#yu who has had to deal with other people telling him what he did or videos showing him what he did without actually remembering it himself

[astarlightmonbebe]

episode five of dearest has me on the verge. daiki’s ‘i loved you both,’ rio forced to accept truths she always knew in her heart, but was avoiding, yu’s frantic denial....

[budd-ie]

I always see people talking about Mu Qing and how he did bad things and how some of those things we’re moving on from, how his thought possess is justified, etc. and this is all true. But something that I think gets overlooked is that yes Mu Qing is not a perfect person, but his main argument is neither is anyone else.

Mu Qing grew up HOUNDED by people trying to nitpick every single little thing he does and antagonize him just because they don’t like him. Every good thing he does gets ignored, every bad thing he does gets amplified tenfold. And, Mu Qing KNOWS that he is not a perfect person and he KNOWS that he has done bad things and he acknowledges his major mistakes and he apologizes.

But his whole Deal is not that he’s trying to convince anyone he’s a good person, but that he wants people (like feng xin) to understand how hypocritical they are for criticizing him when they too have done bad things, have had bad thoughts, have hurt people, are not perfect. It’s a clear double standard and he’s sick of it! One major theme of tgcf is that not a single one of us, even gods, are perfect, real “perfection” is an unattainable thing, and that what matters is accepting this and choosing to live in spite of this. I think Mu Qing and Xie Lian represent this point best, and this is also one of many reasons why I think Mu Qing is a bit of a foil to Xie Lian (among other reasons, have we all seen their parallels?). And that’s why he’s so fixated on Xie Lian’s suffering. He isn’t happy that he’s suffering, he’s happy because he feels vindicated. It’s proof that Xie Lian isn’t the perfect little godling prince who can do anything and is loved by everyone that everyone (feng xin, from mu qing’s perspective) seems to act like he is. It’s proof that Mu Qing is right, and that nobody has any right to criticize him. It’s a shitty thing for him to think given the circumstances, of course, but I also think it’s an important distinction to make.

(Some plot spoilers under the cut)

So Mu Qing clearly isn’t a saint, but he’s not a demon either. People who Specifically give Mu Qing a hard time for being a bad friend, for leaving, for being a dick, etc. forget that Feng Xin left too (and also criticized him unjustly). As if someone like Pei Ming didn’t cheat on every woman he’s ever seen. As if Yin Yu didn’t tell Quan Yizhen to go die. As if Jun Wu, Heavenly Emperor, the god of gods, didn’t help destroy a nation in the most painful way possible, physically and psychologically torture a kid, commit a TON of murder, inflict biological warfare at LEAST twice…..etc……..out of all the characters who have done bad things Mu Qing is one of the normal ones.

Not better, not worse.

It’s not that what he did wasn’t bad, it’s that everyone else has done horrible things too, and it’s unfair to call him out specifically when everyone else has just as much if not more baggage to check first.

[one-flower-one-sword]

Hello! I love reading your analyses. What are your thoughts on Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu?

Thank you for your ask! I'm so happy you like reading my posts, that really means a lot to me ;_;

Okay so I really like both Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu as individual characters and also their relationship, I don't know if I have anything interesting to say about them though ;A; but I'll give it a try!

First thing that comes to my mind is really how what happens with the both of them once they're in heaven is such good evidence of how toxic the work environment and the power structures up there are. Everything they already struggled with in their sect is even worse; the jealousy, the bullying, the intolerance, the abuse of power. Quan Yizhen was drawn to Yin Yu because of Yin Yu's kindness, but I think he could tell that the pressure to conform to heaven's power structures was starting to chip away at it:

Quan Yizhen kept going. "They cussed at me first. I don't even know them. They said I was a low-ranking heavenly official and yelled at me for no reason, then they laughed at me and told me to scram and not to block their way. I told them to apologize, and they wouldn't, so I beat them up. They only shut up when I beat them up, otherwise I wouldn't have hit them."

Things were considerably more peaceful in the current time*, but in the early days, some heavenly officials - from both the Upper and Lower Courts - would throw their weight around and bully lower ranked officials with less experience. Yin Yu sighed.

"Are lower-ranked heavenly officials beneath other people?" Quan Yizhen asked.

"No," Yin Yu replied.

Was that true? It was obvious that he didn't believe his own words, and Quan Yizhen noticed.

Quan Yizhen, who hasn't ascended yet, declares that he doesn't like heaven, and when Yin Yu admits to the same, Quan Yizhen suggests that they go back to the human realm. But Yin Yu is deeply caught up in what's essentially sunk-cost fallacy; because ascending to heaven was both his dream and quite hard for him, he wants to stay even though it's making him increasingly unhappy. He can't face the fact that his dream has turned out utterly disappointing.

I think they're also a good case of why it's downright impossible for individuals to change the power structures of the environment they find themselves in on their own - Yin Yu tries to conform and to get by with smoothing over conflict whenever it happens, essentially just forcing himself to endure it all quietly. Meanwhile Quan Yizhen rightfully doesn't understand why he should let himself be mistreated and pushes back, though that also essentially doesn't change their situation and only leads to more pressure being put on the two of them. From his perspective, leaving is the best choice since life in the sect, where he was simply left to train all day, was much better for him. But it's also understandable that from Yin Yu's perspective, it wouldn't be much better since he'd already been having similar problems back then with people expecting him to manage and control Quan Yizhen.

Plus, Yin Yu is very conscious of the opinions and expectations of the people around him and quite anxious to fulfill said expectations - I can imagine that he wouldn't know how to deal with his sect's reaction if he, a cultivator who had received the ultimate honor of ascension, were to reject said honor and go back to being mortal. Kind of ironic to think that once he's banished, he will start working for a ghost who did reject his own ascension.

*Minor aside, since this it's from when Xie Lian was watching those events unfold, I think it's less that things are actually more peaceful now and more that Xie Lian doesn't yet know how deeply the corruption of the heavens really runs and how bad things really are. Plus, he overall spends very little time in heaven, so I don't think we can fault him for having this impression.

Speaking of Xie Lian, I find it very telling that the ghost realm, and specifically Ghost City - the one single autonomous place within all three realms - eventually becomes both his and Yin Yu's home. I know people joke a lot about Yin Yu deserving a raise and such, but I think they forget what it actually means that he's the right-hand man of Hua Cheng, given that Hua Cheng holds so much power and influence in all three realms that he's the only one Jun Wu is genuinely wary about. That's an incredibly high position, not to mention the level of trust Hua Cheng shows Yin Yu, like in the amnesia extra when he sends him to deal with the monster that stole Xie Lian's memories. I'm going to get more into this in the Yin Yu-centric meta I've been working on though.

One thing I've been thinking on as I'm drafting this reply is that I feel what ties all four of these characters together is how their relationships started because of acts of kindness, both big and small, and the long-lasting effects thereof.

Like for Xie Lian and Hua Cheng I think no explanation is needed. Then Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu's relationship started when Yin Yu asked his shifu to take Quan Yizhen in to their sect when he met him as an abandoned child that really wanted to learn martial arts and got beaten up by adults for it. Then Quan Yizhen's friendship with Xie Lian started because when that play that very cruelly mocked Yin Yu was shown in heaven, Xie Lian was the only one that cared how upset it made Quan Yizhen and threw a chopstick to make the curtains fall.

And I feel like for Yin Yu, it might be the same with Hua Cheng, who he stays loyal to because Hua Cheng was the only one to help him and the one to take him in when all of heaven abandoned him:

"Chengzhu has shown me grace. He saved me -"

"I know," Jun Wu said. "He even helped you pacify and send off Jian Yu's vengeful spirit after he died during your banishment, am I right?"

Hua Cheng right from the start is described as someone who, despite being a Ghost King, is known to sometimes do "odd acts of kindness", and I feel that taking Yin Yu in was one of those. Because think about it - by the time Yin Yu is banished, He Xuan has already infiltrated the heavens, so there's not really any valuable Intel to be gained from taking Yin Yu with him. I can't really imagine Hua Cheng doing it just to spite the heavens either, at least not completely, since he lets Yin Yu hide his identity and apparently no one (except apparently Jun Wu) knew where Yin Yu even was for years. But I can imagine Hua Cheng coming across Yin Yu - a god banished and shackled, abandoned and mocked by all of heaven, punished essentially for someone else's choices but taking the blame regardless, accompanied only by a wrath ghost - who might that have reminded him of?

Sorry, I feel like i probably ended up talking about lots of other things than what your question was about. It's when I start thinking about the themes and stuff in this novel I can't stop ;A; Feel free to ask a follow-up question(s) if I got too off-topic!

[wutheringskies]

The take about Jiang cheng and the dogs thing was kinda strange to me. Unfortunately, children don't regulate their emotions very well. When their feelings get overwhelming, they don't act with compassion or empathy, they react to the immediate situation, especially when a new sibling is involved. It's pretty common for a kid to feel forgotten or unloved when a new sibling comes along, and when you're at that age, anger is a common reaction to things like that. I don't think him being mad about losing his dogs and then kicking Wuxian out shows sociopathy or even just a lack of empathy toward Wuxian specifically. It's just being a kid, especially being a kid who's gotten to have the attention suddenly being left out of the attention (or at least feeling that way) when a new sibling comes along.

In Jiang Cheng's case it is more like, even before Wei Wuxian arrived, he felt he was unloved, and didn't have he attention onto him (great parenting madam yu and jfm!); and of course, you are right. Being childish at an age where you are, well, a child is no issue. It's endearing.

