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cannoli-reader · 2 months ago

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Watching the Wheel of Time show; Season 2, episode 1

Posted on readandfindout.com on 9/2/2023

Three episodes are being excreted released at the outset, and I have not heard of the season being longer this year. I can’t tell if this is a desperation move or one of supreme confidence.

00:07 I should not need to watch the “Previously On” segment of a Wheel of Time adaptation, because I know the story forward and backward. That I feel the need for a refresher shows just how little the two versions have in common.

00:35 Ah, yes. The lie that before Moiraine, Lan had nothing to live or die for. In fact, he had way too much to live and die for and they were placing mutually exclusive demands on him. Accepting Moiraine’s bond was Lan’s way to get clear of it all.

And did this scene of the four young people and Lan and Moiraine standing in a circle ever happen? Edit from the future: Sort of. Different angle.

01:08 NOSEWART! It’s ba-ack!

03:50 Is that manhole cover thing supposed to be another Seal on the Dark One’s prison? If they are just parked immovably in various locations, why hasn’t the Tower found them in 3000 years and done something to protect them? Watcher of the Seals, hello?

Also, I am not invested at all in that kid’s fate. She’s clearly here for dramatic purposes.

03:57 That Trolloc jumping against the door was so fake-looking even I noticed it.

04:22 This is how they do the Darkfriend Social? Also, Ba’alzamon’s line delivery is utterly flat. It sounds more like he’s incanting a ritual than speaking to people.

04:50 So this child, on seeing a monster, runs into the house, and instead of approaching her mother directly, hides under the table and attempts to engage her mother from down there? What child acts like that? Why would she be trying to hide under a table instead of going to actual adults for refuge? Until the man, heretofore still unidentified on this show, ducked under to look at her, I was wondering if she was even real, given the lack of attention she received. I mean, a door opening during a Darkfriend meeting is not something anyone just ignores, and this child is sapient, not a toddler whose behavior can be dismissed.

I can see nothing good for the man’s engaging with the kid. With Ba’alzamon, there was this otherworldly quality to him that made his occasional attention to details scary. But for the most part, he was above it all. I don’t see how doing anything with this kid helps his characterization.

04:54 Why is the child even at this sort of meeting? What is the point of attending an anonymous meeting in a veil, and bringing your daughter?

05:19 That was awfully hasty exposition. And Father of Lies is a name for the Dark One. It was only ever directed at Ishamael, the Betrayer of Hope, in the mistaken belief that he was the Dark One.

05:21 Yay? Fain is here?

06:57 What did that add to the story or to Ishamael’s characterization?

08:20 I guess we are supposed to recall how easily she warmed the bath in the pilot episode?

10:02 I hope they are going to clarify whether Moiraine is stilled or just shielded. And what the status is of her bond with Lan, since those two conditions would have radically different effects on him.

10:57 And now we’re going to ruin Verin! Oh boy! Verin would mumble something apologetic designed to reinforce the image of her as someone so lost in thought she was unaware of how much noise she would be making.

11:24 An Aes Sedai would never pump another sister’s warder for information about her. She would especially not be doing so to find out what the sister herself was refusing to share.

All of this might seem unnecessary, given the departures from the books, but these details are part of what makes the Aes Sedai and Warders what they are. You can’t dispense with all sorts of inconvenient details and still expect the picture to hold up.

12:29 So Bayle Domon works for Moiraine, Moiraine is an asshole to Lan, and the scene is being written by someone who has only had Illianer diction vaguely described to him, because this is not how Bayle talks.

12:40 This had better have some purpose in the show’s narrative other than making the dumbest fans of both media seal clap at a couple of familiar names.

It should go without saying that Moiraine cannot be stilled, otherwise, she wouldn’t be hanging around other Aes Sedai, not that the show has established Verin as one, much less the lounging woman whom I cannot imagine acting less like an Aes Sedai.

13:28 I fucking hate this show.

This says everything about their priorities. And it’s not telling a good story, much less Wheel of Time.

First of all, ITB, the Aes Sedai are very image conscious and discreet. They would not be leaving doors open for novices to wander through, and would have especially taken precautions not to be seen by a subordinate in the middle of a Warder sandwich. This is a through-line of the series, that sexuality affects how people perceive you, not in the sense of slut-shaming, but it creates a degree of familiarity, of false intimacy. It’s part of the tradeoff between knowledge and image. You can’t control how you are perceived if you let people in too close, or know too much about you. Awareness of your sex life is one of those things that degrades your image in others’ eyes, not because it’s icky or shameful, but because it is so very personal and humanizing to an excessive degree. You close the bedroom door for the same reason that you close the bathroom door.

This only makes Alanna cool in the eyes of adolescent viewers and writers. It will ruin her image in the eyes of Egwene and furthermore, when the issue of trusting Alanna comes up, if ever, this is going to complicate it, because it’s an additional factor that could weigh on Egwene’s judgement in no good way.

15:00 Nynaeve might not like anything about the Tower and Aes Sedai, but she gets how things work. Egwene is explaining their novitiate as if it is some unique phenomenon to them, instead of absolutely what anyone raised in a world where everyone does real work for a living would understand as an apprenticeship.

Also, Egwene was the one who was always complaining and impatient with the speed of her teaching and being diverted to things that did not advance her. Egwene was the one who was always looking for a shortcut, and would be looking to ask the Amyrlin to hurry things along. Nynaeve would not have wanted a favor from the Amyrlin, even if she somehow did not understand the purpose of a training regimen.

16:53 That bit could almost work, since Egwene has seen first hand the advantage of minimizing the need to move your hands when working the Power.

On the other hand, backtalking an Aes Sedai, or deviating from her channeling instructions in the slightest are among the greatest offenses a novice can commit. Not because this is a peculiarity of the White Tower, but because they are handling forces that once Broke the World, which are dangerous to use carelessly.

And you can’t channel with your eyes closed, because you need to see to weave the threads, per the books. Why have the magic system if you’re going to change things that make no sense to change?

17:01 Any real Aes Sedai would have had Nynaeve pouring that cup down her own throat unfiltered for a remark like this. Hopefully they will salvage this scene by having Alanna send them both to Sheriam at the end of the lesson.

18:10 This is very heavy-handed, but bears some slight resemblance to Nynaeve’s actual problem with channeling – her fear of the strength of the Power.

I can’t decide if it would be good or not to have Nynaeve blow off the lesson by defiantly chugging the glass of dirty water and storming out. Probably would need context to figure whether or not it develops her resistance or simply her immaturity. And I don’t think the writers, to the extent that they are book-fans, understand the issues the characters have with embracing their powers, and do, in fact, think they are being stupid or babies for balking.

18:41 Predictability in all the worst ways.

And while writing this, I am wondering how such clear Aes Sedai fan-girls as the writers of this show are can portray them as so incompetent and running a training program with such poor discipline, when it occurred to me that they might believe this is an improvement, because punishment is icky and regressive.

Needless to say, since the first season made it abundantly clear how little they understand Nynaeve or how few shits they can be bothered to give about her, it’s hardly a surprise that they’re getting her wrong here. Nynaeve is stubborn, but not stubbornly resistant to learning or knowledge. Her stubbornness is that she refuses to give up. She does not give up trying to break her block, even when she thinks her efforts are hopeless. Hell, her block comes from her utter refusal to surrender to the Power. She never balks at lessons, she never stops trying. Yes, she hates the Tower and resents the Aes Sedai, but she would not be in it, fucking around with kitchen chores, if she had no interest or desire in learning what they had to teach.

Nynaeve also always tries to get along with people and deal with them as equals, up to the point where she thinks they are being stupid or obstructive, and giving lessons to students in no way qualifies. When she balks or argues with someone above her, it’s because she thinks they are doing something wrong, or on behalf of someone she perceives as being in need or wronged. She objected to the severity of White Tower training when she believed Egwene was going to be subjected to it. She drops her complaint when told that it’s the Accepted, not the novices, who go through what Siuan put her through on the boat. All of her arguments with Moiraine are about the welfare of the other Two Rivers kids or the people who ended up as collateral damage from the presence of Two Rivers folk. She is not a contrarian, nor does she nitpick or split hairs. She is always about the spirt and not the letter of a law, agreement or relationship.

I can’t tell if the writers hate her, or if they think this is empowering, but they are consistently portraying her as an immature asshole.

19:04 Red-haired, tilted-eyed Sheriam is being played by a white-haired woman with normal eyes. I realize both her signature appearance traits are hard to find in the same actress, but if you’re going with round eyes, you can cast a ginger and if you are going with white hair, you can cast an oriental woman.

20:07The Jaw That Walks (and calls itself Liandrin) has good points and everything said in this scene is both accurate and conveys pertinent information so far. I just thought I would point that out before the inevitable screwup.

20:31 Her hair is even less braidy than ever.

21:54 So we’re not even going to address Loial being stabbed by the Shadar Logoth dagger and being alive and well?

22:40 They are really just snatching random names out of the books. Watch Hill is a village in the Two Rivers, which the fellowship passed on their way out. And meanwhile it looks like they are going to be making Uno into a bragging clown whom no one takes seriously, instead of the archetypal professional soldier and quintessential badass non-com.

Maybe Loial’s ironic mockery is the evil of the dagger belatedly manifesting in him. It’s certainly not a character trait from the books.

23:34 He’s acting like he’s blind. Knowing what I know, I think we’re supposed to notice Elyas’ eyes. I feel like they also wanted us to be surprised that Elyas is the sniffer, not Hurin. But why should we care that it’s Elyas? What on earth should make me think I am going to see the book character?

24:28 That looked like the girl Ishamael was messing with. But if she is the sole survivor of the massacre, why did she believe her mother was in the meeting?

25:09 It looks like they are trying to stick to the essential moments of the Hunt story. They established the Black Hawk of Shienar, which was visible at the Darkfriend meeting, and we got a hint that Ingtar is sensitive about hearing such men condemned, while seeing the sigil on a corpse might lull us into thinking the guy at the meeting is dead. Or Maseema might be presented as the obvious suspect later on, to set up the surprise reveal. Of course, Rand is not with them, so we don’t have any sort of relationship with him and Ingtar developing yet, which is going to undermine that reveal.

Also, Elyas is played by the actor who plays Clem, the father of, and origin of the family name for, the title character of the Star Wars show called, hilariously in this context, Andor.

25:29 The Sea Folk do be the best in the game, and Moiraine do no have an interest in that, because it do be the heartstone she does want.

Bayle’s dialogue is not hard to get right. And if they got his speech patterns right, it might distract some of us from the content.

26:33 So much of the dialogue is sheer sophistry. Lan says that he misses the awareness of Moiraine that came with the bond, that before it was like a constant narration, and now there is silence, to which either Tomas or Jaem replies Lan does not seem like a man who is afraid of a little silence. The look Daniel Henney is giving him at this timestamp seems to me to be full of the contempt that response deserves. Dumb Old Warder is talking about literal silence, whereas Lan is talking about being isolated from his partner and the defining figure in his life. They do this all the time, deliberately misunderstanding which meaning or connotation of a word is applicable in order to contradict the other people in the dialogue. It’s a stupid and shallow person’s idea of what is clever.

26:48 “She wants me to leave” “You can.” Again! Lan is not looking for permission. He is explaining their emotional estrangement.

26:55 That dark haired Aes Sedai leering at Lan was supposed to be Adeleas.

27:16 The only thing we know about Jaem’s relationship with Lan ITB (even though this is Verin’s Warder, they have basically inserted Verin into Vandene’s place in the story, so until I hear different, I am calling him Jaem) is that he took his cue from Lan, having been out of the proper Warder game for a while, rusticating with Vandene and her sister, and now, with a real Warder in the house, he went back to practicing with his sword and taking his combat duties more seriously. He was not blowing Lan off like a nuisance, much less volunteering to be the unofficial Warder stand-in for a second sister beyond the one to whom he is actually bonded.

28:49 What even is Moiraine going to do with a broken chunk of cuendillar? Why is the negotiation all about the extra pittance for the poem? Domon does not seem to be doing a good job of selling her on the value of the actual intel he has, and the attitude here is that it’s just an extra with the cuendillar being the real prize.

Also, the negotiations are dumb. He asks for five marks, Moiraine says she could buy a top tier horse with that (skipping the stupidity of her saying “racehorse”, because that’s still a local niche activity and not yet the sport of kings at this stage of societal development. Or maybe it is a big deal in this world, but A. they haven’t established that, and B. I doubt it, considering what a horse race would probably cost a TV budget. HBO had to cancel a show about horse racing by one of their best writers with an actual movie star, after one season, because of the expenses of the premise) anyway, Moiraine notes that five marks is a lot of money and he immediately goes down to one mark. That’s not how you negotiate or how you dialogue. His next line should have been ”this poem is worth it.” I will give this exchange props only for establishing some relative values of money in this world, and a broken chunk of cuendillar being worth ten times the price of an expensive horse is appropriate.

=+=+ Pause while Cannoli goes to the movies to see The Equalizer 3 +=+= +-+-+- It was okay -+-+-+ For the record, I had to pause in mid-scene, because I had to catch a bus

29:23 This is bullshit. A. It is canon that the Sea Folk are far better than the Aes Sedai at bargaining and negotiating. B. It’s also a good way to lose your network of informants, by dealing with them in bad faith. Good luck ever getting Domon to bring you anything again. Best case scenario, he spreads the word of how an Aes Sedai cheated him (something the Tower takes pains not to let happen ITB), worse scenario, he specifically names Moiraine, which gets the Tower pissed at her and lowers her rep among others she might want to deal with. Even worse, he turns to her rivals in the Tower, and pretty soon, Liandrin is getting all the interesting stuff. None of this, except for the parenthetical aside, is based on book lore, this is common sense for dealing with people, and based on what has been established, for lack of a better word, by the show to date. This sort of gamesmanship is what you do against outsiders, not people in your own employ, or with whom you want an ongoing relationship.

This could be used for character work, perhaps to suggest that Moiraine is acting petty and lashing out to feel powerful after losing her ability to channel, or it could set up plot points down the road, such as a difficulty the Wondergirls might have to overcome when dealing with Domon themselves. But what I suspect actually is going on in the writers’ brains is nothing more than the need to have Moiraine being a girlboss.

At some point, the writers are going to have to fish or cut bait on whether or not the Aes Sedai are so powerful they can do whatever they want without getting called on it, or if they are just another organization of women, disdained and discriminated against by the Patriarchy.

Finally, C. When did Domon ever insult her or the Aes Sedai in this whole conversation? All he did was list the troubles she was causing him. By coming overland to visit her (wherever they are - it’s awfully Mediterranean-looking for the Borderlands, which is where Moiraine was holed up doing research in the home of Adeleas and an aging Warder, ITB) and then dropping the price of his poem when she noted he was asking a lot, he actually appears to be extremely accommodating to her.

30:15 It sounds like, and the captions say, she tells Domon “to stay to the shadows” when he protests that the Spray is a riverboat, but “shallows” would actually make sense.

30:31 All of this is an improvement in Moiraine’s character, so I guess she was just being petty when she shorted him, and the writers know it.

And why was this scene cut around Egwene’s chores montage, during which she encounters a naked Alanna, followed by a lesson in the kitchen, in which Alanna is fully dressed, with her hair styled, and then a faculty conference with Alanna present, having discussed the lesson, all of which means quite a lot of time has passed. We also popped in on Perrin meeting Elyas, and Lan and Jaem/Tomas in the garden. Only the third makes sense as an interlude from the conversation between Moiraine and Domon.

30:51 More bullshit. The Tower would not let a novice do this. A Warder would not do this without the permission of his Aes Sedai. Nynaeve would not do this.

31:25 Oh, get bent, not-Owein. There has been plenty of interaction between Nynaeve and Aes Sedai, especially Alanna, with no indication that the Aes Sedai on the show require an ITB level of respect.

31:33 Nynaeve pivoting from ‘Alanna’s a real piece of ___’ to ‘Alanna’s fine, it’s the fault of the Tower that she is at odds with her’ is more bullshit, making her look like sycophant or insincere, or simply an out of control asshole who will insult a person who does not deserve it to her loved ones ’ faces.

