously as the vampires#let me engage with your premise and don't waste my fucking time#or just set your fluff in the Sesame Street universe where vampires drink cherry Kool-Aid and help kids learn to count
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![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/4595dff61a5771399f78ec7298892713/f2b4bd1fc86fb62f-2b/s540x810/dc4aceb02f74a953564d330cb5c589ef3e791f20.jpg)
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Read Right to Left (Manga Format)
I have returned to watching demon slayer after a year and it came up while I was having a serious late night talk with my big sister. I was talking about the relationship between Michikatsu/Kokushibo and Yoriichi and it turns out we both see each other in Yoriichi's shoes and ourselves in Michikatsu's place. Definitely surprising, but really relieving to know that we both worry too much and we are not so far apart in skill as we believe.
This is technically the first piece of fanart I've ever made for the characters in Demon Slayer, I have made OCs before but I never drew an actual character from the story. For context this is mostly just a fun "what if" scenario with them meeting in the afterlife. I like to think Yoriichi's love would reawaken Michikatsu's humanity.
#demon slayer#kimetsu no yaiba#yoriichi tsugikuni#michikatsu tsugikuni#demon slayer fanart#kimetsu fanart#kny fanart#fan comic#very much unserious note: I misread something on the wiki to my sister as Koku offing himself because he regenerated too ugly 💀#and now me and my sister have “Kokushibo moment” to denote a scenario in which we become so absolutely pathetic that we just cannot go on#Mine is if I'm still making submas content at 60 years old#Hers is me thinking she's currently having her Kokushibo moment#definitely lightened the mood and we were laughing for like 5 minutes straight#anyways Yoriichi and Michikatsu (mostly Michi) are my faves from this story because I can feel for them more than I do other characters#Also that thing in the beginning is meant to be a hitodama!! I wanted Michi to land next to Yoriichi but when I tried the shooting star ide#it did not work 💀 anyways that little wisp reforms into Kokushibo's monstrous form‚ which Yoriichi shreds apart in seconds#for the people looking for my usual submas content‚ I actually had an idea to draw them debating which twin to cosplay a few months back#Ingo said Emmet should be Yoriiichi cause he's the younger one‚ Emmet said Ingo should be Yoriichi cause he's cooler (read: better liked)#This took about 5 hours elapsed time‚ I stopped halfway through the last panel for a 6 hour nap#Also the purple just denotes which sections is close to the demonic parts‚ kinda like lighting but not quite
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Party of one (divided into four)
#Fourfold Soul#Thing#QUIT#Ruth#Jolis#Finally I can offer some character names!#digital art#I have been hard at work in the character design mines for nearly two months.#I feel like a parent watching my child waddle off to kindergarten....ah...only yesterday you were a wee little mspaint sketch.#The title of 'Fourfold Soul' comes from the 'party' for this RPG being comprised of parts of yourself!#They all have a delightful array of personalities; and by delightful I do mean 'They are personal demons for a reason'.#It's a story about fighting alongside (and against) 'difficult' aspects of yourself.#This is also a story about redemption and reflection. Many other things too - but that is for another time.#(The clown pictured here is indeed the ignored clown from the last comic. Say hello to Jolis!)#If I had more time I would have added more animation and frames...next time...#I'm slowly getting back into my animation practice and experimentation. I will get more powerful! I promise!#Thank you all so much for all the love and support you have shown this project so far!#I was terribly nervous about posting the previous comic...the kindness it was met with meant a lot B'*)
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please please please please please please please let me tell you about this comic I want to make it so bad please I can not wait I am losing it
If I don't make the comic then I'm not going to make it... I need other people to see what is in my brain so I'm not the only one going feral over them
#IM NOT GONNA GET TO MAKE IT FOR LIKE A YEAR...#well.#hmmm...#9 months#BUT it won't launch for like a year#so no one will get to SEEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!1#I'm shooting for pride month next year#pri(demon)th#LMAO#please pleae spleaple pla psl eaplse plaese#also when I say I want to talk about them I dont mean like let me ramble I mean... its hard to explain#but I want to be able to be like omg this meme is soooo zagan#and stuff like that#like I want them to Exist for me and for other people#so that they can be like a part of our lives#I mean. I also want to talk about it#but the story is still technically at that point where anything I make right now is still possible to change#cause. like. yknow.#the way writing works#especially for webcomics#ESPECIALLY for long form webcomics#and ESPECIALLY for me#is that until I get to actually see it as thumbnails#I dont know wtf is actually gonna happen.#like. stuff I've had planned for YEARS isn't making it in the furhter I'm getting into development#and I had always had it in my mind as a canon event but it's just sorta not anymore??#so. yeah I dont want to share too much outside of just art of them#cause I don't want there to be like Wrong information out there....#anyways.#we were legion
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Ever After High, but make it a PIDW AU.
Imagine how fucked up it would be if Shen Jiu is up there doing the book signing ceremony that seals his destiny of becoming the next 'Shen Qingqiu', and the mirrors display him getting thrown away by his martial siblings at the trial, and his limbs being torn off and other despicable tortures, and being brought down so low that your humanity is stripped away from you, all for an audience to see. And they cheer. The crowd is ecstatic, perhaps even more so than when his father, Shen Qingqiu, was put on trial.
