#tldr everyone should not be judged for their art and should do what make u happy

[8eht]

reader inserts are literally the worst thing i hate them so much lmao

omg i wouldnt say i hate them bc a lot of my friends write them and they are very talented ppl!!!!!!! but i just can’t get into them for several reasons. ive only ever read one that i actually loved but that’s bc the writer def knows wut i like so ofc im a big fan of it lmao 😏

and thats not to say i have anything against them or that reader inserts aren’t written well, i just need to be really emotionally absorbed into a piece to fully enjoy it and for some reason (adhd mayhaps???) i just cant do that with reader inserts

even so!!! anon ur opinion is so valid as well!!! i know people who dont like m/m stuff and that’s okay too. i have nothing against their feelings even tho its what i like to read and write. no one should feel bad abt which one they prefer to read. 

i love writers expressing themselves in ways that are effective and comfortable for them!!! so everyone pls keep doing wut ur doing 

💘💐💞💜💕💖💟💗💓🌸💘

[gay-snom]

contextualizing lwj’s coming to terms with his feelings subplot!

i wanna talk about the role of confucianism in this subplot because i think it’s something some western fans might not pick up on. basically, the sociopolitical climate of confucianism in his character arc, and a little bit about his interaction with the public image theme.

disclaimer: i’m not chinese but i do have a double minor in chinese and asian studies and have written a few papers on confucianism.

we’re gonna be talking about the novel bc i feel its a little more in-depth and nuanced than lwj’s “what is black, what is white” monologue in cql. namely the tension and misunderstanding in wwx’s first life and how lwj got his scars. i feel like it’s pretty well accepted that wwx made lwj reconsider his world view, so i’m just gonna expand on it. also i want to point out it's pretty unspoken in most of the text, but lwj is also affected by/used to explore the public image themes, as his image the is ideal confucian scholar.

confucianism is centered around the ideas of how to behave “good” in sociopolitical contexts. basically it boils down to a belief system on how society should be run. if everyone follows confucian beliefs, you will have an ideal society. the main text is the Analects, which you can read here. it’s been around for a few thousand years (like around 200 BCE ish), had a huge revival in the tang dynasty (618-907 CE). it was put on imperial exams, the emperor’s cabinet had confucian scholars, etc. this is just to say confucian values are important to historic society, especially upper-class scholars, which seems to be a role cultivators commonly fill in xianxia. here are some basic tenants:

being a gentleman/scholar/superior man (君子 jūn zǐ) : partly being learned in the arts, literature, music, poetry, etc., mostly behaving righteously and dutifully.

filial piety: usually described as obedience. it's not simply obeying everything elders tell you, it includes doing it with reverence and thankfulness for their sacrifices for you.

leading by example: if leaders/the government is righteous, the people will follow. lwj has his flock of juniors that are all strong cultivators and the lan sect is just generally known for being moral and good.

rites/rituals: a focus on politeness and holding proper ceremonies, sacrifices, and funerals

speech: there’s some great meta about the register he speaks in here, i just want to touch on think carefully before you speak, only speak sincerely, etc.

tldr; lwj is THE perfect gentleman (even his title contains the character suffix 君 -jūn, like lxc. which, while this character is not uncommon for cultivator titles, it wasn’t chosen carelessly either. also not to be confused with 尊 -zūn). seriously, look at almost all of book 10 and you'll see don't do/consume in excess, don't talk during meals, sit only when your mat is straight, etc.

okay, so Why is understanding his feelings for wwx so troublesome?

1.2 "They are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against their superiors. There have been none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of stirring up confusion... Filial piety and fraternal submission! - are they not the root of all benevolent actions?"

in other words, people who are filial will never create political tension. so like, morally, wwx should be considered horrible person! he’s not only snubbed the jiang sect. he was a head disciple who undoubtedly had younger students looking up to him. and then he goes and stirs up some huge political issues! he is now a bad role model for the people below him and disrespected the people above him. lwj has an entire image to uphold, he has poured his entire life into following these rules and beliefs, and then wwx comes along. would continuing to be in wwx's life taint lwj? there are some contradicting teachings in regards to interacting with wwx:

15.4: "Do not take counsel with those who follow a different Way"

15.28: "When the multitude hates a person, you must examine them and judge for yourself. The same holds true for someone whom the multitude love."