31:54 That sounds like shitty training. Warders are not an organization or military body. They are joined only by having in common a personal relationship with an Aes Sedai. The only standard for being worthy to be a Warder is if you are accepted as one by an Aes Sedai. Note that this is exactly how the Asha’man warders and Birgitte are treated by other Warders. There is no need to test a candidate’s commitment, because all that matters is if he is acceptable to the sister who would bond him.

32:44 Nynaeve has zero doubts ITB about why she came to the Tower. Her reasons for persisting in her studies evolve over the series, or more precisely, revert to her fundamental vocation, but she never had any question about what she wanted out of it or why she was there. Why is Show!Nynaeve even bothering if she doesn’t know?

33:02 That was funny. I hope for the writers’ sake, it was intentional. But it does speak to the problem of letting someone see you in a compromised position.

33:10 Transposing her book characterization onto her NC-17 show persona, that deep breath was Egwene thinking “I am going to be Aes Sedai, even if I have to go down on a sister or get spit-roasted by a couple of bi warders.”

33:45 What exactly is Egwene talking about here?

33:52 Also not exactly sure what Alanna is talking about.

34:04 This is exactly the problem. They are completely selling out Alanna as a serious character for this rather adolescent joke. And all other things aside, this is a completely inappropriate conversation to be having with a subordinate, especially one over whom your organization assumes a parental role and reduces to juvenile status. It also raises the rather creepy possibility that Alanna left the door open just to show off.

Also, Egwene asking about the Power, and Alanna replying about her sex life, beyond illustrating why it degrades the Aes Sedai to ever allow that to be seen, is completely undermined by the fact that Egwene clearly had the earlier sexual encounter on her mind when knocking on the door. So it’s also not unreasonable for Alanna to assume that’s what she is talking about. It does not, however, ameliorate Alanna’s choice to answer the question she thinks Egwene is asking. The appropriate ITB response to what Egwene asked, assuming she was actually asking about threesomes, is “That is none of your concern, child, and will not be for many years to come. Put such things out of your head and focus on your studies and chores, or the day when you may indulge yourself will be all the longer in coming.” Edit from the future: Rimshot!

34:31 The problem Egwene articulated was trying to use two weaves. Telling her to focus on two instead of a hundred is not addressing the issue! The writers or Alanna are complete morons, whose brains are so sex-addled they can’t express coherent thoughts.

What is much more likely is that the writers were all about their threesome thing and Egwene’s request for clarification was only written to bring it up again. Three of five scenes in the White Tower this episode have made an unnecessary point of bringing up Alanna’s ménage a trois.

35:29 Let me guess. The outcome of this confrontation is going to have Nynaeve looking bad, but when Liandrin leaves, she will perfectly filter the water.

35:35 Liandrin is “keeping tabs” on Nynaeve. It’s an idiom that started in America, in bars, when patrons would have a running bill, rather than paying for each drink as they got it. Keeping tabs referred to keeping track of their purchases. So it totally makes sense as an expression in a preindustrial fantasy setting.

35:40 I do not believe the Warders have taught Nynaeve more in the last 5 months than all the Aes Sedai combined. It’s possible they are referring to the moral lessons, such as their admonition to figure out why she’s there, but that speaks more to Nynaeve’s shortcomings, with the implication that only the Warders are dumbing their lessons down enough to reach her, or else that she’s a lot more receptive to lessons spoken by a man with a sword, than the people who actually know what she’s trying to learn.

It should go without saying at this point that Nynaeve absolutely would not have that issue. She is unabashedly sexist and would strongly doubt that men had anything of a moral nature to teach her. She also would not value sword training over the Power. If nothing else, Show!Nynaeve has been present at two different conflicts in which hand to hand combat proved greatly inferior to the One Power. They seem to be basing her entire characterization in the show from a single throwaway line in tGH, when she was seasick, missing Lan after he made a surprise romantic gesture out of nowhere, and frustrated with her failures when the other Aes Sedai had attempted to teach her, and also confirmed her worst suspicions by trying to pry information from the girls. One line, which in no way was sincere, and on which she never followed up for the rest of her character arc.

35:54 Liandrin’s expressed attitude that weapons and combat are beneath a woman is the implicit attitude of their culture, but the show is treating it as something else by having her express it in such a condescending manner, especially in the context of her getting every statement she has ever made about men precisely backwards.

36:31 This is not a bad way to teach the lesson, if I was convinced that the writers mean it sincerely, when they are the ones promoting Warders and hand to hand combat in such an idealized fashion, and putting it in the mouth of Liandrin. There is also a degree of tension in the scene, since the prior scene with Liandrin has revealed that she has killed students in training and is unrepentant.

However, Nynaeve, of all people, should not need this lesson, since she witnessed the exact same thing with the rescue attempt on Logain, where we also saw a Warder almost ruin everything by attacking him with a weapon, and not only fail but endanger everyone else.

37:06 Does the show forget that Liandrin herself showed Nynaeve the statues built to memorialize the Warders, last season? Or that the Tower held a much elaborate and ceremonial funeral for Steppin than for his Aes Sedai Kerene? Are we supposed to get that she is breaking the Three Oaths with these incorrect statements, or have the writers forgotten the rules?

38:34 I don’t know where they are going with Liandrin’s dismissal of the White Tower teaching about the proper way to channel. Since when does she, or any Red, not share in the beliefs of the White Tower? If this is supposed to be a Darkfriend thing, the Black Ajah feels the same way. There is no Dark Side of saidar that you will become susceptible to when you channel in anger.

I also wonder now if she’s actually going to filter the water or smash the glasses. So many clichés to choose from!

Edit from the future: LOL. Swing and a miss.

38:56 Is there a purpose to giving them burial shrouds in direct contrast to the ITB Shienaran practice of burying bodies naked? Also, what are the odds the writers are going to forget and have someone pray for the last embrace of the mother to welcome them home, after wrapping them in shrouds to ward them from the mother’s last embrace?

39:05 Why are all the graves on this show as shallow as the characterization?

39:22 You basically ARE leaving the corpse for the vultures, in a grave that shallow.

39:27 Ingtar is in charge because he is a noble and Uno is a commoner. At best, this could be a classist statement of only nobles having a proper sense of decency, but what I think is going on is the writers shitting on Uno’s conventionally masculine persona.

39:39 A woman opened the gates to Fal Dara. We saw it. They gave a proper password and she let Fain & friends in, and Fain personally stole the Horn, which these guys are supposed to be pursuing.

40:04 “Folk in the Two Rivers were so kind to Padan Fain.” We have seen zero examples of this in the books or show. Perrin ITB actually laughed at the notion of Fain developing a crush on a local woman, because it was certain to be unrequited. In his sole conversation with a Two Rivers inhabitant, Fain was told "You're a right bastard, Padan Fain." Kindness.

42:04 It is now dark, and Moiraine is still holding the page Domon gave her, and has not even put down the envelope it came in. How did she light all those candles while still holding them?

43:06 Pike and Henney are doing a good job acting the emotions they are feeling, but the writing is letting them down. We have no idea what is driving Moiraine, the show has not even clarified the nature of her channeling issue and the implication is that the bond has been lost, with, again, no clarification of the difference between what Lan is going through and what Steppin suffered.

44:25 So what is the passage of time here? Egwene and Nynaeve have been in the Tower for five months. The gang spent a month and a few more days traveling from Emond’s Field the day after Bel Tine (since they seem to have conflated Winternight with Bel Tine, which is the following day). That’s a total of six months, unless Egwene and Nynaeve spent another six months farting around before coming to the Tower. And just in case there is any confusion about the festival, Egwene is preparing one of those lanterns they used in the festival in Emond’s Field. On top of all that, Perrin and Ingtar must then have been chasing Fain for almost a year, or at the last, more than five months!

46:22 That’s awfully nice of Liandrin to read the letter to Mat. I can’t possibly see the point.

46:35 Oh, she’s censoring the mentions of him. Except why would he believe that, since it means she has to always refuse to give him any of the letters?

46:57 He looks like the villain from The Equalizer 3. And he hasn’t touched the dagger for six months. He left home, found the dagger, traveled with Rand and Thom for a few days, then jumped ahead a month to Tar Valon, where the dagger was taken from him after a couple of days. And that was six months ago, but we’ve come back around to Bel Tine. That means that about five months passed between the pilot episode and the one that jumped ahead to the White Tower. Why did they feel the need to inform us at the beginning of episode 5 of a month’s passage, but not of the five months that took place over episodes 2-4?

47:07 Mat making a distinction that he is not a threat to Liandrin or her Red sisters, or Moiraine, is reinforcing this subtle idea in the show that the Red Ajah are somehow apart and distinct from the Aes Sedai in general, instead of being just one group among seven. To whatever extent that has some basis, it’s not anything a non-initiate would know. Like Sanderson, they are giving the characters knowledge and perspectives they should not have. What a person knew and what his perspective on issues was, was critical character information in the original story. It was the whole POINT of the miscommunication theme! Sanderson and Judkins seem utterly incapable of comprehending this, much less servicing it in their depictions of the characters.

47:47 ITB, wedding rings are a weird obscure custom Nynaeve heard about somewhere. On the show, they are a Two Rivers practice. Because it makes total sense that a fantasy world would have the same default customs as we do.

48:00 Will some show apologist please tell me exactly what character development happened with Perrin, what did he see or hear that would make him decide to remove his wedding ring and send it along with his prayers for the dead? How or why has he moved on? In what way has he moved on? Are we done hearing about his bullshit fridged wife?

48:19 Guess not, since it was symbolically unbalancing his prayers, so the only solution was to put the ring on again.

48:33 Why do we go from Mat weeping in captivity to Perrin doing the Bel Tine thing for his wife, to Mat picking up a lamp, to the girls crying about Rand? One of those shots does not make sense. Edit from the future: So he’s doing a Shawshank. But why intersperse the bare bones shots of him doing so with his friends’ mourning? Are they trying to say that Mat mourns by digging an escape tunnel?

49:29 Our bold feminist show has Perrin mourning both his wife and his presumed dead friend, but the girls are only mourning Rand, and not their friend Layla. I’d have to go back and watch the kitchen scene, but otherwise, I think Egwene & Nynaeve basically fail the Bechdel test for this episode.

49:33 Who could this shadowy figure be? Did they expect us to forget that they made it clear that Rand was still alive at the end of last season?

49:44 If we were stupid enough to forget that, we’d probably have trouble recognizing him with the new haircut.

50:05 So the influences for Lan's character are Aragorn, a samurai, and Carson the Butler from Downton Abbey. Got it.

51:05 Why does Verin allow Adeleas to live in her house? Either she is not remotely the Verin of the books, in which case why do we give a shit that this character is Verin instead of Vandene, or she is very, very stupid.

And that exchange was extremely obnoxious, being both yet another gratuitous put-down, and insensitive to the person they are trying to counsel to move past his suffering.

51:42 They are talking like she is severed, in which case, they would emphatically not be calling her ‘Moiraine Sedai.’ But let me guess – the show is “fixing” this aspect of the White Tower culture.

52:31 I would say that Lan should not need this lecture, being all about his duty, regardless of his bonded condition. But now I wonder if they are doing this so he will have learned and be able to accept being Nynaeve’s warder even without the bond, since it takes them several months and about six books to get one after they get together.

52:49 Yes, commenting on the incongruity, based almost entirely on book-demonstrated qualities, since he is hardly silent on the show, is such good characterization, and never mind that Tomas himself made a point of silence being associated with Lan in their last conversation! Conversation 1: I don’t see how you, of all people, have a problem with silence. Conversation 2: You should be silent for once.

54:13 Don’t worry, Lan. You’ll find her easily. Remember, she has a tell!

55:19 That Myrddraal took a long time to teleport. 24 seconds. You could have walked that same distance faster.

55:42 Bullshit. No way a Fade goes down that easily. OTOH, why, exactly, are we supposed to care about Myrddraal on this show? What have they done to establish them as more dangerous than a Trolloc? From what has been on the screen, you might easily come to the conclusion that Myrddraal are sort of recon specialist troops, good at sneaking and spotting, but not as dangerous in a fight as an actual Trolloc. Note that in the Darkfriend social ITB, Ba’alzamon was attended by Myrddraal, whereas on the show, there are only Trollocs waiting outside. Early in Book 2, Aes Sedai spoke of Myrddraal as the ones whose opinions and point of view dominated the efforts of the Shadow, whereas here in Season 2, Sinbad the Forsaken urges his morality pet child to consider the Trollocs’ perspective, as part of his effort to seduce her to the Shadow.

56:20 First of all, dual-wielding swords is Hollywood bullshit. Second of all, adopting an unfamiliar fighting style in the middle of a fight is a good way to trip yourself up. No matter how extensively-trained Lan is, he has exclusively been fighting with a single blade, and even if he graduated with honors from dual-wielding school, he’s not going to be as capable as with his usual fighting style. Thirdly, two swords neither increases your combat power, nor better enables you to fight multiple enemies. You can still only look in one direction. Fourth, any WoT character and especially a Borderlander and most especially Lan, would never take up a weapon of the Shadow if they had any other option, like a solid twig, available.

56:28 Might help if we could have seen any of this.

57:06 They are both dead by now from multiple and serious cuts from Myrddraal blades. If Myrddraal were actually any sort of elite and threatening adversary. Like they are ITB.

57:32 I really, really hope Moiraine is not going to overcome stilling by sheer desperate willpower.

58:48 Every tedious word of dialogue in a Lan scene was pointless, since he was right in the end.

58:57 Liars!

58:59 Do I want to see this preview? I have not watched any for season 2 so far.

What the heck.

59:00 Okay, what the actual heck? We saw that shot already.

1:01:24 Meh. Just a nonsensical montage with no context. Later.

#wot on prime #season 2 #timestamp annotations #books vs show

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loosingmoreletters · 2 years ago

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"Court Drama, where Wei Wuxian fakes his death just so that people end up assuming he was murdered and pin the murder on his new identity."

My first read of that sentence was that he set up the whole thing - and I was trying to figure out what the end game would be. He wants to infiltrate a prison? Trying to uncover some other plot? Then I reread it and...now I think it was unintentional? He tried to fake his death but it got all messed up and now he's on trial for his own murder?

The latter yeah. Also an entirely self-indulgent omegaverse fic though I suppose you could technically write it without.

Uuuh essentially, due to some bullshit kinda shaped like the Wen starting their campaign, we get a wangxian arranged marriage. And Wei Wuxian goes into this under the assumption that he'll have shit to do. Meanwhile, we got LWJ and a guilt complex over landing WWX in this position so he just leaves WWX on his own? Just a whole lot of miscommunication.

And when the Wen do attack, Wei Wuxian decides "okay fuck this actually" and gets out because he's got better things to do than sit around doing nothing all day. So he runs off v much with the intention of faking his death in some form, but also the Wen very much did attack and there's a whole lot of blood and strange-looking talismans so the assumption is that Wei Wuxian is brutally killed, which ends up escalating the war.

And WWX, never idle, decides not to fuck with that perception and hide his identity. He comes across Wen Ning and Qing, some others, and kind of decides to pull a YLLZ.

Sunshot Campaign goes down, and the other sects/kingdoms/dukedoms idk gotta figure that out, are a little sus because WWX did take in Wen, even if he was fighting on their side. And then he pulls something that reminds people of the aftermath of his 'murder' so they end up thinking that the fearsome YLLZ murdered poor Wei Wuxian.

Self-indulgency featured into it because I was fucking around with the thought of a-Yuan as a wangxian baby and WWX partially staying away bc the whole miscommunication left him with the assumption he'd gonna end up like Madam Lan and well, better to run off when nobody knows and is on his case yet about potential heirs, right?

So yeah, idk if I'll ever actually write this bc sometimes my brain shelves anything vaguely omegaverse miscommunication mpreg plot into "this is so cringe, nobody wants to read this Letters, this is daydream material only" category and I feel guilty. Anyway, the summary in my notes is something like:

When the dust settles and the Emperor declares war, the entirety of the jianghu knows this: the Yiling Laozu killed Consort Wei.

