#he literally looks like a human qilin

[whatarewedoingdude]

Just came across this on Pinterest and it feels like one of those spot the difference pictures

[passions-and-pupils]

VAT7K creature Au where everyone is a different creature and they are all trying to hide it

Varian is a gorgon who turns his snakes into hair and wears goggles that basically blind him. His mother went to the library originally to find a way to stop the stone vision without distorting her own vision. He seeks to do the same +find her

Yong is a Qilin (think Chinese fire dragon deer) who has gotten quite good at looking human but forgets the little things like walking on two legs and not lighting things aflame. He is on the journey to find himself and get better control of his abilities. Varian and Hugo figured him out pretty quickly but are letting him believe it's still a secret

Hugo is a fae and also the best at hiding his secret. He just acts like a guy who is exceptionally good at gambling and stealing. He was asked to do this by Donella who he made a deal with long ago. He also got both Varian and Yong in deals with him.

Finally, Nuru is an alien who is pretending to be a sheltered human aristocracy. Her disguise literally only works because none of the others know much about aristocracy aside from Varian whose only example is actually that naive.

[featherfur]

I don’t really talk about Genshin on this blog, but there’s just something magical (and by that I mean obnoxious) about seeing posts about how the archons are secretly evil and did all these bad things and that Genshin just treats it like it’s nothing. And then you read the lore and it’s literally

-Wind spirit just wanted to comfort a human and was forced into power so giant wolf didn’t murder humans

-local dragon/qilin’s best friend and partner was murdered and his people were being slaughtered so he fought to protect everyone including other gods

-electric sisters fought some gods, one gave up her body and then got revived (there’s not really much on them and the bits about Oroboshi are conflicting, I’ll fully admit. Maybe Ei did just have fun slaughtering, but I don’t think Makoto would have let her do that but maybe I missed a piece of lore. There’s a lot)

-literally didn’t even participate in the war just sat down w her three friends and one died and she still didn’t fight the other guy, just chilled out??? Even when he was being a bitch?? And helped him??

-Took over after a random king absolutely fucked up everything just started a country to clean up the mess the other guy made?

And literally none of it is hidden??? Beyond just how time and history works which is acknowledged in like 20 separate quests?? (Well okay, Istaroth is hidden but that’s less because he’s hiding it and more of because the whole Nobles destroying history thing, and no one really cares about Barbatos’ history)

No one says it was a good thing?? No one says it was okay that Celestia forced them into it? They actively avoid Celestia and communicating with them? Venti is even shown to look terrified when they’re brought up.

The only reason some history is ‘hidden’ is because it’s so old literally only the old as balls Rex Lapis remembers it all and he wasn’t everywhere and he’s not writing history books but he is still telling people.

Like, I think it’s kind of telling that at every turn all of the gods have done nothing but sought out peace and protection for who they loved and they’re not hiding anything or avoiding the truth. Hell two of the new archons weren’t even involved in the Archon war and didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Did they kill people? Some of them yeah! But one of the fandom’s favorites is literally a serial killer who attempted genocide because his ice god told him to go have fun, unlike Yknow the others who were in the middle of a war that was either pick a leader you’ll work with, kill everyone else so you can have power, or the literal heavens will send civilization destroying nails to slaughter every person you love.

Not to mention for every person who brings up the cataclysm I want to scream because so far NONE OF THE ARCHONS HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!! Do you really think the archons who gave fucking everything for humans would just go willingly? Do you think they care if they’re worshipped? Do you think Venti who adores his children who think he’s dead cares if he’s worshipped? Do you think Zhongli who speaks so lovingly of how people from all over come to stay a while in his home would judge a Khaenri’ah’n for not bowing to him??

They wanted nothing to do with Celestia, they did what they had to do to protect their people and so far only two of them were actually killing people! Genshin isn’t coming out of nowhere with these more humanizing aspects, y’all just don’t pay attention and you want something that doesn’t exist.

How is that not more compelling than the idea that they’re all bloodthirsty killers who did all kinds of violence for the sake of violence and happened to be given magic powers?

[gold-rhine]

your post about what does zhongli being half dragon actually mean has been haunting me. at first i was like oh obviously hes a descender nahida says so but like?? she doesnt??? and this fandoms crackpot theories arent helping. feels like im being gaslit by my own mind

anyway the best reference I can find to that is the "In the beginning, Rex Lapis descended. He lowered the tides, raised Mt. Tianheng, and calmed the waves." from stone tablet compilations. though it is unclear whether this use of "descended" is literal(hes one of the descenders) or just prose(to parallel/reflect his descension party thing). it is pretty unlikely he is a descender, like the traveler, cause I believe? one of his story things updates after the irminsul situation?( I might need to look through some nahida stuff again cause I know she said something interesting about him)

(also irminsul affecting zhongli is not going to give great credentials to his "God of history" stick. myb this is what he meant at the end of his story quest?, the whole go forth and remember what I can't before the deterioration of the world obfuscates the truth idk)

oh wait, uh-

"During the Rite of Descension, Ivanovich states that "he heard" the Exuvia which Rex Lapis "appears as" during formal events, is a "celestial cross between two of Liyue's celestial creatures" (which the Chinese version specifies to be a dragon and qilin)."

thats from the wiki, I just thought it was interesting that it gets described as "celestial". especially as the CN use of "descended" here can apparently mean demoted or smt.( uh question who is all apart of celestia? its the primordial one+shades second who came and archons right? or is there more)

however because "liyues ... creatures" is specified like that it might just mean the "dragon" here is just a type of adepti/ mythological creature and is not related to the vishap/sovereign situation. (however the source here is egh so idk about the validity of it)(however this is what im personally leaning towards in terms of what is he?) which is boring but like I think morax makes enough of a name for himself that it kinda doesn't matter

end of the day I just don't think there's (somehow?)enough stuff to do good theories about him at the moment. it all just ends up feeling too speculative and crackpotian. (shout out to that one theory that traveler is neo and zhongli is morpheus and the irminsul is the matrix ?? kinda i guess?)

that's kinda all I can think of/find atm.

can't wait for more info on the sovereigns and whole fontaine situation, but this is probably going to haunt me throughout the experience lol thanks :D

1.Nahida doesn't mention Zhongli as descender, like what

2.I know about description of his "descent", but as I said in the post, Neuvi being reborn is also described as "descend" in inazuma prophecy book - "According to a prophecy of old, the Dragon of Water, the ancient lord of vishaps, will definitely descend in the form of a human." So we have an instance where dragon's rebirth is described as "descent", which is another potential tie to vishaps.

3.qilin being described as celestial too means that this cannot give any deeper meaning to "dragon". qilins are just adepti. so this description is not giving us anything. also ivanovich is literally no one. why would he know.

