#I don’t like the rebels show very much but it has some great moments | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kujo1597 · 20 days

Text

It’s been a bit! But I suppose that’s normal for these. I did have a good reason for it taking so long this time. In the first episode recap or whatever you’d like to call these posts I said that I started doing them to get back into writing Unbreakable. Well! I’m done chapter 6!!! 🥳 Woo! Well… mostly done it. I have to like, write at least a couple verses for a song Stormer wrote and do my usual week of proofreading before I post it. But! I’m 99% done it!!!

Let’s celebrate my new spare time with an episode of Jem.

I had literally no idea what this episode’s title was. It completely escaped me for some reason. Why am I so confused by that?

Kimber’s my favourite character! How did I forget the episode with her name in it? I think the actual answer is that there are a couple episodes where Kimber’s rebelled and those ones were a little more of a meaningful rebellion. Especially the one that really kicked off my favourite Jem ship.

Oh by the way. I actually forgot that the last episode ended on the yacht being on a crash course with an oil tanker. I think part of why I don’t feel too bad about how densely packed my Jem fanfics tend to be is because the show itself covers a lot in each episode.

Let's get to it.

So the yacht almost crashes into the taker ship, Danielle’s crew manages to save the ship. Although the party guests get a little thrown around.

Jem included!

So… Is this how boats work? I grew up in a landlocked province; I didn’t even see the ocean until I was in my mid-20s. My family would go to a lake but it was small, probably too small for a speeding yacht. I don’t know boat physics.

Anyway, Rio pulls Jem back onboard.

And here is our first kiss between Jem and Rio. Jerrica got caught up in the moment and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the lips. But of course she’s Jem right now and Rio to his credit, pulled away and said that it’s wrong to cheat on Jerrica with Jem.

He’s not bad in these first few episodes!

With the crisis averted everybody makes sure Jem and Rio are okay, then they see the Misfits taunting them from their little speed boat. And Stormer does a Flim Flam as hell laugh. Sorry Sue Blu I love The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo so I associate this style of laugh with the lovable scam artist. Now that everybody’s nice and frustrated with the uninvited guests they decide that they need to start filming Jem’s first music video as soon as possible. Anthony says he’ll direct it, and the countess offers to fund the whole thing and fly everybody to Paris.

Kimber wanted to do the whole thing the very next day. But Jem being Jerrica is like, “Sounds great, but we need to actually record our album first.”

Now we cut to Starlight Mansion and the girls. Krissie says that Jem and The Holograms will be leaving in two days. Deirdre is pretty into the idea of Paris but Ashley sure isn’t. She’s pretty darn bitter about how everybody is talking so much about Jem.

Lela asks Ashley how much money she’s made for the Honor Jar (We’re almost done with this thing. So far I haven’t spelled it Honour Jar once.) and Ashley presents the $30 she got off of Stormer. But Lela explains the rules of the jar, you must say how you earned the money because the work is as important as the cash.

Ashley has a pretty understandable reaction. She’s new and feeling unwelcome. She’s been getting criticized a lot lately and reached her breaking point. Ashley throws the money to the floor and storms out.

Yeah she didn’t earn the money in a way that would be seen as “acceptable” but I feel like at this point Ashley feels like nothing she’ll do will be good enough for the people in this foster home. And who knows what her previous one was like. This could be something she’s been dealing with for years for all we know.

Time to watch Jem and The Holograms record their first album. The song playing is Twilight in Paris, I’ll say more about it after the actual music video.

Rio asks the band to tighten up the song and asks them if they can keep going. Jem tells him that they’ll keep at it until they nail the song.

Then we get an immediate comparison to The Misfits who are recording their album. Eric tells them to pick up the tempo, Stormer enthusiastically agrees to work at it. But Pizzazz and Roxy have very little interest in honing their craft.

Then Pizzazz complains to Eric that he’s not flying her group to a place like Paris. And Eric tells her that he can only embezzle so much money from Starlight Music before he owns it.

But he does fly Zipper to Paris in order to sabotage Jem’s music video.

After a quick pan over Paris we see Anthony going over the steps for the music video with Jem. Kimber gets jealous of Jem and storms off.

She starts heading towards Zipper and her first kidnapping of the show. But Rio catches her in time. And well

is pretty rough with Kimber.

Kimber’s frustrated and tells Rio to not play big brother with her. And then after a little fight she goes to tell Rio that Jem’s not so great because she’s actually Jerrica. Shana and Aja stop Kimber right in time.

Kimber points out that Rio has the right to know. And she’s right! And Shana agrees with her! But also points out that this is Jerrica’s love life so she should be the one to tell Rio.

After that scene Zipper looks up at the top of a skyscraper and sees the gargoyles and he hatches a plan.

I’m fond of the song Twilight in Paris. Not because it’s a great song. It’s really not, the music video is kinda neat. No. I’m fond of this song because the lyrics feel like Kimber was scrambling to think of stuff that has to do with Paris, and France in general. And I just love the mental image of that. Kimber scribbling in a notebook everything she knows about Paris and coming up with only four things, the Eiffel Tower, City of Lights, a location Jem sings that I can’t understand, and France being a romantic country. And that’s it. That’s all Kimber could come up with in a day. It’s wonderful.

After the music video we see Zipper’s plan in action. What is this plan?

Why crush Jem of course! Literally!

The gargoyle misses the mark though. Zipper is very good at his job.

Rio gives Jem a tight hug after her close call and she asks him to never let go.

Kimber’s not dumb and knows exactly who sent Zipper.

Time to get an update on the Ashley subplot. She runs away from home and to a bar frequented by the Misfits.

Stormer likes kids. I did a post about it. She sees Ashley at the bar, leans down to get closer to eye level and asks Ashley for her name, and if she’s in trouble.

Pizzazz leads Ashley into the bar and I highly doubt it’s because she likes kids. She probably just saw an opportunity to get at Jem. Or Jerrica. At this point she probably dislikes them equally.

Now we see the Misfits giving Ashley some life lessons. These lessons are the opposite of what Jerrica’s been teaching her girls. Be rude, be pushy, never thank people.

Back to the stars of the show, intended stars anyway, and they’re discussing things with Danielle. Kimber’s still jealous of Jem. I do like how Danielle calls Kimber “my petite.” It’s pretty cute. I think the countess likes Kimber.

After getting into the airport, whatever section this is, I’ve never been on a plane, Jem runs off to change. And we get our first instance of Rio’s pissiness. Aja reminds him that Jerrica is supposed to meet them at the airport and he blows past her to be all mopey. Jerrica’s disappointed that Rio took off.

Aja promises her that taking a look around town will cheer her up. However...

*laughs hysterically*

Oh, sorry. I just forgot how shitty this poster looks.

Um.

Okay, so while Jem and The Holograms were in Paris The Misfits were busy putting up posters advertising them. Or maybe Eric hired a bunch of people because Pizzazz and Roxy couldn’t be bothered. Either way, their faces are plastered all over town.

Song time! This is a pretty nice song complete with convenient hole for Pizzazz to climb out of. We see Jem and The Holograms along with some Starlight Girls running around town trying to hang up all their posters and just advertise their band in general. But they’re being sabotaged the entire time. And one of the saboteurs is Ashley.

Kimber sees this and she is not happy.

She confronts Eric in his office where he is writing directly onto his desk.

And Eric starts being creepy as hell! Stop it! Jesus. If Jerrica’s 18 then Kimber’s only 15.

Eric tries to butter up Kimber by saying that as the songwriter she deserves far more credit than she’s getting, that she should be star instead of Jem. And even offers to sign Kimber on without Jem. She doesn’t outright say no to the offer but she does leave.

Now to Starlight Mansion where we see Aja and Shana reading magazines, Kimber playing guitar, and Jerrica being bushed from all the work they’re been doing. Then the phones rings.

It’s Lindsey Pierce! She asks to speak to Jem and after filling her sisters in Jerrica speaks to Lindsey in the exact same tone of voice she normally speaks in and says, “This is Jem.” I can excuse Lindsey for not really caring because Jerrica is currently a nobody. But it’s just very funny.

Lindsey says that she only wants to interview Jem and she’ll do something with the Holograms at a later date. But when Jerrica tells Kimber that only Jem is invited to this interview Kimber yells and storms out declaring that she’s going to go solo.

Hey look, Kimber’s first cry of the show. Not counting the funeral. *adds this to the Kimber rarely cries around others pile* Don't worry I won't call attention to every time a character cries. I'm just putting these into my crying folder. That is a totally normal sentence I just typed.

After Aja and Shana try to comfort Jerrica she decided to make a phone call to Lindsey to insist that the entire band be on her show. And Lindsey doesn’t mind one bit.

With that mess sorted out it’s now time to sort out a different mess. Getting Kimber back. Jerrica knows her baby sister well and figures that Kimber’s driving aimlessly while listening to her favourite radio station. And heads there in the Starlight Express to ask the DJ to broadcast a message to Kimber. Jerrica figures she’d be too unknown to get any air time but Jem definitely would be allowed on the air.

They deliver their message and Kimber hears it and returns home saying that with no Jem there is no Holograms.

Rio pulls up and calls out to the group that they’ve got 15 minutes until air time. Jerrica tells her sisters to take the roadster while she rids with Rio in his van.

There’s a lot of vans in this show.

During the drive Rio tells Jerrica that he can’t be Jem’s manager anymore. That he’s afraid he’ll hurt Jerrica. And she insists that Rio keeps working for them because they all need him and he’s irreplaceable. Rio does give in because it does mean a lot to Jerrica that he stays a part of the team.

He did not appreciate Jerrica being pulled off to do more work for Jem, as shown by him shaking his head. Part of the problem probably was the fact that Jerrica got yanked out of their hug.

Live interview time! The Misfits see this and are not happy. They run out of whatever building they're in to put a stop to it.

