#but she's a weak cultivator and that doesn't have to make her a bad or shallow character...

[llycaons]

every few months I feel like making a post like 'physical weakness or disability isn't a character flaw to be fixed in fanon 😭 its not inherently feminist for women to simply punch good! making jyl a powerful fighter but affording her no inner life, opinions, personal goals, desires, or internal conflict is doing her a greater disservice than incorporating her physical weakness and her knowledge of her own status as aspects of a fully fleshed out character living in a particular setting and interacting with other characters.'

[yoyowrites]

shen jiu coming across lou binghe when he's out on a mission.

shen jiu is eating sat outside a shop when he spots him. he sees a small binghe begging. he's bad at it. he's smiling and shy and avoiding the best customers. there's no way he'd be able to make any profit. shen jiu considers ignoring him. he some extra coins to spare but he didn't owe him anything.

shen jiu finishes his meal and leaves his bill. he marches right up to the kid, nearly hitting an older couple that was pointedly avoiding looking in the boys direction. shen jiu drops a few coins in the jar, staring cooly at the boy. unfazed, binghe offers a bright smile. up close it was clear how tired the child is

shen jiu lets out a groan. he grabs the child's sleeve and begins dragging him. the child starts to protest but shen jiu glares and shows a pouch of money. it shuts the child up but he's still tense.

"sit, stay," shen jiu commands walking inside the shop and places an order of soup. when he returns the child is stiff but in the same place he'd left him. he sits in front of him.

they stay silent. shen jiu looks over the boy's form. he's thin, not obviously malnourished but who knows the last time he had a good meal. "name?"

the boy didn't respond.

"you have problems hearing?" shen jiu raises a brow.

"is my name needed for what you're going to do to me?"

shen jiu scoffs. "i'm not doing a thing to you other than giving you a meal."

he recieved a speculative look. "...lou binghe."

shen jiu didn't recognize the name. "and is lou binghe an orphan?"

"no," binghe gave a disgusted look that was gone as quickly as it came. he composed himself. "i have a mother."

shen jiu nodded. "but she's sick? she certaintly is not aware of her your boy doing this?"

"my mother," binghe pauses. "is doing her best."

"but it's not enough," shen jiu tapped the table.

binghe glared. shen jiu glared back.

"you're not very good at begging."

"and the honorable cultivator is?" binghe bit out.

then, the shop owner brought out some soup. they nearly set it in front of shen jiu but he gestured for it to be given to the boy. lou binghe began eating without reserve

"i was very good," shen jiu says. "i'll give you some tips."

lou binghe stares suspiciously but shen jiu spares it no mind.

"first," shen jiu began. "if a strange man tries to take you anywhere don't follow. two, if he offers you food, don't take it,"

binghe looked comical then, eyes wide, and cheeks filled with food. shen jiu nearly chuckled.

"anyone could tamper with food. then what are you left with? if a man approaches you, trying to lead you away, you run," shen jiu leaned foward, emphasizing his point. he waits until lou binghe nods to lean back. "next, always let someone know where you are..."

like that, shen jiu imparts his wisdom to the boy. the best time, best places, best ways to beg and to keep himself safe. it's widely out of character for him. yet, he can't help but think of himself, of yue qingyuan, and their bitter situation. of those holier than thou cultivators that preached peace and chivalry and the importance of protecting the weak, only to ignore those in unappealing situations. the sun was setting when they finished their talk.

"listen, kid-"

"why ask for my name just to refer to me as kid?"

"so mouthy," shen jiu frowned. "you sure have gotten comfortable quickly binghe."

"does the esteemed cultivator wish for me to be more formal?"

"lou binghe doesn't need to bother," shen jiu shakes his head. "we likely will not be meeting again. however, if you are ever in dire need. go to the Daisy's and give them this."

binghe was slightly mortified as shen jiu offered him an odd looking coin. "a brothel?"

"relax, they'll keep you safe. safer than with any of these dogs that call themselves men atleast, and they'll contact me."

"and you'll help me?"

"this one is a cultivator," shen jiu spreads out his fan to cover most of his face. "why wouldn't I be able to help you?"

binghe opened his mouth, then shut it again. he took the coin and nodded.

"it's only if you have nothing else. don't think i will show up just for the whims of a boy."

with that shen jiu stood and walked away. he didn't look behind just strolled out of the shop. he was late enough that he could hear the jabs the others would say of him. he doesn't expect to hear from the boy again. weeks pass and he's mostly able to put lou binghe out of his mind. between the terrible liu qingge, the always apologetic yue qingyuan, and his own misfailings, he didn't have time to worry abut anyone else.

then, early one morning, a disciple from another peak stops him. he looks uncomfortable and holds out a letter for shen jiu. "at least have the decency to not drag the rest of us down with your perversion."

shen jiu felt hot rage build inside him. but he took the letter before reacting. they wouldn't be contacting him if it weren't important. blood rushed out of his face as his eyes scanned the note. he left the unruly disciple with no comment.

shen jiu didn't return until nightfall. the peak was buzzing with rumors and talk. people awaited with bated breath to see what he'd done this time.

that night, shen jiu returns carrying a young boy, no older than ten, wrapped in a blanket and tightly holding on to shen jiu's robe. he paid the crowed no attention, only stopping before a befuddled mu qingfan.

"well," shen jiu says expectantly. "are you not a doctor? can you not tell when a patient needs help?"

that causes mu qingfan to jump to action. he reaches his arm as if to take lou binghe from shen jiu but one icy look stops him.

"he wouldn't let you carry him even if you tried. just lead the way mu- shidi."

[justapigeonn]

the thing i don't understand when ppl try to defend gray wing's constant bootlicking of clear sky is they'll always bring up the argument 'well DUH they're BROTHERS gray wing would never want to believe that clear sky's a bad person!!' but that entire argument goes out the window when you make them remember that gray wing literally threw hands with clear sky upon discovering he'd exiled their younger brother jagged peak after breaking his leg.

gray wing travels to clear sky's camp to confront him PERSONALLY and when clear sky outright admits that he cast out jagged peak because he was 'weak' and 'no longer useful' to him or the group because of his disability, gray wing's first thought is to get PHYSICALLY VIOLENT with clear sky because he understands how fucked up and selfish his mindset is - and this is only book 1 mind you. he KNOWS that clear sky is willing to abandon those less physically capable than him out of his own selfish interest and physically fights him over it and is still understandably seething over it when he gets home and then we proceed to never reeeally see that side of him towards clear sky again (until one notable scene we'll get to later) even as clear sky gets progressively worse and more violent.

this bit has been discussed time and time again but for the sake of expanding my point - later on in the books when the moor cats come across bumble on the verge of death, gray wing himself and the others hear clear sky sheepishly admit from his own mouth that after finding her alone on his territory starving and desperate, he beat her to the point that she fell unconscious and he left her to her own devices

clear sky severely downplays the situation and claims to only have given her a 'cuff to the ear' but because we've already witnessed him murdering a mother cat over a simple territorial dispute first hand through the eyes of thunder, the likeliness of this being a lie is almost absolute. and what can gray wing do all while bumble is bleeding to death on the ground and turtle tail mourns her? he worries about how clear sky's reputation might be tarnished in the eyes of the moor cats :( as if that wasn't already the case after his wrongful exile of jagged peak and his unnecessarily aggressive and territorial behaviour. all of a sudden keeping clear sky's name squeaky clean is of the utmost importance to him despite him not really caring about about that at all in the previous book and merely standing up for what was right and giving his brother the piece of mind he deserved.

but ok, what happens when gray wing witnesses clear sky murder a cat with his very own eyes? - not just any cat mind you, but an old tribemate and beloved friend/ally of gray wing. surely he'd believe it and act accordingly right?? yeah!.....

....for roughly 5 minutes. even CLEAR SKY HIMSELF appears shocked

later on in the early chapters of the blazing star it's only reinforced

but yeah while that's all the text i can be bothered to sieve through right now, all in all gray wing had like 2 notable moments standing up to clear sky before resorting to being a spineless apologist for him. we KNOW he is capable of standing up to him and gray wing KNOWS what clear sky is capable of and what he's done but then he switches gears for little known reason. there's compassion and then there's sheer stupidity and gray wing repeatedly displays the latter.

i have no problem with gray wing still retaining some level of nostalgia and love towards clear because at the end of the day, yes, they are brothers they grew up together and were at one point exceptionally close, but that doesn't leave him any right to downplay the god awful things he did and protest when others are rightfully hateful towards clear sky.

anyways stan thunder idk why the fandom was always so adamant about casting him to the side and cultivating a rivalry between the two brothers when thunder was always a far superior foil to clear sky in every conceivable way

also p.s. please don't let me stop you from liking gray wing if you want to this is sheerly an over the top rebuttal to a common argument i see used to defend the author's poor writing choices

peace and love ✌️💞

[bookworm-center]

Hey! Idk if you’re still accepting requests for one shots but here it goes

Y/N was one of the crows for some time now and to everyone she always seemed happy or unfazed by the bad things.

She usually goes to the roof right in front of Kaz’s door and just sings her heart out and this time she sang her own song (The pretender by Lewis Capaldi) what she didn’t know was Kaz was listening from his desk

And maybe some fluff after she sees him? Idk

Kaz Brekker x Fem!Reader

Fake A Smile

In which one of the Crows is not as happy and carefree as she seems.

Author's Note: Oh I am so down to do this! I am still accepting requests, I just might be a little slower than I was before. I did kinda change your request, I hope it still works. I made the lyric lines smaller since I put a lot of them. Yeah, it's sorta long cause I got carried away... So sorry this took forever!

