#not particularly of immediate relevance just in general

[autogeneity]

wish we had a feature to de-activate that was not delete

[ravenwolfie97]

i can't sleep and i want to fight youtube

[howtofightwrite]

I’m not sure if this is off topic for your blog, but out of fear for my search history and the police, I wanted to ask if there is a means of someone producing a homemade bomb or something throwable that generates high levels of heat?

For context, the character I am writing is a lab intern that is secretly studying how to get rid of a parasite (think of something like Venom/Carnage) that can only be injured/destroyed with high levels of heat.

Two thoughts come to mind immediately, thermite and white phosphorous. So, in both cases, we're going to be setting metals on fire.

Thermite is more of a process than a specific chemical composition, which means getting the materials to make thermite explosives isn't that challenging. It involves getting a highly reactive metal, and then getting it to oxidize aggressively. Turns out, if you force aluminum to rust on the spot, it gets a bit warm. In some cases (such as with copper) the reaction is energetic enough to cause molten metal to splatter.

Because we're talking about different chemical mixtures, it's a bit hard to predict the exact tempreture, but most thermite reactions (at least, all of the ones I've ever looked up) will burn in excess of 2000K (3000F.)

Rigging thermite into a more portable form isn't that complicated, and crude pipe bomb-like containers should get the job done. Though, this would likely cause further problems.

The second option is white phosphorous. This burns at a lower temperature (around 800C), but this stuff ignites on contact with oxygen. Something you might be able to find in the air you're breathing. White phosphorous is a bit more tightly controlled, and is used in a wide variety of munitions. (In theory, it's used for tracers, as the phosphorous will ignite and glow while the round is traveling to its destination.) Because it will continue to burn in the wound, white phosphorous wounds are particularly horrific (as you'll see, if you ever visit the Wikipedia page.) However, it is already available as a payload for most military small arms cartridges.

A third option is classic napalm. This stuff tends to burn north of 800C. The actual material is a bit more disturbing than you might realize. Nalpalm isn't just a burning liquid, it's more like a burning goop, that sticks to whatever it hits... and continues to burn. Imagine a Vaseline sprayer (except, the Vaseline is ignited just after it leaves the nozzle.) Producing napalm in a modern chemlab, with a reasonable stockpile of ingredients shouldn't be too difficult, though it's unlikely the stockroom would have enough of the relevant chemicals to make much of the stuff. (Nalpalm flamethrowers go through a lot of fuel, so making the stuff on site might not be a great option.)

Using any of these methods will get a lot of attention on your character. While we tend to overestimate just how much casual searches for this kind of information are likely to land you on a watch list (this used to be more true than it is today), actually using them in the field will get an anti-terrorism taskforce crawling down around your character's ears. (Especially if they're making thermite loaded pipe bombs.)

Now, here's the funny thing about all of this: It's unnecessary.

You've got a monster that is vulnerable to flames. The simplest, and cheapest solution, is probably to go buy one of those orange, plastic, flare guns. This'll set you back less than $40 dollars (plus the cost of the included flares.) Then load up on extra flares, (at this moment, they're around $10 per flare.) (If you already have a 12 gauge shotgun, you can skip the flare gun entirely, and just buy 12ga flare shells.)

Those flares burn at similar temperatures to white phosphorous rounds, and are much, much, less regulated. (Though, if you're wandering out and buying up hundreds of flare shell rounds, that's likely to raise a few eyebrows.) (This is also true of normal emergency flares, similar temperatures, and they burn for much longer.)

This is without even thinking about Dragon's Breath shells, which will burn in the range of some of the hotter thermite reaction ranges. (To be honest, it probably is a thermite reaction, but I'd need to look into them a bit more to verify that.)

So, ultimately, the problem for a monster vulnerable to heat is that there are a lot of ways to throw burning metal at it, and let that cook it for you.

-Starke

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[tossawary]

When writing both original fiction and fanfiction, it's my personal preference and style to remind people who characters are in the narration when I feel it might be needed. It's especially handy when bringing OCs into a fanfiction. Example: "The person calling out to them was [Character's Name Here], the baker they had met earlier that morning." This quirk of narration often reads to me as the POV character internally reminding themselves who someone is.

Sometimes, a character is quite bad with names or wasn't given one, which is where it's handy to refer to this other character by a fixed epithet. Example: "The person calling out to them was the square-faced man from yesterday, who had given them those bad directions." OR: "The person calling out to them was the mayor's daughter." This reads to me as though the POV character is distinguishing people by a particular feature or remembers them by their relationship to someone else, which is a common way to remember people, until their own name becomes more fixed in your mind.

I also think it's important to keep an epithet / title the same across a scene. Epithets are best used, in my opinion, when that particular feature or quality is actually relevant. It's a little weird for a POV character to suddenly think of their own husband as "the tall man" unless his height is suddenly important in some way, and it might confuse the audience into thinking another person is in the room. If a character doesn't have a name, then "the square-faced man" or "the mayor's daughter" effectively becomes their name, and it's confusing to have a character's name change too much with every other paragraph. (It would be fine to also refer to "the mayor's daughter" as "the girl" or "the young woman" as long as there aren't any other nameless girls speaking in the scene.) Keeping the same title allows it to blend in in the same way that the word "said" does, rather than break up the flow of a scene.

Not every person or character is bad with names and remembering people, of course, or is inclined to give them funny little internal titles. There are people who are very good at names. There are tricks to use to get yourself to memorize names as you're introduced to someone. Narrative styles are going to be different by author and by the current POV character. (Sometimes, you might want the audience to be confused and disoriented!)

In fact, thinking about how different characters think about each other is one of my favorite starting places for crafting a perspective voice. A single character might be referred to in the narration as "His Majesty" by one character, "my husband" by another character, "the king" by a third character, "the usurper" by a fourth character, and "Dad" by a fifth. The name that a character calls someone else by will often say a lot about their relationship and their opinion of that other person. If the prince appears to think of his father as "the king" rather than "Father", that implies something about their relationship.

But back to introducing character names, you as an author, in my experience as a writer and reader, generally can't rely on the audience to easily recall very minor character names unless they're very distinct or the character was introduced in a particularly memorable way. Like, if you introduce a character as the protagonist's best friend, Mary, and immediately start refering to her as Mary because it's followed by a conversation between the protagonist and Mary, that's fair! It's reasonable to expect the audience to just learn Mary's name here! But then if Mary disappears after Chapter 1 and doesn't show up again until Chapter 10, I think it's reasonable to subtly reintroduce her to the audience again. Example: "It was Mary smiling at me from the doorway, and I jumped up to hug my best friend immediately."

Like, there's no one way that you have to refer to characters and introduce them and reintroduce them, of course. Characters have different levels of importance and sometimes we don't really need to know who they are. Sometimes, an author wants an audience to feel grounded, to recognize people, and sometimes they want their audience to feel lost and scared. It's all situational. Style is a thing.

But because it's all situational, this is something I like thinking about and I think it's something worth studying when you're reading original fiction. It's interesting to pay attention to how characters enter and exit scenes in different forms of media, and how the narrator introduces them and how other characters greet them aloud. (Shakespeare comes to mind as a neat thing to look at, to see how theatre does it. Comic books and films and visual media will do it differently to a text-only story.) The audience doesn't have the background that you, the author, carry around in your head all of the time, and you often need to give them a helping hand in keeping your cast of characters straight. Even in fanfiction, without including OCs, not everyone in the audience has the whole canonical cast perfectively memorized, and not every character in any given cast actually knows every other character! It's not just OCs who need introductions, whether those introductions happen subtly or a character enters the story with a bang.

Kind of another side note:

One of my favorite character introductions comes from the book "The Princess Bride", in which Princess Buttercup is kidnapped by three men who are referred to only as "the Spaniard", "the Turk", and "the Sicilian". You don't know their names for quite some time. Buttercup doesn't know these people.

You only learn the Spaniard's name when the Sicilian leaves him at the top of a cliff, tasking him the Spaniard fighting and killing "the Man in Black" who is pursuing their kidnapping. When the Spaniard is about to fight someone to the death, the book pauses to tell you that his name is Inigo Montoya, and then there is an ENTIRE CHAPTER dedicated to Inigo Montoya's long and tragic backstory, in which you learn about his decades-long quest to find the six-fingered man who murdered his father. And then the book abruptly dumps you the audience back out onto that cliff, where Inigo (no longer just "the Spaniard" and no longer just some random kidnapping thug) is about to fight for his life.

I think it's a terribly fun piece of whiplash that suits the comedic style of the book really well. (The book is a little different to the movie and there are things about it that I don't like, the movie gets across a level of a sincerity and love through the acting that the book misses in places, but there are lots of really funny elements to the book that the movie sadly couldn't cover.) The transformation from "the Spaniard" into "Inigo Montoya" is really neat to me.

[babyboywinchester]

Hey, why do you hate Misha Collins? Can you explain please, preferably with examples, if you have time and it's not hard for you? I'm just trying to understand, because half of the internet literally in love with him and half of the internet hates his guts, so I want to know why.

I could delve into this, if you’re actually being serious, but it’s hard to tell anymore. I will refer you to @nancylou444’s very extensive list of problematic things he has done.

In short, I find his pandering and lack of a spine to be abhorrent and unbecoming. He continually throws scraps to his rabid base of fans who in turn harass, threaten, name call, and bully others who don’t share their point of view. (That Destiel is TOTALLY ACTUALLY CANON and anyone who says otherwise is HOMOPHOBIC)

His opinion changes depending on whoever is in the room, he says things when he’s alone with a group of frothing at the mouth gay fetishizers, but the second someone is around that can call him on his shit he is 😶. You didn’t see him saying Cas and Dean would be “balls deep” with Jensen or Jared on stage did you? No, because they would have shot that shit down immediately. He does it to stay relevant with a select few fans because he knows that’s all he has. He isn’t a well known or well liked actor. He has no prospects outside of Supernatural and the con circuit and he needs to make money. What better way than to get this gullible rubes to loosen their wallets and give him their hard earned cash when all he has to do his say Destiel was totes canon and TPTB were too homophobic to let it happen.

“Half of the internet” is a very skewed statement. He only seems as popular as he is because this is tumblr and the fans are particularly rabid here… but outside of that, on the internet as a whole and with the general population he is not known or liked at all. It’s only within the destiehell circles.

If this was a genuine ask then I hope that answers your question. I thank you for sending it and hope that helps! If you yourself are a fan of him that is fine. That is your choice and don’t let my feelings about him take away from your enjoyment, but I would ask that you don’t descend to the levels of his other fans who choose to harass people because they see him for what he is.