So, before I started this episode summary I tried very hard to remember which Misfits song played in this episode. There’s a reason I couldn’t remember! There wasn’t one!

I like this song a lot. I find myself singing it on occasion. To be honest I generally prefer Misfits music and those are the songs that tend to get stuck in my head. But there are some Holograms ones I find myself humming and singing.

Boop.

What was I doing? Oh yeah, the interview!

At some point the Misfits picked Ashley up before arriving at the TV station. Last time we saw them they were hanging out in one of their houses. I think. It's unclear where they were.

Well, trying to get in with the Misfits name didn’t work so Pizzazz sent Ashley in. And Ashley distracts the guard by kicking him really hard in the shin.

Lindsey asks Jem and a really good question. Where did the name Jem and The Holograms come from?

I suppose an easy answer would be to say that it sounds cool and futuristic.

But before Jem can think of that explanation the interview gets interrupted by The Misfits. They’re their usual pushy selves and Jem stands up to them and insults them. Good for her! I like how this show isn’t afraid to have the protagonist be rude right back.

A quick tangent because my brain is funny. I listened to the Jem audiobooks a while back and was amazed by how completely rude Jem is in some of them. Not because she was being rude to Pizzazz, but because she was being rude to everybody. The show strikes a nice balance. Jerrica does get more patient with Pizzazz post-syndication but not a lot more patient, and in season 3 all that patience is gone. With good reason!

Back to the show, Lindsey sensing a brawl on her hands asks the station to cut to commercial. She informs the Misfits that she was planning to invite them onto the show for an interview too, but now she doesn’t want to.

The Misfits demand equal time and that they get to play a song so they take the instruments on stage. But Jem isn’t having any of this and pulls Aja’s guitar out of Stormer’s hands.

Lindsey’s had it. She asks the men on the set to escort these ladies off of the set.

youtube

And we get our first slap of show. Pizzazz tells Lindsey that her show isn’t classy enough for The Misfits.

Rio is one of the people dragging the Misfits away. He grabs Pizzazz and she makes an offer to Rio, that he should work for her. And Rio turns her down. So Pizzazz elbows Rio in the gut sending him careening off into some equipment which causes a domino effect putting Jem’s life at risk.

A fire breaks out and that is where the episode ends.

A lot of fire in this show.

And well, now you see what I mean when I say that Jem is a densely packed show. A lot happens in it. Part of why these first five episodes are like this is likely the nature of the original release of them. But wow, this is a lot to take in. Imagine being a kidling trying to keep up, watching the shorts once a week. What if you missed one? You’d be so lost!

The next one of these should get done a lot sooner than my current pace. I'd like to finish the opening five episodes before I finish writing that dreaded wedding I promised.

#Jem and the Holograms #Kujo Watches Jem #I was originally not going to put these in the main tag but they seem to be pretty well received so I'll keep doing it

5 notes · View notes

peridotbelle · 7 months

Text

Ezra building a new lightsaber with the matching piece to Kanan’s! Huyang talking about Kanan! 😭❤️ (was really excited for a second that we were gonna get a new blaster-saber though. Call it gimmicky but that thing was genuinely useful!)

Ezra showing off his skills. Little enough as we got of him, it just reinforced his character journey in Rebels and how much he grew and progressed from being so annoying to ‘yes! That’s our boy!’ And the comm and the armor. Classic Ezra, only missing an air vent crawl. Love him.

And so does Hera! Her space son has returned! SO WHY NO HUG, DAVE???!!😭😤Come on! It’s a streaming show; there are no limits on runtime. Would another thirty seconds to a minute have been too much to ask? It’s gonna be years! We need to see him meet Jacen before that kid actor gets too old!

Also loved the trio fighting their way through, which just highlighted how great Ezra is at teamwork (those last two seasons of Rebels are just great with the way he and Kanan and also he and Sabine just work together like a well oiled machine). And the Force throw echo was great (although uh, Sabine? You just figured out how to pick up a lightsaber two seconds ago, so throwing a person might be a bit overly ambitious? I mean it worked out, and trust in the Force and all, but still)

Sad that Baylan’s story is really only just beginning. 😔 Was hoping for a full resolution for him this season. I guess they’ll have to recast bc I don’t see how they could abandon that plot line at this point.

I’d say that was an issue with the show itself, that it’s mostly all setup and moved very slowly in the first half without actually using that time to really give us information that we needed to know. Important backstory was revealed in vague shreds when there was really no reason for the mystery. Even in Rebels, Sabine has always suffered from delayed-backstory-itis, with the details of her family and her time at the Academy not being shared until the Darksaber arc in S3. That was even more true here. She seemed off to me, and we got only cryptic hints about everything that had happened post-Rebels until the VERY LAST EPISODE. Turns out she has a very good reason for being a different Sabine than we remembered! I get wanting to have Ezra hear it, but the audience needed to know first! And same goes for the whole master/apprentice thing with Ahsoka. They had barely interacted before and then we’re TOLD that there’s this whole relationship there that came sort of out of nowhere. Some things we need to SEE.

Episode 5 was definitely the highlight. Not perfect but hitting SO many of the right notes. Clone Wars, Rebels. *chef’s kiss*

Overall, there were lots of great individual moments in this show and the second half was much better than the first, but as a whole it could’ve been better.

A Hayden cameo is always a joy. Love that he’s getting to do this.

#ahsoka series #ahsoka spoilers #not a comprehensive list of thoughts #Star Wars #ahsoka tano #ezra bridger #sabine wren #ahsoka finale

10 notes · View notes

rebeccalouisaferguson · 10 months

Text

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Outside,” the season finale of “Silo” now streaming on Apple TV+.

During a break on set, Ferguson talked about the finale, and why she wants people to know Juliette never resigns to her bleak circumstances by the end of the season.

“We always hold onto hope, and I don’t want people to feel that she lets go of it,” Ferguson says. “That is what Juliette represents. It is that last breath, it is that last bloody push as a rebel against everything.”

Looking ahead to Season 2, Ferguson shared with Variety the finale scene that ranks among her favorites, how it was to film on the show’s enormous practically built sets — and teases what little she can about what’s to come on the show.

You’ve worked on some very large-scale films, two of which come out this year –– “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part 1” and “Dune Part 2.” But “Silo” has its own massive scale with huge practical sets. What has been like to work on that scale in episodic TV?

I didn’t know what to expect. I did a TV show a long time ago called “The White Queen,” and the sets were great. They were huge. But back then, TV was very different from what it is today. It’s going to sound like I’m blowing smoke up Apple’s ass for a moment, because I am. When I walked on set, I realized how much they put into this show. It’s love, but it’s also care. They could green screen and blue screen this, but they’re not. They built it. They are letting us create these entire worlds. It is phenomenal, and for us actors, it is everything. I hate working with green screen and blue screen, and I’ve been fortunate enough not to with “Dune” and “Mission: Impossible.” To walk into a world of TV shows that I thought weren’t going to be the scale that we have managed to create here, it blows my mind every day.

Whether it was an act of mercy or a power move before sending her out to clean, Bernard brings Juliette into the all-seeing surveillance room to show her a video that proves George (Ferdinand Kingsley) jumped to his death in order to protect the Flamekeepers and the drive. Her crusade has been to avenge him — so what does that moment mean to her?

That is one of my favorite scenes, because she has lived in this place her whole life, but walking into that cleaning room she just now realizes there is something so horrendous and controlling behind all these closed doors. It’s a police state times 10. For me acting-wise, it was such an unraveling to be able to see these screens and what they controlled. It is so abusive. Everything about it is emotionally abusive and it hits her at that moment. And then to see your loved one on the monitor. I think it is on such a grand scale. The relationship with her mom being studied, her entire childhood, the trauma she has been through and then this. I wonder sometimes…

[hesitates] No, I can’t. It’s too much of a spoiler!

Speaking of all she’s been through, Bernard asks Juliette if she regrets becoming sheriff, and she quickly says she doesn’t. Do you believe her, given all that has happened and where she ended up?

I do, and I think it was worth it. In the beginning, Juliette is a fish out of water, completely. Her most comfortable surroundings are working with her hands in a noisy environment. She’s had so much trauma in her life with people dying and leaving her; her father not coming to find her; and it is all so fucking lonely, right? But then she is put in this situation where she gradually realizes this self-centered human being that she kind of is because of trauma, and can start to become caring and nurturing.

She realizes it is not just about her. It affects the entire race, and her tribe and her people. But I think what’s so lovely about this journey is that we are not there yet –– where she cares about everyone. She just grabs the job that is offered, and she gives everything for it. But she doesn’t really know why yet. There are so many mixed feelings in her. It’s like a bowl of potpourri. Is it her? Is that why she’s doing this? Is it George? Is it for her mom? She’s like a young kid with a lot of emotions she hasn’t been able to unravel and it’s so unpredictable.

And those emotions are certainly scrambled even more as all her people, including her father (Iain Glen), come to say goodbye before she is sent outside to clean. Do you think she ever resigns to her bleak circumstances?

We always hold onto hope, and I don’t want people to feel that she lets go of it. That is what Juliette represents. It is that last breath, it is that last bloody push as a rebel against everything.

When she is finally outside, she makes it further than anyone we have seen, thanks to Walker’s tape. And she comes face to face with the realization it is a desolate world after all. But we see there are what look like other silos surrounding her own. What was your reaction to this revelation?

Well, I read Hugh Howey’s books, and this is all part of a journey — and it is a great ending to this part of it. The philosophy of it all is beyond mind-blowingly shocking, isn’t it? What is further and what is beyond? All of these emotions and to be able to play with them is exciting. There’s really an interior explosion in this world and it’s about what Juliette does next with that information.

Luckily, she has a satchel of extra tape so she can go explore what we saw in those final moments.

Maybe! We’ll see if it really was the good tape.

