#mo. event

[mcrcki]

"do you want to take a break?" mor kept one arm resting against cassandra's shoulder, draped over her back as the other moved the rest of her hair from her face, breathing a little heavier to catch her breath after dancing for so long. "we can go look around the rest of the museum, if you want?"

@wvsteria for cassandra dimitrescu

[soupysundae]

🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷

[pastelshroomsbasement]

i mean wei wuxian *is* the nicest angel there is

[ID: A MDZS comic done on a pink background. Lan Xichen kneels with incense and prays, "I need someone to be Wangji's friend. Maybe send him an angel. The nicest one you have." Lan Wangji stands in the doorway behind him and demands, "STOP. (Please.)"

We then cut to Wei Wuxian loudly declaring "Party time Cheng-Cheng, Huaisang!" Jiang Cheng looks to the side, and Nie Huaisang sweats nervously. End ID]

[icedhotcocoa]

another thing about the trump attempted assassination situation is that in my heart it’s funny but in my mind I know this was a terrible fucking thing to happen, not just for the election outcomes/voter turnout on the right, but also ethically? ALLEGEDLY (unconfirmed) two bystanders were shot and one may be dead. even if it’s not true opening fire in a crowded area is so nightmarish and traumatizing regardless of who is being shot at

idk. we can reblog our memes all we want but let’s just try and keep that in mind

[mcrcki]

"i think i saw some of the kitchen maids bringing more trays out. they should be back any moment. i don't blame your lady, she has good taste." mor looked over towards the doors, hoping she'd be able to see any of the maids coming back with trays yet.

@mcrcki ; lola && anyone

"do you happen to have any more of those cakes? my lady lives them, and i would hate to go back empty handed." lola frowned slightly as she explained.

[danmei-action]

Announcing the Danmei Gotcha for Gaza: Donations Open Now!

Hello, danmei fandoms! If you'd like to create or prompt fanworks for your favorite novels and original manhuas to help raise funds for Palestine, now is your moment! The Danmei Gotcha for Gaza is currently accepting prompts for around 100 danmei fandoms! You can find our prompt intake form at the project Carrd.

Creators are welcome to contribute any type of fanwork, such as fic/podfic, cold reads of novel scenes, art, video edits, and moodboards or aesthetic gifsets. Donators will be asked to select a preferred type of fanwork so their prompts can be matched to the creators most suited to them.

In keeping with previous fandom Gotchas, we will be following the same pricing structure of $5USD for S/FW prompts and $8USD for N/SFW prompts.

Donations will be open from August 1-31, or until our creators reach capacity.

For this event, we have chosen to support the following fundraisers. Make sure to screenshot proof of payment before submitting your prompts!

Care for Gaza

Direct Aid For Gaza

eSIMs for Gaza and Crips for eSIMs for Gaza (if you would like to donate funds rather than buying the eSIMs yourself)

Feminine Hygiene Kits for Gaza With the Asad Sisters

Life for Gaza (support for municipality projects such as access to clean running water and sewage systems. Gaza is currently facing a polio outbreak, so access to clean water is now even more crucial than before!)

Any verified fundraiser on gazafunds.com. (If you choose this option, please screenshot the Gaza Funds page with the link to your fundraiser and your proof of payment!)

Note: if you would like to participate in a Gotcha event for a non-danmei fandom, check out the live list of fandom Gotchas here.