But what I also wish to restate is that Jiang Cheng was already eight or nine years old. I do feel "empathy" is something natural to people; yet the point still isn't about what he did when he was 8 or 9 years old.

The post I'd targeted said something like Jiang Cheng "gave and gave" and Wei Wuxian "took and took." Him acting like a child would, at the age of 8 or 9, isn't a big deal. But I wished to draw more attention to the detail that his current actions (whether it be 36 years old, or 20 years old) were still similar to the actions of his younger self!

I don't wish to condemn him for being an average child; people change a lot when they grow up, but in his case, the tragedy is that he didn't.

He has never encouraged Wei Wuxian's interactions with anyone other than himself; if someone praises him, or gives him attention, he finds it an insult to his own self; he uses his fears against Wei Wuxian; instead of taking responsibility he shirks it off, letting Wei Wuxian hide the truth (about just WHAT the Wens had done for them) and bear his debts, and keep his name clear. When Wei Wuxian acts on his own he thinks it was a personal offense to him.

That's why I found that scene important - Jiang Yanli tries to catch Wei Ying but fails and he gets injured anyways (like when she had him come for JL's 100th day but he got ambushed); she tries to maintain a peace between the two and this "pact" grows thinner and thinner and completely snaps after she's gone.

Similarly, even after his death, Wei Wuxian doesn't tell Lan Wangji why he climbed that tree though he remembers. He thinks Madam Yu wasn't that cruel. The only growth he has is that this time, instead of asking to be let in, he leaves on his own, exhausting his patience.

But Jiang Cheng? Jiang Cheng felt bitter, unloved, stuck in his own misery, thinking his parents loved Wei Wuxian more than him, scaring him with dogs, fearing the repurcussions. But now? His parents are long dead. Wei Wuxian died for 13 years. Yet, he hasn't changed at all.

That's the point I wanted to make by using the parallels of that childhood event. Having no space for empathy at that age wasn't "wrong" but it's the fact he never gains it throughout his life.

Honestly, I must say it's a bit surprising that out of all the things I said in that post, this stood out to you. But if it is genuine concern, then that is all well ^^

[zombubble]

📓

(and I'd love some YOI of course!)

(In response to this post. Send me a 📓 and I'll tell you about a fic I have in mind.)

Oh you get a juicy, juicy fic from way back when. Affectionately called "Can't Touch This."

CW for angst and near-death experiences and uhh. Mild body horror? Sort of? Some people die but none of them are characters with names, nor are they very nice people to begin with.

It ends happily though, don't worry!

This fic is set in a vague fantasy magical setting that's supposed to resemble anything from like the late 1600s to the early 1800s. Because y'know, who needs historical accuracy in a world like this?

Childhood friends of sorts. They were school friends, and Viktor was a star student, advanced magic user, on track for some prestigious position right out of school. Yuuri was brilliant but struggled with doing things in the exact ways prescribed. His understanding of his magic and how to use it just didn't fit into the technical education mold.

Viktor tutored him though, and helped him figure out how to make his magic at least work with what they wanted him to do (or look like it did).

They parted ways when Yuuri graduated. Viktor was starting a teaching career at the university, while Yuuri went back to work with his parents in Yu-Topia.

They have a pair of boxes they can use to transport letters to each other, and while Yuuri keeps writing... Viktor does not. They fall out of touch, and Yuuri settles back into things.

Fast forward some years.

Yuuri's been working with his parents for a while now, and taking on other odd jobs in town that other magic users a) say are impossible, b) are unwilling to do, or c) will charge exorbitant amounts of money for.

One day, they get a guest from the north. He's called down to help prepare the room and it turns out to be Viktor. Yuuri's happy to see him, albeit confused. Viktor's very standoffish but also very nice.

Viktor says he's on break from teaching--a sabbatical of sorts--and that he just needs to look for some books? See if there are other people around for him to talk to about "uh... magic."

(Yuuri's like "Dude I'm right fucking here" but he doesn't say so.)

Still nice, like he had been, Viktor avoids Yuuri like the plague. Won't spend too much time with him, and leaps away when they're even close to physical contact which, you know, sucks because Yuuri'd gotten used to the little touches and hugs and the way Viktor expressed himself.

One day, he finds Viktor being attacked and realizes why.

(Cut here because a) it's getting long and b) this is where the horrifying stuff is.)

Viktor is trying to avoid conflict, avoid a fight, but the mugger comes at him, makes physical contact with him and starts screaming. Yuuri watches as the man just... melts, starting with where he'd touched Viktor. Ends up a pile of ooze.

Viktor's shellshocked, asks again and again why the person touched him when he said not to--he said not to, dammit--and Yuuri is. More understanding of why Viktor's so skittish.

He gets Viktor home (without touching him) and sits him down, forcing him to tell Yuuri about what's going on.

It's a curse. He'd been cursed by a colleague, and so far nothing he's tried has been able to break it. Makka's not with him because she loves cuddles and if he touches her, she'll die and he's horrified at himself, at his circumstances, at the possibility of killing another person.

Yuuri says they'll figure it out. Bullies Viktor (affectionately) into letting Yuuri go with him while they find magic, books, and/or magic users that can help them sort this out.

While they travel, Yuuri goes into town, handles dealing with people. He does the cooking (they don't know what Viktor's touch will do to food), and Viktor takes care of setting up camp and whatnot. Tries to stay away from everyone, to ignore the worsening nightmares.

Tries to ignore, too, the way the curse is getting worse and worse over time.

He and Yuuri dance around each other, pining. Viktor's not willing to let himself even think of trying to rebuild anything until he's not a walking death trap. Yuuri's trying to be understanding about the distance and such, but it keeps getting to him until they fight. They make up, though, and feel a little better about things.

After a few weeks of travel they end up at Minako's and everything she does a) hurts like a bitch and b) fails to work.

(Yuuri sits outside the door, unable to help, his head in his hands as he listens to what sounds like torture.)

They decide they need to go back to the university. Minako will try to meet them there.

Lots of touch starvation, lots of pining while they travel. Winter is settling in and it's cold and they can't even take shelter in each others' arms.

One night their camp is raided and Yuuri is injured badly. Viktor has no weapon to hand and if he tries to find one, Yuuri's going to die so he just leaps at their attackers and touches each and every one of them.

Yuuri is unconscious. Viktor begs him not to die, tells him he's in love with him and is sorry he didn't tell him before and to stick around, dammit.

Somehow, he gets Yuuri back to Minako.

Once Yuuri's safely with her for treatment, Viktor leaves on his own and heads back to the University.

On the way back, he finds a cave he remembers, from when he and a small group were snowed in years and years ago. It was bad. Some people didn't make it and Viktor and the few who lived were found unconscious, but despite the memories, it's a solid shelter.

He finds, there, his letterbox that he'd lost. It's full to bursting with Yuuri's letters and he realizes how it must have felt, all these years with no response. He'd had no idea where to even start looking for it and meant to try and/or write the inn, but hadn't known where to send a letter for Yuuri if not just... through the box.

He cries. He resolves again to get this curse broken so maybe he can actually hold his best friend/the man he's in love with.

Once he's at the University, Viktor sneaks in and runs almost directly into Yura. After explaining, begging, and promising a few rewards, Yura agrees to help him break into his colleague's office.

They look through stuff until Lilia and Yakov find him, and both are unimpressed.

At Minako's, Yuuri wakes. He doesn't remember the confession beyond words in a dream-like state, and doesn't believe it was real. He's injured, still, but when he finds out Viktor went to the University, he's livid.

But he's still healing, and he can't leave Minako's yet.

At the University, Lilia is working with Viktor and given she knew Viktor's colleague and how he worked, and given she has Minako's notes, she makes better headway with it.

Yuuri heals enough to be escorted home after a month, and goes back to working with his parents. He mostly helps in the kitchen, now, as it's most compatible with the effects of his injuries.

Viktor keeps trying. Lilia's last-ditch solution is an attempt to literally reform Viktor's magic, cutting out the parts corrupted by the spell and taking the spell out. He could lose his magic or his life for the procedure, but the spell will kill him soon if he doesn't.

In a letter to Yuuri, he explains everything and the last Yuuri hears from him is that he loves him (because Viktor had to make sure he knows.)

Fast forward a while, maybe a month or two.

Yuuri's working at the inn still, sure that if Viktor died they'd have told him and that's what he's clinging to. His parents don't know everything, nor does Mari, but they try to support him however they can. He's angry sometimes. Depressed others.

One day he's working and someone runs in, saying a man got hit by a wagon? He's unconscious in the street and can they possibly bring him in here while the doctor comes?

Yuuri's family runs out to help, of course. Yuuri follows.

He sees Viktor unconscious on the floor a moment before he sees his mother reaching out her hand to touch him and as he screams for her not to, he sees that... she's okay.

Groggy, Viktor sits up, holds her arm as he does and Yuuri realizes the curse is broken. Viktor's free of it.

It cost him his magic, but... he's okay with that if it means he can be with Yuuri.

There's a lot of soft love, confessions, Viktor staying and living there (can't teach magic without magic, after all) with Makka at his side.

And they live happily ever after!!!

I hope you enjoyed uwu............

[dukeofdelirium]

do you ever doubt mj's innocence? ever since i looked into things (and i really tried to stick to unbiased, factual reports, as well as trying to hear out mj guilters), i've never had serious doubt, but i desperately wish we could know FOR SURE. i know that's not possible.

people saying that his defenders are "delusional" and "naive" really gets to me. like damn, i've been known to be stupid sometimes, and i'm certainly biased in this case (ofc i WANT him to be innocent).

sorry this is kinda venty lol, i just get upset about it pretty regularly despite the fact that i really believe he was innocent

You gotta quit feeding the guilter trolls lol. MJ was and will forever be innocent.

