#and it's so fun reading the novel

[grainstealingthot]

MDZS Novel Notes

Aggression - Part One (Exiled Rebels Version)

before we get into this, i'm going to shorted Exiled Rebels as ERS. because this is my blog and i do what i want. I've heard that they translate WWX's cultivation name better in this one. And also it's easier for me to read and type at the same time like this lol.

Anyways, obligatory spoiler warning. I am making note of my thoughts while reading through the MDZS novels. If you have not read them, you will see spoilers below the cut.

No water in the room. Only basin-like container is probably meant for toilet purposes and not cleaning.

Door is latched from the outside to keep him in.

WWX: "None of these things made him feel the joy of reincarnation at all!" (he's literally so dramatic in an intentionally funny way lol. i really do love him)

He meditates for a full day. HE MEDITATES FOR A FULL DAY. Without being forced into it, even. Stop making it seem as if he's incapable of performing the most fundamental part of culitivation.

After cultivation for a literal day, nonstop, he stands up and gets lightheaded (happens to me too dw wwx)

WWX - mxy's spiritual powers are so insignificant they shouldn't be affecting my control of this body. so why's it not working right??

WWX: literally forgets that he needs to eat to function normally (...same)

"If the didn't scavenge for food, he might become the first villainous ghoul who starved to death upon arrival." (ERS)

(i ofc know that he specifies that the body hasn't practiced inedia, and that's why it feels hunger, but it's really funny to know that he forgets he's supposed to eat lol)

Door of room has a mini door at the bottom so food can be pushed through.

Food is unpleasant looking, and the servants are rude as fuck to mxy (now wwx)

wwx feels quite bitter about all of this lol

my fave quote so far:

"The Yiling Patriarch had just returned to the mortal world, but the first thing he came upon was a kick and a scolding, not to mention the leftovers that served as his welcoming-meal. Where were the blood and gore? The ruthless slaughter? The absolute destruction? Who would believe him? He was like the tiger in a flatland, the dragon in shallow water, the phoenix without feathers, losing his advantage and belittled by those weaker than him." (ERS)

i just know he's pouting while thinking this and picking at the food passive-aggressively lol

name of the servant bringing him food - A-Tong

2nd servant - A-Ding

A-Ding remarks that A-Tong only has to deliver one meal a day. (... man i really feel so bad for mxy...)

They mention that there a lot of walking corpses about.

usually dull-eyed and sluggish, unless the dead person held a lot of resentment, but they are enough to harm the average person, esp their awful smell

WWX literally thinks of them as the most obeying puppets, and feels a sense of familiarity when he hears about them. (weirdo /affectionate)

A-Ding mentions cultivators from a prominent clan came to Mo Village to deal with the corpses.

Madam is talking w them in the main hall, and everyone in town is watching.

WWX listens attentively, ponders for a moment, this stands and kicks the door down (lmao love him)

Scares the two servants badly enough that they start screaming lmao

A-Tong tries to save face in front of the girl he likes, by waving his hands about like he's shooing a dog away. (noted that by narrator that "A-Tong treated [MXY] even worse than he treated a beggar or a fly" (ERS) and that most of the servants also treated mxy like this bc he never resisted)

WWX gives him a light kick and knocks him over, then laughs "How daring of a mere errand-running child to humiliate others like this." (ugh i love him)

WWX interrupts the meeting with the cultivators, and he seems to do a great job at playing the lunatic lmao

Notices that the cultivators are older teens, from Gusu Lan, and that they all were blood-relations to the Lan family, as their ribbons all had cloud patters sewn onto them.

"Wei Wuxian got toothaches whenever he saw anybody from the Lan clan." (ERS) (...yeah buddy, i bet you do. you sure have a lot to say about the lans lol)

Madam Mo gets her husband to try and remove WWX. And WWX drops to the ground and tightly clings to the floor. Nobody can get him up, even when they call for more help (lmao #1 tantrum thrower)

ppl in the crowd know that Mo family had a "young master who lost his marbles"(ERS), and that mxy hid in that dark room for a cpl of years, scared to go outside.