I will be your shoulder to cry on

I will make you laugh if you need

I will play the part if you say so

Yeah, I'll be anybody but me

There's a smile plastered on Y/n's face. It's so obviously fake to anyone really paying attention, but no one notices. Not the pigeons, going about their day, not the Dregs, scamming those poor pigeons, not even the Crows, her closest friends. Kaz Brekker doesn't even notice, despite taking pride in his attention to detail. She laughs along to Jesper's jokes, however bad they are, lends a shoulder to those in pain. She plays the role of a happy, carefree Crow so perfectly that even her friends don't see through her act.

To tell you the truth, I'm a mess, I'm a fool

You don't know that

And you never will

In my mind, it's instilled not to show that

It's funny that Y/n can be so happy and kind in Ketterdam, the home of the cruel. It's funny that inside she's crumbling apart and can't risk anyone knowing. Ketterdam has engraved its cruelty into her mind, and she refused to let anyone see. Brokenness in the Barrel means weakness and Y/n wouldn't allow herself to be seen as weak.

I spend almost all of my time

Feeling like I'm falling even further behind

And I know I'm so good at seeming

Like I'm not on the edge of a knife

I'm the pretender, what can I tell ya?

Designed to deceive

So tell me who you want me to be

Thoughts circle around Y/n's head as she climbs up to the roof of the Slat. She's not Inej-sneaky, though it doesn't really matter since she's not the Wraith for a reason. Y/n's a Crow, no doubt about that, but she wasn't skilled like them. She wasn't a Grisha, wasn't a sharpshooter, wasn't druskelle. She wasn't the Wraith, wasn't a demo expert and definitely wasn't Dirtyhands. She was just... Y/n L/n. She was the ordinary in a group of extraordinary, the touch of reality to their magical fantasy.

I can wear a million faces

'Cause I don't like the one underneath

Always found it easy to fake it

Yeah, I'll be anybody but me

It takes her a little while but Y/n finally reaches the roof, and then and only then does she tear away her facade. Tears stream down her cheeks, her sobs coming loud and unbidden and all she can do is sit there and cry. Then, once the tears aren't so bad anymore, she starts singing. The words she sings are shaky and her voice cracks between every few words, but right now it doesn't matter because right now she doesn't have to be perfect. Right now, she just needs to get her emotions out in the form of the song that's been cultivating in her mind for that last few months.

To tell you the truth, I'm the fraud in the room

And I know that

But you never will

In my mind, it's instilled not to show that

Kaz hears something from the roof. As per usual, it's Y/n singing. Kaz redirects his attention back to his work but then notices the difference in Y/n's voice. It's not the usual cheery song or Kerch working tune or even an old Ravkan song Nina had taught her. This song is filled with so much heartfelt emotion and sadness and pain that Kaz can't help but listen closer. After all, he may be the Bastard of the Barrel, but he's just a man, just a human whose heart aches for the person he loves.

I spend almost all of my time

Feeling like I'm falling even further behind

And I know I'm so good at seeming

Like I'm not on the edge of a knife

I feel like everything I do is a lie

And all the words just further pull the wool over eyes

I know I'm no good at being who I am away from the light

I'm the pretender, what can I tell ya?

Designed to deceive

So tell me who you want me to be

The door to the roof slams open. Y/n quickly cuts herself off, brushes away her tears and stands. She can already tell who it is by the rap of their cane but she needs a couple of seconds to collect herself. Kaz stops beside her, looking out at the horizon rather than at her.

"Kaz! Wasn't expecting to see you here!" Y/n turns her head away, just to make sure Kaz can't see any lingering tears. "Is there a new job you need me for?" The question hangs in the air. Kaz doesn't answer, doesn't even look her way. "Kaz?"

"That song. It's a new one isn't it?" He noticed her singing. It wasn't like she'd been singing quietly, but she hadn't thought he would notice. A new one? He must have been listening every time she'd come up here and she didn't even know. Maybe he had been paying closer attention than she gave him credit for... "Y/n. What's going on?"

It takes everything Kaz has for him to even ask the question and this time Y/n is the one who doesn't answer. How can she, when this is Kaz Brekker she's talking to? Kaz Brekker, the heartless Bastard of the Barrel, the infamous Dirtyhands? He wouldn't understand.

"Y/n. Answer me."

"Why?" Y/n can't help her outburst. She's been bottling this up for far too long. "Why does it matter?"

Kaz may be good with negotiations, but he's terrible at anything emotional. "I protect my investments."

Y/n scoffs. It's so unlike the Y/n Kaz is used to, but he honestly doesn't care because at least now she isn't hiding behind a mask. "Is that all I am to you? An investment?" She almost starts to walk off when Kaz's cane blocks her path.

"You're an investment." Before Y/n can interrupt in a fit of fury, he continues talking. "To the stock market, an investment is more valuable than a treasure. To the stock market, an investment is something that keeps rising in value. To the stock market, an investment is something that means the world to them. Without an investment, the stock market would crash and burn." With every word Kaz says, every word that is practically a confession of love from his mouth, Y/n steps closer until she's in front of him.

She doesn't move too close, she knows that he isn't good with touch, but she's close enough that she can see the little golden flecks in his coffee brown eyes, close enough that she can see his lips curl into a just-barely smile. "I get the feeling we aren't talking about the actual stock market." Y/n whispers.

"No. We aren't." And to both of them, that's as close of a confession as they are going to get.

And no, this doesn't heal the hurt in either of their hearts, it doesn't make Jordie any less dead or Ketterdam any kinder, but at least now they have a little place of safety. At least now they have a place where they don't have to pretend, where they don't have to fake strength or fake a smile.

[aline-the-cat]

Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3

Wei Wuxian enters their meeting room with an innocent-looking smile on his lips and silver eyes shining with playfulness, which makes both Meng Yao and Wen Qing get on high alert, their past experience telling them that whatever the kid is thinking, is not good at all

"So!" The teen smiles with excessive mirth "I received an interesting wish today"

"Going by your standards, I must question what exactly you mean by 'interesting'" Meng Yao comments wryly, even if they have shared interests and multiple things in common, some of A-Xian's tastes have always been more... weird; courtesy of growing up in a mass grave and being raised by ghosts, he guesses

The teen shows them a smirk in response

"Qing-jie" he turns to the healer "What kind of person is Wen Ruohan?"

The question takes her by sorprise

"Wen Ruohan? Well... he is very powerful and ambitious, when we left he was starting to invade minor sects out of some delusion that everyone was too dumb to lead themselves so he has to conquer us and do it himself" Wen Qing scoffs with a frown. Honestly, moving to the burial mounds was the best decision she could've taken

"Huh..." Wei Wuxian contemplates it for about a second "Between us, who do you think is more powerful?" He wonders innocently

Both Meng Yao and Wen Qing feel shivers down their spine

"Wha-"

"What's this about, A-Xian?" Meng Yao looks at the one he considers a younger brother with trepidation, the teen clears he throat and starts reading the scroll in his hands

"'Great Yiling Patriarch, I've heard all about your amazing accomplishments, so I send this missive to you out of despair. As you must know by now, the cultivation world is going through a great war against the Wens. Because of this, my family is in danger, so I must ask... please kill Wen Ruohan'" both officers loudly inhale. Wei Wuxian continues "'... I can't ask you to kill the entire Qishan Wen sect, though if you did the reward would be just as big, so at least I implore you to take down Wen Ruohan, without him, the remaining Wens might surrounder and my family will be safe. With this request, I leave you the list of payment and a way of contact' so it says"

"Ho~ interesting indeed" Meng Yao says that but he looks like on the verge of qi deviation

"So? What's the reward?" Wen Qing questions with a frown

"Hmmm says that the ownership of several stores and locals here in Yiling, an entire cargo of silks, gold, silver, licor, rice, rare medicinal plants, and the ownership of a plot of land in Yingchuan" Wei Ying reads

"What?! Let me see that!" Wen Qing practically rips the letter from him and Meng Yao also hurry to peek at it next to her. Wei Wuxian looks at them fondly, they get along very well despite their usual bickering "Are you going to meet them?" The healer asks him with her 'suspicious scowl', as Wei Wuxian calls it, the teen shrugs

"Sure, the Yiling Patriarch never refuses a wish"

'He says that but whenever he doesn't want to grant a petition he makes the offender forget everything about it' Meng Yao thinks raising an eyebrow 'Well, if I were asked to kill and torture innocent people I'd do the same' he sighs, and turns to look at Wen Qing, he knows they share similar thoughts

"These plants that are listed..." Wen Qing seems conflicted "They could help Meng-furen with her breathing problem"

"For real?!" Wei Wuxian exclaims

"Its a very strong possibility, what she has is something chronic from her days in the city, bad weather, and a weak constitution, Wei Wuxian's treatment has been effective so far, but it only alleviates the symptoms and stalls them, the problem persists, which is why she still has such a hard time in winter, this-" Wen Qing points at a plant whose name Wei Wuxian doesn't recognize "is a root that could help her lungs expel all the mucus and make them stronger"

"Auntie..." Wei Ying beams at the news "Well, I was going to accept solely for the challenge but with this..."

"Wait a second A-Xian!" Meng Yao interjects "I understand how big this is, and I know how strong you are, but to fight Wen Ruohan..." he pauses, A-Xian is strong, he really is powerful but... "It's too risky, what if it's a trap?"

"Huh?" Wei Wuxian looks at him curiously, normally, he fully trusts his instincts, which were honed to perfection to avoid any type of danger by living inside the Burial Mounds, but after growing up with Yao-ge, he learned to trust his slyness and understanding of human plotting more

"The only city the Wens have been unable to obtain is Yiling, they've tried multiple times and you always send them flying, so what if it's a trap to lure you out?"