And no, I’ve never doubted his innocence for even a second. There is no evidence he did anything to anyone, and all of his accusers are proven liars and extortionists. That’s kind of why he was found not guilty 14 times in a row. The FBI has caught big name pedophiles like Weinstein and Epstein. They couldn’t find anything on MJ. So one of two things must be true: either Michael Jackson was innocent and falsely accused for money, OR Michael Jackson is a criminal mastermind the likes of which the world has never seen and was able to outsmart hundreds if not thousands of agents in the FBI itself but also all of the police departments that investigated and found nothing AND CPS that also investigated.

So, is Michael Jackson a criminal mastermind? lol. and was his brilliant plan to molest these boys to do so on his own damn property where the cops literally WORKED ?? And was his genius tactic to convince Gavin to let him molest him to say “well men have to masturbate or else they’ll rape women so I’m actually helping you” even though it was proven that his Grandmother said this? So did Michael and Gavin’s grandma just so happen to say the exact same sentence word for word?

Did Brett Barnes lie when he testified in Michael’s defense and then continued to defend him on social media to this day?

Was the prosecution right when they intentionally tampered with State evidence and falsified finger prints and phone records to try and get a conviction?

Anon, here’s the deal. Michael Jackson didn’t even have to put on a defense. It’s not a legal requirement in criminal cases. The prosecution must prove their story beyond reasonable doubt, with or without the defense telling their own. Michael Jackson’s lawyers Tom Mesereau and Susan Yu seriously questioned whether they were even going to put on a defense at all… that’s how ridiculous the criminal trial was.

Michael Jackson was innocent. He is still innocent in death. And we DO know that for sure. Quit listening to what guilters have to say. These same people falsify court documents and intentionally lie about evidence to try and convince ppl who aren’t educated on the topic that MJ is guilty. They run troll websites that do the same thing. They control bot accounts and harass MJ fans unprovoked online.

These guilters are legitimately pedophiles. So many of them have been caught and convicted with abusing children. So many more of them talk about how they’re attracted to children. When LN came out, they were on Twitter praising it for being a pro pedophilia film! You need to realize that these guilters, at least the majority of them that are actively engaging with us supporters in fights, want him to be guilty so they can use him as a poster boy for pedophilia…. Because they are PEDOPHILES!

They want us to doubt and to be afraid so they can weasel in and be like “see? He’s guilty and he raped kids but you love MJ so it’s ok that he did that! Pedophilia isn’t wrong!”

Deadass. That’s literally been their goal since BEFORE MJ was even accused. NAMBLA wants it. Multiple pedos were literally caught in the 90’s with falsely accusing MJ of pedophilia… one of them publicly admitted he wanted Michael to be a pedophile and the other inadvertently admitted he wanted Michael to be a pedophile as well so that he could gain worldwide acceptance for pedophilia through his fame… 🐸🍵

[sophieinwonderland]

Hi Sophie!

we were wondering how you feel about the plural representation in yugioh?

Both in the original series and other series with plural themes (such as yu-gi-oh arc v after Yuto and Yuya merge)

I can't really say much about the more modern Yu-Gi-Oh shows. We've never watched Arc V. So my opinions about that would end up being based on reading a wiki rather than actually watching the show myself.

For classic Yu-Gi-Oh, I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, the portrayal of the relationship between Yugi and the Pharaoh is awesome. It nails so many aspects of the plural experience that I wouldn't even be surprised if somebody who was plural actually was writing it.

Not saying The writer was plural, but it feels like that type of authenticity.

Having said that, there are some severe flaws with it too.

There are three main system reps in the show. Yugi, Bakura, and Marik.

Each of these systems have pretty basic portrayals, with each one having a darker other half.

My problem with this is that in the case of Bakura and Marik, their other hadmates simply play into the evil alter trope.

With Bakura, this is more forgivable. Because even if it is plural, it's also him being possessed by an ancient spirit. It's not necessarily meant to parallel real life systems, and is intended to be firmly in the realm of fantasy.

But... Marik is a weird case because he isn't possessed by a spirit. As far as I can tell, his plurality is a result of his childhood trauma. It appears to actually be intended as something akin to dissociative identity disorder, even if he was never given a diagnosis on the show.

And from that point of view, it is really problematic that his other half is bent on just killing and destroying everybody. He is just completely an irredeemable monster, and needs to be killed by magic so that Marik can become good and be redeemed.

So while I feel that Yugi is well portrayed as a plural system, they did a really bad job portraying the one system who appears to have a psychological origin. And for that, I would deduct some points from it.

Something that I always consider when assessing these pieces of media though is asking myself, what if the writer was plural?

This isn't speculation. It's just that I could imagine a singlet and a system writing plurals this way for different reasons.

If the writer is a singlet, then this comes down to ignorance. It's a problematic and ableist trope that they likely picked up from other media and are regurgitating.

However, there's also the possibility that the writer is a system. That the reason that Yugi feels so authentic as a plural character is because the writer is. In which case, I would find characters like Marik to be a bit more excusable. Plenty of people in the plural community have had persecutors and headmates who have been harmful to their system, and have probably had times where they wished they could get rid of those headmates.

I have never experienced that, but I do know that there are those who have. And so, if the person who wrote the storyline was plural, I could see it as a sort of wish fulfillment. Wanting to get rid of someone in your system who has caused you so much harm. It might be harmful to do in the real world where there is nuance and complexity and shades of gray, but through writing you can create a scenario where it would be okay for whatever reason. Because unlike the real persecutors you have to deal with, in your fiction, this is just somebody who is pure evil and irredeemable and you don't have to worry about the morality of hurting somebody like that.

For this reason, for the possibility that this might have been what was going on in their minds when they wrote the story, I don't want to be too harsh with it.

So my opinion on Yu-Gi-Oh is sort of a Schrodinger's box. While Yugi is a pretty good representation of plurality, the others, and Marik in particular, are really bad as representation goes.

If the author is plural and is writing what they know, then it's forgivable. If the author is a singlet who is just repeating a bunch of ableist tropes, it's much less so.

[blazingstarship]

💍Engagement Night💖

I have been waiting to post this artwork for a very long time cause I wanted it to be perfect and love the story behind our proposal.

We got to the marriage subject cause one of the guys made a joke about it. When it was just the two of us, I honestly told Yus it wasnt really something I dreamed off to do. I kinda made it clear marriage wasnt for me but didnt want to tell him my reasons. Yusei figured eventually by clicking one and one when I dont bring up my parents much. I told him the truth about why I dont like weddings. My parents had an unhappy marriage and even worst divorce. Heck I dont even know why they agreed to get married in the first place but it made me dislike the whole wedding concept.

Yusei said he never could imagine even a happy stable relationship without worrying if the other wouldnt leave him first (dead, betrayed, leaving the city forever). And marriage, the same page, didnt saw himself as marriage material too. People of Sattelite werent even allowed to marry so who wanted scum like him to love a life time.

Our relationship grow and the years passed by. It became stronger and we never felt so comfortable and save than to be with each other. After two years there was a moment in our lifes that changed us both and Yusei came suddenly with an own made ring with blue stone stickers on it and presented as a promise ring, we called a partnership. And I made one too from scraps and crafts so he knew I feel the same way about it. So we started to wear promise rings and after four years, we got our own house together.

I try not to drop spoilers but lets say Yusei felt alone and yet he got reminded someone always came home to him at the end of the day. Living together did him so well and the idea of having an own house with a backyard and garage and just a new chapter in his life thats about to start. He never could dream there was someone willing to spend the rest of their life with him and he cherish every day this someone goes to sleep and wakes byside him.

He wanted to place the bolt ring for the real thing and it was quite the time since he knew while I love the ring, it wasnt a real ring and deserved a real one. The real deal.

I was really worried about the house since I am not from Neo Domino City and what if we didnt work out at the end and I had to go back to my own country.

Yusei assured me its never gonna happen and we are not like my folks. As long as we talk to each other and give the space we need from time to time, everything will be alright.

After we got the keys, Yusei said out of the blue What if you will be named Fudo too. It shocked me how sure he said that, his face expression didnt change. He was really serious about it, like he was preparing me mentally and pulsed if he should go through with his plan.

I was really quiet about it as after a while, I only smiled at him and told him I loved him and that will never change. Then I gave a very long kiss on his cheek.

He didnt need to know more then this was a hint that I was ready. It was like he already asked the question but without the actual words. And my sensitive emotional ass (typical cancer lol) got me in tears as I assured him it was just a very sweet thing what he did.

The first night we would spend at our home was the same night he proposed. Yusei wanted to come to our home as family, as future husband and wife.

He took me for dinner and boy we didnt eat much. I may even was tired from work to notice he was nervous and couldnt think why he wanted to go out after we could have dinner at our own place for the first time.

He proposed at the Neo Domino City Point View close to his former place. It has the best view to see the whole sky and all the stars in it. Also it was the same place we catched a shooting star together and even started to feel a spark between us.

There were fairy lights around the rails and just watched the starry sky. Bringing up memories and getting deeper how much we have been through together. The deeper we got, the closer we holded each other. Suddenly there was a long silence and how I never could think I would be here and spending the rest of my life living here with him.