4. "end of the day I just don't think there's (somehow?)enough stuff to do good theories about him at the moment" - that was the point of my post the entire time!! zhongli is a dark horse we don't a lot about, not even counting his deal for the gnosis, while ppl confidently claim he's one or the other like they already have him categorized. if he's part vishap, thats HUGE. if he's descender, thats also huge in different way. even if he's adepti only, that also gives a different turn to his story. my point is that zhongli is shady and his origins can come into play in several interesting ways

[asideoftrashplease]

i have no idea if this is too niche/weird a ship to you but venti/dvalin is so important to me. tiny archon and his big beautiful dragon 🩵 beloved soulmates! it makes the whole stormterror thing even more angsty! and i love imagining them soaring through the air together

(also its hilarious to imagine literally anyone finding out theyre together and just kinda looking between tiny god and big dragon like 🤔👉👌⁉️❓❓....😰🥴🙂‍↔️🤐)

i just love human x creature relationships

No WAY would it be too weird for me!? I LOVE dvaven both platonic and romantic haha, I'm a shameless multishipper, and even for people who aren't into monsterfuckery, isn't it kinda a huge Chinese fantasy trope that immortal beasts often cultivate humanoid forms?? I mean look at Zhongli and the adepti. We've even seen Ganyu's GINOROUS qilin form in cutscenes and I believe in her friendship 10 namecard. That girl is HUGE in her true form??

Also, look, the sound of CN Venti's voice and how tender it was in the first cutscene when we stumble upon him and Dvalin, when he was like "don't be afraid, I'm back now" will live forever in my brain.

Also, how his voice BREAKS in the CN dub when we summon Dvalin at Starsnatch cliff (I believe that was the place) during the AQ, and he shouts "it's not like that" when Dvalin accuses him of bringing Jean, Diluc, and Traveler to ambush him??? 😭😭😭

When will we see Dvalin and Venti interact again in an event, come ON Hoyo!!!

[robininthelabyrinth]

Nie Huaisang is the cutest thing monsters have ever seen, they can be yao dragons or giant turtles one look at nhs and they want to feed hug or kidnapt him nmj trainning involved recovering his baby brother from every monsters nest around qinge

ao3

“I’m sorry,” Nie Mingjue said, his teeth gritted together and his arms shaking from the strain of holding Baxia up. “He’s mine.”

The massive tiger glared down at him over Baxia’s blade, currently stuck in its teeth, and growled something.

“I know,” Nie Mingjue said. His legs were shaking now, too. “I know, trust me, I know! I’m human, he’s – young, yes, yes, I know. But he’s my little brother! I’m not giving him up!”

The tiger spat out the blade, knocking Nie Mingjue backwards on his ass.

“And when you change your mind?” the tiger demanded. “Will you abandon him then?”

“No!” Nie Mingjue exclaimed. “Never! He’s my brother!”

“Mark your words,” the tiger said ominously. “Or else.”

It turned and stalked off, its tail waving arrogantly in the air, until its towering white form disappeared into the distance.

Nie Mingjue sighed in relief. “Huaisang?” he called, and a small head popped out of the nest the tiger had started building, blinking owlishly at him. “Come on, come to da-ge. It’s time to go home.”

“But Master Tiger said we were going to play…”

“Yes, well, he wanted to play for too long,” Nie Mingjue said. “Only a few centuries, give or take. Let’s go.”

-

It started back when Nie Huaisang was born.

No, more accurately, it started when Nie Mingjue’s father fell in love with someone he probably oughtn’t have, which according to the sect was not a terribly uncommon problem for him to have, and decided to bring home a bride.

Nie Mingjue could still remember the first time he’d seen the Second Madame Nie. They’d all been lined up to greet her, all the sect and close members of the clan in rows according to rank, Nie Mingjue fidgeting in the inside of the house proper in his first tangle with formal clothing outside of the discussion conferences. She had come sweeping in with her head held as high as a princess, seductive and bewitching.

Every movement had been perfect, the eyes of all the men fogging over in lust and the women in admiration – or visa versa, depending on their personal preferences – and a wicked smile had lit up her face when she had stepped across the threshold, officially becoming the sect leader’s wife, and maybe everything would have gone along with whatever plan she’d had back then if she hadn’t next seen him.

“Oh, look at you,” she exclaimed, rushing over to pinch Nie Mingjue’s cheeks between her hands. “What a delectable little morsel you are!”

“Uh,” Nie Mingjue said, staring up at her with big round somewhat-worried eyes.

“You charming little dumpling,” she said. “You adorable mouthful of meat! Spoonful of egg yolk!”

Nie Mingjue cast his eyes around to see if anyone would be willing to help him.

“My eldest son,” Nie Mingjue’s father said, not without pride – albeit perhaps a puzzled sort of pride. “He’s probably just about old enough to come to the forecourt, if you don’t want him to live with you –”

“Oh no,” she said. “He’s definitely living with me.”

And so she stayed, and Nie Mingjue stayed with her, and she doted on him in a way he found pleasant if mildly disconcerting. Within a year, she was pregnant, and irritated with it; six months after that, she was round and complaining, even though Nie Mingjue solemnly assured her that she was as beautiful as ever.

“This is your fault, you know,” she told him, and he blinked at her. “It is! Don’t get me wrong, your father’s a charming bull when he wants to be, and of course he fucks like a champion stud, but I stayed here for you, my little cabbage roll, my charming chunk of liver.”

She patted her belly.

“That means this here is all because of you. So you’d better take responsibility!”

Nie Mingjue considered the issue for a little. The argument seemed plausible, so he raised his hands and put them on her rounded stomach. “I will take care and watch over him for all my life,” he vowed, and the baby inside kicked his hand in response, sealing the pact.

“Oh you are so cute,” she said, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “My darling pork bun! My little fish cake! I could eat you right up, if only you were just a little bit older!”

When Nie Huaisang was born, she disappeared in a welter of blood, but Nie Mingjue’s oath remained.

The trouble started after that.

-

“You can’t raise a cub like that properly,” the winged lion argued, bating its wings as if that would help it make its point better.

Nie Mingjue glared at him. “Watch me!”

“It’s for your own good, little human. He needs his own kind –”

“I’m not listening to a treasure-seeker!”

The lion scowled at him. “I’ll have you know that most humans think I’m good luck!”

“You’re not trying to steal most humans’ little brothers, are you?!”

The winged lion sighed, a deep sound, so very noble and long-suffering that Nie Mingjue couldn’t resist the urge to lift his foot and kick the lion right in the paw.

“Brat!”

“Don’t care!” he shouted. “You leave my brother alone! He’s my responsibility, not yours! Piss off!”