"Hmmm? The Wens also failed to take Yunmeng though," Wei Wuxian adds

"Thanks to you" Meng Yao crosses his arms "My point stands, also... if you enter the battle alone with your powers, the war council may have problems with it, remember what we talked about?"

"Hmmmm that I have to play nice with the other sects?" Wei Ying wonders innocently

"Exactly" his brother frows at him "If we want to grow as sect, to exchange goods and obtain things we don't have, we can't allow ourselves to make them think we are an enemy"

"Then what can we do?" the Yiling Patriarch frowns slightly "This is a wish that I really want to fulfill, because of the families that are suffering, because of Auntie Meng and..." there's a guilty, yet playful glint in his silver eyes "because it really sounds like fun"

There's a moment of silence while the two arms of the new Yiling Wei sect try to process what their patriarch just said

"I... see" Wen Qing facepalms "Well, if that's what you want we can't stop you" she sends him a long-suffering look "So? What's the plan? How do you intend to kill Ruohan and be friends with the other sects?"

After a moment, both Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian turn to see Meng Yao, expectation bright in their eyes, the strategist sweatdrops at their expressions and sighs, already used to this 'This kid, really...'

"Alright, let's see... why don't we start by..." Meng Yao takes out an old scroll that they received three months ago "entering the sunshot campaign as they ordered?"

Wei Wuxian might've been adopted by Meng Shi, but at that moment, they have the exact same maniacal grin on their faces. Wen Qing suppresses a shiver

[pessimisticshapewithablog]

On Madness and the Frenzied Flame.

What does it mean within the world of Elden Ring? What was Fromsoft's intent behind it's implementation?

To preface, I don't exactly like the direction the writers from Fromsoft went when implementing the concept of madness in Elden Ring. Not from lack of trying but because of the mixed messaging we are given within the game.

I think I understand the unreliable narrator's understanding of the Frenzied Flame, but it's hard to refute it as unreliable when the writing corroborates that version over any other interpretation.

Let me explain...

Spoilers for Shadow of the Erdtree below.

MIDRA'S FLAME OF FRENZY

The Lord of Frenzied Flame shall take their torment, despair. Their affliction. Every sin, every curse. All melted away.

Yet Midra, like others before him, was too weak to become a Lord.

Within the story of Elden Ring, Frenzy is treated like some contagious madness that can be 'caught' and transferred by sight or touch. The two dominant cultures at the time, the Hornsent and the Golden Order, were so terrified of it that they killed and imprisoned anyone who they thought was affiliated with it. Understandable, but that isn't actually how the frenzy flame is created/spreads.

Remembrance of Midra, Lord of Frenzied

As the golden barbs inflicted eternal agony upon him, Midra held fast to Nanaya's entreaty: "Endure." The word was a curse...

It's suffering. Mind numbing, unmitigated suffering.

We first see it with the merchants. Their people were accused, by him no less, of being touched by the Frenzied Flame. As a result they were rounded up and imprisoned in the shunning ground. Without evidence or probable cause, only hearsay and malicious intent. The Golden Order doesn't even try to free the Merchants once the truth of their innocences is known.

The public acknowledgement of such a grievous misstep would likely tarnish the Order's reputation, something Marika cared about more than anything. So they killed Shabiri out of spite or to get rid of anyone else who knew and simply left the merchants to rot. The merchants pain and torment, starving and abandoned in the shunning ground, is what summoned the three fingers.

Not Shabiri directly, kinda, but because of the Golden Order's wanton cruelty and disregard for the lives of people outside their order.

UNENDURABLE FRENZY

It is the maddening pain and unstoppable tears of those afflicted with the flame of frenzy brought into being.

The second time the Frenzied Flame makes an appearance is in the DLC in Midra's Manse, which, retroactively, predates the main game's reveal of it's existence.

We aren't told the reason of Midra and his servants massacred but it can be assumed that the Hornsent believed Midra was associating with the Frenzied Flame and took action against him. The thing is, we don't know if Midra was actually guilty of actually doing that. His follower's were just as confused by the Hornsent attack as he was.

Given how the Frenzied Flame came to exist in the main game, it likely none of them were touched by the Frenzied Flame and that someone accused Midra and his Manse of being so. Or it was a misunderstanding caused by fear and ignorance. The Hornsent heard "Frenzied Flame" and just killed everyone.

Either way the result was the same as before, the act of unwarranted cruelty is what nestled the Flame of Frenzy within Midra which I think Nanaya wanted him to resist.

I say this because when he finally decides to unleash it, Midra apologizes to her. There's a theory floating that Nanaya was a three-finger maiden cultivating the Flame within Midra, but if that was the case, them she wouldn't have told Midra to resist it. Hyetta sure as hell didn't tell us to. Unless suppressing makes it stronger, but then why were we able to embody the Frenzy Flame so easily.

What is Frenzy?

The IRL definition of Frenzy is:

"a state or period of uncontrolled excitement or wild behavior."

It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's almost always used negatively. And in Elden Ring, it is. When exposed to the Flame, our tarnished becomes afflicted with "madness".

"the state of having a serious mental illness."

Now, dear reader, think about what the Frenzied Flame ending would/ could be interpreted:

• With the power of ☆mental illness☆ we can destroy the world..?

• Mental illness is how we can do away with suffering..?

• Mental illness is an incredibly destructive force..?

The list goes on lmao.

Granted, I think, think, Fromsoft was trying to say how the mistreatment of people can create self-destructive nihilists who want to destroy everything for an ounce of reprieve from their suffering out of a warped sense good. But holy shit do they fuck that up. Badly.

SHABRIRI'S WOE

It is said that the man, named Shabriri, had his eyes gouged out as punishment for the crime of slander, and, with time, the blight of the flame of frenzy came to dwell in the empty sockets.

Shabiri. Fucking Shabiri??? Fromsoft made the poster child for the Frenzied Flame ending and the embodiment of human suffering an unrepentant, "evil for the lols" jackass, who we learn caused the death of thousands of innocent people for shits and giggles. We don't even learn why Shabiri wants the world wiped clean he just does. Whatever Fromsoft could drum up would probably feel disingenuous because of his established character.

HOWL OF SHABRIRI

It is said that the sickness of the flame of frenzy began with Shabriri, the most reviled man in all history.

It would have been better if he didn't exist at all and they let the spread the Frenzied Flame be solely on the shoulders of the people who caused it. It's existence become cause and effect not, "oh, ignore everything we showed you there's actually some evil dude who's truly responsible, not the hegemony who uses violence as a means of control".

Of course, the Golden Order and Hornsent are in the wrong, but their role in the Frenzied Flames existence isn't derided, at all. Yeah, they tortured people in the most sadistic ways they could, but no, it's the victims who are worse because Shabiri turned them into nihilists?

And don't even get me started on Hyetta's nothing-ass quest line. Who even is she? We meet her character once before she's body-snatched by something(???) and starts eating eyeballs. Fucking pardon Fromsoft?

We, as the players, are shown how the Flame comes into existence, but it feels like the writers at Fromsoft didn't know how to handle such a heavy topic. Or they did before budget cuts.

Kalé's cut quest...

https://youtu.be/0Cljs4UTdT8?si=4tR05bRLqhg6Qf1X

There is a cut quest that would have had us assist Kalé in finding what happened to his people. Rather than being impartial observers in the suffering caused by the Golden Order, we get to witness firsthand how that affects people.

Kalé is likely the first genuinely friendly face we meet. He is kindly and open, offering us advice and resources to help us survive. He even compares his own people's plight to the Tarnisheds'. People abandoned by the grace of gold, trying to survive in whatever way they can. In that brief moment, Kalé's establishes a connection with us/out tarnished that his based on shared pain. He doesn't wallow but simply acknowledges it and seeks kinship in it.

In the cut quest, this kinship leads Kalé' to ask our assistance in helping find the locations of his lost people, something of a life's mission for him. The dialog is delivered in such a way that makes it clear that this means a lot to Kalé and when we do assist, him, Kalé is deeply thankful. Each time we help Kalé he seems more and more hopeful of reuniting with his people and traveling together with them in the Great Caravan.

So when we learn the truth of what happens to the other merchants, the revelation of the Golden Order's transgressions is all the more gut-wrenching. Not only is Kalé's hopes of meeting his kin dashed, but he learns his people and culture has been effectively wiped out.

We see (well, hear) just how deeply this affects Kalé. He is heartbroken. His anger is visceral. He lashes out at us, completely forgetting how the tarnished too had suffered at the hands of the Golden Order. In the end, he pushes us aware, severing the connection he made with our Tarnished. Kalé's hopeless despair pushes him to seek out the three-fingers. He is rejected as a host and possibly dies, begging us to take up the mantle of the Lord of Frenzy flame to burn away the world's suffering.

Narrative Dissonance

To me, this was a very poignant and well written way to show just what the Frenzy Flame and Madness meant to the people afflicted by it. It wasn't just chaos and nihilism made manifest. It was a way people in pain sought to end their and everyone's pain. It was their way of taking control of their suffering and turning it into a weapon against those who wronged them. That is NOT how Elden Ring portrays it, though.

On Elden Ring Frenzy is treated 1) as just a status effect that only effects tarnished, which we are obviously shown isn't exclusive to them. We fight many enemies on Mt. Gelmir afflicted by it due to the horrors of war. Yet somehow effects animals but doesn't affect their behavior besides giving their attacks madness buildup. See the sheep in the Abyssal woods. I get that being an animal is hard, but what suffering has been wrought on a sheep frolicking in the woods?

And 2) as some simplistic goal to bring "chaos," whatever the hell that means within the context of Elden Rings plot, to the world and destroy all the good things in existence. That is Shabiri's goal, but the reason why the Frenzied Flame exists at all is completely ignored and dowplayed. Because Fromsoft dropped the ball on helping us understand what the Frenzy Flame Ending means and failed to 'humanize' it.