He whispered to me that I was his home, his future and couldnt imagine he would spend the rest of his life with someone else than me. He let me go but holded my hand as he went on one knee. After some sweet lines, he asked me. The way he asked was more like a promise than a proposal. Without knowing the real intentions, I said yes. As he wanted to put the ring on the finger, he realized he forgot to put out the box out of his jacket.

We laughed at this moment. He called out I even said yes without a ring. For me to reply confused “Saying yes without a ring?”

As he then showed the box and showed the ring inside. Saying he is asking the real deal, it is a real proposal. Causing me to been overwhelmed and crying.

He asked me again, but this time he did it in Dutch. It was so fluent, it got me so off guard. For me to answer Yes! In dutch, Japanese and English. A thousand times.

[twstrhythm]

Another long anon under the cut.

Aside from the fact that you seem to be trying to educate me about my own culture, you really are a fool, aren't you?

Yes, respect is important. And yes, it is not good manners to pick a fight with someone. However, there is that small bit you decided to highlight. Shall I say it louder for those in the back?

"Respecting the feelings of whoever is being spoken to."

That goes to say the same should be expected from this hypothetical female character too. If she was not respecting their feelings, why should she expect them to respect her back?

And for the Chinese OCs in question, here is how they would react.

Haoyu would not like it if she disrespects his feelings and would definitely talk back to her about it. If she won't show him respect, then he is not showing her any respect too. He does not see why she thinks this is okay to do.

Hui Jin is upset by this. He does not think the girl had the right to disrespect him for a joke. It is not funny to him, so he will react accordingly. He would tell her that she is being disrespectful and that he will not tolerate that.

Jian-Yu would be put off by the disrespect he is receiving and start judging this girl for it. He does not see why he should have to put up with his feelings being disrespected like this. If she has the audacity to tell him that he needs to respect her feelings, he will laugh at her and say "that's a funny joke. Funny, because you didn't do that for me. Why should I respect you?"

Jiao-Long is upset with it. He does not think he did anything to deserve to have his feelings just disrespected like this. He would likely start avoiding her. If he has to spend time around her, he makes sure someone else is with him. He refuses to deal with her alone.

Kunming does not like that she disrespected his feelings like this. He is more than willing to just throw hands with her. Whenever he sees her again in the future, he just turns the other way and ignores her. He makes sure to drop hints for other people to know that this girl was not so nice.

Li Feng shrinks into himself. He first questions if it is his fault. Then he will ask other people for their opinion on it. Finally, he concludes that this girl was being disrespectful towards him, and that he does not have to accept that. He would judge her from a distance whenever he sees her from that point on.

Longwei is baffled that someone would be mean to him for no reason. Oh? It was a joke? Haha. He does not find that funny. As someone who had been bullied before, Longwei will not just let her get away with it. He would confront her about it and make sure she understands exactly how he feels about her now, and he is not going to be nice about it.

Shen is upset and kind of wants to cry, but he doesn't. He tells the girl that she should try being nicer. If she won't change her attitude, then he will not talk to her anymore. He will ignore her if she tries to talk to him.

Shi Yin is annoyed by this, and he tells her that she was being disrespectful flat out. He also tells her that he will not be speaking to her again from that point on. If she refuses to respect him, he will not respect her.

Xiaoshi is not going to go easy on her. He starts out by telling her that he thinks she is a terrible person for not respecting his feelings. Why should he respect her if she is just going to treat him like trash? That is not something he will just accept.

Xinyi just begins avoiding her like she is the plague. He does not want to speak to someone who disrespected his feelings. He has no obligation to. If he has to see her again, he avoids looking at her directly and only speaks to her when someone else does.

Xue Long is not pleased with this. He has had plenty of experience with people disrespecting his feelings, and he has become more guarded as a result. This girl had said/done something that hurt him, so he is more cautious around her. He remembers what he has been taught, but this person did not respect him. He gives her judgmental looks any time she tries to speak to him.

YunLong would just sigh and tell her that she is not a good person for being so disrespectful. He would say he would like to be nice, but it does not seem like she deserves it. Whenever he sees her after this point, he makes sure to remind her of her actions and that she needs to change that if she wants his respect.

Zixuan looks at her differently from that point on. His feelings were just disrespected after all. "Treat people the way you want to be treated", he has heard people say. Since this girl was treating him disrespectfully, then he will not be nice to her. He ignores her as much as possible.

[specterthief]

not sure if you’ve played it, but Walter SMTIV for the ask game? if not, how about Yosuke?

i haven't played smtiv yet!

Sexuality Headcanon: well he was very nearly canonically bi so who am i to deny that Gender Headcanon: cis dude A ship I have with said character: i... don't really have any?? there's not really anything apparent other than him and yu and that ship does absolutely nothing for me romantically beyond "yosuke has a crush and doesn't know how to deal with it" A BROTP I have with said character: shout out to him and yu actually feeling like genuinely good friends who care about each other a lot, they're some of the only characters i can really say that about in p4. i also feel like there's potential for something very funny in the yosuke + teddie dynamic but it's buried deep beneath teddie's general characterization A NOTP I have with said character: i think people ship him with chie??? i don't really care for that, they don't really hit that "friends who fuck with each other but in an affectionate way" mark that a pair like ryuji and ann or futaba and yusuke do imo A random headcanon: yu and yosuke are roommates in a tiny shitty bachelor apartment straight out of r/malelivingspaces all through university, to nanako's absolute dismay when she comes to visit her bro General Opinion over said character: the p4 cast really didn't grab me in general aside from yu and the dojimas (and adachi in some way, he's definitely one of the best written characters even if he's also absolutely horrible) and the crumbs of what might have been good stories in naoto and kanji if they had been in a different game. even though the yu/yosuke friendship is one of the stronger character dynamics itself, yosuke himself really suffered for them cutting out whatever internalized homophobia plot they were planning to do with him, and i honestly don't have a lot of hope from what scraps of unused content have been found that it would have been handled with much depth if they kept it anyway. so in the end he just spends a lot of the game being plain homophobic and you never even have an option to tell him to shut up and leave kanji alone and that's really unfortunate and did not improve my impression of him

[bunnyandcomet]

Tomose Onda SR: Turning His Back on the Hustle and Bustle (Initial)

✧ Characters: Tomose, Yu, Ito

✧ SP Skill:

A Deserted Exterior Stairway

✧ Voice Lines:

Someday……No, not yet.

Guess I'll go home and take a shower.

Chapter 1

Ito: We should be able to meet up with Nina-san if we stay around here, right?

Tomose: Yeah. Let's wait here.

Having safely completed all our planned duties, we were about to rendezvous with Nina-san, who had been carrying out his part independently.

Tomose: ......

Ito: (At a time like this, it'd be best to talk about something to pass the time. But all our conversation up until now has ended after just a few words......)

When it comes to necessary things, he'll answer if I ask, and tell me even if I don't. But on the other hand, because those exchanges were limited to the minimum necessary amount of words, it didn't really feel right to talk to him for no reason now.

Ito: (Still, it's a bit awkward if I stay silent......Umm, is there anything work-related I can bring up......)

Just as I was about to rack my brains for a conversation topic— A car pulled up in front of us.

Tomose: ......

Yu: ......

Ito: (It's so quiet......)

Meeting up with Nina-san......did absolutely nothing to change the situation. I sat alone in the back seat, filled with a strange tension.

Ito: (Let's just stay quiet for now. I'll come up with something to talk about, and then this silence will—)

Tomose: Yu, you didn't have any problems on your end?

Ito: (Ah, he broke the silence.)

Yu: None. Did it seem like there was?

Tomose: No, but you're the one who said that if there were any, you'd deal with them in time to meet up with us.

Yu: I can't keep you waiting.

Tomose: That's why I asked. Resolving it doesn't change the fact that it arose in the first place. Besides, I don't mind waiting if it's for you.

Yu: I said it knowing you'd say that. There weren't any problems.

Tomose: All right.

Ito: (Ooh. Surprisingly, Onda-san is talking a lot......?) (And above all, I feel like the tone of his voice is more gentle.)

Nevertheless, it wasn't as if he was casually talking about this or that, so I wouldn't say it was too different to the "bare minimum" conversation we were having before.

Ito: (Of course, the scope of "bare minimum" would be wider for them than it is with me. They know a lot about each other, after all.)

Yu: Once we've sent Yashiro back, I'll drop you home and go out again.

Tomose: ? You shouldn't have any more work.

Yu: It's not work.

Chapter 2

Tomose: If it's not work, then what is it?

Yu: Shopping. We're running out of ingredients.

Ito: (Ingredients shopping......)

Yu: We're almost out of detergent too.

Tomose: Really?

Yu: I'm sure, I checked this morning.

Tomose: I see. Reliable as always.

Yu: There's other things we need too, so I'll go buy them.

Tomose: Then after we drop off Yashiro, let's walk to get them together. It'll be quicker and more efficient that way.

Yu: If that's what you want, then sure.

Ito: (If this was a conversation I shouldn't be hearing, they wouldn't talk about it in front of me to begin with. Still, it somehow feels like I'm listening to something significant.) (Well, come to think of it, these two do live together.)

I had heard about it from Kise-san before. But even knowing that, trying to imagine them going grocery shopping together...... Is quite the challenge.

Ito: (In the first place, I can't even guess as to what their daily life must be like. I doubt it's that different from how they are now though......)

Tomose: Anyway, Yashiro, you feeling okay?

Ito: !