With Juliette literally walking into the unknown, what can you say about what’s to come?

What’s so amazing is that we’ve already been greenlit for Season 2, and right now we are diving into dissecting the world of where we end Season 1. So that is a question I am literally working to unravel right now, and I am really excited about it. It is brilliantly written. The show gets darker. It doesn’t take a turn from what we know. But it becomes darker and grittier.

#rebecca ferguson #juliette nichols #silo #silo interview #silo apple tv #wool #tv #silo spoilers

15 notes · View notes

otterandterrier · 2 years

Text

Review: The Princess and the Scoundrel

Soooo we got a Han/Leia wedding-honeymoon novel! I spent half of 2022 losing my mind over every little thing that was revealed about it ever since it was announced -aptly- on Valentine’s Day. You may be wondering, Dessi, why? Why, if you hate what the sequels did to them? Why, if even the books you’ve enjoyed have bittersweet moments that remind you of those horrible decisions? Why, if you don’t really take Disney canon as your canon? Why, if you can write and read happily-ever-after fics for free whenever you want? Why, if the only reason this book exists is as a marketing strategy for their luxury starcruise hotel??

I know, I know. But it’s a new Han/Leia novel! About their wedding! And honeymoon! When until now the only official wedding Han and Leia got was The Courtship of Princess Leia, one of the most OOC, least romantic Han/Leia books to exist, where their wedding is like a single paragraph long, and it’s somehow Mormon propaganda. Plus it was clear from interviews that the author loves them, and I knew it was going to be impossible for me to hate this book. So... didn’t I?

If you’re wondering whether you should read the book or not, this will be a spoiler-free review (I added a “read more” cut because it’s long!). I might make another post with spoilery comments on my favourite and least favourite parts.

Your comments and questions are very welcome... but please just make your own post if you only have negative things to say. Let’s go!

“The Princess and the Scoundrel” is an adult novel written by Beth Revis (author of “Rebel Rising”). You can read the summary here.

Spoiler-free review:

While this wasn’t the book of my dreams (and maybe that’s a tall order), overall, I really enjoyed this as a Han/Leia book. But I went in knowing more or less what to expect: it’s not fanfiction (it can never be), it’s a Classic Star Wars Adventure (with extra romance), it’s set on the Disney canon timeline, and it exists to integrate the Halcyon RPG hotel into the GFFA. If you don’t accept any of those premises, you’re not likely to enjoy it.

I actually think TPATS is more or less on the same level as Tatooine Ghost: neither of them are perfect books, both of them are set on shitty timelines, both of them have things I disagree with, both of them see Han and Leia on an adventure while they work on relationship stuff - but in terms of published Han/Leia books, they’re both exceptional and have so much good stuff to love. The problem lies in the context: TPATS has the heavy burden of being part of Disney canon, which many people just might not be able to overlook. No, it doesn’t “ruin” Han and Leia; it doesn’t foreshadow TFA (although, if you go in thinking that it does, then some parts will feel as if it does!), and that makes it perfect to work as a standalone book (there are no mentions of the child who shall not be named, yay!)

I think that Revis got Han and Leia in a way many other official writers haven’t. Her Han and Leia were up there with Claudia Gray’s and Troy Denning’s. Their voices felt right, there was enough banter that was actually banter and not two people snapping at each other (for the most part), there were plenty of cute and mushy moments (+ kissing + fade-to-black), and there was a ton of exploration both of their relationship and of them as individuals. She delved into Han’s PTSD in a way that hasn’t been done before in any published books, to my knowledge. She also explored Leia’s PTSD about Alderaan, and her feelings about Vader and the Force. In both cases, she showed Han and Leia acknowledging the other’s trauma and taking care of each other. Save some exceptions, Han came off as really emotionally mature, which is refreshing compared to books like the Aftermath trilogy. There was also a lot of great Badass Power Couple moments.

IMHO, it had two major flaws: first, the author was constricted to work with the given timeline of Han and Leia getting married about four-five days after the battle and going on a sponsored honeymoon right away (because Shattered Empire happens about 20 days later). This really affected the story because there was too much Han and Leia had to process during such a short period of time even without marriage on their plate, and this book has quite a lot of introspection, but it’s one book and it has to appeal to a general audience - so it’s not enough. This impacted some of the characterization.

The second major flaw for me was that the author took the movies at face value, basically ignoring the growth that must have happened in the three years between ANH and ESB as well as the trip to Bespin, focusing instead on the period between ESB and RotJ. I get that she didn’t want to take things for granted that she wasn’t going to show readers, and I get not wanting to add flashbacks. If you think of a GA, they see a couple who might have gotten married too soon, and have things to work out, which they do. From a narrative perspective, it’s not bad to have that relationship growth happen on the page thinking of an audience who hasn’t been reading trip to Bespin fic! But I felt like some things were used to emphasize certain themes at the cost of sacrificing previous character and relationship development that was shown or implied in the movies - for example, Han and Leia getting married right away would have made much more sense if we’d gotten a mention of how close they’d become between ANH and ESB and on the trip to Bespin, but we didn’t.

The book can be divided into three parts/settings: Endor, the Halcyon, and Madurs. The first part deals with the immediate aftermath of RotJ, the proposal and lead-up to the wedding, and the wedding. This was a lovely start. The wedding was dreamy, honestly; there were some nice moments between Leia and Luke and Han and Luke, plus Lando and Chewie; there was some Ewok shenanigans; we have more amazing Mon Mothma interacting with Leia and Han; and we have some emotional bits about Bail and Breha that made me cry.

Then we get to the Halcyon. In this part, we get detailed descriptions of it as it is irl. I don’t think this was done to pitch it to the readers; I think it’s more that the author cared about making it feel real. I didn’t mind the descriptions, and I expected it. But some parts felt too salesy to me; there were some bits that were like “the Halcyon is so great and there is so much stuff to do in it and it’s so great!”. Additionally, this middle felt too slow; I felt like some of the first chapters of this section could have been sped up. It was marred by the lack of Han and Leia actually spending time together. This section sets up some conflict between Han and Leia, as Leia is reluctant to stop working and go on a vacation when there’s so much to do (and I get that! that’s why the premise of going on a honeymoon is silly!).

I didn’t mind Leia being pictured as a bit of a workaholic here per se even if her arc in the OT was that she grew from that, because the movies are supposed to solve things symbolically. Books (and fic) are meant to delve deeper and look at them realistically (up to a point), so it’s okay for me if the characters keep struggling with something they supposedly learned in the OT. And it was later revealed that she had a good reason for her wanting to accomplish as much as she could. The problem for me is that it wasn’t acknowledged at all that some growth had already happened. Maybe if Leia had thought at some point about how the trip to Bespin and then losing Han had made her realize that it was okay for her needs and her loved ones to come first sometimes, so she was trying to remember that but it was a struggle because she had been raised with the idea of self-sacrifice, or maybe if her underlying reason would have been hinted at sooner, it would have worked better.

That said, I thought that the conflict was nicely done. The author kept stressing the fact that neither of them wanted the other person to change, that they would figure it out and make it work, that they chose each other. There is a fight, but I liked how it was resolved - especially on Han’s end. Still, I was glad when we moved on to the third section, the ice moon of Madurs.

Here’s where the action picks up. I generally enjoyed this part of the adventure. It was fun to me and I liked that it has an environmentalist message, that it ties into Leia’s trauma of losing Alderaan, and that it ends with hope. I appreciated the that the blaster fights and space fights were minimal and it was a different type of action scenes than we’re used to in Star Wars books. Even with all the mission stuff, we see more of Han and Leia being honeymooners there than on the Halcyon, and it’s amazing. I also enjoyed seeing the consequences of the fall of the Empire. The resolution was fine, but there’s a Big Bad that I didn’t much care for. To readers not familiar with other content, this character came out of nowhere, very little context was given about them and their motivations, and it didn’t feel impactful - it just fell flat.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding. The descriptions of things and places were really vivid and creative, especially the wedding on Endor and Madurs, which was made up by Revis.

The book has a lot of references to other Star Wars books and comics from Disney canon, as well as some nods to the EU (a dig at COPL!). I enjoyed most of them. With one important exception (the Big Bad), I think that if you’re familiar with that material, it just brings things together, and if you’re not, you can just assume Revis just made up some Star Wars stuff.

To me, TPATS is both enjoyable as a standalone book if you choose to ignore the sequels, and as a balm to the hurt of TFA, as it shows what we (as in, those of us who are superior) have always known: that Han and Leia were only briefly separated due to grief, not because they were incompatible, and that they never stopped loving each other. Is it perfect? No. But I’m genuinely happy that it’s part of that canon.

#hanleia #han x leia #han solo #leia organa #the princess and the scoundrel #han and leia #star wars books #my posts #fandom ramblings #you can see why it took me over a week to write this #i finished the book in two days the week it was released #i'm probably forgetting stuff i wanted to say

35 notes · View notes

weerd1 · 11 months

Text

HOW TO STAR WARS

With three convenient options!

(Please note, I wrote this last year just as Andor S1 ended and Bad Batch S2 started for a friend at work. If someone finds it useful, huzzah. May the Force Be With You.)

OK, I have obviously put WAY too much thought into this, but it’s what I do. Before you dive into 1800 words on Star Wars I whipped up while drinking coffee on a Saturday morning, let me tell you my recommendation is Option 2. But, if you’re ready for a deep dive into other ideas…proceed!

There are two things you have to ALWAYS remember about Star Wars: it has never been chronological, and it has never been complete. Even if you were there in 1977 (and I was) and we got Episode 4 (not chronological) which ended with the Rebels on the run from a still standing Empire (not complete) you don’t have a moment where anything is revealed in order, and the broader story can always be expanded. The result of this is that if you don’t like a particular show or movie or plot point, something is probably going to come along and fix it. There are, believe it or not, movies and shows in The Canon that I don’t think are that great, but like ones I wasn’t super fond of previously, I would expect something is going to come along and expound on those things I didn’t like and make them more palatable.

