#he doesn't want the end of the world

[dearmyloveleys]

RE: the absolute fascination (and adoration) I have with the symbolism of Zhu Yan's and Li Lun's weapons, how it reveals their respective characterisations and the discussion of humanity

There are so many aspects that I love about FoF but I still believe how the show represents LiYan's relationship + worldview through their weapons is one of the best uses of visual storytelling and literary/visual devices I have seen in recent years. (long text ahead!)

A Gift and A Curse

Where did their complications start? The exchange of gifts. Why do we gift another presents? For affection. It's so ironically simple, free of malice and at its basis so, so human. For a demon like Li Lun who claims to not understand humans, he reciprocates the moment of kindness Zhu Yan shows him - the rattle to make him happy, and him giving Zhu Yan the umbrella to shelter him from rain.

There is something so beautifully ironic about two great demons eventually using ordinary, human household objects as their weapons. And items given to each other at that. When they first receive them, both the umbrella and rattle are just simple objects with no meaning attached to it, except for the goodwill of friendship. There is no inherent ill-intention and it is pure. Yet.

Li Lun ultimately only understands reciprocation, and not truly the innate kindness and affection which Zhu Yan demonstrates. Zhu Yan gave Li Lun the rattle to have him understand why he finds humans wonderful: Can any of our demonic powers have the ability to make someone happy just like this rattle does for a child? Li Lun gives Zhu Yan the umbrella because Zhu Yan gave him the rattle and made him happy. Li Lun understands the action, and does not grapple with its underlying intentions. He consistently struggles with this throughout the story, especially when actions do not match up with the speaker's reasonings.

Dissonance in character is an extremely human trait, and the understanding of this is where Zhu Yan and Li Lun’s stories and similarities diverge. Zhu Yan on one hand, understands the complexity of humans and is at terms with it. Li Lun on the other hand, never understands the ability to be complex and paints humanity black. Their gifts are still turned into weapons that will eternally curse them of their once-there closeness, because of each other and their inability to reconcile their ideologies. How they use the umbrella and rattle from here on, represents their differences in their views of humanity.

Double Edged

When watching any fantasy/wuxia/xianxia cdrama, everyone who is written as a fighter usually has an offensive weapon used and made for injuring and killing. But not when it comes to Zhu Yan and Li Lun - they are two individuals who will certainly be masters in weaponry if they wielded a sword or blade. But they don’t.

In the Wilderness, from what we see, none of the demons use weapons. Even Cheng Huang uses an hourglass. Both Li Lun and Zhu Yan do not own any weapons before gifting each other the rattle and umbrella, and these aren’t even supposed to be used as weapons. There is such an underlying innocence to demons that instead of choosing a blade to take as a weapon, they choose these essentially harmless items instead. Though, this innocence ends here. The concept of weapons is a human creation. The concept of making an item specifically just to harm others is an especially human conception. By adopting the identity of weapons onto their gifts, the multifaceted nature of weaponry and thereby humanity seeps into their characters. Weaponry is both ironically and ironically human, and their weapons represent both sides of human nature that Zhu Yan and Li Lun believe in.

A weapon is only causes harm in one's hands if you make command it to. Do you protect or do you do harm with it? I find it so telling and intriguing that Zhu Yan and Li Lun run off in either directions with the purposes of a weapon. Zhuyan has always been fascinated by the human world versus Lilun having apathetic views of the human world, and they reflect this in how they use their weapons.

Zhu Yan uses his umbrella to always shield his team, protect and deflect harm, while the harm he inflicts on others comes from his innate spiritual energy (one word spells). He protects this simple umbrella and preserves its goodness, indirectly making sure to not sully the goodness of humanity. Instead, he chooses to use himself as the offensive weapon. On the other hand, Li Lun turns his rattle into an offensive weapon, changing its tip into a dagger. Before it is destroyed, all his attacks are summoned from strikes against the rattle. He doesn’t care, and humanity is trash, therefore he treats this object of innocence with irreverence and violence.

Though, there still is Li Lun’s favourite question: Is it better to be a demon or human? He chooses human. Which at the very least, is interesting.

Who You Wish To Be

The thematic concern of LiYan's relationship is very much defined by this question they often pose or have been asked by others: Is being a human or a demon better?

On an even deeper level, the juxtaposition between Li Lun's use of the rattle and what he says, being a human is better, is even more encompassing of his character — driven, conflicted obsession. The same way he keeps trying to break Zhuo Yichen and Zhuyan, but manages to maintain somehow civil and emotional conversations with them, his treatment of his rattle but the fact he thinks being human is better, and his one-time statement “maybe the human world is interesting after all” are contradictory. He is never at peace with himself and cannot accept things the way they are. He is very much a child, misguided and believing that things are one-dimensional (all humans are bad, Zhuyan how could you hurt me for them) while things in reality are complex. Even his best intentions, from his line “I, Li Lun, will never run away from things (…)” is innocently one dimensional. He will never be the human he wants to be until he comes to terms with this. And most importantly, it's not even about being human. It's never about titles or names, it's about who he wants to be. Li Lun once again is fixated on surface levels that he doesn't grasp the depth of reality.