[12am-motivation]

you mean to tell me i ground my ass off in the og game main story for nothing—

kidding aside, i'm so, so glad they added this feature! it even includes the hard mode stories! i just might start binge-reading again~

this also makes me kinda sad because it's like the devs really are about to abandon the og game... almost all the content can be found in nightbringer aside from the old events and cards

[mcrcki]

she didn't care how long it had been, how much had happened between now and losing azriel... all that mattered was that he was himself again. finding him.. like that months ago, it had broken something in mor. she was barely functioning for a few weeks, the images of her best friend laying there haunted her. so knowing he was okay now, it helped ease the stress that was forming after what happened to rhys, knowing their high lord was in danger. "we can take whatever it is." she said, sword already in her hand. "did you get feyre's message? about rhys and his sister?"

it felt strange. even though he'd forgotten them all and had practically lived another life, now he had the memories of his family and his other memories of a fake life. it was confusing from the moment that he remembered everything, but he had to find everyone first. the confusion and everything he was feeling could be put on the back burner for the moment. "i heard something. there's something out there." azriel whispered as he glanced around them, automatically on high alert.

[zaacoy]

request; season 4 mk feels genuine joy for once give the sadboy something to feel happy about

we get a little bit better everyday (or at least we try)

[mcrcki]

she'd been on her own, feet stuck to the ground where she stood, panic starting to rise in her chest. she could feel the stone encasing her, and mor was doing everything to break herself free. winnowing didn't work, brute strength didn't work-- and all she could hope for was someone would come by and help.. but the last thing mor expected, or wanted, was tamlin to be the one to show. "oh this has gotta be some kind of sick joke--"

@wvsteria for tamlin ( prompt 16 - one character begins slowly turning to stone. It can only be stopped by getting out of the area before they’re completely stone. this portion is ‘decorated’ with oddly realistic statues all around. if the transformation finishes it can be reversed by smashing the person into pieces. you can decide if this process kills them or not. )

[aftersector]

my other piece for the @mdzsbigbang! jiang disciple jgy + chengyao practicing kissing :3c

u can read @sailuncharted's fic “A Peony Among Lotus Blossoms” here :D

[mcrcki]

"did you not just hear feyre's daemati shit!" mor whipped around back at her friend, creature completely forgotten as she stared at cassian. this was bad. if rhys was so far gone that he was thinking branwen was an illusion from that bitch, there's no telling what he would think if the entire inner circle started to show up.. did he somehow think he was still under the mountain? what would he do if he thought they had all abandoned velaris? though, there is a moment, a flash in her mind that knows that they did in fact abandon their home, being dragged here, they left velaris completely alone.. but mor couldn't think about that right now. "that bitch better not be here, because she's going to have a line of people ready to rip her head from her shoulders.." she added. "i don't know cass, i don't know, but winnie is in danger and feyre sounded so not like feyre, which means she's freaking out. we need to go find our high lord before he does something he regrets." she just barely dodges the creature as it runs at them, focus mostly distracted by her conversation with cassian that she doesn't see it swing out again, this time its horn connects with flesh as mor barely has time to react. she can feel the blood before she sees it, staring down at the way her shirt starts to stain red.. the hole is too deep, bleeding too fast, and there's nothing mor can do as she feels her knees getting weak, vision going blurry as she falls. "cass...."

"what-" cassian frowned at the mention of that name. it wasn't one that he liked to say out loud after all she'd done to rhys - what she'd out him through. "why the fuck are you saying her name? what's happening - if she's here I'm ripping her fucking head from her pathetic neck," anger bubbled inside him as he looked at one of his oldest friends - none of them would stand by if she was here in the city - none of them would let her live. and even if she kept coming back, they would all just keep on killing her until whatever fucked up magic in this city stopped working and she was dead for good. "he attacked winnie? what the fuck is going on?" cassian was done with whatever this maze was doing to them - to their family, he needed out, needed to make sure that everyone was alright. "let's fuck this thing up." in the middle of their conversation, cassian hadn't noticed the creature charge towards them - one of the horns catching at his side and ripping it open before sending him into the corn. he didn't even notice what had happened, the adrenaline in his system was too much to notice anything other than his anger. "that's it!" he snapped, picking his sword back up as he drove it into the back of the creature.

[ewe-why]

Hehe

[ronoro1]

GUYS WAKE TF UP NEW EVENT JUST DROPPED

!! CN SERVER SPOLIERS !! -4k pics-

[mxtxdiaspora-may]

MXTX Diaspora May is back for 2024!