WWX confront MZY about him stealing his(mxy's) things

MZY tries to kick WWX again, but one of the Lan boys stops him ("moved his fingers slightly, and Mo Ziyuan's feet slipped" (ERS))

WWX stills acts like he was actually kicks, and shows off the footprint MZY made the day before

The crowd, while enjoying the show, begins to think that MXY wasn't this insane when he first came back and that the abuse he faces made him worse

Madam Mo seems to realize that MXY(wwx) is doing this on purpose, and remarks that he's clearheaded

The also refers to MZY and MXY as being brothers and that as the older brother, MXY should share (ugh i HATED hearing this growing up. idc if i'm the older sibling, i shouldn't be forced to give my things away just to get destroyed)

WWX.... really plays up MXY being into men here lmao. "Everyone knows that I am into men. Even if he was not ashamed, I knew to not look suspicious."(ERS)

he is... really loving not having to worry about his status here XD how freeing this must feel. able to act like the gremlin he really is and not have to worry about anyone but himself

"I don't care about your reputation, but don't ruin my innocence! I still want to find a good man!"(ERS) -WWX (don't worry bby, you will soon)

WWX successfully provokes MZY into more violence, then hides behind the Lan boys, who stop MZY.

Mdm Mo tries to convince the Lans that MXY is insane and shouldn't be taken seriously, to which WWX responds "Who said that my words shouldn't be taken seriously? Next time, try stealing anything from me again. You steal once, and I cut off one of your hands!" (ERS) -wwx... babe... foreshadowing loves you...

WWX makes a hasty escape, and one of the Lans tells Mdm Mo that they'll be in the West Courtyard for the night, and for them to not go outside at night, close all windows, and avoid that courtyard.

WWX, walking around the village, "finally realized the delight of being a lunatic" (ERS) and was even starting to like the makeup resembling a hanged ghost. (he's the number 1 brat for sure lmao)

WWX notes that the cuts on his arm haven't healed, so the humiliation of the family isn't enough to satisfy the ritual.

He heads back to the Mo family's West Courtyard, where the Lan discipled are standing on the roofs and walls.

another great quote here:

"Although the Gusu Lan contributed greatly during the siege on him, at that time, these juniors were either not born yet or still young children. He shouldn't direct his hate towards them, so Wei Wuxian decided to linger around and observe what they were going to do."(ERS)

>he's a gremlin, but he's a good person. A lesser man would have taken this opportunity to harm/kill the kids to get back at the clan that participated his death. But he acknowledges that they were probably literal babies when it happened, so it wouldn't be right to be angry at them. And then he proceeds to assign himself as their babysitter lol

WWX notices that they're using Phantom Attraction Flags/Black Wind Flags (and also notes what they do and stuff)

How does he recognize them? Bc he was the creator. So although the cultivation world hated him, they sure were eager to use his inventions.

One of the Lans tries to send him away (WWX notes that the disciple is using a kind tone)

WWX steals one of the flags and starts acting out again

disciple catches him and threatens to hit him

leader of the boys comes over and scolds the disciple, telling him to not make a fuss and take the flag (this disciple being scolded is ofc Jingyi, our precious loudmouthed Lan)

and the leader of the disciples is none other than Lan Sizhui, goodest boy ever.

anyways, wwx manages to look over the flag and verifies that it was drawn correctly, and that whoever drew it was lacking experience so it wouldn't draw in from too far away (seriously... kids are part of a clan that helped kill him and here he is making sure they're being safe on a nighthunt! wwx they can never make me hate you)

LSZ gently tries to ask him to leave, believing ofc that MXY is MXY. WWX notes he is "fair and refined, with a dignified appearance and smiling faintly." (ERS). wwx silently approves of him.

The flag formation was set well, and his mannerisms were respectful, making him a "disciple with astonishing potential" (ERS)

"He didn't know that, at a conservative clan such as the Lan clan, who on Earth brought up such a junior."(ERS) (wow.... i wonder who among the Lan could possibly raised him. who could it be???? /s)

WWX gives the flag back, and wanders around before heading back to MXY's room. And what does he do?????? He sits down to MEDITATE again.

before daylight comes, he's pulled out of meditation by people coming to MXY's courtyard yelling about notifying officers, dragging him out, and possibly beating him to death.

ch ends on someone yelling "Drag the insane murderer to the Main Hall and make him pay for it with his life!"

wwx... your luck is truly spectacular lol

SO. some fanon stuff being disproven, only 3 chapters in.

Honestly.. where did the idea that "WWX can't do regular meditation easily" come from and why is so popular? 3 chapters in, and he's meditated twice already - the first time for 24hrs straight, and the 2nd time he fully intended to meditate all night! And he does this easily! Doesn't mention difficulty sitting still or anything like that.

Also. Again, we're shown in here that he's not someone who acts without thinking. He's acting the lunatic, but he's doing everything intentionally.

He's also remarkably willing to let go of grudges, easily. I noted it above, but this would have been the prime opportunity to get revenge on Gusu Lan for helping to kill him, but instead he makes sure these kids set up the flags correctly and are being safe.