With Kalé's quest, we see that it is giving into hopelessness in the face of adversity that causes it to take root and dehumanizing cruely that allows it to spread. It's aimless anger, pointless loss and grief that pushes people over the edge. Not 'evil for the lols'. Of course the dominant hegemony thinks it's a disease. It likely is the cause of it. Suffering and pain exists inherently but the misdeeds of those with power exacerbate it. See the Golden Order's treatment of the Merchants and the Hornsent inquisition of Midra's Manse.

Conclusion

The Frenzied Flame and Lord of the Flame of Frenzy was meant to be a messianic figure who embodied people's suffering and used it to burn away the world to make way for a better one. Possibly. Melina makes it seem like the destruction is permanent, but we can't be sure it would be (because Fromsoft decided not to tell us😒). But the way From wrote it basically invalidated their own narrative.

The concept of using fire to burn away the world and the rot growing within, was a major plot point of one of From's previous DLC's Ashes of Ariandel. And they didn't hesitate with the message they were trying to send:

As much as we want to preserve something for the sake of it, sometimes the best thing we can do is let it go. Wipe the slate clean so that, maybe, something better can be built from it.

Hell, even in Elden Ring we see the same issues popping up in the Lands Between, but instead of being encouraged to break the cycle, we are instead lead to believe it us the bad thing to do. The message has become,

Uphold the status quo at all costs, regardless of how many people are suffering because of it. As well as that suffering is dangerous and everyone who displays it should be 'quarantined'(killed).

Granted, maybe From was trying to show that both extremes were bad, but they didn't. They wrote it in a way that legitimized the suffering of those inflicted by the Flame of Frenzy. That their perspective shouldn't be considered because of what they have indured because it's "spooky scary".

Like, what was thinking Fromsoft?

[hulijingemperor2]

Jingyi: *entering* Rusong!

A-Qing: this guy!

Jingyi: oh no.

Yao; Yi'er. *smile*

Jingyi: hey Diedie. I just want to borrow Rusong for a bit.

Bro! Gumiho dancers or Kitsunes?

Rusong: both!

And I have invited Ling gege and the homies!

Jingyi: love that! Got ya, Dianxia.

Yao: all for the party?

Rusong: yep. We invited some friends and the hulijings, Kitsunes and Gumihos as well.

Yao: the whole empire, Song'er? *laughing*

Rusong: *joking* as I must!

Yao: have fun you two.

A-Qing: what's a gumiho?

Rusong: a Korean fox spirit. A-Die is the Gumiho emperor of the North as well

A-Qing: do you guys know Korean then?!!

Rusong; A-Die do, but my Korean is a little rusty.

We know Japanese though.

A-Qing: what a multilingual Huangdi.

Su she: yes, he's very very talented.

Xue yang: Jiggy, do you know the language of love?

Yao: *gives him a piece of candy*

Xue yang: *grinning*

Qin Su: Songsong, here's some money for the party. *hands them a few sacks of taels* you deserve the best.

Yao: and here's extra!

Rusong: thank you, A-niang, A-Die!

Jingyi: you're awesome! Thanks!

Yao: no prob, darlings.

A-Qing: Jiggy, how did you adopt the enemy?

Yao: excuse me?

A-Qing: xue yang told me all about him! He doesn't like team dimple.

Yao: My dear Jingyi only glorifies Hanguang Jun.

But other than that he's a nice kid.

Jingyi: right! Tell her Diedie.

A-Qing: diedie my foot!

Do you guys even like Hanguang Jun?

Su she: I fell to stab him and his Lan brother every time.

He also insulted my Huangdi on many occasions.

Jingyi: when did he do that?!!

Su she: it's uncountable.

And not only insulted but attacked him too!

This pompous Lan zhan can't even look my Huangdi's way.

Jingyi: that's a lie!

Qin Su: you shouldn't go against your A-Die, Jingyi! Don't forget your filial piety and your respect towards Huangdi.

Jingyi: shit. I forgot.

Sorry Diedie.

Yao: it's fine.

Xue yang: dude is a major obstacle for me. Him and his fruity self.

Mo xuanyu: he said that it's illegal to look like wei wuxian.

*sobs*

What if I have the same colored hair and share the love for demonic cultivation as him.

Should I be brunette or go blonde?

A-Qing: see. See what Lan zhan did to them.

Jingyi: that doesn't have anything to do with me!!

Yao: A-qing, relax. We're one happy family. And look. Him and Rusong make adorable siblings.

Yes, we don't really fancy Hanguang Jun so much but we do respect him. Well I do.

I'll protect my team dimple, Song'er, A-niang and my empire from him and other cultivators if I must.

A-Qing: that's really strong emps!

Yao: yes.

I would also make it clear that I don't like how he treated Minshan.

And eavesdropped on my Yunping-Dongying project.

Jingyi: that's bad, Diedie. I just realised.

Yao: mn. But Wei Gongzi is my favorite brother-in-law. Don't tell Jiang cheng tho.

Xue yang: they like coming up with ways to tie up their Lan.

A-Qing: oh my goodness.

Yao: well. If you want to put it that way.

Jingyi: let's go Rusong. We got to plan some stuff.

Rusong: right behind you.

A-qing. I'll order an outfit and a few jewelry for you.

A-qing: *blushing*

You don't have to. Rusong.

Rusong: I must give my girlfriend gifts, right.

And especially for an event like this.

A-qing: awww.

Rusong: see you soon. *kisses her on her forehead*

Qin Su: that's our son.

Yao: I know right.

He well skilled.

Qin Su: and those dimples! Huangdi, you have blessed him with your beauty mark.

A-qing: *speechless and weak in the knees*

Mo xuanyu: congratulations.

Su she: you're officially a simp.

Xue yang: this girl was always a simp.

Xue yang: come with us. *grabs her wrist*

A-qing: where xue yang! I don't want to go anywhere with you.

Mo xuanyu: A-qing, trust us. We're going to teach you how to be a proper simp.

Yao gege and Song'er are a superior level of beauty.

Su she: not any one can handle their hotness.

Yao: oh dear.

Team dimple.

Xue yang: Jiggy, you come too!

~~

Later on...

Xue yang: welcome to the simp club, Yuyu.

Mo xuanyu: thank you yangyang.

Xue yang: welcome to the simp club Shanshan.

Su she: thank you, lol.

Xue yang: Jiggy, you just sit on that mobile throne. Cuz you're hot and our special guest.

Mo xuanyu: how are we going to function with our love in our midst.

Su she: we'll get through it.

Xue yang: welcome, A-qing.

A-qing: why the f# you brought me here! In this fierce corpse training ground!

Xue yang: former fierce corpse training ground. Now it's just a woodshed.

The only fancy thing here is Jiggy's throne, lol.

Mo xuanyu: we carry it in certain places. Like if Yao gege wants to watch fierce corpse training or regular training, or swordfighting.

Su she: some kind of prisoner execution.

Xue yang: you know. Those kinds of stuff.

The fox spirits would just wheel it there. Beforehand of course.

A-qing: you pamper emps a lot.

Su she: mhm.

Xue yang: anyways. Welcome to the simp club.

A-qing: I don't want to be a part of your fking simp club!!

Do I look like a simp!

Xue yang: stop being ungrateful!

Mo xuanyu: we're going to teach you how to get A-Song. And show the fox spirit attendees who's Song'er's girlfriend!

Xue yang: do you like him? You two are going to party?

A-qing: non of your business!

Xue yang: I'll make it my business.

Su she: A-qing, I think you should be yourself in front of Song'er. And don't end up like Lan lips.

Mo xuanyu: Song'er and Yao gege are a different level of hot. And they have a secret weapon.

You only can be born with it to wield it.

Su she: it gives the simps nosebleeds in 20 different ways.

A-qing: are you talking about their dimples?!!

Xue yang: smart girl.

Xue yang: Jiggy and Jiggy 2.0 are gorgeous. They don't need a simp class.

All Jiggy has to do is sit, show his dimple and open his fan, for the entire Jianghu to go feral.

If he says kneel, the entire Jianghu will be on their knees.

Yao: well. *opens fan* that's what happens.

I can't help it.

Su she: Huangdi slays! And mini boss Dianxia is following his footsteps.

Mo xuanyu: you got a very powerful guy on your hands.

The second most powerful person in the Jianghu.

Aqing: waw! Well not gonna lie, Rusong is kinda hot.

Xue yang: well don't be shy! Kiss his dimples. They love dimple kisses.

Mo xuanyu: and maybe give him some fried tofu. It pleases hulijings. But it must be gourmet.

A-qing: why?!!

Mo xuanyu: because it's an imperial hulijing you're dealing with. He wants the best.

And one thing, you have to learn some conduct too. Cuz you'll be present in various banquets with him.

A-Qing: I see.

Mo xuanyu: when you see the two Huangdis, you should bow politely and say greetings Huangdi.

A-qing: and what about the one where you can't burp.

Mo xuanyu: lol you can but not loudly.

Xue yang: and take every opportunity to kiss Rusong's dimple.

Su she: try not to curse or make a fuss ok.

My beautiful Huangdi doesn't do those two and see how elegant he is.

A-qing: but that's fking hard. Why can't I fking curse?

Shanshan, tell me about Jiggy and Jiggy 2.0 some more.

Xue yang: Yao-ology will start soon.

Mo xuanyu: Yao gege. Yao Huangdi. *bow*

Yao: *walked to the center of the room*

Xue yang: this is Jiggy.

Mxy and Su she: *blushing* heyyyyy Jigggyyyy...