Onda-san glanced at the back seat, catching me off guard.

Tomose: ......?

Ito: (Our eyes met.) (What does he mean by "okay"......? What's the correct way to answer this......)

Tomose: I heard that some people feel ill if they ride in a car they're not used to. You probably haven't been in Yu's car much.

Ito: (Ahh, I see. I guess he thought the reason I was quiet might be because I wasn't feeling well, and asked to check up on me?) Yes, I'm okay. I feel completely fine.

Tomose: Is that so?

Yu: Her voice isn't any different from usual either. Seems like she was just trying to be unobtrusive.

Tomose: Yeah. But there's no guarantee it won't happen from now on. If you start feeling unwell, don't hesitate to tell us.

Ito: Thank you. I really think I'll be all right, though.

Tomose: ?

Ito: Since Nina-san's a very good driver.

Tomose: ......He is, isn't he.

Ito: (Ah. That's the gentlest voice I've heard from him today.)

Tomose: I should add, if there's ever something you want to say, you can say it, whether it's about your physical condition or not.

Ito: Thank you. (But, at the moment—) (Just listening to the two of them is enough for me, I think.)

It felt comfortable somehow, hearing that "bare minimum" conversation between two people who were so close. My nervousness from before had gradually ebbed away.

[newspropaganda]

OKAY WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH YOU AND YOUR HATE TOWARDS YUGIOH FANS INCLUDING MANGAKAMEN? CAN'T YOU JUST RESPECT HIS OPIONION OR IGNORE HIM ATLEAST? HE NEVER MADE A VIDEO ON CALLING YOU OUT OR YOU EVEN TRY TO BE A A JACKASS. YOU JUST HATE HIM BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE POLITICAL CORRECT TO AMERICANS WHO TRY TO BE GOOD PEOPLE? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU HAVEN'T SAID YET OR YOU GONNA IGNORE ME?

"Why can't you just ignore him?"

Then why does he make videos about Yu-Gi-Oh! girls, calling them lackluster and mocking them? Why does he trash Jack Atlas while praising Seto Kaiba? Why does he keep insisting that Tokusatsu is good? And why does that motherfucker keep milking Metal Gear Rising when it's almost 2025? Because he's just another stupid American who only knows basic literacy and loves mainstream media, like everyone else in that country!

Did that dude even undersant that what he does is just making him look patetic.

He doesn't understand Yu-Gi-Oh! or know when to keep his mouth shut, like a typical normie. Here's the deal: he made videos explaining Yu-Gi-Oh! girls, but most of them just repeat what everyone has already said, not even worth debunking. He came in salty about Akiza, calling her a benchwarmer, but had previously praised her. He loves GX so much, but never made a video pointing out how Judai stole the screentime from every single underdeveloped character. And did he ever call out Yoshida or Junki Tatetagami for it? No. He just ignored that and jumped into JoJo's Bizarre Adventure nonsense.

His whole gimmick is being this YouTuber who can't even grow a spine, trying to use bad comedy like it's 2011 all over again, and it doesn't work. He can't tell me anything that doesn’t involve 5D’s being screwed up by some cults or real-life events that aren’t even real and were just made up.

Doesn't he realize that Metal Gear Rising was made for plebs who only care about hype culture and can’t grow up? He doesn't even know that Kojima stopped making games after 2015 because he and Konami can't stand each other. I keep saying it—literacy is crap and not worth investing your time and patience in. He likes to read books, but if someone gave me a book, I’d burn it right in front of those nerds. I don’t read manga or support anything these people say.

His whole channel should be nuked by a C4 bomb or purged by hackers. He can't even explain why he doesn't like 5D's as his favorite. All he said was that 5D's screwed up because of some 'X' thing that was debunked years ago. He's just chasing after a dead horse at this point. Does he even realize that Twitter hates people like him?

He's just another American sell-out, no different from Forever, who hated all the Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-offs, or Dylan from Yu-Gi-Oh! Everything, who never made a good video. Then there's NoajenksYGO and that fucking Octomadly, all of whom I absolutely loathe.

Here's my opinion on him: he ruined the Yu-Gi-Oh! community with those videos. He doesn’t understand that critics struggle to debunk anime culture or its production. MangaKamen is just a fucking loser who doesn’t make good Yu-Gi-Oh! videos—he only makes videos that destroy its legacy.

WHY DO YOU THINK I HATE TAKAHASHI'S DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS MOVIE THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO LIKE? BECAUSE IT FUCKING SUCKED. IT WAS PURE DOGSHIT.

And if that jackass ever reviews OCG Stories, he’ll do the same thing he did with 5D’s, slandering it with his feminist American BS all over the place. There's a reason why we don't want any more of the American Yu-Gi-Oh! community. You blame anyone who doesn’t respect 5D’s or tries to be a good fan these days. MangaKamen is just a fake fan who’s never even made a video reviewing the manga.

[outpostsofbabel]

Demigods and Semi-devils, Chapter VII (II)

Duan Zhengchun and his wife stared fixedly at their son's wound. The blood seeping out turned from black to purple after a little while, and then from purple to red. It was only at this that they heaved a collective sigh of relief, knowing that their son's life was safe.

Dao Baifeng picked up her son and carried him into a bedroom, pulling a blanket over him and taking his pulse. It was beating steadily and strongly, with no sign of weakness. She felt some surprise at this, even as her heart leapt. Assured, she returned to the main room.

"Everything alright?" Duan Zhengchun asked.

Dao Baifeng did not reply. To Mu Wanqing, she said: "Go and tell the Asura's Knife, Qin Hongmian-"

On hearing those words, Duan Zhengchun went pale. "You...you..." he began.

Ignoring her husband, Dao Baifeng continued her sentence to the girl. "Tell her, if she wants my life, she should feel free to make her attempts in an upfront and open manner. Wouldn't people laugh their heads off at the underhanded tricks she just tried?"

"I don't know who this Asura's Knife - Qin Hongmian - is at all," Mu Wanqing replied.

"Then whose orders are you acting on to kill me?" Dao Baifeng asked, puzzled.

"My master," the girl said. "My master bade me kill two people. The first is you. She said you have a red mark on your hand, that you go by the name of Dao Baifeng, and you are a daughter of the Baiyi clan. She said also that you are very beautiful, and that your favoured weapon is a whip. She never...never said that you disguised yourself as a nun. When I first saw you, you were using a horsetail whisk and called yourself the Sage of the Jade Hollow. I never thought that you were the person that...that my master bade me to kill, and even less did I think you were my husband's mother..." At this, tears began to flow from her eyes.

"The second person that your master bade you kill," Dao Baifeng said. "Was it the Beautiful Yaksha, Gan Baobao?"

"No, no!" Mu Wanqing cried. "Gan Baobao is my master's sister-in-arms. She had a letter delivered to my master, saying that two women have caused her great pain her whole life, and that this great wrong must be revenged..."

"Ah, yes," Dao Baifeng said. "The other woman goes by the name of Wang, and she lives in Suzhou, right?"

"Yes, how did you know? My master and I went to Suzhou to kill her first. But this wicked woman has many slaves under her, and she lives in a very odd place indeed. I never saw her face, and I was chased by her slaves all the way to Dali."

Duan Zhengchun was listening to this conversation with his head lowered. His face turned red and pale in turns.

Tears suddenly rolled down Dao Baifeng's cheeks. Turning to Duan Zhengchun, she said: "See you look after Duan Yu well. I'm...I'm leaving."

"My lady, all that is in the past," her husband replied. "Why take it so much to heart?"

"You may not take it to heart, but I do, and so do other people," she said softly. With a sudden soaring leap, she vaulted out of the window. Duan Zhengchun reached out to snatch at her sleeve, but she hit at him with an open palm. He nimbly avoided the blow by moving his head aside, but tore her sleeve. Turning, she said angrily: "Do you really want to fight?"

"My lady, you..."

With a kick of her feet, Dao Baifeng had leapt to the roof of the building opposite, and was several metres away in a few more leaps. Chu Wanli's voice could be heard in the distance, shouting: "Who is it?"

"It is I," Dao Baifeng replied.

"Ah, the princess," he called back. After that, there was no sound. Dao Baifeng was far away.

Duan Zhengchun stood there in silence for some minutes, then heaved a sigh as he moved back into the main room. He saw that Mu Wanqing was extremely pale, but had not fled. Moving up to her, he gripped her right arm with both hands and, with a cracking noise, fixed her dislocated arm. I shot poisoned arrows at his wife, Mu Wanqing thought. What kind of torment will he deal me for that?

But Duan Zhengchun simply sat dejectedly in a chair, slowly pouring himself a cup of wine. He drank it down with a gulp, then sat staring blankly at the window from which his wife had leapt. After some time, he slowly poured himself another cup, downing it with another loud gulp. Some twelve or thirteen cups disappeared this way, until he had drained a full jar of wine. He began pouring from a fresh jar - pouring very slowly, but drinking exceedingly quickly.

Finally, Mu Wanqing ran out of patience. "Whatever twisted, vicious methods you are thinking about to punish me with - hurry up and do it!"

Duan Zhengchun lifted his head, staring unwaveringly at Mu Wanqing. After a long time, he shook his head steadily and sighed. "Very like, very like! I should have seen it long ago, the look, and the temper..."

Mu Wanqing had no idea what he was talking about. "What are you saying? Utter nonsense."