He also tries to just humiliate the Mo family, rather than jumping straight to murder, though I will admit he doesn't seem too fazed about possibly having to kill them.

So he's someone who can and will resort to violence, but really only as a last resort.

Also he is a very dramatic and chaotic gremlin at heart, and I imagine getting to mess around like this is very liberating in a way. (remember, I watched the donghua all the way through. i know it's not perfect, but still) After his last life went the way it did, having no responsibilities and no one who's life depends on his behavior and not showing any weakness, this has got to be so fun.

Of course, once he does have his fun, he goes and assigns himself as basically the babysitter for the Lan juniors lol

okay that's probably all for tonight. if you've made it this far - thanks. sorry you had to put up with my formatting but I just can't be bothered to make it look pretty lol

feel free to leave your own thoughts in stuff in the comments as well!

<3

[noodles-and-tea]

I wanted to try making a page

[deikshen]

Shen Yuan who lives his life being an absolute simp of some character from a random stallion novel—[character] is absolutely amazing! He has a harem of beauties! And also, a rich and wonderful story where he rises from the most vile and gains his power based on his efforts! If only the story had a little more worldbuilding and cool monsters, Shen Yuan would like it more. But. But there's [character] and definitely everything it's worth reading! He's smart, cunning, and strategic! And his adventures are GREAT! He faces incredible trials, and even though he collects wives as trophies, those wives are INTERESTING. The character development! The story! The harem drama!!!

So one day, Shen Yuan is just doing nothing, waiting for another update on his favorite read—it would be the last chapter!!! Finally a closure to the final dramatic arc!! And Shen Yuan hoped it would be a GOOD ENDING—, when a portal opens in his fucking apartment. After cursing, yelling, and scuttling away, a xianxia man clearly emerges. WHAT. THE. FUCK!?

The man is... what the hell? Shen Yuan thinks he knows him, in some weird way, like, maybe he's seen his face somewhere??? Any popular novel or thing that hasn't caught his attention but he KNOW is famous? What the fuck??

The xianxia man with an absolutely OP sword if he was able to open a FUCKING PORTAL THROUGH THE UNREALITY OF FICTION WHAT THE HELL looks at Shen Yuan with, first, doubt, and then, certainty.

"So, that's Shizun" says the xianxia man, grinning like a fucking nightmare cat, with many menacing teeth. "This Emperor is glad to see you again."

The only intelligent thing Shen Yuan can say is: "Who the hell are you?"

The xianxia man looks confused. He doesn't let that emotion dominate him. He advances in his room with firm steps, his dark robes billowing as he goes. He's clearly not fully human, from the red mark on his forehead, those pointy ears, those black claws...

Shen Yuan doesn't recognize a damn thing about the character. He knows he's famous, he knows it, but why can't he remember it...?

"This Emperor is Luo Binghe" he introduces himself simply, and Shen Yuan's jaw drops.

"No fucking way" is all Shen Yuan actually says, suddenly recognizing the name, and realizing why he'd never read anything more than skimmed about the character. And his sister had actively tried to get him to read it!! "You—... Luo Binghe like, the one from that danmei novel? What the fuck?"

Shen Yuan hadn't been interested at all. While Luo Binghe's character seemed minimally... intriguing... Danmei novel! He had nothing against gays, but why would he read a gay thing?? Besides, what were those relationships!! Transmigration with identity never revealed? Protagonist/Scum Villain?! Even worse, teacher/student?! Yes, Shen Yuan understood that things like age difference roleplay in fetish contexts were intriguing, he had read it in other novels, BUT STILL, it wasn't exactly a roleplay!!! One of them still believed his partner was immortal!!!

(... Shen Yuan may have read some summaries of the novel. Very superficially. Many years ago, when it was popular.)

"This Shizun recognizes me, then" Luo Binghe says, and Shen Yuan lets out an undignified horrified shriek.

"OH, NO, NO, I'M NOT YOUR SHIZUN" he moves away as quickly as he can. Luo Binghe, of course, chases after him. "I don't know what happened in your, err, world?, I don't know why you decided to appear here, but I'm not... Not..." And Shen Yuan has no idea how to explain himself. I'm not your, what? Your Shizun, your partner, your... husband?

Shen Yuan feels a chaotic chill run down his spine.

"Maybe not yet" Luo Binghe says, as if it were only natural. As if he hadn’t already opened a FUCKING PORTAL WITH HIS SWORD. Shen Yuan needs to calm down or he’ll hyperventilate. "If this Xiao Shizun meets this Emperor, perhaps this Emperor's story isn't over yet. It's when this one's story ends that Xiao Shizun will become Shizun. However, this Emperor has made sure to come first this time."