#and sj is barely 15 when this happens#and every goddamn person is reveling in watching this child get tortured#and he's done ntg to warrent this yet bc he HASNT signed the stupid destiny book and he DOESNT want to be the scum villian#dont ask me how the logic of this au works#i dont fucking know#its just that some of the eah characters DO have fucked up stories#and the grimm brother stories were dark as hell#so im like what if pidw???? what if shen jiu??? shen jiu and pain???? yes.#shen jiu#svsss#mxtx svsss#original shen qingqiu#og shen qingqiu#scumbag self saving system#svsss crossover#scum villain#ever after high au#the scum villain's self saving system#scum villain self saving system#and the only person that's NOT advocating for his death is lbg's SON!! the very person that's supposed to kill him!#he (lbm) also happens to be smn who rllyyyy hates his dad and is not signing no book of destiny either#when he sees the same hopelessness that he feels in sj's eyes#he decides at that moment that he's going to be sj's no. 1 defender everything else be damned#so when sj announces that he's not signing#lbm gets up on the stage and makes it clear that he won't either#and they kith#bingjiu#pidw#proud immortal demon way
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Gaap Goemon appreciation post/ Character Analysis
because I need y'all to hype him up as much as I do.
I was a fan of the Mairimashita Iruma Kun anime many moons ago, and just recently I got back into it. Finished the manga. Walked away loving the entire Misfit class. Most of all, I see a criminal lack of Gaap content. So, here's why I love Gaap and why I think you should too.
By all accounts, there isnt a whole lot of focus or information about Gaap that goes beyond the depth of a kiddy pool. (It's like that for most of the misfits tbh...) Still, Gaap gets more focus than most.
Kindness and care:
The thing about Gaap that stands out the most, is how much of a natural caretaker this kid is.
He greets everyone he meets with respect. Often using the honorific "Dono" Which google tells me translates to "Lord" or "Master". Almost every time he greets somebody he always has an offer of Hell tea and onigiri. He always makes sure to take care of his guests and his friends. This kid has no shortage of manners. So polite.
In the Harvest Festival arc, Gaap is the one who goes out to save the other students even when Agares has valid points about why rescuing a bunch of demons they dont know wouldn't benefit them in any way. In the festival, where the entire point is to be a cut above the rest, what did Gaap do?
We see little examples of Gaap's kindness. How he defends his friends and is usually on the front lines whenever someone's well-being is cause for concern.
This boy is the mom friend who always had a painkiller and a stack of bandaids on hand. He's such a mom friend that he canonically fights with Jazz when it comes to taking care of their classmates. (They both have a caretaker complex.)
It's also the way Gaap responds to stress! In the Heartbreaker arc, Gaap is paired up with two first-years who won't stop fighting. This obviously stresses the boy out, because he had high expectations of getting along with his first years, but it didn't turn out that way.
The first thing Gaap does is try to offer them food, something we see Gap do to Agares when he snaps at him. When the offer of food doesnt work, he instead tries to assure the first years that everything will be fine. Even if Gaap isn't confident, his first instinct is to try to appeal to and take care of people. Even if that's not what they want.
It’s interesting, because Gaap doesn’t physically get in between them, like you would expect him to do. He avoids conflict when it gets physical, despite being such a capable fighter. (Though when it comes to saving others, he has no problem acting.)
Friends and Habits:
We get to know Gaap the most when he's around other people. Obviously, because he's a secondary character. I think another aspect of this is because Gaap is a social creature, he thrives around people. We rarely see Gaap standing alone and this makes sense because his goal is to have 100 allies.
In the demon world, we know that demons usually dont care about saving or helping others if it doesnt help them. Nor do they have the drive to see their efforts to the end, because they get bored rather quickly. Gaap breaks out of this status quo, along with the rest of the Misfits, by stubbornly pushing towards his goal even when the fruits of his labor dont bloom right away.
The biggest showcase of this drive is the person Gaap takes care of the most, that we know of.
Chapter 111 shows us that Gaap came to Agares' house every day. check it, every day. Gaap would go out of his way with breakfast and pick Agares up so he could make it to class.
Agares clearly doesnt want to go, but Gaap takes him anyway, refusing to leave him behind. From what we can guess, he's been doing it before they started training together. Which could mean Gaap didn't know this kid, but saw he wasn't going to class and went to go take care of him. (Classic extrovert adopting their introvert friend).
We see how that kindness affects Agares as a result. Agares feels guilty when he snaps at Gaap and goes out of his way to visit Gaap when he doesn't show up for class. (This could also mean Agares went to class on his own, without Gaap having to force him.)
Agares was also willing to help the people Gaap saved. Even when telling Gaap not to go out and save those people, Agares still houses them, keeps them safe, and even plans an escape route for the other students when things look bad. It's a lot of hassle for a character who hates being bothered. Gaap's kindness is contagious, even if it's not obvious at first glance.
Oh, Maybe He's Kinda Fucked Up?
No one escapes childhood unscathed.