Duan Zhengchun said nothing. He stood up and with a sudden swift movement of his left hand, snuffed out a candle behind him with a gust of wind from his palm. He repeated the movement with his right hand, extinguishing another candle. He did this five times, snuffing out five candles while always looking straight ahead. His movements were natural and easy, his palms moving like running water or clouds across the sky.

"That...that's the Five Smoke Wisps technique!" Mu Wanqing cried. "How do you know that too?"

Duan Zhengchun gave a bitter laugh. "Your master has taught you that, I suppose?"

"My master said she would never teach this technique to anyone. She said she would bring it to her coffin with her."

"Huh! She said she would never teach it to anyone, and would take it to her grave?"

"Yes, but whenever my master thought I wasn't around, she would practise it on her own. I've seen plenty of it in secret."

"She would often practise this technique in secret?"

Mu Wanqing nodded. "Yes. Master would always be in a bad mood after practising this technique, and yell at me. How...how do you know it too? You're even better at it than my master, it seems."

Duan Zhengchun sighed. "This Five Smoke Wisps technique - I taught it to your master."

Mu Wanqing was stunned but had no reason not to believe him. She had often seen that her master could not extinguish a candle in a single stroke, but would have to try two or three times before she succeeded. It was nothing like Duan Zhengchun's easy wave of his hand. "So you are my master's master," she said awkwardly. "That makes you my grand-master?"

"No!" Duan Zhengchun said, shaking his head. Resting his cheek on his hand, he said softly to himself: "So every time she practised this technique, she would get into a bad temper. And she said she would never teach it to anyone, but bring it to her coffin..."

"So you-" Mu Wanqing said.

Duan Zhengchun wagged his hand at her, signalling for her to stop asking questions. After some time, he suddenly said: "You're eighteen this year, born in September - right?"

Mu Wanqing leapt to her feet. "You know everything about me! Who are you to my master?" she asked curiously.

Duan Zhengchun's face was a picture of pain and misery. In a hoarse voice he said: "I've...I've done badly by your master. Wan'er, you-."

"How? You look like a good and agreeable person to me."

"Your master's name. She never told you what it was?"

"My master told me to call her You Gu'ke - the Visitor in the Valley. But what her real name was, I have no idea."

"You Gu'ke, You Gu'ke," Duan Zhengchun said hoarsely. Du Fu's poem Beautiful Maiden suddenly came to mind, and each word stabbed his heart:

A peerless beauty, living alone in an empty valley.

She says she is of a good family; it has been humbled to the earth.

[...]

Her husband with a vagrant heart seeks a new lover with jadelike beauty

[...]

On seeing his new love smile, his old love weeps unheard.

After some time, he asked again: "How has your master lived, all these years? Where do you live?"

"My master and I live in a valley behind a tall mountain," Mu Wanqing replied. "My master calls that place You Gu (The Hidden Valley). It is only now that the two of us have ever left it."

"And who are your parents? Did your master never tell you?"

"My master says that I was an orphan who was abandoned by my parents. My master picked me up from the roadside and adopted me."

"Do you hate your parents?"

Mu Wanqing tipped her head to one side and bit her pinky finger.

On seeing this, Duan Zhengchun felt a terrible ache in his heart. Mu Wanqing was surprised to see two large tears roll down his cheeks. "Why are you crying?" she asked.

Duan Zhengchun turned his back to her, brushing the tears away. Feigning a laugh, he said: "Crying? I've just had a few too many drinks, and the alcohol is taking effect."

Mu Wanqing did not believe a word. "I plainly saw your crying. Only girls cry. Do men cry too? I've never seen a man cry, except for boys."

Duan Zhengchun felt great sorrow that she knew nothing at all of the world. "Wan'er, I will treat you well in the days to come, to make up for my past mistakes," he said. "If there is anything your heart desires, let me know of it, and I will do my best to give it to you."

The girl had been very anxious ever since attacking Dao Baifeng with her arrows. Hearing this, she said delightedly: "So you don't blame me for shooting arrows at your wife?"

"As you said: 'A master’s love is profound, and a master’s orders hard to disobey.' The affairs of the previous generation have nothing to do with you. I don't blame you. But you must not be rude to my wife in the future."

"What if my master asks me about it one day?" Mu Wanqing asked.

"Bring me to see her and I will tell her in person," the man replied.

Mu Wanqing clapped her hands in glee. "Great!" Then she crowned. "My master said, every man on earth is fickle and unkind. She never receives any men."

A flicker of surprise crossed Duan Zhengchun's face. "Your master never sees any men?"

"Yes, she usually gets Grandma Liang to buy salt for her. But once Grandma Liang was ill, and got her son to buy it and send it over instead. Master was so angry and got him to leave it outside the door. She didn't let him into the house."

"Hongmian, Hongmian," Duan Zhengchun said with a sigh. "Why make life so difficult for yourself?"

"You just said 'Hongmian' again," Mu Wanqing said. "Who on earth is this Hongmian?"

Duan Zhengchun hesitated for a moment, then said. "This can't be hidden from you forever. Your master's real name is Qin Hongmian, and she is also called the Asura's Knife."

Mu Wanqing nodded. "No wonder your wife asked so fiercely if I knew the Asura's Knife, the first time she saw me shoot my arrows. At the time I had no idea. I didn't mean to lie. So my master is called Qin Hongmian. That's a beautiful name. I don't know why she never told me of it."

"When I hurt your arm just now - does it still hurt?" Duan Zhengchun asked.

Seeing the warmth and kindness on his face, Mu Wanqing smiled. "It's much better. Let's go and have a look at...at your son, shall we? I'm afraid the poison on the arrows won't have dissipated completely."

"Alright!" said Duan Zhengchun, getting to his feet. "And if you have anything you want, let me know."

Mu Wanqing suddenly blushed. Looking aside bashfully, she said: "It's just that...that now I have attacked your wife, I'm afraid she'll...she'll be angry with me."

"We shall slowly beg her forgiveness, and perhaps in time she'll not feel that way," he replied.

"I never beg anyone for anything," Mu Wanqing retorted. "But for my husband, a little begging won't hurt." Screwing up her courage, she suddenly asked: "Lord Zhen'nan, if I tell you my heart's desire, will you really...really give it to me?"

"As long as it is within my power, I will fulfil your wishes," he said.

"You musn't go back on your word."

Duan Zhengchun smiled. Going up to the girl, he stroked her hair lightly. His eyes were overflowing with tender affection as he said: "Naturally, I will not go back on my word."

"Our marriage," Mu Wanqing said. "You must take charge of it and make sure he is not faithless." She beamed as she spoke the words.

Duan Zhengchun's expression changed completely. He backed away slowly, collapsing into a chair and saying nothing for a long time. Sensing that something was wrong, Mu Wanqing said in a trembling voice: "You...you will not consent to our marriage?"

"You cannot marry Yu'er," the man said. His words were mumbled but their tone was sure.

Mu Wanqing felt a chill touch her heart. Miserably, she said: "Why not? He...he promised me himself."

But all Duan Zhengchun would say was: "Evil fate! Oh, evil fate!"

"If he doesn't want me, I'll...I'll kill him, and then kill myself. I...I swore it to my master's face."

Duan Zhengchun shook his head steadily. "It's not possible!" he said.

"In that case, I'll go ask him myself why it isn't possible," Mu Wanqing said.

"Yu'er...himself...doesn't know," Duan Zhengchun said. The girl's look of misery now was the same look Qin Hongmian had eighteen years ago, when she had first heard the bad news. Unable to bear it any longer, he blurted out: "You can't marry Duan'er, and you can't kill him."

"Why not?" Mu Wanqing demanded.

"Because...because...because Duan Yu is your own brother!"

[freewilllife]

It's more that it was the safest option that led to no deaths than about rejection.

If it was never an option to begin with, it is ridiculous to blame him in the first place. This should be at least obvious to Yona, especially since it was her father that directly told her that he would never let her marry Soo Won.

All 3 of them think he is selfish, Su-Won included.

This is even more hilarious. You know, I actually analyze a story by what is given in the texte and story and not by mere words of characters. Especially characters that harbor a grudge against him...

And both contradict themselves pretty easily.

Yona had even to admit, that he did not become king for selfish reasons.

Hak is even admitting that he would be not able to sacrifice for the country...and telling this to Soo Won = admitting that Soo Won sacrificed much for it.

In fact, he is one of the most selfless people in the entire manga.

Not even his revenge happened, because he just wanted to avenge his father.

=> In fact, he even gave King Il a chance to demonstrate that he was right. King Il however wished to play martyr.

=> Soo Won killed a person that hurt him in the deepest way possible...taking one of his parents away, while feeling 0 empathy for the child that he clearly completely abandonned.

=> Soo Won obviously also did it, because he wished for Kouka to survive.

2. Soo Won has always struggled to fulfilll the desires and wishes of other people...

Yona has started to like Soo Won, because he cared for her "like a mother"...or tried so as a 9 year old boy.

Heck, he even dreamt of sacrificing himself for his father.

=> The pic with little Soo Won and the big crown demonstrates greatly, that Soo Won became the hope for a bunch of adults, that should have protected him...

a) His mother leant on her son instead of caring for the boy who just has lost his father

b) the followers of Yu hon and Keishuk considered him the next messiah/ Yu hon´s double.

Later Hak projected on Soo Won his desire for a just king...

Geuntae saw in Soo Won the shadow of Yu hon.

Soo Won has become an illusion and image for so many people, that I honestly don´t care anymore, what they say about him. The texte, the story speaks a different language.