#wangxian #ask #yeah so anyway it took convincing for me to post about my little day dream AUs #chronic 'i want to be seen as sb writing meaningful fic instead of this trope mess'#as if my trope mess isn't also meaningful #someone be proud of me for actually sharing this publically online and not just rambling about it to my one friend.#who isnt even IN the fandom just v encouraging of tropes #aus and ideas #mdzs

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winepresswrath · 5 years ago

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The couple that does questionable medical experiments on their little brothers together stays together! Honestly it’s a good ship. They’re both hot, they’ve got a lot in common, they challenge each other but in supportive and empathetic ways, they have a kid! Grief banging at the burial mounds leads to more active scheming about how to protect the Wen.

#qingxian #wen qing can pluck every lotus #if she likes #tbh i'd also read the wens win the war version where something something #she marries all of them so she can protect them #like they're taken as prisoners and she dibs #but then she has to explain why she's being nice to them #so she's just like I #Supervisor Wen #have established a harem #i will not be taking questions at this time #i'm glad they didn't go there in canon mostly because wangxian has such soulmate vibes #but wei wuxian can have a little v shaped polyamory as a treat #0% chance lan wangji has not fantasized about being the yiling patriarch's concubine

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absolutebl · 4 years ago

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BL’s Top 10 Most Deserving Unresolved

Pairs who didn’t get to complete their character’s arcs so I would like to see them just play the same roles in order to end the darn series properly. Or maybe an expanded version of the original? Or a spin off. Just... more of the same.

In other words, i just love these characters.

Gu Hai & Bai Luo Yin - Addicted Heroin (China) I think it would be hard to call yourself a BL fan and not be sad about what happened to this show. Do we want it resolved? Of course we do. Will it happen? NEVER. But the wanting springs eternal. (Speaking of spring, should we talk about what was done to At a Distance, Spring is Green? no, probably not.)

AePete - Love By Chance & A Chance At Love (Thailand) We just want to see them get back together. We all know it will never happen. We also know if it did MAME would royally fuck it up. But we still want it, okay?

Jae Sung & Min Gyu - A First Love Story (Korea) Don’t sleep on Strongberry, they’re doing the gay god’s work. And while these two microfilms HOLD as a BL, I still want them as a full on 16 ep series. I am DIEING for Korea to do a full length BL that tackles military service. I know it’s a touchy subject, but can you imagine? Would Jae Sung be out about their relationship while he’s serving? (Probably not, but that’s so against his personality, but then what happens when his unit finds out?) How about Min Gyu in university? Would he pretend he had a LDR with a “girlfriend?” Look, the complexities of the closet under these circumstance write themselves and it would be so good. These two could carry something like it, and Korea would love depicting the tortured pining of a BL where the couple spends most of the drama apart. That’s right up their ally. I think it would be wonderful.

Mark & OuWen - Love is Science? (Taiwan) This is kinda a cheat since actually this BL B-plot resolved perfectly, but still I don’t know a single person who watched this series that doesn’t want the spin off that is Mark, OuWen, and Joanna going through pregnancy and raising a baby together. That’s it. That’s what we want. You can add a lesbian sub plot if you like. But mostly we just want three queers and a baby.

Yuan Zong & Xia Yao - Advance Bravely (China) Tell me a better pairing than deadly ex-special forces soldier bodyguard and the flirty spoiled rich kid of his dreams. No, seriously, I’ll wait. Sadly I’ll be waiting forever. But ho boy did we want to see these two get together. Sadly, they kinda did, they just weren't allowed to. I mean come on, they cuddled naked in bed playing video games. That v gay, China. Why can’t we just see the real footage from that scene? And what’s WITH that ending? *grumbles*

Lee Jun Jae & Takuya - The Lover (Korea) They were so cute and had so much chemistry but Korea wouldn’t even let them dead fish kiss (things have changed since 2015, although not THAT much). How about just showing us what happened when Jun Jae traveled to Japan. Can they not just DATE? Fine just send Lee Jae Joon to Japan and let them film the second half.

Tang Yi & Shao Fei - HIStory 3: Trapped (Taiwan) What HAPPENED NEXT? How long did Tang Yi go to prison for? What happened when he got out? Just a little spin off would be fine. Or a wedding episode. Jake & Chris would do it in a heartbeat. Come on HIStory franchise, you can give us a true HEA. Just this once? Pretty please?

Kohei & Taiichi - Silhouette of Your Voice AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan) OMG do Kohei and Taiichi actually end up a couple or not? (Of course if you’ve read the manga you know the answer, but still.) Just SHOW IT TO US.

Bbomb & Jin (also Keam & Ball) - Nitiman (Thailand) The victim of lockdown among other things, this Thai BL university pulp just felt cut off. We want the 2 more episodes we never got, and we are all sad about their loss, because it’s painfully obvious.

Lan Wang Ji & Wei Wu Xian - The Untamed (China) Get them back together in wedded bliss. Nuff said.

How fitting that this list starts and ends with Chinese shows.

More like this?

Top 10 BLs without an HEA still worth watching & the 3 that will wreck you

TOP 10 BL PAIRS + What They Should Play Next

(source)

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raggedy-dxctor · 3 years ago

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Fluff Alphabet w/ Peter Ballard

pairing(s): peter ballard x gn reader

warnings: unbelievably sweet and tooth rotting fluff, a smitten and very lovesick peter

A - Attractive (What do they find most attractive in a person and about you?)

he finds your laugh and loyalty unbelievably endearing

B - Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why Not? How big?)

ummmm i can't see him like wanting one? i think he's be too worried about the possibilities of passing the powers on

C - Cuddle (Do they like to cuddle? How do they like to cuddle most?)

if he's in private with you and not cuddling up to you id be suprised. he really doesn't have a preference for cuddling with you, as long as the two of you are alone and im eachother's arms he's content

D - Date (Ideal date?)

honestly just like anywhere away from the lan, i can see him struggling to pick pit date ideas because he's just so spoilt for choice and wants to give you the absolute best

E - Energetic (How energetic are they?)

ummm isd say moderate, i think he's more often calm, but he gets excited quite easily

F - Fight (How are they in a fight?)

awful. he's so scared of loosing you but sometimes just lashes out, he's never ever hurt you physically or insult you though

J - Jealousy (Are they the jealous type? How do they deal with it?)

very jealous person. he'll never express or act on it though because he knows he can trust you

K - Kiss (Their favorite way to kiss you?)

either on the lips or nose, he loves really long, slow kisses because they're just so emotionally vulnerable and it makes him feel so safe. he'll lean his forehead against yours afterwarda and close his eyes as he pacefully sighs

L - Love Confession (How did they confess their love?)

he keeps it in for so long because he's scared of driving you away or putting you in harms way. he probably left it up to you to make the first move but at the first show of reciprocation it all came spilling out and he told you how long he'd been in love with you

M - Mean (What are they like when they’re mean? Is it common?)

peter is never mean to you, he'd rather live the life of his father, locked up in prison for a false crime with no eyes, than hurt you

N - Nicknames (Do they have nicknames for you? What are their favorites for them?)

"my love", "dear", the classic lovesick nicknames

O - Open (How long did it take for them to open up to you?)

id say a while, and you probably stull don't kmow everything now, but that's not because he doesn't trust you, he trusts you 100%, he just doesn't want you to share the burden of his past

P - Proposal (How would they propose? Would they propose at all?)

i'm not entirely sure, probably not at all- i think he'd more ne one for like intimate personal promises that you'll spend your lives together, rather than official and old fashioned ones infront of crowds

Q - Quiet (What are quiet moments like with them?)

utter peace. comfortable silences with are like walking on clouds or embracing an angel. they're so comforting

R- Rainy Day (What are they like in the rain?)

i think he really enjoys watching the rain, i dount he'll ever go out in it because he rarely has the time and probably isn't allowed to leave the facility

S - Sad (How do they handle their sadness? How do they react to yours?)

not great, but he'll always tell you. he doesn't really know how to handle his emotions so help from you is always appreciated immensely

T - Time (How long did it take for you to get together?)

after the confession? it took a few days to make it official. but before? years.

U - Unique (What’s an interesting thing about them that not a lot of people know about?)

it's actually super easy to make him blush, like compliment him or suprised him wih a kiss and he goes beet red

V - Value (What are some of the things they value most in life? value most about you?)

your patience and loyalty. it's so refreshing to be loved by someone like you and just feels like a massive weight has been lifted off his chest

W - Wildcard (random fluff headcanon)

nothing gives him butterflies as much as when you run your hands through his hair after a really long day. gently and slowly guiding your fingers throgh his soft hair as he lies his head in your lap makes him go so giddy he can hardly control what comes out of his mouth

X - XO (Are they affectionate with hugs and kisses? If not, are they in other ways?)

very very very affectionate. hugs, kisses, hand holding. he's the sweetest lover when it comes to physical and even emotional affection. // "i love you, peter" "and i you, mu love" he fondly smiles as he squeezes your hand and stares into your eyes, kissing your cheek before guiding your head to rest on his shoulder

Y - Yearn (How do they deal with yearning?)

if he's working and yearning for you it's overwhelming. he'll usually just rely on memories of the two of you together or quick smiles at you from across the room as the two of you trued to act professional.

Z - Zen (What makes them calm?)

just being in your presence. listening to the sound of rain. peaceful silences. being alone with you after a long day

#peter ballard #peter ballard x reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things #stranger things spoilers

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antebunny · 4 years ago

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antebunny's ficlets

A collection of all my Tumblr writing so far.

MDZS/The Untamed

Maleficent AU

the mysterious adventures of mo xuanyu

Wei Wuxian, worst supervillain (also on ao3)

Parent Trap AU

Lan Wangji: Damsel-In-Distress

Found Family Field Trips (also on ao3)

family dinner (also on ao3)

the powerless

Intervention Gone Wrong

April Prompts fics (also on ao3)

fairy godmother wwx

Truth or Dare

Modern Immortals (full version on ao3)

Star Wars

1. step-dad vader (also on ao3)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

1. Hufflepuff Zuko

Batfam

fae Tim

Only Children

IRONY (full version on ao3)

go away (stalker Tim)

Babysitter from Hell

jealousy, jealousy

There's something wrong with Jason

Superman

go for it, Lois Lane!

The Witcher

Witchers v administration (+part two)

Miscellaneous

God is on the loose (also on ao3)

You should've left her in the pond (swan maiden retelling)

THE TIME TRAVELER'S PRISON (also on ao3)

#antebunny's ficlets #my writing #writeblr #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #star wars #atla #avatar the last airbender #batfam #魔道祖师 #master post

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icecreamkink · 4 years ago

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watched all of the untamed / cql in two weeks after my friend 1 told me abt mdzs a hundred years ago and my friends 2 and 3 tried to get me into cql for like two whole years and there are.

feelings.

very first scene is a very dramatic death in the middle of nightmare battle on sith planet land . i will forget abt it in the next tenish episodes and then will be very surprised when it becomes Extremely Painful

anyway magic flying gays and possession and human sacrifice! we are off to a great start

in retrospect, chaos goblin wei wuxian must have had a blast pretending to be so cRaZy and be as disruptive as he could as mo xuanyu lbr

listen. why is fire always evil coded. cant a magic clan wear red, black and orange and have flame motif while being wholesome?

For Legal Reasons These Are Not Zombies

i wish the politics of the sect were a bit clearer, especially at the beggining when the wen clan had sm power, was wen ruohan the chief cultivator? is that why they were so slow in responding to the attacks? im v confused by the pre yiling patriarch politics

fighting in the roof by the moonlight as way of flirtiiiiiiing. as i understand this is a wuxia/xianxia trope and honestly...... thank u for ur service

slight bullying and being a nuisance in general, as a way of flirting we love to see it

wwx: if i drink on the rooftop, thats not inside the cloud recesses! hmmm check and mate :D lwj: i will fuck u up so help me god wwx: :0

i lov them

through hell or high water (quite literally) wei wuxian rem ains a trashfire gremlin till the end and i love him with my whole heart

in the pt subs wei wuxian calls jiang cheng a stubborn duck and i dearly wish that had come back

my opinions on almost every character goes from love to hate u - Hmm Me Like U - BABY. ILY. and i am Very Pleased w that. its been a while since i loved such a complete cast so much i think

no really. i WONT go into a detailed rant abt what i love about each of these characters and each of their relationships to each other. but i COULD.

some lan disciples in the loudest whisper ever: YEAH THATS THE JIN BASTARD MENG YAO HEARD THE GOT SUPER HUMILIATED BY HIS DAD LOL SURE HOPE HE DOESNT TAKE SLIGHTS TO HIS CHARACTER TO HEART

lan xichen, immediately: i must Love him

being into problematic ppl is in the Lan genetics, we come to realize

wen qing deserves so many awards for so many things but not snapping and just stabbing wen chao is at the top

that scene at lan qirens class where wwx talks about using resentful energy to fight a violent spirit. exquisite.

It establishes Good Student lan wangji, wei wuxian as curious and questioning and not afraid of taboo, lwj sees that wwx is not, in fact, a dumb ass hes just a Dumbass, shows us the audience (esp. a western audience) how shocking the idea of disrupting the dead/dying and controlling resentful energy actually is, the theoretical foreshadow arguing, everyone else like ‘shUT UP’, “and how could you ensure that the resentful energy would obey you and not hurt other?” “well i havent thought that far” and of course, lan qiren just straight up lobbing a hard object at wwx head,. chefs kiss

fellas is it gay to bother the hot rule obessessed nerd from ur school and make drawings of him with flowers in his hair and then hide gay porn in his book to antagonize him and ask him to hold ur hand and be ur friend and talk to him all the time and get him drunk and give him bunnies bc you know he likes them and give him a lantern and always want his attention and dedicate yourself to getting him to smile-

and after all of that wwx rly said oh i Admire him, aksd like yeah we all were there in high school buddy

i have Learned. caves = gay.

accidental marriage +beint physically tied together with the sacred married ribbon+ gay panic+foreshadowing+bunnies! in the cave (1)

the story abt lan yi and baoshan sanren tho. i would like to see it

early days wen bros pull my heart strings like a guqin

EVERYTHING about the lantern scene; disaster hets jiang yanli and jin zixuan; how wwx made lwj a bunny lantern. how soft and touched lwj was. wwx gleefully pointing out he was smiling and lwj IMMEDIATELY PULLING HIW SWORD ON HIM LMAO. tragically foreshadowy promises to do right by pepople, living without regrets. lwjs 'oh no do i love him??' face. just. all of it.

i have it on good acc that in the novel lwj is explicitly Repressed Gay Panicked Big Horny which is delightful and rly Adds to the performance

baby lwj is really just conceal dont feel dont let them know u have EMOTIONS (derogatory)

jiang cheng rly went "why dont.u go play with HIM if u like him so much"

jc and wwx have big BIG annoying sibling energy dont think too hard abt it or youll cry

lotus pier is soo pretty :((((((((((((((((

up until episode 13 you could think this could be a magical ancient chinese gays pride n prejudice w swords and shenanigans ................youre just not prepared for the game of thrones of it all

seriously ha ha ha i cried so much w this show my eyes genuinely swelled up . like. physically. fun timez fun timez

that being said, its hilarious that wen xu goes to cloud recesses like 'come out or ill kill all these hostages' and then DOESNT WAIT FOR AN ASWER AND KILLS THEM ALL IMMEDIATELY. do u know how blackmail works sir

would like to make it recorded that from day one i was like 'CALL A GODDAMN CULTIVATION G20 THIS ASSHOLE SECT IS LITERALLY MASSACRING YALL!!' and it took them like 3 or 4 massacres to do anything and they STILL sent their heirs into their territory LIKE

when wwx cites the gusu lan rules to wen chao tho. that rebel/attention whore/cutie pie 'look lan zhan i DID memorize the rules after all' ‘also a big fuck you to the wen sect :D :D’ sweet spot that scene achieves . delicious

all the cultivator young masters being petty af even though they are practically prisoners at the cave is hilarious and i love them

hurt and comfort + gay mistunderstandings + watsonian gay declaration music + accidental evil acquisition! at the cave (2)

its like where do i start? the fact theyre both trapped and kind of heavily injured inside an isolated cave with a murder turtle? wwx gay panicking lwj into coughing up bad blood? lwj being jealous as wwx babbles abt mianmian? telling him he shouldnt play with people and wwx saying he never played him? wwx going Oh. I See what is happening. YOU like mianmian, and lwj absolute done face ??? (iconic) wwx touching the sacred married ribbon Again? the telepathic communication? the sword? WEI WUXIAN ASKING LAN WANGJI TO SING TO HIM AS HE IS PASSING OUT AND LWJ SINGING HIM. THE SONG. HE WROTE. FOR WWX. AND THAT HE CALLED. THEIR SHIP NAME????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

they are SO insufferable pleeeeease

in the words of my friend 1 : “CQL is so gay we were all amazed how it got past the censors Ofc unfortunately it can't be novel level gay But they did their best And we love them for it”

in the theme of songs THIS OST. WUJI HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY MIND RENT FREE SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT the whole ost is so so sO beautiful.