Gaap is a caretaker, he does it happily. Even so, when you put yourself in the position to take care of others, there are parts of yourself that fall into neglect that you dont realize.
After the Heartbreaker arc (Chapter 272), Gaap is noticeably absent. We find out later, what happens when you fuck with the nice guy too much.
Maybe it was his crushed expectations, the stress of failing and losing, or maybe Gaap was just tired of being nice but he goes apeshit. Accidentally slipping into his Wicked cycle and nearly driving two students mad with his fucked up face.
We learn that showing your true face is a big no-no in the Gaap household. It's literally written on the walls, and Gaap feels immense shame and embarrassment that he broke a family rule.
He hides his face in his hands, and puts a bag over his face when Agares comes over. He's afraid of hurting someone again, even though the stress of those events have passed.
We dont know his parents' reaction, (because aint no way they dont know) Whether Gaap was disciplined by his parents or not, Gaap put this huge weight on his shoulders. Not blaming the stress of the situation, but blaming himself for losing control.
Gaap specifically said, “I panicked”. Which could mean that with all the stressors, he snapped and just lashed out. Gaap didn't willingly enter his wicked phase, I think he just gave in to his instincts. His bloodline originally started by warding off predators with their maddening appearance. What is panic if not your brain responding as if your body is in danger?
Despite Gaap reasonably getting upset, he still feels terrible for the trouble he caused and the students he hurt. The first thing he did after waking up was to ask if he could apologize to the first years for mentally scarring them.
Gaap’s ambition is to make 100 allies. It's pretty sweet. When a teenager says it(Gaap looks 17 yrs old), It just sounds like he wants to have friends. Pair this up with the fact that Gaap rarely asks for anything in return, and suddenly his wanting a ton of friends makes sense for someone who looks his age. Gaap takes care of people because he wants them to like him. (Even if he can drive them away with how much he cares.)
I have no idea where this desire comes from. If it's something his family drills into him, to be sociable and network, or if it's just a personal goal because of his ugly ahh face.
Regardless, this moment makes me want to lie down on the road while it rains:
Despite how much his ambition means to him, he is willing to isolate himself as long as it means no one else gets hurt. This speaks to his good intentions. It isn't just about the popularity or all the favors he could have from knowing so many demons. It's about forming genuine relationships with other demons and providing them a soft place to land and build community.
Look at my son, he tries so hard.
My final point:
Look at how cool he is. This is Chapter 76, my boy came out the gate swinging with powerful bloodline magic. He's got the position, he's got technique, he's got flare. What more could you ask for?
Gaap started out as rank 2, and since then has had no problem leveling himself up. Gaap always stays on his feet (Hence his nickname Busy Body), not letting himself fall behind his classmates. He aced his training and had since learned to use Wind as a companion and not as a tool. He even developed a full-range attack where he can pick which targets get hit by his swing and which dont. He is leveling up in the world. Dont hurt em now Gaap.
Conclusion:
I'm the equivalent of those parents who show off pictures of their kids from their wallet.
Gaap as a character, in the story he's in, isn't anything really new or groundbreaking. Even still, in a story like Mairimashita Iruma-Kun, the Misfit class are demons that are different. We get to learn why they're different, and how they learn to overcome these challenges despite how they threaten to hold them back.
Gaap is a good kid that you watch succeed from the background. We see him struggle and fall apart, but he never stops caring about others in that process. He's that good-natured kid in your life that you hope succeeds because in a cruel world, they make the decision to be kind.
If anyone made it this far, slay. Even if you never noticed Gaap before, I hope you have a new appreciation for his character. Nishi took time and love to write him out, I think that deserves attention too.
#character essay#character appreciation#m!ik#mairimashita! iruma kun#welcome to demon school iruma kun#gaap goemon#agares picero#manga panels#To the three Gaap fans out there I hope i did our boy justice#He's just such a sweet kid#Can you tell how the manga affected me? Is it obvious?#Kinda tempted to do posts like this for other characters because this was fun to write! And I also like reading about characters I like.#We all love an underdog story and some of us were the kid that felt out of place growing up and for me the Misfit class is like a comfort#Like the best case scenario yknow?
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Talia’s Gambit: A Matriarch’s Tale by angeljas
Summary:
Talia is on the mission to save her family. If it extended to the Wayne family, then that would not be her problem. After all, when did in all known and unknown multiverses, in those in the living and the dead, did she ever asked permission to save her loved ones before? But first, she needed to correct her Beloathed’s misconceptions. Lots of them. And maybe, while she's at it, she might be able to reclaim her lost family, and pick up others, along the way. Nevertheless, her country is big enough to house all of them, and then some. OR. Pre-Morrison Talia got isekaid (vaguely) back to her old body after the events of RSOB, and she had to survive being the villainess of her own story, while saving her ex and son, and picking up discarded assassin kids. Thankfully, she is loaded and just insane enough to make things work.
First chapter is up!