3. In his quest to become a good king, Soo Won completely surpressed his personal feelings.

It is mentioned by Zeno that Soo Won surpresses his feelings, Min Soo also takes notice of this and Lily, also notes that he doesn´t lose himself in personal, selfish desires.

4. Choosing Yona was most likely the less selfish act, he could have done...

Soo Won hates Hiryuu, harbours a great deal of negative feelings for the person that is responsible for his misery and still, he understood that Yona might be the only one that has a great deal of influence on fate.

En plus, he also understood that Yona is part of the already established tribe leading the country. If he had chosen a person from another tribe, this might have created strife among the tribes that don´t get along well.

Yona also has the same "problem" as him as people project greatness on her...which could be used for her becoming queen.

Once again, Yona´s remark of Soo Won "being selfish" is funny, if you consider that she condanmed a great deal of people for her "found family".

Ever since Su-Won made the decision to make Yona the queen and Yona heard of it from Hak instead of him, I've been quite curious about what they'll say to one another when they finally meet face to face again. I don't know, I feel like that encounter just going to be different from all the others, intense. Because both have acknowledged her as his equal, just not directly to one another yet.

First there’s a political side. Whether Yona wants the throne, whether Su-Won really wants to pass it down. There is also the emotional side.

Yona remained calm (though disgusted) when she commented that Su-Won was selfish, but that was still from a distance. Which is why I can't shake the thought that Yona could be absolutely livid if Su-Won actually manages to enter the chalice (especially if it's with some intention to "save" Yona and "sacrifice" himself like some fear).

If it happens, can we get a scene where she slaps his face? Tells him to snap the fuck out of it? Stop making all these selfish decisions for her? To not put her on a pedestal and be so suicidal all of a sudden? That she's not a damsel in distress who needs saving, that she'll find a way to make the dragon gods to understand? Because such a scene will actually be a good subversion of expectations. Kusanagi has done it before, so this would be a great opportunity.

I mean Yona's already said it in her mind. "Don't you dare die as you please. Rely on those around you." She even said it to Hyu-ri. She just has to actually say those words to Su-Won himself.

Yona did disappoint me in the recent chapter because she became quite literally a damsel in distress (how else are we supposed to describe her in that scene), but a hypothetical scene like this would make up for it. It would return her agency. And honestly I've been dying to see a scene where Yona just lets all the resentment out instead of constantly suppressing it for the country or because she wants to be the better person. The dragon gods said she was also selfish, so let's see that side show a bit more.

[sugamamacustard]

🍢 🍡 (A/B/O) Menu 🍡🍢

My A/B/O verse ↦ Here! My rules ↦ Here!

Appetizer (🍚)= Angst Dessert (🍪)= Fluff Breakfast (���) = Social media! AU Lunch (🍙) = non-specified AU! (Other than social media; Mafia! Werewolf/vampire!, angel/demon!, etc) Supper (🍘)= Smut/ NSFW Happy hour (🍸) = Yandere Specials (🍮)= My personal favorites 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 🍡 Order up!

↳Reach so high ( 🍪)

Summary: You’re used to the world around you not being kind to the vertically impaired, but you and you’re alpha get through it.

Ingredients: Alpha! Tendo Satori, Alpha! Nishinoya Yu

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Sweet Little Chick ( 🍸, 🍙(Mafia! AU))

Summary:  The Karasuno Crows fell to the will of one person and one person alone. You were expected to do the same to the mama crow.

Ingredients: Alpha! Mafia boss! Sugawara Koushi

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN-- But Reader ends up in a dress and thigh highs, so take as you will)

↳ Come see me (  🍚, 🍪, 🍮 )

Summary:  Being a manager for Nekoma was a thankless job, but one you were proud to do. You were surrounded by alphas who wanted what was best for you and in turn, you wanted what was best for them. However, sometimes what’s best for them…may not be best for you or your omega.

Ingredients: Alpha! Tetsuro Kuroo

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Knock me out ( 🍪)

Summary:  When your omega demands to see your alpha, you can’t help but oblige, but unfortunately, someone else see’s you before he does.

Ingredients: Alpha! Hajime Iwaizumi

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Fire man ( 🍘 )

Summary:  Your heat hits unexpectedly and it’s up to your alpha to help you through it. How is he doing it?

Ingredients: Alpha! Tetsuro Kuroo, Alpha! Toru Oikawa, Alpha! Kotaro Bokuto

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem!)

↳ Double Trouble ( 🍪)

Summary:  Inarizaki is known for many things above the surface, but only few know what great treasure lies deep within the pack.

Ingredients: Alpha! Osamu Miya, Alpha! Atsumu Miya

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem!)

↳ Level Headed ( 🍪, 🍘,  🍮 )

Summary: Betas were known for one thing and your alpha loved you all the more for it. So he shows you his gratitude.

Ingredients: Alpha! Hajime Iwaizumi

Serving: Beta! Reader (Fem!)

↳ Please don’t let me go ( 🍚, 🍪 , 🍘 , 🍙 (Shifter! AU))

Summary:  You were excited when the other packs joined yours, even finding solace in one of the alphas of one, but suddenly, you weren’t needed. Wanted. Not what he desired. And that hurt. So you do the only thing you can think of. Try to find someone who will comfort your poor omega heart.

Ingredients: Alpha! Kuroo Tetsuro

Serving: Omega! Reader (Pretty GN, but I said the word c*nt, so take it as you will)

↳ Please don’t let me go (Part 2!)   ( 🍪 , 🍙 (Shifter! AU))

Summary:   Thanks to Kuroo, your place in the pack has been cemented. But what made it waver in the first place? How can the rest of the pack change what has already happened.

Ingredients: Alpha! Kuroo Tetsuro

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Feral animal ( 🍪, 🍮 )

Summary:  You just wanted to get the boys to practice on time. You weren’t prepared to deal with this.  Good thing you had a guardian angel- or should we say, dog.

Ingredients: Alpha! Kentarou Kyoutani

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ One more time ( 🍪, 🍮 )

Summary:  You loved your small little family, but your alpha felt there was something missing.

Ingredients: Alpha! Toru Oikawa

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN, but a baby is born, so take it as you will)

↳ Puppy ( 🍘, 🍮)

Summary:   It wasn’t supposed to hit you as hard as it did, but when your heat came and blindsided you, you were left staggering for a way out. Luckily, your alpha knows you better than anyone else.

Ingredients: Alpha! Kentarou Kyoutani

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem! Reader)

↳ Two for one special ( 🍪 )

Summary:  You weren’t even a manager. You were a medic for the Nekoma team and yet, you still caught they of not one, but two, powerhouse alphas. What could go wrong, right?

Ingredients: Alpha! Satori Tendo, Alpha! Yuu Nishinoya (Poly)

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Rut ( 🍘)

Summary:  You and your alpha have been through so much together, but how are the reacting when their rut hits?

Ingredients: Alpha! Tetsuro Kuroo, Alpha! Atsumu Miya, Alpha! Kiyoomi Sakusa

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Helping hand  ( 🍘, 🍙 (Mafia! AU))

Summary:  You were always so good for your alpha. There are some things that fall out of your control however, things that may put a wrench in your good behavior.

Ingredients: Alpha! Mob boss! Kenma Kozume

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem!)

↳ Spare some?  ( 🥞, 🍘 , 🍮)

Summary:  You simply ask for Daddy’s Cummies. How are these alphas reacting?

Ingredients: Alpha! Satori Tendo, Alpha! Toru Oikawa, Alpha! Wakatoshi Ushijima, Alpha! Kenma Kozume, Alpha! Yu Nishinoya, Alpha Keiji Akaashi

Serving: Omega! Reader

↳ Let me help you ( 🍚, 🍪) (Now with Part 2!)

Summary:   Because of unseen circumstances, you drop, and you drop hard. How does your alpha help you/redeem himself?

Ingredients: Alpha! Toru Oikawa, Alpha! Hajime Iwaizumi + Part 2 includes Mattsun and Makki.

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ All Mine (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 ) ( 🥞, 🍪, 🍮)

Summary:  You alpha sees someone flirting with you, he’s not happy/ This time you see someone flirty with your alpha and your not happy.

Ingredients: Alpha! Hajime Iwaizumi, Alpha! Issei Matsukawa, Alpha! Tetsuro Kuroo, Alpha! Osamu Miya, Alpha! Atsumu Miya, Alpha! Suna Rintaro

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ After hours ( 🥞, 🍘)

Summary:   Some spicy messages between you and your alpha~

Ingredients: Alpha! Atsumu Miya, Alpha! Osamu Miya, Alpha! Wakatoshi Ushijima, Alpha! Kentaro Kyoutani, Alpha! Rintaro Suna, Alpha! Eita Semi

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Keeping you close ( 🍪, 🍘)

Summary:   Your alpha catches some low-bit, pathetic excuse of an alpha trying to get with you and he’s determined to but a stop to it.

Ingredients: Alpha! Rintaro Suna

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN, until the smut)

↳ Lips like Sugar~ ( 🍪, 🍘,🍙(Sugar Daddy! AU))

Summary:   Toru Oikawa had no qualms about paying a pretty little thing to hang off his arm, but he expects you to be at his beck and call for the price tag you come with. And if you aren’t? He’ll put you back into your place real quick.

Ingredients: Alpha! Toru Oikawa

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem! Reader)

↳ Back me up ( 🍪)

Summary:   Pregnancy can bring out both the best, and worst, in any and all alphas, and yours is no exception. Life, however, is unpredictable in every sense and sometimes, the worst and best parts get melded into one– and make you fall in love with your alpha all over again.