Xue yang: and you want to woo his super model son.

How dare you!

Mo xuanyu: you got to let him choose you, A-qing.

We could only be hopeless romantics for our immortal looking crush.

A-qing: Jiggy they're turning me into a simp! Can you help.

Yao: if I help you, they might come back to teach you. Better you just listen to what they have to say. *laughing*

A-Yang, what do you need me for?

Su she: this is too mere of a class for Huangdi.

Mo xuanyu: awwww.

That's when you're born flawless.

Xue yang: borrowing you for scientific reasons, Jiggy.

A-Qing: what scientific reason, xue yang! You only want to eat his dimple!

Jiggy, run.

Mo xuanyu: A-qing, this gorgeous guy is Yao gege.

Su she: he's very flawless. And loves being pampered.

Xue yang: and he LOVES being kissed on his dimple.

Mo xuanyu: sometimes I wonder if his dimple is the real emperor.

Xue yang: everyone in the harem respects the dimple.

Su she: everyone fights to kiss his dimples first.

Yao: *awkwardly smiling*

A-qing: omg! What kind of dimple cult is this.

Mo xuanyu: A-qing, that's our belief.

Xue yang: Jiggy is a sweetheart towards the ones he loves.

Su she: and I believe that Song'er is the same.

A-qing: so now how do I seduce Huangdi's supermodel son?

Mo xuanyu: by being cute!

Xue yang: KISS THE DIMPLE!

Su she: kill for him.

Yao: A-qing. Song'er just loves cheerful down to earth people.

You do you.

Trio: professor Jiggy has spoken!!!

A-qing: ok emps! Thanks for the advice!!

Xue yang: would you thank me??

A-qing: no.

Xue yang: A-Qing, I brought you into this world and I can yeet you out!

Mo xuanyu: next lesson! Just don't fight in the woodshed.

You should express your crush through arts.

Like for example, yangyang and I would draw Yao gege.

Xue yang: some are NSFW by the way.

Mo xuanyu: and Shanshan writes. He writes fanfics, or just writes about Yao gege in his journal.

You should do the same with Song'er.

A-qing: that's a good idea.

But I can't read or write.

Maybe i can learn how to sew or draw.

Su she: you do you. It's your expression.

Yao: he's right. However, I'm sorry to hear that you're illiterate. I'll provide the best tutors for you.

I have started a project to teach the illiterate within the empire, but since you're a part of my family, you'll have private tutors.

A-qing: private tutors!!! How fancy, lol.

can they teach me Japanese. Rusong knows Japanese and I want to flirt with him in that language.

Mo xuanyu: omg that's so cute.

Yao: they can teach you anything. They can teach you Korean too.

Mo xuanyu: yea those are compulsory languages for the Meng Fam.

Yao: so that we can interact with others.

A-qing: would Rusong have a problem?

Yao: not at all. He's the sweetest most understanding person. If Song'er was the first one to find out, he would ask me to provide tuition.

A-qing: awww.

Gosh I got an ideal guy. I think I'm living a dream.

Xue yang: should i check by pinching you?

*grinning*

A-qing: *runs off*

Xue yang: weird child.

Xue yang: professor Jiggy, do you have simping tips for us?

Mo xuanyu: *blushing*

Yao: *sits and crosses his legs*

Love me. *opens fan*

Trio: *gasps*

Yao: adore me!

Trio: YAS JIGGYY!!

Yao: pamper me!

Trio: *on their knees* OF COURSE BOSS!! JIGGYYYY!!!!

We'll also do anything for you! And do what you say!

Yao: *stood up* and.

Trio: And! Jiggy?????

Yao: continue worshipping the ground I walk on. *smug look*

Trio: Wooooooo!!!!!! We'll forever do that!!!!

Yao: nice *closes fan*

Let's go team d.

Trio: *stood up*

Mo xuanyu: *wiping his nosebleed*

Su she: *blushing*

Xue yang: I almost got a heart attack.

Yao: *looks over his shoulder* are you guys satisfied with the tips?

Su she: of course!

Mo xuanyu: the best.