Chapter 1: The ill-fated villainess returned from hell
#also started writing some prompts for my demon daycare!au#there were so few Talia-centric ao3 stories so I wrote one#will add some snippets of dragon maidens!au#so this is like a frankeinstein fic of my AUs in Talia's perspective#fic rec#talia al ghul#damian wayne#maya ducard#mara al ghul#suren darga#respawn dc#demon daycare!au#dragon maidens!au
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clarazz are so strong if i was (vaguely in love with and) slightly possessive of my best friend and the whole world was obsessed with him (like i was) id crash out 😭
#m!ik#ameri chima vine shiida mephisto? whos next henri?#not to mention eiko purson and lied 😭 (who really i mention specifically bc they apparently kin him which is soo funny. also they make up#boku trio together! though if we were making a list list im not sure id add em a tier above any other misfit…)#not all romantic obsession to be perfectly clear^^ but they all wanna stand by irumas side the same 😳#ameri and chima who want to stand by iruma romantically and academically/socially/powerwise…#vine and eiko too but theyre like. gag characters ik we’re a comedy series but everything surronding these two is a bit so im#putting them in the same adjecent group of side characters who are crushing#shiida who wants to be his family#mephisto who wants to be his righthand man/royal advisor/wants to make him king#(again misfits in general but lied and purson i single out bc. boku trio / young king duo / music duo u get it#id group bachiko opera balam and maybe even kalego with these other guys but… mmm#mmm bachiko certainly loves her student and opera/balam/kalego are all protective over iruma in their own ways id argue that when u compare#operas his family. bachiko is his master#kalego and balam are his teachers and his familiar/the first person he told his secret to#theyre all (seemingly) satisfied with their closeness with iruma/comfortable with their relationship as it is. theyre secure#the list above are all sorta Longing for something more#they want to be important to iruma#theyre not satisfied! they want more! and the story specifically centers around this idea for an arc or two or many#which btw i love i think iruma deserves having so many people who want to be close to him and who admire him#omg i forgot kirio HELLO…. hes…a little differently obsessed.#lets group him by himself but near the ameri/chima and eiko/vine section if u know what i mean#(note: its been a while since ive read chapters with shiida in em but from memory i do think she sees iruma as a little brother-#which is such a specific bond to long for; i think she wants to be someone he trusts first#followed by someone who can protect him followed by someone who he can learn from)#demons are selfish; i think its really sweet that theyre all pretty respectful of how iruma chooses to spend his time esp for being demons#cuz guess what! irumas selfish too. a true demon. he wants more and more and thats kinda what its all about#tldr everyone wants to stand next to iruma; clarazz (who stand next to him as his soulmates) have feelings about it lol#mairimashita! iruma kun#welcome to demon school iruma kun
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Parallels in the Yi City arc: Yi City Quartet & 3Zun
(Long post ahead!)
I think one overlooked detail about the Yi City arc is how closely its characters parallel the story of 3Zun – with Xiao Xingchen as Lan Xichen, Xue Yang as Jin Guangyao, and Song Lan and A-Qing as aspects of Nie Mingjue! Though we can't know if its intentional, the sheer number of similarities does suggest to me that it shouldn't be overlooked – so, let's investigate.
Both Xiao Xingchen and Lan Xichen play the role of the 'betrayed' — significantly, because of some sort of blindness.
While for Xiao Xingchen this is physical, Lan Xichen is also blind to Jin Guangyao's true nature. This blindness has been shaped by their betrayer: Xue Yan blinded Song Lan, leading to Xiao Xingchen sacrificing his own eyes for him, while Jin Guangyao deliberately acts to make himself appear honourable and innocent to the people he encounters. This means Lan Xichen cannot 'see' anything contradictory to this about him. This theme of blindness becomes important to the thematic implications of this arc, which we'll talk about later.
In both cases, the 'betrayer' has some role in shaping this blindness, and uses it to their advantage.
Xue Yang blinded Song Lan, causing Xiao Xingchen to give up his eyes for him. Jin Guangyao's crafted persona is the reason Lan Xichen doesn't suspect anything about him. Xue Yang uses Xiao Xingchen's blindness to conceal his identity/nature and thus get close to an unsuspecting him; Jin Guangyao is likewise able to be unsuspected, while using Lan Xichen's generosity to murder Nie Mingjue and gaining a strong ally/defender. Regardless of intent towards Lan Xichen himself, this is still true.
This leads to an identity reveal and betrayal, in which the former party is blindsided (...pun not intended, I couldn't find a better word).
Xiao Xingchen is shocked that Xue Yang is Xue Yang when A-Qing tells him; Lan Xichen likewise does not want to believe Jin Guangyao isn't the person he thought he knew (though, he does promise to evaluate his beliefs!), and when Jin Guangyao ends up sealing his spiritual powers and betraying him, he doesn't see it coming.
Additionally, Lan Xichen and Xiao Xingchen are both tricked into stabbing a member of their group, as a part of someone else's revenge.
For Lan Xichen, it's an outside party (Nie Huaisang); for Xiao Xingchen, it's another member of this group (Xue Yang). Nie Huaisang wanted to take revenge on Jin Guangyao, and Xue Yang wanted to take revenge on Xiao Xingchen himself.
Also, Lan Xichen was tricked by his Xue Yang counterpart into being an instrument for a group member's murder, which could also parallel these events on Xiao Xingchen's side!
So, why is this important?