Option 1

That said, if you want to keep it simple, I would say go ahead and watch everything in release order. The benefit of that is you getting the story the way the world did. We came out of the Original Trilogy in 1983 knowing Vader was really Anakin Skywalker, and his son and daughter were Luke and Leia. We didn’t find out HOW until the Prequel Trilogy (PT) started up in 1999. Some of the way various plot points in later films play out, they hit harder emotionally when you realize what they mean for things you’ve already seen. The weird lady named Mon Mothma who leads the Rebels for 5 minutes in “Return of the Jedi” is now a major character on “Andor” and suddenly this throwaway scene from 1983 grabs your guts because you begin to understand what she went through to get there. If that sounds appealing, here’s that order:

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated Movie, 2008)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)

Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars: Resistance (2018-2020)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The Mandalorian (2019-present)

The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Andor (2022-present)

Ahsoka (upcoming, 2023)

Skeleton Crew (upcoming, 2023

The downside to this is NOTHING happens in order, and you should consult a good reference to get an idea WHEN a particular story takes place in relation to the rest of it all. This one is pretty good, but also includes video games which have great stories, but may or may not be your thing:

(This is from Reddit; you can Google others that fit more what you’re looking for.)

Option 2

Now, based on the graphic above, there’s another way you could watch it all. I would call it “Saga Based.” When George Lucas made the OT it was often referred to as “The Adventures of Luke Skywalker.” Once he made the PT, he started saying the entire saga was about the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. When Disney took over and made the Sequel Trilogy (ST), they began to refer to it as “The Skywalker Saga.” This means the “Episode” movies, or the left side of the chart above, Episodes I-IX. And it is very easy to consider that the foundation of all other Star Wars. Even if those characters don’t appear directly, in some way the supporting characters are all caught up in Skywalker family drama (and I love that; NO literary character in history is as big a drama queen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader).

Once you have those nine films as a foundation, hit the right side of the chart and work your way through those shows and “Story films.” Again, up to you if you really care about playing video games; they have great stories but nothing that I think you will miss if you just stick to shows and movies.

The advantage to this option is how well-framed the rest of the stories are then, though you have to make sure you’re putting them in chronological context as you watch.

Now, before I go on with a third possible way to watch these, I want to talk about cartoons. Some of the very best Star Wars is animated Star Wars. That being said, they are often produced with children in mind (though the episode of “Star Wars: Rebels” where the Imperial Inquisitor uses a double bladed lightsaber to decapitate the “thin guy/fat guy” comic relief duo is just one example of how the shows push the boundaries; it’s not gory, and the violence is implied, but it’s dark!). The animated shows are not an insignificant time investment. There are seven seasons of “The Clone Wars,” four seasons of “Rebels,” currently we just started the second season of “The Bad Batch,” and “Resistance” has two seasons. I will include at the end some ways to abbreviate “The Clone Wars” if you want. Also, missing from many of these discussions is “Star Wars: Visions,” which are actually alternate interpretations of the Star Wars universe in anime style by Japanese directors. They’re pretty good, but not the Star Wars you know.

Option 3

Now, you want to go hardcore? Then watch full chronological order. You get the story as it happened. I used to be very much against that, but then in my last job I worked with a couple of guys who didn’t grow up in the US, and things that I had taken for granted when I watched the PT were honest surprises to them. (“ANAKIN is Darth Vader????”) The problem with this approach is there are still new things coming out at various points of the timeline, so in your viewing, you may be in the shows like “The Mandalorian” taking place five or six years AFTER the OT, and then another season of “Andor” drops and it’s five years BEFORE the OT, and you have to backtrack.

If you are going for this, here’s the order:

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated Movie, 2008)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021-present)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

Andor (2022-present)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

The Mandalorian (2019-present)

The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

Star Wars: Resistance (2018-2020)

Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The other issue with trying them this way is some overlap. The last two episodes of “The Clone Wars” happen DURING “Revenge of the Sith.” The events of “Andor” episode 6 has direct impact on “Rebels” episode one, and those stories intertwine a bit. “Book of Boba Fett” takes place between seasons 2 and 3 of “The Mandalorian.” That problem will continue to compound as new shows come out. We’re actually expecting a show in the next year called “The Acolyte” that takes place a hundred years BEFORE “The Phantom Menace”!

Another positive to this option is it allows you to break the various shows and movies up into “eras.” This image, also stolen from Reddit is one way to do that:

The era I find the most interesting (unlike most SW fans) isn’t really about the Jedi but what Obi-Wan called in the original movie “The Dark Times.” In this graphic they would include the “Reign of the Empire” and first half of the “Age of Rebellion” stuff. So many of those stories deal not with Good Space Wizards fighting EVIL Space Wizards, but normal people trying to survive oppression and realizing there is no safety in tyranny. Now, that’s just me. It’s not that I don’t love Obi-Wan and Anakin coming undone and desperately fighting one another in a lava flow, but common people deciding to stand up with no mystical “Force” to protect them? Well that rings my bells.

Star Wars is a huge, still evolving mythology, as complex as any classic we have from Sophocles or Shakespeare or Tolkien. As spiritual as any holy book. At times as deep as any tragedy, and as uplifting as any faith. Sometimes it’s just silly, and sometimes it’s heartrending.

Yes, it is just some solid popcorn-pew-pew-entertainment as well, but thematically there is SO much going on, and it compels me like few other things do.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s an old write up I did about how to take on “The Clone Wars” cartoon. You COULD just watch these episodes:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Clone Cadets" (S 3 Ep 1)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Rookies" (S 1 Ep 5)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "ARC Troopers" (S 3 Ep 2)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Citadel" (S 3 Ep 18)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Counterattack" (S 3 Ep 19)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Citadel Rescue" (S 3 Ep 20)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Darkness on Umbara" (S 4 Ep 7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The General" (S 4 Ep 8)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Plan of Dissent" (S 4 Ep 9)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Carnage of Krell" (S 4 Ep 10)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Unknown" (S 6 Ep 1)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Conspiracy" (S6 Ep 2)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Fugitive" (S 6 Ep 3)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Orders" (S 6 Ep 4)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Bad Batch" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "A Distant Echo"(S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "On the Wings of Keeradaks" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Unfinished Business" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Old Friends Not Forgotten" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Phantom Apprentice" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Shattered" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Victory and Death" (S7)

These 22 episodes follow the character of Fives, one of the Clones, throughout the war between the movies “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith.” The Season 7 episodes do not feature Fives, but the consequences of his previous actions.

Either way, start with S3 Ep 1. Not sure why the earliest one is in the third season, but it is worth it. (Indeed, here is the CHRONOLOGICAL order of episodes, still not sure why outside of “never been chronological or complete” https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episodeorder.)

If you want to strike a middle ground here, watch the Fives storyline, and add these three important Ahsoka storylines, that is also possible! Just interspace them with the above list:

Season 2, 5-8: Second Battle of Geonosis.

Season 3, 15-17: The Mortis Gods

Season 3, 21-22: Padawan Lost

Season 5, 17-20: The Wrong Jedi.

OR after S4 Ep10, just continue to watch season 4 through 7. There’s almost no dud in there.

The last four episodes of season 7 take place in and around “Revenge of the Sith,” and may themselves be one of the three or four best Star Wars movies.

#Star Wars #meta #long post #what's your preferred method?

2 notes · View notes

doingproblematicmedia · 1 year

Text

Velma Week 3

Interestingly enough, this show is actually getting better.

And a great deal of laughter is induced by fear. I was working on a funny television series years ago. We were trying to put a show together that, as a basic principle, mentioned death in every episode and that this ingredient would make any laughter deeper without the audience's realizing how we were inducing belly laughs.

There is a superficial sort of laughter. Bob Hope, for example, was not really a humorist. He was a comedian with very thin stuff, never mentioning anything troubling. I used to laugh my head off at Laurel and Hardy. There is terrible tragedy there somehow. These men are too sweet to survive in this world and are in terrible danger all the time. They could be so easily killed.

--Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

Since Doug Walker hit me over the head with his line about Velma hiding behind ‘a wall of protective bullshit’, I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of comedy. So much comedy is based on vulnerability, and Velma’s writers up until now have been afraid to be vulnerable with the audience. Jokes land like porcupine spikes, coming from a place of defensiveness, almost like they’re daring the audience to do anything but laugh. And in this situation, instead of opening up, laughing deeply and with our whole heart, we wince. Cringe away. Clam up. So many people have said this show is difficult to watch because of the painful attempts at humor.

Not pain as in pathos. Pain as in stubbing our toe and being frustrated at the lack of meaning behind it.

But this week, we actually got a bit of opening up and vulnerability. And eps 5 and 6 weren’t absolutely dreadful.

Of course, like any story revolving around high school kids, this vulnerability comes in the form of family.

If there’s one thing teen dramas get right, it’s that nothing is ever actually a teenager’s fault. We’re all really just paying for the sins of our parents. They’re either lying to us - or trying to change us - or hiding some dark family secret. But when it comes to truly crappy parents, no one beats my dad.

--Episode 6 opening

Episode 6 deals greatly with parents. Velma begins spending time with her father and having fun, after realizing that she does actually want his approval. Fred fights against his father’s attempts to mold him. Norville [proto-Shaggy] starts rebelling against his parents for the first time in his life. And Daphne meets her birth parents.

And the writers lean into this! They give the characters time to express their feelings without leaning on snark. We see these relationships develop and change over the course of the episodes. And as a result of this emotional opening? The jokes start landing. I definitely laughed more tonight than the past two episode drops combined.

