#and then I remembered that I hate how sus is being changed because of among us

[acestories]

I've been thinking about how so many older people (40 and up, but mostly Boomers) are so against using they/them because "it's a plural pronoun" and "pronouns can't change" and I'm just like... that shit already happened, centuries ago, you're literally arguing against time.

And it doesn't how hard you try to fight the march of time, you will always lose. Time will keep marching on, and you will be ground underneath its boot.

But so will I, someone who is thought of as young because I was born in 1997. I too will die, ground underneath the boot of history.

All I can do now is try and prepare for the day when society starts to change at a pace and in a way that I don't like. It's inevitable that it will happen, and I have no right to dictate how society should grow and evolve.

[bottlepiecemuses]

In actuality, Moto is quite smart. In fact he's the most knowledgeable of the four heroes at the time of summoning (and yes, that counts Naofumi. Remember, Naofumi had to learn everything from scratch because he knew absolutely nothing when he entered. And had Myne not betrayed him, he would very well become an actually stupid version of Motoyasu because of that.)

I mean, he's the only one among them that went to college.

What Motoyasu isn't however, is rational. People, especially online, tend to think that intelligent and rational are one and the same.

They are not. It is very much possible to be very smart, yet very irrational. Of course there's the problem of this.

Why does he believe malty so heavily!?

This question is easy to ask from the perspective of an audience, particularly when Moto is an antagonist and we see the POV of the protagonist (Naofumi.) But take a step back a moment, remove that audience-centricism, put yourself in his shoes, and ask yourself if you would believe Malty so easy.

"Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." -Obi Wan

You are Motoyasu. You've known Naofumi for less than 24 hours. Shielders in your game were always kind of sus. Suddenly, Naofumi's party mate runs up to you, butt naked. Crying at you about how she was sexually assaulted. Tears fill her eyes, and her voice is desperate and scared.

Yes, we as an audience knows she's putting up an act. But can you honestly say that were you in this situation, you would not fall for it? With the very limited information and time you had to process it, most people definitely would have.

If you say "Oh I would totally not fall for her bullshit." Well, I hate to break it to you bud, but you're either ultra skeptical, ultra paranoid, or you're still clinging onto that audience centricism I told you to stop having for 5 seconds.

Okay so how could Moto not turn on her after the whole slave crest confession thing?

Because this presupposes again that Moto is rational and that rational is the same as intelligent. Rational thought says that when you're wrong you accept the facts and act accordingly.

However, anyone who's ever had an argument with anyone else should know that people don't work that way. Instead, when people are proven wrong on a presupposed truth (particularly one they've held and reinforced for a very long time, as was the case with Motoyasu at the time of Malty's trial), instead of changing positions they tend to double down on it. This is not a Motoyasu problem. This is... as much as I hate using this term as it's severely overused these days for shitty political stances... a human nature problem. As Adam Ruins Everything points out.

Sure, clearing Naofumi's name like this works (less effectively than shown) on the common masses outside watching the whole thing on ball-o-vision, but for someone that's been with Malty for months on end, has a personal stake in this, and has had no real reason to doubt their companion up until now, all this does is the aforementioned 'backfire effect'.

As an old quote says: "The true form of stupidity isn't the lack of intelligence but the lack of caring to think."

The backfire effect is a psychological phenomenon where people's beliefs strengthen after being presented with evidence that challenges

Motoyasu would, without hesitation, betray his duty as a hero and to the world for his "friends". Motoyasu is a much more cynical depiction of how the "power of friendship" can very quickly devolve into tragedy

when it comes to people he considers friends he is overly trusting

and loyal

and will outright deny the possibility of them doing wrong

Ok

[tintysun]

All of Us Are Dead (2022) [Remarks (by episode)]

EPISODE 1

• Damnnit. Su-hyeok should have done more for Eun-ji and her reputation. Maybe he believed something like it wasn't his place and could indeed make it worse by meddling. Among other things. But still... :/

EPISODE 2

• "Heads" of schools are so often so effin' dense. Geez. Trying to reason with them is worse than talking to a brick wall hoping to get through it. *facepalm*

EPISODE 3

• It's characters like Lee Na-yeon that I tend to dislike the most and have no compassion for. At first, you may be like, "Okay, so they're privileged and pretty out of touch. But nobody is perfect and people change! I could be bitchy too before..." And then they start pulling shit (and crying when they're facing the consequences of their actions).

IMO, one of the worst kinds of person to have in a team. IDC if they're right at times.

• Yang Dae-su is like the complete opposite. Jeez. Purest and biggest heart of gold.

• Spoiler: Jang Ha-ri LIVES! And I had no idea I would grow to like this character so much when she was first introduced...

EPISODE 4

• You wouldn't believe how heroic Nam So-ju is...

• And Park Mi-jin is so feisty and quarrelsome.

But such a good teammate after all...

EPISODE 5

• Cheong-san is tougher, smarter, kinder, and more deadly than he looks and you'd initially assume. Messing with him is not a good idea.

• The conversation about what if everyone turned and they're the only humans left hits so different now...

• Yoon Gwi-nam is the worst. *shudders*

EPISODE 6

• Trying not to say more than I should before upcoming episodes and the ending, but... Choi Nam-ra is OP. Top student and top fighter.

EPISODE 7

• Call me biased, but when it comes to Min Eun-ji, I'm like, "YASS, SLAAAY!!"

• Welp. If they all leave the school in this instance, that'd be it.

EPISODE 8

• I love how Min Eun-ji, by dealing with her pain, indirectly freed the group to be out on the rooftop and relatively safer. Not the abuse and neglect, though. People are messed up.

• The reluctant "villain". Though, I mean, if you've been severely bullied or outcasted by your peers (and chances are they're all turned or infected, anyway), it kind of follows that you'd hate the place and everyone in it or be indifferent about it all. He may just have been honoring another's rage wish, too.

• Am I supposed to feel bad because she starts showing signs of having some humanity? Well, I don't. She had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing but over and over chose her own comfort and convenience over it. It didn't matter that the teacher who sacrificed herself for her practically begged her to do better and help others. She still chose to be selfish until her bit of conscience (or maybe a literal ghost), and probably her loneliness most of all, finally pushed her to more. I'm not saying go get killed by a zombie, but missed me with that sympathy-seeking. And if I had to guess, she'd be the kind to revert to her old ways once she has it going good for herself again.

EPISODE 9

• Is there a politician that isn't a phony?

EPISODE 10

...

EPISODE 11

• Hmm... Seeing someone you love, or just knew, turn all the way into a Zombie must be a whole other kind of grief. Because you remember the person they were before and you want to hang on to that, and maybe even cherish it, but then in front of you is the same body acting in wildly contrary ways. And you'd have to tell your brain not to override who they were with this new behavior but it would still do. Then there's the hope that there's a cure and you can bring them back again, but that's rarely the case in zombie stories.

• It always both baffled and irritated me to no end the obsession of Yoon Gwi-nam with fighting Lee Cheong-san. But it makes sense that Lee Cheong-san could upset him so. Besides Yoon Gwi-nam just being generally violent and wanting to take that out.

EPISODE 12

• I'm sorry if anyone saw themselves in Park Ji-hoo but, to me, she came across as an NPC - there to prompt the rest of the characters to show different sides or degrees of them as well as to display how emotions can be processed or moral stances taken. I wanted to take it all seriously, but couldn't help but be amused at parts to watch others interact with her as though they were all interacting with a non-entity rather than with a number of other characters they would have shown those sides and degrees to. 😂

Or maybe she's the writer's self-insert? Anyhow, thank you for that, Park Ji-hoo, whatever or whoever you are.

FINAL

• I regret not having written down my favorite lines as I was watching all the episodes. There were some true gems in there. I'd have to rewatch for all of them now. 😭

But off the top of my head right now: Loved Ha-ri's profoundness showing, as well as the thoughtfulness of the teacher, Sun-hwa, and the boldness of Cheong-san. 💛💛💛

[katyasrussianaccent]

i don't wanna be your friend, I wanna kiss your lips (corpse x reader)

Summary: Corpse suggests you flirt with each other to mess with the fans. What happens when you suddenly catch feelings?

Authors Note: This has been in my brain for so long so I decided to write it. May or may not write a part 2, im not sure. Lemme know what you think! My requests are open for fic/headcannons aswell 💖

It should have been simple.

Flirt, mess with the fans a little, sit back and relax.

It should have been simple.

You remember Corpse coming to you with the idea.

“Why would we do that?” you had asked, frowning at your phone screen. It had been another late night phone conversation with him; something that was starting to become a regular occurrence.

You pictured him shrug as he answered. “Fun?”

“Are you so bored you wanna make a fake relationship with me?”

“Not a relationship. Just do what we do now, but like, more.”

You had agreed before your brain had even registered it. On paper it was straightforward. You already flirted a little anyway, you were naturally a flirtatious person, and so was he. It made sense; or at least you had told yourself that it did. You knew the fans already shipped you together, you saw the things they tweeted as you occasionally lurked the ynhusband tag on Twitter. It was just innocent fun right? No-one was going to get hurt.

For a little while that was true. For a little while he called you baby and you called him darling and it meant nothing. Your face didn’t feel flush when he commented on your latest Instagram post and your heart didn’t do a little flip when he would call you just to see how you were. The phone conversations were your favourite; curled up in bed with the phone on your pillow, trading secrets into the night. He had suddenly become this constant in your life, this almost routine familiarity like brushing your teeth or going to get milk.

You weren’t sure what changed, when it had gone from being innocent fun to meaning something. It was like someone had flicked a switch, and Corpse was no longer a warm glow but this bright, blinding light that hurt your eyes to look at too long. It was almost cruel, the way you wanted something so unobtainable; the universe’s idea of a joke had no humour in it. The thing with Corpse was he was so unaware of the power he had. He was mysterious yes, but he was faceless among a sea of faces; of course people were drawn to him. And you were just another.

You started to pull away. You played different games with different people, you ignored his tweets. It was easier, if you never interacted with him, you could pretend there was nothing but shallow feelings instead of the crashing waves that threatened to pull you under. The fans had started to notice; your streams were filled with questions that you refused to answer.

“Where’s Corpse?” you read aloud as you scrolled down the chat. “Probably in his house? Go ask him.” Your tone was bitter even to you and you inwardly cringed. He hadn’t contacted you in 2 weeks, and while you were thankful, you were hurt by it. It was stupid and hypoctritical of you to be upset by something that was your own doing, and you weren’t sure what you had expected from him. He had other friends, other people to talk to, why would he have cared about you anyway?

Your phone lit up next to you, and you ignored the pang of disappointment at Rae’s picture flashing up.

Rae: Among Us???

You hesitated for a second. The likelihood of Corpse being there was high, but you knew deep down he wouldn’t say a thing to you, not on stream or in front of your friends. You could just ignore him, like you had been doing and it would be fine. You weren’t sure you believed yourself anymore.

“Guys, you want to watch me play Among Us? I’m not sure who’s playing, other than Rae.” You looked at the fast flowing stream of affirmatives and emojis. Guess you had to do it now. You opened up the game and joined the lobby.

“-yeah she looks really fucking cute,” you heard Corpse say as you logged in. You looked down at your outfit,; he definitely wasn’t talking about you in your oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. You had been on stream for a few hours now; your eyeliner was smudged a little and any lipstick had worn off with the constant drinking and licking your lips. No, he definitely wasn’t talking about you.

“Hey guys,” you said tentatively, swallowing down the feeling of jealousy at Corpse’s previous words.

A chorus of greetings hit you, and you smiled at their enthusiasm. You had played with Rae, Sykunno and Toast a few times before, but Felix, Jack and Ash were new to you, though you knew of them.

“Hey Y/N,” Corpse said. You had hoped after 2 weeks he wouldn’t still affect you so much, but the way your stomach turned said otherwise.

“Hey Corpse,” you replied, hoping your tone was casual.

“I haven’t seen you in a while, how are you?” he asked.

“Oh. Uh yeah, I’ve been a bit busy I guess, how are you?” You looked down as you answered, picking at your nail polish. You glanced at the chat that was filled with messages.

corpsesbaby: You can always tell when someones lying coz they look down” llamadelrey: why is this so awkward lmao arent they friends??” simpsforrae: This is like is a breakup i swear

“I’ve been okay, thanks” Corpse answered, drawing your eyes off the chat and back to the game. You nodded as you muted your mic to go back to your stream.

“I hope I don’t get imposter, I always suck at that so much.” You watched as the screen counted down and the word IMPOSTER flashed up alongside Corpse’s name. “Guess I jinxed it guys.”

Great. Not only were you imposter, you were imposter with Corpse, which meant you would have to actually speak to him. Maybe you wouldn’t have to.

You both followed Rae as she walked up towards Greenhouse, and you cornered her while she did her task, killing her quickly.

“Everyone seemed to go right, so we should vent back towards cafeteria to avoid suspicion,” Corpse said.

“Okay,” you answered. You vented together, and you muted your mic to laugh. “This is kinda cosy guys.” You said to your chat. You briefly imagined what it would be like in real life to be so close to him.

You moved to Admin where Toast was doing his task. Before you could say a word, Corpse had already killed him and you both vented outside Cafeteria. “Fuck, that was so close,” you muttered, chuckling a little.

“Don’t worry, I got your back,” he replied, making your heart sing a little.

“Oh my hero,” you said, making a point of swooning to your chat, your voice high and airy. “How will I ever repay you?”

He chuckled, “You shouldn’t ask questions like that.”

You flushed at the suggestive tone he had taken, and you hoped it wasn’t noticeable but judging by the comments in your chat, it clearly had been. This was another issue you had with Corpse; he always made these type of comments with you and it was really annoying. You knew there was no chance he was being serious, and sometimes you wished he would stop it purely because it got your hopes up.

delilah: shes BLUSHING dreamofme: uWu yn uWu

You opened your mouth to respond when Dead Body Reported flashed up, bringing your thoughts back to the game.

“Toast and Rae are dead,” Sykuuno said. “I found Rae in Greenhouse and Toast in admin.”

“I was in balcony, I went there from the cafeteria,” you said confidently. You hated being Imposter, especially being teamed with Corpse, who was so good at the game, you had a lot of pressure to do well.

“I was in MedBay, I didn’t see you YN,” Ash accused.

“You only see if they enter through the left door. She entered through the other door,” Corpse answered for you.

“And how do you know that?” Felix asked.

“I was in Cafeteria,” Corpse replied.

“You could’ve vented YN,” Jack said.

“No I couldn’t have, if Ash was in MedBay, she would have seen me. Unless she wasn’t in MedBay,” you suggested, smirking to your cam as you muted. “It’s not going too bad I don’t think? Always feel like I’ve been arrested when I’m Imposter.”

“Little sus of you Ash to say you were in MedBay when you weren’t,” Corpse said. You gaped a little at how easy it was for him to manipulate the situation, it was almost scary.

Ash argued as the other players began to agree and discuss among themselves. You smiled in success at the text on the screen.

Ash has been ejected.

You split up this time, and while you hadn’t really spoken during the game, you kind of missed Corpse’s astronaut next to yours, and you said that to your chat. “Haha, our colours did look cute together, I agree.”

Any previous trepidation you had had disappeared as soon as you had heard his voice; and you realised how much you had missed him. You would simply just need to deal with your feelings; they would go away eventually anyway. You just hoped it wasn’t too late for you to start again with him.

You walked to MedBay with Skyunno, making small talk as you did.

“I’m glad to see you playing with us, it’s been a little while,” he said and you felt bad that you would have to kill him. As you turned towards him, ready to kill as he did his task, Jack walked in. You mouthed oops at the cam.

“What’s going on here?” Jack asked, suspicion in his voice.

“I was just saying how nice it was to have YN here,” Sykunno replied. You stood and faked your task, watching the green bar fill as you did. It would be too risky to kill here.

“Ah yeah, Corpse has been asking after you constantly,” Jack said. You blinked at the response, it had caught you off guard.