🩷

[riddlerosehearts]

list of acd canon sherlock holmes things i absolutely love

(and am going to mostly put under a readmore because i made most of this list while rereading the entire canon so it is very long! listen i just think sherlock holmes is the best character ever and i need to share my love for him--)

immediately upon being introduced to watson he grabs him by the sleeve, starts excitedly showing off his bloodstain testing experiment, and claps his hands “looking as delighted as a child with a new toy”. once he finishes, his eyes glitter and he puts his hand on his heart and bows “as if to some applauding crowd conjured up by his imagination”.

watson: “i object to rows because my nerves are shaken”

holmes: “do you include violin playing in your category of rows?” he asked, anxiously

he’s noted to be extraordinarily knowledgeable and zealous in his studies, and yet on the same page it’s stated that he doesn’t know the earth travels around the sun and once watson tells him about it he immediately decides to forget about it because it’s not relevant to his work. this is where the famous “brain attic” monologue comes in.

watson writes this list about him and then throws it into the fire in despair:

has a habit of laughing in a way that’s described as bursting into an “explosion” or “roar” of laughter

frequently does this at crime scenes:

enlists a gang of street orphans to help him on his cases, pays them for their work, and generally treats them as equals but also playfully talks to them like a general to his soldiers

plays the violin for watson to help him get to sleep

is incredibly knowledgable on anything from different types of tobacco, to the ways one's trade can influence the form of their hands, to medieval pottery and stradivarus violins. and yet, i reiterate, does not know the earth revolves around the sun.

has a tendency of waxing poetic about the meaningless of existence, particularly when he’s bored from not having any cases to work on

once said about a dog “i would rather have toby’s help than that of the whole detective force of london”

used the word “doggy” when speaking to toby

once told watson “i don’t wish to be theatrical” despite all evidence to the contrary

disguises himself as an old man just to play a prank on watson

watson: “i think i had better go”

holmes: “not at all, doctor. stay where you are. i am lost without my boswell.”

is known to wiggle in his chair when he gets excited about a case

discovers that a man has tricked his own stepdaughter into a fake marriage so he can keep her at home and control her life and inheritance. acknowledges that said man hasn’t done anything illegal but still tells him “there never was a man who deserved punishment more” and that he ought to get whipped for what he did, and then goes to actually get his hunting crop, causing the man to run out the door at top speed

let a criminal go free because it turned out the man he murdered was trying to force said criminal’s daughter into an unwanted marriage

was suddenly made to participate in the wedding of someone he was tracking for a case, came home and laughed about it for several minutes, exclaimed “well, really!”, laughed for several more minutes, and only then did he actually tell watson what happened

responds to the king of bohemia insulting irene adler and saying she’s not on his level by saying coldly: “from what i have seen of the lady, she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your majesty”, which is basically him saying “actually she’s way better than you, so fuck off”

refused to shake said king’s hand

built a pillow fort in a client’s house so he could think better

let a poor jewel thief go because he cried, because it was christmas and therefore it was the season of forgiveness, and because the case was really easy anyway so it’s not his fault if the police are too stupid to solve it themselves

always reassures clients that they can trust him and watson and speak freely around them

is willing to waive his fee for clients who can’t afford to pay him, because according to him his profession is its own reward

this entire scene from speckled band when he gets confronted by his client’s abusive stepfather:

this nice little example of the gentleness he often displays with his clients:

the adventure of the copper beeches. just, all of it. a woman he doesn’t know comes to holmes for advice about a potential job she’s interviewed for and they both agree it sounds incredibly sketchy, she says she’s gonna take it anyway because she needs the money, and he’s like “well i wouldn’t want any sister of mine doing something like this but FINE i guess, just please write to us and let us know if you’re okay and if anything bad happens we’ll drop everything and come help you immediately”, and then the job does in fact turn out to be super sketchy and they drop everything and get on a train as soon as she writes to them

sometimes spends several hours out on walks through the park or the town with watson just relaxing and talking with him for the sake of it, despite watson frequently noting that holmes doesn’t have much appreciation for nature

“we have had the good fortune to bring peace to many troubled souls. i trust that we may do the same for you,” he says “in his easy, genial way” to a potential client who’s clearly very upset and sleep-deprived

is completely wrong about a particular case and asks watson to remind him of that case next time he gets overconfident

is noted by watson to be very neat and methodical in his methods and way of dress, while simultaneously being one of the messiest people ever who keeps his tobacco inside a persian slipper and his unopened letters held up by a knife in the center of his mantelpiece, keeps tons of criminal relics which apparently somehow end up in the butter dish sometimes, and keeps countless stacks of papers and documents all over the place

tells watson anecdotes about his past just to avoid cleaning up said documents

deliberately knocks over a table, shattering a glass fruit bowl which then sends oranges rolling all over the room, and then blames it on watson and runs away

says snarky things like “when gregson or lestrade are out of their depth–which, by the way, is their normal state” and “you’ve done very well, watson! it’s too bad you’ve missed everything of importance”

laughs when watson suggests he’s being modest about his abilities

picked up a rose and got all sappy and poetic about it

more specifically, picked up a rose and said that religion can be a science which involves a lot of careful deduction, and that flowers are a source of hope and proof of the goodness of god due to the fact that they aren’t a necessary part of life but are still so beautiful anyway

recovered an incredibly valuable government treaty for a client and had it served to him on a platter at breakfast because, in his own words, he “never can resist a touch of the dramatic”

faked his death and then revealed to watson that he was still alive in a manner that even he admitted was unnecessarily dramatic

had a full-scale wax model of himself created and used it to fool his enemies

made a diagram out of breadcrumbs to explain something to watson

broke into a blackmailer’s house for a case because he believed it to be morally justifiable, and admitted that he always thought he might make a good criminal

held watson’s hand while they were burgling said house together

twice

allowed said blackmailer to be murdered in front of him by one of his victims and then refused to take the case when asked because he just hated the guy that much

“flushed up with pleasure” when watson complimented him

asked watson to sell his medical practice and move back into 221b with him after the death of his wife. and then secretly gave a relative of his a ton of money to buy watson’s medical practice at the highest price watson would ask for, just so they could live together again

was nearly brought to tears by lestrade saying he was proud of him

let a dog lead him around on a case, multiple times in different stories

was very gentle with a client who he knew to be the victim of an abusive marriage and allowed the man who killed her husband to go free out of sympathy for their situation

noticed watson looking sad and touching his war wound and tried to cheer him up by echoing his thoughts and providing a deduction of how he knew what he was thinking

mentioned watson’s sparkling eyes in said deduction

talked about nothing but violins and his favorite violinist for an hour while he and watson had lunch together

likes going to classical music concerts and getting lost in the music

does scrapbooking

chuckles and rubs his hands together when he’s happy

this:

takes getting called "the devil himself" as a compliment

let a killer go because he had only killed in retaliation for the unjust murder of his lover, and holmes felt that he might’ve done the same if someone were to kill the woman he loved

on a completely unrelated note tells a guy who shoots watson “if you had killed watson you would not have got out of this room alive”

also reacted like this when watson got shot:

went undercover to supposedly give a guy secret government intelligence documents, and then gave him a book about bees instead

frequently disguised himself either for cases or just to fool watson and was noted to be a great actor

once disguised himself as an old woman with a parasol

tried the best he could to talk a young woman out of marrying a man who had a history of “collecting” women for sport and destroying their lives, and admitted to watson that he thought of her as he would think of his own daughter

was prone to “imp-like moods”

sent watson a message to come over at once ("if convenient--if inconvenient come all the same") just so he could infodump to him about dogs

wasn’t surprised that a dog died of grief shortly after its owner’s death, because of “the beautiful, faithful nature of dogs”

listened with great sympathy to a depressed woman who wanted to tell him her tragic story, picked up on hints that she was planning to commit suicide, talked her out of it by convincing her that her life does have value and then called her brave for choosing to live

got lost in thought looking out the window at the publicly funded elementary schools and randomly went on about how he believes they and the children who attend them are beacons of a brighter future

made hot cocoa for watson

shook hands with a baby

retired to the countryside to live on a farm and become a beekeeper.

[eggcats]

I know it's common for, in radiostatic fics that get rid of Valentino, to get rid of the pornography empire they have, and I GET why, but in my own personal opinion I don't think it's always the best move

In my Housewife Vox AU, I've kept that part of the media empire Vox owns and simply changed ownership of being the overlord in charge of that to be Angel Dust (owned by Alastor) - (in the original deal, Val and Vox's agreement was a lot more equal, but to exert control, prevent a power grab, and make sure Angel can't do anything to hurt Vox or his empire, Alastor took Angel's soul)

(I also hate Val, so I did have him killed in the 80/90s and Angel taking over THEN, but even still, in my AU, Vox did decide to partner with Valentino to add control over hell's pornography into his empire because it'd be foolish not to, considering the power that would add)

Because, like, IMO the issue with that section of visual media was because of HOW Valentino was doing it (abusing his staff, using his venom to coerce people into it, creating the date rape drugs, etc) - but if you take that part out, it makes more sense for a media mogul who owns as much of the media and technology in the Pride Ring he can TO also have a monopoly on the pornography available - it's not like simply not owning it would mean it doesn't exist, so you might as well be the one to do it, do it right, and get the money from it, yeah?

I do think, though, that once Angel took over, he and Vox DID go over all of Val's previous contracts to make sure their employees still wanted the job they had signed their souls over for - the ones who didn't want to do pornography anymore were simply moved to other jobs; and Angel doesn't have issues signing new people on (even/especially without the drugging) because the contracts are relatively fair and the staff treatment at the studio is fine, so for many freshly fallen it's a good way to not be begging on the streets and to have a steady income

ALSO, because Alastor would go ballistic if any of Angel's employees hit on Vox or tried to get him to sleep with them, ALASTOR is usually the one visiting Angel at the studio when the need arises (he's not particularly bothered by sex work, he just has no interest in partaking in any part of it and generally doesn't want to think about it)

Alastor is aware of himself enough to know that if Vox came home smelling like the sinners and sex of the studio, he wouldn't be able to control the rampage he'd go on and would unintentionally clear out half of Angel's employees - which would be bad for Vox

Angel agrees, because no matter HOW many times he warns his employees not to, some will inevitably still hit on Alastor - who just ignores it and doesn't see it as anything relevant (so Vox never finds out to be the one murdering them) - but if Alastor saw/heard/smelled even a hint of them flirting with Vox it'd be a bloodbath worse than when he killed Val

Also, ironically, Angel can flirt with them both with no repercussions because somehow neither of them see him as a threat, and other than very close to his rut, Alastor considers Angel's scent on Vox not something to be alarmed about - like he's fine with Rosie and Niffty's scents as well

(Angel will never admit even under threat of death, but if Alastor and Vox ever did seriously take up his offer to be their third in the bedroom he's jumping at the chance - but he knows the only reason he's alive is because they think it's a joke. It's not. He knows it'll almost definitely never happen, but if the offer ever comes up, he's saying yes, immediately, lol).

[batsplat]

as our resident Casey expert i wonder what do you think would have happened if marc and casey competed against each other? since casey retiring is so important for marc coming into motogp im always thinking abt the what ifs...

my initial instinct with this hypothetical is always 'that sounds horrible', though I do have more thoughts and opinions about it than that! marc obviously would have loved the chance to race casey, and casey has even been one of his picks of 'guys he would've liked to be teammates with' before, so, you know, clearly something there - and he does very much respect casey as a rider. I think it's quite likely that by the time marc entered the premier class, casey had already developed... I don't know if wariness is going too far, but maybe a little bit of unease or caution where marc was concerned. marc already very much had a reputation based on his 125/moto2 track record, and some of these incidents were controversial enough that the motogp riders commented on them. so take the phillip island 2011 incident where marc rode into the back of another rider:

the valentino quote serves as a bit of a benchmark here, given he was generally pretty pro-marc. yes, casey's phrasing is perhaps a little harsher, but unsurprisingly none of the riders were big fans of marc's behaviour in that particular incident

on the other hand, it's not like casey never sided with marc. take catalunya 2012, where marc was slapped with a controversial post-race penalty:

yes, casey's main complaint was about inconsistent stewarding - but still, he believed marc had been unfairly treated here. feels like these incidents were some of the only things casey and valentino actually agreed on in those years, so that's nice

that being said, it's hard to see how casey wouldn't have his issues with marc and marc's whole approach to racing. I did include some thoughts on the teammate question here, but mainly I'm going to pilfer the relevant autobiography passage:

"if a rider doesn't care about his own safety then it stands to reason he doesn't care about anybody else's either"... there's nobody really who embodies the 'doesn't care about his own safety' maxim better than marc. he was the young rider desperate to win, and I can't imagine casey would have enjoyed actually racing him much. casey mostly didn't enjoy racing valentino, after all, who is a generally a lot more selective with his aggression than marc is (though casey did have to experience some of the worst valentino had to offer in that regard). casey talked in his autobiography about getting a sense when he just wasn't really able to trust another rider on the track, how much it bothered him - and that exact lack of respect is something that's been pretty closely associated with marc. that doesn't mean he would immediately declare marc his enemy... he'd just want marc to change, to learn, to grow up, to start treating his competitors with a little more respect. the way casey talks about young riders, there is a sense in which he has more time for them than he does for valentino - whose lack of respect casey views as more integral to who he is as a rider. valentino isn't a bully on track due to the exuberance of youth, he's a bully on track when he thinks he can use it as a tactic of intimidation. then again, marc by this measure is worse... and I think very quickly casey would have grown pretty disenchanted with how marc approaches all his wheel-to-wheel racing, especially when it becomes more and more clear marc does not feel particularly inclined to change

it's always important to remember how recent the trauma of losing simoncelli was for the whole sport, and it coloured both dani and jorge's wariness of marc... but also (in my opinion anyway) their restraint in how they dealt with him. how they tried to stop themselves from actually making an enemy out of him, in part because they'd just had an experience of harshly criticising a rider for a whole year and then having to process his death. both dani and jorge actually had more public and more serious disagreements with simoncelli than casey did, but I reckon there would have been an element of that restraint with casey too... on the other hand, his experiences with marc would have left him feeling even more alienated from the sport than he already was - at times frustrated (like jorge was) less with marc directly but more with the regulatory bodies for not holding marc back, for not giving him a race ban or whatever to teach him a lesson. that being said, marc's shamelessness vs casey's stubbornness means that if they had direct on-track encounters and casey didn't like marc's post-race response... well, I certainly think that'd end up being a pretty tense situation, even if it falls short of active hostilities

worth including irl!casey's take on marc in 2013:

which, you know. it's not just that marc's a hard racer - casey is accusing marc of deliberately wanting to make the defeats extra painful for his opponents, of wanting to not just beat but humiliate them. anyone else that reminds you of? someone who is as motivated in securing his psychological victories as his actual ones? perhaps someone who has a bit of a history himself with casey?

let's bring in valentino. it's not that casey would really have begrudged marc his friendship with valentino, and he generally kept his hatred of valentino quite 'clean' in that he wasn't conducting any proxy wars or anything (for instance, I don't get the sense the vale/sic friendship ever affected his view of simoncelli... though I have very little to go on here either way). also, if nothing else in this timeline changes, we're assuming valentino in 2013 is fairly clearly the... fifth? best rider? kinda depends where dani would have landed I suppose (casey's retirement announcement did save honda from a bit of a headache)... but anyway what this means is that valentino probably wouldn't initially have been much of a competitive threat to casey. mostly he would have been consigned to the sidelines

that being said, I doubt casey would have massively enjoyed the whole laguna seca saga. unfortunately, we don't even really know what real life casey's stance on the copycat move situation was... though if I had to guess, in this timeline I'd say his position would've been, a) marc could and should have carried out that overtake two corners later, there was no need in that race situation to take that risk, b) still, it was valentino's slight error as he attempted to reclaim the position (in what was a pretty aggressive manner, it has to be said) that led to them both ending up off-track and fuck that guy, and c) the problem with 2008 wasn't just or even primarily the corkscrew overtake and it's annoying that that's the only bit everyone talks about. of course, there's also the question of whether casey would have bought marc's explanation that it was totally by coincidence that the overtake happened there... and again, complete guesswork, but my sense of casey is that he would have assumed marc was being at least a little bit dishonest. (which, you know... laguna's not an easy track to overtake at, but marc did prove with the bradl move that he was perfectly capable of overtaking after turn 8 - might not have been planning on the off-track excursion, but he was still attempting to overtake just ahead of a blind crest that happened to feed into the corkscrew lol.) I think casey by his honda days had calmed down a bit (though he still certainly had some conspiratorial tendencies), but I also don't think it's a stretch to imagine that he would've felt like he was a victim of a joke between the pair of them... not ideal

overall though, I reckon casey's main frustrations would have been less with the move itself and more with how it was discussed. in the presser, while joking with marc, valentino does take the opportunity to get in a jibe at casey for old time's sake. there's this clip, where he directly addresses livio suppo (at ducati in 2008, by then at honda) - specifically about how both casey and suppo criticised him for that overtake. in response, suppo says something about how he's grateful to marc because they finally got payback. valentino is later asked directly about casey's complaints in 2008 in this clip, and replies with the following:

would valentino have said this stuff with casey still in the paddock? well, yes! honestly, given valentino did very quickly lay off needling casey once he had retired, there's a good chance he would have said something worse. and marc would have laughed along at the whole thing. I don't know, I just don't see casey taking particularly kindly to that... he can hold a grudge, that man can, and at a certain point he'd probably be increasingly less willing to give marc the benefit of the doubt. interesting situation though, laguna seca '13 + casey is a very juicy scenario that could play out in several different ways

but I'm guilty of burying the lede here - there's a far more obvious reason than anything I've described above for why the casey/marc relationship would have turned sour. it's the simple fact that they would have been teammates which would do the damage all on its lonesome; they have radically different conceptualisations of how that dynamic is supposed to work and would inevitably have clashed as a result. the one commonality they do have is they don't see their teammates as potential friends, which is... also not helpful! I think they'd probably initially be fine on the interpersonal level - and, actually, given how the casey/valentino relationship played out and marc's general approach to his rivalries, I can see marc/casey more or less being able to maintain a minimum standard of politeness towards each other even at their worst. like, I still think they'd be able to smile at each other and do some small talk when face-to-face, but I also think everything else would be a complete disaster. I talked a bit about how marc approaches his teammate relationships in this post - and I'm not going to rehash too much of what irl!marc got up to, but I'll include some bits relevant to casey

from marc:

related to casey:

and dani comparing the two:

we do obviously even have actual real life controversy wherein casey thinks marc felt threatened by him and forced him out of honda... and this in a timeline where they weren't even direct competitors! if this is the level of tension a test rider role can generate, then if they'd actually been teammates...? yeah, no. casey thinks that teammates should cooperate - and he thinks that riders enforcing divisions within the box are essentially doing so because they are "afraid". marc has openly admitted to lying about what parts he likes to make sure his teammate doesn't get any edge over him. this is the thing, right: marc might think casey is a cool rider, would've liked the chance to race him and even be teammates with him... but this is the stuff he did to dani, who was one of his literal idols! this is his understanding of competition - (like valentino) he might love the fight, but simultaneously he'll do pretty much whatever it takes to win, because he considers this stuff fundamentally part of the game. casey does not. to casey, this kind of victory is dishonest. any kind of gamesmanship is a sign of weakness... the victory is worth less if you're accomplishing it like that

now, hey, maybe marc would never have been able to go as far as he did with dani because he wouldn't have the kind of performance edge that allows you to definitively impose your will within the team. I think it's a popular interpretation that marc wouldn't have won the title in 2013 if casey had been there, which... I mean, I think it's true that it would have been less likely - in that in a season with that much volatility, the more plausible championship contenders you have the less likely it is that any single one of them takes the title (same goes for instance if you add in a valentino who had not gone to ducati for two years and would have presumably been more competitive in 2013). but it's not like casey would have been the defending champion and the clear class of the field... partly due to injury, he ended up finishing in third in 2012. jorge and dani didn't win the 2013 title in part as a result of their own injuries, and who knows how casey would have fared... like sometimes it's just luck of the draw really. you can be the better rider and still not win the title, shit happens. I think for as long as a more or less healthy-ish casey stays in the sport, it would have been unlikely that marc establishes quite the same performance edge as he did over dani... but, well, if anything that would have meant he would have fought even harder out of perceived necessity to win the internal honda wars

it's the kind of thing that can make a relationship quickly deteriorate, especially with a prickly character such as casey, and it's entirely plausible that dynamic would have become strained at best and horrendously toxic at worst... sooner rather than later. and the thing is, this environment would affect marc considerably less than it would casey. again, it's the fact that he relishes the fight... he's very good at shrugging off (most) criticism and thrives in that kind of tension. the emotional fatigue that this scenario generates would be painfully lopsided, where casey offers harsh criticisms and means them and is endlessly frustrated with marc's approach, while marc... doesn't really care. at least dani also had a questionable manager who was conducting behind the scenes warfare on his behalf - casey doesn't want to play these games at all. he just wants to ride a bike, and marc is never going to allow him to live in peace as long as he's an internal threat. if casey were exposed directly to all of that from marc, I doubt he'd walk away from the experience with a particularly positive impression of him

does he walk away? I think there's a decent chance that casey would have ended up so disillusioned with the whole thing that this would have been what pushed him into retirement. if he wants to get out of that mess, let's say after two years, his options would have been pretty limited. yamaha is closed off and I'd struggle to think of a scenario in which either jorge or valentino would have been particularly interested in a direct swap (also, if you're sick of being marc's teammate, you're probably not gonna be jumping at the chance to be valentino's instead). I suppose you could go back to ducati (which he did return to as a test rider so it's not like those bridges were permanently burnt), and maybe casey could do something special even with *gestures* that version of the bike. really though... I think enough would have been enough for him. regardless of the actual balance of success between the pair of them, my guess is marc wins that war because he's happier to get nasty and because he wants it more. casey has his two to four titles... he's done. let him go fishing

[jojolily]

I’m only getting around to posting about it now but as soon as Ankarna’s name was said in episode 11 I immediately started looking up to the origin and roots of it (because I’m a massive nerd) and I found some fascinating things. These won’t be particularly organized so enjoy my ramblings

So first things first I looked up just Ankarna and found out that it’s the name of a nature reserve in Madagascar which, while interesting, isn’t particularly relevant or helpful.

So after that I tried looking just just Karna, since the A seemed like it might have been added AND THIS IS WHERE IT GETS FUN.

So Karna is the name of the demigod featured in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In it, he’s the son of the SUN GOD Surya and princess Kunti, which makes him royal too (that part isn’t super relevant but I do find it fun). There’s more to the epic with a few war stories and lots and lots of family drama, but in general he’s seen as symbol as someone who is rejected by those who should love him, but do not. Which feels incredibly relevant to the whole idea of a neglected god, of an idea that should have a following but doesn’t.

But yeah I find it extra fun considering how many connections Ankarna has to summer and the sun, being that his counterpart in the real world was a demigod of the sun.

One more fun detail is that one of his names (he’s referred to as a bunch of em) is Vrisha, which means “one who is truthful and keeps his vows” which could be nothing but j find interesting.

[radiostaticzine]

FAQ

What is a digital zine?

Just a zine in digital format :) This means there is no limit on length and will be distributed for free as a PDF. It gives more freedom in terms of content and allows many more people to participate both in production and reception!

Why is it free/will participants be paid?

It’s free because fandom is fundamentally about community and shared appreciation of a show/ship. The original property doesn’t belong to us, and I want this to be an endeavour done purely out of love. It’s entirely for fun, and no one involved will receive any monetary compensation.

Will there be print copies and/or merch?

No. Of course, you’ll be free to print the PDF file for yourself.

What SocMed do you have?

A tumblr, a twitter account, and a discord. If possible, please do join the discord as it will be most convenient for announcements, immediate questions/feedback, and also should be a nice place to interact with other radiostatic fans. :)

Discord: https://discord.gg/uwFz8NjjGG

Twt: https://x.com/RadiostaticZine

What dates will it run?

The plan is for sign-ups to begin July 28th and end August 18th, with final submissions by December 15th with check ins along the way. Release will be planned for mid-late January depending upon staff’s availability and workload.

Is there a limit on the number of participants?