Shen Yuan... actually doesn't understand him at all.

"The story…" Shen Yuan hesitates, looking at Luo Binghe. The imposing man looks, well, obviously like a blackened ML icon, but, well. Weird. Powerful. "You... Do you know that you come from a story?"

That's disturbingly weird. Luo Binghe nods.

"This Lord has been informed" he explains simply. "Shizun, a kind Shizun, has informed this Emperor about everything. But Xiao Shizun doesn't have to worry. This Lord will be here, he will prevent Xiao Shizun's death tonight, and Xiao Shizun will come with this Emperor to his world."

Shen Yuan might be starting to get a bit of a migraine. What the... hell? What nonsense? Had interdimensional travel affected the ML's brain?

“I have no idea what you’re saying,” Shen Yuan says confusedly. "Isn’t that Shizun your husband? Why do you want to take me with you? Aren't you like, happily married?"

It's Luo Binghe's turn to be confused. Fucking confused, it seemed, judging by his expression.

"From which novel does Xiao Shizun know this Lord?" Luo Binghe asks in an even dangerous tone of voice.

Shen Yuan has no idea what the name is. What he does: he searches for Luo Binghe on the internet and hands the smartphone and the results to Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe holds the phone in absolute bewilderment, and as he reads, his expression twists into at least seven different forms of horror.

At least he doesn't break his screen with the black claws. Damn, that would have been horrible.

"This Lord understands," Luo Binghe says, his expression flat and absolutely blank. He gives the smartphone back to him and Shen Yuan quickly takes it back. "This Emperor has been wrong, again. Offering apologies."

Shen Yuan feels a little sorry for the interdimensional traveler who accidentally fell into his apartment. Okay, he hasn't read that danmei novel, but the protagonist's design is GREAT. The man also looks quite... dejected. As if the weight of the world had fallen off his shoulders.

"Oh, all right, it happens to the best too" he says, shrugging. The look Luo Binghe gives him is not reassuring. "Look, ah... I can't cook to save my life, but I ordered some stuffed baos for dinner in a nearby restaurant. They haven't left the kitchen yet, so I can order a couple more of them if you'd like to stay for dinner. It must be exhausting, you know, go through... worlds?"

Luo Binghe continues to look at him with a strange look. In fact, his gaze is getting more and more stranger.

"It would be a pleasure for this Lord" he says, raising both eyebrows. "Can this Lord get your name?"

"Shen Yuan," he says nonchalantly. He returns to his phone, grateful that his baos are still cooking and he can add more to the order. "I'll add more to the order. Err— Lord Luo prefer beef or pork?"

Luo Binghe doesn't reply. Shen Yuan adds one and one. And a few other things. Usually, he's content with a big stuffed bao, but perhaps his, uh, guest will eat more?

"Anything is fine," is Luo Binghe's reply, and Shen Yuan adds an extra order of soup and snacks as well. Ah. His order will take a while, but he hopes it will arrive in time for when the latest chapter of his favorite webnovel is uploaded.

... Although he doubts he'll be able to read it in peace if Luo-fucking-Binghe is still there. Well, he'll read it tonight, when he's already in bed.

"It may take a while" Shen Yuan says, bewildered, not knowing what to do. Ugh. He hates having visits. Does it count as visits if a fictional character basically invaded his property? Shen Yuan isn't going to go into much detail about that. "Eh, Lord Luo could... sit down? Make yourself comfortable? Make yourself at home meanwhile?"

Luo Binghe looks at him with a raised eyebrow. However, he does as Shen Yuan suggests and sits down. Shen Yuan turns his back on him, arranging the chair he knocked over and some of his mess made in the panic of seeing A FUCKING PORTAL OPENS OUT OF NOWHERE, wondering if he's finally gone completely crazy.

But it's there. Luo Binghe for some reason came to his house talking about Shizun and Xiao Shizun and knowing that he was in a story, and Shen Yuan is too confused to ask any questions. He has too many. He needs to sort out his thoughts.

"Shen Yuan looks nervous," Luo Binghe says, saying his name for the first time and almost making Shen Yuan react as if he had been stabbed. It's too much!! What the hell!? "Is this Lord intimidating to him?"

"So much for a, uh, love interest," he says, making an awkward face. "I haven't read the novel where are you from, sorry. I'm not completely familiar with... well, with how your personality can be. But... for arts and some things, I expected less, eh, intimidating, yeah."

He remembered many tears. And something about a lamb. NOT THIS.