“Oh?” you replied simply. You mentally shrugged it off. Of course he would have asked about you, you were friends, that was all.

DEAD BODY REPORTED

“Felix was dead in Reactor,” Corpse announced. “Oh Corpse, you’re taking a risk here” you said to your chat.

“I was in MedBay with Jack and Sykunno,” you replied, smiling as they agreed. “Where were you Ash?”

She sighed sadly. “I was in Labs, but I was doing a task, I swear!” You all agreed quickly that Ash would be the next voted out.

“2 to go,” you said triumphantly. “I thought I was gonna drag Corpse down, but it’s going okay!”

The round started again and you could feel yourself getting tired. Hopefully this wouldn’t be too much longer to finish the game.

You circled round Corpse a few times, hoping that he would understand your signal. Luckily he did, and you both vented to Decontamination where Skyunno and Jack were. The room had already started to emit steam, making it extremely easy for you both to vent unnoticed and kill them both.

You grinned at the Victory message that flashed up.

“Good game guys!” you said. The others congratulated you and Corpse on your win and you smiled at the sound of your names together. You had it bad.

“It was all YN,” Corpse said.

“Pfft you ssh being humble, it was all you,” you replied, taking your hair out of your ponytail and running your hand through it.

“Your hair looks nice,” Corpse commented and your eyes widened. Your heart started to beat a little quicker. How long had he been watching your stream?

“It’s bad to watch someone’s stream without telling them,” you replied, making a show of pouting for the camera.

He laughed a little. “What can I say, I’m a bad guy,” he said, singing the last words. You laughed at the sudden Billie Eilish.

“Guys, either play another game, or get a room,” Felix interrupted. You blushed a little and rolled your eyes, the chat going crazy from the corner of your eye.

“And that’s my cue to exit,” you said, yawning. “Bye guys, have a good night!” You wished everyone and your chat goodnight before closing the stream and leaning back in your chat. You couldn’t believe Corpse had been watching you. You hadn’t said anything too incriminating, but still.

You prepared for bed, settling back into the softness of your pillows as you grabbed your phone - a terrible habit you really needed to stop.

Corpse: Can I call you?

You gulped at the message that appeared on your screen, a gnawing feeling of nervous clung to your throat as you typed yes. His name came up almost instantaneously and your hand shook as you pressed to accept the call.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey, what’s up?” you asked, trying to keep your voice even while your heart beat erratically in your chest.

“It was nice playing with you again,” he commented.

You sat up a little as you held the phone against your ear. “Did you call me to tell me that?”

“I haven’t spoken to you in a while.”

You sighed a little. “Yeah, I’ve been a bit busy, sorry - “

“You’re lying to me and I don’t know why,” he replied. You had never heard his voice like that before; so angry and hurt. You tapped your foot against your mattress as you thought what to say.

“I -”

“Did I do something?” he asked. You had been so selfish; blocking him out to avoid being hurt, but you hadn’t thought about his feelings. He was more popular than you were, you had assumed he would be fine, that he wouldn’t care if you were around or not.

“No, you didn’t do anything, I swear -”

“Then what? Because I thought we were friends, close friends and then suddenly you pretty much disappear. But you’re still streaming with other people. It’s pretty shitty of you.”

You chewed the inside of your cheek and looked up, the sting of tears threatening to fall. “It was really shitty of me, I’m sorry.”

“What happened?” he asked. “Please just tell me.”

“I don’t know what I’m meant to say,” you replied softly.

“What do you want to say?”

You blinked, the anticipation of unspoken words caught in your throat, making it hard to swallow. The taste of them was bitter on your tongue. “I...I have feelings for you.”

There. You had said it. There was no taking it back now, and you felt like your heart was about to shatter with every single second of silence that passed. You could hear him swallow on the other end of the phone. “Are you saying you’re in love with me?”

You bit your lip, taking in the meaning of the question he had asked. It wasn’t something you had thought of, you hadn’t conceptualised your feelings for him, not put them in a box labelled love or anything. “I don’t know. I feel something for you. And it kinda sucks being your friend and having those feelings. So I pulled away.”

“Why does it suck?”

You laughed bitterly. “Why wouldn’t it? Feeling something for someone that doesn’t feel the same is fucking shitty.”

“I asked you to flirt with me YN -”

“Yeah, for fun,” you interrupted.

“No, I said for fun, but really I just wanted you to,” he replied. “I feel something for you too. How could I not? Has anything I’ve ever said to you sounded like it was just for fun?” You smiled at his response, your heart no longer on the fit of breaking, but suddenly doing flips and soaring through your chest, radiating warmth through your body.

“Oh,” you said, your brain was overloaded with thoughts, and was apparently no longer capable of coherent sentences.

“Oh? That’s a great response, thanks,” he teased, but you could tell he was smiling as he spoke.

“I wasn’t expecting you to say that, I don’t really know what to say honestly,” you replied.

“Well, baby, how about you say yes to a date?” he asked.

“Yes.”

[blzzrdstryr]

Yan!Beidou x fem!reader

This drabble has been heavily inspired by @ddarker-dreams yan Beidou hcs and I am not a native English speaker so bear with me

CW: Childhood abuse, unhealthy relationship

Drop by drop the sea is drained - is what your mother used to say, when you acted disagreeable. There were plenty of instances, where your parents enforced a certain behaviour model on you - don't run, don't be rude, don't play with servants' kids. They wanted a proper lady, you were anything but. Once your goal was set - climb a tree for apples, skip boring manners lessons, or play with peers - you stopped at nothing until you reached it.

Being put in a corner, losing privileges and even whipping did little to deter you, just making you silent for a day or two, while you looked at your parents with angry and resentful eyes. With years you learnt to mask your grievances and indignation to avoid unnecessary punishment, but still you couldn’t bring yourself to agree with their ideas or become the person they wanted you to be. 

I am not the ever changing sea, I am a tall cliff standing amidst it, you once thought to yourself, when your parents decided to lash you twenty times more for disobedience and haughtiness, gritting your teeth and preparing for the incoming pain, I will continue standing.

In the end, they failed at molding you into the perfect daughter and you ended up disowned, once you publically broke off the engagement arranged years ago. Seems that their desire for perfect reputation in high society was stronger than whatever remains of love they still had for you, their child. A mix of horror and relief washed over you that day, you were free to do as you please, but had nowhere to return to.

That's how you found yourself in Liyue harbor doing odd jobs - working as a translator, performing on instruments, teaching other noble kids; skills that you acquired in your former rich life were now used to get by. And then you had the misfortune of catching Beidou's gaze. 

You were playing an erhu at Heyu teahouse that day. After Liu Su finished his tale of Guhua Brotherhood and left the stage to rest his throat, you took his place, ready to play on the strings of the instrument and hearts of your listeners. It produced a sad yet hopeful wordless tale of love, as your fingers of one hand were flying over the strings, while the other masterfully directed the bow. Some visitors closed their eyes, some gazed into the distance with a faraway look, too consumed by their thoughts and feelings, but Beidou’s stare never left you for once.

She looked just like Liu Su’s stories portrayed her: gorgeous and terrifying and you were almost enchanted. To you. Beidou looked like a hero straight out of fairy tales: with steel hard muscles, skin coarse from sea winds contrasting with surprisingly silk soft hair and a great claymore strapped to her back, a legendary captain just waiting to slay unimaginable levianthants and discover unknown lands.

She approached you, right after you finished and full of praise and mora to gift. Her loud, boisterous voice described every little detail of what she liked in your music, enough to make your cheeks feel warm. Beidou even joked at the end, that your mastery of the music was alike to the beauty of Xi Shi, enough to make fish forget how to swim and sink below at the first notes of your erhu, and even promised that she will attend your every performance when she is on land.

And Beidou did hold her word, her intimidating figure seen in the audience as you played on erhu or guzheng or pipa, ready to shower you in compliments and gifts. It was charming at first, but then the constant attention started to feel tiring, yet you still entertained her, as you felt bad for receiving countless treasures, enough to provide you for years, just for playing music.

To be honest, it wasn't that she was bad company, her straight-forward and honest nature was what drew you in, captain was everything people in your former life were not. Her laser focus on you was what initially bothered you - eye following every movement and she always remembered the littlest thing you said, something that made shivers creep up your spine. 

Despite that you still followed Beidou when she offered to show you the Crux. She boasted about all the adventures and battles she had, while her crew intently observed you. You paid them no mind, thinking that they stare because you were an outsider to their ship. 

The Crux suddenly moved, creaking and swaying on the waves, as all anchors were lifted - you almost fell from the sudden rocking, but Beidou caught you in time, confusion written on your face. You treated it all as a tasteless joke at first, after all Beidou was known for her eccentricity, but it wasn’t. Harbour was getting smaller and smaller as the ship headed into the open sea where your cries of indignation could be heard by none who would help. 

In the first weeks you cried and shouted at her, tearing your now shared cabin to shreds, constantly defying and testing the captain. You prepared yourself for the violence she will lash out and punish you for defiance, for not being the person she envisioned you to be, but she didn’t. It would be better if she matched your expectation, making it easier to hate, to defy, to continue standing strong, but she surrounded you with love and care instead.

Beidou is a great wave, overwhelming and unfairly strong, inescapable and insatiable.

Now you are locked up in her cabin, a spacious room filled with treasures Beidou acquired during her travels, and you feel like one too - the most beloved yet meaningless trinket, meant to be possessed and hidden from others’ eyes. She spends the whole night with you, keeping you close in the inescapable hug, as her breath fans your neck she’s nuzzled in.

You still lash out at her when you are awake, albeit with less spite and fire in each insult, as if your determination started to slowly wash out. Beidou doesn’t seem to mind it, as she still forces her love in you, smothering and drowning your entire being with unwanted affection. In this regard she looks like the owner of a wild cat to you, kissing and hugging you, when you still thrash in her hold, hissing and clawing at her face.

Unintentional comparison with a pet does nothing but produce dry and humorless laugh out of your lips - deep down you are scared.

You feel it in your bones, how there’s less and less energy in you to fight back - nothing you did was of any use before, so where is meaning in further resisting? You noticed how you sometimes let Beidou have her way with you and how you started to eye the skilfully made erhu she left to you in hopes that you will play once again.

You are a cliff, standing among the raging sea, proud and alone - there’s no one on this cursed ship that will help you - and Beidou is the waves, slowly chipping away at your will.

Water wears away any stone with time and looking at yourself you can’t help but wonder when will you accept that you are nothing but treasure to be kept.

[xiyao-feels]

Hi! May I ask a The Untamed question: Why does Meng Yao return the jade pass? What is it and why is it important? Lan Xichen seemed a bit upset, surprised but also resigned to it simultaneously.

Hi! So—/why/ Jin Guangyao returns the jade pass is an interesting question, and there are various different opinions on the matter. I think it's best if I start with the second part of your question: what is it and why is it important?

The Lan use the jade passes as a security measure; you need one to get in and out of CR. JGY has a pass which previously allowed him access to CR, but LXC changed it; this time, when he came, it didn't allow him in.

I think it's worth taking a fuller look at the jade passes, which in this case means looking at MDZS.

We first see them, I believe, in chapter 11. In MDZS, WWX a) believes LWJ hates him and b) doesn't realize LWJ has recognized him. He pitches a fit outside the gates of CR because he doesn't want to go inside, because without a jade token that allows you in and out, he won't be able to leave:

If he was dragged inside, it would be extremely difficult for him to come outside again. Back then, when he came to study, all of the disciples were given a jade token for passage. Only with the token, would a person be able to enter and leave freely, or else they couldn’t pass through the protective barrier of the Cloud Recesses. After ten years had passed, the security could only have gotten stricter, instead of looser.

After he's inside, he tries to see if he could escape without the token, but no dice:

Lan WangJi went to see his uncle to discuss serious matters, while Wei WuXian was pushed into the room. Right after Lan WangJi left, Wei WuXian also went outside. He strolled around the Cloud Recesses, and found that, as he had expected, without the jade token for passage, even if he climbed up the white walls of a few zhangs’ height, he would be immediately flung off by the barrier, attracting the attentions of the nearby patrolmen at once.

In chapter 65, we see that LWJ is able to detect when someone tried to come through the wards without one:

Wei WuXian slept sometime later. He was asleep until early morning when he suddenly woke up. With a shiver, he crawled forward and looked up. Lan WangJi’s was still dressed, sword was on his back. As he took back the hand that he had put on Wei WuXian’s shoulder, he stared at a white object within his palm, “We have an uninvited guest.”

Wei WuXian squinted to see. The object was the GusuLan Sect’s jade token of passage. He could recall that Lan WangJi’s token was a very high level, able to alert him if others intruded over the barrier of the GusuLan Sect.

This was JGY coming, the very same trip he returns the jade token, because now it's no longer working. WWX concludes that LWJ modified its access at some point in the last couple of days:

Wei WuXian understood now. Since ZeWu-Jun and LianFang-Zun had quite a good relationship, Lan XiChen had given Jin GuangYao a token of passage as well so that he could visit freely. However, it was likely that within the past few days he had either edited the prohibitions of the Cloud Recesses’ barrier or retracted the permission of Jin GuangYao’s token of passage. When Jin GuangYao came to visit, he was refused permission to enter, and thus he voluntarily returned the token.

In chapter 119, LWJ tells WWX that the jade token he gave him can also be used to withdraw money when he needs it:

Wei WuXian, “[…] Oh, right. HanGuang-Jun, I’m out of money. Give me a bit more, won’t you?”

Lan WangJi, “Simply take the jade token to withdraw the money.”

Wei WuXian let out a muffled laugh, “Apart from letting me in and out of the barrier, that jade token you gave me… can also let me draw money?”

“Yes.”

Though I very much doubt that Jin Guangyao ever used it for that.

I can't find reference to anyone other than JGY and WWX being given tokens permanently (like, aside from the visiting disciples), so only Jin Guangyao who didn't live among the Lan. (Although since the damn tokens aren't referred to by a single consistent name, I could be missing something.)

See also this bit in ch 80, from the second siege:

Wei WuXian laughed, “Who said that you have to go inside the Room of Forbidden Books? Wouldn’t it be fine as long as your master can go in at will? The methods of tampering with the sheet music—he was probably also the one who taught you that, right?”

A person of power free to travel in and out of the Cloud Recesses at will. There was no need to say out loud whom Su She’s master was. Everyone knew—it could only be LianFang-Zun!

It's not actually totally clear to me how much of this carries into CQL canon. For example, we don't have the WWX trying to escape from CR plotline in CQL, so from what I remember I don't think we see him testing the wards and being flung off the walls. And more than that: in CQL we don't get the scene where LWJ detects JGY's visit through his own token, meaning Wangxian's presence during the meeting comes across more as something LXC deliberately set up. I think you could read it in if you really wanted, but it's definitely reading against the text.

(Incidentally, to me in CQL LXC doesn't seem surprised when JGY puts the pass on the table, but I think he very much is surprised when JGY says I'm returning it to you; that's not the direction he was expecting this to go. Episode 43, 31:17-31:37, if you want to check yourself.)

Okay, so, now we have all the context. Why does Jin Guangyao return the jade pass? He says that it's because it stopped working, sure, fine—but why did it not working mean he returned it?

To the best of my knowledge—though as ever I could be wrong—we don't get any more information than that in the text, which means it's a matter for meta and speculation. This is where I'd usually tell you what I think and why, except... honestly, I'm not sure. I haven't yet settled on something that feels right to me.

