#sisi is dying

[labyrynth]

let’s be real for a sec: if rusong were still alive, nhs wouldn’t have hesitated in killing him

[tankertalk]

tankerTWEETland comix #1341: The Shits - "Sisi...” (2/9/2023)

[devilsrecreation]

Buckle up bc this is gonna be heavy

Imagine an “It’s a Wonderful Life” type TLG fanfic/episode (ik ik cliche much?) where Jasiri starts having doubts about being an under-appreciated ruler of the Outlands after a particularly bad day. She doesn’t wish that she was never born, but she DOES start to wonder if she made the right choice of agreeing to the role of Prime Minister. Cue Ushari’s ghost visiting her in her dreams and telling her how the Outlands would be worse without her ruling it, and it soon devolves to what an alternate world would look like without her in it

-Without her, Kion’s perception of hyenas wouldn’t have changed and he wouldn’t have learned “Sisi ni Sawa”. Not only him, but she showed a lot of animals how there were good hyenas

-Not only has she saved Janja’s life multiple times, but she changed his views on life in general. He would have never started respecting the circle of life. At the most, he’d probably be dead and his boys would follow through without a leader

-Janja may have told Kion how to defeat Scar, but it was really her who convinced everyone to actually listen to him in the first place

-Life would have definitely been harder for her clan if she was never born. Madoa wouldn’t have a shoulder to cry on or anyone to assure her that the clan will get through their hardships. Hell, I don’t know if Wema and Tunu would have made it without her since she always put their needs over hers

-The rest of the Outlanders would have never had another chance had she not been a prime minister

-Reirei and her pack wouldn’t have accepted to respect the circle of life and would have been worse off had they moved

-Kiburi’s float would have stayed independent…and that would have been their downfall. Unlike the Pridelands, the Outlands have less food and water. Because of Kiburi’s pride, he wouldn’t think or trust anyone to ask for help and his float would have been starving and dehydrated. This would lead to arguments and Kiburi pushing his friends away…eventually, for good

-Mzingo would have tried to rule the Outlands, but no one, except for his parliament, would listen to him. Not even the hyenas. This would make him give up and flee the lands in search for a better life, leaving the animals they raised to fend for themselves without their wisdom

-The skinks would have stayed cold and bitter about Scar and Ushari’s deaths. If not for Jasiri’s idea to reform, all they’d be to the rest of Africa was another food option, since they wouldn’t meet Kenge or Sumu to protect them

-Speaking of Kenge and Sumu, she’s been their therapist. She listens to their problems and she’s taught them that not everyone is bad. Without her rule, the two wouldn’t have pushed themselves to be better animals and instead be all alone and bitter, the both of them dying emotionally AND physically

It could be the same for Kiburi as well. Maybe he’s tired of messing up or he doesn’t believe that he could really change because of all the bad things he’s done. But believe it or not, he’s done a lot of good things without even realizing it and the world would kind of suck if he had never been born:

-Piga would have never genuinely smiled or have his spirits lifted, not even with Ucheshi. Kiburi is his pride and joy and had he never existed, Piga simply wouldn’t have been happy. And to add on, Piga would be much harder on his kids, with Ucheshi being effected the most

-Ucheshi may be the exact opposite of Kiburi and he HAS said things like “How are we related?”. But he has never EVER encouraged her to change who she was. Kiburi is the reason she’s so happy and free, because he let her be herself. Piga wasn’t like that. Under his rules, she would have lost her spirit and become cold and untrustworthy, making others cry instead of laugh. Not to mention, Kiburi played a role in her and Makuu’s love story. His banishment and their argument was essentially the cause of them falling on love, with Makuu comforting Ucheshi and Ucheshi making Makuu laugh, which made him develop feelings for her and show his tender side. Have I mentioned how close they are? Like Kiburi is genuinely a good brother to her

-Tamka wouldn’t be accepted for who he is. Everyone judged him, everyone dismissed him for lacking intelligence. But not Kiburi. Kiburi was the first friend Tamka ever made and who didn’t seem to judge him, thus why he remained loyal. Tamka wouldn’t have anyone to really depend on without him

-Oh Nduli….poor poor Nduli. His life would have been miserable if they never met. Kiburi was the one Nduli really looked up to, the one who was always so nice and welcoming when he first hatched. It was Kiburi who convinced Piga to take him in after Kinywa died, it was Kiburi who cared for him most of his life, and it was Kiburi who promised that nothing bad was going to happen to him no matter what. Who knows what would happen to him without the best croc in his eyes?

-Neema wouldn’t have anyone to appreciate his intelligence. Sure, he’d follow Makuu and he’d still live in the Pridelands with Tamka and Nduli, but he wouldn’t be happy about it. He always really sided with Kiburi about a lot of things, he just kept quiet about it.

-If you think about it, Kiburi’s the reason Makuu turned out to be such a great leader. As hatchlings, Kiburi was Makuu’s greatest support system ever since he said he wanted to be the next leader. Makuu beating Kiburi proved to be good sparring practice and he used those skills to win the mashindano. Even after the friendship ended, he still inadvertently helped Makuu grow, with him repeatedly defeating Kiburi proving his development to the members that were still wary of the new change in leadership.