Luo Binghe laughs. Incredibly, that's also intimidating.

"If Shen Yuan hasn't read this novel, what novels has he read?" Luo Binghe asks.

... Forty minutes later, as Shen Yuan rushes up to collect dinner from the door, he wonders how good an idea it is to completely infodump Luo Binghe about his current favourite stallion novel, And most of all, about [character], his absolute favorite protagonist. Nobody can't blame Shen Yuan!!! He... Never gets the chance to talk about his favorite things outside of the internet!! And he spoke: about the characters, their developments, he went into great depth about his complaints about the mediocre worldbuilding and the lack of interesting flora and fauna for such a vast cultivation world, but highlighted every good point in the plot. Given the ENORMOUS length of the novel, 40 minutes was just a summary!! Hardly anything!!

While they are having dinner, Luo Binghe insists on seeing [character]. He has a very intense expression when Shen Yuan runs straight to his room and comes back with one of his framed posters. What!? He's a fan, it's totally normal!! [Character] was an absolute power fantasy, a magnificent, admirable character!! Definitely!! It's normal that he has a lot of his posters! And fanmade figures! And commissioned art!! Totally normal!!!

Luo Binghe looks serious as Shen Yuan continues to talk about [character], deepening his tragic backstory, his difficult beginnings, how he had to rise through hatred and prejudice. How he discovered his heritage and power and how he achieved the glory he always deserved!!

And Luo Binghe asks many, many questions. He asks so many questions that, haha, Shen Yuan would think he was considering challenging [character] to a fight. But he- he definitely couldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't, right? Well, with an OP sword like that capable of leaving its own reality, who knows!!

Dinner drags on because Shen Yuan talks too much. When it's finally over, he's actually not sure he wants to leave the poor love interest from that danmei novel adrift. Yes, he can go... But Shen Yuan isn't sure he's safe! He still looks very tired! He probably needs a good night's sleep! Besides, he ate too much! Crossing worlds on a full stomach might be bad for him!

Shen Yuan then prepares the guest bed and offers it to him. Usually, his Da-ge or Er-ge usually stays, or his Meimei, so the room is clean and suitable, and only when Shen Yuan is left alone after the long night does he notice that there is an notification that he had been waiting for on his smartphone.

YES! THE UPDATE!! Shen Yuan doesn't even make it to bed. He throws himself onto the sofa and quickly opens the door to read.

... Thirty minutes later, he's choking on rage. WHAT THE HELL? WHAT HAPPY ENDING WAS THAT? THE STALLION PROTAGONIST SIMPLY DECIDING, AFTER A LONG CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ARC OF ANOTHER UNNECESSARY NPC, THAT NOTHING MADE HIM HAPPY? LOCKING HIMSELF IN HIS PALACE AND SINKING WITH IT? WHAT WAS THAT? AND WHY?

Dumbfu—

Shen Yuan catches a glimpse of blue light at the edge of his eye before something catches him, repositioning him so he can breathe deeply without choking on his breath. The thing holding him up is, of course, the only other living thing in his apartment—a danmei character who helps him take a deep breath even with tears in the corners of his eyes, swallowing a little water, making him realize how choked he really had been.

"Is Shen Yuan alright?" Luo Binghe asks.

And all Shen Yuan can say, barely able to breathe on his own, is: "WHAT KIND OF CRAPPY ENDING IS THAT?"

Luo Binghe's gaze does not look surprised.

"Shen Yuan must be very upset" he says, as if this is nothing new. "So angry. Enough to choke on rage."

Shen Yuan pouts a little embarrassed. Oh, well. What does it matter?

"It really is a bad ending" he complains, and tells him.

In the end, Luo Binghe agrees that it's a shitty ending. Luo Binghe proves genuinely interested in hearing Shen Yuan's opinions, but also in providing solutions and arguments. He's a fun person to talk to. They talk about better endings, how the protagonist's emptiness could have been fixed, and how sometimes a single bond could be enough instead of a harem, until Shen Yuan starts yawning.

When Shen Yuan falls asleep that night, for the first time, even surrounded by posters and pictures of his favorite character, he is not thinking of him, but of Luo Binghe.

(In the morning, Shen Yuan will be given a breakfast that Luo Binghe made—the most exquisite thing in the absolute fucking world—and will try to talking about all that other world stuff, about how he had made a mistake again, or Shizun and Xiao Shizun thing. Luo Binghe evades his questions very well and always makes an excuse to stay longer and longer as the days go by, his novel guest basically takes over his kitchen, takes the guest room hostage, and takes the control about the cleanliness and order of the apartment. Shen Yuan worries a little, after all, isn't Luo Binghe very peaceful here away from that husband of his? Didn't the internet say their relationship was very codependent? What is he missing out on there?