I've seen the ideas that he was distancing himself, or that he was reacting as though it was a complete rejection—it's certainly true that being completely rejected is his usual experience, see NMJ and QS. I can follow the logic, but it doesn't quite work for me? First because it's followed by his reassuring LXC on the subject of LWJ's reputation and the possibility of CR being searched, and then inviting LXC to Carp Tower for a conference about the Burial Mounds, but also...hmmm. Retreating like that is—not really how he usually operates? You see it with NMJ, you see it with QS—he keeps reaching out, he keeps trying to explain himself. In MDZS he stops after the stairs, but at that point he's very thoroughly done with NMJ and I think we can agree he's not there with LXC; in CQL he keeps trying even after he's decided NMJ has to go. Now it's true QS literally just killed herself! so he might not be reacting as usual and all. But...mmm, I don't know. He says it himself (ch 106): “I can’t help it. To seek pity even after doing all the bad things—that’s the kind of person I am.”

Okay, so why the heck /does/ he do it? Welllll...it could be practical considerations—maybe it would be a risk for the Lan if the token got into the hands of an enemy, say, and he's not sure he'll be able to protect it. But honestly that's not very satisfying, and there doesn't seem to be any evidence in the text that I can remember? So I think it makes sense to look elsewhere.

Maybe he actually is trying to respect LXC's boundaries, especially since they don't have time to hash this out. Maybe he figures that—well, we don't know exactly how the second siege would have played out without Wangxian's intervention, but it seems pretty likely that it would have involved damaging the Lan, which is LXC's care and to whom until now JGY has been the staunchest of allies; a way of acknowledging the damage he's doing, even if it won't be understood until later. Maybe he's trying to send a message to LXC: shit is going down, are you in or out? Maybe he's trying to knock LXC off balance; LXC certainly seems off balance for the conversation, reacting rather than acting. Maybe it's to distance LXC from him in like, the potential eyes of the crowd; they've been close and public allies for so long, and now he's trying to help make sure LXC doesn't he pulled down with him if he goes down. Maybe it's a farewell gesture—not so much to LXC, but to the life he's been living, to the precise shape of relationship they had. Maybe it's giving LXC something safe to remember him by—a token, but not something it will look weird if LXC keeps, because he still hopes that LXC will want to remember him. Maybe it's meant as a reminder of the help he has given the Lan. I don't know! I don't know. I do at some point want to sit with the text and seriously work this out, but I also want to get this out for you, anon, so you actually have the information you asked for XP

I think right now I'm leaning towards—some combination of farewell to this part of the life he's been living and the shape of his relationship with LXC (but not saying farewell to /any/ relationship with LXC), and—giving LXC a token of that time. But right now I'm just not sure.

(MDZS quotes all taken from the ER translation)

[quazartranslates]

Welcome to the Nightmare Game II - CH50

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

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Chapter 50: Purgatory Reunion (II) {cw: misgendering}

Qi Leren slept for eight hours, and when he was woken up by the alarm clock, he roughly pressed it off, wishing to close his eyes and fall back into the darkness of sleep.

His head was still aching, and the blood vessels near his temples were throbbing, making Qi Leren wonder if they were going to burst open. As well, his body felt uncomfortable. It was like he had been curled up in a narrow box all night, and none of his parts were intact.

This shouldn't be. When he was training with Chen Baiqi before, he’d woken up alive and kicking. Why was he so tired this time?

Away from the borders of the Village of Dusk, the outside world changed between day and night. Now it was morning, and warm sunlight shone through the window pane. Qi Leren sat up and stretched, and his bones made a frightening crack sound, startling him.

"You up? Come and have breakfast, then," the Illusionist said with a dull tone from behind the curtain.

Qi Leren got up and took two pieces of bread coated with jam from the Illusionist: "How long before we can get to the Underground Ant City?"

"Landing in three hours, then walking into the Dragon Ant Queen’s sphere of influence. If it goes well, it will take two days," said the Illusionist lazily.

"It’ll take that long?" Qi Leren was in a hurry. Today was the 25th day since completing the Holy City task. In the game, Ning Zhou had been on the 29th day when...

Even if they crossed the desert smoothly, that would leave him with only two days!

In the huge Underground Ant City, amidst the vast crowd of people, this was too little time.

Fortunately... Fortunately, he wasn’t without any leads.

Qi Leren recalled the information gathered from the game and his dream. He knew where the flowing red magma was. It was a lake of fire in the depths of Purgatory. Legend had it that it was a projection in the human world of Hell’s own lake of fire. On the last day of Ning Zhou's life, he would be there...

Qi Leren couldn't think. When he thought about Ning Zhou, his mind would become blank from the uncontrollable fear. He didn't dare to think about what kind of mood Ning Zhou was in as he was gradually awakening to his demonic power. He didn’t dare to think about how whose death had led to this. He didn’t dare to think about whether he was full of disappointment and despondency with the world at the last moment of his life, and whether he... whether he remembered his dead lover?

Qi Leren tried to find a reason for why Ning Zhou still lingered in this world. He had suffered too much in his life: his only relative had died long ago, and his lover whom he had not yet had time to confess to was buried in the Holy City. His holy land had exiled him and no longer recognized his piety, and even his last faith could not be preserved—he became the devil he hated most.

Perhaps for the present Ning Zhou, death was a relief.

"Hey," the Illusionist suddenly called.

Qi Leren turned to look at him: "What is it?"

The Illusionist looked at him with a strange and slightly disgusted expression: "Your expression just now… I really can't stand it."

Saying this, he exaggeratedly rubbed his arms.

Qi Leren: ???

"I think being in love is too hard for you. It's better to be single than to chase after your husband to Purgatory." The Illusionist, dressed as a professional woman, pushed the women's glasses up the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

"It's good to be single, but what's the difference between being single and being widowed?" Qi Leren said. In the days before he’d met Ning Zhou, he had lived very well. If he hadn't met Ning Zhou, this kind of life could be regarded as happiness. But after meeting Ning Zhou, he missed him, and he couldn't let go for the rest of his life.

The Illusionist felt that he had been gloated to.

Qi Leren couldn't feel the Illusionist’s resentment. He continued to flip through the information about the Underground Ant City. When he saw something he questioned, he asked, "’The Dragon Ant Queen’s field.’ Is the Underground Ant City also a field?"

"Oh, yes, it's the same as the Village of Dusk... You don't know, do you?" The Illusionist gave him a disdainful oblique look.

In fact, Qi Leren, who had only learned about this during the last copy, could avoid making a fool of himself. He calmly asked, "I know, but why are the Village of Dusk and the Village of Dawn so similar? Is it because the original force of these two fields are both time?"

The Illusionist changed his expression and asked angrily, "You know too much. Who told you that? Chen Baiqi? She shouldn’t know this information."

"It wasn’t her." Qi Leren knew that Chen Baiqi didn't have this information. When she had learned that Su He came from the Village of Dawn, she’d respected him.

"Don't ask, this isn’t something you should know," the Illusionist said, glancing at him.

Qi Leren still has a lot of questions, but the Illusionist stated that he wouldn’t reveal any information to him, so he had to forget about it. The two people then talked about some things about the Underground Ant City: there was the Dragon Ant Queen's sphere of influence—although it was also a field, it was not a normal field. The dragon ant queen was not an individual person, but a name passed down from generation to generation.

Every Dragon Ant Queen would choose her successor after she grew old, and pass on the Underground Ant City’s field to the next one through a special means. This inherited field was different from other fields, and had natural defects inside it.

In the ancient legend, the original Underground Ant City was created by a group of queens who had led their people. In the giant cave deep within the Sea of Tranquility desert, there was a natural gap between the two worlds, which connected the underworld and the human world. However, the seal was still firm at that time, and most demons could not pass through this gap. Only the dragon ants gnawed through the gap with their own talents and were able to move between the two worlds.

The demon queens, who had been excluded by the underworld, were very satisfied with this underground cave which had accumulated water for millions of years. They led their people to settle here and decided to create the glory of dragon ants here.

The initial establishment was very difficult, but they soon gained a firm foothold. Once the external crisis was lifted, the queens began to fight cruelly for power. Finally, a powerful queen killed her competitors and became the Dragon Ant Queen.

After the first Dragon Ant Queen ascended to the throne, she led the dragon ant demons to expand wildly, and brought the Sea of Tranquility desert’s parish under the demons’ rule. This move angered the Holy See, which surrounded this group of unscrupulous demons. Finally, the Dragon Ant Queen decided to retreat back to the underground of the Sea of Tranquility desert—a huge underground cave with an underground network extending in all directions, just like ants' nests.

The wonderful thing was that the entrance to this nest was narrow and led straight down. The army couldn't enter here without having to parachute down at the mouth of the cave. This terrain blocked the Holy See and allowed this group of demons to thrive in this area.

After weighing the losses, the Holy See decided to give up the encirclement and suppression, and the two sides signed a peace treaty. The Dragon Ant Queen promised not to slaughter human beings, and to never leave the Underground Ant City’s sphere of influence, and ensured that all intelligent life such as human beings and demons would be treated equally in the Underground Ant City.

So this time, the small-scale conflict subsided. Before the death of the first Dragon Ant Queen, she passed on her field to her successor in a way that has not yet been declassified. Since then, the Dragon Ant Queens had passed on this ancient field in the same way. Until 22 years ago—when the first war of demons invading the human world had broken out, and the Destroyer led the demon army to break through the gap between the two worlds and come to the peaceful and rich human world...

"The Dragon Ant Queen is still alive?" Qi Leren asked, looking through the information.

"Yeah, but she's almost dead," the Illusionist said.

"Generally speaking, the Dragon Ant Queen represents the neutral force among demons, which is determined by her original force... But the Dragon Ant Queen has an obvious tendentiousness..." Qi Leren said. His eyes fell on a certain line of words in the data, and she looked at it for a long time.

"She’s a follower of the Lord of Destruction, but her own strength is contradictory to him. We also don’t know why she would follow a Devil King who was contrary to her own original force. Maybe the new Dragon Ant Queen will change her allegiance. After all, 'power' is the most worthy for 'order' to follow," said the Illusionist.

It was no secret that the Dragon Ant Queen’s original force was quite neutral, and could even be assumed to be on the side of the holy camp, because she represented "order".

However, even though this demon’s original force was order, she had followed the Destroyer without hesitation more than 20 years ago.

Qi Leren still knew little about "original force". Before he left, Chen Baiqi had given him an urgent remedial lesson, but couldn’t say too much because of the limited time. He only knew that the precondition for field condensation was to condense a half field, and before half field condensation, he had to find his own original force first.

Qi Leren was very lucky. Although he had had a narrow escape… No, he really had died once, but at the moment before his death, he had found his original force and received the law’s reward, which pulled him back from the edge of death.

This power was called "rebirth".

Thinking carefully, he had actually been reborn countless times. Every time he saved and loaded S/L Data, he was reborn. Otherwise, how could he explain the countless tombstones on the Undead Island? Those tombstones were born perhaps because every time, he really was "dead", but he was born again and returned to the moment he had saved.

In this regard, Chen Baiqi said to him: "The door to the new world has been opened to you. Take a peek at the magic of the other side from the gap. It’s great luck to see the wonder of that realm with your own eyes, because most people are too weak to push this unique door open."

Qi Leren could read a kind of faint loss and melancholy from her face. He couldn't help but wonder about Chen Baiqi's experience of condensing a half field only to break it. When she stepped up that step, how high-spirited was she? How painful had it been when she fell down? And Ning Zhou... His half field was also broken.

Was it different? Once upon a time, Qi Leren hadn't even thought about it.

He had always felt that he was a very ordinary person, with the advantages and disadvantages of ordinary people, and that human weakness and compromise are equally indispensable to him. He didn't have much initiative, and he didn't want to make a huge leap, but just wanted to live his life in an ordinary way.

If he had stayed in the real world, maybe this ordinary and mediocre ideal could be realized, but here…

It was doomed to be impossible.

"What if… What if I say I want to push this door open?" Qi Leren had suddenly asked.

Chen Baiqi paused for a cigarette, and the flame of the match shone a little light in her hand blocking the wind, which lit up her slender eyebrows. As if she had seen him for the first time, this woman carefully examined his expression. Qi Leren looked at her without shying away, eager to get an answer from her mouth.

"Oh, why?" Chen Baiqi asked.

Qi Leren laughed, firm, but shy, and his earnest eyes seemed to shine.

"Because I want to protect him."

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[ibijau]

How to woo a Lan pt2 / On AO3

Jin Ling takes a walk with his dog, reminisces on the past, and gets a brilliant idea

It took Jin Ling the better part of two weeks to remember the idea he had nearly had that night, after he’d accidentally insulted Lan Sizhui. He’d just been so busy that entire time, with more problems arising from that haunting they’d dealt with (Jin Ling had to write to Wei Wuxian, who in turn sent word to the person who had initially reached out to them). Then there had been councils, and bills for a change, and some trouble with a disciple who’d tried to take advantage of his position to harass some girls in town, and just about a billion more things that had kept Jin Ling impossibly busy.

Even that particular afternoon when the idea returned to him, Jin Ling was supposed to be working. He was trying to see if there was any way to reorganise the way Lanling Jin was run so certain people who had profited a little too much from Jin Guangyao’s less savoury decisions would be pushed aside, and that meant gathering a lot of proof of their suspected corruption (bills, mostly. It always came back to bills. Jin Ling was in hell). Jin Ling was trying his best, and he’d been very serious all morning, but by lunch time he had a raging headache and decided he deserved at least a little bit of fun.

The most fun Jin Ling could think of having on a bad day was to spend time with Fairy, so he went to get her. The poor old girl barked happily at him when he came near her pen, and ran around him for a few minutes when he freed her. The man in charge of Lanling Jin’s spiritual dogs wanted to order her to stop and behave, but dared not to so when Jin Ling himself was delighted by his dog’s happiness. So what if Fairy wasn’t always as serious as expected? She was a good girl who had more than proven she knew how to behave when it was really important. Other people might say she was spoiled, but they said the same about Jin Ling anyway, so at least they were well matched.

When Fairy had calmed down, Jin Ling went out into the gardens with her, figuring they could both use the chance to stretch their legs. While walking, he gave her orders in and there, just so he could say he was training her, should anyone bother him. But in all honesty, he just wanted to relax a little and have fun with the one friend he had who didn’t care that he always said the wrong thing.

Although their walk didn’t have any particular aim, Jin Ling soon realised that they seemed to be heading toward the aviary. He hesitated for a moment, fearful Fairy might scare the birds, before deciding it would be excellent training. A good spiritual dog had to know how to ignore distractions… and Jin Ling liked the birds well enough, if only because he’d heard his father used to keep some, back in the days. Jin Zixuan, he’d heard some people whisper when they thought he couldn't hear, had been the sort of person more at ease with animals than people. Nobody would actually say it directly, but Jin Ling strongly suspected that he’d inherited his people’s skill from his father... though at least Jin Zixuan had been universally liked in spite of it, or so he'd been told. Jin Ling wasn't so lucky.

It was nice, in the aviary. A little noisy, sure, and the smell took some getting used to, but it was very quiet and there was rarely anyone there these days. Jin Guangyao hadn’t been very keen on animals, so he had kept only enough birds to show status, and the person in charge of those birds had other tasks to keep them busy, so the aviary was often empty of any humans. It had made it a good hiding place, when Jin Ling had been younger and slightly more temperamental than he currently was.

When Fairy started whining and growling at the birds, Jin Ling ordered her to stay put and continued walking alone among the cages.

He used to hide in that place a lot, back in the days. There were a few good spots, like between those two high cages… Jin Ling remembered getting in that little dark space when he wanted to avoid all adults, and sitting among the birds for a shichen or two until everybody was too worried over his disappearance to think of scolding him anymore. And he wasn’t the only one who had noticed what a good hiding place the aviary was, because one time…

Jin Ling gasped as the memory returned to him.

He’d been… ten, maybe eleven at most. Jin Ling couldn’t remember what trouble he’d caused that time, but Jin Guangyao had been particularly cross because they’d had guests, and Jin Ling had been his usual temperamental self, but in front of a whole bunch of sect leaders. Except Jin Ling hadn’t meant to cause a scene (he rarely did, even then) so he’d been upset at being scolded so harshly when he didn’t understand what the big deal had been… and he’d run away after shouting something awful about hating his uncle.