-Hodari would have never joined Makuu’s float. Hodari helped Makuu defeat Kiburi with a hurt leg and that got him to be an honorary crocodile. Without him, the rejection would have destroyed his lively, happy-go-lucky personality over time with broken dreams

-Even though it was Makuu who used to idolize Pua, not even he took some of his lessons to heart like Kiburi did. It’s subtle, but Pua can tell when someone listens to his advice and he appreciates that. It’s the little things that keep Pua going :)

-Kiburi didn’t think anything of it, but calling Kenge “big” did something to the lizard. The only other animals who did that were ones (mostly reptiles) that were smaller than him, but to have someone bigger say it so casually, it hit different. For the first time, Kenge felt truly validated. He got to be seen as an equal and that wouldn’t have been possible if Kiburi didn’t exist

-Hukumu would have kept thinking that bad/evil animals don’t change for the better, but when she met Kiburi…that changed. It was understandably hard for her to accept that her love wasn’t…the best crocodile, but he proved that he changed since then

-Wakali’s simple. Without a father to adopt and love her, she wouldn’t be alive

-Oh and Hatari would still be alive and have eventually killed all the crocodiles in the Pride Lands. His crocodile-hating reign of terror wouldn’t have ended if Kiburi wasn’t there to stop him. Not to mention the effect the lack of crocodiles would have in the circle of life

-If there’s one good thing that Kiburi is constantly doing, it’s how he ALWAYS has his friends’ backs. How he’s so protective over them and deep down, just wants everyone to be treated right. Before the dry season, all of his intentions were good. He just went about it via the crocodile way bc that’s how he was raised

Jasiri ends up getting an appreciation party for all the stuff she goes through and Kiburi comes back feeling more grateful about where he is now

[sisionscreen]

RTL has updated its media hub page to now include the synopsis of all six episodes as well as new stills of the fourth season of Sisi (2021).

Translation

Episode 01

Sisi suffers a serious riding accident on Corfu. In order to not endanger her recovery, Franz hides the fact that her father is dying. When she finds out about Max's death, she travels to Possenhofen and finds that her father has lost the family home to jockey Georg in a horse race. Sisi asks for revenge, but the experienced rider only wants to agree if the Empress gets in the saddle herself.

Episode 02

Despite Franz's request to never ride again, Sisi secretly trains for the race against Georg. When stable master Linda disappears, Sisi finds out that she is Max's illegitimate daughter and therefore her half-sister. Meanwhile, Louis receives an offer to become the Minister of Justice, although in order to do so he would have to forgo marrying opera singer Henriette. Sister Sophie Charlotte wants to win King Ludwig's heart.

Episode 03

Sisi wins Linda over to train with the spirited Avalon and finally makes progress. While she also gets closer to Georg, Henriette breaks off her inappropriate/not-of-equal-rank engagement to Louis. At a party in Possenhofen, Sophie Charlotte is supposed to choose a marriage candidate, but then King Ludwig appears and kisses her in front of everyone. While Sisi secretly dances with her opponent Georg, Linda's mother Adele, Max's former lover, is found dead.

More detailed and spoilery description found on Hörzu

Family chaos in Possenhofen! After her performance at the opera, Ludovika puts her rebellious daughter Sophie Charlotte under house arrest. She instructs Louis to place Sophie Charlotte in a nunnery. To prevent this, Archduchess Sophie circulates a dossier before her departure for Vienna containing suitable marriage candidates for Sophie Charlotte. She suggests inviting them to a party at Possenhofen Castle in order to get Sophie Charlotte married. Louis actually succeeds in convincing both Ludovika and Sophie Charlotte of this plan. Surprisingly, Linda decides to help Sisi with her race preparations. Her condition: after the race, Avalon should be hers! At the end of the first promising training session, however, the horse runs away. While searching for the escaped stallion, Sisi meets her rival Georg, swimming naked in the lake - an encounter that leaves both of them quite shaken. Sisi and Linda attend one of Georg's races to study their opponent. The two half-sisters grow closer when Linda tells her about herself and her relationship with Max. Sisi then invites Linda to Sophie Charlotte's party, but the stable master politely declines. When Louis wants to apologize to Henriette after the opening night, she breaks off her engagement with him. He is devastated. On the evening of the reception at Possenhofen Castle, Louis can only convince Sophie Charlotte to attend the party with a stroke of genius. Contrary to expectations, Sophie Charlotte seems to enjoy the attention of the men who want to marry her. But suddenly King Ludwig mingles with the guests and kisses the young duchess in front of everyone! Ludovika, close to fainting again, demands that Louis do everything he can to ensure that the king really marries Sophie Charlotte. When Sisi sneaks away from the family chaos for a moment, she unexpectedly runs into Georg, who was invited by Archduchess Sophie against her will. He asks her to dance, and there is a huge spark between the two. At the same time in Munich: Inspector Hieronymus enters the apartment of Linda's mother Adele and looks into the dead eyes of Max's former lover.

Episode 04

The police arrest Linda as the main suspect in the murder of her own mother. While Sisi tries everything to prove her innocence and asks an old acquaintance for help, Ludovika convinces Georg to call off the big race. Despite the break-up, Louis and Henriette cannot keep their distance from each other. Because Ludwig has not been in touch since the night of the celebration in Possenhofen, Sophie Charlotte is suffering from severe heartbreak.

Episode 05

After an emotional night, Sisi is able to convince her rival Georg to keep the agreement to hold the race for Possenhofen Castle. Ludovika fears that Sisi will find out about her long-kept secret and seeks help from her sister Archduchess Sophie. To secure their careers, Louis and Henriette decide to continue their relationship in a secret affair. Sophie Charlotte breaks free from Ludwig. When Franz finds out about the horse race, he brings his wife back to Vienna.

Episode 06 - The Finale

Sisi puts together the last pieces of the puzzle of the great family secret and travels back to Bavaria to convince her mother to finally reveal the truth. While Louis has to decide whether he really wants to give up his love for Henriette, King Ludwig shows his vulnerability to Sophie Charlotte. Sisi defies Franz and takes part in the final horse race. Will the love of the imperial couple be able to handle this?

[anotheroceanid]

excerpt from chapter five

Clarisse made an indignant sound. ‘You went into the Big House?! The thing is falling to pieces! It could've fallen to pieces on your heads!’ The more she spoke, the higher pitched her voice got. ‘What would I tell your parents if you died smashed by debris, Penelope?’

Without flinching, Penelope answered, ‘That their daughter left a mark.’

Slowly, without saying a word, Clarisse turns to Annabeth, face frozen in disbelief. Dennis is choking a laughter.