the costuming in this is also soooo exquisite. the embroidery? the fabrics? the details? how every sect and clan has a distinct style and architecture? (also ik they based each off of dif periods in chinese history which is REALLY fucking cool) just chefs kiss

the direction too!. i enjoy the unusual camera movements and i think they give it that Vibe, also their composition is PARTICULARLY good when it comes to telling the subtext through position of camera/position of character (like nhs off to the side in scenes he at first glance doesnt need to be/ how lwj is often centered when hes Jealous Yearning at wwx being affectionate w other ppl, wwx return from burial mounds etc)

ik madam yu is like Badass Milf Check and shes not getting any mom of the year awards but im delighted at how messy she is. IMAGINE that woman on tiktok

you better have enjoyed gay cave (2) bc its Just Pain from here on out!

jiang fengmian and madame yu win the Most Dramatic Way to show they do care about each other, actually ..... ever :)

i thought jiang yanli jiang cheng and wei wuxian forcing themselves to escape yunmeng barely holding on after their parents are killed was going to be the height of pain in this show. ha.

the family dynamics in general on this showwwww, both blood/ adopted/ found families, brotherly bonds and lifelong friendships just. rly. truly. fucked me up. theyre all so important and complicated and well rounded and beautiful and tragic

and beyond being a Win For the Gays im so glad the relationships w wwx and jiang yanli/ wen qing were NOT changed from platonic bc they are so much better like that imo. like maybe if we didnt Live In A Society it wouldnt be so, but the fact wwx and others can love and value them so much and theres nothing romantic or sexual abt it is like. so refreshing. especially @ jyl, with the way he and jc are overprotective of her and shes such a nurturing/care taker figure for them, it would just not vibe as well if they made it romantic

i love that this is a story abt Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch aka Actual Satan/Boogey Man/Village With/Public Enemy Number One , my dude is literally a necromancer who only dresses in black and has evil smokey black tendrils wafting out of him, but the really edgy one is still jiang cheng, pastel purple fashion icon

and speaking of best/worst siblings wei wuxian and jiang cheng *immediately starts crying*

The Golden Core Transfer i just. no thots only tears

wen qing and wen ning putting themselves in so much danger just.... to help them. wn saving jc from wen chao. wq finding a way to get wwx to transfer his core. like thinking about the monumental work these two did to help wwx and jyl and jc... jyl trying so fucking hard to be strong and keep on moving and giver her little brothers comfort after losing everything... jiang cheng. losing his parents and his home and his ability to do anything abt it and his complete desperation and lack of self worth and turning on them with agression when he didnt realize all that they did for him ... hhhhhhhhhhhhh

me, pointing at the whole cast “i just LOVE them mom!!!”

its sad tho, that BARELY ANY of the women have like.... actual important conversations let alone relationships with each other at all in the story. and like wq and jyl have stayed at the same place for extended periods of time, where wq actively took care of her TWICE, and still! not one measly convo, nothing! ................ .𝓌ₕᵧ

everyone in this show need a good sip of Self Worth and Stop Sacrificing Yourself juice

ngl the sword flying looks very dumb

“a-cheng, please bring a-xian back.” “i will, i promise.” ;-;

the whole calling each other by the More Intimate Version of the name, first as teasing and later as true intimacy. mmmhmmm yes

untamed where everythings the same but wwx evil flute song is eoeo

related that scene when wwx comes back from the burial mounds for the first time w demonic cultivation and he acts all formal and calls lwj hanguang-jun and keeps being evasive and distant and mean and soooooo................. facetious

and how hes kind of desperately trying to keep intense lwj at bay (A FIRST) and avoiding actually talking to either of them and its all tension ughhh and then he MOCKS his and lwjs relationship, he jokes w him in this like... mean echo of their usual ~banter~ oof

and like!!! uncertain but so relieved jc who just HUGS him w no reservations for once and its not like he isnt just as worried as lwj abt wwx and what hes doing, but he chooses in that moment to enjoy getting him back first and mmhmMMMmMm yes (maybe my favorite scene in the whole show? MAYBE SO. )

highkey hurt me but also. i might be into mean wwx. i will take no criticism.

lan zhans sad eyes tho :(((((((((

on one hand i wish we could have seen what happened at the burial mounds but on the other the timeskip adds so much flair to his return so im hnnn

also i love that hes been missing for 3 months reappears kinda melancholic and bloodthirsty and knowing malign tricks and jc is like 'so. are u sad bc of lan wangji'

when ur bae survived the war but he thinks ur evil/ might be evil so you cant kiss :///

hmmm talking at the rooftop under the moonlight not mentioning everything that stands between usssss

they are the two jades of lan and we’ll be the two heroes of yunmeng is the type of line u dont even need to know whats gonna happen to know thats gonna be sad

when they fight wen ruoshan at the nightless city i thought that was the battle we see at the first ep and its not and its so easy and theyre all like ‘yayy we won go wwx!’ i was just. SCREAMS WHAT is gonna HAPPEN

so like. post burial mounds/sunshot campaign pre yiling patriarch wwx is like. ultra arrogant, ultra mocking, peak lil shit and it gave me e v e r y t h i n g i wanted

even tho having the wen prisoners at the targets at phoenix mountain and still having wwx and jzx shooting the arrows was???? so.... tone deaf

wwx: fucking w demonic energy jyl: he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever <3 <3 (mood)

the parallels between meng yao/wei wuxian (and even xue yang a bit?) are Seen and they are Valid

wwx post burial mounds: can yall SHUT UP abt the goddamn sword (suibian left the chat)

LIKE truly, we talk abt the angst and yearning with wangxian. but what abt wwx and suibian. xianbian / xianqing angst and comfort 100k

take a shot everytime someone coughs up blood

zidian is simply the coolest spiritual weapon rip to suibian and chenqing and bichen and sendou and baixa........ but tis the truth

cons: everyones families died in a nightmare war! everyones homes burned to the ground! everyone is traumatized! pros: everyone gets cooler clothes and weapons!!

wen ning and a-yuan and yanli bestest babes squad dont touch me rn

everyone: brooding and fighting wq and jyl: why dont you try some acupunture/drinking some soup and calm down huh? how abt that bitch??

showing the battle/massacre at the nightless city first was genius actually bc then everytime we have a cute scene w yunmeng bros and theyre like 'we'll be together forever! uwu' youre like oh. oh no. oh no no no.

justice vs lawfulness vs means and ends 👁

jc: stay in the right path and practice the art of the sword wx: yeah thats not gonna happen chief

my reaction to wwx renouncing to the sect politics to help the wens was just that elmo burning gif in succession

the dramatic rain. wen qing desperately calling out to wen ning. the ghosts/puppets killing the guards. how terrifying wn actually was while wwx was controlling him :( lwj goeing after him to try and stop him and then he just; he Sees him and understands him even if he cant actually do anything about it other than let them go.

“there must be somewhere in this earth we can go to :(((((((((”

"IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THEM, I'D RATHER IT BE YOU. DYING BY YOUR HANDS WOULD AT LEAST BE WORTH IT." oh my god oh my god oh my goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddd

also lwjs umbrella is white w black smoke.. . . nice

yiling patriarch / demonic farming burial mounds settlement is like one of my favorite concepts. they an "EVIL" FARMING COMMUNITY LED BY THE VILLAGE WITCH COME ON

they planted TURNIPS and LOTUS FLOWERS and ONE (1) baby and made lanterns and a common hall :(((((((

wen qing and wei wuxian, baddest bitches and genius science best friends i absolutely LOVED to see it. they rly went ‘is anyone gonna sibling/project partner that’ and didnt wait for an answer

both wwx and jyl getting lotus ponds at the burial mounds and in lanling bc they miss lotus pier ;;;;;;;w

;;;;; wish jyl had actually gone into the burial mounds. we were robbed of jyl and wq meeting again and jyl meeting a-yuan and seeing the settlement and the homes and all ;w; at least jc did go, stab wounds and broken arms and all

wwx like... having thrown his whole life away to help the wens (yeah the sect leaders and jin guangshan in particular wanting his stygian tiger amulet was an Element but still) and not.... necessarily regretting it, but grappling with all of the consequences of it... becoming moody and drepressed at times, missing his family and lotus pier and his friends and probably simply missing being around people and causing trouble, extrovert that he is, lashing out at the wens and at a-yuan, just in general the whole messiness of that experience

the way the resentful energy does affect his temperament is rly nice bc its not too in your face,(i mean outside of the Shaky Hands of Rage) but like he clearly has a much lesser control on his anger and impulsivity (tall order) than both before bm and after hes ressurected

on that note A-YUAN BABIEST BABY BOY BEST BOY

lan zhan being like oh hey there wei ying fancy meeting u and our son here. just passing by u know how it is hmmmmMm and then PLOT TWIST having defied orders to go see him and being punished for it. oof;;

they habent seen each other in like? a year? and now theyre tgt 10 seconds and are already parenting a child together

also lwj rly kneels down in the snow way too much to be healthy

wwx: calm down guyssss i wont lose control of demonic cultivation omgggg . spoiler alert: he loses control of demonic cultivation

did u enjoy cute children? good bc now the Real Pain Begins

jiang yanli and jin zixuan rly out there APROPRIATING both disaster gays AND bury ur gays huh ;w;

i KNEW jin lings birthday was gonna fuck something up but the GASP that left my body when wwx lost control of wn and killed jin zixuan .. . .

im sorry and thank you aaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAaAAAAA

when wen ning and wen qing were telling wwx their plan i was saying NO NO NO NO NO NO out loud in despair

also can we talk abt how wq is definetely talking about only the both of them surrending themselves but then? everyone else just surrenders w them? IT MAKES NO SENSE LIKE WHY WOULD THEY what would be the Point

sometimes there are some pretty gaping jumps in logic and continuity that are just like ? ?

wwx: oh so when you try to murder me its justified but when i survive through dark magic and murder all of you its a "war crime"

unsurprisingly, his most feral, most spiraling moment talking to the sect leaders on the roof and attacking them and even fighting lan zhan is among my favorite scenes... its like, so painful to watch but also so thrilling (and maybe my wen bbs dying arose some resentful energy in me what can i say)

and its JUST, all they ever wanted was to do good but then... war. and trauma. and hubris.

jiang cheng on the ground clearly thorn between what to do and feel is a Mood, lets just say

i was already crying when jyl showed up, but if i wasnt-

i suffered SO MUCH through this series trying to figure out WHY jc would kill wwx. and when i understood. its somehow not as bad as i thought and also MUCH MUCH WORSE

a look into my group chat during the last flashback episodes:

SO ANYWAY. after the BLOOD BATH and RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT and FEEDING IT TO YOU the untamed goes ‘ayy back to the present!! tu du dud ud du’

literally it ends a quarter into an episode and then KEEPS GOING i had to pause and stare blankly at the ceiling for an hour

babie cultivators and detective soulmates . i do need some cute after All of That

(not that the pain is over LOL)

lwj is significantly less emotionally repressed in the present and its delightful. hes just ALL IN with wwx. and not just in the ‘i would and have killed various men and risked my reputation for you’ but also ‘ur tired here have a drink i brought it up cause i know u like it and it want you to be happy, always’

“when everyone praised me and wanted my power, you were the only one that challenged me. now that everyone hates me and wants me dead, youre the only one that stands by my side.” hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

and just filling in the blanks how lan zhan searched for him. for all of those 16 years he searched for him and was punished for it and raised a-yuan, the only survivor of the burial mounds settlement, as his own in gusu......

and jiang cheng. being the tough love uncle . having raised the yunmeng jiang clan from the rubble all alone, his whole family dead, some of it on the blame of his own brother, his siblings, his closest friends gone.......and only jin ling there needing his guidance.

THE PARALLEL BETWEEN JIN LING BEING A LIFELINE FOR JIANG CHENG AND A-YUAN FOR LAN WANGJI AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE NIGHTLESS CITY

great now i made myself sad

and like . the fact! that lwj and jc dislike each other!!. jc projects blame onto him for wwx both “leaving” him and indirectly causing their families deaths and when hes so consumed by it he makes wwx an enemy, lwj is there now? trying to protect him?? and lwj, who can never understand the pain that wwx , indirectly or not put jc through, but who was right there when jc tried to kill him and will never allow him to hurt wwx again. and how they like. in a way project blame of their tragedies onto each other while dealing with some type of survivor guilt and in their own way still loving wwx through it all??? amd in way its kind of fundamentally selfish but also tragically understandable? and like when u put it against the fact that after he disappears during the sunshot campaign they were looking for him together and fought together??

JUST. THE CHARACTERS. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS. MAN. UGH. GOD.

and like i think thats what makes it so good? its such a sad and painful and violent story, edgy even, but its compelling bc at the center of it there are all of these relationships and different types of love and hope and. :( i love it

enough crying lets talk abt wwx sleeping at the jingshi with lwj and wearing his under garment for a minute 🙏

jin ling just has that Was Raised by JC energy tho lmao i love him

babie cultivator squad is the perfect ammount of cute and comedic relief while still bearing the weight? of the narrative in a way, both from sizhui and jin lings existences, and also. like. how do i put this. they feel hopeful? they were born after a war, they came of age at a time of relative peace, they dont hold on so closely to the resentments of their parents/father figures, they are specifically shown as more accepting and open minded. and its like.... Hope for the future

one of the ?? things i love the most is the fact that the main cast are often in situations where theyre hunted/running but they like. never wear disguises... just going around in their gorgeous expensive clan clothes and hair ornaments and distinctive spiritual weapons.... maybe w a straw hat on, just for kicks

wwx teacher 🥺🥺🥺

so this is why its called Yi City Misery huh

a-qing is such. an icon. im so sad. my girl even knew to leave xys dumb self rotting by the road but no one listens to her thats why theyre all dead or sad

her and xue yang measuring each other up was so entertaining lmao

its the funniest thing when hes like. HERES MY SAD STORY. FOR WHY IM A SADISTIC MURDERER. I BROKE MY HAND ONCE.

like ok someone broke his hand in a horrible way, and like Poverty, i get it but also like.......... that lost the brunt of a proper sob story like, 50 sadistic murders ago bby

and i love that xingchen does not entertain that for a second hes like ‘not ?????? good enough???’ and the best thing is he wasnt even like 'u hadto be the bigger person' or sth but ' well then break that dudes hand back, rip his arm off for i care, what do the rest of us have to do w anything???”

anjo sensato :(

xue yang is like..... the sexy sadistic evil version of a himbo..... a meanbo...

the fucked upness of xy’s feelings for xxc/ xxc and sl feelings for each other... like my dude literally gave his bf HIS EYES. and xy getting so attached to xxc .... the fucked up fake domesticity.... having him hurt sl..... then desperately trying to bring him back ...................... oof

song lan........... literally had his eyes AND tongue removed, his bfs eyes put in place, was almost killed, turned into a puppet by his bf unknowingly, manipulated by xy, sees his bf killing himself in despair.... and STILL finds the strenght to get up from there, and keep on traveling and helping people and attempting to fix xxcs soul.......... like, my man. damn.

wangxian looking at songxiao and seeing an Actually more painful parallel for themselves. ft. that Color Coding.