The aviary had been a good place to hide, as it so often was. Jin Ling had gotten into his nice little dark spot unseen, and prepared himself to wait however long it would take for everyone to calm down about what happened.

After a little while, two people had entered the aviary. Jin Ling hadn’t seen their faces right away, but cold sweat had run down his back when he’d recognised their voices.

“I really don’t think Jin Ling will have run here,” he’d heard Lan Xichen say in a very odd tone, quite different from the usual way he spoke.

“Really?” Nie Huaisang had replied, half laughing. “But I think it’s worth checking anyway, gege.”

Lan Xichen had laughed too. A real laugh, not just something polite.

It had been so odd to hear those two laugh, Jin Ling recalled. Back then, Lan Xichen had barely seemed like a real person to his childish mind. He was the mighty Zewu-Jun, practically an immortal already, aloof and always calm, and he didn’t just laugh like that. As for Nie Huaisang, he was always sad and pitiful, nothing at all like this laughing and teasing young man Jin Ling could hear but not quite see at that point.

Jin Ling had hesitated to leave his hiding spot to check if it really was them, or demons having taken their form… but if it was them he would have been punished, and if it was demons they’d have eaten him, so staying hidden had seemed more prudent.

He’d heard movement then, the rustling of fabric, and Lan Xichen gasping.

“Huaisang, not here,” Lan Xichen had said, trying and failing to sound scolding. “If someone were to come…”

“No one ever does,” Nie Huaisang had retorted. “I know, I used to come hide here when da-ge dragged me to conferences. It’s just us, gege, and I haven’t seen you in so long…”

“We’re meant to look for Jin Ling, A-Sang,” Lan Xichen had complained, sounding almost whiny.

Nie Huaisang had laughed again, and now he was coming into view for Jin Ling.

It might have been better to not see that, Jin Ling had thought at the time.

Because what he’d seen, then, was Nie Huaisang smiling widely, walking backward, pulling Lan Xichen by the collar. And Lan Xichen, who surely could have resisted if he hadn’t liked this, was following willingly, eagerly even, his eyes burning until he suddenly grabbed Nie Huaisang by the waist and he…

And they…

Jin Ling remembered crying out in surprise.

He hadn’t been used to adults kissing, or anyone at all really. His uncles had both taught him to be careful about showing affection, because of his status as sect heir, and they’d both made it clear to him that only married people should kiss.

Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang weren’t married, Jin Ling had known that. He hadn’t always paid enough attention to the lives of grown-ups around him, but Lan Xichen had been in Jinlin Tai all the time, and Jin Ling had heard both Jin Guangyao and Qin Su offer to help their friend find himself a suitable bride. They’d also offered the same to Nie Huaisang, and talked sometimes between them of how it might help lift the permanent gloominess of character that had taken over him since his brother’s death.

“Oh, shit,” he’d heard Nie Huaisang say, and somehow that had been the last drop for Jin Ling who had broken into tears.

It had taken Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang great effort to get him to calm down, and more still to convince him to get out of his hiding spot. But by that point they’d been back to their normal selves, Nie Huaisang a pitiful, panicky mess, Lan Xichen radiating calm to the point it became contagious.

“Jin Ling, will you do me a favour?” Lan Xichen had asked when the little boy had been standing in front of him. “What you saw just now… can you keep it a secret?”

Jin Ling had hesitated, still sniffling a little.

“It’s forbidden to do that,” Jin Ling had said, remembering his weird bastard uncle, the one they’d kicked out some years before. “Only married people can, and two boys won’t marry. Are you going to be punished if I tell on you?”

“Cut-sleeves aren’t allowed in Jinlin Tai?” Nie Huaisang had gasped, going from pitiful to angry until Lan Xichen motioned for him to calm down.

“There was an incident a while ago, that Mo Xuanyu boy,” Lan Xichen had explained to his friend, before looking back at Jin Ling. “But Mo Xuanyu wasn’t punished because he liked boys, it was for being forceful about it. You understand the difference, A-Ling, don’t you?” Jin Ling had nodded, more to please that kind man than out of real understanding. “You are a good boy. To answer your question… no, we wouldn’t be punished, not really. But it would make some people unhappy, and we need more time to prepare for that. You understand, right?”

“Like when I break something and I don’t want to admit it right away, but if I calm down then I can tell jiujiu or shushu?”

Lan Xichen had nodded, smiling so gently that Jin Ling had been a little flustered.

Come to think of it, he’d always been a little weak to that kind smile the reallygood Lan had. So weak that he had promised to keep Lan Xichen’s secret, and had done so for years now, never thinking much about it again, never catching any sign of these two being more than friends. Maybe it had just been a fling between them, and that was why they hadn’t wanted to go public about it.

Considering everything that had happened, Jin Ling hoped for them that it had never been serious.

Still, as he walked among birds and reminisced about that incident, Jin Ling finally remembered that idea he’d very nearly had two weeks before: if he wanted to seduce a Lan, he needed the help of someone who had done it before. This meant either Wei Wuxian, who was awful and unbearable and hadn’t realised Lan Wangji liked him until Jin Guangyao told him while holding him captive, or…

Or Nie Huaisang, who hadn’t seemed to be having any trouble figuring out on his own how to get a Lan to like him, judging by what had happened some years before.

With the beginning of a plan forming at last, Jin Ling returned to Fairy's side to give her all the petting she deserved. If his hunch was the right one, then he'd be even busier than before in the weeks to come, so better give his dog a lot of affection while he could.

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Madou Soushi S1 First Part

Title: Madou Soushi / Mo Dao Zu Shi

Release Date: 2020/10/31

Author: Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Artist: Gearous

Cast: 

Wei Wu Xian - Suzuki Tatsuhisa

Lan Wangji - Hino Satoshi

Jiang Cheng - Midorikawa Hikaru

Lan Xi Chen - Morikawa Toshiyuki

Jin Ling - Murase Ayumu

Lan Sizhui - Kobayashi Yuusuke

Lan Jingyi - Shimono Hiro

Nie Huaisang - Matsuoka Yoshitsugu

Jin Zixuan - Takahashi Hiroki

Lan Qi Ren - Shingaki Tarusuke

Wen Ning/Ghost General - Hoshi Souichirou

Su She - Ichiki Mitsuhiro

Narrator - Miki Shinichirou & Kanehira Yamamoto

Synopsis: As the grandmaster who founded the Demonic Sect, Wei WuXian roamed the world in his wanton ways, hated by millions for the chaos he created. In the end, he was back-stabbed by his dearest junior brother and killed by powerful clans that combined to overpower him. He incarnates into the body of a lunatic who was abandoned by his clan and is later, unwillingly, taken away by a famous cultivator among the clans—Lan WangJi, his archenemy.

This marks the start of a thrilling yet hilarious journey of attacking monsters, solving mysteries, and raising children. From the mutual flirtation along the way, Wei WuXian slowly realizes that Lan WangJi, a seemingly haughty and indifferent poker-face, holds more feelings for Wei WuXian than he is letting on.

Review Proper

I remember exactly when I stopped reading the manhua date and all because it was the very day I met A-san back in 2019. Aside from participating in Tokiya’s event, I was also binge-reading MDZS. I tried liking this, but I still don’t get the hype to this day. It’s a little too complex and dragging for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that it has a good plot or whatever, but we gotta just face that people have different tastes. Please don’t kill me, Ate Krisha and Kuya Reel.

I’m warning potential listeners now; this was not an easy BLCD to listen to. I literally reread both the manhua and novel and even watched the anime to find a guide on how to listen to this, but all of them were different from the BLCD. We all know that there were a lot of cutouts in the manhua and the anime had changed and switched some of the events around, but the BLCD had it’s own take as well. 😂 Do you know how difficult it was to be switching around tabs for the novel, manhua, and anime was on top of listening to the BLCD?! 

If that wasn’t enough, they had to adopt Japanese names and y’all know how many names Wu Xian alone was using?! 😩

But I fucking pushed through. Nevermind the fact that I wanted to like this so I could fit in with my friends, I was going to lay my life down for the casting. Buckle up, kids. It’s time for another Tattsun centered review!

Look at that all-star cast, man! And this isn’t even for the anime we don’t talk about the regrettable choices for the dub here. They literally went all out and cast people from Gen 0 to 3! The amount of times I died and got revived throughout the BLCD whenever a new character appeared. Thanks for the BL royalty reunion, Frontier. 

I thought that they got Tattsun on this because again, he was BL royalty and Wu Xian also had a Gian-esque charm on him, but I was really surprised when I found out that he and Zhang Jie actually portrayed Wu Xian in the same way despite their difference in tones. It was kind of like how Yuuma did his Kageyama Uenoyama the same way Makonyan did. Boy, when I say that Yuuma is the next Tattsun, I mean it. Speaking of Given, Hino Satoshi also went for a similar tone to his Akihiko as Lan Zhan. Like, imagine Akihiko but with more expressions and less an asshole because he knows how to treat his man right. 

If I had to type down how I felt about all of the VAs here, we would have one paragraph for each and this post will never end. 😂 Just know that all of them slayed. I only had an issue with A-yuan’s VA because they weren’t all that believable, but I don’t think they were even credited. 🤷 How do I feel about HoshiSoiuchi’s only lines being oonga boonga and MikiShin only narrating twice? Sad. But hey, it was still something! 😂

AGAIN, CAN I JUST STRESS THAT LITERALLY EVERYONE HERE IS BL ROYALTY??? I really wanna talk about them all I still can’t get over how they were able to get Tattsun and MikiShin again in one room (figuratively). MY LD1 trash heart is so happy rn. 😭😭😭 Also, can we just appreciate how we came from a BLCD showcasing TakaHiro, Shingaki, Moririn, Tattsun, and then finally all of them together here! I really didn’t plan that! 😭😭😭 Is it Christmas again??? So umm can we get the other ones in BLCDs, too? Or at least make them comeback for the next BLCD??? 🙇

Anyway, like I said earlier, this is a BLCD that’s hard to listen to. Not only do you need a considerably higher level of Japanese to understand the flow of the events, you also need to know the plot by heart that the changes in setting/dialogue won’t phase you. I wouldn’t really recommend doing what I did because it was too overwhelming to switch sometimes. You’ve all probably heard this before, but at least read the novel from start to finish before you listen to the BLCD. I think it goes of to Chapter 60? of the manhua, but I don’t know where the majority of the extras came from. I hope that I’d be able to get the motivation to pick this up again so I’d be ready for the sequels if there be. 🤞 

[literaphobe]

catra playing among us. opinions?

oh fuck i forgot to do this and also i missed so many asks anyway

as crewmate:

never finishes her tasks, especially not the long ones, she might do a short one once in a while to evade sus

she doesn’t even know how to do some of the tasks because of how little tasks she does

the reason for this is because she doesn’t want to get killed and doesn’t see the point in finishing the tasks because task wins fucking SUCK to her she HATES task wins and wants to catch the killer. make ‘em sweat :)

she will DEF be that person who does like 2 tasks and yet will interrogate someone like “why didn’t you do card swipe huh? why’d you skip keys kyle?”

remembers her pathing most of the time. but hates giving straight answers when other crew mates ask her questions

“catra where were you and what were you doing?” “uh, busy being innocent? what’s it to you? you’re asking a lot of questions you know”

this does backfire on her sometimes and she gets sussed but WHEN she gets sussed (usually by glimmer, they can get into VERY heated arguments during meetings, it terrifies everyone into thinking they’re actually mad at each other, but then after the game they’re having tea together and laughing. it terrifies bow and adora a lot) that’s when she pulls out the Facts™

doesn’t like grouping. it’s unfair to the impostors and ruins the game in her opinion. she’ll stick by herself for the most part and only walk past other people by accident or to make sure she can be vouched for by someone

her goal as crewmate isn’t exactly to catch the impostor, even though she does like it, but rather to keep her play style similar to her impostor play style

usually instinctively knows who the impostors are by like round 2 or something but will only call them out if they try to throw the blame on her or if she sees them kill/vent, because that’s hard evidence and she can’t let that shit fly

one time tho....... she saw adora do a vent kill and she..... walked away. didn’t say anything about it. adora was the only impostor left that round and catra was the one who got adora’s impostor partner voted out earlier. adora ended up winning that game w catra being the last one left (adora didn’t kill her, but this is mostly because catra is evasive) and adora was so happy and laughed very sweetly and catra. did not regret it. but no one knows

as impostor:

oh she’s fucking TERRIFYING baby

very good at using vents + calling specific emergencies + killing specific people that will get someone else sussed (aka mermista glimmer and bow walk into electrical. she watches from a vent. mermista leaves then bow leaves and catra will kill glimmer so mermista susses bow)

her plays are always very smart and strategic, and tend to involve a lot of death, but she’s flexible and can change up her tactics depending on the game and depending on her impostor partner

she’s not really one for marination. it’s too much work and not enough kills for her liking. if her impostor partner marinates someone tho she’s fine with that

she is SO manipulative during meetings. she can kill someone in front of the entire lobby and convince everyone that the person killed themselves. she’ll kill someone in front of YOU and convince you that you did it. her strategy is a mix of charm, camaraderie, anger, and guilt tripping. she can scare you into voting an innocent person off or pal around with you into voting skip

if her impostor partner did something too sus she doesn’t really try to help them. she’ll vote them off and try winning the game on her own. unless she likes u. and she has sus on her too. also sometimes having to win on her own is a little scary and she deep down doesn’t want to struggle against so many people on her own. she likes winning and she hates losing and she will claim to enjoy solo wins the most but really getting a double kill on six after calling an emergency brings her the most relief. she does like celebrating an impostor win with her impostor partner but she’s not gonna admit that so willingly

[yuzuchi-b]

Ever after high AU (alternate universe)

CONTEXT (use translator if something is not understood let it be known) Versión en español al final de esto .

The good king is a former knight (he was called the dark knight) to think of having that name he was a beloved knight in Ever After everywhere. Raven, because she was her daughter, was always a fan of the knights because of the stories that her father told him about the dark knight, but her mother detested, since she was going to find out about her destiny and femininity according to her. she secretly practices sword with his trained potato. A king never forgets his learning even though he is already retired, one day she discovered that the tales of the dark knight was actually her father (no one knew the true identity of the dark knight or even the evil queen herself) her father upon discovering what in She really wanted to make her daughter support her. He knew that his wife would not be happy with this so he kept it a secret (or well not until the queen was caught in the mirror) he taught his daughter control of the sword and how to be a knight, the day before leaving. from Ever After High gave him his old armor parting with some changes such as supports to fit him perfectly (the same as Darling had) and his old sword and shield. Raven mysteriously always disappeared when the dark knight appeared (but nobody really noticed, they were too distracted admiring the dark knight). When she presented herself with her armor, she proclaimed herself as the "son of the dark knight" named as Runar Schwert (name with German origins such as the story of Snow White). Raven does not want to be the villain of the story. She wants to be the knight who saves the princesses. when she goes to the class for princes (I do not remember the name of that class has very strange and difficult names to remember) (she goes in armor so that they do not recognize her, the biggest mystery in that Au is how is the face of Runar the brave dark knight descendant of original dark knight) Raven refuses her fate as the next evil queen as she wants to be the next dark knight (in simple words she wants to be a knight just like Darling).

The evil queen is the same as in the original au she hates the dark knight (she doesn't know it's her daughter) she hates him since she doesn't see anything in a guy in armor

raven armor (made by me)

The only Ever After High student who knows her secret is Darling Charming she discovered Raven's secret in an oversight Raven herself committed. Darling here never found the armor of the white knight so she never learned to use the sword well (she trained sword from what she saw her brothers but in a very amateur way), she begs Raven to teach her, Raven at first reluctant since She had never taught anyone, after Darling pleaded with her, she agrees to make her his student there. Darling learns to use the sword correctly. Raven and Darling are lost in wonderland and she finds the armor of the white knight the former white knight puts Darling to the test. ends up gaining the armor thus creating the duo of brothers the dark knight and the white knight (people really think they are brothers because of their friendly behavior among them some girls shipe them with a weird ship they have) creating the best duo of gentlemen who were full of mysteries, their faces? . Darling is obviously less agile than Raven but almost as effective, she has a disadvantage by not having magic like Raven, things cost her more.