‘Your disregard for you own life does not give you permission to break rules, Penelope.’ Annabeth intervened, staring at the girl’s face. ‘I should expect that, out of everyone, you’d understand why Half-Blood Hill is off limits.’

‘Well, it shouldn’t be.’ Penelope petulantly crossed her arms, ‘We should be working to rebuild it, I mean, people arrive every day. We’re getting crowded. We either rebuild the Old Camp and expand the city, or it’ll expand itself against our will. Also, at this point that’s lighthouse for monsters, don’t you think it’ll become a problem soon?’

‘You’re exceptionally good quoting your father. Almost word by word.’ Annabeth responded, unimpressed. ‘What you have there, Silena?’

Silena blinked a few times, then opened her mouth in a perfect ‘o’ and smiled as she spoke, ‘I saved him, it’s a bird.’ Annabeth hated birds. ‘It sought refuge inside the Big House.’ She carefully shows a feathery thing, small enough to fit inside her little hands. If the thing weren’t trembling that much, Annabeth would’ve believed it to be dead. Noticing it, Silena snuggled the bird against her sweater again.

Clarisse exhaled, ‘What did you dad say about bringing animals back home?’

‘But mom…’ Silena furrowed her brows and started to pout again. Voice even more childish, helpless expression. ‘He’s so small, and he needed my help… And… And… Look how pretty his feathers are! They’re so gold, and he was calling for us, asking for help. I couldn’t just live him there.’

Dennis chuckled. ‘He is adorable.’ He agreed.

‘Yeah, and she’ll cry like a baby when it dies.’ Ajax scorned.

‘He ain’t dying!’ Both Penelope and Silena roared in one voice.

‘Sisi…’ Clarisse tried, and Silena reached out for the fabric of her chiton, pulling it gently.

‘Please mom! Please, please, pleaaaseeee!’ Her eyes filled with tears, ‘He might die if I bring him in, but he’ll surely will die if I don’t do anything. Please.’

Clarisse closed her eyes for a second and grimaced. Then, she opened her eyes and, of course, ‘Fine!’ She never denied Silena anything, and the girl cheered as if she hadn’t just broken a rule set to keep people alive. ‘But if it lives, you’ll have to set it free in the wild.’

[amin13864]

تأكيد أمريكي على فتح مصر موانئها للاحتلال

مرصــــــد شبه الجزيرة

متابعات

٢ /جمادي الأولى ١٤٤٦هـ

٤ /نوفـــــــــــــــــمبر/٢٠٢٤م،

أكدت الصحفية الأمريكية، شارمين نا��واتي، أن مصر فتحت موانئها للاحتلال، في محاولة لكسر حصار صنعاء المفروض على الملاحة الإسرائيلية.

وقالت نارواتي في مداخلة تلفزيونية، إن 5 موانئ مصرية تزود الإحتلال بما يحتاج إليه لتعويض الحصار اليمني.

وأشارت إلى أنه بدل من مساعدة الناس الذين يموتون في غزة، فإن السيسي يدعم دولة الإبادة ويتظاهر بأنه عربي ومسلم.

يأتي ذلك، بعد الكشف عن استقبال مصر سفينة أسلحة إسرائيلية جديدة، في حادثة أثارت سخطاً واسعاً في الشارع العربي.

US Confirms Egypt's Opening of Ports to Occupation

Peninsula Observatory

Follow-ups

2/Jumada al-Ula 1446 AH

4/November/2024 AD,

American journalist, Sharmeen Narwati, confirmed that Egypt opened its ports to the occupation, in an attempt to break the Sanaa siege imposed on Israeli navigation.

Narwati said in a television intervention that 5 Egyptian ports supply the occupation with what it needs to compensate for the Yemeni siege.

She pointed out that instead of helping the people dying in Gaza, Sisi supports the state of extermination and pretends to be Arab and Muslim.

This comes after the revelation that Egypt received a new Israeli weapons ship, in an incident that sparked widespread resentment in the Arab street.

https://t.me/ShebhALJazeera

[roscvcins]

@yishuns asked : plots please // nhs and any of your ocs 👁️👁️ - SEND PLOTS PLEASE FOR SOME POSSIBLE PLOTS (ACCEPTING, specify muse or not, I'm not picky ;) )

Ok I'm gonna organize the list of possible things to do by OC -

w/ Nie Shuhe: in my projection he's a retired (tm) soldier who switched into doing administration after his saber spirit popped off into somewhat dangerous levels, and took over a lot of the headache inducing work that M.eng Y.ao used to handle, so I definitely think when H.uaisang inevitably has to take over the sect after N.ie M.ingjue uh dies (tm), Shuhe would be a good and patient option to help H.uaisang with picking up the pieces. In general I would say he's like a Big Brotherly Presence (tm), he's just a really gentle (the saber-spirit anger issues all happen by himself behind closed doors honestly) mildly exasperated but like.....Good Reasonable Head on his shoulders you know (tm).

w/ Jin Si: I think pre-everything going to shit these two could be trouble making buddies. Sisi *also* like to sneak out get drunk party cause trouble and deal with the consequences later (and/or never if she can help it. they can be each other's alibi, excuse, etc. etc.). The only bad thing is that neither of them would do their homework so they can't copy off each other :skull:. On the other hand I think POST everything going to shit it would be fun to throw in some family enmity. If H.uaisang's revenge plot post his brother dying requires collateral, or information, or literally anything - Sisi is a great place to start because she knows s o m e things but she's not as guarded as anyone else in the Jin sect inner circle would be.

w/ Yao Haiyin: revenge buddies! because he has to throw his awful FATHER. and also in Haiyin's youth, they're pretty soft spoken and I think they would share a similar interest in arts and music.

[pericleslindblom]

“In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.”