Nope! No one will be judged on whether their work is “good” enough to be included. All works are welcomed.

Can I participate if I’m under 18?

Sorry, no. All participants must be over 18. If you sign up and are later found to be (or heavily suspected to be) under 18, you will be removed from the project.

Will I be able to post my fic/art to other sites?

Yes, although we ask that you wait at least one week after the zine’s release :)

Is there a length requirement for fics?

Please aim for anywhere between 1-5k. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but we’d like to keep each fic a manageable length for practicality.

Will the zine have a theme?

Given survey feedback and my own initial feelings, not this time! If this general zine goes well, perhaps subsequent zines might explore different themes. If you would like to participate but want specific inspiration, feel free to sign up and then chat with others in the discord to discuss fun prompts or ideas.

What kind of content is allowed?

Pretty much anything as long as it's about Vox and Alastor’s relationship! All fics and art will be required to submit a rating and appropriate tags/warnings. If you have any particular concerns or questions about something you might want to write/draw, please shoot me a message. But rest assured darker themes like unhealthy relationships, gore, vore, dub/noncon etc are all fine as long as appropriately and fully warned for. Of course, cute fluff is wonderful too! The zine will most likely be divided into sfw and nsfw sections.

Is one-sided/complicated/requited radiostatic okay? What about Alastor’s asexuality?

All forms of radiostatic are welcome! One of the best things about this ship is how much variation there is in the portrayals of their relationship, and you’re welcome to explore it as you like. Similarly, asexuality is a wide spectrum and I don’t feel that it’s our place to dictate how anyone explores that with Alastor in their own work. Aroace Alastor is also loved and welcomed :)

What about sideships and VoxVal?

Sideships are fine mentioned in passing, but please remember that the focus is radiostatic. This goes for VoxVal too - as they are canonically involved at least to some degree, it’s understandable if it is relevant in fic or affects the narrative. But again, the overwhelming focus should be the radiostatic interaction and relationship.

Can I contribute both art and fic?

Yes! However, each participant will be limited to one piece per medium.

Can I help out as a mod/staff?

Yes, we will be looking for volunteers to help out! Particularly for formatting, proofreading, and cover graphics/art. Please let us know if you’re interested in your submission form :)

If you have any other questions, please reach out at any time!

Thanks for your interest <3

[lurkingshan]

A Time Called You: A Great Reminder to Go Watch Someday or One Day 

This past weekend Netflix dropped a new kdrama called A Time Called You in its entirety, and I became particularly interested in watching it as soon as I realized what it was: the Korean remake of Someday or One Day I knew had been in the works for awhile. If you’re not familiar, Someday or One Day (SOOD) is a beloved 2019 Taiwanese drama that is widely considered to be among the best dramas the country has ever produced (there is also a 2022 film version of the story, but that’s less relevant to this post). Now, I love Korean dramas, and I know that countries remaking each other’s best shit is very common in the Asian media landscape, but I couldn’t help but feel protective of the original work and a bit resentful of the choice to adapt something that was so original and unique and specific and put that generic kdrama sheen on it. Taiwan has a small film industry, and this is one of its jewels. We didn’t need Korea’s take on it.

And having watched the adaptation in full now, I am feeling pretty justified in that initial feeling. Let me just say upfront: A Time Called You (ATCY) is a perfectly good drama with a solid cast and competent storytelling. Had I seen it absent the knowledge of what it was adapting, I probably would have liked it a lot. But I have already seen and loved Someday or One Day, so I feel compelled to break down why it is the better version of this tale, both for my fellow SOOD devotees who are wondering how this adaptation stacks up and for folks who have only seen the kdrama in the hopes that you’ll decide to watch the original. As usual, I did the most, so reader be advised that this is long (tagging @troubled-mind as promised and @smittenskitten because I saw you were looking for a comparison of the two dramas). TL; DR: if you liked ATCY, or have seen neither version and are wondering which to watch: go find Someday or One Day, because it’s an overall superior and more satisfying execution of the same story.

The Vibe

Let’s start here because it’s the most obvious and immediately striking thing as someone who has seen both versions. SOOD has a bit of a rough and unpolished feel, which makes it feel more grounded in reality (important when you are getting into fantasy elements like time travel but you still want the characters to feel like real people). We open our story in 1998 in a record shop with a young girl playing Last Dance by Wu Bai and China Blue, a 1996 mando pop rock ballad, and thus setting the tone—this will be a somewhat raw and bittersweet story about grief and hurt and longing that will invite us to wallow in our feelings. And that melancholic vibe stays throughout the drama, even in the explicitly happy scenes, because you are always aware that the joy you are seeing has already been lost. 

By contrast, ATCY feels… emotionally flat. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very faithful adaptation. The early episodes are practically a shot for shot remake of the original drama. But it’s too polished, too shiny. The filmmaking is bog standard kdrama fare; everything is soft focus and warmly lit and too beautiful and consequently nothing feels real. It feels right in line with the standard aesthetics of recent mainstream Korean dramas, and that choice undermines the emotional weight and grit of this story.

A great example of this can be seen in the way the two dramas handle the iconic scene where our female lead runs in the rain, looking back over her shoulder to smile in delight at the male lead before continuing on her way. This is a moment of realization for him about his feelings for her—one he will later immortalize in a painting that becomes part of the mystery of the past she is trying to unravel. In Someday or One Day, this scene takes place on a regular street, in the utterly mundane surroundings of their everyday lives as they walk home, and she runs down the middle of the road as puddles gather in the uneven pavement; in A Time Called Love, they are in a picturesque park for this scene, surrounded by green and encased within a grove of giant trees, and she runs right down the middle of a tree lane that looks like it came straight out of a fairytale. One story is very much about a love grounded in a reality we can recognize; the other is pure fantasy romance.

The Music 

I already mentioned the song that anchors the Taiwanese drama above. Last Dance is hugely important to the story, both thematically and as a plot device, and in its ability to set the mood and tone of the drama. 

The Korean remake similarly uses a real 1996 ballad as its main song and time travel mechanism: With My Tears by Seo Ji Won. And, uh, the vibe is a bit different. 

Discerning listeners might recognize this as one of the many classic love ballads performed by our favorite doctors by day, rock stars by night over on Hospital Playlist. It’s a perfectly fine song. But it sets quite a different tone for our story, doesn’t it? It also is meant to be a song that a teenage boy is hankering to listen to on cassette, and listen, I wasn’t living in Korea in 1996. I have no idea how culturally accurate that may be. I’m sure there were in fact baby Lee Ik Juns running around trying to get their hands on this cheesy love song. But the edgier sound of Last Dance definitely sounds more in line with something the teenage male lead would listen to and what the music is meant to convey. And frankly, since we hear this song about 30 times in the drama, it matters that Last Dance is just an objectively better song. 

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, because beyond the classic song each version chose to use as its centerpiece, there is also a stark difference in the quality and tone of each drama’s OSTs. Here is a compilation of the Someday or One Day tracks, including the utterly gorgeous main theme by Shi Shi. The music is hugely important in the Taiwanese drama and is used to set the mood as well as emphasize its themes, and the tracks feel specific to this story.

And here is a compilation of A Time Called You OSTs.

If you’re familiar with kdrama OSTs, you will recognize most of the artists on here, as well as some new covers of old songs. And again, the vibes are quite different. Whereas SOOD was very intentional and specific in its music choices, ATCY just sounds like every other kdrama. There is nothing on this tracklist that stands out or evokes the kind of feeling that the SOOD tracks do.

The Main Couple

The name and timeline situation in this show makes this section unnecessarily difficult, so let me just make a little reference sheet here: 

Someday or One Day

Alice Ke plays Yu Xuan (2019) and Yun Ru (1998)

Greg Hsu plays Quan Sheng (2019) and Zi Wei (1998)

A Time Called You

Jeon Yeo Been plays Jun Hee (2023) and Min Yu (1998)

Ahn Hyo Seop plays Yeun Jun (2023) and Si Heon (1998)

All of the actors here are seasoned and very good at their jobs, so I am not casting shade on any of them—they are executing their performances based on writing and directorial choices. But I cannot deny that the Taiwanese version of these characters are more compelling all around. In SOOD, the main characters have a real spark; despite the melancholic undertone of the story, there are moments of genuine joy and when they connect with each other, you feel why this bond is strong enough for them to find each other through time and despite all the trauma they endure. In ATCY, however, the characterizations are muted.

This is most evident in the difference between Quan Sheng/Zi Wei and Yeon Jun/Si Heon. Greg Hsu plays Zi Wei as magnetic, playful, mischievous, utterly lovable, and very intense about his feelings for his lady. He has a real joie de vivre about him that clearly brightens up Yu Xuan’s life considerably, and his devotion to her is not just shown, but deeply felt. Experiencing their memories, you understand immediately why Yu Xuan can’t move on from his death; he was the joyful, relaxed counterpoint to her more ambitious and serious personality. Si Heon, though? He is a nice dude and a generous partner and he is very good looking. But he doesn’t have the playfulness or the intensity that his Taiwanese counterpart does. His personality is just more moderate all around. One great example of this: upon discovering that he has traveled forward into the body of the person that would become Yu Xuan/Jun Hee’s boyfriend, Zi Wei (in Quan Sheng’s body now, are you still with me?) actively decides to find her, love her, and try to solve this time loop quagmire they are in; Si Heon (in Yeon Jun’s body) waits for a moment of fate to give him a sign, and only makes the decision to pursue Jun Hee after running into her by coincidence.

Similarly, Jun Hee is not quite as spunky and sassy as Yu Xuan and Min Yu is not as dark and awkward as Yun Ru; when Jun Hee travels to the past and takes up residence in Min Yu’s body, the differences between the two characters she is playing are not as evident. In SOOD, I could tell at a glance who is in Yun Ru’s body; in ATCY I need more context to be sure. Where Yun Ru had more of an edge, Min Yu simply reads very shy. It’s not as compelling. One scene that really stands out as an example of this: when Yun Ru is pretending to be Yu Xuan in 1998 and looks in the mirror to practice smiling, it looks downright creepy and sinister; when Min Yu is masquerading as Jun Hee and looks at herself in the mirror, she just looks awed and happy, if a bit awkward. It’s subtle, but it changes the way you feel about the characters. 

The difference in Jun Hee and Yeon Jun’s characterization also affects the couple chemistry, which is just not nearly as strong in ATCY. The characters are more muted and thus the expected sparks are more like smoldering embers. The relationship feels cozy and warm and nurturing, but it doesn’t feel vital. It doesn’t feel like the kind of relationship you would fight through time or break the rules of the universe to return to. I recall gasping or crying or laughing out loud throughout SOOD because I was constantly taken aback by Greg Hsu’s arresting presence and the chemistry he and Alice Ke generated was just emotionally riveting. When Yu Xuan told Zi Wei (as Quan Sheng) that they were officially together, that man literally jumped for joy and shouted out his love for her; Si Heon (as Yeon Jun) reacts to the same moment with a quiet smile and a hug. When Zi Wei saw Yu Xuan in Yun Ru’s body again in the finale, he knew instantly that it was her and the smile overtook his face as he reached for her; Si Heon initially called Min Ju’s name before getting closer and taking several beats to realize it was Jun Hee (ruining this iconic moment is perhaps this remake’s greatest sin against romance, my god). 

Everything between the couple in SOOD was just more, both in happiness and in despair. I liked Jun Hee and Si Heon, and Ahn Hyo Seop and Jeon Yeo Been are very competent actors whose performances I have loved in other dramas, but they didn’t achieve that level of chemistry here, the writing and directing choices worked against them, and I didn’t feel that same desperation for them to figure this out that I did with Yu Xuan and Zi Wei. 