Raven queen

Brave like his father with the role of being the successor of the dark knight and changing his destiny to that of a brave knight who saves princesses wings, his magic which he only uses in an emergency since before he used his magic to improve his physique but began to develop muscles naturally (korra-like muscles) when he exerted, he uses illusion spell to hide his muscular body since he is not a princess body, you have scars that were made in his trainings and in some fights (secret that he never told his father how he got these wounds), they are covered by his illusion spell, he secretly goes to the princes class (that class where they will learn how to save a damsel in distress) with his father's armor so that they do not discover her I proclaim as the son of the dark knight in part it is not totally a lie even that she really is not a boy she hates that they call her with masculine synonyms but she supports it since they can not discover her identity, I hate to the evil classes (where he learns to be bad) he prefers the heroes and princes classes the only person who knows he is the dark knight are the narrator, darling charming and his father when he entered Ever After High he began to listen to the narrators for some reason that she does not know (Madeline cannot hear them) she has a terrible fear of her mother, her magic gives her a huge advantage over all, she can use her magic to have superhuman strength and better reflexes and attacks more strong, his magic touch is that he can enhance his body and combine it with the use of sword and magic.

From there everything is the same only that the dark knight exists and the white knight does not exist (STILL) but the red knight does but he does not appear since it is not important (if the white knight exists but later).

The evil queen here escaped some years ago before the series started, she wants to destroy Ever After High as some kind of twisted taste for teasing snow white and putting terror, while trying to destroy wonderland again, she can't see to his daughter as in the original because she is no longer trapped in the mirror, the person who freed her is unknown.

everything is the same only these changes Darling and Raven the duo of gentlemen and Madeline does not listen to the narrators, the evil queen is free.

I was like two days to write all this good until next time.

El rey bueno es un ex caballero ( se llamaba el caballero oscuro ) a pensar de tener ese nombre era un caballero amado en Ever After en todas partes . Raven por ser su hija siempre fue fan de los caballeros por las historias que le contada su padre sobre el caballero oscuro , pero su madre detestaba , ya que iba encontrar de su destino y feminidad según ella . secretamente practica espada con el entrenado de su papa . Un rey nunca olvida su enteramiento aun que ya este retirado , un día ella descubrió que los cuentos del caballero oscuro era en realidad su padre (nadie conocía la verdadera identidad del caballero oscuro ni siquiera la misma reina malvada ) su padre al descubrir lo que en verdad quería hacer su hija la apoyo. El sabia que su esposa no estaría feliz con esto así que lo mantuvo en secreto ( o bueno no hasta que la reina quedo presa en el espejo) le enseño a su hija el control de la espada y como ser una caballera , día antes de irse de Ever After High le regalo de despedida su vieja armadura con algunos cambios como unos soportes para que le quedara ala perfección ( los mismo que tenia Darling ) y su vieja espada y escudo. Raven misteriosamente siempre desaparecía cuando el caballero oscuro aparecía (pero realmente nadie se dio cuenta, estaban demasiado distraídos  admirando al caballero oscuro) . ella al presentarse con su armadura se proclamo como el "hijo del caballero oscuro" llamado como Runar Schwert (nombre con orígenes alemanes como la historia de las blanca nieves) Raven no quiere ser el villano de la historia quiere ser el caballero que salve alas princesas cuando va ala clase para príncipes (no recuerdo el nombre de esa clase tiene nombres muy raros y difíciles de recordar ) (ella va en armadura para que no la reconozcan , el misterio mas grande en ese Au es como es el rostro de Runar el valiente caballero oscuro descendiente del caballero oscuro original ) Raven se niega a su destino como la próxima reina malvada ya que ella quiere ser la siguiente caballera oscura (en simples palabras quiere ser un caballero al igual que Darling) .

La reina malvada es igual que en el au original odia al caballero oscuro (no sabe que es su hija) lo detesta ya que no le ve nada a un tipo con armadura .

La única estudiante de Ever After High que conoce su secreto es Darling Charming ella descubrió el secreto de Raven en un descuido de la misma Raven cometió. Darling aquí nunca encontró la armadura del caballero blanco así que nunca aprendió bien usar la espada ( ella entrenaba espada por lo que veía a su hermanos pero de forma bien amateur), ella le suplica a Raven que le enseñe , Raven al principio reacia ya que nunca había enseñado a nadie , después que Darling le suplicara , ella acepta convertirla en su estudiante ahí Darling aprende usar espada correctamente . Raven y Darling se pierden en el pais de las maravillas y encuentra la armadura del caballero blanco el anterior caballero blanco pone a prueba a Darling . termina ganando la armadura así creando el dúo de hermanos el caballero oscuro y el caballero blanco ( la gente de verdad piensan que son hermanos por su comportamiento tan amigable entre ellos algunas chicas los shipean con un ship medio raro que tienen ) creando el mejor dúo de caballeros el cual estaban llenos de misterios ¿su rostros? . Darling es obviamente menos ágil que Raven pero casi igual de eficaz , tiene una desventaja al  no tener magia igual que Raven las cosas le cuesta mas.

Raven Queen

Valiente como su padre con el papel de ser la sucesora del caballero oscuro y cambiar su destino al de un caballero valiente que salva alas princesas ,su magia la cual solo usa en caso de emergencia ya que antes usaba su magia para mejorar su físico pero empezó a desarrollar músculos naturalmente (músculos tipo korra) al ejerció, usa hechizo de ilusión para ocultar su musculoso cuerpo ya que no es un cuerpo de una princesa, tienes cicatrices que se hizo en sus entrenamientos y en algunas peleas (secretas que nunca le dijo a su padre como se hizo estas heridas) , son cubiertas por su hechizo de ilusión , secretamente va ala clase de príncipes (esa clases donde van  a aprender como salvar a una damisela en apuros) con la armadura de su padre para que no la descubran se proclamo como el hijo del caballero oscuro en parte no es totalmente mentira aun que ella realmente no es un chico ella odia que la llamen con sinónimos masculino pero lo soporta ya que no pueden descubrí su identidad, odia las clases de mal (donde aprende a ser malo) que tiene prefiere las clases de los héroes y príncipes la única persona que sabe que es el caballero oscuro son los narradora, Darling Charming y su padre cuando entro en Ever After High comenzó a escuchar a los narradores por alguna razón que no conoce (Madeline no los puede escuchar) le tiene un miedo terrible a su madre , su magia le da una ventaja enorme ante todos, puede usar su magia para tener fuerza sobre humana y mejores reflejos y ataques mas fuerte , su toque mágico es que puede mejorar su cuerpo y combinarlo con el uso de espada y magia .

Desde ahí todo es igual solo que existe el caballero oscuro y no existe (AUN) el caballero blanco pero si el caballero rojo pero el no aparece ya que no es importante ( si existe el caballero blanco pero mas adelante ) .

La reina malvada aquí escapo hace algunos años antes que empezara la serie , ella quiere destruir Ever After High como algún tipo de gusto retorcido por molestar a blanca nieves y poner terror, mientras intenta volver a destruir el pais de las maravillas, ella no puede ver a su hija como en el original por no estar mas atrapada en el espejo, se desconoce la persona que la libero .

todo es igual solo estos cambios Darling y Raven el dúo de caballeros y Madeline no escucha a los narradores, la reina malvada esta libre .

Estuve como dos dias para escribir todo esto bueno hasta la proxima.

[thelovelyghostwriter]

do you think kuraneon is gonna be canon in the official hxh universe and what must have happened?

Whether or not they would be canon is up to Sir Togashi himself. While he does have romantic elements in his previous works like Yu Yu Hakusho and Ten de Showaru Cupid, it's not as explicit in HxH (e.g. Meruem/Komugi).

If you asked me this before knowing about the KuraNeon Marriage Theory (will give a link in the reblog later on) and KuraNeon paired up in mobile games, I would have said "0% chance" because we do not see them interact on-screen (even if I had shipped them since I first laid my eyes on Neon).

However, it is kinda sus that Kurapika became a Nostrade Family Young Boss; with Light and Neon nowhere shown. The more "accepted" theory is that Light is unable to continue and Neon is dead (although I do have rebuttals about Neon being dead - that's another conversation). I do wonder why he had to keep their mafia family name - there is no reason to if he truly let them wither. But from Light's last appearance in a manga panel, Kurapika did reassure him that he'll handle everything and you see the Nostrade mafia family organisation doing well under Kurapika. Which is also why my friend went to bring up that plausible KuraNeon Marriage Theory. 

I know that a lot of people think they don’t interact, but that is on-screen. After York New City arc, we don’t see Kurapika until way later, however him being in charge as the Nostrade Boss indicates that he stayed with the Nostrades. God knows what they did while living under one roof. 

Another thing that is major sus is the mobile games. Even non-shippers are baffled why KuraNeon is a thing. Kurapika and Neon are seen dressed as Hikoboshi and Orihime in two sets of the mobage cards; a romantic couple that is known in a Japanese legend and celebrated on 7 July (Tanabata Festival). They are even shown writing on coloured papers in one of the cards + Kurapika holding a bamboo - these coloured papers are used during the Tanabata festival where wishes are written on them and hung on bamboo. It is believed that the reunion between the two lovers Hikoboshi and Orihime are so joyous that they grant the wishes of the people. As far as I know, the only pairing that gets to have a Orihime/Hikoboshi theme in their cards is Machi/Hisoka; and we do see Hisoka/Machi having a soft spot for one another in canon (in the current arc, Machi does patch him up after his defeat and Hisoka spared her).  

Hmmm.. I should make a post about this whole Tanabata thing actually. Asides from that, they are also the v-day banner in 2019 for the games and she gave him a cake during the valentine’s day event, to which showed a scene of him thinking about what to give her back (and low and behold, Kurapika’s White’s Day card featured him with a gift and him wearing the same outfit of the scene where he thought about what to give her). 

In a separate mobile game, they have a special attack together. Their mobage cards have identical backgrounds and themes. Therefore, it isn’t just one mobile game that does this. It makes me wonder why the official team devs do that when this pairing shipping sub-fandom is really small and many even dislike it. 

Even as a shipper, it also baffles me why devs do that when they have little screentime together (gotta be more objective here). If you do consider the KuraNeon Marriage Theory or consider that they might end up together in the manga, it makes sense why the official hxh game devs pair them together. And I am unsure about the source - but I think for Japanese manga production of non-manga material, you need approval from the writer? All the more to be suspicious of the mobile games that contains KuraNeon above every single pairing out there. 

Hence, if you ask me, there is a chance of Kurapika/Neon being canon. How that might happen is a little tricky and depending on the type of portrayal they will be (I have four interpretations of this ship on my pinned post lol). 

I’m not sure if you only define canon as the vanilla/romantic type, or it also includes one that is a little twisted. I've noticed that hxh has friendship and family dynamics that are already complicated and not as wholesome as one would think. I do believe that if KuraNeon were to be canon, it would be the latter interpretation. 

There are actually a few things that are needed to be considered for it to happen: 1) Neon’s fate - she needs to be alive (or maybe not)  Now, a lot of people believe she died because Chrollo’s book speculates that she does. However, we don’t see her dead body. It’s literally just Chrollo’s interpretation. This is contrasted by Kurapika that states that the previous Scarlet Eye owners did not need to be killed (and the “daughter of a mafia leader” is one of them). If the daughter of a mafia leader is truly Neon, then it brings a question of who should you believe more: Chrollo or Kurapika? (Imo it’s super interesting how these two guys who are enemies have different narratives on the same girl). 

Of course, there was this potential discrepancy I found while re-watching this arc. The Scarlet Eyes that Kurapika bidded for 2.9 billion was a fake. They thought it was stolen when Squala took it with him and died - but it was actually that Kortopi’s Gallery Fake copy disappears after 24hour. So technically, the Eyes is with the Troupe. Now, assuming that Togashi has not forgotten this detail (I believe he still remembers), I do think that it is possible that since Chrollo is the type to get bored of the stuff he steals, he will just sell it and it will be obtained by the later owners. As for “the daughter of a mafia leader”, I’m sure it’s Neon that Kurapika is referring to - be it him mentioning her as merely a previous owner despite the set of Scarlet Eyes being “stolen” or she bought another set. (There is a chance that is not Neon, but another daughter of a random mafia leader, but what are the chances of another daughter being like that?) 

I guess I just wanted to point this detail out because many people readily believed Chrollo’s book (it was not even himself). He stated that he did not know when it disappeared. 

As for that “Hisoka killed Neon” theory, while it is believable and interesting, the only thing that is doubtful for that is that a) Hisoka could not have gone off to kill Neon in such a short period of time, b) that would be an insult to Kurapika’s capabilities if she was under his care, c) the fortune-telling ability doesn’t bother Hisoka. Pakunoda and Hisoka had a short conversation about the fortune and both of them acknowledged that the future changed. Hisoka wrote over his fortune despite having a good one to manipulate the events in hopes of fighting Chrollo - that is an indication of his belief that he writes his own future, and therefore which is why I argue that the fortune-telling ability never bothered him.

As for the “Kurapika killed Neon” theory, I think... they all need to get one thing straight about Kurapika: as much as possible, except for the spiders, he doesn’t kill (or at least dislikes to kill). He stated that none of the owners had to die even if two preferred to die. If there’s a way, he will not shed blood. Besides, Kurapika doesn’t actually hate Neon - contrary to popular belief. There wasn’t a single manga panel that indicates his hatred for her; or even annoyance. It was only the time where Mellody mentioned that he will kill her if she stands in the way, but Kurapika, as much as mentioned before, doesn’t kill if there is an alternative way. 

I have yet to fully explore possible reasons why Neon’s ability disappears from Chrollo’s book if she’s still alive (my friend thinks it’s related to Kurapika’s dolphin ability). However, there are many rebuttals to the theories on how she died. 

But yeah, I think for it to be canon, Neon has to be alive. Unless... they were already canon and he sailed to the Dark Continent and she died slightly before that event (tbh I rather not have this).

2) Kurapika’s fate - he needs to live

Number 2 is a condition is if they aren’t canon yet before he sails to the Dark Continent. 

One thing that confuses people is that they think that just because Kurapika is under the Kakin Employment, it means that he is no longer affiliated with the Nostrades. The Kakin Employment contract is temporary - he is still affiliated with the Nostrades (and their business is bodyguarding, take note). As for him being in the Zodiac, he is still the Nostrade Family Young Boss - being part of the Zodiacs is like some political committee. 

I know there are rumours (I say rumours cause I don’t see the interview script by my own eyes) that Togashi once indicated that the Phantom Troupe and Kurapika will all die. I do think that Togashi can kill one of his main characters, but there’s one thing that makes me question whether he changed his mind: Nitro Rice from the Dark Continent. 

The Nitro Rice is a thing in the Dark Continent that prolongs one’s life - a direct solution to Kurapika’s Emperor Time problem. I think if he does last until they reach the Dark Continent, he has a chance to prolong his lifespan that he has lost while using Emperor Time. 

Now, if he indeed gets to survive, manages to complete his mission, there’s another problem he will face: a will to live. Because currently, all he has ever lived for is bringing justice to his clan. Beyond that, what can he live for? Which kind of makes the ending for him to happily live with someone (be it his friends or having a family) a suitable one. 

3) Neon’s development

Neon is seriously misunderstood among the fandom - even her personality. I’ve seen a lot of Kurapika x (other character) ships where Neon is the 3rd party in fanfics; and it is a one-sided love. 