Albert Camus

A pencil drawing of a detail of “The Dying Achilles” statue (Ancient Greek: Αχιλλεύς θνήσκων), created in Berlin in 1884 by German sculptor Ernst Herter. This statue forms the centrepiece of the Achilleion Gardens located at Achilleion Palace (Greek: Αχίλλειο or Αχίλλειον) in Gastouri (Γαστούρι) on the Island of Corfu. Residence of Empress (Kaiserin) Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi. The palace was designed by Italian architect Raffaele Caritto and was built on an area of 200,000 m2.

© 2023 P-S Lindblom

Available in limited edition prints https://www.instagram.com/pericles_lind?igsh=MWJoZzQ3NW92bDh6ag%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Why was the way WWX killed WC and WLJ moral but the way NHS brought about the end of JGY morally grey?

Wei Wuxian didn't use anyone that didn't have a hand in ruining Lotus Pier and attacking it. All three, Wen Chao (The one to throw him into Burial Mounds) Wen Zhuliu (Killing the Jiang parents, melting their cores as well as Jiang Cheng's) Wang Lingjiao (Setting up the attack on Lotus Pier and stupidly bragging about it to set off Madam Yu). And before the nameless Wen soldiers being innocent get thrown around for this, no, they weren't as cultivators willingly working under Wen Ruohan and actively and brutally attacking Cloud Recesses and mutilating the Lotus Pier disciples. An eye for an eye justice that Wei Wuxian enacts should not be this controversial.

Nie Huaisang, on the other hand, took advantage of an already unstable man to harness resentment to start the investigation into his brother, lured a child (Jin Ling) to his ancestral burial grounds (who could have died), lured more children (all children disciples who also could have died) to oust Xue Yang and plant the suspicion fully on Jin Guangyao. Bribed Sisi and Bi Cao (with material gain), to further out Jin Guangyao's crimes over the years. And lastly did lie that an already dying Jin Guangyao was about to attack Lan Xichen all for him to die brutally by Nie Mingjue's hand and still not admitting to that truth as Lan Xichen demanded.

One left more obvious suffering and consequences for many and the world.

[chibigaia-art]

Just realized ur bday is coming up!! U got a wishlist or smth??

and with that my deadline is nearing too ghhfg help😭

hmm I guess I have my steam wishlist (currently sitting at uuh 115), but I'm honestly good on games atm??? The only one I'd really want (even if I couldn't play it immediately) is BG3, and maybe P3R? There's also Ib and Stardew valley ig!!

as for stuff that isn't games it's all over the place lmao, quick list of stuff I have wanted for a while but couldn't get, and some more recent ones:

the idv prospector plushie that has been haunting me since the day it was released (my sister was supposed to gift it to me last year but stuff happened so no dice) (I need to punch it)

artbooks: complete art of FMA, Sushio's 'The idol', The promised neverland, patiently (im dying) waiting for an announcement of ryoko kui's daydream collection to be released to the west

this SEW shirt that goes so hard it's insane

deep cut amiibos because they're cute

Marcille pop up parade,,,

Coco (my sister might be getting me that yayy), Sisi or Fufu from bonnie s2 (because I already got Meimei as a gift for myself, it should arrive here around my bday and I'm v excited about it since it will be my first bjd!! this is what happens when you watch hours of doll customization videos on youtube)

tf comic #7 (impossible)

less back pain (impossible)

[archduchessofnowhere]

The good (by comparison) Sisi series is back! The trailer of season 4 dropped some hours ago, so here are my comments on it:

The anchor tatoo!

Expectations: Sophie will die this season because the real Sophie died in 1872 :(

Reality: Duke Max dies this season despite his historical counterpart dying in 1888

Maybe it is because recently I had to go through six hours of horrible costumes in Die Kaiserin and now my perception of what is a good costume is altered, but these two dresses here? Serves!

Oh this is the bad guy this season right? The one Sisi has to beat at a race? Will she end up having an affair with him or for once Sisi's character arc won't involve cheating?

Do we know who this character is? I don't remember her being announced with the rest of the new cast members for this season.

It seems she will be Sisi's riding instructor, which is kind of accurate! Elisabeth did have a female riding instructor (sort of).

Lowkey obssessed with how many shots of Gustav Schmidt as Louis are in the trailer. He features more than FJ. It's like they know they casted a really pretty boy this season and now they can't stop showing him off. I really hope that his storyline with Henriette Mendel is good and full of yearning.

On the other hand I have absolutely no hopes for this Ludwig II

No comments

Please tell me that Sophie is just randomly watching something burn and this will not be foreshadowing/a premonition for the Bazar de la charité

Wilhelm I???

Finally FJ! They gave him barely visible sideburns but no beard, sigh.

Since the trailer had no subtitles I can't comment more, but it seems the "Sisi has to win a race" will really be the biggest conflict of the season... which is kind of silly, but after rewatching Die Kaiserin I'll take the silly campiness of this series over whatever the hell have going on in that series. Honestly I will miss this show!

[symphonyofsilence]

i feel like mdzs doesn't have a happy ending at all, or like doesn't feel "complete". wwx runs away from the past but is reminiscing constantly and that never gets solved. the whole premise of gossip and mob mentality also doesn't get solved because jgy was guilty and so it was justified?? like... i don't know how to feel about this book. is it badly written or purposely incomplete? are the main couple so nonsensical in their displays of love because it's commentary or because it's actually romantic?

I agree that it doesn't have a happy ending. The only character that I can think of that got an actual happy ending is Mianmian. And maybe LWJ. WWX is happy and satisfied at the end of the novel on the surface but just as you said, he keeps reminiscing and he didn't get closure for all of the considerable trauma he went through -up to and including dying. And he clearly wants to go back to Lotus Pier. I think it's supposed to be a bittersweet ending.