Episode 5 had a similar emotional opening, but with the relationships between the kids. Norville and Velma grapple with the boundaries (and lack thereof) in their friendship, and Fred goes on a character arc that’s self-motivated (instead of previous ones where he reacts to things happening). Velma has a major growth moment where she gives herself up to the cops after curfew to let the other kids get home with the food. The episode ends on a really sweet note, when Norville takes it upon himself to make sure Velma won’t get in trouble.

Plus, these episodes do so much to further the mystery plot. Episodes 3 and 4 really let it drop, so it’s nice to get back to the overarching mystery. Of a mystery show.

Are two good episodes enough to redeem the show? No. There’s still plenty of the bullshit that I’m not happy with (especially with Velma’s appearance being mocked), but we definitely made some steps in a good direction.

I don’t think this is going to evolve into a good show in the remaining episodes, but it definitely could get to be a less-bad one.

#doing velma

3 notes · View notes

coolunclebruno · 2 years

Text

Connect The Dots To Your Heart ~ A Bruno x Male OC Fic

The morning sun basked the Encanto in its warm and beautiful light, as shopkeepers and farmers started their day. It hugged the Casita high on its hill, yet, it couldn’t make its way into Bruno Madrigal’s room, as his room’s artificial sunlight was already basking him and his lover.

Miguel had come over the night before for dinner, and had decided to stay the night. In Bruno’s bed.

So, here they were, barely clothed and snuggled up next to each other. If Bruno died right then and there, he would die a happy man.

“Good morning, sleepyhead”, Miguel said to the awakening seer.

Bruno leaned in and gave Miguel a peck on the lips.

“Good morning to you too, señor morning breath. Were you staring at me while I was sleeping?”

“It’s hard not to, when you’re in bed with the most handsome man in the whole world.”

“Oh gee, where is he?”, Bruno joked, looking over his shoulder.

“He’s sitting right in front of me”, Miguel chuckled, caressing Bruno’s cheek with his hand.

“You’re so mushy…”, Bruno mumbled.

“Well, love makes you mushy, mi angelito.”

Bruno turned his head away, blushing into the pillow, when he felt Miguel wrap his arm around him in a side-hug, and caress his shoulder blade with his surprisingly soft hand.

“Have I ever told you how much I love the moles on your back, mi amado?”

“Sí, you have, numerous times.”

“Well, lemme tell you again then”, Miguel says, smooching the dark spots on Bruno’s back.

Bruno rested his head back on the pillow, letting out a pleased sigh.

“Mmmm…”

“Y’know, birthmarks are an indicator of what happened in your past lives”, Bruno said.

“No kidding?”, Miguel said, lifting his head up. “So, what do these moles on your back mean?”

‘Well”, Bruno said, rolling over onto his back to look at Miguel. “It means that in my past life, I died a violent death.”

“Aww…”, Miguel whined. “That’s sad, I wonder how that may have happened.”

“Who knows, maybe I was an outlaw in the Wild West!”, Bruno says giddily, imagining himself as a rugged cowboy out on the Great Plains. “Riding from town to town on his trusty horse to rob the rich to feed the poor and duel a corrupt sheriff or two, until I was shot in the back by someone I trusted.”

Miguel gasped. “Not the back! How cowardly. If I could, I’d go back in time and kill the person who killed your past self.”

“Aww, thanks, babe”, Bruno said, kissing Miguel on the forehead. “Show me your birthmark, I want to know your past too.”

Miguel held his left arm up in agreement, showing the crescent moon-shaped birthmark just underneath his armpit.

“Hmmm…”

“What is it? What does it mean?”

“Oh, it means that you were stabbed to death in your previous life.”

Instead of being upset, Miguel seemed impressed. “Oh, nice! My past-self must have been one tough cookie.”

“Maybe you were a king in a past life,” Bruno chuckled. “And you were assassinated because you had become too powerful.”

“Yes! And maybe you had been my knight, who had tried to protect me in my final moments, but alas…”, Miguel fell onto his back, putting his hands across his bare chest and sticking his tongue out in pretend-death. “You were unsuccessful…”

“Nooooo! My king!”, Bruno dramatically called, throwing himself across Miguel and putting a hand to his cheek. “What shall I do without you?”

“Just…please…”, Miguel groaned. “Don’t…call another man ‘my king’...”

“Of course,” Bruno chuckled.

“Maybe you could get a tattoo of me on your back, to remember…”

“Oh, ha, ha, very funny”, Bruno commented dryly. “One more tattoo, and I think I’d look like a criminal.”

“You’re making it sound like you have tattoos up and down your arms, Azúcar, you only have just the one”, Miguel said, pointing to a tattoo of a small rat right on Bruno’s shoulder.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but how did you ever get that anyway? You only told me that you got it when you were 19 or so.”

Bruno sucked in air through his teeth.

“Well, I wanted to rebel against mi mamá in some way, so I thought, ‘Hey, a tattoo is the best way to rebel’, so, I snuck out one night and headed to this little tattoo parlor in town”, Bruno said. “I still was afraid of what she would say, so I wanted to get it where she wouldn’t see it, but also where it hurt the least, and I wanted to have it be something I really loved, so obviously, I picked a rat.”

“Oh…Bruno Madrigal, you delinquent! I expected better from you”, Miguel teased.

“Oh, don’t act like you’re better than me!”, Bruno laughed, moving himself off of Miguel’s chest to rest on his own shoulders. “What about your tattoo?”

Miguel put his hand on his hairy chest in mock shock. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You know what I mean! That tattoo above your…y’know…”

“My what?”

“Y’know, your culo!”

“Oh, this?”, Miguel said, rolling onto his side and pushing the covers down enough to show the words “TE AMO COLOMBIA” tattooed right above his behind. “I have a good reason for that! I was 24, drunk and at a soccer game, while you were just being a delinquent!”

Bruno threw his head in snorting laughter, which Miguel shared with him. Bruno laid back down and hugged Miguel’s muscle-y arm.

“Did your mother ever end up finding out about your tattoo?”

Bruno stayed quiet for a moment, before answering; “Well, yeah, she had to…she accidentally walked in on me undressing myself to get in the shower, and saw it.”

“And how did she react to it?”

Bruno nuzzled his head into Miguel’s shoulder.

“Well, y’know…she didn’t get upset with me…just gave me that look…”

Miguel pet Bruno’s hair with his free hand.

“I know, Mi luz…she’s getting better now, though.”

“I know…”

Miguel looked down into Bruno’s eyes, and a silent conversation happened between them. Miguel knew all too well the stress that Alma had put on Bruno, making him feel like he was a disappointment. He was happy that the woman was changing her ways.

Bruno’s free hand traveled down Miguel’s hairy chest and stomach, feeling how surprisingly soft and silky it was. Like Bruno, Miguel also had a bit of a gut, but it was also muscle-y, if that was a word. Whatever the case was, Bruno loved to rest his head on Miguel’s tummy, it was like his own personal pillow.

Bruno felt something that didn’t quite feel like skin, and looked down, and saw another mark he hadn’t seen before. It was on Miguel’s stomach, and it was jagged and also crescent shaped.

“I've never seen this before…”, Bruno voiced, rubbing circles around the mark.

“Oh, that?”, Miguel looked up. “Got it in a bar fight.”

“Wait, what?”, Bruno lifted his head up towards Miguel.

“Yeah, I got into a fight at the bar, and this guy stabbed me with a bottle.”

“Wait, really? How did it happen? Were you okay? When did this happen?”, Bruno fired question after question, starting to become worked up.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay mi amor…”, Miguel whispered, massaging Bruno’s shoulders. “It happened a few years ago, I was at the bar, and this drunk guy was hurling these awful insults towards another guy, and I came up to defend him, and the next thing I know, the other guy stabs me in the gut with a broken beer bottle.”

“Were you scared?”

“Well, yeah, I’ll be honest. I was bleeding a lot, and…my shirt was soaked in blood. I did think for a bit that I was going to die, but, thankfully, I didn’t.”

Bruno rested his head back onto the pillow, and took Miguel’s hand and guided it to his cheek. He could feel the callouses from his work, yet, Miguel’s hands always still felt soft to him.

“What about you, mi sol?”

“Hm?”

“What about your scars?”

Bruno hesitated, pulling himself away from Miguel. “I-I don’t know, I mean, I d-don’t r-really know if-”

“Mi amor-”

“L-lo siento, I-I just-”

“Bruno.”

Bruno stopped, and looked into Miguel’s eyes, so full of love and devotion. Miguel gently took Bruno’s hands into his own.

“Mi amor, you don’t have to hide them from me. I love everything about you, I think every part of you is beautiful and perfect.”

Bruno stayed quiet, looking down at himself. Then, he took his hands from Miguels, and slowly pulled down the covers, to reveal a jagged scar on his side that was about as long as his hand.

“I…I got this when I was running away from kids trying to hurt me. I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I fell down a little ravine, and cut myself badly on some rocks. Needless to say, that didn’t really stop them from ‘having their fun’ with me. I didn’t go to Julie right away, though, so it didn’t really heal properly. ”

Instead of looking at him with a pitying look, Miguel gave him a nod of encouragement. Slowly, Bruno pulled up his arms, showing small, faded lines running up and down them.

“...A-and…these are from when I was in the walls…”

Bruno bowed his head down in shame, but Miguel just took his arms in his hands, and kissed the faint scars.

“Thank you, Brunito, for showing me them”, he said.

Bruno stayed silent for a few moments.

“...They’re ugly…they’re ugly and they’re just reminders of how much of a failure I am and-”

“Hey”, Miguel cuts him off, cupping his chin to look at Bruno better. “You’re the farthest thing from a failure. When I see those scars, I don’t see someone weak, I see someone who persevered through so many hardships, who led a difficult life, and who still came out strong and still had so much love for his family.”

Tears welled up in Bruno’s arm, and he pressed his forehead up against Miguels.

“Oh, Miguel…”

Miguel kissed away the tears slowly running down Bruno's cheeks.