"Whether one is a human or demon, it's only a matter of titles. Just be whoever you want to be." - Zhu Yan, Ep 26.

Zhu Yan is the stellar opposite of Li Lun. He doesn’t sully Li Lun’s gift to him and uses it the way Lilun initially gave it to him for: to protect. And his answer to the Demon or Human question as written above is telling of his character, compared to Li Lun's set-in-stone answer. But despite everything, what makes everything so tragic is what started it in the first place: affection. One keeps that affection as a weapon to spread the same to others, while the other keeps and weaponises that affection to regain it all back.

Just like how he uses his rattle to relentlessly pursue revenge, Li Lun is so insistent on what should have been, that he doesn't see what can be, and it curses him. Zhu Yan sees the possibilities of everything, wants to protect the good, and it curses him. Perhaps its this inevitability of their separation and also the sliver of hope that they can reconcile, trapped in their shared respective curses, that troubles them deep down.

-

Their weapons symbolise both their ideologies, and serve as physical reminders of their intertwined past. Regardless of how they use their weapons, they use a reminder of the other as defense and offense against the world. A diverged path still has met once before. The sharpest blade is still one crafted from the torment of memory.

On Visual Story-Telling

The use of these unusual objects in c-drama land as weapons is such a stroke of genius on the production team and writers' part. It gives so much more flavour and uniqueness to these characters instead of the usual sword or spear. Such small, precise, details with large implications on characterisation.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The dog days are over.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[pianokantzart]

Ravenous about the fact that Super Paper Mario actually ties off the loose ends of Mario and Luigi's character dynamic in Paper Mario 64. Mario goes from leaving his brother behind out of worry to leaving his brother behind... reluctant every step of the way... because he trusts him and cares enough about Luigi to show that he trusts him. It's like poetry, it rhymes, listen-

[batcavescolony]

Bruce is immortal until Tim Drake says so, oh you wanna kill Bruce Wayne? Nope Tim will do anything in his power to stop you/drag Bruce back to life, he pulled that emotionally complicated, depressed, piece of shit back from the edge and only HE gets to kill him.

[the-crooked-library]

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ellen’s sex scene with Thomas is weird, unsexy, frantic, fully clothed and disturbing, while Ellen’s sex scene with Orlok, literal corpse, is slow, detailed, sensual, and they are both naked. The juxtaposition.

exaaactlyyyy!! it's about the INTIMACY

regardless of how desperate both Ellen and Thomas may be to conform to their socially acceptable marriage (they're both distinctly queercoded, Ellen wants passion, Thomas cannot give it, both of them see each other as a duty), they still do not and cannot understand each other. Ellen, who comes from a wealthy but abusive home, cannot imagine prioritizing material success over love and connection; Thomas, who self-deprecatingly refers to himself as a "pauper," cannot imagine ostracizing himself so completely from the society that very easily jeopardizes the livelihood of anyone non-conforming. There is a distinct lack of intimacy between them, only partially breached by anger and confrontation; which is, indeed, illustrated by their fully clothed, aggressive scene. It is more of an argument than sex.

Ellen's death-wedding with Orlok is entirely different - as you said, slow, sensual, reverent; it centers their closeness above all. They cling to one another, both overcome with emotion (self-professed inability to love be damned), perfect living skin against rotting flesh; the visual implication here is that there is, quite literally, nothing between them. They know each other entirely, the flaws, the beauty, and that understanding is more important than their own life or death.

One is a sex scene that is actually a fight, the other is a lovemaking disguised as murder, and I am obsessed

[thenamesapollo]

state of deltarune theories is so so bad cuz they all try to connect back to the theme of escapism without noticing that that theme isn't even in deltarune.

[wispythreads]

It's interesting seeing the dichotomy between Mordin and Garrus while trying to recover Jack. Garrus immediately clocks that this is an extortion rig and that the warden's motives aren't as pure-of-heart, good-for-the-galaxy oriented as he claims, but still believes that these people deserve what they get for being scum of the earth. Even with no proof that everyone here has done something worth their imprisonment. Even after the warden's heel-turn attempt to imprison Shepard.

Mordin meanwhile is just absolutely horrified at the level of cruelty surrounding him and believes in the possibility that anything disturbed these prisoners may express while we're here could've been a direct result of their treatment at this facility.

I just find it interesting since Mordin has been so-far described as cold, calculating, and ruthless. He (seemingly, at this point, it's very clear later that this is not really the case no matter how much he wants it to be) has no regrets in his part of continuing a horrible genetic disease that is slowly but surely dooming a species to extinction. But he clearly does have a lot of empathy, wants actual good done rather than theoretical good.

Meanwhile Garrus has always been a hot-headed renegade that has been very loud about how he wants good done in the world, even if it isn't done the right way. But at the same time, he very quietly follows the structure and abides by the rules. He follows the idea that the ones in charge are doing the right thing. It takes his own background knowledge of a situation and being physically or metaphorically blocked by the authority from doing what he believes is right in order for him to not just instinctively believe in it. Idk I'm just rambling again.