I think the gossip and mob mentality never gets solved because realistically it will never get solved. All it can be is addressed and warned about. And I think where we get this is precisely when JGY was guilty of some sins but what the people gossiped about was exactly what he wasn't guilty of. Immediately after his death, people started to gossip about how he was so narcissistic that he made a statue of himself to be worshipped. While that statue was actually his mother's. WWX here notes that:

But there was no use in saying all that. Nobody knew with more clarity than Wei WuXian that nobody would care and nobody would believe him. Anything related to Jin GuangYao would be given the most malicious conjectures and passed through the mouths of the crowd

WWX draws parallels between himself & JGY the moment the crowd turns against JGY & asks WWX for help, too. Then in the inn, WWX overhears people speculating about why JGY left Sisi alive. And this goes so far that even people who were gossiping eagerly at that table feel uncomfortable. But the crowd still goes on shamelessly. Noting that nobody knows who they are here. Indicating that they know what they're doing is shameful, but they don't care. Even the phrase "what goes around, comes around" which at the beginning of the story was used for WWX by the people at the inn, is used for JGY too at the end.

But we're given a glimpse of hope for the future of society through the next generation. Children who saw the notorious MXY and trusted him accepted his help and advice, and eventually accepted him, Children, who gave the Yiling Laozu and the ghost general a chance to prove themselves and when they did, they changed their minds and defended them. Children who started shipping Wangxian before WWX himself did-or knew that he was gay. Through JL helping MXY escape from JC even if he was still weary of him because of the previous scandal that got him kicked out of the Jin Sect, giving him a second chance, supporting his relationship with LWJ, overcoming his internalized homophobia, and JL who saw that even if JGY, WWX, and WN gave him reasons to hate them they also gave him reasons to love them, and chose to not choose hate, and chose to mourn JGY, JL who when scolded for mourning JGY by the most notorious gossiper of the old generation in the story he told him off.

I do agree that the story is sort of incomplete. But I think it's incomplete in a complete way-...I'm not making any sense. what I mean is that I think it's narratively complete, but the story of the characters still goes on. But they each do get a closure, for better or for worse. and that's where we leave them. Right after they get their closures. But what they will do with the rest of their lives is left unsaid. But it didn't need to be said. The main story that the book told; the Sunshot Campaign, The 5 great sects, 3 Zun, Yi City Arc, and Wangxian all came to their ends. no subplot was left without a resolution and no character was left with an unknown fate. NHS's years-long revenge plot came to fruit and he saw the demise of the man who killed his brother, that was the end of the 3 Zun and NHS's only goal for many years and he achieved that, but now he's left with the dusty hat of his san-ge, and a sect that he's more or left driven to ruin, and none of his family and friends. He will come to be the next Xiandu, but he will be the loneliest social butterfly. LXC finally found out the truth about JGY's deeds and how his other sworn brother got killed, and he chose to still love JGY, he chose to die with him, and when he was saved by JGY in the last minute, he knew that his love was returned. and now he's the only one left of the 3 Zun, and with the knowledge that A-Yao would never move against him. Maybe one day he can go back to be Lan-Zongzhu, maybe one day he can wield Shouyue and not see A-Yao's blood on it, maybe one day he can celebrate his brother finally getting together with his beloved, maybe he can still not end up like his father, but not today. LSZ now knows about his Wen heritage, he now has an undead biological family member & he will reconcile his Wen and Lan heritage and honor what remains of his long-gone sect. Along with Wen Ning who now has a last-living family member, and will try to find his new purpose in life...or death. SL goes around the world to continue his quest with XXC now with XXC's sword and the hope to one day see his reincarnation again. JL has almost all the truths and he has decided what to do with it, He will not choose hatred & anger, he will give people second chances. he will mourn what's to be mourned and move on with his life. Being a sect leader at his age is not easy and he's still struggling and stumbling & he needs to learn to ask for help more. but he's doing his best and he has his uncles and his friends to help him. JC now knows what WWX has done for him, why he needed to do what he eventually came to do, how he honored their sect, and why he left, even if I think WWX didn't correctly communicate to him that he loved JC personally and what he did wasn't only out of duty, and JC with his insecurity and unshakable belief that he's unlovable wouldn't reach this conclusion, he more or less got closure and he can now step in the path of healing. He who was continuously after WWX in both halves of the story in the end stopped JL from following WWX and said "Let everyone go back to where they belong." He would go back to being Jiang-Zongzhu and JL's jiujiu and since what he most cares about is his sect and family I think as long as those two are fine he would be content, if not necessarily happy, and maybe one day, he and WWX will reconcile, too. And Wangxian have each other. WWX has someone who he knows will catch him if he jumps down from a tree. and LWJ will not let thousand-year rules dictate to him what is wrong and what is right, won't see the world in black and white, won't let his sect stand between him and happiness, and will love someone flawed freely and untamed, and flawed. And maybe one day WWX will go back to Lotus Pier and drink Lotus Wine with JC and know that he had always had and will always have a home and a family there.

The ending of MZDS is I think above all, realistic. and in reality, life goes on. and every ending is a new beginning. we left the characters at the end of the story but there is a whole universe still going on inside the book where the characters will go on with their lives after the storm, and they will live on inside our minds as well. I think the way their stories are not entirely complete is actually a very incredible way for the characters to forever live in our minds. For instance, if JC told WWX about his sacrifice the Yunmeng Shuangjie fully reconciled and went back to what they were we wouldn't have this much collective brainrot as we have now. And realistically, WWX's and JC's relationship couldn't go back to what it was that quickly, it needed a whole book of its own.