Ingredients: Alpha! Kotaro Bokuto, Alpha! Wakatoshi Ushijima

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem! Reader)

↳Baby, it’s cold outside ( 🍪)

Summary:  After waiting for your parents to come pick you up, only for them to never come, you can’t seem to get warm. Lucky, for you, your alpha is there to help you get warm!

Ingredients: Alpha! Takanobu Aone

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳Kiss it Better (🍪)

Summary:   You love spending time with your alpha in the kitchen, unfortunately it’s a little bittersweet for him.

Ingredients: Alpha! Osamu Miya

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳Again ( 🍘,🍮 )

Summary: How much can you take before your alpha breaks you?

Ingredients: Alpha! Tetsuro Kuroo

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem! Reader)

↳Feed Me ( 🍪,🍮 )

Summary: Some times, people do things because it’s what they think is best. You don’t tell your alpha about some weight gain you’ve noticed, and try taking care of it yourself because of this.

Ingredients: Alpha! Keiji Akaashi, Alpha! Wakatoshi Ushijima, Alpha! Rintaro Suna

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳ Day and Night (🍘)

Summary: How do you and your gamer alpha spend heats and ruts?

Ingredients: Alpha! Kenma Kozume

Serving: Omega! Reader (Fem! Reader)

↳ Crash Course(🍪)

Summary: The relationship between Iwaizumi and Oikawa is always a confusing one. No one is quite sure what it is and where exactly you fall into it. Well, you guys do and that’s all that matters.

Ingredients: Alpha! Hajime Iwaizumi, Platonic! Alpha! Toru Oikawa

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳✨Intimidating✨(🍪)

Summary: Alpha’s are scary creatures. Going up to them is scary, and honestly, you were never sure you would ever be able to look one in the eye. Unfortunately, your omega was dead set on one particular alpha– one who seemed so much more intimidating than any other alpha you had seen before.

Ingredients: Alpha! Issei Matsukawa, Alpha! Satori Tendou

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN)

↳✨Daddy cats✨ (🍪, 🍘)

Summary: What’s life like with not one but two alphas at your beck and call?

Ingredients: Alpha! Kenma Kozume and Alpha! Tetsuro Kuroo (Poly)

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN until the smut, then it's fem! Reader)

↳✨Olympic level✨( 🍪)

Summary: Sometimes your air-headed alpha makes you question your sanity. Luckily, you have some back-up to get him back in line.

Ingredients: Alpha! Yu Nishinoya

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN!)

↳Time Bomb ( 🍚,🍮,🍙(Non! A/B/O) )

Summary:  Anger is an ugly emotion and can bring out the worst in all of us. Mid-argument, it pushes your boyfriend into dangerous waters, threatening your very relationship. Is your relationship strong enough to survive?

Ingredients: Koushi Sugawara, Wakatoshi Ushijima

Serving: Reader(GN!)

↳Paparazzi ( 🍪)

Summary: Fangirls are nice, yes, however they tend to get in the way of simple things such as passing your classes. You won't take their harrassment laying down though.

Ingredients: Alpha! Toru Oikawa, Alpha! Yuji Terushima, Alpha! Atsumu Miya

Serving: Omega! Reader (GN!)

More to come!

[rarepears]

Lanbari ask. What if Kyouya 'Created' a new cultivation method? So now in xianxia land, there's also Flames now. I once read a fic where the mystery mom of LWJ and LXC was a Wen. We could use that here, having that fire connection with the Wens be "connected" to this nifty new power Lanbari made. Which makes everyone lose their minds. Lanbari, as ever, is a Cloud. LXC could be a Sky, a Rain or a Rainy Sky. LWJ could be a Lightning. WWX is definitely a Sun. 'Activating' the dead that he controls gives them a huge boost. MY is probably a Mist. Lanbari let's that slide since Chrome showed that not all Mists are bad. NHS is probably a Mist, too. NMJ could be a Sun or a Lightning. JWY as a Storm, JYL as a Rain.

Lanbari, having learned from his previous life that just because someone is a Sky doesn't mean they're the best person to lead. (Timoteo, Iemitsu, (sorry) Tsuna) So he'll make it so his brother doesn't have to worry too much about his people. He'll lead with gentle suggestions on how somethings would be beneficial to the Sect (I HC all Skies have Intuition) from LXC for optimum efficiency. Actually, LXC probably tells MY who gets the stamp of approval from Lanbari. Either way, his Sky brother doesn't have to deal with too much Empathy like Tsuna did while in a leadership position and won't kill off his Empathy like Nono and Iemitsu just to try and lead well.

Although being a Lan probably makes it difficult to make bonds, with all the strictly enforced social rules, so Lanbari is hunting for prospective Gaurdians for his omnivorous twin. Which was another reason for MY being handed off to LXC at first. Lanbari wanted to see if there was potential there. (There definitely was and now Lanbari has a future in law.) NMJ was a fight friend and was introduced to LXC (Little brother is introducing me to his friends! How sweet!) and bonds him, too. At this point, Lanbari worries that any other intros might lead to a harem for his brother so he tries to find others that are already spoken for. I can't think of any off the top of my head since I've never actually read the source and only fanfic of MDZS. Anyways!

You could also add some Humor to it. After introducing LXC, MY and NMJ, other Lans might think hes a good matchmaker so they try to ask Lanbari with help finding their soulmate, too. In response, Lanbari throws them at someone to get their idiotic babble away from him. It turns out, they're soulmates. Way to go, Lanbari! Now he's harassed by (idiots) people determined to go through a beating from Lanbari to get a soulmate.

You could link the future leaders of the cultivation world together early, leading to a solid foundation for them all to fall back on when/if the Wens attack. Also, imagine the Wens trying to storm the Lan Sect. For Angst, Lanbari could be on a nighthunt far away so it still happens, maybe with less casualties since he'd probably beef up the defenses. For Fix-It, he'd be present and kick the Wens asses.

 Personally, my headcanon is that mafia heads are all skies because of tradition. Skies don't make good heads and they don't have to be the head; it's just that skies are so charismatic that it ended up becoming tradition.

So... MDZS doesn't have that tradition. No one can protest about a cloud becoming sect leader instead of a sky. In fact, MDZS values talent more than necessarily firstborn becoming sect leader - otherwise Jiang Yanli could have been sect leader... probably. (Didn't the Gusu Lan had a female leader at one point? That means it's not impossible for the great sects to have female leaders. Add in the the maternal tradition of Madam Yu, it's possible! But Jiang Yanli was sickly and weak in cultivation talent.)

Anyways, Hibari as the head. I don't feel like he even listened to Tsuna - their goals just happened to align, so it's good that he's official head as he would go do his own thing regardless. Lan Xichen would have no hope of controlling Hibari's actions, just hope to mitigate the damage, if he were head instead.

Lan Xichen would serve as the Hibari-translator, softening Hibari's words into something more gentle, more politically correct. It helps that Hibari is very abrupt with his words and doesn't provide clarifying details, so Lan Xichen can twist Hibari's words a bit. You know, from "clean this mess up" to Lan Xichen now instructing the disciples to clear the debris, to contact the craftsmen, to arrange for the shop keepers to be compensated for their damaged goods, and so forth.

So that particular command is all fine and well. But when Hibari points at Jin Guangshan and says "trash"... time for Lan Xichen to sing a song about how Hibari TOTALLY meant something else. Like how Jin Guangshan should do something about the trash in his sect like all the immoral cultivators who have been disobeying rules - oh did you know that I had to stop so and so from stealing goods from a merchant's shop?

I do love the thought of Hibari hunting for good guardians for his brother. He's obviously his twin's cloud. Lan Wangji feels like a rain; plus rain can sound like music.

This frees up the lightning spot for Nie Mingjue - he willing to absorb the Wen's damage to protect his sect. He doesn't seem very... nurturing; he's more sturdy like an anchor for a ship.

Hibari doesn't exactly have to look very hard for guardians; he just lets the guardian candidates come to Gusu Lan for Lan Qiren's lessons and inspects each individual one by one. The first test is Hibari beating the potential candidates up. The guardians should be very sturdy and skilled at fighting of course!

(Meng Yao is the exception because he's the pencil pusher.)

Hibari the matchmaker! That's a hilarious thought!

Just imagine him beating up two cultivators and having them thrown into the same jail cell.. and then three years later, Hibari receives a wedding invitation to the two's wedding. He's being invited as the "matchmaker" of the couple. I guess that makes Hibari a more violent cupid?

As a cloud who's terribly possessive of his territory, Hibari would not allow himself to travel so far that he would not be at Gusu Lan for years - the Sunshot Campaign took years. If anything, Hibari hears rumors about what a strong fighting Wen Ruohan is, so he goes to Qishen Wen for a fight...

Wen Ruohan loses. Badly. Hibari is disappointed and he leaves the city, Wen Ruohan knocked out for the count.

Wen Qing uses this amazing opportunity to poison Wen Ruohan with no one the wiser; Wen Ruohan slips into a coma and never wakes up. Wen Qing blames Hibari for using poison or something something nefarious that resulted in none of her healing techniques working.

Considering that Hibari used his cloud flames in this fight and it was visible, people believe Wen Qing's claims. Hibari's fearsome reputation just went up by ten million points, but as someone who doesn't pay attention to rumors, he doesn't know about Wen Qing's claims.

Even Gusu Lan believes in Wen Qing's claims that it was Hibari's attacks that slowly killed Wen Ruohan to death.