... And why does he notice more and more of his favorite character's merch missing every day? Binghe has been cleaning, yes, but why would he take his stuff away!?)

[javierduffy]

different.

[malvolios-yellow-stockings]

fellas is it gay to be a directionless lonely insomniac approaching your 30s without having accomplished heterosexual milestones of settling down and having kids and also not having an outlet to exorcise your feelings of loneliness, shame, dejection and inadequacy, being a faceless consumer in the age of neoliberal hegemony who is unable to form meaningful human connections or feel pleasure in any meaningful capacity. is it then gay to only be vulnerable in support groups where others believe you are dying or seriously ill, in groups where you are frequently embraced by other men who share your sense of urgency, in the only context where everyone can get over being temporarily embarrassed and ashamed of their flood of emotions?

is it then gayer that this scheme you built for yourself is obstructed when a woman disrupts the all-male group you go to and that woman is everything you don't want yourself to be - a "weak person", outwardly self-loathing and ironic, painfully self-aware, lethargic and hysterical at the same time, undoubtedly feminine and carelessly vulnerable and only violent towards herself, never others (maybe that she’s free in all the ways you are not)? is it gayer still that this disruption triggers the appearance of another "man" in your life who is your own edgy, idealised version of maleness, masculinity & manhood. (is it gay that you show your anger and jealousy towards this woman, expressing your distaste by saying “if only i had wasted a couple of minutes and gone to watch marla singer die and none of this would’ve happened” after your idealised man saves her from suicide and has sex with her very loudly so you can hear (“i could’ve moved to another room… where i might not have heard them. but I didn’t”?) Is it gayer still that you reject her advances multiple times later on while loudly expressing your disinterest in her sexually)

fellas is it gay that this man turns your life upside down, convincing you to found a club that by definition and principle excludes women (“it’s for men only”), where men intimately fight underground, in a dark basement on an increasingly regular basis and where your fighting partner is almost always different every time, where you recognize each other in the wild but are instructed not to be publicly open about your membership to this secret fraternity of sorts (almost resembling the dynamics of gay cruising and hook-up culture)? is it gay that your previous need to be embraced by men in a no-questions-asked context is replaced by the same but different mechanism/ritual, this time with expected, welcomed and consensual violence intricately tying your idea of freedom and therefore pleasure with pain? fellas is it gayer still that the guy who taught you to embrace and overcome that pain lives with you and kisses your hand before leaving a chemical burn there in a shape suspiciously resembling lips?

is it gay to semi-ironically describe your co-habitation with him as married life, comparing yourselves to ozzie and harriet while tying this guy's tie, this action making you the (house)wife of the pair, then later on basically imagining that he slaps your ass after handing you beer to serve other men with? is it really gay that you get jealous of the two people this idealised man you live with shows deference to interest in? first the woman you yourself previously showed no (outwardly sexual) interest in and who was established as a kind of a rival (wherein it was impossible for both of you to be satisfied in the same way at the same time, who invades your power animal coping mechanism sequences, and whom you later embrace as an ally and quite possibly a part of yourself) and then another guy whom you then monstrously, savagely beat after feeling an "inflamed sense of rejection" and explain ruining his body by saying you “felt like destroying something beautiful"? fellas is it gay that this idealised confident man dresses eccentrically and flamboyantly, accessorises rings and big colourful fuck-you-glasses, mesh shirts etc. going against the subdued yuppie masculinity of corporate male America, who is free in all the ways you aren't and who spews (and seduces you with) anti-social undercooked anti-capitalist rhetoric and pseudo-scientific cool guy bullshit which goes against mainstream society bro!, who uses his job/pass time as a projectionist to smuggle pornographic imagery into family films (and who represents your own violent subconscious lurking in you in the form of a penis appearing for less than a second right at the end of the film?) and who tells you that maybe neither of you need women in your lives, while you discuss your absent father figures. is it gay when he spits his own blood into the mouth of a presumed gangster telling the gangster "you don't know where i've been lou" in a time where the impact of AIDS is looming large and heavy over everyone, but is inextricably tied to gay/queer men and IV drug users?

is it gay (of the repressed, self-hating variety) to create a whole fella you can pine after and effectively beat yourself up after he picks you up to live with him and punch the lights out of another dude you recognize is beautiful because the imaginary best boy friend you created in your head, that being you, has possibly experienced homo lust which is becoming increasingly hard to suppress?

and fellas is it gay to want to be tyler and want him at the same time?

is it also gay when... [gunshot]

[kucho04]

Rakuzan High

[the-binding-blade]

at the threshold

A visual novel in which Someoka musters up the courage to ask Fubuki on a date to hang out! Featuring 15K words over 2 routes of soccer, feelings, and...ghosts?