It's also one of the reasons that I think WWX's issues being unresolved is intentional. BC realistically people stick to the coping mechanisms they know and if WWX thinks that repressing, ignoring, running away, and pretending that everything is fine has worked so far for him, then he wouldn't let it go. Especially since overconfidence is also one of his character flaws. He knows best. (so much that he even makes decisions for other people. And assumes their feelings and thoughts without ever asking them about them) If he thinks it's fine then it's fine. And the way he had to face his repressed emotions about the core transfer when JC made him talk about it for the first and only time, how he quickly turned away from JC after the Guanyin Temple before he could say anything, and how he kept repressing his emotions and yearning for LP & his remaining family (he stops himself before asking more about JC & JL from the Juniors in the extras), and is maladjusted in the CR show that MXTX hasn't just forgotten about it. She does see it as an unresolved issue. And when MXTX truly wants to give her characters growth she will do it. [Spoiler for TGCF & SVSSS] like how Shen Yuan finally comes to embrace his feelings for LBH & his own identity & his emotional- openness and breaks away from the way the system wants him to act and becomes his true self. And the way Xie Lian finally lets go of his guilt over Wu Ming and learns what he told HC is also true for himself, too ("what matters is you, and not the state of you.") And he gets free from his shackles. He has a real, genuine talk with MQ & he reconciles with his two best friends. He even forgives Jun Wu. And everyone except Beefleaf and Junmei gets a happy ending.

about Wangxian...well, I honestly don't know what's with all this romanticizing non-con in the romance genre. I don't really think it's in the book to be criticized. What MXTX does is that she acknowledges that those are wrong things to do with LWJ being distressed by what he's done when he kisses WWX without his consent, and WWX feeling guilty after he kisses LWJ when he's drunk but not enough to stop doing that and then feeling guilty again when he does the do with him when he's drunk after that (until LWJ just fully goes for it without asking for consent or paying any attention to WWX's protests AGAIN but now skips the guilt phase), Fengqing being horrified by HC's stalking and obsession and HC feeling ashamed, too, and LQG & SQQ being horrified by LBH's obsession, stalking, imposing and non-con advances. But then it all gets solved by the good ol' "jokes on you they're into that". (Except for SQQ I think) So I guess those are there in the story to, as what some with those specific kinks would say, spice things up.

And as for the lack of communication, MXTX does satirize it in SVSSS where LBH's advances are seen as murder attempts by SQQ but I think in MDZS it's there to create drama and slow-burn and highlight the depth of LWJ's love when LXC finally explains to WWX that all this time LWJ has believed that WWX knows that he loves him, has rejected him & his flirtings are only mocking his feelings but still has chosen to dedicate himself to WWX & follow him around everywhere for the rest of his life (and we know this kind of devotion and following one's loved-one everywhere and helping them whenever necessary but never undermining their decisions is how MXTX depicts true love with HC saying to XL "I'm forever your most devoted believer", SQQ saying to LBH "this time, wherever you go, this master will accompany you." And SQH saying to Mobei Jun "My king, please let me follow you the rest of my life!". Usually, there are supporting characters who are also loyal and loving towards the MC and used to always follow and help them (JC, FX & MQ), but due to some other concerns, they had to leave the MC. But the love interest's priority is always the MC & nothing can set them apart.) the lack of communication is very in character for both of them as both of them are people who would rather (literally) die than talk about their feelings. And WWX just DOESN'T understand when people show their love for him with acts of service. So I'd say it depicts two flawed people in love with each other.

[lansplaining]

I saw some discourse that was like "just because jgy loved jin ling doesn't mean jl was safe with jgy" and I just... I mean I see their point but I don't think at all that jgy would ever purposefully hurt jl. All of jin lings suffering was because of the absolute horrors of his world, and jgy was another victim of it whose actions in response to it all indirectly contributed to everything that happened to jl. Let jgy hold his nephew 2k23

absolutely agreed!!! if JGY was the kind of person who wanted Jin Ling dead, he surely would have gotten that out of the way when Jin Ling was a toddler and way easier to kill. but frankly, he has nothing to gain from Jin Ling dying (I know some people imagine he's some kind of regent for Jin Ling in terms of clan leadership, but I don't think that seems to be the case?), setting aside the fact that he clearly loves him and doesn't want him to be harmed.

I guess the argument they're making might be that when the chips are down, JGY would sacrifice JL, as he seems to be ready to do in Guanyin Temple. but I personally do not think he was actually going to hurt him-- which isn't to say that JL wouldn't find that moment deeply traumatic!

but as ever, I think JGY's passion for murder is way overstated. the ending of canon would be so different if JGY had killed even half the people he should have to protect himself. as many people have pointed out, he in fact has a bad habit of getting sentimental about people who it would be far cleaner to kill. nobody would ever have figured out that he murdered his dad if he'd just had xue yang and sisi killed!

[adridoesstuff]

Elisabeth das musical Plzeň production review

Date: April 28th 2023

Cast: Michaela Štiková-Gemrotová (Elisabeth), Pavel Režný (Smrt/Death), Martin Holec (Lucheni), Jozef Hruškoci (Franz Joseph), Renáta Podlipská (Archduchess Sophie), Pavel Klimenda (Rudolf), Tadeáš Prokop (little Rudolf), Jan Ježek (Max), Stanislava Topinková-Fořtová (Ludovika/Frau Wolf)

Review and thoughts below the page break:

• We don't start with a hanged Lucheni puppet, the entire time it's actually the actor, who's hanging off of the noose

• And he stays that way for most of the Prolog

• Death lurks in the background for a moment during Alle tanzen mit dem Tod before Lucheni notices him

• And Death cuts Lucheni down from his noose

• During Death's verse, we get to see how Death works in this production's world: he kills on merely touch, which is demonstrated by the dead flying at him with outstretched arms and he just gets rid of them

• Death does give Lucheni a dirty look after "she loved Heinrich Heine"

• Little Sisi comes in in a short skirt and bloomers and during the second verse of Wie Du, her governess comes in and to Sisi's displeasure puts a long skirt onto her

• We also get a glimpse of Helene in Wie Du (she is very blonde in this version) and that she and Sisi at this point have a good relationship

• Everyone in Schön euch alles zu sehen gets a tea cup with saucer and a spoon and they do a collective spoon drop when Ludovika announces Helene is to be empress

• We get a shadow play of Sisi balancing on a tightrope with an umbrella

• After she falls, they carry her out onto a sofa and everyone groups around her, only for her to come out from the wings, so KKOG is done with the context of Sisi's soul already separated from her body and her literally being a touch away from dying