THE A-YUAN/SIZHUI REVEAL PUNCHED ME IN THE HEART but in a good way for a change

should have know that he would be the Best Boy the cute one w all the braincells

the butterfly AND the bunny lantern. i see how it is

u know is very convenient that no one can see the stark black veins on wen nings neck, ever

BAT WEN NING

wns face when lwj comes into wwx room like ‘:0 omg did u two finally get your shit together? good for you master wei good for u’

(they didnt) (yet)

DISASTER DRUNK LWJ. JUST. THRUST SOME CHICKENS TO SHOW UR RESSURECTED BAE THAT U LOVE THEM.

i have absolutely no idea WHY they gave lwj the same punishment for fighting his own sect/allies to protect the burial mounds as when they got drunk on cloud recess class days.... like? its such a ... emotional continuity error again

also is lwj gonna get an actual friend besides wwx , ever

mianmian marrying and having a family and a cute life after saying FUCK U AND UR SYSTEM TOO in a much less unhinged and dramatic way than wwx......... fills me w joy

also lol the idea that like. her husband not knowing that shes friends w satan/the boogey man/the village witch is hilarious

i love nie mingjue bc hes the resident Though Guy but also the most dramatic bitch in this show and thats Saying Something

jin ling cant have one uneventful relative can he

the fact that everyone present already knew “mo xuanyu” was wwx at the stairs is so funny, their faces are like ‘oh............ wow. that. sure is a development. shock”

in the tradition of extremely loud whispers wwx tells lwj with twelve guards standing like one meter away from them: HEY PSH LAN ZHAN PRETEND IM FORCING YOU TO STAY W ME DO IT

oh my god oh my god

the absolute Yearning on his face when he leaves wwx and a-yuan at the burial mounds and refuses to stay for dinner was already Enough but the fact?? they brought it back?? to this declaration of love?? their expressions??????? strike me dead right now just go ahead

lFor Legal Reasons We Cant Kiss but we will have a very sappy declaration of love and trust and look at each other in way that is the actualization of 💞💘💗💖💓💘💞💗💖💘💗💖💕💞

also icb all the sect leaders and guards are standing there watching them say they like like each other with a dozen swords pointing at their neck

i enjoyed the depiction of the fickle public perception and how easily it can be used to scapegoat people. when the sect leaders turn on jgy and wwx knows thats its more for convenience than anything else...

poor lxc is literally like 'oh so when YOUR problematic boyfriend gets called evil its a misunderstanding but when its MY problematic bf-'

ok like i cant get over nmj let jgy play a song that messed with his temperament at all, like maN u KNEW he might be shady wth

wwx: “hey dont say anything bad abt lan zhan hes not an arrogant dick, thats just his face.

ME ON THE OTHER HAND"

the cultivators as wwx is poking holes in their narrative is literally *nazaré meme*

"wei wuxian-!" "what did i break your leg, too?" not to be problematic but i laughed so hard

not as hard as "you dont have the rank to talk to me " tho

i Enjoy that, over the course of story, wwx sees that... theres nothing truly to Do, but move on. he saw how his arrogance and his mistakes hurt others, and hes trying to fix what he can, but he already did die for his mistakes and there are things he cant fix and that's. just how it is. even towards jgy, the narrative doesn't go gleefully and completely with "lets make THEM pay bc theyre the big bad" bc its not that simple, and it wouldn't lead anywhere but more pain...

re him and jiang cheng and the wens and kinda. isnt that what nhs did? scheming to displace jgy out of revenge more than any justice and doing so in the most painful way?

idk if that actually makes sense im truly just babbling

i thought the scene at the lotus pond would be CUTE but the context was PAIN again

jiang cheng finding out about his golden core and his conflict with wwx at the guanyin temple .... destroyed me but in a nice way kinda.... same way it destroys him look at his face oh god

and. the fact??? he sacrificed himself for wwx?? first?? and he'll probably never tell anyone much less wwx???? keeps me up at night

i havent decided if the neckbreak transition between jgy does sth super Evil or does he he does OR Does He yes he does O R does heeeee is sth i dislike or not

jin guangyao and wei wuxians most interesting parallel is that... theyve both seen 'hmm hey this system is fucked up' and wwx went 'so fuck it all i will renounce it and challenge it' and jgy went 'so fuck it i will use all of it to my advantage and manipulate it to my goals and whims'

the fact jgys mom was actually great and he loved her and his whole issue w it was more than simply being ashamed of being a bastard kinda got me ngl

never trust a dude with a fan.

nhs and jgy: the first rule to a convoluted and decades spanning violent revenge plot is to have fun and be yourself!

when a-yuan finally FINALLY remembers ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; wen ning has someone in his family back and a-yuan has someone to talk abt his wen family and wwx has him back bc he survived and lwj raised him anD HES THEIR SON. THEYRE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. UGH.

and theyre allowed to heal. everyone is allowed to try and recover and be happy

netflix put all of the 3 endings on top of each other and it looks kinda weird actually BUT I DONT EVEN MIND :’’’’’’’’’)

the gasp that left me when lwj says ‘wei ying’ and wwx turns.........

there was also a screen with ‘thank you mxtx for creating these characters, we hope their wishes come true’ and i might. have cried then too. maybe.

that was . a ride. as is proven by this behemot of a ramble clearly i just really needed and Outlet. i am currently trying to convince dumb monkey brain to not consume the other medias of mdzs immediately bc i REALLY need to like. live. a life. and take care of real responsibilities. *longest oh boi ever*

#m.#ANYWAY #ENOUGH TALKING #THIS IS SO LONG #LOL #but whatever this is MY performative journaling i do what i want #rambling impressions abt what i watch is a thing i do now? apparently??#cql #untamed #the untamed #fun fact that chat is named 'k keeps on babbling abt the untamed' and it STILL wasnt enough #also it took me 15 episodes to realize lwj was yibo #IT WAS V SHOCKING #i did not recognize him at a l l #but in retrospect he WAS the perfect choice

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captain-apostrophe · 4 years ago

Note

I saw that no one chose [2]Shakespeare for your prompt fics. I admit I have gone overboard (because I love Shakespeare), so you can do whatever you want. Choose one, pick whichever sparks joy or completely ignore this. Here goes

1. Richard ii - A III. 2 let us sit upon the ground (jgy having a breakdown before the Guanyin temple scene)

- A IV. 1 Alack, why am I sent for to a king, deposition scene (JC convinces WWX to surrender himself instead of WQ+WN and a trial at Jinlintai ensues)

- A V. 5 I have been studying how I may compare/This prison where I live unto the world (WWX in the burial mounds)

2. Jin Ling as Hamlet (because his uncle murdered his father, see)

-A III. 1 Good my lord,/How does your honor for this many a day? (...) Oh, woe is me,/T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see! (WWX as Yílíng Laozu tries to push LWJ away)

3. Much Ado About Nothing (JC/Beatrice + Huaisang/Benedick - A III. 2-3 either one of the trick scenes)

4. Romeo and Juliet A III. 2 Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,/Take him and cut him out in little stars,/And he will make the face of heaven so fine/That all the world will be in love with night/And pay no worship to the garish sun. (XY & XXC)

5. A Midsummer Night's Dream - based on this Sam Rockwell scene from the 1999 film https://youtu.be/1TiNAYpVVr4 (some kind of reincarnation au vibes, where XY and XXC are amateur actors, and playing the suicide scene knocks something loose in his head)

- A III. 2 “Puppet”? Why so?—Ay, that way goes the game. fight scene (the juniors idk who the smallest in height is, but Jin Ling does seem to have a similar fiery temper; a night-hunt gone wrong maybe because of some interfering spirits)

6. Titus Andronicus - A II. 4; A III. 1; A V. 3 An if your Highness knew my heart, you were.—/My lord the Emperor, resolve me this (XXC discovers SL's mutilated body before it's turned into a fierce corpse and he kinda snaps)

7. MacBeth - A III. 4 banquet scene (jgy sees the ghost of NMJ)

-A V. 1 away damned spot (LXC in seclusion)

8. The Taming of the Shrew (instead of throwing him in the Burial Mounds, WC takes WWX with him and psychologically torments him with the same tactics as Petruchio; plot-twist: instead of being tamed, WWX kills him, because I hate TTOTS)

9. Othello A III. 3 (Othello/NMJ; Desdemona/LXC ; Iago/JGY; Cassio/NZH)

- A V. 2 It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul. - Oh, the more angel she,/And you the blacker devil!(...) I have another weapon in this chamber, - Oh, Desdemona! Desdemona! dead! Oh! Oh! (...) Soft you, a word or two before you go.-I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this,/Killing myself, to die upon a kiss. (to DESDEMONA) I kissed you before I killed you. Now, killing myself, I’m dying while I kiss you again. Kisses DESDEMONA, dies (established relationship; JC realizes what NHS did at Guanyin temple and all the scheming before and is driven to murder)

10. Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead "Two ELIZABETHANS passing the time in a place without any visible character.bThey are well dressed—hats, cloaks, sticks and all. Each of them has a large leather money bag. GUILDENSTERN’s bag is nearly empty. ROSENCRANTZ’s bag is nearly full. The reason being: they are betting on the toss of a coin. (...) It would have been nice to have unicorns."+" Do you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with a lid on it? (...) Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, Where’s it going to end?" (JGY and XY in the afterlife, but they don't know it)

-"We could play at questions. (...) Yet he sent for us. And we did come." (JGY +NHS)

Now that's what I call a prompt! It was fun to have so many to choose from and to look at the different parallels you drew. I might be doing another, but this was the one that really caught my eye. Hope you like it!

(also on ao3 if you prefer to read there)

[gen; Lan Xichen; references to Macbeth; guilt and sleepwalking and blood]

- Spot -

In his sleep, Xichen walked.

There was nobody to see it, secluded as he was, and he himself was not aware. He only knew that he was tired every day, as tired as if he'd risen from his bed and paced back and forth for hours on end. The weariness felt fitting, though. He didn't deserve to sleep well.

He tried not to think about it. He spent a lot of his time now trying not to think about things; sometimes he succeeded.

Each night he went to bed at the prescribed time and lay staring into the darkness. Despite his weariness he always struggled to fall asleep - and the sleeplessness seemed to perpetuate itself. The longer he lay there, unsleeping, the less likely sleep became. Sometimes he didn't sleep until the room was turning grey with the approach of dawn, and sometimes he didn't sleep at all.

But when he did sleep there was no rest in it, and this was why: he would rise without waking and walk circles around the boundary of the home that had become a prison.

"Yet here," he mumbled, on one such night, words slurred and changing from dull to desperate and back again. "A spot!"

He wrung his hands together. He paced. If one were to look they might notice, as the months of his seclusion turned to years, the wearing of a path around the boundaries of the rooms: from door to bed, from bed to desk, from desk to door and around again. And again. And again.

"Hell is murky - out, damned spot! Who would have thought a man would have so much blood in him?"

He held up his hands as though to stare at them, though of course he saw nothing - or if he dreamed, perhaps in the dream he saw the stain of the guilt that lay upon them. Certainly the image of it haunted his waking hours. He was supposed to be spending this time in meditation, this seclusion, but each time he closed his eyes he saw his sworn-brother again and felt the hot spray of blood over his hands.

"No more of that," the sleepwalker told himself, soothing. "No more of - oh, but here's the smell of the blood, still! What perfume could sweeten this? Will these hands never be clean?"

His distressed cry rang out like a bird's call through the night. There was nobody to hear it. The elders of his sect slept easily with the weight of their decisions.

"Wash your hands," he said. His tone was gentle, as if he spoke to another, one he wished more kindness on than he would in waking choose to offer to himself. "Wash them and put on a clean robe. Look not so pale. He's buried! He cannot come out from his grave! Wash your hands."

There was no water in the wash-bowl but he knelt at it anyway and, as if enacting some elaborate mime, scrubbed at his hands. Come morning the skin would be red and raw - but there was nobody to notice how his hands troubled him now, and he did his best not to wonder why.

It didn't matter. What did he need his hands for? Let them ache. Let the skin crack and the joints swell. All his hands were good for any more were a weight when they sat folded in his lap, when he stared at nothing and feigned serenity.

"To bed now," he told himself then, rising with freshly-aching hands and eyes still unseeing. "Come, come, come - what's done cannot be undone. Dawn approaches. To bed."

And on the next night, and the one that followed, and on and on, he would rise to repeat the performance: pacing, scrubbing, muttering. Murmuring in distress but providing, too, the consolation that there was nobody else to offer.

Perhaps one day he would believe that he deserved forgiveness.

#prompt fill #fic-iversary prompts #the untamed #fanfic #lan xichen #as lady macbeth #cap' writes

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cerberus253 · 4 years ago

Text

Demon Deep Dive (JCA)

Someone asked if I could do headcanons for the Eight Demon Sorcerers from Jackie Chan Adventures, so here it is, and more! Much more oh God...

Canon Stuff

All seven Demon Sorcerers HATE Shendu for his conniving nature and deceptive past towards/with them (Drago just hates him because father issues)

The Demon Sorcerers do not need external objects to perform spells, for it simply comes from their physical being

They are all old fucks

There are plenty more demon sorcerers, but these eight/nine are all those that were ever mentioned

All want to rule the world

Everyone, aside from Shendu, actually somewhat care about each other and agree to rule the world together. Why is that even though they shouldn’t have “social urges“ because of their biology? We’ll discuss that later

Looking back on the very first episode they were all in together, they are fucking in sync as all Hell! They were finishing each others’ sentences, they knew what each one was thinking. Damn, son, they be tight AF; family goals, amiright?

How to start a Demon Sorcerer meeting: Step 1) Find Po Kong, Step 2) Call everyone else over because it would take too long moving her at all

About the individual demons themselves (Most of this is reworded from the Wiki, but confirmed through watching their episodes):

Hsi Wu

Guerilla tactics for the win

Oddly patient, ya know, for someone so kind of childish

Becomes bored easily, so he has the knack to pick on his siblings and humans, with the latter being in more vicious and cruel ways

Aside from Shendu, Hsi Wu is the most bullied by his siblings (it’s because he’s small, isn’t it??)

Although he hates Shendu like the rest of his siblings, he is more “cold and apathetic“ towards him, with occasionally getting along, albeit extremely slight

High pitched noises hurts his ears

“His wings are sharp enough to cut through concrete“

Playful, although in a sadistic way

Simply flies to get where he needs to be

Likes to pester and make fun of Po Kong specifically

He just. Constantly smiles or has this big wide, toothy grin on his face all the time

*gremlin noises* *cat hisses*

Best/Worst Actor Award goes to...

Tso Lan

Sophisticated and more-or-less monotone sounding, he is always on alert with his senses. Despite this, his reaction timing is awful

Seemingly emotionless, his relaxed demeanor breaks when something doesn’t go his way. He does display some sarcasm, though

According to the wiki, he is very hard to please and never compliments anyone. What a stuck-up asshole

Along with Bai Tza and Xiao Fung, he is one of the more authoritative demon figures of the family

He apparently is one of the elder siblings

He is one of the most powerful sibling because he can bring the fucking Moon out of fucking orbit like it is nothing

He is Shantae He can control his hair, as well as float and glide gracefully

He can survive in space

He does indeed have legs, for he has been seen walking ONCE and we get to see his boots (Demon World (Part 2))

Shendu (My apologies, but not my regret, about if you are upset with me and my loathing for Shendu)

Selfish asshole who doesn’t like sharing, even with his family

Everybody Hates Shendu and Shendu Hates Everybody, and they all want each other dead, including Drago

Legit, he made a truce with Uncle, the mortal enemy, so he could horribly punish Drago. What a good father, amiright???

Can hold a grudge for, like, ever and hardly ever keep his promises. He also willingly admits he’s a traitorous bastard

Greedy and sophisticated asshole

Like, Jesus Christ, I wanted to give Shendu some slack because I did not want myself to be blinded by hatred for the guy, but my God is he the worst

“Shendu is not only devoid of compassion and sympathy for mortals, but also cares little to nothing for his family-members - this is displayed most markedly by how he left his siblings to rot in the Netherworld so he could rule the Earth himself.“

“Father and son's relationship was so toxic that Shendu even declared when Drago was being sucked into an interdimensional rift that his son deserved no less than to be trapped on the other side for his disloyalty.“

“Despite this, in response to Drago's apology and profuse pleading, Shendu visibly contemplated for a moment and hesitantly decided to try saving Drago from his fate (with a warning that his son must remember he is second to Shendu while they're on Earth), suggesting Shendu might genuinely care about his son to some extent (or at the very least, as close to caring about another being as Shendu is capable of).“ Um, not sure if I agree on the “genuinely care“ part, but totes on board with the “just wants him for a playing chip“ thought

Although he may be one of the most powerful demons of the family, that does not stop his siblings from actively going against him, which surprisingly makes Shendu submissive to them. Hmm...