“You can’t even feed him properly -”

“I’ll figure it out!” Nie Mingjue bared his teeth and wished he was old enough for a saber.

“You little…fine. Fine! I’ll bring you a book on how to feed a huli jing kit, and you keep to it, you hear me?”

“I will,” Nie Mingjue said. “But don’t you even think of taking him away!”

“On your own head be it,” the winged lion grumbled. “Not everyone’s as understanding as me.”

-

“Why are you wet?” Nie Mingjue’s father asked him.

“Water monkeys,” Nie Mingjue said shortly. “There was a nest.”

“Water monkeys? Don’t they normally stay away from people…? Or, I suppose, were these ones feral?”

“Thieves.”

“Ah. Well, nothing to be done about it, I suppose…bad luck for you to run into them here, of all places. But good experience! How many people your age can say that they fought water monkeys?”

“Can we go home?” Nie Mingjue asked, a little plaintively, and rubbed his nose. “How much can you really have to say to the Jiang sect, anyway?”

His father chuckled. “More than either of us would like, unfortunately. But if you’ve had enough of water, which no one can blame you for, maybe you and Huaisang can go shopping in the pier instead?”

That would work, Nie Mingjue thought, and nodded happily.

(Sect Leader Jiang was extremely embarrassed about the ghostly rats in the night-market – he claimed they’d never seen neither nose nor tail of them before the Nie brothers had accidentally tripped over their trap and had to flee from the swarm...)

-

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nie-er-gongzi,” the white-clad cultivator from the mountain said, smiling broadly and saluting deeply.

Xiao Xingchen had made himself famous during his first half-dozen night-hunts alone for his extraordinary grace, bearing and strength, and he said he was on a mission to help the world. He was beautiful, virtuous, and matched each ideal of gentlemanly arts.

Sects throughout the cultivation world were drooling at the thought of enticing him to join them, fighting for the opportunity to put in a good word with him.

Not all sects.

Nie Mingjue stepped forward, purposely putting Nie Huaisang behind him.

“Don’t you even think about it,” he said, hand on the hilt of his saber. “Buzz off, birdbrain.”

Xiao Xingchen might wear white, but Nie Mingjue knew a zhuque chick when he saw one.

-

“I found something for my aviary, da-ge!” Nie Huaisang, seven years old and delighted with his clumsy autonomy, announced.

Nie Mingjue, less than a full year into his new role as sect leader, rubbed his eyes. “Oh?” he asked, only somewhat wanting to scream endlessly into the void, which was better than usual. “That’s nice, Huaisang…”

“Come look! It’s so pretty!”

“I’m a bit busy –”

“But da-ge!”

Nie Mingjue sighed and got up, following Nie Huaisang to the door only to come to a complete stop.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he said to the fenghuang currently pretending to be a rooster in a cage, as if anyone would actually mistake phoenix flames for regular feathers. “Do you have no dignity left?!”

-

“You can’t adopt the bashe,” Nie Mingjue said to Nie Huaisang, who pouted. “It eats elephants; we’d be broke within three months.”

He turned to the giant python.

“You can’t adopt Huaisang,” he said. “I will literally murder you.”

-

“Why can’t I go watch the eclipse?” Nie Huaisang complained. “Everyone else is going!”

“I’m not risking a tiangou.”

“The…dog that eats the sun? Really, da-ge, is that even real?”

“You know what,” Nie Mingjue said, “you’re grounded just for saying that.”

Nie Huaisang grinned.

-

“Maybe I want to go and live among the qilin!” Nie Huaisang screamed, fourteen and hormonal about it.

“Well you don’t get a choice!” Nie Mingjue bellowed back.

“You’re not my father! I don’t have to listen to what you say!”

“I’m your fucking sect leader and yes you do!”

“I hate you!”

“I don’t care if you hate me! You still aren’t going to go live in a field with some magic pointy deer and that’s final!”

The qilin herd wisely chose to withdraw.

-

“Da-ge,” Jin Guangyao hissed, and Nie Mingjue looked up from his work at him – he hadn’t heard Meng Yao this upset since he’d shoved him into a closet to get him out of way during the whole dangkang boar hunt debacle. “Da-ge, there’s a dragon outside.”

“Again?” Nie Mingjue said, standing up to stretch and feeling oddly unbalanced. They’d just finished another session with the song of Clarity, so he really shouldn’t be feeling like this; he would need to write to Lan Xichen again about his fears that the treatment really wasn’t working. Lan Xichen would probably only say to give it more time, another chance, but still… “Let me go talk to them. Dragons are the worst.”

“No, da-ge, you don’t understand,” Jin Guangyao said. “It’s not a water-serpent or – or even a jiaolong – it’s a dragon.”

“A flood-dragon is a type of dragon,” Nie Mingjue said, following Jin Guangyao outside. “You know that, it’s in the name, what’s the big – oh, I see. It’s a celestial dragon.”

Jin Guangyao glared at him with an expression suggesting that he was under-reacting, but Nie Mingjue really didn’t have the capacity in him to reach with appropriate fervor at the moment. He and Nie Huaisang had been fighting a lot recently, every little thing escalating into a giant argument, and he was no longer sure if he was doing the right thing in trying to force Nie Huaisang onto the path of his ancestors. After all, unlike Nie Mingjue, Nie Huaisang had – somewhat different ancestors, on his maternal side.

And, he supposed, Nie Huaisang was old enough to decide otherwise, if he truly wished…

Still, Nie Mingjue was as stubborn as a mule and had no intention of giving up his baby brother without a fight, so he braced himself and went over to the frankly massive creature draped over the entrance gateway and much of the training yard that the entirety of the Nie sect was doing its utmost best to pretend that they weren’t seeing.

Nie Huaisang was sitting on the thing’s five claws – an imperial celestial dragon, apparently – because of course he was.

“Excuse me,” Nie Mingjue called up to the dragon, which turned its head to regard him, an entire production that took nearly a quarter ké to accomplish. “The brat there is mine, please return him.”

“Da-ge!” Jin Guangyao hissed again, but Nie Mingjue waved him away.

“You have raised him well,” the dragon said, which was…a good deal nicer than most of these interactions usually went.

“…thanks?” Nie Mingjue said suspiciously, ignoring Jin Guangyao’s splutters of “It talks?!” “I think?”

“I have chosen to grant you a boon,” the dragon announced.

“…right,” Nie Mingjue said. “If this ‘boon’ is that you’ll take him off my hands, I’m afraid I’m going to have to refuse. He may be trouble, but he’s still my brother.”

“Da-ge!” Nie Huaisang exclaimed, indignant. “Don’t be rude. I asked him for this!”