A common theme in MDZS is being critical of information/rumours. Don't accept something at first glance – question the validity, the evidence, the reason it's being brought up. We see this in the way Lan Wangji acts (eg when discussingg the case of the Chang clan) and in how he teaches the Juniors; we see this in how Wei Wuxian questions the words and intentions of Sisi and Bicao, even when having people suspect Jin Guangyao would be beneficial to him; we see this in the very premise of the novel, as something we were led to believe was true at first glance (by the title and prologue) is proven to be entirely false.
And, in Lan Xichen and Xiao Xingchen's case, we see the dangers of the opposite. That's not blaming them – Jin Guangyao is a very good manipulator and I’d argue Lan Xichen handled the situation very well when it was raised, and Xiao Xingchen was physically blind and couldn’t have guessed the body on the roadside would be Xue Yang of all people – but factually, both characters believed something without having seen the full picture, and were stabbed in the back for it. Lan Xichen could have considered Nie Minjue's words to provide another perspective, and Xiao Xingchen could have inquired into this mysterious person's background and questioned whether they were exploitative (even if it may have been unreasonable, and wouldn't have changed much since Xue Yang is a very good liar), yet both didn't. They both do accept or try to accept what we know is the truth when it's raised to them, but unfortunately it's too late and both pay a steep price. It's also worth noting that both are considered righteous figures (you can debate about Lan Xichen, but that's his in-universe perception), and neither had malicious intent towards any group member. But it doesn't matter how good your intentions are, or how good of a person you are – if you believe things unquestioningly, it'll still lead to harm. Both to you, and unintentionally by you, too. After all, this unquestioning acceptance of one-sided hearsay is a major driver of the mob mentality so heavily critiqued in the book.
And yes, this could've worked had their stories not so closely paralleled each others' – but I'd argue Xiao Xingchen's physical blindness serves to lampshade the metaphorical blindness of Lan Xichen, accentuating this theme. And also having two similar stories helps draw attention to what both of them are saying much more easily than if the stories had been very different.
At the end, however, Lan Xichen is left alive and able to reflect on what led him to this scenario – unlike his spiritual predecessor. Perhaps this is a glimmer of hope, a sign that there is more room for the questioning of rumours and for critical thinking skills in the world now, especially as the younger generation who embodies this begins to grow up; or perhaps it's just another detail of just how doomed Xiao Xingchen was, because despite embodying this theme, was there anything to reflect on and do differently, that would've changed the outcome of his story? As we said before, Xue Yang is a very good liar, and there really wasn't a reason to constantly suspect him from the information Xiao Xingchen had and (more importantly) could feasibly gather. Regardless, the difference in where they end up is important when analysing similarities, and I'm inclined to believe it is a small sign the world can change for the better.
(Similarities on other members under the cut – because there are a lot for everyone else, too, and this post isn't just about the two mentioned above. Once more, we'll be analysing both the 'what' and the 'why'.)
Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao play the role of the 'betrayer' or 'villain', hiding the fact that they're causing and wanting to cause harm – successfully from one member, unsuccessfully from the other(s).
The 'What'
Both kill the suspecting, the main difference being who they're targeting with this action (for Xue Yang, this taints Xiao Xingchen further, whereas Jin Guangyao was simply targeting Nie Mingjue and not Lan Xichen at all). Additionally, both are from a lower-class*, non-cultivator background, who were taken in by the Jin sect and rose to power through this and through doing… morally dubious things. Both share revenge as a motivator – specifically, revenge against an older, male Sect Leader who used them, rejected them and physically harmed them in some way too (Chang Ci'An due to Xue Yang being a street child; Jin Guangshan due to Jin Guangyao being the ‘son of a prostitute’). However, they have both accomplished this revenge goal at the time of their main story. They also have worked together and helped each other in their actions in the past (Villainous Friends extra). Also, both end up losing a hand to Lan Wangji, coincidentally enough.
The 'Why'
Though classism is a present theme in both their stories, I wouldn’t say this is what the parallels are drawing attention to — it’s drawn attention to much more when dealing with Jin Guangyao, and the idea that being treated badly isn’t an excuse for your actions is more prevalent in contrast (with characters like WWX and A-Qing) than similarities. Thematically, they instead serve to show just how easily information can be twisted and distributed – and again, why it's so important we don't accept everything at first glance. Outside of themes, their parallels do contrast them slightly, too — after all, Jin Guangyao’s treatment of Lan Xichen** is much more positive than Xue Xang’s of Xiao Xingchen, despite the ‘betrayed’ treating both of the similarly. But, one could argue, how much does this actually matter? Considering the eventual harm brought to this figure by them regardless, and everything else each of them did? Whatever the answer, the questions are raised by these similarities between them.
Finally, Nie Mingjue is paralleled by both Song Lan and A-Qing in different ways, though the Song Lan parallels are more prominent.