A gift for @masterlillyclaw that became extremely ambitious. You wanted somefubu, and boy do I have it in spades <3

Available to download for PC and Mac free here!

Features, warnings, and credits are all available on the itch.io page. If you decide to give it a whirl, thank you so much! I hope you enjoy your time with it as much as I enjoyed making it!

[robinmage]

[cowboy-robooty]

im not going to lie i have an illuminati type theory that fanfiction has gotten so fucking bad recently as yet another consequence of the pandemic

[thirdeyeblue]

“Nine would have treated Martha better than Ten did”

I need to talk about this argument that never seems to stop circulating.

Note: Not a venomous/anti post. There’s more than enough of that across fandom spaces as is, and this is supposed to be a place for ✨sweet, blissful escapism✨

When making this argument, people seem to envision a scenario in which Nine never met Rose.

While I can appreciate a good hypothetical, recognizing Rose's significance to the Doctor (Nine and Ten) is essential to understanding why things with Martha played out the way they did in the first place.

In the third series, the Doctor is grieving. This grief is deliberately threaded into nearly every script, whether spoken aloud or not (and these are just a few examples):

He's burning in Rose’s wake the entire time Martha travels with him, which is why it’s so frequently called upon: It’s 100% deliberate in framing his grief. He grieved as Nine too, of course— having been fresh on the heels of the Time War — but then he met Rose, which changed everything.

Back then, he was still a rude, traumatized pain in the ass, but we watch Rose soften more of those jagged edges with every episode as they grow closer; as he lets his guard down and forms a deep connection with her.

He falls in love (against his better judgment) and it's game over.

And yes: provided S1E1 had been titled 'Martha', one can realistically assume things might have unfolded similarly to how they did with Rose. However, it wouldn’t have been that way just because the Doctor was Nine and “Nine was different” — it would be because he wasn’t already in love with someone else. The same can't be said for the start of S3.

Think of it like this: if Rose AND Martha had been in that cellar — if Nine had taken both of them along with him in S1 — we’d eventually be looking at the most melodramatic love triangle ever, what with him living in close quarters with two brilliant, gorgeous, compassionate young women... But Doctor Who is plenty “soap opera” as is with just one woman in the TARDIS.

(I certainly wouldn’t object to reading that fic, though)

Now, regarding the unrequited elephant in the room…

His inability to be romantic with Martha isn’t because he thinks her lesser, nor is it for lack of compatibility. It isn't because Rose is any better than her. It certainly isn’t just because he’s Ten.

It’s really only for one reason, which can't be denied — and now I’m a broken record:

He is still in love with Rose.

(cut from a tenrosedaily gif)

Nine is Ten, and Ten is only such a mess in S3 because he’s just lost the love of his life. Martha merely got caught in the crosshairs of a volatile Time Lord in mourning, and yes — it sucks. Absolutely.

But it also feels dismissive to chalk Ten and Martha’s relationship up to little more than some sort of mindless dance of pining, jealousy, and toxicity.

Ten trusted Martha with his life over and over again — and hers, with him. He constantly praised her brilliance, happily carting her around time and space with no intention of letting her go. In the BBC’s extended universe of novels/comics/cartoons/etc, there’s so much depth to their relationship: love and trust and trauma and sacrifice. They had their own special bond as mates, their own complexities — so it’s a bummer that it's forever overshadowed by the other things.

I’m not denying that there was a lot of stuff that sucked/was for sure toxic about Ten's S3 behavior, but so many of the things I've seen him catching flak for can be directly attributed to being A Clueless Fucking Alien Idiot (not a trait that’s unique to Ten) — as well as his flat-out obliviousness to Martha’s feelings.

So yes, I agree: if Rose never existed, he would have treated Martha differently as Nine. He also would have treated her differently as Ten. Certainly.

But Rose did exist, and when discussing canon, it matters.

“He tells me that he absolutely, 100% loves Rose... He tells me how my daughter; my wonderful, beautiful, clever little girl saved him from himself before… And he says that’s all because of me! I made her into the Rose Tyler that saved him.”

-Jackie Tyler, Flight Into Hull!

Martha got the short end of the stick in S3. She came round at the wrong place and time, but that doesn't mean it was all bad. It doesn't mean the Doctor didn’t adore her. It certainly doesn't mean the time they spent together was wasted or worthless. They were brilliant!