MXTX Diaspora May is an event in which Chinese diaspora creators come together to share the diverse aspects of Chinese culture, as well as connect with each other over lived experiences.

Through the promotion and creation of these fanworks, we hope to encourage thoughtful self-reflection throughout the broader fandom, especially with regard to embracing cultural humility and dismantling structures and behaviors that allow racism to flourish, both in fandom and in real life.

Support of MXTX Diaspora May will go a long way towards creating a more inclusive and open climate in our shared online spaces, especially for creators who rarely get their voices heard in the English-speaking side of fandom. We aim to uplift the unique voices and stories of our participants, and we encourage anyone who enjoys works from this event to share in the celebration of Chinese culture from Chinese creators.

Any creator with Chinese heritage may participate in MXTX Diaspora May. Event rules and work requirements may be found at the link below.

Please note one major change from last year: all works must be complete at the time of posting. We will not accept works-in-progress into our collection.

Event Rules & FAQ

Our prompts this year are based on 四象, the Four Symbols, also known as the Four Guardians, Four Gods, or Four Auspicious Beasts. You can find an overview of the Four Symbols on wiki.

Sub-prompts for the event will be posted soon.

Are you a creator of Chinese heritage who's ready to sign up for this event? Please fill out the sign-up form below!

You will receive a discord link to the event server after you complete the form. Please make sure to join the discord server to connect with fellow event participants and receive event announcements and updates.

Sign-ups will run from March 17, 2024 to April 9, 2024.

Sign-Up Form

Signal Boost!

Reblogs and signal boosts for this event are welcome from both participants and non-participants. Please feel free to boost on bluesky and twitter as well.

Feel free to check out our collections from previous years. Comments and kudos are always appreciated by creators!

2021 (MDZS only)

2022

2023

We look forward to sharing and celebrating everyone's works from the 2024 event!

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part Three

For Xiantober Day Five: Past and Present, in which the author gets very unhinged about what parts of the past are shown and how that’s affected by the present!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

The Power of Agency: Shaping the Narrative

When I've discussed Wei Wuxian's agency previously, I’ve talked about how what’s shown and omitted tells us about a character, and we’ve talked about the character himself. Though this is a niche topic, it’s not necessarily something out of the ordinary to analyse, and we can assume everything up to here has been in some way intentional.

This? Linking structure to a character’s in-universe preferences?

This is where we get unhinged.

Before I start, let’s quickly establish something which will be important later: although Wei Wuxian is the central character, MDZS isn’t strictly from his POV. While omitting events a character doesn’t like to dwell on and concealing things the character wishes to hide is common in books with only one narrator, MDZS has multiple narrators which it switches between relatively quickly. This includes Wei Wuxian, but it also includes nearly every major character that appears in the story, and omniscient narrator as well. As a default, this format doesn’t lead to this deliberate shaping and omission because of one character’s preferences, since we have many other sources of information and events – which is what makes Wei Wuxian’s influence over the narrative and structure so interesting. We could have access to a lot more information, and access to it at different times, than we do (and that’s not an insult, quite the opposite!).

To begin: we’ve established that times such as Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets, his three months in the Burial Mounds and his loss in the Siege aren’t shown because Wei Wuxian has little agency there. But that’s not the only special thing about them. They’re also the three most traumatic times in his life, and so moments Wei Wuxian himself either can’t remember, or doesn’t like to dwell on.

This is why discussing Wei Wuxian’s treatment of tragedy in his life was important. Firstly, it shows he doesn’t focus on the tragedy in his life, so the idea that the narrative not focusing on this tragedy relates to his character has merit; secondly, it affirms that this is not a passive trait, but a choice. Therefore, when the narrative omits events due to this aspect of Wei Wuxian, it’s respecting not only a character detail – which would be cool by itself – but also an active decision. One that shapes the story it’s made in.