Yao: delightful.

~~~~

Later that day, Rusong introduces Ouyang Zizhen to Meng Shi and Qin Su.

He's already familiar with A-Yao.

Rusong: Nainai, A-niang. You remember Ouyang Zizhen, right?

Qin Su: ah yes.

Ouyang Zizhen: *bow* I, clan leader ouyang, greet the hulijing huanghou.

*kisses Qin Su's hand*

And I greet the hulijing taihou.

*does the same with Meng Shi*

Qin Su: nice to meet you, Ouyang Zongzhu.

Meng Shi: how are you.

Ouyang Zizhen: I'm good. Thanks for asking.

Rusong: he wants to be my future concubine, so I let him.

Qin Su: oh, well.

Ouyang Zongzhu, do you know anything about being a concubine?

Ouyang Zizhen: yea Huanghou. My hulijing girlfriends told me all about it.

Qin su: excuse me?

Hulijing girlfriends?

A concubine shouldn't have concubines.

Ouyang Zizhen: yes Huanghou, but they want to be housewives and Furens.

As well as give me children.

Qin Su: well that can work.

Yet you must give all your attention to Song'er while not hurting your exs.

Ouyang Zizhen: of course I will.

We thought of a  plan.

Meng Shi: Zizhen, do you know your duties?

Rusong is a hulijing.

Ouyang Zizhen: yes taihou. All my energy is his.

I'm spellbound by him.

Meng Shi: lovely. Now tell me your hobbies and talents. Have you met Yao Huangdi?

Ouyang Zizhen: yes yes, he knows me well. He's an amazing Huangdi.

I'm good at music and poetry.

Meng Shi: ah, that's perfect for a concubine.

Qin Su: I agree. And My Rusong's preferences are superior.

Ouyang Zizhen: I won't disrespect him. Long live the Mengs.

Meng Shi: you're a true gentleman.

I like you.

Ouyang Zizhen: thank you taihou.

Meng shi: I'm so happy that Song'er is following in A-Yao's footsteps.

He'll have a powerful harem of sect leaders.

The Jianghu will obey him.

Qin Su: definitely. Our Song'er is powerful just like Huangdi.

[dragonchamp-moonandstar]

Meet Áine , my (oc) Breton Champion of Cyrodiil! 🗡️📜✨

I'm currently playing Oblivion with her and I decided to post here about my rambling fanfictions (and next, time , about my Skyrim and Morrowind characters too!)

~ Áine, Hero of Kvatch

Race: Breton 🏰

Birthsign: born under the Shadow 🌑

Family/origin: She was born in a lesser noble family from Daggerfall. She is a descendant of Medora Direnni ✨from her mother's side

Class: Battlemage ⚔️🪄

Age: 22.

Physical traits:

She has a very pale complexion, and is a short, petite woman (5'1 ft / 1,54 m), with reddish lips. She has green eyes and ashen-brown hair, to her shoulders, styled in windbraids.

She prefers to be clad in her Arena armor (s), her Kvatch armor has a souvenir, and also the Dark Brotherhood's suit when on stealth missions. When not in battle, she enjoys to be clad in her purple finery obtained in the Shivering Isles.

Current Weapon: Fine Amber Sword from the Shivering Isles 🗡️ 🍯

Deities/spirituality:

Aedra:

- Áine's father, a full-fledged Mystic, worshipped Julianos, god of wisdom, so she has a bit of devotion to him as an extent.

- Áine's mother, an alchemist with some knowledge of Restoration magic, worshipped Mara, goddess of marriage & motherhood. Áine has some devotion for her, and knows about her rites.

- Because of romantic misadventures, Áine has a complicated relationahip with goddess Dibella. She prays to her after meeting someone she likes but secretly she's praying to be pretty enough for that person. She feels like Dibella has not smiled upon her yet.

Daedra:

-Nocturnal: Born under the Shadow and since having joined the Thieves' Guild, Áine respects and worships Nocturnal. She's got her Skeleton Key currently.

- Sheogorath: Áine is an aspirant to his Court of Madness and is resistant to the weirdness of the Shivering Isles. However, while she has not a bad relationship with Sheogorath, she fears that he will discover she lost his Wabbajack at the Cloud Rest Temple [[🤣 perhaps the Blades threw it away (? ]]. She fears his (probably crazy) reaction.

Strengths:

- Born under the Shadow, she has special afinity with invisibility spells and is a resourceful thief with increasing sneak skills.

- She excels using most types of swords, short and long. She is practicing her blunt skills with the Volendrung currently. Does not fear to use a short dagger.

- Has an extensive knowledge of Conjuration and Destruction spells. Is currently raising her Alteration skills.

- She's skilled at Restoration (or to be more specific) healing spells.

- Uses both heavy and light armor.

- She economizes the use of scrolls and potions in case of need (in Battle)

- Enjoys horseback riding, even on difficult terrains is very skilled on it.

- Collects and makes good use of Daedric, Ayleid and Dwemer artifacts. Or magical items in general.

Weaknesses:

- She's better fighting 1v1 or ambushing, than fighting against more than three enemies.

- She does not work a lot on her Personality. As such, she has difficulties raising people's opinion of her, since she is kind of clumsy and awkward trying to socialize with most people.

- She doesn't know how to use Illusion spells correctly. She finds them confusing or stupid sometimes.

- Enjoys Mysticism but she hasn't done a lot of Soul Trap spells. She forgets about it on battle itself, and rarely remembers.

- She's totally horrible with bow and arrow. Won't even try to get better, she simply van burst a fireball or throw Finger of the Mountain at some enemies !

- Forgets to use or activate Nighteye vision to avoid traps.

- Not a Journeyman in armoring, she still cannot repair magical items and depends on other blacksmiths.

- Strangely, even as a Breton she has difficulties using a magic staff, so she prefers to don't use them if not needed or forced to.

- She has been mistaken as a Vampire for her pale complexion.

Loves :

- Alchemy, doing potions in general, and cultivating the garden on Frostcrag Spire. She enjoys that since a child in Daggerfall.

-Buying new spells.

-Sword-fighting and Sword duels. -

Finding nirnroots and collecting them.- Amber weapons and armor.

- Welkynd stones.

- Exploring dungeons with lots of gold and magic items.

-Finding skill books or magic tomes.

- Arena duels.

- Walking around the Imperial City.

- She loves Cheydinhal's unique architecture.

- Assasination quests.

- Sneaking in castles and not being detected.

- Unicorns (her heart was broken because she had to kill one, but she kept one of his horseshoes as a souvenir).

- As a race, her favorites are Khajits. She wants to be a Khajit on her next reincarnation, if there's such thing...

-She becomes quickly smitten by a young, good-looking tall man. That has happened with a Nord: Jayred Ice-Veins, and two imperials: Martin Septim and Fadus Calidius .

- She also has a thing for Dunmers like Othrelos and Ulen Athram.

Hates:

- Ogres.

- Zombies.

-Grummites

- Ghosts

- Frost atronachs.

-Daedroths.

- Being the leader of the Fighters Guild. She just leaves almost everything to Modryn Oreyn.

-Hates to talk to counts, countesses or any noble, because of a undisclosed past event in her natal Daggerfall.

-City or legion guards getting on her way during a mission.

- Rude people.

- Fighting with Vampires.

- Running out of potions.

- Paralysis spells.

- Paying taxes or fines (she prefers to pay in her blood).

- Searching something or somebody at Bravil, it's confusing for her.

- Skooma-smelling people. Or the smell of skooma in general.

- Snobbish High Elves. Unpolite Dunmers. Violent and Illusion-magic oriented Bretons. Rude and foul-mouthed Nords. Treacherous Argonians. CRAZED BOSMER LIKE GLARTHIR.

-She really really hates sewers. Or being imprisoned.

-Getting hemophilia, because does not want to become a Vampire. Because of this she used to carry a lot of "Cure Disease" potions, and now she can can the verbal spell too.

If you made it reading up to here, I hope you enjoyed ! Please let me know if you liked it, I will upload content soon 🐝

~Dragonchamp-Moon-and-Star

[it-hits-the-fan-mlp-au]

Fluttershys relationships currently

Twilight: She sees the signs of Twilights self self-deprecation. She sees the signs of her self-destruction. But has no outward proof. She understands the feeling and wishes she could help.

Rarity: Rarity is having trouble. Fluttershy knows it's from the fire. Fluttershy wishes that she had done something to help. Nevermind the fact that she could not have known the fire would occur. She wishes Rarity would say something. She can see how Rarity feels about Applejack.

Rainbow Dash: Her marefriend. Unfortunately. Fluttershy loves Rainbow, but not the way Rainbow needs her to. She never has. She knows Rainbow has feelings for Twilight. She is waiting for Rainbow to say something. Should she say something first? She doesn't know what to do, but she needs to figure it out soon.

Fluttershy: She is an idiot. She is weak. She is barely good for anything. All her usefulness dried up when she had to leave her home. Every time she sees an animal her face hurts.

Applejack: It's good that Applejack is there for Rarity. She wishes Applejack would say something though. She can see how Applejack feels about Rarity.

Pinkie pie: She has stopped smiling for Pinkie. She just can't do it anymore. She hopes one day she will feel better and be able to do it again.

Spike: If Twilight was doing better, she would be mad at her for treating Spike this way. As things are now, she just feels bad for both of them. When they are making camp, and she can come up with something, she will ask Spike for little favors. Like helping her organize berries. Just to help combat his feelings of uselessness.

Sweetie belle: She knows Sweetie belle is going to struggle. She see's her struggling now. She can't help.

Applebloom: She watches Applebloom closely when they set up camp and Applebloom is free to roam the camp instead of being under Pinkie and Cheeses watch. She worries Applebloom might wander off. Like she used to before..this.

Scootaloo: This filly will not be able to fly. Why is no one saying anything to her? Rainbow Dash at the very least must know. Why has Rainbow said nothing? Why is Rainbow continuing to try and cultivate hope that has no backbone? If Rainbow does not say something soon, Fluttershy just might.

Big Mac: He is going to get hurt one day. She is not looking forward to seeing that.

Rockhoof: She is surprised he is still here. He should probably be going off to find his friends.

Cheese sandwich: Its nice that he is here to help Pinkie, both with keeping up morale and with watching the foals. She recognizes his feelings for Pinkie, and wishes he would say something to her.

Discord: His inability to use his powers scares her. The fact that he walks next to her instead of floating or flying along scares her. She hopes he does not start to go grey again. She knows of his feelings for her. She is attracted to him and can see herself returning his feelings one day. But now is not the time. She still has an obligation to Rainbow Dash. Maybe one day.

[letterstomydaughter]

Dear Daughters,

Yesterday your mother came home in a strained mood; you may not have noticed, because it is her usual routine to come home and go straight to the room and lie on the bed, and I usually will entertain the both of you. But she did, and when I asked if she wanted to tell me about her bad day at work, she made the comment:

"I don't see why people like to tell others their problems; it's not as if it solves anything."

I want to break down the untruths in this statement and teach you a few things about strength, humility, vulnerability, and ability.

The first untruth is that telling people does help - people bring their experiences to the table, their skills, their perspectives, most of which can and will be different from yours in some way, even if you are both similar. Just comparing you and your sister - the both of you, despite having the same environment, the same parents, the same treatment (roughly), already have such different perspectives to the same situations when you are both in them, to the point that sometimes your points of view are even opposites.

The second untruth is that she does look to others when she has problems; more specifically, she only looks to one person. But looking only to one person (worse still if the person is toxic, insecure, etc.) is very dangerous - you only get one extra perspective, from one set of tools (no matter how many skills that person may have), and that is all. More perspectives never hurt, more tools and skills make for an easier solution, and certainly people who do not lord their help over you as something you need to repay (particularly in terms of giving in to their ego and other demands) would be ideal.

So, get more than one opinion. Get more than a second opinion. Go to all whom you can trust, and while there shouldn't be too many of those, there should at least be a few from different backgrounds, and who aren't afraid to disagree with you and won't play on YOUR insecurities.

Now lets go a little deeper.

A statement like that is typically made by people who want to appear in control and strong (and even more when made in falsehood). But it couldn't be further from the truth. True strength, like true power, doesn't need to be wielded to exist; neither desires to be seen. Staying silent about problems not only creates a gap between those who want to be close to you and be a part of your life, but also perpetuates a vicious cycle of being alone and unsupported; you cannot hope to receive support if you do not speak about what you need support about, and this is a habit your mother has cultivated over the years under various influences.