The 'What': Song Lan
All three were killed by the ‘betrayer’ — however, both Nie Mingjue’s and Song Lan’s murders occured before the betrayal, and their deaths and post-mortem identity reveals play an important role in it. A-Qing witnessing Song Lan’s death (as well as just discovering Xue Yang’s identity from Song Lan) is what makes her tell Xiao Xingchen who Xue Yang is, catalysing that betrayal, and Xiao Xingchen discovering Song Lan’s identity makes the betrayal have… let’s say even more of an impact :’). Meanwhile, the identity reveal of the mysterious corpse triggers the investigation of Jin Guangyao, and also starts to catalyse his downfall, leading to the events of the Guanyin temple. Additionally, both turn into fierce corpses encountered by the cast of the main story (both fighting Wen Ning and starting more antagonistic than they end up), with these corpses having been modified in some way by the ‘betrayer’: Nie Mingjue’s corpse is cut up, and Song Lan’s has the needles inserted and is under Xue Yang’s control. I wouldn’t especially say there are themes or questions raised here, it’s more similarities in the group dynamic, but it’s still very interesting to see.
There isn't as much to say here on the 'why' side of things, though there may be something I'm missing. The role of these characters here is mainly in service of the themes in the other characters' arcs – but it's still useful to analyse just how many factual similarities there are, again to give us hints as to whether these parallels between the groups were intentional or not.
The 'What': A-Qing
A-Qing and Nie Mingjue have less parallels, but they definitely exist. Their role here is their constant suspicion — they both suspect and keep suspecting the ‘betrayer’’s actions, despite the trust of the ‘betrayed’ in them (though Nie Mingjue is certainly more violent in this regard). Additionally, both play an important role in the death of the ‘betrayer’ as undead beings: the ghost of A-Qing by constantly tapping her bamboo pole to reveal Xue Yang’s position, and Nie Mingjue’s fierce corpse by directly killing Jin Guangyao. Both are souls through which Wei Wuxian experiences the events of their stories, and both also end the story in some sort of container — Nie Mingjue in the coffin and A-Qing’s broken soul in a spirit-trapping pouch — but admittedly that’s much more flimsy than the rest of my points.
The 'Why': A-Qing
Though at first glance it seems like this suspicion didn't do anything positive for the characters – both ended up dead at the hands of the one spreading/taking advantage of misinformation – it's important to note that these characters are the characters the truth is revealed through. Though I'd argue Nie Mingjue was probably blinded by his own assumptions as much as Lan Xichen was blinded by his own, even if it did end up lining up more closely with the truth, he still plays the same role as A-Qing in questioning and suspecting somebody despite it appearing – on the surface – that there's nothing wrong. And I don't think it's coincidence that in both these cases, the truth is revealed through somebody who did play this role.
Final Thoughts
Though it is possible these parallels were still coincidences, there really are a lot of similarities between the groups' storylines – and they do serve the purpose of important themes within the book. Therefore, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume they were intentional on some level! And even if I'm reading too far into things and they weren't? It doesn't mean they hold no value.
Finally, these parallels are really interesting on their own, but it’s also really interesting to compare where each group ended up. Both groups ended up destroyed due to murder done by the ‘betrayer’, with only one person left standing. However, while Xue Yang was the survivor of the Yi city group (and was later killed by LWJ), the survivor of the Venerated Triad was Lan Xichen — someone who, as mentioned, though heavily affected, now has the chance to grow as a person and fully take things with all their context because of it. So despite the prevalence in the Jianghu of the attitude MXTX is critiquing, despite Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Mianmian only really being able to find peace by stepping away rather than changing it, despite the tragedy of the stories of both the Yi City quartet and of 3zun... ultimately, these parallels could indicate hope.
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*Although there is a big difference in how much lower this class is, of course.
**There is also the aspect of Xue Yang having a negative past with Xiao Xingchen before, with the opposite being true for Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen. Jin Guangyao is known to have a good memory and hold grudges — so, if the pairs’ roles were reversed, would anything fundamentally change?
#also both lxc and xxc share some sort of relation to a family member of wwx#xxc is cssr’s shidi even though they never met (she descended too early xxc only knows stories)#and lxc is obv lwj’s brother#if only both were younger/older than the relative… but then the plot would be impossible of course#this originally started with me thinking about lxc and xxc parallels… but then#anyway this is probably much too long but hopefully it’s enjoyable#thank you if you’ve read all the way#mdzs meta#my meta#lan xichen#xiao xingchen#jin guangyao#xue yang#nie mingjue#song lan#a qing#yi city#venerated triad#3zun#(<- is that a ship name or just trio name? it’s intended as the trio)#mo dao zu shi#魔道祖师#gdc#grandmaster of demonic cultivation
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Never been a fan of people trying to shape the Golden Order into conservative Christianity. Reading fics where they talk about women needing to be "traditional" or seen but not heard, when the figurehead of the Order is a woman who has waged loads of wars, had two husbands, makes a point of examining her faith rather than submissively accepting it. Seeing posts that seem to say the GO is villainizing the use of sorcery, a way of deriding the carians, when one of the greatest champions of the Order himself studied sorcery of his own volition, and married perhaps the greatest sorceress ever known. There's nothing to indicate the GO ever had a beef with the practice of sorcery, and it's not like they shuttered Raya Lucaria after the union of the Moon and Erdtree. Cringing every time someone describes Fundamentalism as the "thoughtless extremist" wing of the Order when it's supposed to be about taking a scholarly approach to the examination of the laws of causality and regression.