[merakiui]

a plot in which skully's portrait is kept in ramshackle. there's more legend and lore to the king of halloween than there are actual facts. you've always been curious about what kind of person he is and what sort of life he lived before he was traveling the world. there's so little documentation on him. it's a shame you'll likely never know the real story, but that's where fantasy can fill in the blanks! skully looks so devious in his portrait—with that sinister smile and extravagant pose. he's a mystery you've tried to solve with very little luck.

every morning on your way out, you pass his portrait in the hall and say the same farewell: "i'm off, mr. skully! i'll see you later!"

ramshackle dorm is no stranger to haunts. you adore the ghosts. they liven up your quiet, run-down dorm whenever they materialize in front of you for a lighthearted spook. sometimes you can sense them when you walk into a cold spot or you hear phantom sounds late at night. sometimes your face or your hands feel cold, and there's a disembodied smooching sound that follows the drop in temperature. it's all just part of ramshackle's paranormal charm.

on halloween morning, you stand in front of skully's portrait and wish him well. this time, though, you stand up to reach his face and press your lips against the canvas. "have a happy halloween, mr. skully. i'll see you later tonight!"

and then you're off to classes with grim. a pair of orange eyes follows your movements until eventually you're out of sight. the door shuts and then ramshackle is quiet.

when the halloween king reaches out, his hand goes through the canvas. he falls out of his frame and lands in a heap of lanky limbs with a thwump. peculiar. this has never happened before. he tries to climb back into his empty portrait, but it's no use. he can't return.

is he truly back in the world again in a corporeal form? :O !!!! oh, how exciting!!!!! there's so much he's wanted to do! he must find you first, though! he's been dying (lol) to meet you in the flesh. :)

[the-force-awakens]

Still not used to this life or death situation stuff. That's good, 'cause I'm not either. You never get used to it.

[antirepurp]

delivering controversial takes to the "the gang plays minecraft" discussion

[bread-wizards]

I think that Orym actually does doubt Imogen, but this isn't a thing that is unique to Imogen. Orym doubts all of them to an extent, because paranoia is something he struggles with (and this is continuously reinforced by the story).

It's not a 'good' thing that he should never get over, nor is it an immoral character flaw that proves he actually hates Imogen. However it's also not something I think he can get over as long as the threat of having to possibly fight his friends exists.

"I have all the faith in the world in you guys, all of you. And I have also spent time thinking how to neutralize each of you."

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

If Jin Ling is bald because WWX cursed Jin Zixuan then why are Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao bald🤔🤔

Jin Ling was always going to be bald, Wei Wuxian's curse was just an accidental prophecy that will haunt Jin Zixuan for exactly one month.

[cornertheculprit]

Athena: Hee hee hee. You were so cute! ...And who's THAT fine-looking young man?

Apollo: That's Nahyuta, back when he used to smile.

[...]

Apollo: These pictures sure bring back memories. Nahyuta is cheerfully smiling in this one. That quiet smile he gives in court now seems almost fake by comparison.

[...]

Apollo: [...] (Before he goes, I'm going to turn back time by righting the wrongs that have been done. I'm going to restore Dhurke's freedom... ...and return a real smile to Nahyuta's face! I'm going to win this case. I just have to!)

[...]

Apollo: ......... (Dhurke, I hope you're watching. I proved your innocence... ...Nahyuta's smiling again... ...and that revolution you've always dreamed of... is finally happening.)

apollo's repeated reflections on nahyuta's smile throughout turnabout revolution and his desire to bring a real one back to his face instead of the fake one he's used up until then......augh. it's so fun to me

[love-too]

Hey little gay people in my phone, can you wish me good luck for tomorrow?

[slime-sandwhich-nom]

Personal headcanon is that gumball as an adult is like the more goofy version of his mother

[somegrumpynerd]

Do you think, before there was even the *possibility* of a truce, Nightmare ever came across Dust having a breakdown about what he'd done? Like, he felt the spike in negativity and arrived to see his room already trashed and Dust just huddled in the corner, curled around the ratty scarf like a lifeline.

And he knew by that point that Dust didn't really like to be touched, so he just sat behind him on the mattress, barely grazing his back just enough to let Dust know someone was there. And they sit in silence for a bit, just the sound of Dust occasionally sobbing muffled by the layers he puts on. There isn't much Nightmare can say and even less Dust would want to hear, so the presence is all he can offer.

Eventually the sobs seem to even out into steady silence again, long enough that Nightmare wonders if he's cried himself to sleep. Until he hears, barely above a whisper, "I miss my brother."

So do I...

And he freezes.

Because he thought that.

Without a second's hesitation his mind agreed, like he'd felt that way all along. And it's like an ice cold shower that washes over him, the possibility that... that he misses his brother too.

And now there's truly nothing he can say. No words, true or not, that make it out of his throat alive. So he just gets up and shuffles out, and hopes that the unbearable tension doesn't follow him.