The Story 

The Korean version is a very faithful adaptation overall (I haven’t mentioned Jun Jie and In Gyuk because his character and story is more consistent across the two shows), but does make some small tweaks to the story, some of which seem to be out of necessity due to a shorter run time (one episode and a couple hours total less than the Taiwanese original) and some just… because? The shorter amount of story time does lead to them having to cut corners on some aspects of the mythology and time travel lore, making it all a bit less clear for folks who don’t already understand what’s going on, and they put in a few nods to typical kdrama tropes like amusement park dates and hand of fate stuff that we really didn’t need—they are already trapped in a time loop together, we get it!

ATCY also messed with the timelines and ages for reasons I don’t really understand and that don’t really track. In SOOD, Zi Wei traveled forward from 2002 to Quan Sheng’s body in 2010, met Yu Xuan, and then died in 2018. In ATCY, Si Heon traveled forward from 2002 only to 2007 and did not die until 2022—but the relationship dynamics are all the same. It made sense for a young couple who had been together about 7 years and who were in their mid-20s to be having the kind of relationship problems they did—fighting about prioritizing careers and time abroad and whether it was time to get married. But a couple who has been together nearly 15 years? Who are in their mid-30s? They would have already been married probably and had a couple kids to boot. The choice to change the timeline like this had me scratching my head and accomplished nothing for the story. 

But neither of those things are the change to the story that is weighing on me most. That occurs in a very small and brief backstory for the real Yeon Jun, where the drama introduces an original character who has no counterpart in SOOD: Tae Ha. 

In SOOD, the real Quan Sheng is a closeted gay teenager who meets a tragic end: he confesses to his crush, gets brutally rejected, then gets bullied when the crush tells others about his sexuality, and ultimately decides to walk into the sea in an attempt to end his life, a choice that leaves his body in a coma until Zi Wei’s consciousness takes it over. In ATCY, this backstory changes and Rowoon is brought in for a brief but impactful cameo as Tae Ha, Yeon Jun’s cram school friend. We see that the two have mutual feelings for each other but are both struggling to confess. One day as they are driving together, they finally explicitly acknowledge their feelings, holding hands and smiling at one another—and then immediately get hit by a Truck of Doom (easily one of the most tired kdrama tropes), Tae Ha dying on impact and Yeon Jun ending up in a coma with Si Heon’s consciousness eventually taking over his body like in the original story. 

Now on first glance, you might be inclined to give the show some credit for including a new gay character and giving the original Yeon Jun a happier experience with his crush. Explicit gay representation? In a mainstream kdrama? Still very rare and a big deal if done right. But if you think for a moment longer you’ll realize we can’t give the show credit for this, because this is a textbook execution of the Bury Your Gays trope and the narrative punishment that befalls gay characters who act on their attraction. Essentially, what the Korean remake did here was reveal these two characters are gay, killed them both immediately after they decided to pursue a relationship with each other, and then had the het male lead character take over the body of this gay man and use it to enter into a relationship with a woman. Some aspects of this plot were present in the original tale, but this choice to add an additional gay character only to kill him and tie it to their moment of acknowledging their mutual attraction? Made it significantly worse. It was badly done and I will not applaud the drama for representation when they did it in such a cruel way. 

The Ending

SOOD ends on a hopeful but somewhat ambiguous note, with Yu Xuan in 2020 finding a way to go back and save Yun Ru (and Jun Jie by extension) and then breaking the time loop, sacrificing her relationship with Zi Wei in the process even as it breaks her heart (because the only way for them to meet and fall in love in 2010 was to stay in the loop). She sacrifices their romance, and all their memories together, because it’s the right thing to do—she inadvertently destroyed Yun Ru’s life with her time traveling, and she couldn’t live with that knowing there was a way to fix it. We are left with a broken time loop, original teen Zi Wei meeting child Yu Xuan again in 1998, and the hope that they will find a way to make their fates align again and be together without time travel complications. It’s just the right bittersweet touch to end the story on; their previous relationship was lost and their sacrifice was real, but there is hope for another version of a happy life together, someday.

By contrast, ATCY goes for a more explicit happy ending: Jun Hee makes the same choice to go back and save Min Ju, and to break the time loop and sacrifice her relationship with Si Heon, but in ATCY we then jump forward to 2011 to a happy epilogue to see Si Heon and Jun Hee meet as adults. And look, I love a happy ending! But what I said above about the sacrifice Yu Xuan and Zi Wei made in SOOD really resonating because of its bittersweet ending? That’s absent here, because ATCY decided they needed to put a bow on it and reassure us they would get back together. ATCY was just never willing to let us stay in the grief or commit to the darker and sadder aspects of this story, and as a result, the whole thing loses some of its impact.

[yardsards]

oh yeah for sure, definitely started as a general term and slowly evolved into Amber's Nickname For Oksana

like, bubba is a pretty general term of endearment irl, at least in the sort of north appalachia region that amber's based on

its exact connotation varies based on who's saying it and what particular area they're from (i think there are some additional connotations in like, the deep south?) and how old they are and how they're saying it etc.

but most commonly i hear it used as sort of like, a diminutive form of endearment. closest term i can think of connotation-wise in this context would be like calling someone "pumpkin". like, it's mostly something you say affectionately to a little kid, but not always.

it can also be said as a sort of way to say buddy/bro, or used teasingly, or catch on as someone's childhood nickname and carry on into adulthood (a similar process as to how i've met grown women who everyone just called "pumpkin"), or even as a term for a significant other

now, there are a few ways we could go with this.

we could say it started out casually meaning buddy/bro/etc., or as teasingly diminutive, but later grew to be a genuine term of endearment.

or it started out as a general term of endearment that amber used for a lot of people but slowly narrowed to just mean oksana (whether in a cute "it became special through being used so much" way or in an angsty "amber lost so many people she would've called 'bubba' in the past and became closed off and oksana's the only one left" way).

or if you wanna make it real sad, you could say that "bubba" was kind of oksana's childhood nickname, but amber's the only one left who called her that after she became kodeira and after so many people who were close to her before that left or died (though generally if you see someone nicknamed "bubba" it's a man, but certainly not always)

Amber ONLY ever calls Kodira bubba... You cannot convince me that isn't Justin's finner version of 'babe.'

[mr-payjay]

analysis of oj's thought process in this scene for funsies (quick warning for suitcase being put down and seen as inferior by another but it's not character neg)

why is oj being a massive fucking bitch? 🤔 Let's analyze.

so, obviously oj is living off a power trip in this episode. interesting implications about his actual power as a hotel owner. actually, at the beginning of the episode, we can see that he is NOT RESPECTED. salt lies about cleaning up, pepper demands him where the towels are (and he smugly lets her enter the DEATH TRAP DOOR? implying a familiar but negative relationship), and in general oj (and paper sort of but that's not relevant) seems to be the only caretaker while the rest of the residents are more like customers. though it seems they are *meant* to help out (such as salt being supposed to clean).

anyway. once oj gets the temporary host role for inanimate insanity, he immediately gets excited. we transition to the scene outside the hotel and he even does a little twirl! oj starts to read off the paper mephone uses (which oj has happily vandalized with drawings of himself and a snarky little message, this points to his general disdain towards mephone) and is trying to go Smoothly through with it. once the teams start fighting, he doesn't even try to figure out who's telling the truth, preferring instead to eliminate a random person. he REALLY likes to be efficient with his time, huh? that's talked about more in the next paragraph, but in this one i'll say a bit about his hatred for inanimate insanity. for the whole episode, he is uncaring of the show's rules, guidelines, structures, etc. he eliminates someone at random, he makes the contestants clean the hotel NOT as a challenge then flips a coin to determine the loser (only after they question him), he makes them sing for no reason other than to be entertained, he zips through every step as fast as possible. he does not care at all about ii, despite being so eager to host it. why? because hosting it means he gets to boss around a group of people (and he can make them clean his hotel! something he really needs help with!!), he gets to take mephone's place and mess with his stuff and disrespect his show, and generally he gets to sort of... take out some of his lasting frustrations surrounding ii. i don't think ANY of the season one cast is fond of inanimate insanity (and especially not of mephone), even if it brought them together (also not always a good thing). oj certainly isn't.

once he picks suitcase, he starts by calling her "whats-your-face" (thank you for noticing mari), then a few seconds later calls her by her actual name. thissss is so interesting to me. he KNOWS her name, apparently. but he called her a mean name first. this can either imply that he forgot, that he's just being a jerk for the hell of it, or both. i think it's both. a mix of his obsession with productivity and his need to be superior motivates this. he wants to get the elimination over with as quickly as possible, so quickly that he doesn't even bother to remember her name right away, because he's SO efficient that he just simply Doesn't have time for these things (in his mind). so it makes him feel both superior to her (disrespecting her), makes him feel good about himself (he feels like he's just being Productive and Time Efficient and part of that is that he has "no time" to do anything else but work). basically, he DID forget her name for like, a singular second, he just didn't bother to wait a moment or correct himself instead of calling her something else.

and for telling suitcase she's ruining the show? let's bring it back to ii1. oj insults people whenever he feels like it. he's pretty mean, and he's worse when he's stressed. he insults people particularly for being "useless" (such as to bomb), and is quick to fight back against anyone who challenges him. a pushover like suitcase is easy to demean. and it makes him respect her even less when she's being so meek! oj thinks his snappishness is justified by the fact he's, once more, simply being time efficient ("we've got a busy schedule!"), and that she is just wasting his time. i said earlier that oj doesnt respect inanimate insanity. so why does he accuse her of ruining the show if he doesn't care about it? well, because this is *his* episode. his time to be the host. even if he disregards the usual way things run, he's still going to get upset if something conflicts with *his* plans. he wants to get this over with and get them to clean his hotel, not much else (again, he's still enjoying being in a position of authority, he just likes to be nonchalant about how Superior and Powerful he is now). if someone's interrupting that, he's going to assert himself. oj always fights back against anyone who challenges him, and suitcase is too much of a doormat to stop him from shutting her down.

now for oj telling her to step back. this part is petty. he's irritated but also kind of. happy about being irritated. "what," you say? well, see, suitcase is genuinely trying to follow his directions. she just doesn't know how *much* to step back, obviously. so oj keeps shooing her a little bit at a time until she's finally offscreen, and you can tell he's a little bit annoyed by it. but this is part of the power & superiority once more! he gets to boss around someone "inferior to him" who is just soooo stupid that she doesn't even know where to go. and oj has to shoo her over and over because she's just not getting it (since he is sooo very much smarter than her and she is just completely incapable of following OBVIOUS directions.) but it's okay she is simply a Minor inconvenience (in his head) that he has dealt with now. also note that he could've just pointed to where she had to go. does this paragraph make sense? he likes being able to tell others what to do and have them do it, so even if she's kind of annoying him by not completely understanding the instructions, he still gets to assert his authority quite a bit.

this analysis is particularly focused on the scene in the video but i do bring up some other parts of the episode to support it.

[tossawary]

I’ve been thinking about how the seal on Luo Binghe’s “demonic blood” works and I think I’ve come up with a fun, fairly thorough, text-supported interpretation! It’s always been interesting to me that Luo Binghe is apparently able to pass perfectly as human, despite the fact that it wouldn’t be unreasonable for an impressive cultivation sect like Cang Qiong Mountain to be covered in an outrageous number of defenses to detect demons and keep them out.

(TL;DR: Heavenly demons were originally humans in some fashion, Su Xiyan sealed Luo Binghe’s demonic core in an undetectable dimensional pocket and essentially made him completely human, and space-manipulation abilities like those belonging to the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python, Mobei-Jun, or the Xin Mo sword were needed to break the dimensional pocket.)

