#which he does want but he also cares abt them

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Could you explain the significance of courtesy names and who can normally call you which name? I'm genuinely confused abt this cos we have seen jyl lovingly call wwx 'a-xian' which is a nickname of his courtesy name but madam yu refers to him as wei ying whenever she is bitching abt him. But then again wangxian lovingly refer to each other by their birth names . (This is started with me confused as to why both nmj and wwx call nhs huaisang)

Hi there!

So typically, courtesy (or formal) names were given vast majority to men, sometimes but rarely women had courtesy names too, when they turned 20 as a form of respect to address another, typically within the same generation. Think of Jiang Cheng only using Wei Wuxian because he very superficially cares about traditional rules while Wei Wuxian simply calls him Jiang Cheng due to being childhood friends. First birth names were seen as very special and intimate only and to be used by family, very close friends and close mentors.

With regard to Jiang Yanli, she calls Wei Wuxian "A-xian" as an endearment while acknowledging his turn of age (in the world of MDZS this is them turning 15). It would be highly weird for her to call him Wei Wuxian due to their close relationship to his face but still maintaining societal respectful decorum towards him. Madam Yu calls him "Wei Ying" because she is the elder, she does not need to use a courtesy name for anyone significantly younger than she if she doesn't want to (as well as her own classism, lack of respect for him being tied in to the practice here).

A hint that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have allowed intimacy between them is using each other's birth names and allowing the other to address them by that name. Courtesy name conventions now though are very very outdated, and the jianghu of MDZS is very anachronistic so we get a mix of this practice being used or not (the Lans for example are very Confucian rite practitioners so they'll follow this rule closely and the Jins are essentially pseudo-imperialists that also were sticklers for Confucian etiquettes). And we get some characters not even having courtesy names such as Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue, they're more "martial art" inclined compared to "confucian scholar" so they wouldn't follow this particular respectability as much but we do see them using respectable prefixes/suffixes towards others. At least in Nie Huaisang's case calling Nie Mingjue, Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao da-ge, er-ge and san-ge and Wei Wuxian in their youth days Xiong (formal way to say brother/fellow youth).

A lot of social respectabilities are all it really boils down to with how they address each other.

[princessofxianle]

response to @bingqiuhateabortion 's comment [also quoted below]

sry i wrote too much (again 😅) to respond in a comment...

@bingqiuhateabortion : this might sound like nitpicking but i read 4th book a while ago and i believe feng xin didn't really believe xie lian when xl said that bwx was haunting him and he and xl's parents thought that xl was just having a fit and depressed over the current state of things (which is bwx's fault but nontheless)... hadn't he told him? Also my main point wasn't that fx wouldn't follow xie lian technically but that he wouldn't do it while aligning his wishes with xie lian's... like he would still try to percieve xl as dianxia. When xl was away for a whole month bc of the swords temple and got back fx's first reaction was to hit him. He lashed out!! That's fine he's allowed to do that but it was egoistic. He always cared, and i agree that xl is at fault too for closing off, but fx never tried to breach his fence. As you wrote it comes from hes servant's mentality - he didn't ever push (neither in jian lan's case nor in xie lian's) or tried to wrap his head around other's inner struggles.

also nah dw i dont take it as nitpicking! just discussion 😊💜

As for XL seeing BWX, yes he does tell FX, but upon my reread, FX never really gives a clear and definite indicator of belief within his responses to XL. The only scene we see that seems to even maybe imply that FX doesnt believe him is the conversation XL overhears FX having w his parents. Who, to FX, are still the King and Queen. His superiors. FX can only communicate what he does know and must trust that XL will tell him the rest when he can. Maybe this is just my personal take, but I honestly don't think FX believes OR disbelieves XL. I think its a bit of both, which makes him very internally conflicted. He is confused and scared at how XL is acting now simply bc, as we said, he doen't understand why. Something doesn't add up bc he doesnt have the full picture since XL is avoiding the topic, as we both agreed. But FX does try! And we know he tries, especially to give XL the benefit of the doubt, because even in the face of a newly ascended MQ, who is the one who first tells FX point blank about XLs theft, he entirely denies it, assuming its MQs lie or theres more to the story he doesnt know, when XL subsequently freaks out. Because thats the most plausible assumption FX can come up with, given what (he thinks) he already knows about XL through their history. And yes, like we both say, FX may not push XL, but that doesn't mean he's not trying to understand him internally, on his own, when he encounters a situation where he realizes he doesnt. But you must remember, FX is a battle, war, and combat genius, his innate strengths don't lie in emotional intelligence no matter how hard he may try to understand XL by himself.