However, Neon is actually an emotionally detached person while Kurapika is the one that gets attached to people, even if he initially avoids them. Neon has what psychologists will call “Avoidant-Dismissive Attachment Style” while Kurapika has “Avoidant-Fearful Attachment Style”. This is rightfully so due to their different backgrounds. I actually believe that between the two of them, Kurapika will be the one who falls first or if this is one-sided, Kurapika is the one that likes her because of their attachment styles. 

Neon has zero friends, is materialistic and lacks sympathy for dead people (the complete opposite of Kurapika). She believes in focusing on the present and the living (it’s actually a pretty good principle to live for). She needs to learn how to be more attached to people and learn compassion - which she actually is seen as being capable of. She was surprised that Eliza broke down and cried, and even forgo bidding physically. I think this is an indication of her starting to feel sympathy for people and perhaps being more mature - cemented by the fact that she lost her powers.

Therefore, I do think she needs to learn how to warm her heart up to people (which she might have already started to after the York New incident) if she were to feel something for Kurapika. 

4) Kurapika’s view of her

Okay, this is one factor that is either you take it the vanilla way or the kinky way lmao. I actually wrote a Cognitive Dissonance Theory for Kurapika on my Tumblr post for this one (will try to link it in the reblog). 

Kurapika’s initial belief is that flesh collectors are scums who should be arrested, yet he is surprised to see that his flesh-collecting employer is a girl of his age. I think there is already dissonance in his mind there once he met her. 

Contrary to popular belief, Kurapika doesn’t hate Neon (there’s no single manga panel that ever once showed he detest her or feel annoyed with her; as compared to other employees of hers). In fact, he does quickly understand that Neon is being exploited by her father - to which he corrects Basho about the situation. In the manga, when he woke up after the fever, he says her name (in the 2011 anime, it was “Boss” but in the manga, it’s “Neon”) and immediately asks about her; which indicates that he is concerned for her. Of course, she is his employer but in that situation where he is bedridden and not working, him asking about her won’t be just due to him working as a bodyguard. 

However, this doesn’t show that he has feelings for her. It only proves that a) he doesn’t hate her, b) he does care about her. He needs to see Neon as more than just a flesh collector for him to like her; on top of spending time with one another. He needs to see (if he hasn’t already) that she is a girl his age that has a different predicament than him. 

This is the vanilla way I guess. 

The darker and more saucy interesting interpretation would be him thinking it’s okay to objectify her just as much as she objectifies his clan’s eyes (that’s another post I gotta do for another day - but hey, this interpretation is paralleled to Tserreidnich/Theta). 

5) Spending Time with one another

I think as mentioned, it is already a given that Kurapika and Neon had spent time together under one roof off-screen while we see Gon and Killua on-screen during the 3 arcs. However, I think Neon cannot suddenly become less detached and Kurapika cannot want something more than his mission at the moment; so I do think that even if they had spent time before Dark Continent Exploration arc, Neon and Kurapika needs to spend time together after he comes back (that’s if they haven’t banged before he sailed to the Dark Continent like they did in my fic lmao). 

So yeah, I think these are generally the five things that I think should happen if they were to be canon. 

I don’t know why I was compelled to do a long-ass post of this, but I hope this answers your question. I can go on and write a report about this but Imma stop here for now. 

[shypotato-translations]

QTVW Chapter 23

Showbiz* Sexy Queen (X)

----

In the end, it was Ling Tianye who came to the rescue and opened a celebrity cocktail party on the top floor of the hotel, so the director happily took the crew to the cocktail party for a meal.

The crowd: "......" really shouldn't have any hope for the world's most stingy director.

The crowd moved on to the location and once they had taken the lift to the top floor, they were greeted with a wide selection of fine food on one side;

On the other side, an elegant international art orchestra plays music that is bright and pleasing to the ears.

The guests at the reception, who were all dressed in evening gowns, were a little uncomfortable with the casual clothes they were wearing, but when they looked at the calmness of the director's face, they immediately discarded the image and went on to do other things.

Mei Mu Lan walked to the food area, picked up a plate, forked a piece of cake and ate it slowly. She was acting like she was taking advantage of the situation, but she just wanted to be angry with the director. After she crossed over to this world, she ate almost every meal with good taste and high prices.

She was wearing a close-fitting knee-length dress at the moment, her face unpowdered, eating cake slowly and gracefully, only so lightly, but attracting the attention of many, many people at the reception.

Unconcerned by the looks of these people, she turned to lean against the wall and watched Bai Jieying, led by Ling Tianye, meet many flamboyant people, who she had been paying divided attention to for the past six months, finding a few usable points of information between the signs and traces.

For one thing, this traveler is such a superb actress that it is obvious that she is either an actress or in a special profession;

Secondly, the traveler has a strong taste for the world and is able to play with all kinds of men; her background should not be pure;

Thirdly, the traveler has refined tastes and can be seen to have been educated in relevant areas;

Fourthly, the traveler is well-handled and is able to do it all on her own when she is in the cast and acting in martial arts scenes.

In summary, Mei Mu Lan has a few guesses as to the identity of this traveler, but as to her exact identity, she will have to wait to continue to observe for some time before she can come to a conclusion.

As for the "hidden task - solving the travelers" in the system, Mei Mu Lan thought of murdering her.

But if it were really that simple, the Virtual Time Master System would not need, at all, to set up administrators like her to enter the virtual world and perform tasks.

The hidden mission, solving the travelers, should have a deeper meaning. She just didn't understand it yet, so she couldn't do anything rash at the moment, she had to wait until she, herself, understood the true meaning of the mission before she could do anything to solve it.

As Mei Mu Lan thought of this, her thoughts once again came to a standstill and she shook her head off, her gaze falling on Ling Yi Yao.

The film 《The Burial Man》was finished, and according to her plan, it was time to move next, Mei Mu Lan thought to herself: The first thing I need to do is pack my bags tonight and move there early tomorrow morning. According to the plot, Ling Yi Yao has already moved into this villa, so she must make some big noise to get Ling Yi Yao's attention for this move.

So thinking, she suddenly remembered Father Mei. That said, during the time she stayed at home, the original owner's father had been away.

The butler once overheard that Father Mei was going to participate in a large auction in Europe for six months, so she guess he would be going home in the next two days.

In fact, Mei Mu Lan does not hate this man, Father Mei is still a wise and fair man in many ways, except that he insisted on marrying this childhood friend.

But he was a shrewd man with a sharp mind, and as mentioned in the novel, after the original owner's death, Father Mei aged by more than ten years in an instant, and he really had feelings for the original owner. And immediately after the original owner's funeral, he handed over all the big and small affairs of the Mei family to the Mei butler to handle, and on the same day, he announced the news that the Mei butler had become the new patriarch of the Mei family.

Even when her stepmother pleads, he does not change his mind, showing that he does not let his feelings sway his mind.

In that case, Father Mei was still worth getting close to, Mei Mulan thought, and perhaps she could talk to him when he returned.

The accidental death of the original owner's mother, the death of the original owner in an 'accidental' car accident, and the fact that Mei Mu Lan does not mention it does not mean that she has forgotten about it.

After observing her stepmother, she came to the conclusion that the original owner's mother's death, the original owner's death by poisoning, and her stepmother, should have nothing to do with each other. Because the stepmother was a rather idiotic person, with little intelligence or fighting ability, and only had a mouth that didn't allow people to get away with it, such a person was the easiest to deal with. Of course, we can't rule out that it was the stepmother who acted too well and fooled her.

So, assuming it wasn't the stepmother, why was the original owner poisoned at the college graduation party? And why was the car destroyed?

This poisoner must have known the original owner's temperament well enough to know that the original owner would drive onto the highway and look for Ling Yi Yao after she had lost her mind in a drunken stupor.

Mei Mu Lan searched around among the people the original owner knew, but in the end, she still couldn't get a clue.

Everything is hidden in the darkness, dimly lit.

Mei Mu Lan could only sip her wine helplessly and focus her attention on the reception.

Her eyes casually scanning the entire venue, then she felt a blazing sight and she frowned as she looked over to see a woman with semi-long hair and an elegant tight black dress, picking up a glass of wine and walking over.

This woman, with her pale skin against the black dress, is as fair as can be.

The eyes are dark, extremely dark, and give an eerie sense of dread when looking at people.

She looks like she is in her forties, but her wrinkle-free face makes her look as if she is in her twenties again.

A peculiar woman, Mei Mu Lan defined.

This woman walked over, strong emotions welling up in her deep dark eyes. She approached slowly, her posture elegant, and she spoke, her voice husky like a man's, as she said,

"Mu Lan, hello."

Mei Mu Lan showed a puzzled expression and asked,

"Who are you ......? I haven't seen you before."

The woman smiled lightly, a deep dimple at the corner of her mouth, looking playful and cute, making it even more impossible for Mei Mu Lan to tell the person's age.

She continued hoarsely,

"I'm a friend of your mother's, I've lived in America before and only returned a few days ago, you look a lot like your mother, is she okay now?"

It turned out to be a friend of the original owner's mother, and it dawned on her,

"Hello auntie, my mother, she, passed away four years ago."

The woman's face was stunned for a moment, then the smile on her face deepened as she let out a feigned sigh and suddenly asked an unrelated question as she said,

"Is Wen Xueluo okay now?"

Wen Xueluo is Aunt Wen, it seems they all know each other, Mei Mu Lan doesn't like this woman much, so she drops her eyebrows and says in a nonchalant tone,

"Aunt Wen is very nice and looks ...... very young."

The woman froze again, then she smiled even more and said,

"You're funny, you're much better than your mother, first time we've met, introductions, I'm Seven, you can call me Miss S."

This time it was Mei Mu Lan's turn to freeze, Miss S?!

Of course Mei Mu Lan knows Miss S. This lady, the writer and screenwriter of 《Love in a Fallen City》, a long-time overseas patriot, a well-known writer specializing in fringe literature, domestic and international, the most awarded female author of literary awards.

She smiled deeply and said,

"I have long admired Miss S' name, but I didn't expect you to be my mother's friend.”

Miss S hooked her lips into a smile, her originally ordinary and common appearance actually had a seductive charm after she smiled lightly and deeply like this.

She moved closer, leaning close to Mei Mu Lan, she exhaled softly, her nostrils blazing, hitting Mei Mu Lan's neck as she said,

"We will meet again, and when we do, I look forward to it, you will lie in my *** and be naked with me."

Mei Mu Lan had black lines, but on this occasion she couldn't push her away, she could only take a step back herself and lean against the wall, she teased,

"Auntie, being so old, this kind of thing is not for you anymore, be careful of twisting your old back."

Miss S laughed merrily, then took a step back and turned to walk away, and by the time she had taken five steps away, she turned back and said,

"Tsk, Mu Lan, take a word of advice from your aunt and watch out for Wen Xueluo! Haha, I''ll see you in a month."

Mei Mu Lan was stunned and turned to think: this mission world is really a universal yuri, did she have an accepting face? How come everyone likes to be imposing and talk in her ear.

By the way, why didn't Ling Yi Yao do that, she was looking forward to it, ah. She resentfully searched for Ling Yi Yao's back, but after searching for a long time, she couldn't find her, and she wondered, when did this woman leave? Strange.

Early the next morning, Mei Mu Lan left the Mei family's home with her luggage, rounded off with the keys to her new villa, and drove to the Jiangnan Town area.

She was halfway down the road when she started honking her car horn in defiance of her image, and it's a good thing the villas in the area hadn't been sold yet, or someone would have sued her for disturbing the public.

Two minutes after she pressed the button, a security guard appeared in front of her car as if he had fallen from the sky and raised his hand to stop her,

"Please keep quiet. Civilisation depends on you, on me, on everyone."

Mei Mu Lan: "......" This odd security guard, where did you find him.

Mei Mu Lan swept her eyes around and found that the villa just two metres behind her was Ling Yi Yao's residence, and two metres in front of her, was her residence.

So she blinked and discharged,

"Uncle Security, I can't find my villa, can you take me there?"

The guard grimaced and replied,

"I'm sorry, I'm only 19 years old and I can't be your uncle. Also, I'm only responsible for the safety of the residents, not the part of giving directions."

Mei Mu Lan: "......"

Mei Mu Lan blinked, took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, opened the car door, stepped out of the car and said,

“I know, I was blinded just now, so this house is my villa, well, I found it, now you are not needed here."

The security guard, with a paralyzed face, said,

"Excuse me, please park your car in a fixed position and do not obstruct the passage of others, thank you for your cooperation."

Mei Mu Lan: "......"

Ling Yi Yao, who was leaning against the window watching: "......" suddenly felt like the sun was shining and the birds were singing, and the mood was so relaxing.

As she faced Mei Mu Lan speechless and a thousand times over, the scene dropped off and actually looked so amusing. Maybe she could call the head of Jiangnan Town today and ask him to arrange for this little security guard to be promoted.

Mei Mu Lan drove into the garage with a wooden face, and it was only when she stepped out of the garage and into the courtyard of the villa that the security guard left at ease.

Mei Mu Lan: "......" What is this indescribable feeling of fuckery? Can I call and complain to the person in charge of Jiangnan Town about the replacement?

Anyway, now that she is living next door to Ling Yi Yao, she will wait until the evening to take the neighbourhood love dessert and go over and fake-slut (really seduce), her future neighbour for good.

With this in mind, Mei Mu Lan revived from the spot and opened the door with the key in high spirits.

Ling Yi Yao, "Suddenly I feel so cold, the weather has cooled down? It's just March now, strange."

As night fell, Mei Mu Lan put on a light trench coat, carrying a plate of cupcakes, and walked to the door of Ling Yi Yao's villa. After she straightened her face to ensure that her facial muscles could perfectly portray her mood, she knocked regularly on the door**, and then the door opened, and Ling Yi Yao, wearing a short shirt and grey jeans, opened the door, with an expression on her face that said: You've finally come.

There are a few meaningful moments of looking beyond the horizon.

Mei Mu Lan immediately showed herself stunned, shocked, jolted, and then haughty with a smile as she said, "...... Hey, don't go." You haven't seen my expression, it's a waste of acting.

The moment Ling Yi Yao opened the door, she turned and walked away, leaving a forlorn Mei Mu Lan shivering at the door.

Ling Yi Yao walked over to the sofa and sat down, pointed to the sofa opposite and said,

"Close the door and come and sit down."

Mei Mu Lan immediately doggedly closed the door and pounced ...... on her.

Ling Yi Yao looked at her, narrowing her eyes with such a hint of danger as she asked in a slow and profound tone,

"Why are you, sitting, on, my lap."

That's right, what was happening was that Mei Mu Lan, without any delay, pounced on Ling Yi Yao's body, her thighs pressed against her thighs, their chests against their chests, their noses against their noses.

Mei Mu Lan covered her face with a shy face and said,

"Oh, nasty, it was you who said you wanted me to sit over here, so I sat over here."

Ling Yi Yao: "......"

Ling Yi Yao picked up Mei Mu Lan with one hand, opened the door of the room while the other party was still imagining various plays, and threw her out with one hand.

Mei Mu Lan: "......" This is too fierce, isn't it?

It was Mei Mu Lan who wrote on Weibo that night: My goddess is a little arrogant and a little violent, tossing people around and sweating profusely, and they are now aching all over.

She is looking forward to the expression on Ling Yi Yao's face when she sees this tweet one day in the future, it must be very emotional.

For the rest of the day, it was a daily routine of Mei Mu Lan to go to Ling Yi Yao's house, then within five minutes, she was thrown out again by Ling Yi Yao with one hand, then she went to Ling Yi Yao's house again, then was thrown out again.

The days were very sweet and kudos must be given.

Then one afternoon, Mei Mu Lan, who was planning to clean herself up and have her mind in various plays, received a call from Miss S.