“Mi media naranja…”

Bruno just simply melted at those words, and he became jelly in Miguel’s arms, kissing Miguel on the cheek, then his nose, then his lips, which gradually became more fervent.

Miguel met him with similar vigor, wrapping his arms around him, as if he were to die if he let go of him.

The kiss grew more and more passionate, but then, the door to Bruno’s room opened, and in came Alma carrying a basket.

“Brunito, I’m here for your laundry-”

“MAMA!” ,Bruno yelled out, pulling himself away from Miguel so fast that he fell out of bed along with half of the covers, with Miguel using the other half to cover himself. “W-w-what are you doing in here?”

“Well, today is laundry day, and I wanted to give Julieta a day off, so I told her I’d get everyone’s dirty laundry, but seeing that you two are ‘busy’, I will come back for it later.”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary, just…let us get dressed.”

“If you insist!”, Alma shrugged, and with that, she walked out of the room.

Miguel looked at Bruno, still on the floor, and after a few moments, started laughing hysterically, to which Bruno joined in.

It wasn’t the most perfect way to start their day, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm SUPER happy to proud to share this, im super happy with how this came out! Hope you guys like it too!

Heres the link to it on a03 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/40996833

#bruno madrigal #encanto oc #gay bruno madrigal #bruno madrigal x male oc #encanto fanfic #encanto #ask blog #rp blog

10 notes · View notes

mieux-de-se-taire · 1 year

Text

Danger Days - Part 1

Admittedly, Danger Days is probably my least favorite MCR album, but it’s still a blast to listen to and has some incredible songs. The incorporation of more electronic sounds actually works quite well here. While the tone shift between TBP and Danger Days is initially very jarring, upon reading more about it, it makes a lot of sense and is in many ways a positive progression. One interesting thing about Danger Days to me is how much better it works live. There are several songs on Danger Days that I like but aren’t super interested in, but when they’re played live, they blow me away and I find myself loving them. Something about the energy and spirit of the record just translates infinitely better live than in the studio, at least for me.

Look Alive Sunshine - a really fun intro to the album and the world, I love the slang they used in Danger Days, and it really shines through here, I mean “slaughtermatic sounds,” it’s brilliant, and it’s just a lot of fun

Na Na Na - punchy and addictive and so much fun, not my favorite song from Danger Days but definitely iconic, it’s all over the place lyrically but it has some really great lines, my favorite is “I’d rather go to hell / than be in purgatory,” which I think kind of captures how MCR expressed their anger towards the world in this album, the whole song has this intense incoherence, but the chaos works surprisingly well and really scratches an itch. And the music video fits the song so well, showing that same chaotic and reckless fun visually. The amount of world building they fit in just 4 minutes is really impressive, and it just pulls you into the story. (Also, Gerard’s decision (as the director) to have Grant Morrison, his childhood hero, hold his face and stare intensely into his eyes (0:45)...hm, okay.) Gerard has said this about the song: “‘I had a vision...I had always imagined this record took place in the desert but it didn’t sound like it for some reason. I wrote a song called “Na Na Na” and I realized that’s what I wanted. I was writing all these crazy lyrics out and they were fearless and fucking reckless. I had this vision in my head – and everything I had been working on in the comic, the masks, the laser guns, the cars, everything, started to swirl around in my head. ‘I was almost writing the song as the trailer for a film that didn’t exist. I was thinking about guys doing donuts and shooting laser guns into the air, hyper violence, video-game violence’” (The True Lives of My Chemical Romance, 235). Frank has added, “‘There’s a lot of rebellion in there...It’s rebelling against the rules people have for cleaning up for the greater good. Something like “Na Na Na” is dealing with people’s perceptions: you can’t have a T-shirt with a pill on it but you can have one with an Uzi on it? What are we doing? Are we cleaning things up or are we dumbing things down? Are we pretending things don’t exist?’” (The True Lives of My Chemical Romance, 244).

Bulletproof Heart - a prime example of translating better live, I rarely listen to this song (though I do have it on my MCR playlist), but I love when they play it at shows, overall just a very fun song, my favorite part is the bridge starting at about 3:22, I love the futuristic electronic sound and how they bring it to the forefront for a moment, and the more I listen to this song, the more I realize how good some of the lyrics are, “Hold your heart into this darkness / Will it ever be the light to shine you out / or fail and leave you stranded?”, this song, and Danger Days as a whole, don’t really get enough credit lyrically. Also, fun fact, bulletproof heart was one of the few songs written in the original sessions in 2009 to make it onto the album: “Gerard had even returned to the idea of telling stories, on a song called ‘Trans Am’, one that would later morph into ‘Bulletproof Heart’ on the Danger Days album. It was a story about a boy in a Judas Priest T-shirt called Johnny and a girl called Jenny – and suggested that Gerard wasn’t entirely convinced by his own ploy of simply delivering straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll songs without a plotline. ‘It’s a fictional, metaphorical song really, but one about leaving home and running away – about doing whatever you can to run away,’ said Gerard. ‘Because that’s the point of starting a band – you get in the van to run away’” (The True Lives of My Chemical Romance, 228).

Sing - admittedly, this is one of my least favorite MCR songs, the whole thing, especially the chorus, feels pretty generic and bland, both musically and lyrically, and I think it being very early in the album and a single contributed to my initial disappointment with Danger Days, that being said, I do actually love the intro and the very end with the looping melody on the keyboard and the synths in the background, it creates an interesting mood, which I think is part of why the chorus is so dissatisfying, and the bridge (2:31-3:05) has really grown on me. Additionally the music video is really cool and builds on the Na Na Na video in an interesting way. The lighting during the shootout is really beautiful and visually striking, and the part when Fun Ghoul closes the door with him still inside so the others can escape still gets to me. It truly is a shame they never made a third video. (Also, Gerard continuing the theme of having Grant Morrison stare intensely into his eyes while physically restraining him (3:23) is...interesting.)

Planetary - one of the most fun songs MCR ever wrote, incredible energy, especially live, some of my favorite lyrics from danger days, they really get to the heart of what the band was so angry about, I love the line “Fame is now injectable” so much, this song really embodies the spirit of Danger Days to me, infectious in-your-face fun combined with real anger and biting commentary, and it all blends together perfectly in planetary, I also really like how the ends of some lines are emphasized (“go home” at 1:44, 2:42, 2:50), and the lyric “This is a letter / my word is the beretta / the sound of my vendetta / against the ones who planned it” goes so hard. “‘Planetary (GO!)’ was an example of the roll they were on, and also evidence of the fact they felt able to push boundaries again. It was the sort of song that My Chemical Romance had been hoping to write for years – a dance-punk song. One night, it just popped out. ‘That was really fucking crazy for us,’ said Ray. ‘It was late at night and Gerard heard the hook. I wanted a four-on-the-floor kick and we wanted to do a dance thing, but we wanted it to fucking shred and we wanted to make it ours. That song is the epitome of not having any rules. That’s one of those songs where you think “Fuck it, who cares?” And as long as you make it great, and it comes from the right place, then it’s going to be awesome. That was the song where we thought, “Let’s really go for it, fuck it. Let’s use keyboards because they’re really aggressive.” They can be louder than guitars could imagine being.’ And when it was done, they were stunned. ‘We were like, “Wow! We made a fucking dance song. But it’s a dance song with a vendetta,”’ said Gerard. ‘We’d never heard a dance song like that. The way everyone was playing so hard, and the way the lyrics had such a vendetta, we’d never heard anything like that. Nobody could do that song but us’” (The True Lives of My Chemical Romance, 242-243).

The Only Hope - one of my early favorites when first listening to Danger Days, I really like how they used the synths in this one, my favorite parts are the builds at 2:41-3:10 and 3:41-4:13, the layering works so well, I also love the echo on Gerard’s voice in the intro (0:15-0:29) and at the end (4:12-4:30), combined with the synths it has this spacey futuristic vibe that I adore, and the lyrics tie in with the apocalyptic dystopia aspect of the concept in a really beautiful and emotional way, the repetition of “Remember me” at the beginning and the end is haunting

Traffic Report - another great showcase of Danger Days’ really fun slang, though I don’t like it as much as Look Alive Sunshine and I don’t have it on my MCR playlist because I don’t like the interruption when listening to the album

Party Poison - I’ve never really been able to get into this song, not sure why, something about it just doesn’t work for me, I just feel very indifferent towards it, though I do like the kind of jet-like sound at the end (3:21-3:29). Fun fact, Party Poison was originally written for the scrapped record and was named Death Before Disco (The True Lives of My Chemical Romance, 228).