Nie Mingjue frowned at him, unable to resist the feeling of hurt even though he’d already told himself to expect something like this. “…you want to leave?”

“No, da-ge, don’t be ridiculous. I asked him to improve your health!”

Ah.

“Huaisang –” he started to say.

“Don’t you ‘Huaisang’ me!” his little brother shouted. “I know you’re trying to hide it, but it’s getting worse, isn’t it? San-ge told me so! He said I should get ready!”

Nie Mingjue made a mental note to strangle Jin Guangyao, who had no right to say something like that to Nie Huaisang even if maybe it wasn’t the worst idea in the world to emotionally prepare Nie Huaisang for the upcoming bereavement and inheritance he would need to face.

“Anyway, he said to get ready, so I did!”

“You can’t just ask a divine dragon to fix me, Huaisang. That’s not how this works.”

“Uh, it totally does, and I did, and he agreed. So there!”

Nie Mingjue crossed his arms and glared. “And what did he want in return?”

“The boon is a reward for your past merit, not a trade for the deeds of the future,” the dragon said, not even slightly hiding how its whiskers were shaking with suppressed laughter. “You have travelled a difficult road, and borne the weight of it well. And besides…”

“Besides?”

“If you were to die, he would undoubtedly petition the creatures of the underworld to return you.”

“Well, fuck,” Nie Mingjue said, having not considered that. “Fine. Whatever. Heal me and I’ll try to keep an eye on my health going forward.”

Maybe more Clarity? He could try to free up his schedule, get in a few more sessions…

“I just give up,” Jin Guangyao said behind him. “I just fucking give up.”

Nie Mingjue, assuming that he was talking about Nie Huaisang’s nonsense, agreed whole-heartedly.

[cinnamonest]

Pregnancy hc's are my jam

I especially love the concept of the pregnancy working differently with an adeptus!father, human!mother dynamic since they're literal gods. Because of that the gestation period is either shorter or longer than an average human pregnancy and the also the baby is pretty strong, imagine the baby kicking your ribs and you start coughing and wheezing from the pain.

Like I had this hc of darling having the WORST of it while being pregnant with Xiao like the symptoms and side effects are dialed up to 11, both because of his power and the fact that he's not really human...then there's his karmaic debt as well. Darling would probably have some pretty painful side effects stemming from that.

Zhongli would also suck too since he's pretty strong as well, being a giant dragon daddy and all 😔 maybe the pregnancy would be the longest out of all of them, but at least no karmaic debt, so there's that...

With Venti as the father I think it'd be the most normal with minimal unpleasant additions to complicate things, maybe with his it'd be the shortest of the three and closest to a normal human gestation but shortened by a month or so.

I don't know why I find interspecies pregnancies so fascinating but I just do ajfhlshfh

IMAGINE THAT WHEN THEY'RE BORN THEY'RE IN THEIR DEFAULT FORM. Like they have to *learn* to transform themselves into humans later. So when they're born they're in a different body

Imagine giving birth and like ok let me see it and then squealing bc you're looking a chubby baby dragon qilin creature in the face and freak out?? Zhongli's just like "oh forgot to tell you about that part"

How are they gonna suck a tiddy with those teeth?? It would be so weird having these little creatures kneading at your chest...

Also consider Gorou babies... They have the furless pink tails and ears when they're born, and their eyes stay shut for a while just like a dog, and rather than crying like a human baby they just kinda whimper.

[depressed-teacup-inc]

Let’s go it’s a double review

Ok two episodes at once Qilin and Penalteam let’s go

Qilin

We love a side character episode, and Sabin proves that she is the most competent human being ever and I would fucking kill for her to have been Ladybug instead of Marinette because Sabine’s an icon

Also the design slapped, and in general, thanks miraculous for finally half trying to show some more of Sabine’s heritage or even just personality and hobbies? I was hopeful to see Marinette expressing Interest or knowledge in her Chinese heritage, but we only got the end screen with dumplings… you know what I’m not even surprised anymore

Also why the fuck was the French version of a SWAT team in this episode?! Like I get this episode is meant to be a criticism of abuse of power, but it was so exaggerated stupidly, that it just makes me groan, because the SWAT team was summoned to arrest one lady over a bus ticket instead of actually being there during any other akuma fight, which only makes me hate the writing and Roger more

Overall half decent episode, love Sabine, Marinette’s incompetent but slightly better (can’t say that about the animation tho), and chat noir gets no screen-time and has to be beat up, BUT HE GOT TO DEFEND SABINE HONESTLY THESE TWO WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD DUO

Penalteam

Ok this episode was stupid. Like I know that’s an immature thing to say, but this episode just… radiated terrible filler energy

Like from the premise of this episode being about soccer and teamwork that wasn’t executed well at all(which btw, I’ve seen an extremely smart soccer cartoon before! Called Super Strikas and I strongly recommend that show from my childhood), Chat Noir being made fun of so much and made to be an idiot even tho Adrien has literally shown affiliation with many sports?! LIKE WHY ARE YOU MAKING HIM SO INCAPABLE AND STUPID???

(Also especially after Kuroneko, an episode that basically told chat “yeah we need you” but proceeds to make fun of him, kick him around, push him aside, etc.)

To heroes with (outside of the bull hero dude) having either an extremely broken power (Literally, Sublimation CAN JUST GIVE YOU ANY SUPER POWER WHATS THE POINT OF THIS FIGHT ANYMORE) or just a weird name??? Like fetch??? Really???

And no ma’am I’m not addressing the designs I don’t wish to look at them

To Chloe being demonized to the point that she willingly works with Hawkmoth, despite THE FACT SHE LITERALLY WAS THE FIRST VICTIM TO REJECT HAWKMOTH AND FOUGHT AGAINST HIM ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS??? And how they tried to make her and Lila affiliated like it’s so scary, to only see in the season finale, them tripping her (HOW EVILLLL)

Also very lazy way of including Lila in the plot SHE WAS LITERALLY JUST EXISTING ALL SEASON LONG?

And to top it all off Marinette (especially in contrast to the Lila episodes, in case we were hoping for any sort of consistency) being worshipped, made the captain, and always said to be right??? And then the show wants me to buy that Marinette is actually a victim and no one listens to her when in fact the problem is everyone enabling her.

Anyways, bad episode, just go watch a sports anime instead, I’m only here for the gays

[nangbaby]

Miraculous Ladybug is a kids TV show, a French show, and a who with a very wide international audience. Because of these three factors, there is a delicate balance this show has to manage while also adhering to the formula.  Marinette has to make a mistake, then fix it, a supervillain has to appear, and there has to be a moral, if not several in the episode. However, at the same time, none of the morals can get too deep, and topics like racism and same-gender attraction have to be hinted at in the vaguest of terms. It also does not help that France, while a Western nation with heavy, heavy ties to the Americas, manifests its own prejudices much differently than those in the, say, the U.S.