[lizallanapologist]

The problematic behavior of Tomdaya stans; a thread

Some of you might not be aware of the stalkerish problematic stuff tomdaya stans have done with Tom and Zendaya’s life but it’s gotten to the point where Tom’s own brothers protect with big scrutiny every single female in Tom’s life because they fear they’re going to get bullied or harassed. This is not OK and this has to stop so we’re exposing their toxic behavior. 

This is only to bring awareness and we do not condom any hate or death threats, don’t send hate to tomdaya accounts, either block them or report them but don’t bully them. Many of them might need professional help dealing with the fact that Tom and Z are not together due to the fact that they created an illusion in their heads for a long time but that doesn’t mean some of them aren’t plenty manipulative and love to get away with bullying and harassment. 

If you don’t know, Tom was recently seen with another woman on his instagram, not going to say the name and please don’t try to find out about her, the relevant information is in this post and all of the private information regarding her is being protected for the same reasons. Many stans decided to apply the same treatment to her as they did to Olivia. If you don’t know what happened last year, all information is here. The fact that this kind of bullying and harassment got overlooked is horrifying. 

This specific behavior doesn’t apply to all of the stans but the vast majority is on the same page. 

A big thanks to all the blogs who contributed with information and their writing in this post.

STALKING 

1. Tomdaya stans have made an entire thread/timeline of events in Tom and Zendaya's life that they manipulated so it can be seen as proof of them dating. They stalk every single part of their lives, from paying stalkerish apps to review their instagram activities daily to having a constant GPS to know their exact locations everyday. They ask twitter accs, owners of restaurants/stores, people close to them information about their whereabouts/the things they buy or eat/who they were with, etc.

They order their ‘’interactions’’ with specific dates and they even know information you shouldn’t know about them. 

They pay for apps that helps them stalk their every move. That’s right, they take every like as proof of them being together. 

They hide behind the pretext that they're celebrities and this is what they've signed up for but neither Tom nor Zendaya have signed up for constant daily harassment of their partners in life. 

HARASSMENT OF PARTNERS

Tom was seen last year with a blonde girl called Olivia, everyone speculated that was his girlfriend and that was something everyone should’ve respected since it’s Tom’s life and he’s in control of it, instead, many fans including Tom H. crazy fans and tomdaya stans, decided to stalk and harass Olivia to the point she had to make her account private. They started bullying her by publicly calling her names like ‘’Olive Oil’’, ‘’Ugly old woman’’, ‘’Ugly fake bitch’’ among other names. They continuously compare her with Zendaya and write on her friends and family members’ social media and ask them to tell Olivia nasty things. You really think this is ok? 

Same is happening with the girl Tom was seen with. Tom’s own brothers asked several people to take down and delete the video because they were disrupting her privacy. Many stans didn’t care and started all over again harassing the girl. (I’m not posting images or the identity of this new girl in hopes that this helps maintain a little big of privacy for her.) 

However here are some examples of them harassing Olivia:

’’I saw a troubling post on twitter about this fan dming another fan saying that they’d kill her (Olivia). That they’d find a way. So that “the fans can have him all to ourselves” - source

MANIPULATING THE NARRATIVE

Tomdaya stans and some Tom Holland crazy stans love to harass Tom Holland to the point that they tag family members and friends only because he decided to go out in public with Olivia. They call him cheater, manipulator, a dumbass, made fun of him because Tom is dyslexic calling him an illiterate, mocked him and tried to cancel him in every opportunity given by manipulating everyone into thinking some of these ‘’facts’’ are true. 

Many fans don’t know better and go to social media to frame Tom as a scumbag because many tomdaya stans have convinced the public of this.

This same issue occurs with Zendaya. Her known boyfriend; Jacob Elordi, is frequently called a cheater and is being investigated every five seconds on every social media, candid, interaction ever. Many fans are already calling him cheater, telling everyone Zendaya’s changed her behavior thanks to Jacob and that she needs help. 

Source

BULLYING

The definition of cyberbullying according to Stopbullying.gov:

“Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior. “

Examples of cyberbullying on Tumblr from good ole Toutdesuite360:

https://toutdesuite360.tumblr.com/post/190572803098/faces-haha-ive-heard-this-has-been-memed-when

Making fun of Jacob Elordi’s wealth… but that isn’t that only thing that the Tomdaya stans have done.

She basically implied that Olivia looked like an elderly lady, and she permitted her followers to humiliate her.

Funny, that a middle aged woman who has never revealed her face on her blog is bullying a young woman.

(She may have deleted the link to save her a** on the post with the Cher pictures, but thankfully @crazypeopleonfandom​ took screenshots of this post; I got most of my photos from them)

The next aren’t pertaining to the ‘innocent’ Toutdesuite360, just some random jerks from Twitter/Instagram. If you have the time, you can read through them.

See the pictures above and below for reference.

Labelling Zendya, Jacob E., Tom, and Olivia as cheaters, when there was no confirmed relationship between Tom and Z, and Jacob broke up with Cari already is plain disrespectful. These are type of claims are considered slander, and I’m surprised that the people who own these accounts haven’t been rightfully sued.

And remember when I talked about the repetition of people tagging Tom and Z’s family for their ‘thoughts’? Why are you tagging Nikki in your post?

Calling Olivia, once again, a vulgar word that shouldn’t be used for any woman.

This person and many other tomdayas are harassing Zendaya and Tom by tagging them repeatedly. Now we know why Tom stopped using Twitter, and why he may be taking breaks from social media.

And, as pointed out in another point on the thread: Tom has dyslexia! I easily ignore the posts that tease him about his lips, but when it comes to his disability, that crosses the line. It is unacceptable to bully someone just because your fantasy relationship doesn’t seem so real now.

Before I finish this point, I just want to remind people that celebrities are humans too. Everyone has feelings, and even if they haven’t seen these posts, it is still harmful to post this kind of information on your account. Fans who are young (or naive) may see these posts, thus making them believe that Tom actually cheated on Z, and that Z is really with Jacob as ‘payback’ to Tom. Bullying is still an ongoing issue, and maybe you should stop harassing/humiliating people on your platform.

DEATH THREATS

Olivia, Tom and his family, friends, Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, etc. They were sent death threats as a result of a fictional ship. This is truly upsetting and we’ve shown some proof of that above and it’s truly sickening how many of them really want to attack Olivia in public only because of a few photographs. 

DEBUNKING EVIDENCE

While we don’t know anything for sure, we need to trust and respect what Tom and Zendaya have said several times: they were never together and they were just friends. This is a topic that makes them feel uncomfortable and tomdaya stans decide to twist their words every time they want to clarify the situation, saying they’re hiding their relationship and that they’ve been hiding it for over 3 years. 

Stop believing everything SpideyParker on YouTube says, that person desperately wants them together so they’ll do anything in their power to make it seem like that they’re ’’still together’’. All of their evidence is also nothing but scraps. I can also make a video cropping out certain individuals from the frame to make it look like Tom is with someone or I can also investigate every tiny detail to a borderline degree to make it seem like Zendaya is dating someone. It’s really easy to manipulate the truth, so don’t fall for these things so easily. Check with the real sources, Tom and Zendaya. Trust and respect what they say it’s not your job to investigate and figure their lives out.

Their evidence of the relationship is ridiculous, stuff like them wearing the same clothes,

because obviously there’s no way this jacket is in any random store in the world...This is a unique jacket, made by Tom and Z specifically...And it’s not even the same jacket. If we’re going by their logic, then

More, more, more and more.

Source

Robert Downey Jr. and Tom have been in a relationship for a long time...

Angourie, Remy and Tom wearing the same jacket.

I have no idea what’s going on with the freaking necklace you swear with blood that Zendaya gave him but that’s hardly something special:

Matching necklace with Olivia.

Avengers necklace.

He likes necklaces, nothing special here.

'’Tom only goes to Zendaya’s home, and only goes out with her!’’

Tom Holland went to RDJ's house to watch Black Panther with him.

Tom and RDJ facetime daily.

Obviously, his only friend is Zendaya...

Look at him and Zendaya there, wow.

‘‘Tom looks at her with heart eyes and in a very special way!’‘

Excuse me, what is he supposed to do? Ignore Zendaya and look somewhere else every time she talks?  

MORE

He literally looks at everyone the same way.

‘‘He only does Spider-Man because he wants to be the Peter Parker to his Mary Jane, one of the most romantic comic book couples!’‘

I can’t believe I once read this as proof but I haven’t forgotten about it.

Interview with Tom and Laura:

“Is Zendaya’s character Mary Jane Watson?’’

Tom Holland: “No, no! This is one of those rumours, that like, we’ve all said it’s not true.

Laura Harrier: It’s not true!

Tom Holland: Like, we keep on… You guys keep building yourselves up for disappointment.

Laura Harrier: Unless we don’t know how this started? Because you guys are gonna see this movie and be like “…Ugh.” She’s Michelle!

Tom Holland: She’s a character called Michelle.

Laura Harrier: She’s playing Michelle.

Tom Holland: 100%. Hands down. Her character’s called Michelle. And she’s sort of this weird, quirky one in the friendship group that Peter has. She’s funny, but she’s super strange.

Laura Harrier: Yeah, super dry humour.

Tom Holland: She’s 100% not Mary Jane. It’s funny, everyone’s like “Is she Mary Jane?” and I’m like NO, I’M TELLING YOU! SHE’S NOT MARY JANE!

Source

‘‘He did the Will Smith thing with her, he loves her!’‘

‘’He only ever talks about her! He only praises her!’’

Angourie Rice.

Robert Downey Jr, 2, 3

Laura Harrier, 2

Elizabeth Olsen.

Jacob Batalon.

Chris Hemsworth.

Jake Gyllenhaal.

And the list goes on and on.

‘‘He always goes to her special events only! He only goes to her parties! He only goes to hospitals with her! He was on the set of Euphoria with her!’‘

How about, he goes out with her and everyone else in group and individually? He goes out with Harrison alone, with Jacob alone, with Laura alone, etc. I love how many of them love to leave out certain people to make everyone believe it’s only the two of them. And he doesn’t only goes to hospitals with her, he’s gone with many other people and he does it because he’s a good person, not because he’s on a date with Zendaya. 

Tom AND Jacob visit Zendaya on the set of the Greatest Showman.

Tom and friends celebrating Harrison’s birthday party.

Tom on a double date.

Tom going to Joe Russo’s restaurant to get an exclusive cooking lesson from Jessica Largey.

Tom on birthday parties.

Tom, Laura, Harrison and Harry out for dinner in Brazil.

Tom, Brie Larson, Tessa Thompson, and Zachary Levi in a club in Brazil.

Tom, Laura, Jacob, Harrison in a pool party.

RDJ & Tom Holland visit Jon’s restaurant and participate on his show.

Tom Holland visits Doctor Strange’s set.

Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Joe Russo visit haunted attraction.

He’s a good person and loves supporting his friends.

‘‘He only has chemistry with her!’‘

Tom and RDJ’s extraordinary chemistry.

Tom and Jake’s chemistry.

Tom and Jacob’s chemistry.

Tom and Laura’s chemistry.

Tom and Daisy’s chemistry.

Tom and Chris Pratt’s chemistry.

Also Will Smith, Chris Hemsworth, etc. 

Look below for Ciara and Tom’s chemistry.

Like I said before, maybe he’s a good actor and that’s it? 

‘‘Their FFH kiss was too real and magical!’‘

Spoiler alert for Cherry

Fan about witnessing Tom’s kiss with Ciara Bravo:

His reaction about kissing Laura Harrier:

‘‘He LOVES touching her’‘

I’m sorry, is he supposed to be scared of touching people?

This is it. This is the big touch they always talk about and the only times they’ve ever held hands is in manips or in FFH, but that doesn’t count, those are fictional characters. Well...

Maybe he’s a touchy person. Consider that.

’’She’s the only one that knows him well!’’

How well do Zendaya, Jacob, & Laura know Tom?

I’m sure Harrison, RDJ, his friends and others know him pretty well too. 

And only because he knows she likes ice cream doesn't mean she’s his ultimate soulmate or something blown out of proportion.

‘‘He’s only a gentleman with her!’‘

Tom saves Gina Rodriguez

Tom rescues fan

Karen Gillan

‘‘He looked way too in love with MJ to be fake’‘

Nope.

Nope 2

Nope 3

It’s called acting, pretty sure you guys know by now he’s good.

‘’They’re inseparable!’‘

Jacob, Tom and Harrison 

Also, why is it that every female in his life is his cousin, aunt, close childhood friend or ‘’he probably hates her’’ for you? 

They’ve said this multiple times but:

In an interview with Elle, Tom said he is not involved with anyone at the moment but is "definitely a relationship person." And when addressing the rumors, he says it’s uncomfortable and annoying when people ship him and Zendaya together. 

Zendaya also denied the claims, telling Variety Magazine that she and Tom were simply ‘just friends’. 

You can ship them if you want, as a bromance or cute chemistry, but not at the expense of someone else. Not when you violate their privacy, their lives and specially not when you bully, harass and stalk every detail of their lives.

Zendaya is clearly very happy with Jacob Elordi:

Let her have that. No, she doesn’t look miserable with him, no, he didn’t change her style or her personality. No, she doesn’t dress differently because of him. She is the same as always, she looks even happier. Let her be. This is good for her. She has every right to go out in public with her boyfriend. And for the love of god, stop commenting on her instagram posts ‘’warning’’ her that Jacob is going to cheat on her. Hopefully that won’t happen ever. 

And no, they’re not going to magically ’’get back together’’ when Spider-Man 3 starts filming, stop wishing bad luck on Zendaya and Jacob’s relationship. Tom is not going to magically realize how ‘’wrong’’ he was for ‘’leaving’’ Zendaya. He never left her, he’s her friend. 

All of this have gotten to the point where Tom can’t have a friendship with a female and he has to ‘’protect’’ them every time he wants to interact with them. Do you guys seriously think this is ok? Are you really a fan of his if this is how you want him to live? Controlling him all the time? 

Do you realize how wrong and unfair it is for the other partner every time you comment in every single picture on instagram, twitter, etc about how ‘’cute’’ Tom and Zendaya are? About how ‘’ugly’’ Olivia is? How about when you compare Zendaya and Olivia, or every single female in Tom’s life? Or when you comment on Zendaya’s instagram telling her she is different now and that you don’t like her now because she’s changed for Jacob? Telling her that Jacob is going to cheat on her? Stop sending death threats to the partners, stop tagging their families in your ‘’evidence/proof’’ posts/tweets. Just because they don’t voice these things doesn’t mean they don’t read them. 

Being sincere, if you all, as a collective; really, genuinely cared about Tom, this is the last thing you would wanna pull. In your endless obsession with thinking you have a right to dictate the life of a man simply because he's famous; actually stopped once to consider how this is possibly making Tom and Zendaya feel?? You are basically sending the message that nobody is enough, that him being happy isn't enough, that he won't ever be allowed to be happy until he gets with the person YOU think is best for him. Fucking abhorrent, how they don't have a choice on who they choose to fucking love. This is how you make a celebrity jaded. THIS is how you make a celebrity hate you. And he will, unless you stop your bullshit, and treat him; and whoever he decides to be with, like human beings.

When you focus only on two people it’s easy to believe anything, try and see the bigger picture. Allow Zendaya and Tom to enjoy their lives without harassing them and their partners.

[pastthevaulteddoors]

My brain fogs usually end with me babbling.

This morning @delicatelygloriousphoenix allowed me to babble to them about a thought I had.

And then... It just kept going.

I’m still tired. Here’s a cut version of that conversation.

I had a thought before bed last night 'cause I'm finishing up the extras to SVSSS.

What if someone was reborn into Mo Dao Zu Shi and had to save everyone?

What if Jiang Cheng was the person they were born into? I can't remember the scene properly from the novel, but right before WWX interrupts the summit meeting on Koi/Carp tower, drinks LWJ's booze and accuses Jin Zixun of his labor camp is when this person becomes the new Jiang Cheng. He himself interrupts WWX's rant that nearly falls into a fight and demands that he/Lotus Pier are allowed to keep the rest of the Wens because they burned the place to the ground and therefore have a right to them to rebuild the place.