• And she does get really close, but at the last moment, Death pulls away

• As she sings "Ich erkenn dich schwartzer Prinz", Sisi goes towards Death with outstretched arms ready for a hug and Death just gets this mini panic as he backs up

• I don't like KKOG as a song, but the mutual fascination Pavel and Michaela showed here was *chef's kiss*

• During Jedem gibt er das seine, Franz and Sophie are almost shrouded behind the austrian flag colored curtains, separated from everyone around them

• And once Franz rises from his table, he moves strictly in straight lines and 90° angles

• Also, the entire show, Lucheni watches what is happening onstage from the side, sitting huddled up next to one of the set pieces, so the Lucheni actor has very little break time

• And since we're here, Martin Holec as Lucheni is so wonderful. He is a sarcastic asshole, but an extremely sympathetic one with an underlying remorseful side to him. Like, you can't help but laugh and nod along with him

• And he gets some alternate costumes for So wie man plant und denkt: a coat, tophat and fishing rod for verse 1 and an apron for verse 2

• And he hands out tea for everyone during the second verse

• Franz and Sisi see one another before the family meeting and Franz just keeps on looking at her from the moment they meet

• Sophie: "What, her?" Franz, while holding onto Sisi's hand as he was instructed to do and completely visibly in love with her, with the proudest look plastered onto his face: "Yes..."

• Nichts ist schwer has Sisi and Franz act shy at first and they slowly warm up to one another, coming closer to eachother

• Sisi being extremely shy once she is put into her wedding dress

• Death observes the wedding from the side and once Sisi says yes, you can hear the sound of a bird taking flight and Death says yes back to her three times

• Sie passt nicht has Sisi and Franz taking audience with the nobles after the wedding and Sisi is trying to be nice and friendly to them but they progressively just start behaving more rudely and dismissively towards her and she just progressively wilts on spirit until Franz takes her to dance

• Also, Helene just straight up walks by Elisabeth and ignores her when she's supposed to congratulate her

• Lucheni strutting through the dancing ballroom crowd until Death shows up

• Death strutting in flanked by all the death angels was a serve

• Der letzte Tanz had Death dance around with some of the ballroom guests, thus slowly killing them and provoking Sisi with it

• Sisi does defend Franz by hugging him in front of Death

• And Death does have some telepathic powers in this version, so that's how he dances around with Sisi

• Liebe mit Gaffern got the ensemble grouped up and obsessively staring at Sisi from the side

• Sisi has a gorgeously long wig in Eine Keiserin muss glänzen

• Sisi rising on a hydraulic platform during the last part of Ich gehör nur mir

• We get Sisi doubles in the background during Stationen eine Ehe during Lucheni's parts, showing her current life situation

• Franz just straight up leaves on Sisi when she asks him to give her back her child

• When they come to Hungary, Sisi and Franz are followed by a lady in waiting carrying the bundled up little Sophie and Death slowly stalks towards them, killing the child by gently touching her forehead

• So far, with every person Death has taken, he was rather rough with them, either throwing them, strangling them or just roughly pushing them away, even if with one finger, but little Sophie is the first time we see a more gentle side to how he takes lives

• I got literal chills during Pavel Režný's Act 1 Shatten

• As the café guests keep on talking about the rumors about Sisi and gazing into their newspapers, her very visibly sad shadow can be seen passing along the backdrop and Lucheni tries to make some of the people notice her, but they keep on ignoring him

• Lucheni jumping through the café guests and leaping off of the tables when he talks about how Rudolf was born

• The playout for Fröhliche Apokalypse got some super interesing newspaper choreo, which ended with the newspapers being left tossed all over the stage

• The kid playing little Rudolf was super adorable

• Also, he is forced into the blue austrian uniform jacket and the poor little kid says "ouch" as he is forced into it

• Sisi in her room looks like she is trapped in it and only when she stands her ground, she leaves it

• So far, Sisi was the one to draw back once Death starts approaching her/he pushes her around the stage, but once she says no to him here, she intentionally pushes him back for the first time and Death just completely shook

• Milch had the ensamble come in from the sides of the audience

• And there was plenty of very agressive banging with the milk cans onto the stage

• Schönheitspflege has a Sisi double with her back to the audience in a bath up on a pedestal and the maids are brushing her hair and taking care of her

• Once Franz comes in, they draw a changing screen closed in front of her and it kinda looks like a triptych altarpiece

• And then it opens and she is there in her Star dress

• Death appears for the Act 1 finale on ground level and Elisabeth is higher than him

• Also, some of the ensemble angrily come in at the end of Act 1 finale in their Milch costumes, but they stop in admiration when they see Elisabeth

• Lucheni gets a black glittery frockcoat and tophat for Kitsch

• And he tries to sell his kitsch souvenirs to both the hungarian ensamble and the front row

• We don't see Franz and Elisabeth during Éljen, the focus is purely on the happy hungarian populace

• Wenn ich tanzen will has Elisabeth giving one massive fictive middle finger to Death with her teasing him by dancing with whichever man she pleases in front of him, while he can't touch her

• And Death is just so upset/infuriated by not being able to dance with her and he is just left alone on stage completely upset

• Also, paralel scene to Der letzte Tanz!