There is place for vulnerability, openness, humility - not just that you might receive help, but if anything, sharing your problems with someone allows you to know that you are not alone (especially if the person is a good listener and doesn't jump in to try and solve problems for you - a good question you might want to use when you come into the position of being told another's problems is "so do you need a listener or a solver right now?" because some people, like me, just need to vent to get it out, and then deal with it themselves...but you can also be both, at different times).

True strength allows vulnerability - true strength says "here, I'm having a tough time, and this is my weak point, and I'm letting you know...not necessarily because I trust you, but because I know I can handle it even if you decide to sabotage me". True strength bares its neck at the enemy, daring them to come for it, because it knows it can defend itself.

THAT is strength. Not hiding things and keeping secrets to yourself and only one other person who keeps giving in to you. (That's being pampered.)

Strength, like courage, are paradoxes - they require their exact opposite of what they hope to achieve in order to be truly present. (In case you're wondering, the paradox of courage is that it is a such an intense desire to live, to the point where you are willing to die. The exact quote is "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.", Gilbert Keith Chesterton.)

Be strong, my daughters. No one ever said princesses couldn't be warriors too. Be strong, and the rest of life will sort itself out.

And when you are tired of being strong, come home, and be soft for a while. You will always have a safe and true space with me.

Love,

Dad

[llycaons]

ep20 (1/3): genuinely quite horrifying

generally I like the chewing of the scenery because it's usually really well done (jgy never had a bad dramatic scene), but this overacting seems clumsy to me. the actor is doing 'drunk' but really overdoing it imo. his only bad scene

oohhHHHHHHHHHH

this is so fucking tragic you KNOW she's a victim of the wens and she was so young and her fear and sorrow are all she has left of herself until wwx lays her back to rest

oh fuck I forgot about this. for all her crimes this may have been a step more than she deserved

fuck he looks SO cool. I have seen a lot of complaints about the cql necromancy not being the same as literally pulling corpses out of the ground like in the book, and while I understand the annoyance I think the smokeshow aesthetic rules and the ghosts are really cool looking

I feel like my grasp of jc and lwj is a bit weak since I've not rewatched in a while so it's nice to get some characterization in this episode. jc is not stupid or ignorant by any means, but lwj immediately realizes what's going on and explains it to him because he doesn't understand. lwj is more book-learned but he's also quicker to pick up on practical things, which makes sense given his reputation later for being a phenomenal cultivator in the field. on the spectrum of political figure to practical cultivator, jc is leaning further towards politics

jc is also a pragmatist and somewhat black-and-white in his approach, which makes sense for him given the situation but is a bit simplistic. lwj is...I would call this look uneasy. he's apprehensive, upset, and/or angry this entire episode. this is not a good time for him

jc rescues wq and her immediate thought is wwx I cannot make this shit up. do chengqing shippers really think she would ever love jc more than she loves wwx OR that he'd be happy with someone who's closer to his brother anyway

I do think it's weird that she doesn't ask after wen ning, but I assume she thinks jc is more likely to know where wwx is

this is it. this is the entirety of why their relationship wouldn't work, and why they're fundamentally incompatible people.

jc claims he can only save her. she refuses. she is not willing to abandon her brother or her people to save herself. and jc will only protect her if she separates herself from her clan. she doesn't even look at him. she thanks him and their debt is even. and she's going to leave to find her family. all the chengqing meta in the world could not explain away this simple truth about them as people.

so that was a fucking lie

okay, in fairness she did return that comb without asking for anything, but like. she was a refugee in a starving commune, he could have done SOMETHING

here it is again, lwj with unshakeable principles, not losing sight of this potential threat even though it's helping them. and jc, seeing only an ally who's helping them to destroy the murderers of his entire family. I don't actually think jc is in the wrong to think this, but the irony of when their positions reverse is always interesting. lwj adjusts his perceptions of right and wrong because he realizes that they can't account for all nuances in the world, and jc digs in deeper out of grief and anger

another neat characterization moment. jc all emotion, about to rush in and attack. lwj careful, thoughtful, observant. let's check out the situation and act based on that. tendencies they both exhibit decades later, and teach to their children

oh boy he doesn't look good. eating out of wzl's hand though. lol. lmao

I did find this scene and this revenge rather disturbing (and I think it's meant to be) but I'm certainly not going to criticize wwx for it after he lost his entire home, was hounded and torotured, was dropped into a soul-destroying abyss and crawled out for revenge. I'm a little sick of the 'revenge is wrong uwu violence makes us just as bad as them' when they were all victims of horrific violence and this is a war, and this man is personally responsible for much of their suffering. and it's not like this happens again. after this run of vicious revenge, wwx is remarkably forgiving and gracious. so you know what I think a little torture is warranted. it's not fine but it's not the end of the world

making him eat his own dick in the novel was really fucked up tho

this is very funny to me I wonder if anyone ships them

jc's face has the standard confusion/fear/upset during this scene but lwj has such a look of 'wtf' I love it

HIS SHADOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHENQING!!!!!!!!!!!!

taken aback? concerned? confused?

xz's acting in this scene leaves me breathless. literally one of my favorite parts of the entire show. the dialogue, the mini expressions, the tension between characters, the body language. whew

[lotusofyunmeng]

Yanli really hopes that she won't need the needles, that the wound isn't deep enough to require them. But she is capable of using them to stitch him up if need be. She may have a weak core that makes cultivating much at all difficult, but she had refused to sit idly by throughout all of the war and had asked to learn to at least help with medical things.

She nods and sighs softly at his words. "I can't argue with you there. If someone's never given the chance to attempt something then they can't very well know or show that they can do it," she agrees. "I'll try and talk to him, alright?" she offers. She's glad that he's willing to let her help. Brushing off a small cut was one thing, but if A-Chéng had felt the need to interfere, she doubted that it was just a very small injury.

She waits patiently, not wanting him to jostle and irritate his wound even more because she seems like she's rushing him. When she does see how bad it is, her stomach churns. For a moment she's lost in thought, thinking back to the times that A-Chéng and A-Xian had returned home badly injured. Mostly during Sunshot. And the siege. She had meant to keep her expression composed, but between her thoughts and seeing him hurt, that doesn't work. She frowns and her brows crease in worry.

She tries to give a light smile at his words, but she doubts it's very convincing. "Even if that's true....please be more careful, A-Líng," she states. She grabs a rag from the washing basin. "This may hurt and I'm sorry if it does," she states as she starts to clean it as carefully as possible.

He has no choice but to follow his mother down, settling beside her as she rummages through her belongings. He eyes the familiar items, a small sachet of strong smelling herbs, bandages, even needles if the wound truly was desperate. His mother was no physician, but she certainly had experience patching Jin Ling up, time and time again, though usually it was no more than a scuffed knee or a small cut.

❝ He'll never get to see me in action if he doesn't let me do anything ! ❞ He grumbles, mostly to himself. What he wants more than anything right now is to cross his arms over his chest, to stomp his foot to go along with the scowl tugging on his lips, throw a proper tantrum that was absolutely unbecoming of a boy his age. His shoulder aches too much to move like that though, the fight in him seeping away as he shakes his head. No, he's not too old for his mother's help. ❝ I can't reach it properly.❞ He very well could, but it'd be easier, less painful if he allowed this to happen.

He moves stiffly, setting his bow down to rest with greater care than he had given himself. It's with a pained groan that he pulls the quiver off of his back, letting it join his weapon on the floor.

Shit. Maybe the Yao really had got him good. It didn't matter, it was dead now. Jiang Cheng made sure of that.

He shrugs off the first few layers of his hunting garb, letting the torn sleeve slide down his arm, revealing three jagged gashes trailing from his shoulder blade to the top of his collarbone. The bleeding had stopped on the sword flight back home, Jin Ling hadn't even felt it thanks to the adrenaline pumping through his system, until he and his uncle had disembarked. Now, the ache was much stronger, something he couldn't necessarily ignore. He knows enough about first aid to know that the fact that the bleeding had stopped is a good sign. Or at least he hopes. If he's lucky, it won't scar, but it wouldn't be the most humiliating scar to have as a cultivator and it certainly wouldn't be his only one.

Or at least it shouldn't be. If he ever gets to go out on another nighthunt again. He's dreading whatever report his uncle was going to give to his mother when he was out of earshot and couldn't defend himself.

Now isn't the time to worry about that though, instead he pulls his gaze up to examine his mother's face. ❝ It looks worse than it feels ... ❞

[stardustedknuckles]

Fascinated by Beau's immediate reaction to Yasha's assertion that she ran from Zuala's execution because she is a coward. She's been watching quietly the whole time yasha speaks. Non reactive. Just witnessing. But always thinking, because she's Beau. And keeping most of it inside because she's Beau and she doesn't give anything away she doesn't have to.

So for her to not only speak up but to actively refute Yasha's view of herself - she doesn't do that. It would give too much away. Caleb is the only person at this point in the campaign that Beau would interject to correct on anything, and that relationship is highly specific and meticulously cultivated.

But this. Beau heard this and... Beau was rejected by her family. Literally sold. They wanted her gone. And with the history we know now, it is so. So very easy to understand that Beauregard Lionett must have thought about running away so many times. But she didn't. She stayed and tried to make it work on her terms until she was viciously and irrevocably removed. She should've done it. She should've just fucking run. All of that was for nothing.

So here's yasha, softly self deprecating for doing the very thing Beau wishes she would've. That she would have done if she knew just a little bit more what was good for her.

And there's a kinship too, in learning about the family that dictated Yasha's life, and all of that rolls out almost before Beau thinks to stop herself. "No. You're a survivor."

What must it have felt like, for someone as willful and strong as Beau to listen to someone describe doing what she never felt strong enough to do as a bad thing? To sound almost regretful she didn't stay to be killed too? Giving Beau away was the best thing her father ever did for her because she saw herself as too weak to leave. The choice was taken from her. Yasha made that choice.

Beau was processing a whole lot in that conversation, almost none of which anyone knew at that point but her. Yasha's been her soft spot from the word go - the one Beau asks how she's doing (no but really though, are you okay?) the one she excludes from her barbed jibes and says explicitly she'd do nice things for. And she's the one Beau looks at in that moment, reeling from words like "married" and "execution" and pulls the plug at "coward." Because there's a lot of this she doesn't understand and a lot more she wants to keep close to her chest, but this is worth the possibility of revealing too much. Yasha has to know she's wrong. She has to be wrong, because Beau has spent too long wishing she'd done something different not to tell someone she sees and respects them for doing it.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Time Travel AU in which it is Madam Yu that, instead of dying, returns to the past, on the day that Jiang Fengmian was supposed to bring Wei Wuxian to Lotus Pier - and she decides to "fix" everything.

It would be easiest to kill him off, but her kids took to him very easily, very soon and her husband is always looking after him, so Yu Ziyuan knows she has to go about this in a different way so she doesn't compromise herself (after all, even with her reputation, it would be highly questionable to just kill some random street child and be openly hateful of him within a few days of knowing him).