The argument is quick, and JC is like "I'm taking them" and drags WWX out in surprise. But he turns to LWJ and is like "You comin'?" so of course LWJ comes when he's actually invited to do so. They run off to the camp. JC tries to hurry to get there before Wen Ning is stabbed. They do get there earlier than in the show/novel, but WN is already stabbed (but not dead).

They drag the Wens and an unconscious WN out of the camp. WWX doesn’t go nuts because WN isn’t dead yet and JC is there to lay down some tsundere harshness in his stead.

They have to stop at a village before they get there where Wen Qing can work on her brother and the Wens can rest. JC buys them all rando threadbare robes so they don't stand out as Wens anymore.

Lan Xichen shows up at some point to see if he can't... not so much help as his position won't allow him to take sides on this, but there to 'check on his brother.’ When he gets there, he’s pushed to the inn room where he sees JC focused at WN’s side. He’s giving him spiritual energy while WQ rests nearby. That's LXC’s first little spark of  "Ah, JC is nicer than he first appears."

The Wens are supposed to be 'laborers' to help rebuild Lotus Pier, but JC's really just wanting to make sure that WWX isn't forced off to Burial Mounds and becomes an icon of hatred like the show/novel. And he doesn't have to remove him from the sect entirely.

However, he tells a distracted WWX that he obviously has ideas with his new powers and gives him leave to seclude himself to practice/create/invent but in a safe environment. Jiang Yanli is happy that her brothers are not alone yet able to pursue their separate interests/areas of need.

LXC suggests Gusu taking the Wens as well as 'laborers' since Cloud Recesses was also burned down by the Wens. In reality, they have more safe space for the Wens, it's harder to ambush the 'labor camp' when it's on a mountain peak.

This is where the ALIVE yet healing Wen Ning and Wen Qing ask the Lans to take care of A-Yuan as they are not in the best situation to take care of a child at their camp. This is where LWJ and the frequently visiting WWX basically adopt him.

I mean, if the Wens aren't in danger, WWX has no reason to go back to the burial mounds so of course he’d come to check up on the Wens a lot. Which just means hanging out with A-Yuan and the bunnies often. If LWJ happens to be there with him all the time... well... who’s to say what that means?!

Meanwhile, JC is trying to handle his sect with only a bit of help from WWX here and there, although Wen Qing shows up a lot, as does LXC as a gesture of goodwill and to help the young new sect leader.

JC enjoys being a leader and the System provided him with knowledge and ability to train his new sect. He used to be a salaryman when he was alive, this is far more exciting and much more stimulating.

JC is pretty oblivious that both WQ and LXC are absently crushing on this confident and warmly grumpy JC. He just thinks they like visiting him to talk sect leader stuff or night hunt or... maybe he even thinks they’re his friends.

BUT JC knows his mission is not done, as the System keeps reminding him.

He needs to make sure Jin Guangyao doesn't marry his sister but he can't break OOC or share his knowledge of knowing that JGY and Qin Su are siblings... so he subtly courts Qin Su instead to basically cock block JGY.

Which surprises all but whatever. JC has changed since becoming sect leader, or so they say (really, JC is a different person entirely but ya know).

JC is okay with it, saying Qin Su is a decent woman and pretty enough. He'd be okay if they'd end up marrying, although he's very aware that JGY might try to murder him for taking the girl he likes but he's got his defenses up.

The courting goes on for awhile and JC keeps blocking JGY’s advances where he can but doesn’t go further with his own.

A few years later, JC hosts a birthday party of four year old Jin Ling, with little Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhen among others... so it's a mini sect leader party, too. All of this without going OOC, he's still a grumpy sect leader but he's less feared (like, in the novel, JC was a friggen murderer! He tortured and killed anyone he thought was using WWX's methods or was his incarnation!). People actually seem to like him!

Late night at the party WWX, JC, LWJ, and LXC were hanging out. They suggest going on a boat together because a lot of lanterns were going to be let off in the lakes for JL’s birthday.

JC 'accidentally' spills tea on LXC's robes so he has to excuse himself to change. The others wait by the boat and JC is like "Oop, I changed my mind. I'm going to do something else" and kicks the boat off with LWJ and WWX in it and walks away. He chills in a pavilion a little bit later, watching the lanterns on the water and a few boats out there when LXC comes back. He doesn't even ask when happened and joins him, watching the boat that their brothers are in. LXC and JC haven't talked about it, but they both low key ship LWJ and WWX so they're of agreement.

This event triggers the Wangxian relationship quest. JC is pretty happy that they don’t have to wait 13-16 years before they get to enjoy each other’s company.

And that's when JC himself starts to admire LXC. Not that he hadn't before, they had become friends of sorts from both rebuilding their sects, passing advice to each other, and generally get to complain to each other as young sect leaders. JC kept distance though, knowing LXC’s sworn brothers are his confidants but now and again LXC even lets on a bit of that drama (realizing how much NMJ and JGY are at odds) when JC mentions "they just gotta fuck and get it out of their system"

But yeah, it's during that conversation that JC is like "LXC is actually really attractive and fun to talk to..." crush style.

Then a new mission starts! JC has to team up with LXC to get JGY and NMJ together. All the while JC is loosely courting Qin Su still. Wen Qing has since moved on with her affections (WQ is fast realizing that everyone is gay and instead goes to make out with Mianmian because yes lesbians!).

So LXC realizes that he likes JC but doesn't think he'd be interested because of Qin Su and Wen Qing.

Meanwhile, JC is like "The author said the only gay couple in this novel was WWX and LWJ but!!!?!?!?!??!?!? everyone is gay!?”

At WWX and LWJ's wedding, LXC and JC spy on JGY and NMJ who end up kissing behind a tree. They're tipsy but success! JC gives LXC a high five which amuses LXC because 'wtf is a high five? that's so cute, what a grumpy dork'

JC outright stops courting Qin Su then, which pisses off her sect, that is in close ties with the Jins, which turn their anger towards the Jiang sect. So JC has to fight with the Jins in a political battle, and his sister is preggers with her third kid so she can't help much.

But it's finally JGY that stands up to his father to stop bulling smaller sects. No hard feelings for stealing Qin Su then dumping her, apparently.

It's about this time when Mo Xuanyu shows up and is like "you're my daddy" Lady Jin already hates her husband's illegitimate children but now she's furious, especially after her friend tells her that Jin Guangshan raped her and Qin Su is ALSO an illegitimate child (another reason JGY decides he doesn’t hate JC for cock blocking him).

All this combined, Jin Guangshan is shamed off his throne. Jin ZiXuan takes up a lead and JGY (now renamed Jin Ziyao as is the proper generational name) decides he's happy with not being an asshole (since he's getting good dickings with his boyfriend NMJ and Lady Jin has finally stopped bullying him) and decides that he'd be content, even happy, being his brother's advisor rather than dethroning him for sect leadership.

But of course there's gotta be drama. Shi Su and Jin Zixun are not the smartest of people but they've teamed up with Xue Yang who has a bit of the Iron. Together, they start to plot against the sects to overrule them, because they're dumb idiots with a semblance of power.

That's about as far as my brain went when I fell asleep and then this morning when the brain fog focused on that instead of on work while I was waking up.

Just something about 13 years later, JC and LXC are pretty close but not lovers yet, when something-something adventure and JC and LXC become a thing in a similar manner that WWX and LWJ did in the novel. RANDOM CONFESSION TIME that other people have to point out to them!

The following is related conversation but I don’t want to put my friend’s part so... it’s disjointed. Sorry not sorry I’m tired.

Continued conversation about wangxian being together:

because JC already knew they'd be together from the show/novel, and LXC shipped them, so they teamed up to get them to confess

That's what I meant when JC forced them onto a romantic boat ride together.

They weren't parted from the Wen fight stuff so instead of fighting at Nightless City, they had time to realize their feelings and not die instead of confess. ;p

Conversation... conversation...

So for so long JC doesn't know he's into guys (LXC in particular, kinda like SQQ in SVSSS) but just like JC in the novel, he gets himself blacklisted from the matchmakers. Meanwhile, this whole time his very close friend, LXC (they're really close now since JGY and NMJ are a couple so he doesn't like to third wheel it and instead spend his time with JC) things that JC is straight and lowkey crushes on him for 13-16 years before WWX and LWJ have to spell it out to them.

but Lan have a-yuan as adopted heir

He'd (JC) probably ask Jinli if one of her kids could be heir

What if Jin Zixun tries to take the sect leader throne or something. He'd be next in line if jin Zixuan didn't die and JGY didn't step up.

[razberryyum]

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 9, Part 2 of 2

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 28 and 29...kinda….]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰 +🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰+🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰+ 🐰🐰🐰

Continued from Part 1:

Aside from the fact that Wei Ying grabbing and pulling on Lan Zhan’s tassle like a leash is really one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, I think it’s also adorable how Lan Zhan went from not even tolerating Wei Ying touching his sleeve to now putting up with him poking him and holding onto his wrist. Once again he never makes any attempt to shake him off and instead allows Wei Ying to lead him forward. Watching the little ways Wei Ying is changing Lan Zhan is so endearing and rewarding. I’m so glad Wei Ying came on this mission with him. According to Big Bro Xichen, Lan Zhan’s never had friends before, the reason he wanted Lan Zhan to attend classes at Cloud Recesses was so that he could make friends with people his own age. However, considering his cold and aloof disposition, it’s doubtful he would have made any friends if Wei Ying hadn’t come along and been so insistent on gaining his friendship. Just thinking of the boys that were at Cloud Recesses with them—Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang, Jin Zixuan, Wen Ning, in addition to all those other nameless disciples—whom among them would have even made the slightest effort to get through to Lan Zhan? Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan couldn’t care less, Nie Huaisang seems downright scared of him, and Wen Ning probably feels the same, not to mention, I can‘t even imagine shy sweet Wen Ning trying to proactively make friends with anyone anyway. Therefore, if it wasn’t for Wei Ying, Lan Zhan would have ended up as friendless and alone as he started out being. He probably never experienced something as simple as sitting down and having a meal or drinks with his peers, and yet now he’s doing it as if it was just the most mundane event for him. To think, if Wei Ying hadn’t invited himself along on this secret mission, thereby eventually bringing in Jiang Cheng and NHS as well, Lan Zhan would’ve been all alone through this journey...who would’ve been there to comfort him when that yin metal went all haywire on him?  

Fascinating thing about this moment that I noticed is that the words (the Chinese characters specifically) Wei Ying uses to calm Lan Zhan are the same exact words that Lan Zhan uses later on at Phoenix Mountain when he is trying to calm Wei Ying down as he is being overcome with dark rage.  

I would love to think that Team CQL set up this parallelism on purpose to show how Lan Zhan remembers everything that Wei Ying did for him and said to him, even down to the usage of two simple calming words. It melts my heart to imagine Lan Zhan carefully collecting all these memories and holding on tightly to them because every single moment they shared together became so important to him. When I think about how he probably lived on just those memories alone, not only during the sixteen long years when Wei Ying was dead, but probably even during the times when they were apart while he was still alive, I just feel so unbelievably sad for Lan Zhan that my eyes always well up with tears.

Yeah, I pretty much get weepy once a day because of these boys. Unfortunately I’m not exaggerating at all.  

Nie Huaisang/Ji Li Appreciation Time

To be honest, I don’t know if what I feel about Nie Huaisang could really be called love, even though I think I’ve thrown that word around when referring to him at least once. I definitely don’t hate him...he’s too complex and interesting and adorable in his own way to hate. And I did buy into his dumb, naïve and helpless act for a long time, much like everyone did. But I can’t say I really love him anymore either because of what he did to dear, sweet Big Bro Xichen, which was really unnecessarily cruel. It’s premature to go into all that now, so all I’m going to say is, while my feelings towards him are probably more on the ambivalent side overall, I do really appreciate him as a character, especially at this point of the story, because he’s always so funny and entertaining. I’d like to think that he did genuinely like Wei Ying as a friend because, as exemplified in the scene above, Wei Ying was actually really nice and considerate to him, not to mention protective. I hope that was part of NHS' motivation for reviving Wei Ying later on, and not just because he thought the Yiling Patriarch would be the only one strong enough to deal with the Stygian tiger seal.    

Despite how I feel about NHS, I do really enjoy Ji Li’s portrayal of the character, and I think his voice performance is awesome as well. I believe he’s the only actor on the show that used his own voice whereas everyone else’s dubbing was performed by a voice actor, and his voice work definitely made NHS even more fun as a character. He definitely has a talent for voice acting. He’s been cast in the Hikaru no Go live action due to be released next year and I cannot be more excited. I can totally imagine him as Sai. (Although, there’s not much information on the show yet from what I can see; looks like one of the male leads has been cast and also a female, but no other information on their actual roles...God I hope they don’t decide to turn Hikaru no Go into a BG romance because that’s not what it’s about AT ALL.)

ChengQing

We didn’t really see his reaction but when Wei Ying grabbed Wen Qing’s wrist, I did wonder how Jiang Cheng felt about it. Here he is, trying his hardest to gain Wen Qing’s favor, but all of his efforts seem to be mostly futile since she hardly gives him the time of her day. Honestly, for a while as I was watching the show for the first time, I did worry that Team CQL was trying to create a love triangle between Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing/Wei Ying. Even after reading the novel and knowing nothing of the sort exists in the source material, because Wen Qing’s characterization in the show was already so different from her novel counterpart, my concern remained for quite some time. I hated the mere idea a lot because it’s such a tropey and stupid gimmick, especially since Jiang Cheng really didn’t need yet another reason to be angry at Wei Ying. I’m glad they didn’t go in that horrible direction after all, but I don’t think I was able to breathe easy about the issue until after her death.  Poor Wen Qing, she gave me so much anxiety throughout the first half of the show; I would be lying if I said I wasn’t more than a teeny bit relieved when she died because I was finally able to lay my worries to rest completely.

Odds and Ends

I just love these three stooges; they’re so adorable together and I wish we got to see them engage in more shenanigans before all the fun was over forever.

When I first saw this scene, I thought it was pretty horrific and creepy; really, it’s one of the most effective scenes in the show. However, now, when I see this scene, my heart clenches a little because I know that’s the same fate that will eventually befall the Yunmeng Jiang sect as well. The fact that both Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying are present to see that horrible tableau just makes things worse, especially the sight of those two sect leaders hanging in the doorway. Completely heart-breaking.

Wen Qing being able to control the ghost puppets with the flute was totally a creation for the live action since she never did that in the novel, but I actually thought it was a neat touch. At first I thought she was going to be the one to teach Wei Ying that ability, but when that didn’t pan out, I wondered if he was inspired to learn that ability after seeing her do that. While it does take away Wei Ying’s inventiveness since in the novel that was a skill he developed on his own, I didn’t mind that change since it also established that other people can control the ghost puppets as well, which nicely sets up what Su She does later on with that skill. Interestingly enough, she’s playing “Rest” so now I wonder if she learned that during her time at Cloud Recesses and if so, does that mean essentially Wei Ying’s inspiration for fluting can be traced back to his time there as well, which means he was able to survive the Burial Mounds really because of his tutelage by the Gusu Lan sect. Omg that’s so sweet. 

Anyway, I just wish we got to see Wen Qing do more with that skill, it’s kind of odd how later on she relied on Wei Ying completely for calming Wen Ning when she seems to be perfectly capable of that feat as well. It’s like the show forgot she had this ability.

Question I still had

So basically, Lan Zhan met A-Yuan this early on but he completely forgot about that little Wen kid when they crossed paths again in Yiling? It’s no big deal, but I just thought that was rather odd considering Lan Zhan is usually more observant than that and of course he has a really good memory. I guess there’s always the possibility that he just didn’t care enough about the Wens to notice the kid.

Overall Episode Rating: 8 Lil Apples out of 10