Back to the convo w the King and Queen, im sure FX feels a sense of responsibility to prove to them that he knows how to take care of their son. I'm also sure they had a hand in appointing him as XLs bodyguard in the first place, and I think that skews his answer to them bc its oversimplified and BECAUSE he himself still doesn't have a full answer. But he wants to show the King and Queen (and himself! ...i swear this poor boy has hella self worth issues) that he's capable and still useful to them and his prince. And unfortunately, XL overhears this oversimplified, and not necessarily accurate answer (& not meant for his ears in the first place) when he's in a VERY defensive state and feels like he's alone with no one there for him and now introduced to the possibly theyre even against him. And this is what I meant abt the miscommunication between FX & XL and XL's unreliable narration. XL may feel that way (and understandably so!) but FX is still trying as best he can to find a reason (sidenote: I do headcanon FX as being unable to lie to XL too, at least fully. Thats never mentioned, but I do think it fits) And AGAIN, when XL hears this, he runs. He barely gives FX a chance to talk to him, let alone listen to what he does say immediately after. Very similar to what happens when he tells FX later to leave without ANY discussion.

As for when XL returns, FX was not right to hit him. Not at all. And it's so sad about the timing because I feel like thats the true beginning of the end for them. But I do understand why. And its not at all because it comes from an egoistic place. From FXs pov, XL has been gone without word, for over a month at this point. Jian Lan has also kicked FX out during this time. And you bet your ass I believe that was partially bc FX was running around all that time in a crazed panic trying to find XL and mitigate the King & Queen's worries abt their son. He's stressed. And we know FX shows his stress through anger, through a form of lashing out. Like swearing (most commonly) and fighting (tho usually w MQ).

However, there are 2 tiny yet INCREDIBLY important details MXTX mentions after FX clocks him. First, XL, one of the strongest martial gods to ever ascend, crumples to the ground like no more than a rotten tree trunk. Second, after throwing the punch, FX immediately freezes and looks at his fist. My interpretation? FX never expected the hit to even land, let alone knock XL entirely to the ground. It is very well known in this story how exceptional XL is at EVERYTHING: martial arts, strength, cultivation, etc. He's unparalleled. And im sure FX knows this intimately. Through watching him, sparring w him, or simply just the years he's spent by his side. FX himself may be strong (he does eventually ascend via his "martial might") but no matter how much power is behind a hit, it doesnt matter if it doesn't land. Like if XL dodges. But he doesn't. He doesnt even counter. Debatably, he doesn't even see it coming. And therefore, FX lands the hit, and HARD. And the shock he shows through looking back to his fist, the hand that just HIT Xie Lian, who he's sworn his life to keep from all harm, I think proves the hit itself was not his intention. Just his way of showing he was upset (another sidenote: i think this really shakes him. His demeanor toward XL changes too immediately after, even helping him right back up and changing to speak with softer words toward him. And I do headcanon this interaction as a core momory of his that disgusts him abt himself for awhile, if not the rest of his very long life) If he was egoistic, I doubt he'd care enough to even look for him let alone be upset enough to even have the thought to hit him. He still wasn't right to. Not at all. But it absolutely did not come from a self-centered place. It came from concern. From fear. Because he has ALWAYS cared about XL's safety, and in all that time, XL put him in a position where FX couldn't do anything to protect him let alone know what happened to him or if he was even alive.

And to your main point, that FX may follow XL in practice but not have his heart in it, (thank you for clarifying ...but) my interpretation still stands. Yes, at this point FX is used to dianxia!XL. Its the only XL he knows. My point is that FX has proven himself to want to align with XL's goals anyway, whatever they are. If im remembering right, its the Queen that, while asking XL to bring FX back, reminds him that FX isnt just his bodyguard but also his best friend. That isnt part of FXs job description. That was his own choice.

FX doesnt follow XL just because he's loyal to Taizi Dianxia. He follows XL because he's loyal to Xie Lian... who also happens to be only Taizi Dianxia...at first!

The concept that XL felt restricted by the role FX places on him is multifaceted. There is not just one reason. And thats what my post was trying to explain.

That: (these # correspond to my prev rb)

1) FX does not realize that his intention of the pedastal he places XL on may not always align with the actual resultant way XL percieves being placed on said pedastal

because...

2) XL has not communicated that to FX for FX to properly empathise or understand him, so FX can't know he should adjust this approach of "help" to XL during his banshiment struggles

because...

3) its the approach FX has always used since way back when (in Xianle and heaven) it worked, bc XL still had yet to experience failure and the change in his worldview that came with it

however...

4) XL has built this wall limiting real vulnerable communication between him and FX out of fear because for the first time in his life, he himself is terrified of this brand new feeling of unpredictable drastic changes in himself, his life, and his values, which hes still trying not to drown in. And that fear comes from not knowing how FX will react to him confessing that he cant be "perfect" anymore (given FXs habitual pedastal-ing) since its never something he had to, or ever imagined doing

so...

