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(me, my parents, my sister, and the baby are sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch)

baby, pointing at the light fixture over the table and signing "on": o.*

my sister: we actually can't turn that light on right now, because the lightbulb inside is burnt out! it needs a new one.

baby: ighbu.

sister: yes, lightbulb! granddaddy said after we eat he's going to climb up there on a ladder and change it, and then the light will come on!

baby: gadada! adda, uuu! ighbu o!

sister: exactly!

baby, signing "on" and pointing at the light and then my dad, with increasing urgency: GADADA ADDA UUUU. O.

my sister: we're going to finish eating first though, ok?

baby: nonono. O. gadada adda uuu.

[a split second goes by]

baby, pointing to himself: ba. adda uuu. ighbu.

me: you're going to climb the ladder and change the lightbulb yourself?

baby: dzyeah. *pointing to the buckle where he is buckled into the high chair* ububu.

me: unbuckle you? so you can change the lightbulb?

baby, highly businesslike: dzyeah.

*pronounced like "on" without the n

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With the new edits to Xie Lian's request to be banished again rather than fight Lang Qianqiu, I'm really struck by the gravity of Hua Cheng rejecting his ascension again. We conflate being a Heavenly Official with being a god, being a god with being beneath Jun Wu's dominion, but that's really not the case. Ascension and godhood are natural consequences of diligence and cultivation, not something handed out because you impressed the right person. And yet as more people ascend, they fight, they bump elbows, they learn to live among one another, regulating each other and developing a 'status quo' for godhood.

This is the Heavenly Court- not a natural location, but a system constructed to exercise control over gods and godhood. A place just as coveted as it is full of rules and expectations, just as unforgiving as it is illustrious. Yet the violence inherent in the heavens, in Jun Wu's rule, is never truly addressed. And that violence can be boiled down into one simple question:

Do people have the right to say no to godhood?

For all intents and purposes, it seems that few people view ascensions as a bad thing. The only case we have of someone outright rejecting the heavens and doing so on their own terms is Hua Cheng. And as far as we can tell, no one ever follows up with him over this, but we can't forget his unique circumstances: his ghosthood, his place in Mount Tonglu, his soon-to-come power as one of the strongest men in the world, all allow him to pull off this escape and land himself a position where the heavens cannot afford to punish him, even if they want to. But for a more average person, what would happen if they said no?

And if Jun Wu accepts that "no" (if he accepts any no), does it come with no strings attached? What are the odds he allows this mold-breaker to walk out the doors without some sort of condition in place? Let me remind you, godhood is not contingent on his approval- rejecting the heavens doesn't make you stop being a god. Really, isn't rejecting the heavens rejecting him and his rule, more than anything else? He cannot make someone a god, and he cannot truly make them stop being a god, either. It is a privilege of his position (and power) that he can pretend otherwise, and he has to go to extreme lengths (the cursed shackles) to do so.

What ruler wouldn't see it as an act of disrespect that someone wants to leave their court? What ruler would willfully allow someone to leave the heavens and become what is fundamentally a rogue agent? It flies in the face of the purpose of the Heavenly Court. Surely this hypothetical person allowed to leave ends up like Xie Lian: shackled, deprived of at least the ability to hear prayers. At worst, Jun Wu may decide someone who rejects the heavens rejects the cultivation that brought them there as well, and seal their spiritual power too. But with those sorts of caveats, who would choose to leave? And to deprive people of choice is inherently violence.

In one act, Hua Cheng not only rejects the heavens but bucks their yoke, escaping the system of power and control that demands obedience from everyone unto the man on top. This is a far, far more significant and noteworthy act than is addressed. While he clearly cares little for it, Hua Cheng is a god, making him the only god in the world truly removed from Jun Wu's control and influence. He exists outside of the heavens' system, and thus paves the way for a space similarly divorced from the control of the heavens, where people can live without fear of censure or persecution from the people the world insists are their betters.

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Dear professor this assignment did not nourish my fundamentally curious soul so i did not do it No penalty full 100 points please Goodbye!

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you should be able to say "line" if you don't know what to say in a social situation

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u know someone’s about to get dragged through the mud when an academic uses the phrase ‘it’s tempting to assume’

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no more sex. we ran out of sex

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please watch my favorite game changer clip ever

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enough reclaiming slurs, I think in 2023 we should reclaim nascar. they banned the confederate flag on all properties & their stance on lgbtq+ isn’t just performative bc in 2013 they fined a driver 10k for using a homophobic slur, condemned indiana in a statement for an anti lgbt law, and partnered w carolina’s lgbt+ chamber of conference in 2022. nascar was founded by anti-cop moonshiners/bootleggers who drove suped-up fords to out-run the police. #yaaascar

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girls night in the ancient tomb and we know fuck all

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the "came back wrong" trope except like... they didnt. like this mad scientists wife died, and so he studied necromancy, brought her back, and she came back and it all worked. like she came back exactly the same as she was before with literally no difference. but the scientist guy is like "oh no... what have i done.... shes Different now!!!! she came back Wrong!!!!" and shes just like. chilling. reading a book. cooking dinner. shes just so so normal but in the guys mind hes like "oh shes soooo weird" but shes just normal

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so.

i guess fanfiction wasn’t a phase….

#idk how long i’ve been reading it bc my first fanfic was on fanfic.net back in the day #but my first fanfic published on ao3 was when i was 13 #and that was 8 years ago #so it’s probably safe to say i’ve been reading fanfic for about a decade #my first fandom #embarrassingly enough #was haikyuu #but REALLY the first fandom i ever read a fanfic for was. warrior cats #sorry guys

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someone: I can’t believe you’ve managed to remain celibate for 800 years, you must be so strong and righteous

Xie Lian, a raging demisexual: what, like it’s hard?

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you know what dad? maybe i don't wanna be the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned. it's a lot of pressure to put on me and honestly i've been feeling stressed recently because of it

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Gathering in a large group with festivities to witness the sun being consumed. As is the custom.

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well have you considered that maybe the unstoppable force is in love with the immovable object

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when programs fucking autocorrect <3 to ❤️ and :) to 😃,,,, do you have any idea what you’ve just done?? what you just fucking destroyed ?

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#for me it’s clone all the way #bc of the inherent horror