But one day, as she's reading, she overhears an interesting conversation between two of her servants: a woman they knew has forced her otherwise able-bodied child to crawl around the market and pretend he couldn't walk so that people would give him money out of pity.

Yu Ziyuan begins concocting a plan.

She brings some well-reputed doctor (but not the family's doctor, so very loyal to Jiang Fengmian) consult little Wei Ying to see if there are any ailments he's carrying from his life on the streets - and it is with a sober expression that the doctor delivers grave diagnosis after grave diagnosis: he is unable to develop a golden core or cultivate in any way because his body is so weak and has many birth defects, even if they're not visible; he cannot fight off illness nearly at all and needs to be immediately prescribed supporting medicine; his muscles are underdeveloped and movement must be very painful for him, no matter if he says it is not, he is just used to it; he needs to be as far away from others as possible, or he could become sick and die within days.

Yu Ziyuan maintains her composure, though her husband is visibly affected, nearly on the verge of tears. The boy seems so healthy and full of life, how cruel of fate to have bestowed so much illness on him!

Following doctor's orders, Wei Ying is moved into an isolated wing of the Jiang residence and only has two maids, handpicked by Yu Ziyuan, bring him meals and medicine several times a day. He is only allowed to stay in his room and once every three days, he gets to go outside for half an hour.

At Jiang Fengmian's insistences, a teacher is brought to him to teach him how to read and write, but all that is done through a special screen the doctor has built so that Wei Ying does not come into contact with his teacher and get sick. The teacher cannot see him at all beyond a vague silhouette, but Wei Ying sounds fine and is actually very smart.

Yu Ziyuan replaces the teacher soon after he tells that to Jiang Fengmian. The lessons were over anyway.

As time passes and Wei Ying keeps taking his medicine, carefully adjusted to his (very slow) growing up, he starts subtly feeling worse. A bad day every few months becomes a bad day every month, then every two weeks, then every day.

He begins having difficulty walking and all he seems to be able to do is eat and sleep. He can barely even read anymore and can't hold a brush to write anything either.

The doctor prescribes him even more medicine and food recipes and bathing oils - and Wei Ying usually doesn't bother to listen to the long list of ingredients, but he's already nearly 16 years old and it's quite obvious this doctor has no idea how to make him feel better.

So, at his next consultation, Wei Ying decides to pay attention to the doctor's orders. His memory is perfect (he's trained it so he could remember what outside is like and to retell himself the stories he read in books so as not to be bored) and with great difficulty, he writes down all the medicine ingredients the doctor has prescribed.

Then he asks Uncle Jiang to bring him some books about plants. The man doesn't question it, after all Wei Ying is stuck in his room all day and he doesn't get to see nature much, so it's normal to be curious.

Wei Ying stops taking his medicine after that. He throws it out his window several days in a row and his symptoms gradually disappear.

He can move and write and focus.

"I am not sick." He tells the doctor at his next appointment. "There's nothing wrong with me."

"I have been treating you for years, Wei Ying. Your illnesses are very much real."

"No! I don't feel ill anymore! I can walk and I can-"

"You can only walk here. If you were to go outside and do everything a healthy person does, you would collapse. You cannot exist anywhere but here."

"Yes, I can!" He almost shouts, desperate. "And it's your fault that they're keeping me here! I stopped taking those disgusting soups you gave me and I'm feeling better than ever! You're the one who's sick!"

"You have not. Medicine is put into your food every day. Even if you do not drink it, you are still being fed it. You are being delusional, which is another symptom of your many conditions."

He's shouting now, "No! No! That's not true, stop trying to make me feel like I'm crazy, this is all your fault! I should be out there with everyone, I should-"

Screams erupt outside. "The Wen! They're here, they're attacking!"

The doctor's eyes go wide and he quickly gathers his things.

"What's going on?! Where are you- don't leave me here!"

"You said you're healthy, right? Go prove it." The doctor laughs and runs off, but doesn't forget securing the double locks on Wei Ying's door.

He screams for help until his voice goes out. Nobody comes.

As rumors of the Wen's conquest spread across the land, there is another piece of information accompanying them: Wen Ruohan has a third son.

Wei Wuxian.

[add1ctedt0you]

I admit that everyone has different interpretations about characters, based on past experiences, personality and emotional state but the way this fandom treats female characters is really something else. Maybe it's because canon gives us away little about them, but in my opinion they are often lessened, described as two-dimensional characters. And that's a shame, because they have so much potential. ( my opinions are based on novel canon, because it's the one I am more familiar with)

For example, wen qing is described as badass girl who has strong morals, who never did anything wrong and is wwx's best friend. And this interpretation is valid! But for me doesn't give enough depth to her character. Wq is someone who is morally gray: she is a doctor, whose hands heal others, but she is also the leader of a supervisory office in Yiling during the Sunshot campaign. She says that she doesn't have nothing to do with lotus pier's massacre, because she is an healer, but she is also guilty of doing nothing to stop her uncle. She helps wwx and jc because her bother gets involved with them, and, about the golden core's transfer, she in part performs it because she is a mad scientist who can finally experiment her theories about the golden core ( but wouldn't she feel conflicted in some way? Wwx's downfall is also caused because he hasn't a golden core, and she loves wwx. Wouldn't she feel guilty about his state?). Wq loves her family so much that she begs wwx to save them! And she is accomplice of transforming her brother in a fierce corpe ( wouldn't she feel conflicted about this too? Her brother is alive in some way, but not in others. He can't enjoy food's taste, nor the bless of sleeping, nor the warm of his loved one's embrace. What life has her little brother because of her selfishness?). Wq is ready to do anything to protect them, the people she feels responsible of as their leader, until she understands how doomed they are by the cultivation world and ultimately decides to sacrifice herself and her people trying to protect the only person who gives them others precious years! She takes difficult decisions during her life, and them don't make her good or wrong, just really complex.

Another example is jiang yanli. She is described or as someone who forgives till a fault or as a badass fighter. But I think she is more complex than this. She is a big sister who has to see her brothers been emotionally and physically mistreat by their parents. She doesn't have a proper emotional support growing up, but she is her brothers emotional support/mother. She is criticized by her own mother because she is meek, because her health is so poor that she can't cultivate. She is not even viewed as extremely beautiful (the entire cultivation world says that she is lucky that jzx marries her, despite her poor qualities!). Her home is burned down by the wens when she is away, her parents died protecting their home. Her brothers fight against the same people who destroyed her home. And what she can do? She is a weak cultivator, she doesn't have the power to do anything if not wait. And then, after the war, she has again her two brothers. She marries the man she loves and tries to start an happy life. But not everything is perfect because one of her brother is seen as a criminal, the other is played down by other sect leaders. And again, what she can do in a word where reputation and gender is everything? She is not only a woman, her reputation is bad! No one respects her in the cultivation word! They mock her! And then, her husband who is trying to help her, dies by the hand of her own brother! She is mourning, she feels conflicted! She deeply loves jzx and wwx both! In fact she dies to protect wwx! Because she loves him, but she can't completely, at the moment, forgive him! She can't absolve him completely! She is extremely complicated. Jyl is someone who is extremely influenced by her poor health and the decriminalization that the cultivation world does! Her strength stays in her resilience, her good heart! She is also a rebel! Cooking is something beneath her status, but, nonetheless she does it, despite her mother's criticisms!

[twilightarc-gm]

from @wei-meddling-wuxian #there's also a difference in those moments #between jyl alone going out on the battlefield #vs taking herself and her vulnerable fetus to a place known to be inhabitable #also the things that can go wrong in pregnancy is insane #especially if you don't have the resources to deal with it #not to mention in the cql they establish that jyl has a weak body already #that's not even considering the political issues #jyl now part of the jin sect and giving birth to the Jin heir

Right? I didn't get into it because I was just gritting my teeth and reminding myself it's just fandom and to ease off the haterade.

But this "headcanon" has everything! Lack of cultural understanding, lack of or blatant dismissal of cultivation mechanics and/or the acknowledgement that resentful energy is bad for the living! Also no consideration for the political fallout. JC and JYL had been working so hard to make people forget the danger WWX poses and her just going to Luanzang Gang like that adds fuel to two very awful fires.

1) Allegations that WWX is in love with JYL (donghua canon made this clear, but even in novel canon the way WWX defends JYL at Langya is going to cause a stir of gossip). This of course turns into "is the child even the Jin heir?" And whoop! Suddenly all the protection JYL gets from being Jin-shao-furen is gone!

2) Be easily spun as WWX coercing and stealing JYL away from the LLJ and JZX, because he's the YLLZ by then and there's tons of rumors about him stealing women away. No one would believe JYL went there of her own volition so doing so would definitely give the cultivation world onus to harass WWX and the remnant earlier than in canon.

And just pregnancy on its own is life-threatening even for cultivators! Then traveling to a place that literally is full of rot, disease, bad air, little sunlight, tons of danger. Like that's not great for the current people living there that only live there out of fear for their lives. It's not a happy cute fun place good times kind of choice to be deliberately taking your child to.

Especially when JYL already had plans to use the 1 month party to try and reintroduce WWX to society in a better framing, like look how gentlemanly he can be! It didn't work out, sure, but before the Qiongqi Path mess she had a plan and doing something like insisting on going to Luanzang Gang to give birth would sabotage that!

I got Daenerys giving birth to her twisted stillborn vibes from that "headcanon". Even in an AU where there are more sunshine and rainbows... that's still a mass graveyard?! It's still not logical to go there while pregnant! JYL would not do that!

She's not just a prop for WWX! She's not just there for WWX! Even if MXTX doesn't give her much else, she still loves JZX! She would not do that to their child!!

It's like someone else in the fandom here was saying, Lansplaining or Autumnslantern maybe? That these sorts of headcanon and stories they're built from are only used to have JYL absolve WWX of his transgressions or to comfort WWX.

😭 Just make a canon-div where WWX successfully goes to the 1-month party. If you want a-Yuan to interact with baby Jin Ling so bad, have WWX take the kid with him and dress him up in non-Wen clothes. It's a 1-month, no one is going to risk bad luck on the Jin heir by hurting a-Yuan.

I saw the most awful ooc headcanon today and I just need to vent.

I can see the intent of the headcanon. The person wants WWX to see his martial nephew and for a-Yuan to interact with a baby and be cute.

But I'm cringing so hard on so many levels at the idea of "heavily pregnant" JYL going to Luanzang Gang (Burial Mounds) to have Jin Ling there.

😱 YIKES! 😨

And what about JZX?! At that point in the timeline he's still alive! Like he wouldn't have some say in the matter of his wife going to a place filled with dead people and resentment?! To have their child?! Expecting Chinese mothers aren't even allowed to go to funerals or any place with "bad air." 😩

Like, I can only suppose this is in-character if your interpretation of JYL is based on how she waded out into the Nightless City Bloodbath, risking her life (and losing it) to see WWX one more time, thereby leaving her child motherless. Like if that's your premise then... uh... sure! JYL will totally risk the health of herself and her child so WWX can see his martial nephew. She'll do her one-month confinement with the best doctor in Luanzang Gang, I guess! Gnawing on nails, over this one.