5) XL makes sure to build that wall of fear up higher to avoid the unpredictable (and possibly undesirable) response that may come with confessing to FX that he's uncomfortable with, and doesnt anymore fit, the old version of himself, that FX has always and currently can only see him as

and therefore...

TLDR:

6) FX will be sent away without any explanation and spend 800 years never really knowing "why" but even after all that time, when their paths cross again, FX will continue to fall back into old habits based on the limited amount of what he knows about XL, while he STILL tries to find a way to understand XL without pushing too hard. Because he doesn't even know if XL wants him back in his life.

In conclusion, and based on all this,I want to make two things clear:

1. Feng would have stayed if never told to leave, or asked to come back.

BUT

2. Xie Lian's headspace prevents him from thinking clearly in the first place and is why he drives FX off, and believes this act to be irreperable so he doesnt try to get him back

Both of these truths can mutually exist.

Feng Xin would have stayed if asked. But canon Xie Lian would have never asked. So it's not FX's lack of loyalty thats the deciding factor. It's actually XL's decision.

All of Xie Lian's and Feng Xin's actions are consistent to their characters, and absolutely & completely justified. And, to me, thats the painfully wonderful and tortuous beauty I find in their dynamic. I empathise with both of them dearly, so I know there was no possible other way this could've played out between them (tho I can dream 🤪).

Through no fault of either party, the few small holes in their relationship in combination with a situation meant to rip those holes wide open (thanks, Jun Wu) is ultimately what led to this result.

These are also holes that Hualian's relationship does NOT have. And by comparison, shows how unbreakable their bond is. There's no point of failure that could ever be exploited to rip them apart.

Unlike, unfortunately, as we see with Fenglian.

fin

edit: I had a whole section about comparing FX and HC's loyalty, but Tumblr fkn ate it, so I'm just gonna link you to this post where i say...

'why are you being like this? when did. you become this way?' feng xin mumbled. 'i...i really don't know...i'm... why did i follow you all this time--?' 'then stop following,' xie lian said. feng xin couldn't wrap his head around that. 'what?' 'i said, don't follow me anymore,' xie lian repeated.

heaven official's blessing, pg 273

[presidentofthelipglossclub]

i have come up with a new, extremely self indulgent AU for tfrb:

basically what happens is each individual character in tfp accidentally finds out about the rescue bots, whether it's through a ground bridge mishap, an intel scouting mission, even a situation where they get rescued.

this starts out with mostly autobots, because i assume griffin rock is either in autobot territory or a neutral/unclaimed area (or it's off the grid and nobody knows about it) (i think the last one is the funniest), but the decepticons also learn about them eventually.

now. here's where the funny/self indulgent part begins. none of them know anyone else knows. the autobots AND decepticons all assume they're the only one who knows about these bots, and that the team has been trying to live a normal, calm life away from the war.

team prime doesn't know optimus and bumblebee already know, and the decepticons don't know that these guys have connections to the war. and of course, the rescue bots always manage to worm their way into every. single. bot's. spark. all of them individually grow to care about the rescue bots, and independently decide to keep them secret. nobody wants their new friends to get hurt!

anyways shenanigans of course ensue because it's very hard to keep a previously extinct group a secret from all of your friends, and since everybody knows but doesn't know everybody knows it becomes a lot of ridiculous sneaking around and badly lying to everyone.

the rescue bots are SUPER confused by all these bots who keep showing up, but they pretty much just assume that someone spilled their secret and everyone after are all showing up to meet them. eventually i think they would start to figure everything out, but they don't fully comprehend that everyone has been trying to hide them from each other until some big reveal happens.

the way this pans out is probably the end of the war honestly, because again; no one wants these guys to get hurt, physically or emotionally, and if that means having a ceasefire so be it.

[yardsards]

i needed to express a sentiment in the creative stylings of @dunmeshiminimumwage

[cicada-candy]

I get the sense that Nina is gonna haunt the next season.