He legit cares about no one but himself and that is no overstatement. I’m sorry to all those fangirls out there :V

Once ruled all of China

Shendu gets all whiny and high pitched, often stuttering, when expressing fear (which is every single time he gets a family reunion, which reminds me...)

He can be such a cheeky charmer

Although Shendu only cares about himself, he does seem pretty observant with recognizing what others do want, and of course uses that to his advantage. Hm, observant guy; no wonder he has fangirls

Tchang Zu

Not that talkative, even during fights, and rather only speaks when he feels the need to. However, when he does speak, it is rather loud and/or commanding

Hates when he isn’t respected, especially out of fear. He hates it so much he verbally explodes with anger when something personal to him is disrespected

Is willing to get down and dirty when reaching his (and his siblings’) goals

Is most likely the most colorful with his wording and admiring architecture

Really only attacks those he deems worthy (apparently there was a crowd of humans he only bothered scaring away and not attacking, even though they only saw him as entertainment?)

Become Goku Flies on a cloud to get where he needs to be

Oh my God he sits criss-cross-applesauce

Dai Gui

A little under average intelligence, but his brutality and strength make up for it, being an absolute bulldozer with anything that stands in his way

I must reinforce the “a little under average“ part because he does use the word “ludicrous,“ which is no caveman word

Violent and macabre imagery is his verbal forte

A big bully, since he loves throwing his authority around to those under him

Similar to Tchang Zu, Dai Gui is also willing to do dirty work, but mainly for himself than for others

Absolutely LOATHES “pretty“ things, like flowers

Sometimes talks in third person

Seems to prefer using his raw strength than his magical powers

Laughs at his own jokes

Persistent and dedicated. Nice!

Po Kong

Hungry Hungry Hippo; food is always on the mind, I wouldn’t be surprised if her want to rule the world was second on her list

Although she can and would eat anything, she is still picky

Her favorite flavor is human and salt

She knows French (ah yes, one of the “Love Languages”)

She snores

Po Kong likes to torment Hsi Wu

She can walk on her own

Favorite food: Human

Bai Tza

Hates Shendu the most

Most outspoken and dominating out of all the demons (”verged on superiority complex”)

Tends to deal with situations more realistically, as well as learning from past mistakes

Despite her intelligence, her hubris still gets the best of her

Along with Tso Lan and Xiao Fung, she is one of the more authoritative demon figures of the family

Apparently didn’t have humans living in her palace, which was Atlantis

Can levitate

Bunch of banshee screeches. Yeesh

Xiao Fung

Talkative and slimey diplomat that prefers debating with his siblings rather than arguing and fighting

Enjoys fights to the death between his underlings

Has an interest in drama and being a part of it

Seems to be the most cooperative and decent when working with humans. Cool!

Absolutely despises the Netherworld so much that a human prison is “paradise“ to him

Along with Bai Tza and Tso Lan, he is one of the more authoritative demon figures of the family

Need to get somewhere? No problem, just jettison your way with wind bellows from your lungs through your mouth

Although he does care for his siblings, it’s apparently not enough to “carry the burden“ of freeing them. Maybe it’s out of pure laziness? He does seem against doing active things (other than blowing wind, which only he can do)

Headcanon Stuff

Why do the Demon Sorcerers (besides Shendu) actually care for one another and agree to share the Earth between each other? I did say they do not possess the inherent-to-parent instinct, but I never said they were not social animals. The demons may not have the need to reproduce or want sexual anything, but they do posses the need/want to have company, which is kind of supported by the fact that canonically and in real life, Chinese demons mainly want to be praised and treated like gods. One cannot be considered a god, nor be praised in general, if one does not have beings beneath or beside them for confirmation

So, in a way, you could say they all desire some sort of reassurance of their importance.

Their relationship with humans is understandable, given from with what I just said, but the relationship between one another is a little more... deep? They obviously consider each other legit family, so they do care about one another (with some rough-play rivalry), but I think it’s less on the biological factor and more of the “fitting in“ factor.

Here’s my theory: Yes they are biologically family, but they did not view each other as such originally. After a while of being with one another, experiencing similarities, they became family-close in the metaphorical sense (in addition to the literal sense). This would explain how Shendu could have lost touch with them intimately while the others did not with each other, all the while still considering each other as family.

So, despite my whole push on the demons having little compassion, they do still harbor it; expressing it through family feelings. However, just like humans, there are always those who posses less compassion than the average person, and that would be Shendu. Shendu is the psychopath of the family-- the Black Sheep, if you will

In addition, theoretically, for all those fangirls and guys out there, they could love you like a precious pet. Just sayin’ (so, like, imagine the Demon Sorcerers having human pets and treating them like we do our own “Look how much of a chonkster my human is!” “Oh yeah? Well mine started getting ready for winter early; look at this massive boy-o!” I call my cats “stupid, stinky babies who I love” and then proceed to cuddle them all the time :V)

Fuck it, they have family movie/theatre nights because I find it endearing even though it may be Out of Character

To begin this next section, I want to state that the Demon Sorcerers are based on The Bagua. However, it is merely their elements that are the inspiration, not anything with the philosophy behind Bagua. However however, I will be looking into it and seeing what the Bagua has that still can reflect on the sorcerers. In other words, instead of basing the demons on the Bagua, I’ll be “basing“ the Bagua on the demons, if that makes sense.

Smol

Hsi Wu’s kingdom was probably located on the eastern coast of the USA

Judging by that teacher’s transformation with some of his chi, he may have “avian tendencies” with flying south for the winter and building nest-like structures

Probably the most convincing one to “befriend“ a human. Not because of his past friendship with Jade, but because people could relate to him of being picked on from size and lack of abilities, in addition to being more approachable because of his size and playfulness

His demeanor is mostly childlike, especially with how cruel children can be

Probably dislikes orchestral music, especially violins, flutes, the triangle, etc

Would most likely become a memester. Maybe.

“How do ya do, fellow kids?“

Likes to listen to music/singing while doing things and stuff. So, maybe he has to be distracted to some degree to be content, or he will be grumpy? (AD(H)D)

Real Talk: At one point in Tale of the Demon Tail (where Jade “befriends” Hsi Wu, or really his persona), Hsi Wu’s persona of being Jade’s friend actually disintegrates. Meaning, that “mask“ he put on to befriend Jade, at one point dissolved into an actual aspect of himself. So, when he answered Jade’s question of ‘are you going to the dance‘ or whatever, his initial response was that of an actual human-child Hsi Wu friend. While yes he was still acting, his initial response was almost unconscious, and then he realized what he was saying and said the other thing. I mean, it could have easily been “Nah, that’s stupid-- oh wait, that’s a good idea to get inside the house, actually,“ but that still follows the unconscious response action. What am I getting at here? Well, the interaction the two had proves that a clump of Hsi Wu’s personality does click with Jade. I’m not saying “I ship it“ or anything, what I’m saying is their personalities attract one another in general and could work between two different characters. As much as they seem to get along, there are other characteristics the two have that oppose one another and definitely shatters that friendship. So, Jade and Hsi Wu Being Friends? No; Some Personality Traits They Have Connect to One Another in General and Could Work Between? Yes.

The ye olde game of Chase is probably his favorite. Ya know, the game where you chase people around? Yeah, any game where he gets to chase/hunt his pray would be his favorite

Very similar to Shendu, Hsi Wu is one of the craftier folk of the family. However, unlike Shendu, creativity is his primary weapon which is, of course, used to make up for his size.

Similar to Xiao Fung, Hsi Wu is also one of the siblings that listens and pays attention the most. Their difference being is the information he learns is more for his selfish advantage than a “getting along” way.

Despite his dishonesty towards Jade, he is the most integral to himself. What I mean is, while yes all the demons follow their demon ethos, I believe Hsi Wu is the most true to himself and wouldn’t back down or reject something he is honestly interested in. However, probably because he knows how others know him, he can use this integrity to fool others into believing him with ease.

Hsi Wu is also probably the most inclined to have faith in others, but this DOES NOT mean he easily trusts people. What I’m saying is he may not easily trust others, but when he does, that faith in them is near unwavering

“The Beauty of Mischief”

“Lord High Lord of the Sky,” or “Lord High Lord of Firmament”

Vamps

Tso Lan’s “kingdom“ was probably located on the Moon

Like all sophisticated assholes, he probably enjoys reading, but only books that deal with the fall of humanity and apocalypse stuff. Maybe even some space stuff, like the movie Interstellar? (Star Wars can kiss his ass, though)

Can posses dark matter? Because of his dark magic bolts and his affinity with gravity?

Doesn’t like being around people. His siblings are fine, but he rather not have company, judging by how he most likely spends his time on the Moon and rarely visits Earth. Antisocial personality disorder much??

Like we have stated earlier, Tso Lan never gives out compliments, for he is oh so difficult to please. He watches intently and is careful with his neutral wording, always sounding cold and cruel. However, despite his emotionless disposition, he does have some ugly colors. For example, he does get angry, especially when he is interrupted. Example two, he does take pleasure in tormenting his enemies. However, the good color of natural tranquility explains his seemingly “lack of emotion.”

If he can ever “give respect” to anyone, it’s probably so difficult to achieve it should be considered impossible. But hey, if you do somehow get his compliments, consider yourself special, home slice! In addition, it’s probably also highly unlikely to get him to laugh. Like, not even a chuckle. Maybe a sarcastic and flat “Ha,“ but nothing too intense.

He may not think of himself as king or an emperor, but he does view himself as some sort of higher metaphysical power, like a pontiff. In addition, he probably sees his position being the highest because of his throne on the Moon and his power over gravity (and maybe dark matter). Being used to this placement, he has distanced himself from just about every living thing, being untainted with normal, petty desires. Oh but being a demon has its drawbacks, for wanting is in the blood. Meaning, there are most likely some things out there that he may desire (Fanfic Writers, assemble!)

You want him him to talk dirty to you? Why yes, you should keep good hygiene and not be smelly. Real Talk, though, because of his lack of emotion words, he probably would have difficulty conveying emotion verbally. But hey, his voice and tones are enough to get anyone aroused :V

Might secretly like dancing, but only simple ones. Like, The Waltz would be the most active he’d like

Might also hum tunes every so often. Despite that, he still prefers silence over noise of any kind.

“The Beauty of Isolation”

“Lord High Lord of the Moon,” or “Lord High Lord of Satellites”

Shit Dad

Probably studies magic the most and has a huge library filled to the brim with spell books and whatnot

Drago may be on his mind a lot, but probably not for any positive reason

Probably had Drago made for that thing in Taoism where two beings can connect one another metaphysically, and if one is in trouble (like they died or something), the other can help out (and resurrect if need be). Or, he wanted someone that wasn’t human on his side because he’s sure as Hell his siblings won’t side with him

While Drago is way more hotheaded than his Dad, it seems Shendu is more likely to let a petty grudge get in the way of his goals

Shendu hates family reunions

Dude’s a mad scientist

Probably regrets having Drago

Oh God, oh fuq, it’s the Big Bad Dragon that wants everything for himself. He must know what his name translates to because oh boy does he feel entitled to his mighty sovereignty. Like, he lusts for power so much that no amount of trickery could mask his clarity of greed, ya know, like a “true” dragon. What he wants, he will obtain, with let nothing obstruct his path… other than a petty grudge. He’s so full of passion and thermal rage he sticks out like a sore thumb amongst his brethren. He would even sink to deep lows to get what he desires, even if it is heavily depending on humans, lying, cheating, and stealing from his own family, doing forbidden things with humans to have a “son” he only wants to use as a playing piece, and even bend reality to his liking.

However, I must say it is impressive and admirable how adaptive he is with every situation he finds himself in. He is rather courageous and would try anything to reach his goal, even if it is siding with the enemy. Shendu speaks in sophistication and eloquence, to which the latter trait he shares with Xiang Zu, despite his childlike outbursts of rage.

He may not be the most elementally powerful sibling, but he is The Best with knowledge about other magics like spells and potions.

He does perform the stereotype of “dragons are beasts of greed” exceptionally well, which, I can admit, is pretty hot, being a monster lover myself

Something I’ve noticed with his face is that he lacks lips, which are replaced with external tooth-like structures. This actually forces the creators to make him expressive through other means, like his eyes. So, he’s expressive, and he fits the draconic poem I read in a book somewhere “Beware the glint in a dragons’ eye/ It is cold as ice to the liar/ It is sharp as a knife to the knave/ It is hard as iron to the greedy/ It is a burning flame to the brave.”

“The Beauty of Wrath”

“Lord High Lord of Fire,” or “Lord High Lord of The Thermal”

Sparky

Tchang Zu’s kingdom was probably located on the western coast of the USA

Would request for extravagant buildings and structures, as well as being a big fan of theatre (Beowulf, anyone?)

I can imagine him having a deep, boisterous laugh that is an award to trigger

Probably the best war strategist, everyone would hate playing Axis and Allies with him (He’d either play Russia for the size, or Germany because, well, you know)

(I’m just repeating what I’ve already stated, but whatever.) Similar to Tso Lan, Tchang Zu is careful with his words. However, what the latter does is speak only when he deems it appropriate, and sometimes with eloquence. When he does share his thoughts, it is in an assertive tone, making everyone stop and listen.

Tchang Zu is rarely ever caught off guard and surely plants himself where he stands, literally and figuratively. Despite his assertiveness, he does not come off as one of the most “authoritative” figures of the family. Instead, he’s more of an overseer and commander, making sure everything is falling in line under his, and his siblings’, iron-fist.

He is one of the few that would take the initiative when confronting a problem, which must be pretty terrifying for the opposition, seeing as how intimidating he is. Oof. Although he is on the shorter side, it does not bother him, for he knows his power is just as great as his siblings’.

Unlike his siblings, he wouldn’t be one of the “crafty” folk. What I mean is he isn’t a trickstery cuck like Hsi Wu and Shendu, but actually follows demon code and honor. I mean, not that “demon honor” is anything greater or equal to “human honor,” but the point still stands. What is “Demon Code and Honor” you ask? I dunno, watch Jackie Chan Adventures and observe demon culture yourself.

His demeanor may be slow and steady, but when he fights and flashes lightning, so much power and energy erupts from within. Majestic

Knows how to use semicolons properly

“The Beauty of Imperiality”

“Lord High Lord of Thunder,” or “Lord High Lord of Electricity”

Dai Guinguini

Dai Gui’s Kingdom was probably located on the western coast of Europe, maybe more specifically Spain

Let’s take that “hates pretty things“ even further beyond. The words “delicate and innocent“ usually come to mind when the words “pretty“ and “flower“ are shown. So, I headcanon he hates weak and fragile looking things, as well as cute. The more petite and dainty something looks, the more of an urge to destroy rises up

Probably needs to hold down a vomit when seeing romance in any medium (lava vomit?)

Also probably iffy on crystals and gems. Like, they are shiny and pretty and are sometimes delicate, but man, the massive structures these things can form into is crazy.

Dai Gui reminds me of the colossi in Shadow of the Colossus when viewed just wandering around. We know he acts like a brute and hates petite things, and is quite aggressive when he fights, but there’s something about him that makes me think of some majestic creature that likes to walk around all alone in a wide open space. There is some beauty to his “monstrosity” and I feel like that’s overlooked by him always being described as, well, a brute.

Although not as intense as Shendu’s, rage can also be a common sight with Dai Gui, but it’s mostly from his non preferred environments. Also, similar to Tchang Zu, Dai Gui appreciates his structural surroundings, but has a more keen interest in its earthly variety. Mountains, canyons, plains, plateaus, mesas, volcanos, deserts, etc. would be his ideal territory. Like I have mentioned before, I feel like he’d often roam around his landscape, constantly fixing and changing anything he desired.

Even though he doesn’t like flowers and such, I do not think he hates nature in general. Maybe most of it, but not all. He may like huge ass trees for their size and might, grasslands (like savannas) because, although grass is all over, it still gives a vast emptiness of calmness, which deserts give a vast emptiness of despair.