The Hong Jing sword on Wan Jian Peak comes to mind, which apparently unsheathes itself of its own accord in the presence of possession and is, in the Airplane Extras, used to test Shen Yuan by the other peak lords after his transmigration. (Side note: Wei Qingwei says that Shen Yuan tried to draw the Hong Jing sword three times and it didn’t work?! SHEN YUAN! You are a transmigrator! You weren’t at all worried that it would out you?!) While the Hong Jing sword isn’t for detecting demons, when hunting the skinner demon in Shuang Hu City, the disciple use talismans to detect demonic energy, so there are probably other artifacts and methods to out demons.

Even when Meng Mo starts to teach Luo Binghe the demonic path (2) (relevant SVSSS passages below the cut at the end) and to use his demonic energy well enough to later fight against Mobei-Jun and disrupt his OP black ice sword attack (6), Luo Binghe still doesn’t get caught out. (Additional side note: Luo Binghe is Meng Mo’s host because Sha Hualing brought along the demonic device Meng Mo was meditating inside on her invasion. He’s technically partially possessed. Could Luo Binghe set off the Hong Jing sword?! Oh, no.)

Heavenly demons seem to be a type of demon in a league of their own. They’re repeatedly uniquely described as “heaven-fallen” (1) and Shen Qingqiu says that “under no circumstances can they be spoken of in the same breath as other demons”, although admittedly he is saying this when he is being forced to reject Luo Binghe and cast him into the Endless Abyss (8). They do seem to be particularly reviled by the cultivation world, although that can be explained away by their strength and the threat that they represent.

But even Meng Mo can’t seem to tell initially that Luo Binghe is a heavenly demon, just strong enough to be a good long-term host. Although he could just be talking out his ass trying to get Luo Binghe to accept him as a teacher, he suggests that “it is not impossible that a demon more illustrious than this elder sealed something within your body“ (2), which suggests that even when he’s inside Luo Binghe’s body, Meng Mo could initially believe Luo Binghe to be a full-human only corrupted by a demon rather than a half-demon, and also suggests that there are (presumably considered “wicked”) methods for humans to begin cultivating using demonic qi instead of spiritual qi. Shen Qingqiu notes at one point (during the Immortal Alliance Conference, I believe, I didn’t save this quote) that spiritual qi and demonic qi is remarkably similar besides the general feel and color difference (he’s dissing Airplane-Bro for being unimaginative again).

So, it’s kind of funny that no one on Cang Qiong clocks Luo Binghe as a half-demon, even Meng Mo may not be able to immediately tell that Luo Binghe is a half-demon despite being in Luo Binghe’s body, but Mobei-Jun immediately clocks Luo Binghe as a demon (5) pretty much just by looking at him. Though they are in the middle of an intense stand-off at this point, with demonic qi billowing through the air from Mobei-Jun and presumably a lot of murderous intent all around, and Luo Binghe has been training his demonic side with Meng Mo for a few years at this point.

In PIDW, the demonic beast to initially break Luo Binghe’s seals is a Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python (3) (moving forward to be referred to as “BMRP” because I’m not typing that more than I have to) and Luo Binghe apparently uses Xin Mo in the Endless Abyss to finish breaking those seals (1). In SVSSS, Shen Qingqiu is shocked when at the Conference, in the middle of their fight, Mobei-Jun decides that he’s done toying with Luo Binghe and intentionally breaks the seals completely in a single, offhand attack (7). Mobei-Jun is the one who shows up to substitute for the BMRP because he’s the one who apparently summons / opens the Endless Abyss at the Conference (4) and Luo Binghe needs to be cast down into the Endless Abyss for the main story to continue. Later on, in Volume 3, Luo Binghe gathers 200 BMRPs to break into the Holy Mausoleum, and Shen Qingqiu notes that “this was the rare demonic beast that, in the original work, summoned even the Endless Abyss with its call” (9). And the Xin Mo sword is used in Volume 3 to try and merge the Human and Demon Realms completely, summoning the Endless Abyss to the characters as part of that (did not get a quote for this one).

So, Mobei-Jun, the BMRP, and the Xin Mo sword share space-manipulation abilities to a degree. Mobei-Jun and the BMRP and are there to get Luo Binghe into the Endless Abyss, but what does it mean that they’re the ones to break Luo Binghe’s seals and Mobei-Jun of all people can see through these otherwise almost undetectable seals immediately? One interpretation that I enjoy thinking about is that Luo Binghe’s seals create a special dimensional pocket in which to store his demonic core.

And Luo Binghe passes as a human because the heavenly demons, being “heaven-fallen”, aren’t like other demons because they were originally something else “corrupted” into demons. Fun interpretations include born gods or cultivators who became immortal. You could come up with a backstory about how the sects loathe the heavenly demons because the original heavenly demon was an ascended immortal cultivator who fell from the heavens and intentionally (or accidentally) had their spiritual core corrupted into a demonic core (and someone like this could have been the original owner of the Xin Mo sword). I personally like to connect all demons’ origins to the Endless Abyss in some way, especially Mobei-Jun’s family, given Mobei-Jun’s apparently unique space-manipulation abilities in his already OP powerset.

(Side note: You can then develop this idea that the first heavenly demon was originally human and connect it to Tianlang-Jun’s fondness for the Human Realm. Or come up with a take that all heavenly demons are essentially born human and their particular cores turn them into demons over their childhood and adolescence, which gives Tianlang-Jun a reason to feel like an outsider among other demons, which gives him incredibly stupid ideas like trying to merge the Human and Demon Realms into one and “fix everything”.)

So, one take is that: with his demonic core locked away in an undetectable dimensional pocket, Luo Binghe is by all appearances an ordinary human even to himself. As he grows up, the seals start to weaken and the dimensional pocket starts to become unstable, and Luo Binghe through Meng Mo’s teachings learns how to pull demonic energy from this mostly inaccessible core as he needs to use it, but the demonic core itself remains on the other side of the dimension pocket and is largely undetectable. When the seals are broken, the demonic core is finally free to influence Luo Binghe’s blood and body.

(Side note: which gives you an excuse to write Luo Binghe developing more monstrous demonic features after his time in the Abyss, non-human features by which Shen Yuan can be outrageously turned on. And Peerless Cucumber and Airplane can have many merry debates on monsterfucking.)

In PIDW, during the Immortal Alliance Conference, the space-tearing howl of the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python weakens the dimensional pocket enough that Luo Binghe’s seals break and reveal him to be a heavenly demon. Shen Jiu casts Luo Binghe down into the Endless Abyss. Luo Binghe has to use the Xin Mo sword (1) to remove the remnants of these broken seals. In SVSSS, Mobei-Jun’s apparently more powerful space-manipulation abilities rip the seals off and break the dimensional pocket completely and relatively cleanly, though the process is still painful for Luo Binghe.

In conclusion: Su Xiyan is a badass and a genius trying to give her child the only shot she can give him at surviving his childhood by hiding his famous and loathed heritage well enough that Luo Binghe is essentially completely human until the seals on his demonic core start to weaken.

By coming up with this interpretation, do I think Airplane wrote all of this detail intentionally? No. (Do I think MXTX intended for this exact interpretation? Also no.) I think that Airplane Bro connected the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python to opening the Endless Abyss so Luo Binghe could be thrown into the abyss, and didn’t think about why Luo Binghe’s seals broke here and not anywhere else at all. The plot demanded it! That’s why! Su Xiyan made the seals somehow because Luo Binghe needs to be dramatically revealed to be a demon! That’s why! No, Airplane-Bro did not really stop to further develop the backstory and skillset of Su Xiyan or get into the technical details of sealing here.

I think that, in an AU where this interpretation is canon, if Shen Yuan ever worked all of this detail out - about how the seals worked, why Luo Binghe could pass as completely human in a cultivation sect, and why the seals broke how they broke - and Shen Yuan confronted Airplane about this, Airplane-Bro would go, “Hey, that’s pretty cool! That makes pretty good sense! I didn’t think about any of that! I guess that’s how the System decided to make everything work based on the details that I did write. Nice.”

Doylist (Airplanist???) versus Watsonian (Systemian???) explanations!

Thanks for reading!

QUOTES:

There may be a few typos in here, but I’m not fussed about that.

(1) Shen Qingqiu summarizes how Luo Binghe was pushed into the Endless Abyss in PIDW and how he used Xin Mo to break the seals on his demonic blood.

After much difficulty, Luo Binghe managed to turn seventeen, at which point he finally participated in the event the cultivation world held once every four years: the Immortal Alliance Conference. However, at the conference, Luo Binghe fell victim to Shen Qingqiu’s scheming, and he tumbled into a crack in the boundary between the Human and Demon Realms - the Endless Abyss.

That’s right, only then did the story truly begin!

Not only did Luo Binghe survive, but within the Endless Abyss, he found his personal sword, the peerless mystical blade “Xin Mo.” He also learned the truth of his origins.

As it turned out, Luo Binghe had been born to the Demon Realm’s Saintly Ruler and a woman of the Human Realm: within his veins flowed the blood of the ancient, heaven-fallen demons as well as that of the human race. His birth father, Tianlang-Jun, had been sealed beneath a great mountain, trapped for all eternity. His birth mother had been a disciple from a righteous cultivation sect, but shortly following Tianlang-Jun’s sealing, she had been expelled on suspicion of having secret ties to demons. She had died from a postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to Luo Binghe, but prior to her death, she had set her son adrift from the lonely ship she’d birthed him on. It was the only way she had been able to give Luo Binghe a chance to survive.

Luo Binghe used Xin Mo to release his body’s seal on his demonic blood. Then, within the dark abyss, he single-mindedly cultivated and enlighted himself to otherworldly techniques before heading back to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. From there on out, Luo Binghe steadily headed down his dark path, never looking back.

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 1: Scum, Pages 11-12

(2)

If Meng Mo had a mouth, its corner would have been twitching. He opted to change the topic.

After murmuring for a moment, he said, “This elder senses that within your body, something is being suppressed. Even though I cannot tell exactly what it is, it must be something surpassingly remarkable.”

Luo Binghe was a little shocked. “What sort of thing is it that even you can’t tell?”

Meng Mo chuckled. “My race produces master cultivators in droves. It is not impossible that a demon more illustrious than this elder sealed something within your body.”

In any case, Meng Mo surely wasn’t so eager to throw away his several-hundred-year-old reputation that he’d waste time tricking an impoverished teenager who had nothing. Nevertheless, Luo Binghe stared in disbelief. “Does Senior mean that the thing in my body... is related to demons?”

“What? Are you displeased?” Meng Mo asked sneeringly. “Eager to sever any connections with the demon race?”

Luo Binghe’s state of shock didn’t last for too long. His thoughts whirled rapidly before he declared, “The Demon Realm does many evils of all kinds and has injured my master multiple times. Naturally, I cannot associate with them.”

Meng Mo became depressed. “Can you go three sentences without mentioning that master of yours, boy? Let this elder guess, the next thing you want to ask is ‘May I ask this senior if there is a method to remove this something from my body’?”

Luo Binghe smiled wryly. “Even if I ask, would this senior tell me?”

Meng Mo laughed boisterously. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but that is truly beyond me. I can’t even see it clearly - how can I tell you how to remove it? If not for the fact that I couldn’t make sense of you, boy, I would have already killed you both. Why else would I care to drag this out for so long? You think I’ve that much time on my hands?”

Luo Binghe didn’t speak. He was thinking, You don’t even have a body anymore, you’re just a shade being a parasite on others’ dream realms. If Meng Mo didn’t have time, who did?

Meng Mo, unaware that Luo Binghe was internally ridiculing him, continued. “Removing it would be impossible for me, but suppressing it is not out of the question.”

“Senior... is willing to tell me how?” Luo Binghe asked tentatively.