In other words, its very structure is respecting Wei Wuxian’s agency!

Now, of course there are flashbacks to other moments of his past he probably wouldn’t like to dwell on, too. But within the structure, they’re only shown when Wei Wuxian is thinking about them (or when he has reason to)!

Wei WuXian hadn’t woken up yet. His eyes were still tightly shut, yet his hand didn’t let go either. He seemed to be dreaming, muttering, “… Don’t… Don’t be angry…” Lan WangJi seemed somewhat surprised. His voice was gentle, “I am not angry.” Wei WuXian, “… Oh.” Hearing this, as though he finally felt assured, his fingers loosened. Lan WangJi sat beside Wei WuXian for a while. Seeing that he was motionless again, he was about to stand up when Wei WuXian grabbed him with his other hand, hugging his arm and refusing to let go. He shouted, “I’ll go with you, quick, take me back to your sect!” Chapter 63, EXR translation

Which, of course, is him dwelling on…

Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Go back to Gusu with me.” Hearing this, both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were surprised. Quickly afterward, Wei WuXian laughed, “Go back to Gusu with you? To the Cloud Recesses? Why go there?” He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.” Chapter 62, EXR translation

…the painful flashback immediately preceding this. The third set of flashbacks (which are also painful) are a similar case. Look at the contex:

He lifted the bottom of his robe, revealing a prosthetic leg made of wood, “This leg of mine was destroyed by you, that night in the Nightless City (…)” (…) “Wei WuXian, I won’t ask you if you remember or not. Both of my parents died by your hands. You owe too many people. You definitely won’t remember them either. But, I, Fang MengChen, will never forget! And never forgive you!” (…) “In the fight at Qiongqi Path, my son was strangled to death by your dog Wen Ning!” “My shixiong died by poison, his entire body festering due to your cruel curse!” Chapter 68 (immediately preceding the flashbacks), EXR translation

And Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts and words:

Wei WuXian looked at the cultivators before the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Their expressions were the absolute same as those of the cultivators from the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine on the ground as they took the pledge to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants and him.  (…) Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?” Chapter 79 (immediately succeeding the flashbacks), EXR translation 

Once again, Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts relate to the flashbacks we’ve just been shown. And, as I previously mentioned, though all the events which are shown are tragic, they’re also events which Wei Wuxian’s own choices and actions shaped – which he has this to say about:

“The things I did, not only do you remember them, I remember them too. You won’t forget them, and they’ll stay even longer in my mind!” Chapter 82, EXR

Admittedly, this applies more to the third set of flashbacks than the second (which is still fitting as the third set was the most recent), as in the second, although he still had agency within and influence over his circumstances, the majority of the pain was caused by others’ actions (excluding, of course, the Golden Core transfer… which is something we know stays for a long time in his mind, albeit with a caveat we’ll soon discuss). But it’s still important to note – especially considering that otherwise, focusing on this very painful time in his life wouldn’t seem like something very in-character for Wei Wuxian to do.

Of course, this can all just be explained by good writing. It is best to insert flashbacks when they’re relevant to the characters and events in the present day! But it is interesting to compare these to the start of the (not painful) Gusu flashbacks, which open this way:

At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months. Chapter 13, EXR

Again, considering the circumstances around which these flashbacks take place – returning to the Cloud Recesses for the first time since the lectures, and meeting Lan Wangji once more – it makes complete sense for Wei Wuxian to be thinking about these events*. So it does fit the pattern of Wei Wuxian dwelling on something, thus leading to the narrative dwelling on it, too (and being shaped by his thoughts)… but there’s another layer to this. Importantly, it is the only flashback where Wei Wuxian’s present thoughts don’t lead to this happening, with his thoughts at an unspecified future time leading to it, instead. I like to interpret this as the text saying that, since these events aren’t something Wei Wuxian wouldn’t focus on in normal circumstances, he can dwell on them at any time. Therefore, they’re free to come up in the narrative at any time as well, even if he’s not dwelling on them in the present moment!