All of this does not excuse the basic fact that Qilin was a very, very contrived episode.  Here are my key takeaways.

First and foremost, the graphics in this episode seem borderline unfinished. Yes, it is known that some animation production companies produce episodes with higher animation quality than others, but I have not seen an episode look this horrendous in a very long time. At least in other episodes with lackluster animation, though, there was a story component that made up for it. This episode does not possess such a quality.

The episode opens up with Sabine going about her day, lovingly preparing things for her family while also taking time to practice self-care in the form of morning rituals.  This is obviously done not only to re-establish her character, but to set up the contrast for the One Bad Day she is contractually obligated to have as the victim of the episode. This is contrasted with Marinette, whose crimefighting has not only left her exhausted, but also unable to give her mother a gift for Mother's Day. All of this is largely told and not shown.

While all of these events that seem like setups for a confrontation between Marinette and Sabine, like Marinette arriving late to bus stop, or Marinette forgetting the tickets, genuinely does not upset Sabine.  Even the incident of an able-bodied person hogging a space for the disabled leads Sabine to improvise a solution.

Interesting that the Lolipop sentimonster has a media-designated name, "Lolipop Boy."

It is a nice touch to see Lila in the painting class, which is weird because it does not seem to be a hobby that would directly benefit her. I wonder if this is because it's a genuine hobby and a humanizing moment, or if she has an ulterior motive for attending the class.

The premise of the episode is the entire problem. While any person in Paris is capable of being akumatized, it would take a lot to set Sabine over the edge, and we have seen where the only thing that would bother her to that point is her daughter's safety.  In spite of Marinette doing things that would disappoint many mothers, Sabine trusts her daughter. Instead, the situation is caused by Roger acting even more out of character than usual and a new character, a transit officer that served to literally cause trouble for no reason than he could. We’re supposed to assume it’s because he’s racist, but even racists, like Roland Dupain, have motivations and reasons behind their actions. I half expected this guy to be a sentimonster designed to stoke ire like Sentialec.

What's bothersome is I actually wrote a chapter of a fanfic that dealt with a similar issue of an original character being falsely accused of a crime and getting akumatized over it.  The thing is in that fanfic, while the character was wrongfully suspected, there was actually a reason to suspect him; a precious object did go missing not long after he was around it.  By contrast, there was literally no reason for this random officer to show up in this episode except to provide a method in which Sabine would get akumatized.

The whole "Sabine secretly knows" is carefully neither proven nor disproven.  Her akumatized form, Qilin, is clearly much harder on Cat Noir than Ladybug (she merely ties Ladybug up but is very willing to repeatedly harm Cat Noir), so her behavior is very consistent with her actions in Dearest Family. It's also telling that she actually listens to Ladybug and that gives her the strength to reject the akuma. While this is portrayed as a result of Ladybug 's trust in Qilin, it also makes sense if Qilin knows her daughter is right there.

Another interesting thing is that she is telling the cops to get the cuffs off her. She's blatantly telling them to free her not from her physical constraints but to do the one thing that would deakumatize her.

That said, this is offset by the completely pointless escalation that the police performed. I get the allegory, but it doesn't make sense, since after Stoneheart the police clearly have learned to let Ladybug and Cat Noir handle supervillains.  Why are they being ineffective jerks here?

I am going to hope that ray gun is a reference to Transylmaniac.  It's unlikely, but I just want it to be true.

Actually, for all the faults of the episode, this is one of the much more fun wacky schemes that Ladybug has had in a while. Part of the problem with additional heroes is that Ladybug's schemes have become a lot more straightforward and a lot less ingenious.  This time, because her Lucky Charm gave her a lethal weapon, it forced her to think a lot more creatively to not cause harm.  Her mindset also serves as a nice contrast to the actions of the police.

I also like how not only did Cat Noir save Ladybug, but he also played an important role in the plan other than to destroy an object.  He had to get the keys from Roger, something Ladybug could not do with the cop-phalanx.

Cat Noir is also getting in touch with his inner thief, although he's clearly more Catwoman/Black Cat than a phantom thief.  By contrast Felix has the latter tope covered.

[yue-muffin]

Time Raiders (2016)

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

I managed to fit this in three posts!

P A R T T H R E E

He really is too precious for words.

He doesn’t even miss a beat. He takes a second to look down and sees that he’s fucked, then remembers in an instant about how important memories are to Zhang Qiling and he wants to leave them with him if he’s really gonna die.

“I want you to hand it to me yourself.”

Ugh that’s such a classic line of reasoning I can’t. It’s so sappy (I love it).

This is definitely a very different Zhang Qiling. His voice gets so harsh when he commands Wu Xie not to move - you know it’s his worry manifested as anger “I told you not to move!” Then his voice gets much softer when he says that line.

“I’ll catch you.” Ahh that’s Zhang Qiling, as long as he can, he’ll always be there to save Wu Xie.

LOL CAN YOU NOT SPEAK??

This background music is so Soft.

Look at him.

You’re a real heartbreaker. He survives, but you really do know how to give Zhang Qiling a heart attack in this adaptation.

IT’S MOVING. Is this an ancient lab. What the heck haha.

GO AH NING.

At least in the other drama adaptations, Wu Xie always did discern that she truly did care for her comrades, even if she didn’t show it or insisted she didn’t. Out of all the female characters in DMBJ, she’s my favorite. She’s vicious, yes, and willing to use a lot of underhanded means to get to her goal, but she’s also a lot more than just a villain who gets in the protagonists’ way. Oh yeah, add at least one other to the death count, yes?

OH NO WU XIE. Haha Pangzi is in a pot again. He accidentally got left behind. You gotta love the sheer absurdity that surrounds anything Pangzi does.

I’m surprised by how well this movie got Wu Xie’s personality down. He’s not stupid, even if he is a bit naive and good-natured. He might actually be bluffing but hey it was a good call.

LOL BEHIND YOU. Yup, Zhang Qiling to the rescue! Ah, we have our Iron Triangle! Well, I doubt they’re really going to get enough exposure to call them that but hey.

Lol the two of them can barely hold this sword.

Wu Xie is so low-key clever haha. He’s also good at bluffing, which you wouldn’t think given he’s always called naive/innocent.

Aw look at him scurry back to Zhang Qiling’s side.

I would also like to know what the heck we’re looking for down here.

He’s an old friend pfft. This old man.

Turn human beings into trees?? I guess…that is sort of a form of immortality.

DMBJ in a nutshell? We all go down to a tomb, get into life and death situations, become friends, and decide to live and die together.