[ronanlynchbf]

see too many ppl still defending jdepp or running with the "mutual abuse" angle so here's a video presenting basically all the (publicly available btw! for anyone to be able to look up!) information on this case. Let it be known if you still support jdepp i am assuming you have never done a grain of research into this in your life and just ran with public opinion and misinformation

[habibisagi]

me and the lowkey yandere (symbiote) spiderman isagi fic i wanna write 😞

[seaweedstarshine]

RIP Krakoa 🌹 I can’t lie I’ve been kinda behind since midway through Fall of X I’m gonna catch up before my first SDCC this summer but I hear Vulcan didn’t see much action anyway. Anyway my hand slipped and I found myself looking into the eyes of my canonically psychotic son the best Summers brother who’s never done anything wrong in his entire life, (he’s done lotsa wrong things but I love him more for it)

[intertexts]

OK. OK OK OK. HI. IM AT WORK NOW SO THIS IS GONNA BE DISJOINTED AND NOT MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE BUT IM COOKING SO THIS REQUIRES AN ASK AND NOT A REPLY BC THOSE HAVE CHARACTER LIMITS (cooking both metaphorically and literally because it's 95 degrees outside at 9am and it is so so so so fucking humid) oh god get me out of the kitchen before i start burning things!!!

this could be Nothing. bc again I desperately need 2 learn more about cauldron and their motivations and such. BUT. going back to the tide/leviathan comparisons because they're making me kind of insane and i want to give him a Complex about it. because if we're not going to lobotomize him I need 2 hurt him in other ways (sorry dad)

so. this doesn't EXACTLY work 1:1 because there are only 3 endbringers and only 2 of them seem to be element-focused as far as i know. but if we have tide as a comparison to leviathan, we also have MAGMA who could be a comparison to behemoth if my thoughts are correct and behemoth is . big fire guy (he sleeps in a volcano so. I'm assuming.) . granted we also have like. whirlwind and shockwave and seismic who are the other elementals and they don't actually have an endbringer counterpart BUT IM !!!! going a little crazy thinking about like. if tide + his siblings are artificial capes, what if they (or at least he and magma because I'm kind of thinking abt them as the older ones. havent listened to the oneshot in a while so this may not be accurate) were given their powers SPECIFICALLY to be counters to the endbringers. or at least in an attempt to make a cape equivalent of the endbringers to better like... study their powerset or something. (I keep saying cauldron studies things bc I said that with david too and this really just comes from my inherent need for a big evil science team. in worm it seems like they're more capitalism focused but let a guy dream here)

this also brings up an interesting point with Elle who i know u don't know yet but she could be an interesting counterpoint to simurgh? Who as far as I know now isn't necessarily elemental but . neither is Elle really!! and that creates the big disaster in the oneshot bc she can't control her powers and goes kind of nuts about it.

anyway anyway anyway. tldr; tide and magma were specifically created as parallels to leviathan and behemoth, this wouldn't really be common knowledge to the rest of the capes bc of cauldrons secrecy BUT i think ppl would definitely notice the similarities in their powersets and that makes a subconscious fear response in people who have seen an endbringer attack firsthand (I believe in scary intimidating tide supremacy but then you talk to him and he's the sweetest human being in the whole world) . tide and magma both know this and have complicated emotions about it. I think tide has a very bad reaction to the leviathan attack if we are keeping that as an event that happens.

OR IT COULD ALL BE COINCIDENCE AND THIS IS NOTHING. but until i learn more about cauldron I am choosing to view them as my favorite trope of big evil science corporation <3333

OHH U R FUCKING COOKING DUDE YEAH <333

it is. so hard whenever u r talking about cauldron.... mallard conway ass levels of "oh okay i literally Cannot talk about this or else im accidentally gonna say spoilers." but. i DO think this goes so hard & conceivably makes sense for cauldron to do...... man one day in the far future we're gonna have to sit down and talk about if cauldron even would exist in this au. but. for now. hehehe :33 & i will say!!! i will say!!! research is. involved, in what they do. you are not off the mark.

ANYWAY. love this for him so much..... the way he moves and acts in a fight echoes leviathan.... does he have that water afterimage too??? when he's fighting?? because that shits cool as hell he should have it. i'm always just really ill over someone made to be a weapon who never wanted to be one.... tide you have to be at the leviathan fight but you shouldn't be :(((

i gotta listen to the elementals oneshot i have it downloaded rn.. i wanna know elle's deal because you have just said something unwittingly extremely funny & i need to know What happens to her before i comment on it!!!! anyway!!!! thinking abt tide lambert forever & always...

[theultracharmingladynoire]

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[arolesbianism]

Doodle I did of my girl Juliet earlier

[chisungie]

.

[lovinglin]

Oh gosh, I forgot to mention this but I changed up the key on how I feel with sharing 2 specific f/o's in my carrd

Quirrel and Navia are mutuals only sharing 👍

[aromanticasterisms]

read through all of neuvillette's stories on the wiki and. what do you MEAN people were right about him giving furina her vision

[moe-broey]

Another important thing though...

[heyitslapis]

Here's a potentially fun, hypothetical way to describe your OC's personality/moral alignment; Does your OC wear a mask when they're in public? When/where? Why/why not? What do they feel/think about it?