So, to summarise: Wei Wuxian’s decision not to focus on the painful times in his life directly influences the narrative to not focus on these times. When painful times are brought up and shown to us, it’s in the context of him thinking about them in the present day, and even then, his most painful moments still aren’t shown to us. His agency in this regard is still respected by the narrative structure.

This is the main way his agency influences the structure of the narrative, but I’d like to talk about the revealing and concealing of information, too. For example, I said I’d talk about the Golden Core transfer – though Wei Wuxian does think about this many times, as evidenced by his internal narration in Chapter 103. But unlike everything we’re shown through the flashbacks, this is something Wei Wuxian is actively trying to hide from others. And the narrative respects this choice (Wei Wuxian’s agency, again), never reveals it even when it would be relevant in the flashbacks, and we find out not through narration, but through a character’s dialogue!

And to clarify – I know these aspects may not be in the book for this exact reason. Showing flashbacks in relevant moments is good writing, concealing an important plot point you want to do a reveal for is necessary writing, and MXTX has said she didn’t want to write about Wei Wuxian’s time in the Burial Mounds, due to not liking to write transformation sequences (and also because it would not be pleasant at all, which likely also applies to Wei Wuxian’s death). That doesn’t prevent it from also being intentional – MXTX’s intelligence is shown in many aspects of this book, and there’s nothing disproving it – but there’s no proof for either option, so I won’t pretend there is. I bring this up because I know this feels like I’m overanalysing, as I feel that way as well.

But, whether it’s intentional or not, it exists in the text, and I adore it – so, regardless, it’s something I’ll explore. Because taking this into account… We aren't just told about Wei Wuxian having agency, we aren’t just shown it in the text, we aren’t even just shown it through which parts of his past are shown and hidden in the structure of the text (as I talked about in Part One). The parts of the past that are shown and hidden also have an in-universe reason for being shown and hidden, this reason being the choices he makes! Agency is the ability of a character to influence the story they’re in, but Wei Wuxian’s agency, as a property of a character who only exists in-universe, shapes the out-of-universe structure as well! That’s how we’re shown its importance! How cool is that?

At The End Of The Road: Summary and Final Thoughts

In this essay, we’ve covered how important Wei Wuxian’s agency is not only to the events of the plot, but to the structure of the narrative as well. The narrative omits periods in which Wei Wuxian has little or no agency, in favour of showing us periods in which he does, even when important events happened in the former. This indicates that who Wei Wuxian is without agency isn’t important enough to be shown to the audience, and therefore that his agency is an integral aspect of his character in MDZS. We’ve discussed how both in-universe and out-of-universe, tragedy does not define him – out-of-universe, the tragic events in Wei Wuxian’s life are used not to build sympathy but rather to show his strength of character and who he still is despite going through them; and in-universe, he chooses not to focus on the negativity and resentment caused by his circumstances or others’ actions, instead staying true to his moral compass and enjoying his life in the present day. Finally, we’ve also explored how this choice is another reason for the omission of certain events from the narrative, resulting in his agency shaping the story in a very literal way – it affects the out-of-universe structure, as well.

It’s quite fitting, for a story whose essence is about defying a conventional narrative – that of righteous clans rising up and defeating a great evil – and about a character who defies many conventional narratives on his own – that of status defining how skilled you could be, that for a golden core being necessary for cultivation and other paths being unavailable, that of a tragic but complete story of someone killed for staying true to their moral code (instead, that character returns to life and has a happy ending) – to have its own narrative play a role in such an important and interesting way.

(Or, if an image would be preferable:)

Thank you for reading!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

--

*This strong relation to the present day circumstances is another reason I love the flashback placement so much (and why I think it’s such a loss both screen adaptions altered it so strongly)!