At least Ah Ning isn’t as scummy as she was in the other adaptations lol.

Lol this became a different iron triangle…Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling, and Ah Ning.

WTF. Have we traveled to the center of the earth what is this place.

And where the flip did everyone else go??

Aww look at him go. Still insisting he’d accompany Zhang Qiling to the end. Which ripped my heart out in the books. Zhang Qiling just wants you to be safe, ok.

Look at that little smile.

This is the movie of Zhang Qiling getting to show off constantly and I live for it.

Oh gosh all the zombie people are waking up.

Well this tree woman is really freaking creepy. Also, everyone has become a Zhang Qiling fan haha. They literally are just here to watch.

So you…want worm trees to rule the world. Ok.

This is such a weird final battle haha. Hey, looks like the gang’s all here! Oh great, wormy things. There goes another death. Ah, yes, the zombie people are here now. Everyone’s dropping like flies, two people fell into the lava I think…

Wu Xie and Pangzi are such disasters lol.

WU XIE. You give the knife to Pangzi, then run into Pangzi so he’ll stab the zombie??

Oh it’s the sad music. Is everyone gonna die??

Da Kui got a cooler death in this version at least…

“If I totally lost myself one day, there’s still someone who would remember me.”

ZHANG QILING. CAN WE NOT WITH THE HEART ACHE.

Aw, there goes Wu Xie’s “I’ll remember you” line. Oh? He wants the coin. Ahh this is - “I’ll give it to you once we get back” is never a good line to say!! It means one of you is going to die, usually, lol. Here we are raising flags everywhere…

Ahh the qilin scene from the beginning of the movie comes back! And blood + sword = can actually hurt the weird plant appendages.

We solve all our problems with the flute! Wu Xie is the bug whisperer now lol.

…Zhang Qiling already has a sort of immortal life what exactly are you offering him.

Well, these bug can eat metal so.

Haha he’s trying to appeal to Mr. Hendrix. Oh Wuxie, that is so like you.

THE PUPPY DOG EYES + THE CORNIEST LINE EVER

It’s the puppy dog eyes that did it. I know I’m right lol. And Ah Ning gets her change of heart here along with Mr. Hendrix.

Aw Pangzi and Ah Ning. I never thought I’d see you two on good terms.

WU XIE. He’s so determined.

THEY LOST HOLD OF THEIR IGNITERS?? Is that why one guy had to stay behind.

Oh, how the roles have reversed!

Aww look at them!! This movie is so good for the Pingxie content?? I am kicking myself for holding out on watching it for so long.

The way they just laugh out loud, look at the terrifying yet amazing scene in front of them, and then simultaneously glance at each other and give a soft little laugh each??

“I said I’d take care of you.”

It’s just- aahhh I am dying inside, dying.

You guys want to get off this thing now? You know if this was a man and a woman, they would’ve already had a dramatic we-almost-died kiss atop this thing already lol.

I REGRET NOT LOCKING YOU IN THE TRUCK MYSELF.

HAHAHA.

ZHANG QILING YOU DRAMATIC BASTARD.

Ah Ning actually saves him this time!

Look at what you did! You made him sad!

TEARS. YOU MADE HIM CRY.

Ooh the coin! Ahh no, this is sad. He gives him the coin even though Zhang Qiling couldn’t come out of the tomb with him.

And the funeral song just to drive home the SAD.

?? So was Zhang Qiling the one in the mask this whole time? Since he was a kid? It makes sense with how he knew about the coin then.

THAT’S THE END?? So all we know for sure is that Wu Xie lived.

No wonder why I saw someone once call this movie “Wu Xie’s fever dream” lol.

But UGH all that Pingxie content just gutted me. This movie was shockingly good?

I mean, it ended with mysteries still lingering. Did Third Uncle survive? Wu Xie says he’s waiting for a friend at the very beginning, so is he living in denial that Zhang Qiling managed to live?

But all in all, the mysteries are part of its ending and I think I’m ok with that. Better than watching all the drama adaptations and getting frustrated because I know there’s more story and then the season ends (Reboot/Chongqi was so unsatisfying because of how they split the seasons I think…).

But UGH. Lu Han’s Wu Xie will forever live in my heart. I didn’t expect to get so attached to him.

[pengiesama]

The Care and Keeping of Your Sentient Saber (Fic, TGCF, HC/XL)

Title: The Care and Keeping of Your Sentient Saber Series: Heavenly Official’s Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu) Pairing: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary:

E-ming is a very tender and sensitive sword, and needs lots of love and attention that only one person is qualified to give.

Hua Cheng is a very tender and sensitive demon, and needs lots of love and attention that only one person is qualified to give.

Xie Lian is very qualified, and a very, very busy man.

Link: AO3

Check out my commission info here.

Read on Tumblr!

“So. I really am curious. What was it, precisely, that made you think it was a good idea to disrespect me? In my very own city, no less. It was quite the bold gambit, and as I’m sure you’ve realized, it didn’t pay off.”

The horned demon lolled around uselessly on the floor, howling pathetically, and making quite a mess -- really, Hua Cheng had only torn one arm off, and the floor was already slippery with blood. His heeled boots kept the bottom of his robes from dragging in the stuff as he casually strolled about the room, still speaking quite conversationally to his guest even as said guest continued to scream.

“I could have just left you upstairs, and let my employees take care of you,” Hua Cheng continued. “Dealing with rude guests is generally beneath me. But you’ve caught me at a bad time, I’m afraid. So here you are, and here I am. And I’m just dying to know a little more about you.”

“I ain’t mean any disrespect to the lord Chengzhu!” the demon desperately bellowed. “That waitress, she was askin’ for it, and if she’d just have come along quietly I wouldn’ta disturbed the lord’s game--”

“I work so hard to build a prosperous city, only to have scum like this slither in.” Hua Cheng sighed and clasped his fists together to murmur a brief prayer of repentance.

“Really? Even the lord Chengzhu is a dog of the heavens? Ain’t this the city of a thousand vices!?” the demon spat. “Where’s a demon gotta go to stop bein’ moralized at!?”

Hua Cheng was a very, very devout man, and did not like having his prayers interrupted. He let a slow, cruel smile twist his mouth as he turned to fully face his prisoner. He unsheathed his sword to end this tiresome interaction and -- and --

...

Let us try that again. He unsheathed his sword --

NO, E-ming’s voice snapped at him in his mind.

Hua Cheng grit his teeth. He unsheathed the obnoxious, whiny, clingy, useless, worthless piece of scrap metal that had the gall to call itself a sword --

NO. WILL NOT.