Idk. It's just, there's so many reasons to be skeeved out by the GO, and it exists within a fantasy with a totally distinct history from our own world. While there are obviously influences from a wide variety of real-world sources on the mythology and world of the game, it's not a direct copy of reality. It's lame to see sth so full of opportunity for interesting world building from fans just turned into a watered down copy of what they despise in reality.
#the 'GO demonizes women' thing is esp annoying bc the game is full of powerful women#both the leaders of the most powerful countries are women#the carian line may be matrilineal and radagon didnt press to change that#one of the worlds greatest undefeated warriors is a woman#the group who carried out the most significant act of rebellion in the history of this world were all women#and its also not just women in the world of ER who are denied their agency#both omen twins are tossed in the sewers and denied their lives#and still morgott crawls back to do the order's bidding#godfrey is told to deny himself and hide away hoarah loux to become elden lord and still kicked to the curb in spite of his devotion#miquella is also an empyrean - and empyreans are condemned to be what the GW molds them into#and it feels like there is some weird shit going on with radagon by the end of his story that points to his very will being subsumed by som#higher power but idk if theres enough evidence for it#although i mean the elden beast literally turns him into an instrument of the GW in the final battle so lol#EVERYONE in this world suffers denial at the hands of the order#so when writing from within the perspective of that world it doesnt make a ton of sense to bring irl social issues bc that world does not#have those same issues#wraith meta#elden ring
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"Look. All your friends have left."
Or it was the demon who told Msrn that his friends 'disappeared' in the dungeons.
#dungeon meshi spoilers#mithrun#mithrun dun#mithrun of the house of kerensil#i really think his friends (former squad mates) died in the crossfire while msrn was protecting his dungeon#against intruders and the like#also i like to think that it is the demon who told msrn this fact#as a symbolism of the demon isolating msrn from his friends#thus leaving him extremely vulnerable to its manipulation#and thus making msrn 'an easy meal'#always going back to that panel of marcille & mithrun and their convo about support networks#rn they are able to cope and continue to recover from the demon thanks to the support of their friends/family#in reverse they were easy prey to the demon because they were isolated from those support networks#mithrun's friends disappearing plus marcille being alone while she ruled as dungeon lord#i like how the story emphasizes on bonds and relationships and how we can't live alone as an island#dungeon meshi
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if more people knew Herstory (aka 2004 season and sete&vale) so many questions wrt 2015 season(mostly “why would vale….”) would immediately be answered addfghjk like guysssss guyssssss
it is kinda funny that there's a simple cheat code out there to understanding most of valentino's career but it's just about long enough ago that most people simply... ignore it. like there's a three year span that more or less tells you what you need to know about him. it's like you say! pretty much every possible "why would vale..." secretly has a straightforward answer, and 9/10 it's something that was established in 2003 to 2005. simple as
if anything it's almost annoying because it's too easy. the 2004/2015 stuff in particular is incredibly funny. oh, so you say you have a controversial last lap at assen where valentino beat a rival in direct combat and said rival reacted surprisingly poorly, making valentino reevaluate his relationship with the rival? might that tell you something about how a seed of suspicion once sown can remain dormant for months until valentino is given cause to revisit it? valentino quite literally says in his biography that he could never have hated biaggi because he wasn't a friend and didn't have the power to hurt him... the sepang pressers thing is genuinely just silly, I know this is mainly a function of when they happen in the calendar but what a bizarre coincidence. 2015 is like a slightly more opaque funhouse mirror version of 2004 - but so many of the major beats are virtually identical. which means you've got a season Out There where a younger less experienced less guarded less cynical valentino basically walks you through his internal processes so you get a really good handle of what his deal is. he's piecing together his identity as a competitor going forwards in real time - and then in 2015 he just reminds you of what exactly that identity involves. it's a reaffirmation and not a departure... he's not that inscrutable after all, in the end
#i kinda feel like i've done my civic duty on that front like it's now easily available for the people if they choose to Perceive#with the vale/marc rivalry in particular obviously you'll always be hampered there if you're not paying much attention to pre-2013#but also the sete stuff is open to BORING bad faith interpretations so i'm extremely fine with the details remaining niche#u do sometimes see a take where u go Well Ackshually if u consulted this obscure interview from 2004 - but that's the devil talking#it's fine and valid to not care about valentino's interiority but obviously there's only so far u'll get with that#//#brr brr#batsplat responds#fun story: the sepang 2004 presser isn't available in full in the actual motogp search function#so for ages I heard the commies refer to it in various races and was SO frustrated because I had like. a minute's worth of clips#and then I did some creative googling and eventually discovered it WAS on the website but just not. searchable#first time I watched it my mouth dropped open cartoon-style like wdym this is a thing that happened this is a thing that exists#it is absolutely BIZARRE that this is out there it genuinely broke my brain. and nobody talks about it???????#probably for the best but you really wouldn't know valentino's villain origin story is literally just. out there. like you CAN watch it#I've heard some people canonically were already motogp fans in 2004 and it's kinda incredible this has been completely memory holed#if I'd been a journalist in that presser I would literally never shut up about it. not a SINGLE sepang 2015 article makes reference to it#I have not seen a single person apart from myself make the EXTREMELY obvious connection and I just?? how is that possible??#IT'S LITERALLY IN THE SAME PLACE MOST LIKELY THE SAME ROOM LIKE THIS ISN'T A BIG LEAP#maybe he really is some kind of malevolent demonic creature because at this point... people were canonically in that room y'know#//curst#idol tag
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HIS BOOBS???