“Not only can this elder teach you how to suppress it, he can teach you much more,” said Meng Mo leadingly.

This implication was extremely blatant, and Luo Binghe understood. His heart sank. “You want me to cultivate the demonic path?”

As his tone turned cold, Meng Mo’s temper flared. “What’s wrong with cultivating the demonic path? If you cultivate the demonic path, that thing in your body will bring great benefits to your cultivation. You could leap a thousand kilometers in a day! You could stand above the thousands. These are not empty words. With time, your power could overturn and sweep away the entirety of the three realms, and the heavens and earth within - and it would all be simple.”

At that last part, Luo Binghe’s heart jolted.

A thousand kilometers in a day, stand above the thousands. The entirety of the three realms, swept away before him. That was to say... He’d become strong, the strongest!

He quickly rejected this thought.

Shen Qingqiu hated the way of demons more than anything. If he couldn’t resist thi Meng Mo’s temptations to become a demonic cultivator, how could he face his master? Whether Shen Qingqiu would be thunderously angry or drown in dpress, either way, Luo Binghe definitely didn’t want to find out.

“No.” So, he resolutely refused.

Meng Mo sneered. “If you refuse to learn from me, you won’t be able to suppress the demonic energy in your body. It’s hidden deeply now, and you’re fine because it can’t be seen, but this elder senses that the seal in your body is weakening. One day in the future, when that power breaks through, how will that good shifu of yours treat you? He who abhors evil and makes ‘eliminating demons and upholding justice’ his mission?”

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 3: Favor Points, Pages 171-173

(3) Shen Qingqiu thinks about how the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python exposed Luo Binghe’s demonic heritage at the Conference in PIDW.

The large demonic beast in question was one of the plotline’s key devices. In the original work, Luo Binghe’s demonic heritage was exposed because someone released a Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python at the Immortal Alliance Conference.

To protect the innocent, Luo Binghe engaged in a life-or-death struggle. The Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python’s destructive power and body were both enormous. Of course he couldn’t defeat it. What to do if he couldn’t win?

Activate SEED* mode.

*(Reference to an ability in the series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED that allows someone to enter an enhanced state.)

In so doing, Luo Binghe exposed himself to Shen Qingqiu. Only then did Shen Qingqiu have the excuse to strike him down: eliminating one’s companion for the sake of justice. And when he struck his student down, he enabled Luo Binghe to level up.

Thus far, Shen Qingqiu hadn’t sensed the demonic qi of the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python, much less heard its signature moonward howl - described in enigmatic fashion as “like that of both a python and a rhinoceros.” Now Shang Qinghua said he hadn’t even seen it. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help being on his guard. Without this key plot device, surely the System couldn’t ask him to suddenly strike Luo Binghe without any justification?

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 4: Conference, Page 235

(4) Mobei-Jun opens the Endless Abyss.

He hadn’t finished his mental roast when, without warning, the earth began to shake.

People staggered and fell all over the place, terrified and confused, their questioning voices merging into one.

Shen Qingqiu’s pupils contracted.

There was no mistaking the sensation of magnitude 7.5 earthquake.

The Endless Abyss had finally been opened.

The so-called Endless Abyss was on the boundary between the Human and Demon Realms. A liminal space, it was full of peril and the unknown. Twisting, tearing vortices through space, raging flames, and burning magma were everywhere to be found.

The disciples of the scene had fought the entire way there, and the bodies and hearts had long been completely exhausted. After that violent quake, most of them tumbled to the ground. Only Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe, and Shang Qinghua managed to stay standing.

Since the Endless Abyss had bee opened, that meant something demonic would definitely appear from the other side. The three held their breaths in anticipation, silently waiting and on full alert. 

The figure of a man slowly emerged from the shadows.

As soon as Shen Qingqiu saw that ice-cold face and aloof expression, he knew who it was. He shot a glance at SHang Qinghua, whose whole face had gone white. Shen Qingqiu wanted to laugh, but he was unable to.

Why would Luo Binghe’s future subordinate, his magnificent right hand - and best buddy for committing evil deeds, murder, and mayhem - show up right here and now?!

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 4: Conference, Pages 237-238

(5) Mobei-Jun notices Luo Binghe’s demonic blood during their face-off before their fight. Shen Qingqiu thinks that Mobei-Jun is replacing the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python in the main storyline.

“Binghe, stand down,” [Shen Qingqiu] said.

Luo Binghe did not reply, and he did not leave. He calmly met eyes with Mobei-Jun, entirely unaffected by his imposing aura.

Mobei-Jun let out an “eh?” of curiosity, like he’d found something that aroused his interest a little.

“What disciple has to shield his master?” snapped Shen Qingqiu.

“You are a disciple of Cang Qiong Mountain?” asked Mobei-Jun.

“Disciple of Cang Qiong Mountain’s Qing Jing Peak, Luo Binghe, thank this distinguished one for his guidance,” Luo Binghe replied coldly, his tone sarcastic.

Mobei-Jun sneered. “The immortal acts unlike an immortal, and the demon acts unlike a demon. Interesting.”

At this, Shen Qingqiu finally caught on to something. Could it be... that Mobei-Jun’s appearance was a substitute for the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python’s role in advancing the main storyline?

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 4: Conference, Page 239

(6) Luo Binghe fights Mobei-Jun using demonic energy without breaking his seals to use it.

Luo Binghe didn’t care that his sword was broken. When he saw Shen Qingqiu injured by this palm strike, blood dripping from between gritted teeth, Luo Binghe’s gaze frosted over, his aura changing in an instant. Sensing this shocking hange, a cold flash of interest shot through Mobei-Jun’s pale blue eyes. He abruptly summoned a pure-black sword of ice out of thin air. That one blade became two, two became four, four became eight, instantly dividing into an array of hundreds of ice swords - which shot at the surrounded Shen Qingqiu from all directions.

No normal defense technique could possibly block these ice swords; they were crystallized from the purest demonic qi. Shen Qingqiu’s spiritual qi was nearly exhausted. If his power collided with Mobei-Jun’s, it would be like a single spark against a towering wave. The end result went without saying.

Just as the sword array was about to come down like sheets of rain, Shen Qingqiu snarled within his heart.

I’ve done my best, but he still thinks I’m low-level trash, so what can I do?!

How loathsome! If I have to die, couldn’t it at least be in a better-looking way? After being stabbed with hundreds of black swords, I’m going to be a sieve! Who could bear to look?!

However, even long moments after, the pain of being skewered by thousands of swords did not arrive.

Unless Mobei-Jun had suddenly lost his mind and revoked the sword array, there was only one explanation - only one person who could have blocked this attack that seethed with murderous intent.

Shen Qingqiu steadied himself and raised his head.

As expected.

In the air all around him, the forest of swords had shattered.

They’d splintered so completely that it was like they’d disappeared without a trace, leaving only a night sky full of black ice crystals. Reflecting the moonlight, they fell one by one.

The scene could have been described as beautiful.

However, Luo Binghe, standing in the middle of it, was the center of a blizzard that seemed to roar around him and within his gaze. He could only be described as terrifying.

Shen Qingqiu collapsed next to a large tree, swallowing mouthfuls of blood. He circulated energy to heal his wounds while watching this earthshaking showdown between two demon lords.

The seal on Luo Binghe’s blood had yet to be removed. Mobei-Jun was only testing him, but still this battle darkened the sky and earth, blotting out all light. Raging waves of demonic energy overflowed from both of them, enough to cloak the entire sky.

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 4: Conference, Pages 242-243

(7) Mobei-Jun breaks the seals on Luo Binghe’s demonic blood.

Meanwhile, Mobei-Jun had pretty much finished testing Luo Binghe, and he prepared to wrap things up, sending out one last blow. With a flick of his finger, he fired a stream of scarlet light at the center of Luo Binghe’s forehead.

Once that stream of light touched Luo Binghe’s brow, it seeped into his skin, turning into a fiery red mark. Luo Binghe was lost to his bloodlust. He didn’t know why, only that his head ached like it was about to explode, and he nearly collapsed on his knees. His entire body roiled with a desire to inflict savage cruelty. Unable to vent it, he threw out his hand, and as if shot out of a cannon, an eruption of demonic qi descended upon Mobei-Jun.

This last strike was extremely powerful.

Yet Mobei-Jun waved it away with one hand, a bit surprised. “Not bad.” Ignoring whether Luo Binghe was in a state to understand him, he continued. “The Human Realm isn’t where you belong. Why not return to your origins?”

Now Shen Qingqiu was finally one hundred percent sure. Mobei-Jun’s sudden appearance was indeed a substitute for the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python. But compared to the original, Mobei-Jun had done a far more thorough job.

He... he... he... he’d actually directly removed the seal suppressing Luo Binghe’s demonic blood!

And after completing his task, he turned right around and left.

This NPC really was so straight to the point, not a moment spared - completely in line with his modus operandi in the original work. He’d show up whenever Luo Binghe needed him without rhyme or reason. His actions were just that forced, a total maverick, needing not a shred of logic!

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 4: Conference, Pages 244-245

(8) Shen Qingqiu rejects Luo Binghe at the Immortal Alliance Conference for being a heavenly demon specifically.

“You are no simple demon,” Shen Qingqiu said. “That mark on your forehead is a mark of skin - the mark of the demons who fell from the heavens. These demons have murdered countless humans, and moreover, their temperaments are impossible to contain. From ancient times, they’ve been the cause of calamity upon calamity. Under no circumstances can they be spoken of in the same breath as other demons. I cannot wait and hope my earlier words were true while you develop a taste for slaughter and lose all control.”

- SVSSS, Volume 1, Chapter 4: Conference, Page 248

(9) Luo Binghe breaks into the Holy Mausoleum using 200+ Black Moon Rhinoceros-Pythons.

Luo Binghe stood atop a pitch-black giant beast, sable robes fluttering amidst pale dust. Xin Mo was partly unsheathed behind him, cutting an imposing figure, and two eyes overflowing with crimson light gazed down, full of murderous intent.

At first glance, that great beast appeared to be some sort of rhinoceros with a single horn arcing from its forehead, curved like the crescent moon. But when it opened its mouth and let out a cry, a giant scarlet python uncurled from its blood red maw. The rhinoceros’s bellow mixed with the python’s hissing shriek and made for a particularly stunning impression.

In the flesh! A Black! Moon! Rhinoceros! Python!

Black + Moon + Rhinoceros + Python. So the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python really was just a simple combination of these four elements. “Great Master” Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky’s naming sense was as dependable as always!

Zhuzhi-Lang dutifully moved to stand in front of Tianlang-Jun, in the process also getting in front of Shen Qingqiu. Furthermore, as soon as Shen Qingqiu saw Luo Binghe, he subconsciously scooted closer to Zhuzhi-Lang’s back. It wasn’t like he was desperate to avoid Luo Binghe, but he had a guilty conscience and didn’t have the face to look at him. He dared even less to consider what Luo Binghe might be feeling, having seen Shen Qingqiu breathe his last before his eyes a second time. He could only unconsciously avoid the issue by not allowing himself to look, pretending that if he couldn’t see, he wouldn’t be bothered.

Tianlang-Jun raised an eyebrow. This expression too bore a remarkable resemblance to something Luo Binghe might wear. “So he didn’t hesitate to capture two hundred Black Moon Rhinoceros-Pythons to break the barrier around the Holy Mausoleum. Peak Lord Shen, this son of mine truly goes to extraordinary lengths for you.”

Shen Qingqiu had no retort. This was the rare demonic beast that, in the original work, summoned even the Endless Abyss with its call. Luo Binghe had gone as far as to capture two hundred at once in order to break into the Holy Mausoleum.