• Little Rudolf trying to hide underneath his blanket was so precious

• Death is just so fascinated by Rudolf wanting him to stay and he also looks at him kinda weirded out like this is his first time interacting with a child

• Also, Death does almost touch Rudolf's head to take him, but he holds himself back

• The mad woman in the insane asylum scene being carried around on the shoulders of other of the patients

• Elisabeth in this scene is so compassionate and trying to be so patient with everyone

• Wir oder sie had Sophie and the court men huddled around a dimly lit table to discuss

• Nur kein genieren was lit very red and the way they tilted the lighting rig was so interesting

• The ensamble for this scene was very stripy with a lot of colored tulle ruffles

• Also, Stanislava Topinková Fořtová as Frau Wolf? Slayed and ate

• Lucheni doesn't have as much chemistry with Frau Wolf as in the original, but he did get to fool around with some of the ensamble ladies

• Elisabeth falls down when she's attempting to excercise on rings, but she climbs up on a vault to get to them and falls down from there, so pretty big fall

• And they included a lot of coughing from Elisabeth's side

• Death gets a nice cloak and tophat as his doctor disguise! And it suprisingly had little gaping and the way he threw it off was so effortless

• Death and Elisabeth circling around the vault during Maladie

• Elisabeth ends up on the ground and Death goes down onto the ground to her, offering her his hand for her to take

• Elisabeth doesn't throw the necklace at Death, but onto the ground

• Death does come for Sophie in this production, but we don't see him touch her, just her visibly acknowledge him and he follows her offstage

• The passage of time in Rastlose Jahre was shown by little Rudolf first coming out and Elisabeth just breezes past him and then he went offstage and the next time, Rudolf came onstage as an adult

• We get a Fanny Feifalik namedrop from Lucheni!

• At the end of Rastlose Jahre, Lucheni holds up a picture of young Elisabeth next to her, but she snatches the picture from him, agressively stares him down while tearing the picture up and then she stuffs to torn up pieces into Lucheni's mouth

• Rudolf does give himself a dose of morphine on the side of the stage during Rastlose Jahre, so I'm guessing Shatten here is partially a drug induced fever dream

• Other than that, Pavel Klimenda's Rudolf is so goddamn tragically sad, desheveled, sopping wet, traumatized and affection starved, like, you just want to give his Rudolf a hug

• At the end of Rastlose Jahre, there is a tiny moment when Sisi notices Rudolf looking like a complete mess and he cries out to her, but she looks back at him with disgust and leaves him alone, crying

• Shatten had Death come in with a whip and kind of invite Rudolf onto a ride on his carriage (I'm saying kind of because it was very minimalistic in set)

• At one point, Death touches Rudolf with his whip by lifting up his chin and Rudolf snatches the whip from him, prompting a very "what is this weird kid doing now" look from Death

• Death gives Rudolf a gun at the end of Shatten and Rudolf does consider using it, he even puts it to his head while surrounded by the death angels, but he reconsiders and hides the gun

• Strait Vater und Sohn has Rudolf more upset than angry

• Hass was lit very starkly and dimly, so for a lot of the scene, you couldn't make out their facial features

• Death does appear during Hass, not directly involving himself, but banging a drum to the rhythm of the song in the background

• During Wie Du reprise, Elisabeth writes with a quill that looks like one of Death's feathers

• I almost cried during Wenn ich dein Spiegel wär

• Rudolf comes in with some papers, looking kind of ready to discuss his worries with his mother, but as soon as he is faced with her, he falters and lets go of the papers

• The entire time Rudolf begs Elisabeth for help, he is on his knees in front of her

• And she lashes out at him before leaving him alone

• Before Mayerling, Rudolf faces the audience and says "so, you will leave me alone in this", and he starts sobbing and curls up on the ground as the death angels come in and he cries out for his mom to help him

• Mayerling at first has the angels throw Rudolf around before Death starts dancing with him

• At the end, they touch/embrace and Rudolf ends his life

• Rudolf gets surrounded by the death angels, who create his grave with their wings

• Death looks very remorseful after Rudolf dies. This production doesn't really give us feral Todolf like the original and 1st revival, but Tod here is more like a guardian to Rudolf.

• Death remorsefully observes Elisabeth as she comes to lay flowers onto Rudolf's grave

• At the end of Totenklage, both Franz and Death are offering Elisabeth an embrace and Elisabeth starts leaning towards touching Death until he pulls away

• During Totenklage, Lucheni photographs the picture of Elisabeth weeping by Rudolf's grave, that he shows in Kitsch reprise

• And he tears the picture up during the song

• Boote in der Nacht had Elisabeth smoking a cigarette

• They reused the Achilleon set from Wie Du reprise/Spiegel and she had a ton of books lying around the set, which she kept on flipping through as a distraction from Franz

• Am Deck den sinkenden Welt literally had the stage looking like a stormy sea of waves just by using the hydraulic platforms in the stage and Franz was on the only stable part of the stage

• We actually got one of the ensamble ladies set on fire during the scene

• Death screaming at Franz from up on the hanging lighting rig!!

• Death doesn't throw the file at Lucheni, but the angels pass it to him across the stage

• The ensamble in their afterlife costumes stay on scene during the assasination

• Also, Death keeps on watching the scene from the lighting rig

• Once she is stabbed, Elisabeth stumbles offstage for a while and stumbles back in only to be surrounded by the ensamble as she dies

• And suddenly, she appears on the other side of the stage in her white nightgown

• The death angels drag Lucheni down and he tries to triumphantly laugh, but he is clearly conflicted and a little remorseful

• That moment when Elisabeth and Death finally touch and embrace <3

• The Der Schleier fällt kiss here was so full of mutual respect

• After Death kisses her, Elisabeth doesn't fall down dead, but she walks downstage and looks out into the audience as the curtain falls

• Meanwhile, Death through all this looks at her with such a loving and fascinated expression

• So, in this production, Elisabeth and Death stay together in the afterlife

• For the curtain call, everyone of the main cast got one of their character's songs played as they took a bow

• With Lucheni and Death getting to sing a bit of Kitsch and Der letzte Tanz each as they took a bow

• CONCLUSION: Holy shit, everybody in this cast was splendid. I honestly can't even decide who's would be the standout performance of the evening, because everyone was amazing.

[key-lime-soda]

GRIPS YOU SUS MS US MSU S JSJS US MS S US SM S SIS ISS I SI SI SISI SHEYEHOIFHEEYE

a.all

oh boy :D

Jackson: hurting ppl

Charlie: being hurt

Wenna: losing the ppl she cares about

Thomas: betrayel

Brian: being forgotten

Gilbert: being severly lied to

Shannon: being alone

Mizuchi: dying