#this is a stupid post but WHAT#one's bigger than the other.. man same tbh#devilman#amon: the apocalypse of devilman#fudo akira#yeah i watched the 2000 ova wahoooo#they translated nagai's artstyle into a late 90s one so well???#it's especially clear to me in the noses. if you want to look at them#it is kind of gratuitously violent in a way that's obvious even to me but whatever. amon eats a child that's pretty sick#and i thought we'd get more of egg ryo but it is only 45 mins so ig that makes sense#(<- someone called this version of ryo an egg and god it kind of. yeah)#and i thought the sound design and direction were generally strong. AND THE END THEME WAS REALLY GOOD#it's such a weird little thing to me like it does not have room to say much and it clearly mostly wants to be demon fighting and idk hurtin#women and i respect it being true to itself ig. though i was kind of hoping for a little more attention on the devilman army. i thought thi#was a really cool place in the story to hone in on but im also good with what they chose to focus on. makes sense :p#anyway it does a pretty good job of like. following akira through his post-miki struggle with humanity etc. yahoo#but miki's personality was NOT on display in this one. go girl (directed at the writers) give us nothing#im gonna guess this has something to do with the amon manga? perchance#and we get more miko content go crazy#i need to get through finals week so i can further investigate. the assorted devilmen
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Uuuh here's my art dump for the reverse omens au I made
I can't remember which artist came up with the moth demon Aziraphale but credit goes to them, I just liked it and decided to run with it (I'll see If I can find them to drop a name sometime l8r)
Text ver under the cut
Aziraphale - really a quite terrible demon (original temptor)
Moth broach
Walking stick
Same outfit p much
Hair pattern silly
Majic man style coat
Eyes...
Moth antenna
Raphael - bored Archangel, human expert and healer (Crowley)
Outcast Archangel
Azi's pocket watch
Moth pendant
Devious smirk
How 2 draw skinny jeans?
Shoes...
Snake tattoo
(Text pages at the end, typed out below)
The story goes like this...
Aziraphale, thinking that keeping the diffrent between right/wrong from life is silly. He believes it's the right thing to do to introduce it to the humans. He is past looking to the all-mighty for morality, and really just does what he thinks is right. He disguises himself as an angel to offer the fruit to Adam + eve, and then discorporates the angel of the Eastern gate (unnamed angel, soon to be demoted for being bested so easily) to give the humans their flaming sword. He watches them go from the top of the Eastern gate, now non-disguised
Archangel Raphael is bored, hating how heaven is run but not wanting to ask questions after the fall of their last 'example'. He loves his stars, and wishes the world would be as interesting as them. He often visits the garden, so he sees Aziraphale on the wall and, bored, goes to be nosey
Crowley: the principality for this post taking a break?
Aziraphale: looks it, doesn't it? Whoever they were, they did quite an awful job. The humans are already a mile beyond the wall. Perhaps heaven is doing it all wrong then, hm?
It turns out, demons are quite talkative. And interesting
Crowley: hm, so you're saying you don't know what happened here?
Aziraphale: not a single clue. I suppose that's to be expected though, no?
Crowley: oh? What makes you say that?
Aziraphale: well, it's as she said. I'm not quite meant to ask questions. Her plan is ineffable, after all
Crowley: ineffable?
Aziraphale: quite. Silly, isn't it?
Crowley: I never said a thing, uh,
Aziraphale: Aziraphale
Crowley: Aziraphale
Crowley: how tf did u get captured by the Spanish inquisition?
(Dressed 2 the nines)
Crowley: I'm gonna myrical u outa this bc I have a heavenly duty but let it be known I think you're one of the dumbest motherfuckers I have ever met
Aziraphale: teehee
(No longer a fashion icon)
Crowley: dramatic ass demon
Sorry this is so terribly layed out tumblr kept changing it after I posted
#🌩nebulous' art🌒#wanted to make it so they were still themselves#just with a lil twist#also dont @ me i couldnt find the spanish inquisition scene to ref their outfits so its off the top of my head#also Crowley changes his name to Crowley later in this story#same change as before just instear of Crawley to Crowley its Raphael to Crowley#oh and its used mostly as an Alias#the other archangels dont use it#instead of anthony j crowley hes anthony r crowley#theres a lot more i wanna explain abt this au but im gonna just make more posts abt it instead of tryna get it all out in one go#alr necessary tag time#good omens#good omens au#reverse omens#swapped omens#swapped au#reverse au#demon aziraphale#angel crowley#good omens season 2#kind of#good omens minisode#like refrences#eden#good omens fanart#ineffable husbands#Raphael#raphael crowley#first rain scene#ive been doing too much analysis and thats p much why this exists
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