#mcr #my chemical romance #danger days #look alive sunshine #na na na #bulletproof heart #sing #planetary #planetary (go!)#the only hope for me is you #party poison #album review

5 notes · View notes

actuallylorelaigilmore · 1 year

Text

2022 MOVIE OF THE WEEK #29

jurassic world: dominion. this one was not previously on my list. i watched the first jurassic world in theaters but even now haven’t the seen the second one--the first one took the world to such a monster movie/horror place that i was not a fan. but @actuallylukedanes loves this one and wanted me to see it, so it was our most recent hangout film. and there was a lot i liked about it!

to get it out of the way, though, here’s what i didn’t like: the continued focus on dinosaurs as monsters, by taking the story to an extreme that forced humans and dinosaurs to be sharing the same lands, along with dinosaurs from different eras that weren’t meant to coexist. dinosaur fights-to-the-death, dinosaur ‘dog fights,’ and most scenes where carnivorous dinosaurs had to be hurt or killed so the human characters could survive.

i logically agreed with, and completely understood, leander reminding me that the humans were acting defensively. but i flinched anyway whenever the dinosaurs were hurt, and cried through at least one bit where the caption on the dinosaur was ‘whimpers.’ which just tells me i’m not the target audience for movies like this because i can’t shut off the part of me that’s overly sensitive to animals experiencing pain and to me the dinosaurs are animals, who didn’t ask to be brought into a modern world and don’t have nefarious intentions like some humans--they’re just following their instincts.

the plot actually made sense to me, as depressing as i found it. i think we have good reasons to believe that if humans could make dinosaurs, they would do so with terrible consequences, and i think that if we were then forced to coexist with dinosaurs, things like black market breeding and poaching and treating them like an invasive species when we’re the ones who unleashed them...all of that would be likely. and sad.

i could see what the filmmakers were going for with the beginning and end of the movie though (we watched the extended cut) in showing a more peaceful coexistence and the beauty of all kinds of dinosaurs--i just don’t think that wrecking everything for the whole rest of the movie was the only or best way to be able to then contrast a happy ending. like, ‘we broke it, everything’s horrible now...oh look we fixed it, isn’t that nice?’ felt as much like a way to revel in the horror bits as a path to the conclusion. and personally, i would’ve been happy with less horror bits--but again, i accept that i’m not who the movie was trying to entertain.

all that having been said, i enjoyed this movie more than i could have. i’m not a chris pratt fan and just sort of waited out the parts that were centered around him...luckily for me his importance was mostly based in his created family, and i liked maisie in a ‘teenage girl who’s trying to figure out if she exists’ way--i connected with a similar storyline on btvs when i was a teen so it’s one that will always resonate with me. i’ve never loved bryce dallas howard much in anything (i’ve got no problems with her, i just can never seem to connect with characters she plays), but she gives great final girl energy here.

and by far, the best of what this movie has to offer comes from the return of the original trio. not only is it a super fun reunion in every combination, with the actors sparkling at each other across their genuine AND fictional history, but once everybody comes together--new cast and old, totally random rebel pilot ally 1000% included in what makes this movie better--the ensemble is really better than its parts.

you get maisie constantly witnessing ellie/alan tension, kayla basically rolling her eyes at alan and owen sharing a Protective Men Moment, and (one of my true favorite parts of the whole film) ellie and claire giving up on ian’s attempts to tell them how to destroy a thing--just going full feral and taking it out with violence instead. the layers to that of wordless teamwork and men being useless and those two women in particular being so. very. done. with near-death experiences...i loved it deeply.

the ways they mixed and matched the new and old characters was full of so much potential, i actually think the movie’s need for constant action held that back. it could have been even better than one-line nods to shared trauma and fanboys of science, but the story they were telling just didn’t have room for (and wasn’t interested in) slowing down to explore and indulge in that. i would have enjoyed as much extra depth as they’d given us, if they’d gone that way.

i would watch this movie again, though, and it is the only jurassic world one i feel that way about. i would also happily watch a spinoff movie starring kayla (which i guess is a thing that might happen?), who didn’t just hold her own in this very white established world but came in and took up space and made it better. honorable mention also to dichen lachman, who i love in everything and whose character survived this movie and could theoretically therefore be a returning villain in a future spinoff.

honestly, give me the ellie & maisie & kayla & dichen lachman post-disaster dinosaur movie i deserve! but in the meantime, i’m glad i saw this.

#jurassic world: dominion #2022 motw #dichen lachman #actuallylukedanes #i have the best best friend

3 notes · View notes

becauseallhellseeisme · 2 years

Text

I just stumbled upon a review of the Kenobi show. Here are my thoughts...

(Link to the review: LINK)

“Anakin Skywalker, Force wunderkind turned emo Jedi slayer, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, his former chum and sensei, are engaged in a lightsaber duel, ostensibly to the death.“

Okay, I just love the “former chum and sensei” part.

“The worst thing was, Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan and Hayden Christensen as Anakin were trying their best. The fault never lay with them.”

Yes. Peak acting.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi the TV show has generally felt like the worthy prequel we never had.“

Again. Yes.

“The scripts sound as if they were written by people who have, at some point in their lives, said words to other humans.”

Okay, dragging George a little...

And here is the first part that I disagree with:

“It feels like the TV show had a checklist of every flaw the prequels had, and set about addressing them all. Apart from one, that is.

The one it failed to address was, sadly, the biggest; the problem that caused that lightsaber duel at the end of Revenge of the Sith to, somehow, be duller than a Fisher Price butterknife: like the prequels before it, Obi-Wan Kenobi isn’t even remotely gripping, exciting or moreish, because we already know exactly what is going to happen. And what is going to happen is this: nothing.”

I don’t disagree with the characterization of the show. I totally understand what Luke Holland is talking about. I just don’t think it’s a problem.

Sure, if you watch Obi-Wan Kenobi as a regular Star Wars show that is supposed to be fast-moving action.

But I watch the show as a character study. Which is not something everyone likes.

The things that I love the most about the show are the more specific characterizations of the characters and their relationships. Because that is something that Star Wars rarely does. There were hints at it in Rogue One (which, by the way, in terms of plot twists and action, is at the top for me). But the Obi-Wan Kenobi show made the characters feel so real.

It gave us a depressed and traumatized Obi-Wan who has lost all hope. (And this is in no way comparable to Luke Skywalker in the sequel trilogy. Because here it makes sense. Luke Skywalker losing hope is just lazy writing.) Then we have Leia. Who was just very fun to watch. And obviously their relationship to each other. This basically had single father Obi-Wan vibes, which, if I may say so, a specific part of the fandom lives for.

We have a fake Jedi - Haja Estree. And I just love those little characters that are obviously just silly, but still have heart. The Chewbaccas, C-3POs... We have Leia’s droid.

The show gave us Flea as a Star Wars villain, which I am also absolutely grateful for.

The scenes between Obi-Wan and Vader are obviously a major reason why the show is so great.

There are no surprises, no, but I don’t think the show ever wanted to have any big surprises.

“Characters exist solely to be in the orbit of the Obi-Wans, Darths and Leias about whose fates we know all too much, with (spoiler alert) figures like Indira Varma’s briefly interesting undercover rebel Tala Durith being introduced and bumped off before she could become a figure of genuine significance.”

Okay, yes, I see the point here. But I also see that the new characters couldn’t take up too much space because the show really is about Obi-Wan.

At this point I just think that the bigger action just serves as a vehicle to move the story forward, so we can have the “smaller” scenes between Obi-Wan and Vader.

Another strength of the show is that each episode in itself is truly wonderful.

Episode 1 is about the absolute absence of hope. It is a very dark episode with a few exceptions (the earlier scenes of Leia).

Episode 2. Okay. With every re-watch, I appreciate Daiyu a little more. What a great backdrop. It looks and feels very cyberpunk, which is a much better vibe than some of the other Star Wars locations that just feel over the top. The moment where you can literally feel Obi-Wan’s heart stop because Leia is falling down. Amazing. Perfect.

Episode 3. Okay, Obi-Wan and Leia trying to find the checkpoint. The Vader hallucination. “Yeah, we LOVE the empire.” The moment Obi-Wan feels Vader approaching. The list goes on. Amazing.

Episode 4. Just... Plotholes aside, I just enjoyed the heist vibe. They could have even emphasized it more. A ten minute scene where they explain their escape plan in great detail. But that are just peanuts.

Episode 5. The flashback scene. Yes. Just. The fandom lives for it. “Because all he’ll see is me”. Perfect.

Episode 6. My favourite episode. Maybe. “I’m sorry, Anakin. For all of it.” Oscar-worthy. (Okay, Emmy-worthy. It just doesn’t sound as good as Oscar-worthy.) Obi-Wan going all 1000% Jedi. Sexy.

#kenobi show #star wars #star wars meta

3 notes · View notes

spectres-fulcrum · 1 year

Text

Mando’s back! Before Andor it was by far my favorite animated SW TV series. Some thoughts a few hours after the episode:

Purrgil!! They are definitely setting up Finding Thrawn and Ezra. Tell us(or at least the baby) where you took them! Soon Bre. You might actually find out where they are this year. It’s kinda crazy that the wait is almost finally over.

Okay rebels feels is not now.

Din and Grogu!!! I’m so glad they got back as a son-dad pair in Boba Fett and the Dad vibes were strong. “Grogu, no.” Very dadly.

IG-11! I very much loved IG so I hope he comes back… but I’m realizing I barely remember him… I know I loved him.

Also thank god Cara is gone.

I loved seeing Nevarro’s progress. You could feel the passing of time and in a good way.

In a bad way I forgot how badly Mandalore was ruined. I’m excited to see Sundari like so much. I know it’s not Satine’s city anymore but it was once so pretty and it’ll be cool to get lore. I just want all the lore on the fall of Mandalore.

Bo-Katan on her throne… I do feel for her… kinda. Bo Katan has always been a complicated character but tl;dr she has some nerve blaming Din for his clan not being there when shespent her young adult years at war with Satine over what direction Mandalore should be ruled. Like she was a breakaway faction that fractured her people. And she only cared when Maul took over. Then played the victim over Satine’s death and accused Obi-Wan of not loving Satine.

Like what the fuck, Bo? You spent until the last day of Satine’s life her enemy and then you play the victim against the man who loved her, moved on, and then loved her again and watched her die because of your actions.

I have very strong feelings for that TCW S7 moment. And she’s still that hypocrite. Blaming Din and moping. Glad she’s the same.

Like whatever I don’t see what the fandom sees in her but if she brings Mando lore alright.

Overall, great episode. Comfort show is back. Can’t wait for it to be done so we get Ahsoka. Joking(mostly)

#mando spoilers #mandalorian spoilers

0 notes

former-ly-darth · 2 years

Text

Things I love about this clip:

1. “Terminate the prisoners.” got-DAMN why does his voice sound so gentle and smooth when he says that??? (Also the fact that he crouches down to whisper the instructions to the droid)

2. “I lived up to my end of the bargain. Your friends are safe.” IMMEDIATELY after whispering to the droid to kill everyone will never not be funny to me. Maul you sneaky little liar, you’re such a prankster.