Quick note, I’m not saying he’s artistic and elegant. What I am saying he isn’t just a dumb idiot caveman that just lusts for destruction, but rather actually has a hobby of shaping the earth. Yes, he might find the terrestrial variety of the earth interesting, but he isn’t all, like, “Hmm yes, insert fancy art words here;” he’s more like “Hm yes, me like; I shall do more over there” and then just… does it without any pre planning or anything.

Not only does he like creating earthly structures, but also destroying them. Have you ever built something so cool (or have just seen something so cool) with Legos or whatever, and for some reason want to destroy it just because ‘ha ha destruction fun’? Yeah, that’s him sometimes.

I’d also like to add he likes bugs. Not only eating them, but also admiring their earth shaping tendencies. Their structures won’t stop him from eating them all, but he does like to see what they make before the big snack

I bet he likes to sunbathe sometimes. Mmmmm, warm rocks always feel good. Cool rocks, too! (This also made me think of belly rubs… hmm)

“The Beauty of Incessance”

“Lord High Lord of Earth,” or “Lord High Lord of Formation“

Mount Vesuvius

Po Kong’s kingdom was probably located in Japan, and/or Japan itself

Most likely the one to zone out on meetings with just thoughts on food (ADD maybe?)

Although she’d eat anything, Po Kong probably appreciates and remembers excellent meals. In addition, she probably could describe in detail of various tastes

Or, alternatively, since she eats so much all the food just blends together

Apparently, humans taste like chicken. So maybe, genetically create giant ass chickens, like in Skyrim, and feed her that if humans become scarce and/or too small for satisfaction

Probably the most difficult demon to satisfy, but not just because of hefty demands, but because she is practically the personification of gluttony. Like, I’m sure she can and will eat anything she wants, even inorganic things. She likes it? Nom. She hates it? Nom. She will never be fulfilled until she has consumed all… or until she explodes or whatever. I’m being dramatic.

Luckily, she is not picky. Unluckily, she is also picky. I guess it just depends on her hunger mood. One day, she may want just a bunch of salty snacks, likes chips and fries, and on another day she may want a giant bundt cake filled with gooey human flesh and blood.

Legit though, her kingdom/empire would be the number one food place in the entire world, with having the largest kitchen and all the best cooks (ha ha, like a collection. You could say she would have Too Many Cooks, but “too many” doesn’t exist in Po Kong World!). She would have food critics to make sure the meals she really wants to enjoy taste wonderful. Dude, like, imagine Gordon Ramsay and Guy Fieri at her command. She’d laugh her ass off with Ramsay yelling at people and Fieri with all of his antics; they’d be her favorite little humans. Funny, they’d both still be practically doing the job they do now, just being ordered around by a tyrannical demon who also likes food.

Has no interest in video games and picture shows, but does have the interest in the unique food that appears in them and of course demands them to be made for her.

To get on her “good side” is to be absolutely loyal to her and her eating habits. Ya gotta make the best meals, serve them in delightful ways (she actually doesn’t care about any fancy stuff, but appreciates the effort if done right).

I bet she likes getting spoiled. I mean, yeah, all the demons would want gifts rained down upon them, but they wouldn’t express as much glee as Po Kong would. She’d probably sound condescending half the time, but hey, at least she’s happy and smiles. Gotta give her big gifts though. Go big or go home, folks.

Just like us folk, she prefers Maximum Comfort when eating. That means sitting in her favorite chair, eating from her favorite dish, and watching her favorite entertainment pieces.

Ya into vore? She’s your woman *finger guns*

“The Beauty of Indulgence”

“Lord High Lady of the Mountains,” or “Lord High Lady of Beasts“

What do you call a fish without eyes? A Fsh

Bai Tza’s kingdom is factually Atlantis, but in the JCA universe, Atlantis might be close to the southern coast of Europe in the Mediterranean Sea

She’d be the one initially planning family get-togethers

Do I dare say I could imagine her being a dominatrix? Yeah sure

Similar to Tso Lan, she has/had an isolated kingdom away from humanity, but unlike her brother she most likely had subjects, which lived coastal in southern and south-east Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle-East. Every civilization took a part in building her castle and its decor, but soon after it was complete, she sank it to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, never to be gazed upon with mortal eyes ever again.

Although she can survive in either, Bai Tza prefers warm and salty waters over cool and fresh waters.

Because of her unique bond with water, which literally has her able to morph to and fro between a liquid and solid state, she probably traveled and oversought numerous locations around the world, with any place being close to warm and salty seas. Did she hold dominion over them? Maybe, seeing as how just the Mediterranean Sea and most of its surrounding land is quite small for a kingdom when compared to her siblings’ territories.

Bai Tza may not be one of the most powerful siblings, but she is the most feared. She’s able to restrain herself when angry, she thinks outside the box when confronting obstacles, and her dynamism makes her tricky to confront. She is straightforward, blunt, and has a wicked and sharp tongue. Like stated before, she is one of the more outspoken relatives, being very dominant in every activity she takes part in. Wouldn’t surprise me if she was a control freak. However, enjoying her power so much leads her to be arrogant, making her hubris the number one weakness.

Bai Tza is probably the most cruel because she actively thinks about the damage she can cause instead of just doing it. Despite her cruelty, she isn’t heartless; she may in fact be the one that cares about her family the most, with having the most hatred for Shendu because of his betrayal to said family. On a side note with Drago, she probably rejects him mostly for his differences than his relation with Shendu, but of course the latter still counts. So, welcoming those into her tight personal circle would be a ‘no.’

Despite her evilness, she can and will compliment things that amuse her, and being super protective of them like personal property.

Would drown ships with anti-demon supporting humans on them, as well as anyone who enters her territory without permission. Probably could be convinced with gifts, but they better be good.

Theoretically could forgive past mistakes, but they must be made up with something equal or greater amount to said mistake.

Likes to wear jewelry, especially gold.

“The Beauty of Absolution“

“Lord High Lady of Water,“ or “Lord High Lady of the Abyss“

Froggy

Xiao Fung’s kingdom was probably located in Latin America

One of the smarter siblings, Xiao Fung prefers to discuss and debate over physically fighting. Not sure why, but maybe because he doesn’t view physical fighting as something “high ups” do; all of the dirty work is for the peasants beneath them. However, if forced and there being no other way, he would partake.

Knows the art of conversation quite well and usually dishes out the best conversations. He may not be eloquent like Tchang Zu, or very particular with his words like Tso Lan, but damn can he keep a conversation going if need be. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d yak with others if he’s bored. Maybe try talking some existential stuff with him; that’d be neat. Or keep asking ‘why’ like an annoying child, and he’d probably be tricked into answering each one, with getting annoyed more and more the longer it all goes on.

Despite his laziness, he still would do activities that require his assistance, as long as it’s something only he can do. If there is someone else available, he’ll leave it to them.

Xiao Fung is probably one of the more “approachable” demons, being how he doesn’t immediately give off “fear and respect me or die” vibes. He’s still intimidating, but to those with any amount of courage could muster up to confront him. Ya know, if it isn’t anything personal to him, then in that case you’d be the one telling everyone how terrifying he is, also, ya know, if he lets you go back to your village.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he had decision making issues when it comes to something he likes vs something useful/”right”

If a human went up to him and made a deal, he most likely would take it as long as he gets something in return that he wants, as well as the odds being in his favor.

Human antics are strange and insignificant, but they are still intriguing to him and would converse about it. Just don’t think you’d make him change his opinion on us; that won’t happen, fo sho.

The most forgiving and patient of the family, although it may not be by much. It most likely stems from his diplomatic character, being willing to discuss situations, even thoughts he leans more against. It’s really the subjects she is 100% not on board with he will not discuss, but something around 70%-60% he’d be more willing to listen to. Whether he actually agrees with you and is not just listening for amusement is another story.

Really enjoys music, favoring well put together orchestral.

Could hold some serious long notes, and probably sing in all sorts of keys (Dude. Singing bass)

Dude probably loves board games like chess.

Tchang Zu and him probably get along well because of shared interests in theatre and strategy games.

Would be the one to bring up topics to get everyone arguing if things got boring, like politics. In addition, he would also bring up playing the “Friendship Ender” games we all know and love, like Uno and Monopoly.

While Hsi Wu carries the “shit eating smile,” Xiao Fung has the “smug cat” face.

“The Beauty of Disruption“

“Lord High Lord of Wind,“ or “Lord High Lord of Currents“

Bonus Factoids Upon my Research

Theoretically, because it is stated that the Twelves Talismans are physical manifestations/vessels of Shendu’s powers, the other eight sorcerers (this includes Drago) could have their own Twelves Talismans

Apparently, killing/destroying a demon causes the disruption of balance within the universe, causing a “stronger evil“ to manifest and fill that “wound.“ So, again, theoretically, could a “stronger good“ happen as well if a situation summons/calls for it??

Sadly, according to Shendu, the all chi-absorption thing Drago did at the end of Season 5 is irreversible. So, canonically, Drago is technically forever stuck as a Cthulhu abomination. I am forever sad. Like, yeah I’m a terato lover, but I really prefer Drago as normal :’( However, Shendu answered to a human using a man-made chi spell. What if the actual Demon Sorcerers did a chi spell, to which apparently is conductible without external means? Could they be powerful enough to reverse it if all of them worked together???

[Chinese and English Name/Japanese Name- Chinese Translation/Japanese Translation]

Hsi Wu/Tokage- Evil Lizard/Small Lizard

Tso Lan/Kyuketsuki- Flood maker/ Vampire

Shendu/Kiryu- God of All (oof)/Spirit Dragon

Tchang Zu/Oni- Soldier of Madness/Ogre

Dai Gui/Shishi- Great Ogre/Stone Lion

Po Kong/Daikaiju- Feared Cliff/Giant Monster

Bai Tza/Nisei- Force of Defeat/Second Generation

Xiao Fung/Keroro- Little Wind/Frog

Early Christmas gift to y’all :V

God I hope this is good enough. I’ve been spending all my free time working on these guys just to get the original ask done. Don’t get me wrong, I did like doing this and forming at least some kind of unique character with each, but I am so exhausted from how long I’ve been working on it. It’s mainly my fault for being such a try hard, so don’t blame yourself, Anon who asked for this; you all good, bruv.

#jackie chan adventures #jca #eight demon sorcerers #demons #hsi wu #tso lan #shendu #tchang zu #dai gui #po kong #bai tza #xiao fung #canon #headcanons #oh my god this was a lot of work #and dedication

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anangelcalledinquisitor · 4 years ago

Text

WIP game

Rules: Posting a list of current writing works in progress. Feel free to ask me for info on any of them, whether snippets of writing, plot details, main characters, etc. Send me a work listed below and I’ll share something related to it.

Okay, so I borrowed this (*yoink*) from someone else's blog for giggles because I saw it and thought hey I should do that instead of... writing. (don't judge me okay)

Okay so *hauls out Google docs list*, let's see what we've got...

To Trust a Scorpion (WoH/The Untamed crossover, Ye Baiyi/Xie Wang mostly with background relationships, dragon soulmates AU, 3/4 done? ish? YBY saves XW from the snow and it's all downhill from there)

Love Like Wildflowers (The Untamed, Nie Huaisang/Nie Zonghui, dragon soulmates AU, getting together, sex pollen, consequences of getting together under the influence, still mostly in the planning stages)

XiYao (The Untamed, untitled, Lan Xichen/Meng Yao, dragon soulmates au, there's actually two or three of this one? One is telling Dage, one is with babies, and I can't remember the third one, they exist in notes mostly as oneshots)

Beware (WoH, modern faerie/angel au crossed with my original universe, Ye Baiyi/Xie Wang, Immortal YBY saves an angel fleeing a bad situation, and ends up the angel's keeper, mostly notes and a couple of vague pages scribbled)

Iterations (original universe, Lady Divine/Lord Vaughn, The Forgotten King has spent the last 700 years repeating the same ten days over, and over, and over again, until a stranger stumbles into the party, and the curse begins to lose its hold. Asexual main character, Bisexual love interest.)

Angel in the Aviary (original universe, Lord Mercutio/Angyal, The current Seelie King finds himself with a surprising new addition to his menagerie--an angel with a lost voice, who carries the secret to finding his lost sister. V Gay)

A Prison Called Sanctuary (original universe, Pharony/Rio, The caretaker for the Hallowed becomes embroiled in a great and terrible fight to save the half-fae that crash-landed on their front porch from the one who would do them both harm. Space lesbian elves. V Gay. Intersex main character.)

Once Upon a Crossroads (original universe, Scariel/Zaid, The Inquisitor of Heaven was framed and punished to erasure, but due to a mix-up, they arrive in the Unholy Offices, where a familiar face stirs memories. V Gay. Angels and demons deserve love. Non-binary characters abound.)

The Hungry Moon (original universe, Prince Escalus/Hasun, The High Prince Escalus led the attackers away from Verona to save his son, and crashes into a dead, sealed-off world where something much bigger, and much hungrier, awaits. V Gay. (this is a recurring theme))

The Hellcats and the Angel (original work, horror-fantasy, 1/4 done)

Like Real People Do (The Untamed modern AU, Wen Ning/Nie Mingjue)

The Interns (The Untamed modern AU, same world as LRPD, Juniors-centric)

I would like to tag my lovely @thewordsmithofhell, and *tries to remember who all are writers* @dgcakes, @peacheat, and if you're a mutual and a writer, please consider yourself tagged!

#my writing #I know I have more WIPs than this but I'm tired #tag games

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xianmudelaozu · 5 years ago

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*; OOC » SO I was rewatching the animation with my best friend while staying at her place bc my electricity was down and because I hate leaving things unfinished and also bc I was maybe trying to refresh my memory a bit for oc development reasons I continued watching where we left off.......

AND I COULDNT HELP BUT PULL OUT MY CALCULATOR AGAIN! Join me on Age/Timeline calculator road! (or skip to the bottom to read what I have come up with)

So, referencing this post of mine, we are safe to assume “it’s Year 25 when the Yiling Patriarch died. He’s been dead for 13 years which makes it the Year 38.” Easy as that. Basic Math, am I right? Cool, moving on.

Now, what I know is, that JC and WWX were about 15 when studying at Gusu, right? The study was supposed to last a year (it did for JC, but WWX got kicked out) which means JC was 16 when he returned from Gusu. At a certain flashback we hear Madam Yu’s voice claiming the boys are 16 and 17, and knowing WWX is older, it’s safe to assume it was after JC returned to Lotus Pier from Gusu.

Then, the Archery contest, thing... stuff you know Discussion Conference happened shortly after, followed by Wen Chao feeling humiliated and the Wen Clan destroying several clans, including the burning of Gusu’s Cloud Recess and the uhm.... recruitment of the other Clan’s students and them having to turn in their swords yadda yadda.

It is save to assume there wasn’t too much time in between those happening, let it be a month maybe, but JC and WW were still 16/17 respectively. So, they get pushed around by Wen Chao, find the turtle, rest 3 days, kill the turtle, recover 7 days (?) all in the same year. We also know WWX was younger than 20 as commented by JC that he killed such a wild beast before reaching adulthood (Age 20)

Madam Yu and JFM get into a fight. JFM leaves assumed for several days, (since Yanli is there when WWX wakes up but is stated to ‘have left 2 days ago’ the night the Wen’s attack). Lotus Pier fell in a single night, meaning that was a quick defeat.

It takes Lan Xichen several months (as stated by his uncle at his return to Gusu) to gather the clans for their cause. I guess it’s save to assume (since MXTX is like fuck timelines) That there possibly is a span of two or three months between attack on Gusu and the attack on Lotus Pier given the above statement.

WWX and JC wander for a few days before returning to Lotus Pier, where they stay for 5 days until Wen Chao’s returns. It is not stated how long it takes them to get to Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, but I’m assuming a few weeks. It is then that WWX gets attacked and thrown into the Burial Mounds.

I say, this might have all spiraled down in the span of a year, give or take a few months.

Fast forward to Sunshot Campaign starts. It is said their first attempt to take the Nightless City was unsuccessful which is why they split up and started smaller territorial battles. Now, War aint done in just a few weeks, so I guess it took a while. H O W E V E R, when Wen Chao attacks Chongyang he taunts JC and LWJ by saying he threw WWX into Burial Mounds a few days ago, so maybe it’s only been a week or two since the Sunshot Campaign started. Or Wen Chao is just a prick yknow.