- SVSSS, Volume 3, Chapter 15: Holy Mausoleum, Pages 47-48

[desognthinking]

im fascinated what is tomb guardians au i am immediately imagining ava trying to get (very serious about her job) bea to talk to her (t4t aka tomb for tomb communication) like “it’s because you’re always on that damn guarding the tomb” and bea staring at her like “oh (relevant semi-religious curse word/deity invocation), i HAVE to fuck her”

Hi 😄  tomb guardians au is exactly that! except a little weirder, i think. Because they arent the guards stalking the graveyard they are the inhumanly stone-and-metal-but-not-really guardians themselves ☺️it's like what if beatrice had two heads and stood watch over the sealed, entombed heart of a bloodline. And ava was the new, terrible protector of a clan of craftsmen on a hilltop, buried with chambers of generations of their art. And what if they were necropolis neighbors 😳

This is one chunk previously posted and this shorter thing is set a little later, during the wedding mentioned in the first part. i think it kind of matches this ask pretty well 🥺:

Weddings are just like funerals: they’re never safe. The procession overflows from the courtyard at the mouth of the tombhouse, and nobody turns their attention to the other side of the hill. That's Ava’s job. Beatrice, perched carefully atop her roof in a long line of others she can vaguely make out, stretched across the rim of the hills, can see her sway and duck through kitestrings and tree-hung lanterns blowing in the wind as she keeps vigil. 

There’s fire, and an uncoordinated symphony of chattering accompanying music, and colored smoke that drifts up and drenches the air in pinks and yellows. The party had started at the Salviuses’ inner city tombhall, and then wound its way through the cobbled streets to settle here sometime around midday. Now the sun has cooled from its boil and the clouds are dissipating in streaks leaving swatches of color overtop the trees.

Celebration mixes with ceremony in equal parts, and Ava’s soaking it in, so she told Beatrice herself. Amidst the rush of activity at the Silvas’, she’d found her way over yesterday, dangling her human legs over a particularly stubborn branch that tipped over a brass gate, lurching under her weight towards brown grass.

“And, if you want,” she’d said quickly, “the view from atop our central mausoleum is incomparable.” Following the parched trajectory of Beatrice’s traitorous eyes, Ava had reached up to hurriedly smooth out the colorful combs that had erupted from her crown as she blurted out the offer. “You could see the dances up close.” 

She paused, as Beatrice reached out, at first hesitantly, then bravely, to gently still Ava’s hands from patting down the sharp, fiery crests. It’s okay.

(I like them.)

“We’re close enough that you could still keep a lookout for things over here.” 

Proximity, of course, was in truth the last thing that Beatrice feared would compromise her duty, and she knew that Ava knew it too. 

They sat in silence, not uncomfortably. Hot plumes, from where the days-long feast was being prepared in great earthen pots and pits on the rolling green surrounding the Silva walls, thinned out as they passed through the trees to Beatrice’s clearing. 

Whispers of stews, and meats, and spices. Beatrice felt, suddenly, terribly hungry.

“Will you ask again tomorrow?” she chanced, finally. 

Ava, bright and shocked and delighted, laughed. In her relief she nearly fell backwards off the branch, taking with her Beatrice, who had joined her on the tree.

Razor-edged fronds sprung up again from the top of her sun-warmed head. “Horrible”, she joked. 

Beatrice disagreed, and let her know.

Now, the sky is dampening, and the wedding party, in dribs and drabs, pauses to refill its cups and light its candles. In this twilight Beatrice lets herself turn to the west.

It is not easy to see, but the creature on the Silva house is there, beyond the clasp of woods, and when Beatrice meets its eyes its form unfolds in magnificent, menacing span and its unmistakable, jagged tail rises, quick and high, as in warning or challenge. 

From this far away, and half-hidden by foliage, it is impossible to make out the details of that bolted, harsh surface, but Beatrice knows how it feels under her palm, fluttering and leathery and spiny and warm, just as she knows by a glance the towering shape of the display and the exaggerated, daring, silly invitation that it extends across the space between their roofs. 

Ridiculous. 

Ava – terrifying as she extinguishes the numerous wraiths that have already sought to take advantage of the guardian transition, serious as the new caretaker of an artistic legacy, and an achingly, brilliantly quick learner of that uncommon dialect spoken by Beatrice’s house – lifts off her roof in a dramatic jump, and lands with a shaking thud that sends shivers through the ground all the way over. 

\

Help arrives so quickly that Beatrice knows said help is going to give her a hard time. 

“Mary,” she greets, relieved all the same. “Are you sure you don’t mind keeping watch?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Shannon's got it all handled back home,” Mary traces the perimeter easily, scanning the horizon in each direction and then feeling the hollows and convexities of the tombhouse in quick reappraisal. Beatrice stands aside as she smoothly pads across the surface of what she must have judged to be possible points of weakness, tests the robustness of a couple of Beatrice’s carefully constructed defenses, then nods, satisfied. 

A great-aunt, peeking out too to watch the celebrations, looks up, sees Mary, and waves. Mary sends her a bow. 

“You know, Bea, she’s right,” she hums, finally. “It’s not too far away, and you’ve always been focused when out visiting.”

The bait is not particularly subtle, and Beatrice narrows her eyes. 

“I just don’t think it’s safe to reduce any protections during a celebration when everyone’s guards are down.” She busies herself with cleaning up the place, tightening the wards and doing some final redundant sweeps and checks. “It’d be easy for someone or something to slip through, especially with so many unfamiliar faces.”

“Mm. And you’d be distracted.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Sure.” Mary circles, then sits down, settling in and getting comfortable. She uncoils and reaches out to nudge Beatrice gently where she’s examining the shifts in some stones very conscientiously. “And I promise not to look over.”

“Mary.”

“What?” She shrugs, casually puts out a strong claw and kicks Beatrice firmly off the parapet. “Time to go-o.”

There’s a shower of stone fragments as Beatrice shakes and gathers herself to snap and snarl halfheartedly and harmlessly up at her from the ground. 

Mary looks over the edge and shakes her head, grinning. “Oh, baby girl,” she tsks, “Don’t tell me you need me to teach you how to fuck her.”

“Mary!”

Mary’s laughter echoes as Beatrice turns and steals into the darkness, necks hot with embarrassment. “Now hurry up, Beatrice,” her call seeps, howling, into the roots. It warps with the topography of the earth into something deep and old, sinking its frigid teeth into Beatrice’s bones. But the shape of the wind whipping past Beatrice’s ears is fond and teasing in its turbulence as she tears through the thicket. “Your poor girl’s waiting for you.”

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

"Motto mo naka ga ii": The Language of Bonds in Japanese

So, we are all familiar with the fact that in Chapter 359, AFO/Shigaraki tells Katsuki, "君は緑谷出久と最も仲が良い。" (You are closer to Midoriya Izuku than anyone else.) There has been some discussion about the fan translations that interpret this as "Midoriya Izuku's best friend," which I disagree with. In the context of Izuku and Katsuki being osananajimi (childhood friends) but not tomodachi (friends), I want to talk about how personal relationships are thought of and talked about in Japanese.

Broad disclaimer: Japanese is a context-heavy language. This means that people use contextual clues and social norms to understand not just the literal meaning of what is being said, but the underlying intentions behind and the social implications of what is being said. All languages do this, but compared to English, this quality is much more pronounced in Japanese. There are millions of Japanese speakers who will all interpret scenes in media differently, just as English speakers have varied interpretations of English-language media. This is intended as a general discussion of social norms and language use, I am not suggesting everyone thinks or speaks this way.

So, naka ga ii means gets along with, on good terms, friendly with, close with. Literally, it means "relation is good." People use it in a lot of nuanced ways, because this phrase is referring to your emotional relationship with a person, not their role in your life.

Broadly speaking, people tend to describe relationships first by role. This is how you know them and who they are to you, senpai (your senior), sensei (your teacher), etc.. You are expected to treat them a certain way based on this role, and someone's first role in your life tends to define your bond for years. This is why many people continue to refer to their high school teachers as sensei even as adults, or retain a certain honorific for a senior colleague even after their employment has ended. But naming their role alone does not necessarily express your personal feelings about that person or how close you are, especially with a hierarchical role like senior or teacher. You might introduce someone as your senpai, but other people will pick up on the fact that you personally like your senpai and get along well with them by observing your interactions.

Izuku and Katsuki are referred to as 幼なじみ (osananajimi, childhood friends) by everyone who knows this about them. This carries a lot of social weight--you are expected to get along with your osananajimi. You know each other incredibly well, you are intimately familiar with one another's habits and behaviors. Generally, you would want this to be a relationship that uplifts you--someone who encourages and supports you, who helps you find your path in life--this is why it is so striking to people that Izuku and Katsuki do not get along. But that weight of familiarity is not erased by currently poor relations.

I want to use an example of a different set of childhood friends to illustrate a linguistic detail here. I am not particularly into Durarara!!, but I remembered a few interesting, relevant exchanges in the first anime. In the show, Masaomi and Mikado are childhood friends who were separated after elementary school, but kept in contact through the internet over the years. They have a very friendly relationship. In episode one, at time-stamp 3:50, Mikado calls Masaomi his 大の親友 (dai no shinyuu); this is literally "great best friend," shinyuu is used for your best friend or closest friends, dai no makes it clear he is a GREAT! best friend. Later, at time-stamp 7:02, Masaomi and Mikado run into some people Masaomi knows, and one of them asks who Mikado is, saying "友達？" (Tomodachi? A friend?)

Masaomi immediately responds that Mikado is his osananajimi. Even though they are currently good friends, he uses their life-long bond to properly explain who Mikado is. Later in episode three, at time-stamp 15:52, they run into Izaya, someone dangerous and unpredictable that Masaomi is visibly wary of. When Izaya is curious about Mikado, Masaomi downplays Mikado's role in his life. He says, "こいつは俺のただ友達です。" (Koitsu wa ore no tada tomodachi desu.) He is saying, "oh, this guy is just a friend of mine (don't mind him! pay no attention to him!)" This is clearly an attempt to conceal Mikado's importance and, by extension, Masaomi's emotional attachment to him, out of concern for his safety.

We even get clarification later that Masaomi does see Mikado as his best friend. In episode five, at time-stamp 5:18, Masaomi's inner monologue calls Mikado his 親友 (shinyuu, best friend). They engage in extremely playful antics and Anri, a classmate of theirs, kind of awkwardly asks them, "仲いいんですね" (naka iin desu ne, you are really close, aren't you?) Masaomi agrees, repeating the term, while Mikado jokingly calls their relationship 腐れ縁 (kusare'en, an undesirable but inescapable bond).

Now, if someone wanted to tease you about a guy you have a crush on but haven't started dating yet, they might say the same thing Anri says--"Ooh, aren't you two close! You sure get along like a house on fire!" There is also the idiom 喧嘩するほど仲がいい (kenka suru hodo naka ga ii, close enough to quarrel) meaning two people who are intimate enough with each other that they argue. This can be used for all kind of relationships, but it is often said about romantic partnerships. In Japan, people are generally socialized to avoid confrontation and direct disagreement, so along with the connotation of getting on each other's nerves or knowing each other "too well," this kind of closeness means that you will speak freely with the other person, even if it results in an argument.

Naka ga ii has a lot of uses like this, it does not explicitly mark someone as tomodachi.

If AFO/Shigaraki really wanted to say "best friend," he likely would have used shinyuu. And as far as I am aware, AFO/Shigaraki does not know that Izuku and Katsuki are osananajimi--but frankly, I don't think he cares what role Katsuki has in Izuku's life, because he can clearly observe Izuku's emotional bond with Katsuki. He can tell that they have the closest, most important bond because of Izuku's reactions to Katsuki specifically being harmed. Regardless of how they know each other, Izuku cares about Katsuki the most, and that's what matters here.