Sure, he could be a twat, but let it be known that he was a twat with Rose as well, both as Nine and Ten. I’m sure Tentoo can be plenty infuriating, too. So while I'll defend Ten (and Tentoo) into the ground forever and ever and ever, I'll concede that he's fucked up.

The Doctor is a certified Pain In The Ass. It’s one of the things I love so much about this character — dynamics.

But never forget that Martha was goddamn tough as nails and overcame every bit of it. She moved on with her life, and the Doctor moved on with his. One can only pray that, when they inevitably drag her back onto the show (which feels inevitable if I'm honest), we see at once that she's been living her best life for all these years.

[cactus-juiceee]

“See, I told you. We’d have been good friends, I think.”

[marlynnofmany]

February Fiction Fight

The easiest writing challenge, on the shortest month! The only goal is to write "a bit of something" each day.

Something. Anything. A cool scene that doesn't have a full story to fit into yet. A plot twist that would be great several books into a series. A description of the visuals in that one cool movie. A conversation between your favorite characters about an unlikely food combination.

A page, a paragraph, a sentence. What's that cool story you're going to write someday? Jot down what you know so far. Maybe you'll know more tomorrow. Or maybe you'll be off and running with some other fascinating concept.

No limits, no minimum wordcount! Just write a bit of something.

You play February Fiction Fight by writing each day (or as many days as you can; no shame in being busy).

You win by having more fun than everybody else.

I plan to have an absolute blast!

[fihas]

thought about all of the 2001: a space odyssey references in venture bros and how pretty much all of them unintentionally ended up playing a huge part in the show's overall narrative. for example, consider the PROBLEM and how it started out as your common hal 9000 clone to eventually evolving into something that is more akin to the monolith, an extremely advanced piece of technology that is used to alter humanity's dna in order to ensure the species' survival. however, this much reliance on advanced technology has never really gone well for anyone, and this situation is no different.

at the end of 2001, the monolith ends up absorbing a whole guy, essentially "emulating" him, destroying his physical body while retaining all his memories of his previous human life. this forces him to go through the cycle of death and rebirth, and once this process is complete he has been transformed into the star child, who at the time appears as a baby. this could apply to how jonas sr built vendata and how he invented his cloning process simultaneously, and hits harder considering both he and the monolith pulled every single string in their respective narratives, especially since jonas was trapped in the PROBLEM for 30 years. there's always some ominous rectangle at the scene of the crime.

it also causes the orange 2001 inspired spacesuits in vbros to become significantly more impactful, especially since they're worn by rusty, hank, dean, and the monarch. and all 4 of them are clones. gary is the singular outlier to this which is kind of funny. sorry man we're going to be dragging you into venture bullshit forever. bodyguard curse or whatever.

cool fact: the scene in haunted problem where jj recovers the PROBLEM from the gargantua 1 crash site parallels a scene in 3001: the final odyssey, in which the original monolith is dug up in a similar fashion in kenya.

and then there's another reference to the monolith in what goes down must come up, yet again associated with something jonas sr directly caused. this episode also comes with a bugged out supercomputer too.

not exactly sure where i'm going with this but i will say that i think this is the best possible way to utilize pop culture references instead of constantly making them surface level one off jokes. venture bros does this so much in such a rewarding way for people who recognize these references, and it does it best with space odyssey to me. this is because doc and jackson wanted to torment me specifically with their show.

[dartalias]

One of the reasons i love reading Kyoshi is her inter monalogue and something i love about it is that she knows about agriculture and its just randomly using this knowledge in her head

(And in her pettiness)

Like in the Daofei city they were worriedly explaining to her how sad and bad it is that they are tied up with a gruop called "Autumn flower society" that have "moon peaches" as their simbol, and how dangerous they were

And Kyoshi first thoght was "moon peaches bloom in the spring, idiots, but of corse they wouldn't know that, they're daofei not farmers"

Or the amont of times they go to a new place and the firt thing she does is cassify the soil as good/bad to plant things

Kyoshi herself acknowledge this trait of hers sometimes

Like she is doing a ditch with earthbending and being like "See that Yokoya??? I can plow land too, i could be a great farmer"

Or when shes eating dust being like "its not eating, its testing, spirits why did i have to know that???"

Love my avatar farmer girly with criminal and artistic genes

[whaliiwatching]

hobie in a croptop that says ‘thot crime’

and proud of it too

[evilkaeya]

binge read all 153 eps of my S class hunters in a day... no one tell hyunjae he's not in a romance webtoon