He did not like looking foolish in front of his captives. To ensure that word of this did not spread, Hua Cheng eschewed use of E-ming in favor of roundhouse kicking the demon’s head off. He snapped his fingers, and the black shadows disengaged from the walls; becoming a creeping, writhing wave of black caterpillars. They closed in to gorge themselves on the corpse’s flesh, and gnaw holes in the bones. Chrysalis season was fast approaching, and they did need their calcium, after all.

WANT GEGE., E-ming insisted.

Hua Cheng just about lost it then and there. To think that his sword had the unmitigated nerve to make demands on His Highness’ time!

“Oh, do you now?” Hua Cheng hissed. “And what makes you think gege wants to see you!? He has better things to do than to spend his time with a rusty, warped kitchen knife.”

HAVE NOT SEEN GEGE IN SO LONG. E-ming gave a long, drawn-out shiver, as if heaving a sigh born from a bottomless yearning. SO LONG!

Xie Lian had been in and out of Puji Shrine nearly every day lately; going back and forth to the nearby town to answer prayers, going back and forth to the heavens to gather holy herbs, blessed water, powdered qilin droppings -- or whatever other odd nonsense the humans were asking of him.

It was only right and proper that His Highness had worshippers again. And of course, with worshippers came prayers, and with prayers came requests, and with requests came a certain lack of availability. The quiet days spent at the shrine, just the two of them, were no more. And if all went as it should, they would be nevermore, never again. Xie Lian would be lifted up, beloved by all. This was as it should be. It was all as it should be.

MISS GEGE SO. MISS GEGE’S MOST BEAUTIFUL FACE. MISS GEGE’S SOFT SOFT HANDS. STRONG STRONG SOFT SOFT HANDS. MOST WONDERFUL. SEE GEGE NOW!

Hua Cheng grasped E-ming by the hilt and hoisted him up so they could hash this out face-to-face. He scowled, narrowing his eye at him. E-ming narrowed his eye right back.

“You’re not in a position to make demands,” Hua Cheng said, low.

IS. IS IN POSITION, E-ming replied. His eye curved upward, and he looked infuriatingly smug. IS IN POSITION AND WILL NOT EVER EVER EVER EVER AGAIN COME OUT.

Hua Cheng yanked on him with all his strength; one hand on the sheath, one hand on the hilt. E-ming, true to his word, would not budge.

Hua Cheng knew that he only had himself to blame for how stubborn the little shit was. He knew that, if E-ming said he wouldn’t be unsheathed until he saw Xie Lian again, he was sure as hell not going back on that promise.

Cursing, Hua Cheng paced back and forth, his heels clicking against the stone floor. The caterpillars had finished cleaning up; the room was spotless as they wriggled their fat bodies back into the shadows. How was he supposed to keep his city under control like this!? Yes, he had an entire armory of weapons at his disposal, and yes, he had an army of carnivorous butterflies and to-be-butterflies. And yes, he could level mountains and split the earth in twain with but a snap of his fingers. But, much as he hated to admit it, E-ming was very much his thing. A cursed scimitar that drinks blood and can reopen any wound that it’s ever inflicted -- that was burned into the collective unconscious as the Crimson Rain Brand(™). If he could no longer wield him, then he was that much less powerful. He was that much more useless at protecting Xie Lian.

He, unfortunately, had precious few options left.

--

Xie Lian didn’t often get visitors at his palace in Heaven -- well, not like he was often there anyway -- so the knock on his door took him by surprise. He sighed and trudged wearily to answer. He’d been so exhausted lately, and was lonelier that he’d ever admit aloud...he’d spent centuries alone, so what was a few weeks without Hua Cheng coming to call? What was it? Well, he’d tell you. It was, in a word, unbearable --

He opened the door. Hua Cheng was standing there, and wordlessly presented him with E-ming in his two outstretched hands.

“Please touch it,” Hua Cheng said.

--

“Oh, you poor thing.” Xie Lian made comforting noises as he cradled E-ming on his lap, patting his hilt and sheath with long, indulgent strokes. “Was San Lang being mean to you again? Poor thing...”

GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE, E-ming replied, shaking so hard that the movement registered as a blur to the naked eye. GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE.

E-ming was Hua Cheng’s thing, in that he was literally born from Hua Cheng. But Hua Cheng could confidently say that he would not react so shamelessly if he was in E-ming’s position right now. Lounging on Xie Lian’s lap. Being stroked and fussed over. And furthermore, he did not sound like that when saying “gege.”

“You don’t need to waste any more of your time on him, your highness,” Hua Cheng said. He reached out; not quite brave enough to venture close enough to Xie Lian’s lap to grab E-ming directly. “We’ve already imposed on your hospitality enough.”

Xie Lian shook his head, and lifted E-ming up just enough to press his cheek to his hilt. E-ming’s eye rolled wildly, and his shaking was beginning to make his sheath slide off. Hua Cheng fumed. Here they were, rudely demanding that Xie Lian entertain them as guests, and now E-ming was stripping down like a common brothel whore.

GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE GEGE. SILKY SOFT CHEEK. PILLOWY SOFT LAP. PET ME PET ME PET ME PET ME, said E-ming, like the wanton skank that he was.

��You’re not imposing. And we’re not done catching up,” Xie Lian said. “I haven’t seen the two of you in so long, after all. Have you been taking care of yourself?”

Hua Cheng forced a smile. “Of course. Gege doesn’t need to trouble his mind about this San Lang’s health.”

Xie Lian’s smile took on an air of sadness, and Hua Cheng felt the familiar string of self-loathing pierce his heart.

“I know. I know that San Lang is strong, and can take care of himself. But…if it’s not too much trouble, perhaps you could...”

“I could,” Hua Cheng assured him. I could, I would. I’ll do anything for you, just name it.

Xie Lian smiled at his little joke (haha, a little joke, yes), and settled E-ming back onto his lap -- E-ming, now completely sheathless, his blade flashing in the waning sunlight.

“Perhaps you could come see me, from time to time, just so I know you’re well.”

Ah. Now that the request had a name to it, Hua Cheng could hardly refuse.

“Of course, gege.”

Xie Lian dipped his head, hiding his red cheeks behind the fall of his hair. Hua Cheng’s fingers twitched at the thought of reaching out, of tucking it behind his ear to see the color on his beautiful face.

He saw Xie Lian’s wide eyes staring at him, felt the warmth of his skin and the softness of his hair on his cold hands.

Ah. Hua Cheng wasn’t as in control of himself as he thought. He’d made that thought into action. Perhaps E-ming’s poor behavior was contagious.