15.36 "When it comes to being Good, defer to no one, not even your teacher."

this is part of the reason lwj had so much trouble accepting his feelings. he didn’t know how to handle this situation, making him appear distant during/directly after sunshot. if he judges wwx's intentions to be pure, it's then not wrong to be friendly with him. but wwx still is morally wrong by society's standards. now, lwj has to not only figure out his feelings, but also reconcile this with how he still thinks wwx is Not a bad person, despite everything. what if he does get "tainted" by wwx? will it hurt the reputation of his sect? that would be un-filial, right? he spent his whole life memorizing rules that are probably extremely similar to sections in the Analects, and now these mixed messages (coupled with the relatable gay panic) are overwhelming.

onto the next! there’s something unspoken in the scene where wwx discovers why lwj has the whip scars. as other posts have mentioned, lwj taking wwx back to the burial mounds and nursing him is high treason. however, this action is also extremely un-filial. also his entire image is built around being a perfect gentleman, if this were to get out to the public he would lose absolutely everything. he would be just as irreparable as wwx.

“I was worried if those from another sect found you first, WangJi would be considered your accomplice. The best scenario was his name being forever tainted, and the worst was his life being taken away right then. Thus, along with Uncle, we chose thirty three seniors who had always thought highly of WangJi... ”

there’s no way lwj didn’t know what would happen if he did this. obviously as lxc says, if this got out, he would lose basically his entire face. and even though lxc didn’t mention this, it would definitely lose a lot of face for the lan sect as well since lwj is so prominent. the decision about what elders to bring is also notable.

“...As if he knew all along he would be discovered by us, he said that there was nothing to explain, that this was it. Growing up, he had never talked back to Uncle, not even once. But for you, not only did WangJi talk back to him, he even met with his sword the cultivators from the Gusu Lan sect...”

so yeah, he obviously knew they would come for him and what the consequences would be. and he still talked back! that’s already not a good look for the lan sect. but attacking them? totally unforgivable! lwj gives up how he was raised and the importance of filial piety, what he has held on to until this major plot event. since it's basically the biggest "fuck you" to his uncle and his clan, this was not a decision he made lightly. lwj shows them he cares more about wwx and His Own ideas of right and wrong than the sect’s or society’s.

Wei WuXian dug his hands into his hair, “...I-I didn’t know... I really...”

when was the last time wwx was at a loss for words? wwx spends a few paragraphs after this lamenting how he hurt lwj, but he's not unaware of the gravity of what lwj did. it's an underlying assumption from being raised in the culture. i would argue his first instinct is "oh god he gave up what for me?" since those lamenting paragraphs are after lxc finishes speaking.

"But he said... that he could not say with certainty whether what you did was right or wrong..."

this is something thrown around a lot in the Analects, that not even confucius can say for sure what is right or wrong. what better way to show lwj is still a perfect confucian than have him paraphrase confucius himself?

“...WangJi was a model for the disciples when he was young, and a prominent cultivator when he grew up. In his whole life he had been honest and righteous and immaculate--you were the only mistake he made!”

here’s the confirmation that the world and even his family thinks of him as a perfect gentleman, the top tier of society, and it was all thrown away for wwx. this is just so heavy. the mistake thing? thats not only because lwj is fraternizing with an enemy. lxc and the rest of the sect who knew are terrified this will forever corrupt lwj personally, not just publicly. lwj was so devoted to believing this was the right thing to do he offered up everything he had. the gravity of this decision is insane. it’s very obvious that he loves wwx, it’s just that he struggles a lot internally to accept everything that is happening.

as for helping wwx leave after the massacre, is this gentleman-ly of lwj? was it actually in-line with his image? is it more honorable to save someone who is dying, at the cost of your own health, than to look away? isn't looking away a form of resentment? i wasn't able to find a specific passage about bystander-ness, but personally i think it qualifies as "bad intentions." there is also this passage for what it's worth, originally it was about government suppression:

12.19: "...What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?" Confucius replied, "...why should you use killing at all?..."

lwj is always more actions than words, and he was not fucking around. his core beliefs really haven't changed, and remain very strong throughout his life. he is still righteous enough to accept his punishment, graceful enough to search for wwx's body since there was no one else to do the funeral rites (10.22/10.15), caring enough to take in a-yuan, upright enough to still spend his years going where the chaos is.

just with this one action, the audience knows he has come to terms with realizing that authority isn't always just, and neither is the public opinion/opinion of other gentlemen. he has reconciled. this is him standing for what he believes is right. this is his devotion. this is his own choice. just. poetic cinema...

anyway that's it for my first meta post! i would love to hear your thoughts, feelings, opinions, discussions, other meta ideas, whatever! thank u for reading! <3

[iztopher]

For the RPG Maker Dev ask, 8 - 13, 17, 18 and 20 - 30!! (but also, since this is I think Most of the questions, feel free to answer all of them!!)

XZONI!!! THANK U SO MUCH FOR ASKING ME THIS, im sorry it took me so long to answer haha i had to be on my laptop instead of mobile for it

8. What is your opinion of RPG Maker? Answered here!

9. If you could change something about the RPG Maker engine, what would it be? Answered here!

10. What is your stance on RTP and custom assets? The short answer is "I don't think we'd have this discussion if more people used XP". TLDR everyone who acts like they make a game less valuable and you should never use them pisses me off, but also I think they get uglier with every installment

11. What kind of art style do you prefer for graphic assets? 2D. Love stuff in the XP style! I really enjoy blends of pixel art and painting, like Aveyond 1. I want to make a game like that eventually.

12. What kind of sound profile do you prefer for music and sound assets? haha. I don't know enough about music to answer this honestly

13. What kind of fonts do you prefer to read game text in? Something simple and easy to read, otherwise I'm not picky. Usually the default fonts suffice just fine for me.

17. Which game mechanic do you think devs could do less of? Personally I despise chase scenes and they will 9/10 prevent me from playing a game but also I get why people make them. I also don't like super complicated battle systems.

18. Which game mechanic do you think more devs should add to their own projects? Answered here!

20. What is your current project about? Answered here!

21. Why did you start this project? Answered here!

22. What or who are your inspirations for this project?

Gonna answer this one for away in the woods! Biggest inspiration is without a doubt the Hermit ending of Aveyond 1. Other inspirations include the poem "If No One Ever Marries Me'", the song "I Stand Alone" from Quest for Camelot, and what I described as "every NPC old lady tucked away in the woods in an RPG", so essentially the old, single woman who may or may not be a witch archetype.

23. How well do you do with project conceptualization?

I am absolutely horrible at coming up with ideas to begin with - it's a good thing that I take as long to make a game as I do, or else I'd be out of ideas - but once I've figured out an idea I like, I think I'm pretty good at nailing it down and conceptualizing it into something I can actually make. I like to think I'm especially good at conceptualizing maps and how the game actually comes together.

24. How well do you do with project implementation?

Er, not good. You know the idea "slow and steady wins the race"? Yeah I'm slow but not steady. I'm really trying to find a workflow where I make more consistent progress.

25. Aside from playing your game, how can other people support you and your project? If I share stuff about it, I love hearing feedback!

26. Why do you want to make a game? Literally just because I like using RPG Maker. It makes my brain go brrrr.

27. Who are you making a game for? Myself first and foremost, other than that it depends on the game. seaglass was kinda internally dedicated to all my internet friendships; Inn Need was of course for Tei & Ji as collaborators (and the IGMC judges, lol), and away in the woods was conceptualized as for me, Ishti, and Moonie, and... I'm self conscious and embarrassed saying this, but like, aromantic people in general? And of course, all of them are for anyone who would enjoy them <3

28. What do you want your players to think/feel after playing your game? All of them: I want them to have a good time! Anything more specific depends on the game.

29. What is the most memorable feedback you got for any of your projects (whether its status is conceptual, in the works, or finished)? I am so sorry I do not have an answer to this one LOL

30. What kind of feedback is most helpful for you? Answered here!