EDIT 1: I forgot, the Sunshot Campaign is said to have been taken 10 days, or rather that the Clans fought the Wen for 10 days in total, so I guess that fixes that. If we say Wen Chao threw WWX into the mountain “a few days ago”, however long that was, WWX joined somewhere in the middle of those 10 days.

EDIT 2: Season 2 literally starts with the Nightless City being stormed in Year 23 and it is said to have lasted several weeks and ends with the Fall of Wen Rouhan.

WWX joining JC back when returning to Lotus Pier. The animation flashes ‘back’ to current times after his awakening titled “16 years later” --- he died 13 years ago. So he’s been acting as the Yiling Patriarch for 3 years before he died. that is safe to assume. Also fits with Sizhui being 3 years old when he was found by LWJ after WWX died.

What else we know is that Jing Ling is 15 (edit: at the end of the story! in the beginning he’s 14, close to 15 I believe) and Sizhui is 16. which means there is a roughly 2 year gap between the bloodbath of Nightless City and the Siege of Burial Mounts where WWX died in Year 25.

EDIT 3: It is questionable if the Sunshot Campaign really lasted about a year, but we have two different time stamps. One, with the Animation showing us Wei Wuxian being thrown into Burial Mounds and rejoining JC and JYL in Lotus Pier being 16 years before his resurrection, and another with S2 opening saying The Nightless City/Wen Rouhan fell in the year 23 in a battle that lasted several weeks.

Then again, we are told the Clans fought the Wen for 10 days which is just confusing the fuck out of me not gonna lie. How I understand it, the 10 Days/Several weeks are probably referencing the same period of time and refer to ONLY the battle of the Nightless City where Wen Rouhan fell and not the whole Sunshot Campaign. That would definitely make more sense anyway.

So we have Year 22 with the start and year 23 with the end of the Sunshot Campaign, leaving 2 more years until WWX’s death. We know the Lanling Jin Sect enslaved the remaining Wen in the same year. (S2, EP15 mentions those events to be 15 years ago. 38-15=23). Notable things WWX did in those two years are, resurrecting Wen Ning, taking in the remnants of the Wen, punching Jiang Cheng in the face leaving the Yungmeng Jiang Sect, awakening Wen Ning’s consciousness.

The Animation notes that “the issue” at Qiongqi Path took place “one year later”. Since Jin Ling was born in November and WWX was on his way to the one month birthday anniversary, I think it is just referring to “the next year” and not directly a year later, unless of course you take into consideration Jin Ling was still 14 at the beginning of the story (which I assumed was just bc he has a late birthday in November) but he might actually been born in Year 24! Tho the evidence suggests it is at the end of Year 24 (specifically December since JL was born in November and aged 1 month) that WWX and Wen Ning are on their way to the 1-Month-Banquet and WWX loses control and kills JZX..

Edit 4: It’s later referred to again that ‘the person [that cast the curse on JZX1] has reappeared after 14 years”, so it is save to say Jin Ling was born in November of Year 24 and his father died a month later in December. Since WWX died in the Year 25 it is safe to assume, with everything taking place at the end of Year 24, he died very early in the Year 25, most likely still in January. That is, however, like most of the rambling I put in here, purely speculation and assumptions. Tho I do believe it is closer to being accurate than my first half assed attempted at trying to figure out the timeline.

That concludes the timeline/years of Mo Dao Zu Shi so far as I can tell up to the beginning of the story!

Regarding the matter of Xue Yang and XXC, I have the following theorie which is mostly just speculation and assumptions! Feel free to hash it out more or get inspired by it if you will.

NHS mentions that about 11 years prior (of the current year) the trouble at the stone castles began, which was shortly after he was appointed sect leader because Nie Mingjue died. That leads to assume NMJ died in the year 26 or 27.

Xue Yang was imprisoned after WWX died and NMJ was still alive, so around year 25-26 (if we assume WWX died very early in January year 25 as mentioned above). Xue Yang was released AFTER NMJ died, probably in the same year (26-27) and then went on to get his revenge on Baixue Temple before returning to Lanling Jin Sect.

He helped JGY to plot JGS's death and once that succeeded, he was captured and abused before released/escaping prison. Then, XXC and AQing found him. If we assume, this all happened until Year 27.

During Year 27, he probably recovered from his injuries. We do not know how many years Xue Yang stayed with XXC, but it was at least 2 because he mentioned going night hunting with XXC 'two years ago', but given the fact his injuries needed to heal for several months I personally think he spend a year recovering and then started night hunting with XXC and stayed for the aforementioned two years = a total of 3 years

That would make it Year 30 - 8 years prior to WWX's resurrection - when he is found out and fights XXC and collects his shattered soul, as well as killing A-Qing

SO the only year we are explicitly given is the Year 25 when the Yiling Patriarch died and Year 23 when the Sunshot Campaign ended/Wen Rouhan died. Going from there, this is all speculations of timelines/ages unless we know the year/gap we’re given

* the happenings concerning Xue Yang, Song Lan, Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing are PURELY speculation on my part!

YEAR 20 - JC and WWX study at Gusu

(JC Age 15, WWX Age 16)

YEAR 21 - JC returns from his 1 year trip to Gusu

(JC: 16/ WWX: 17)

LATE YEAR 21 - EARLY YEAR 22 - Archery Competition/Discussion Conference in the Nightless City. Destruction of Cloud Recess, abduction of the Students by the Wen, death of the turtle.

(JC about 17, WWX 18)

(- 16 years) YEAR 22 - Start of the Sunshot Campaign. WWX becomes the Yiling Patriarch/Develops Demonic Cultivation

(JC: 17, WWX: 18) // Sizhui is born (just for reference) My heart bleeds imagining JC was just sweet 17 hot damn

(-15 years) YEAR 23 - END of the Sunshot Campaign / Death of Wen Rouhan (confirmed in S2 EP1 of the Animation), Death of Wen Ning/Resurrection as the Ghost General (S2 EP5) | JYL & JZX get married

( -14 years) LATE YEAR 24 - Jin Ling is born in November, about a month later, JZX dies on Qingqi Path / Wen Qing & Wen Ning’s execution and Bloodbath of Nightless City / JYL dies.

(JC: 18/19, WWX: 19/20)

Beginning of YEAR 25 - Siege of the Burial Mounds - WWX dies

(JC: 20, WWX: 21 (deceased) | Jin Ling: 1, Sizhui: 3)

YEAR 25-26 - Massacre of Yueyang Chang Sect / Imprisonment of Xue Yang one month later - Nie Mingjue insulting Jin Guangyao

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 17-18, Song Lan: 17-18, Xue Yang: 15-16)

YEAR 26-27 - Trouble in Nie Sect Stone Castles / Speculated death of Nie Mingjue / Release of Xue Yang / Baixue Temple Masacre / Assumed Death of Jin Guangshan / JGY abusing XY / XY escaping prison / XXC and A-Qing finding XY in the streets

(JC: 22, WWX: Deceased | Jin Ling: 3, Sizhui: 5)

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 18, Song Lan: 18, Xue Yang: 15-16)

YEAR 28 - Xue Yang and XXC start night hunting together

YEAR 30 - Song Lan confronts Xue Yang, dies / XXC confronts Xue Yang, dies / Xue Yang kills A-Qing / Xue Yang spends 8 years trying to piece XXC’s shattered soul back together

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 22/23, Song Lan: 22/23, Xue Yang: 20)

(+13 years) YEAR 38 - WWX gets resurrected

(JC: 33 / WWX techincally 34 | JL: 14/15, LSZ: 16)

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 30/31, Song Lan: 30/31, Xue Yang: 28)

#「羡慕的老祖」━━━ ᴏᴏᴘꜱ ɪ ᴅɪᴅ ɪᴛ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ ꕤ OOC▸#「羡慕的老祖」━━━ ᴀᴛ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴᴛᴀᴍᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀᴏ; ᴀᴛ ᴡᴏʀꜱᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏꜰꜰᴇɴᴅ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴏ ꕤ HEADCANONS▸#//Me vc: Gosh I LOVE Math and a series that gives us the vaguest fucking timeline ever #//Im trying to keep this spoiler free but ???? how???#//It's impossible to keep it spoiler free when I am literally trying to analyze the timeline akdhasjd #//In other news I have so many emotions for Jiang Cheng I love him #//EDIT: The Sunshot Campaign took 10 days #//ALSO: since LWJ and NHS are about the same age as WWX and JC I am not adding them separately. You can just... go along with this I guess #//ALSO ALSO - reblogging for reference is fine! :)#//EDIT 2: Specific year of the end of the sunshot campaign/Wen Rouhan's death #//EDIT 3: Wen Ning's Death #//and... SO MANY other things

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wheremytwinwatches · 5 years ago

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[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 24

Last time: Lan Fan gave Bradley a hand, May finally showed up again but at the worst time possible, and Gluttony did some home redecorating. Onwards!

Looks like Envy’s having a snack. Or dropping food off? Oh! Doctor Marcoh, you’re alive! Ergh, but he’s a sacrifice candidate, being kept prisoner by the Goths in case their Protagonist prospects don’t work out. Aha! Called it! Way back when Hughes was investigating, he was hunched over a map with circles, I said that the Goths were going to make a giant TC like Mr. Freeze did in the first episode. Only this won’t be limited to just one city, but the entire country. Wait, what? “So close, not quite. But you’re on the right track.” If that’s not their plan, then what is? Envy you jerk, threatening Marcoh’s village if he doesn’t cooperate with them. Although it’s kinda a lose-lose scenario for the Doc: Refuse to aid the Goths and his village is destroyed, help the Goths and the entire country including the village gets the ax. Envy taunts Marcoh for not doing the “logical” thing, saying humans put emotions before common sense, like- [Envy]: “I killed a man who was like that once. All I had to do was make myself look like his wife, and he was helpless. He couldn’t even fight me.” Yeah you can just shut up right now. Episode 24 - “Inside the Belly” In Central Bradley’s taking a nighttime stroll when wait what’s this? [Pride]: “The humans seem to be giving you quite a bit of trouble lately, don’t they… Wrath. Hm?” Hello, we’ve got a new Goth? The last of the Seven Deadly Sins, in fact! Sounds like a kid. Pride seems curious that Wrath is in a good mood, the Fuhrer is actually sounding kinda wistful, saying that as powerful as he is and how things have gone according to Father’s plan the Protagonists still have them “scrambling in circles.” I’m getting some Worthy Opponent vibes from Bradley here, he actually talks about moving over for the younger generation. Huh! But Pride chides him for his foolishness, that Father could see such comments as treason. Setting aside this new Goth for now, we’re back at the country house where Riza’s looking in shock at Gluttony’s new doorway. Yikes ok, Gluttony’s gotten a bit of a power transformation, you may wanna step back and let the Alchemists deal with this one Lieutenant. Ling grabs Lan Fan while Mustang musters the others to attack; despite the effort it took to catch Gluttony he’s free now and knows their identities, they can’t let him escape. Mustang casts Fire!... and Gluttony just swallows it and burps. Uh oh.

[Ed]: “Hey, that worked well!” [Roy]: “Think you can do better? Be my guest!” Into the forest, split up! Gluttony’s still after Mustang, but Riza’s caught up and is distracting it with headshots. Oof, but Roy’s injuries from Lust are acting up, good guys don’t get healing like the Goths do. Goths r OP, plz nerf. Doc (the military one, not Marcoh) is going to drive the Xinglings out of there, but there’s a red-eyed dog watching? A Goth chimera? Uh, Roy? Roy, Gluttony is right behind you, you may wanna move Roy you need to move now Oh! Phew, Roy sacrificed his coat for a decoy, the gang’s all at the car now. The Elrics toss “the invalid” in, saying that he’d just get in the way with his current injuries. Besides, there’s that whole “Our Supreme Leader is a Goth” thing, Roy might want to get on that. The Elrics and Ling are staying behind to get what they can out of Gluttony. Riza holds out one of her pistols for Ed, Al says oh for- seriously?! Not getting into the Gun Debate here, but regardless of killing people/protecting your lives we’ve seen what guns can do to Goths (jack all), better to just use Alchemy… ah. Ok, I get it now. [Flashback!Ed to Winry]: “It’s your hands… They weren’t meant to kill.” This is more than just taking a weapon, it’s taking the responsibility. Second Rule of Firearms, after all; “Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.” As powerful an Alchemist as Edward is, he’s never done anything more than injure enemies and scare them off, I don’t think he’s even ended another life. But that may not be an option with Gluttony. Edward Elric takes the gun. Ling tells Riza to look after Lan Fan, and the three run into the forest. Back to Gluttony and his Eraser Gun, no way our heroes are going to be able to face him head-on. So what’s the plan? Apparently step one is to cower behind some trees sweating nervously and having second thoughts. [Ling, master of the understatement]: “He seems to be a bit angry.” Rustling in the bushes? Ominous music?

Wait, what?!

Aw crap, it’s Envy. Ed is immediately on the offensive after yet another “pipsqueak” comment, Envy… doesn’t want to fight? Just here to get Gluttony back? Ah right, they’re still holding out on Roy or the Elrics being their Sacrifice, Envy’s gotta get Gluttony back under control before he harms potential resources. And with two Goths now, I’m thinking they might just have to let them go. At least Ling’s been able to identify Envy as another Goth with his Homunculus-Sense, he can- run away as fast as he can, since he doesn’t have the same Potential Sacrifice protection that the Elrics have. But hey, the Goths aren’t allowed to hurt the Elrics, which they take full advantage of to separate the two. Ling v Envy and Elrics v Gluttony, go! Aw, cute family time at the Fuhrer’s, he’s having dinner with his wife and (adopted) son. We keep cutting between them and the Goth fights, and dammit I keep waffling on Bradley. Despite what this kid thinks, he is not a good man, he has killed Leto-knows how many people for whatever this plan of Father’s is, including poor Martel. But out of all the Goths, he seems to be the most human. Back to the fight, crud Ling’s been caught by Envy’s transformation abilities no wait nevermind he just kicked Envy’s ass. Respect to the Xing Prince! Meanwhile on the Elric’s side all Gluttony can do is dodge and whine about how he can’t eat them. Until they get tossed into the wall uh oh Ling you may wanna run. Ok no you’ve still got time Envy’s on the ground finish them- Wow. Envy, you’re a jerk. Taking Lan Fan’s form to make him hesitate? Rude. And aw crap Gluttony’s here Ling’s not looking- WHAT NO WHAT THE FUCK Ok so Gluttony prepared his Eraser Gun for Ling but Ed jumped in to grab him which freaked Envy out so he reached out to grab Ed but then Gluttony attacked and the beam erased Al’s left hand but Ling and Ed are gone and all that’s left of Envy is a dissipating lower torso. Gluttony’s gone quiet, saying that he swallowed them and can’t let them out. What. Um. Are we looking at a Kamina situation here? Is this what’s happening? We’re back in town now, Lan Fan’s set up at the Doc’s house (and is having to deal with the whole arm-loss thing now), Roy and Riza are heading back to Command despite Doc going full McCoy on them. But Roy’s not about to sit back and do nothing after leaving children behind to fight. Seems the first step is for Roy to meet up with the local General (Raven), who has a reputation as a General who takes care of his troops. They get to chatting and take a walk, Roy tests the waters by saying there’s a street rumor that the Fuhrer is a Homunculus. Raven just laughs at Roy’s poor sense of humor, drags him along to tea with- uh oh. Aw, crap. Crap crap crap! Roy just got put in front of what I gather to be the top dogs of the military, and General Raven prodded him to tell them his “little joke” while looking pointedly at the poor Colonel. What the Leto dude, I actually liked you! Ok, so- [THIS FUCKER]: “What, Colonel Mustang? Cat got your tongue?” SHIT. “Let’s suppose for a moment that I was actually a Homunculus as you say. Well now… would that be so bad?” Yyyyyeah… this ain't good. [Roy, in a bad spot]: “Well, Fullmetal, it looks like we’ve landed ourselves in the pit of hell.” [Ed, in another bad spot]: “Where in the hell am I?!”

#wmtw #where my twin watches #full metal alchemist #full metal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #fmab 24 #ranubis

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