“...t-there’s a smudge!” Xie Lian suddenly announced, leaning in close to E-ming to inspect him, pulling away from Hua Cheng’s hand. “P-poor thing, you poor thing, E-ming, San Lang hasn’t been polishing you! Let me help--”

Xie Lian hiked up his robes on one arm, flashing the skin of his jade-white arm up to his elbow, and bunched it up in his hand. He breathed onto E-ming’s blade, a huff-puff of warm air, and polished out the smudge that he had spotted with his keen eye. E-ming’s eye went huge; the dark pupil dilating. He stopped shaking entirely, and lay completely still, as if dead.

“...E-ming?” Xie Lian waved his hand in front of his eye. “Are you alright?”

“He’ll be fine,” Hua Cheng assured.

Hua Cheng, for his part, was utterly out of his mind with jealousy. He would be hearing about this for months from E-ming. About how white and lovely gege’s arms were, about how gege’s sweet breath felt on his steel, about how gege polished him so skillfully. Hua Cheng wanted to march outside and dropkick the first heavenly official he saw. He glanced out the nearby window, and saw Mu Qing and Feng Xin choking each other out in the middle of the street. A two-for-one deal! Oh my, how convenient. Truly he was the luckiest man alive.

Before he could put this thought into action, he saw Xie Lian, inching close. In his hand he was wielding a handkerchief. He tapped it to his tongue to wet it (his cute pink tongue), and reached out to tap, tap it to Hua Cheng’s cheek.

“...just, ah, cleaning a smudge on you, too,” Xie Lian explained. “You and E-ming need to look out for each other. Keep each other smudge-free. You know?”

“...I don’t know if I can promise an entirely smudge-free existence,” Hua Cheng said. His cheek was tingling and still damp.

“Well…” Xie Lian gave him his hankie. “For now, you can keep that to help. I have a spare, but...bring it back to me the next time you visit, maybe?”

“Of course,” Hua Cheng said. “Of course.”

[juliekjohnsonwrites]

#FourGodsFriday: An Intro to Chinese New Year

Happy New Year! Today marks the first day of the Lunar New Year in the US, so I'm going to give a little background on the holiday and how our Four Gods would have celebrated the holiday during the late Eastern Han. Most of you probably recognize the red and gold lanterns, decorations, and firecrackers, but everything in the Spring Festival holiday has a specific reason to its use.

First off, firecrackers were used as early as 200 BC in China, but the reason they are paired with red is because of a mythical monster called the Nian, which some say resembles the lion used in Chinese lion dances today. “Nian” (年) is the same word in Chinese for “year” and every New Year like clockwork, the Nian would emerge from its dwelling to eat nearby children and reign terror on the local people. The people soon learned though that the Nian was afraid of loud noises and the color red, so the next year, the villagers would decorate their houses with red talismans and lanterns and would set off fireworks to frighten the Nian away. To this day, fireworks, red decorations, and lion dances are used by Chinese communities everywhere to usher in good luck for the New Year.

In Gen’s time, these celebrations would be celebrated similarly, but also would stretch around fifteen days, with each day being dedicated to a specific deity or purpose. For example, the first day of the New Year was (and still is) dedicated to one’s elders and family, and a person is expected to visit their loved ones and give gifts, much how we Westerners do around Christmastime. But beware, certain gifts should be avoided. White or black items, clocks, scissors, knives, chrysanthemums, hats, and pears should not be given as gifts during this time, as they are either associated with funerals and death or they will cut off your good luck.

Ancestors that have passed away are also worshipped and paid their due respects during the holiday season, and home altars are cleaned and decorated to allow those gone before us to join in the festivities. Large dinners are held when everyone is gathered together, and staples of the holiday include golden egg rolls, dumplings, whole fish and/or chicken, and noodles. Gold foods represent wealth and good fortune, and chicken or fish are homophones with positive words in Chinese, sounding similar or the same to words for good luck or bringing in prosperity. Chinese culture has customs based all around homophones, and Chinese New Year is a holiday where you can see this custom in full force. Another homophone tradition is to get or make paper hangings with the character for good luck, called “fu” (福) in Chinese. In my house, I always hang my fu upside down, in Chinese it’s called “fu dao,” literally “luck upside down.” While Westerners may think this is a bad thing, “fu dao” also means “good luck has arrived,” so if you hang your fu upside down, it will bring you good luck. I’ve also heard some people say that they character for fu looks like a jar, and if you hang it upside down, the luck will pour out of it into your home and life.

Today, the Chinese New Year is only a public holiday for about five days, but Gen’s family, and the gods alike, would have celebrated it for the full fifteen day span. The gods are said to celebrate the New Year just like we mortals do, as the gods who reside on Earth report back to the Jade Emperor at this time. A huge party is thrown, and the gods gather together to feast and to report their yearly findings on us wee humans that they observed during the year. The god of wealth, the water gods, and the kitchen god are three important deities respected during this time. Today, on the first day, the water gods are to be respected by conserving water. According to tradition, bathing and doing laundry is bad luck today, as not only are you disrespecting the water gods, but you are also washing away any good luck that may come to you. The kitchen god is one of the focal deities, and if you have a statue of this god, it’s tradition that honey or rice syrup is spread across his mouth. The reason for this is that when he ascends to report on your activities over the last year, if you give him honey to eat, he’ll only be able to tell the Jade Emperor the sweetest things about you and your family. The Jade Emperor is celebrated with a massive feast on the tenth day, and throughout the holiday, mainly on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, mythical beasts such as the lion and dragon are celebrated with elaborate dances. Sometimes in other communities like the Hakka, the Qilin dance is also important to scare away evil spirits and bring about good luck. It’s also extremely good luck if one sees a Fenghuang around this time, as they are omens of prosperity, but this is a rare occurrence.

The last day of the New Year is the Lantern Festival. This day is also the god of good fortune’s birthday, but some legends say that the festival was started because of the Jade Emperor’s temper. Legends state that a mythical crane left Heaven and flew down to earth and alighted in a small village. The crane was the Jade Emperor’s favorite companion, and it angered him that the crane was being kept on Earth. He planned to punish the people by setting their village ablaze, but the people were warned by his daughter of what was to come. The people, desperate for a solution, then lit an abundance of lanterns, bonfires, and fireworks to give off the illusion that their town was already in flames. The Heavenly troops were fooled by this illusion, and to celebrate their village being spared, lanterns and fireworks are lit yearly on this day. During Gen’s time, this Festival was of utmost importance along with the New Year itself, as families would light lanterns and make nighttime visits to their respective temples. This holiday was also a fun time for children to solve riddles posted around their temples, but during Gen’s time, this custom was mainly dedicated to the god of the North Star and to bring in light to beckon the coming of spring. This festival was (and is) also celebrated with gala performances, dances, and treats of sweet rice balls. This year, the Lantern Festival falls on March 2nd.

祝贺大家新年好!