3. “Come, apprentice. Sit.” Once again, he says that so gently and politely. I love it. I’m obsessed with it. I want more of it.

4. Very polite Sit™

#he’s such a villain but he’s handsome and polite so I think I’ll forgive him honestly #I don’t like the rebels show very much but it has some great moments #darth maul #star wars #rebels #the clone wars #tagging the clone was because I want to

242 notes · View notes

fannish-karmiya · 3 years

Text

Wei Wuxian’s Position in the Jiang Household

Fandom tends to mischaracterise Wei Wuxian’s position in the Jiang family greatly. A lot of people project more modern ideas about adoption onto his relationship with the Jiang siblings, and write as if he really is their sibling and only Yu Ziyuan’s abusive nature gets in the way of their bond.

This strikes me as a bit misguided. While adoption was practised in ancient China, it was mainly for the purpose of obtaining a male heir in the absence of one, or obtaining more daughters to marry off for alliances. Jiang Fengmian had no reason to adopt Wei Wuxian into the main family, and he didn’t. Wei Wuxian’s position in the household is far more nebulous than that, and honestly it’s hard to find an exact corollary, in Chinese history or in any culture, precisely because it was so messy and ill-defined.

A Companion to Upper Class Children

Wei Wuxian is the son of a servant of Yunmeng Jiang; it’s notable that Wei Changze is always referred to this way, rather than as a disciple. Wei Changze wound up leaving the sect in order to marry Cangse Sanren, and Jiang Fengmian considered them dear enough friends that when he heard they passed away, he spent years searching for their orphaned son. He wound up finding Wei Wuxian on the streets of Yiling and brought him home as his ward.

Wei WuXian was taken home by Jiang FengMian when he was nine.

Most memories from back then were already blurred. Yet, Jin Ling’s mother, Jiang YanLi, remembered all of them, and even told him quite a few.

She said that, after his father heard of the news that his parents both died in battle, he had always dedicated himself to finding the child that these past friends had left behind. After searching for a while, he finally found the child in Yiling.

(Chapter 24, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s clear from the start that beyond this sense of obligation to his old friends, Jiang Fengmian also had a role set out for Wei Wuxian: he wanted him to be a companion to his children, and Jiang Cheng in particular.

He encourages a friendship between them, insisting on a sleepover between the two a week into Wei Wuxian’s stay.

On the second day, Jiang Cheng’s puppies were given to someone else.

This angered Jiang Cheng so much that he threw a big tantrum. No matter how much Jiang FengMian comforted him gently, telling him that they should ‘be good friends’, he refused to talk to Wei WuXian. Quite a few days later, Jiang Cheng’s attitude softened. Jiang FengMian wanted to strike while the iron was still hot, so he told Wei WuXian to sleep in the same room as him, hoping that they’d grow fonder of each other.

[...]

That night, Jiang Cheng locked Wei WuXian outside his room, refusing to let him in.

[...]

Wei WuXian waited outside for a long time. When the door opened, before the joy could spread onto his face, he was bombarded with a pile of things being thrown out. The door banged shut again.

Jiang Cheng told him from inside, “Go sleep somewhere else! This is my room! You’re even gonna steal my room?!”

[...]

Standing outside, as Wei WuXian heard that dogs would come bite him, fear immediately bubbled within him. Twisting his fingers, he hurried, “I’ll go, I’ll go. Don’t call the dogs!”

Dragging behind him the sheets and blanket that were thrown outside, he ran out the hall. Having only arrived at Lotus Pier for a short period of time, he didn’t dare jump around yet. Every day, he obediently holed up in the places that Jiang FengMian told him to stay at. He didn’t even know where his room was, much less have the courage to knock on other people’s doors, scared that it’d disturb someone’s dreams.

(Chapter 71, Exiled Rebels translation)

After Jiang Cheng is worried about getting in trouble, he goes to Jiang Yanli for help, and she searches for Wei Wuxian.

But this was the first pair of shoes that Jiang FengMian bought him. Wei WuXian was too embarrassed to make him go out of his way to buy another pair, and so he said that they weren’t too big. Jiang YanLi helped him into his shoe and pressed the hollow tip, “It is a bit big. I’ll fix it for you when we get back.”

Hearing this, Wei WuXian felt somewhat uneasy, as if he did something wrong again.

Living in other people’s homes, the worst that could happen was to make trouble for the hosts.

Jiang YanLi put him onto her back and began to walk back, wobbling in her steps as she spoke, “A-Ying, no matter what A-Cheng said to you, don’t bother about him. He doesn’t have a good temper, so he’s always home playing with himself. Those puppies were his favorites. Dad sent them away, and so he’s feeling upset. He’s actually really happy that somebody’s here to be with him.”

(Chapter 71, Exiled Rebels translation)

Later, Wei Wuxian offers to cover for him, saying simply that he ran outside by himself because he was scared. In this one case it feels like a genuine instance of children showing solidarity and covering for each other’s little misbehaviours. But it also follows a pattern of Wei Wuxian doing this and making excuses, time and time again, for Jiang Cheng. I wonder if on some level, he already knew that his role in the household was in part to be a companion-servant to Jiang Cheng.

Wei Wuxian normally never puts up with people treating him poorly or being arrogant; he constantly bites his tongue when Jiang Cheng does so around him. While they study at Cloud Recesses, Jiang Cheng frequently insults Wei Wuxian, who always just smiles and laughs it off.

Jiang Cheng humphed, “Him? He wakes at nine in the morning and sleeps at one during the night. When he wakes up, he doesn’t practice his sword or meditate; he goes boating, swims around, picks lotus seedpods, and hunts for pheasants.”

Wei WuXian replied, “No matter how much pheasants I hunt, I’m still number one.”

(Chapter 13, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng scolded with a darkened expression, “What are you proud of?! What is there to be proud of with this?! Do you think that it’s a glorious thing to be told by someone to get lost? You bring so much shame upon our sect!”

(Chapter 16, Exiled Rebels translation)

We never see Wei Wuxian excusing this sort of behaviour from any other character; he has no problem scolding Jin Ling for his arrogant attitude and telling him that he shouldn’t be imitating his uncle, after all! It’s only where Jiang Cheng is concerned that he does this, and honestly, even then he seems to be quite aware that Jiang Cheng’s behaviour is wrong; he simply accepts on some level that it’s his role in the household to put up with it.

He actually does, very gently, try to guide Jiang Cheng at times. In Lotus Seed Pods, for example, he tries to give Jiang Cheng advice on how to flirt with some of the maidens in Yunmeng and make friends:

Wei WuXian threw the seed pods toward the shore. It was a far distance, but they landed lightly in the women’s hands. He grabbed a few more and stuffed them into Jiang Cheng’s arms, shoving, “What are you doing, just standing there? Hurry up.”

After a few shoves, Jiang Cheng could only accept them, “Hurry up and do what?”

Wei WuXian, “You ate the watermelon too, so you also have to return the gift, don’t you? Here, here, don’t be embarrassed. Start throwing, start throwing.”

Jiang Cheng snorted again, “You must be joking. What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Whatever he said, however, even after all of the shidi began to throw seed pods, he still didn’t start to move. Wei WuXian urged, “Then throw some! If you throw some this time, next time you can ask them if the seed pods tasted good, and you’ll be able to make conversation again!”

[...]

Jiang Cheng was just about to throw one when he realized how shameless it was the moment he heard it. He peeled a seed pod and ate it by himself.

[...]

After a while of laughter, he turned around and looked at Jiang Cheng, who was sitting at the front of the boat eating seed pods with a long face. His smile gradually disappeared as he sighed, “Well, what an unteachable child.”

Jiang Cheng fumed, “So what if I want to eat alone?”

Wei WuXian, “Look at you, Jiang Cheng. Nevermind. You’re hopeless. Just wait to eat alone your whole life!”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

He even sighs rather disappointedly when Jiang Cheng refuses to take the hint; he knows that Jiang Cheng’s sullen behaviour is going to make him miserable down the line, but all of his gentle efforts to nudge him in a better direction have failed.

He also speaks with great awareness of Jiang Cheng’s flaws after the fight in the ancestral hall:

Wei WuXian reached out with one hand and massaged his chest, as if trying to break up the pent-up feeling inside his heart. A moment later, he blurted, “I knew Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have let us go so easily. That brat… How could this be?!”

[...]

Wei WuXian’s eyelids throbbed, “Every one of them. The brat’s been like this ever since he was young.He’ll say anything when he’s angry, no matter how bad it is. He gives up on all grace and discipline whatsoever. As long as it’d annoy whomever he’s against, he’d say it no matter what terrible insults he uses. After all these years, he hasn’t gotten better at all. Please don’t take it to heart.”

(Chapter 90, Exiled Rebels translation)

This is so interesting to me, because it really makes it clear that Wei Wuxian has always been aware of these flaws of Jiang Cheng’s. He hasn’t been viewing him through rose-coloured lenses or making excuses for him because he’s ‘family’. He puts up with Jiang Cheng’s behaviour because being his companion is one of his duties in the Jiang household. It may never have been directly stated, but there seems to be some unspoken understanding to this effect.

I honestly don’t know if there is any official role in history (in any culture, not just China) which perfectly correlates to this. In China a lady’s maid was expected to also be a close friend and companion to her mistress (in canon, see Bicao to Qin-furen and Yinzhu and Jinzhu to Yu-furen). In Europe an upper class woman would hire a lady’s companion, a woman from the lower fringes of the gentry who would serve as her companion in exchange for financial support.

I don’t know of any version of this role which involves two men. In general, this sort of role existed because upper class women were confined to the household by and large, and had very limited social spheres. Men, meanwhile, had much greater ability to meet with their peers and make friends. I almost feel like Wei Wuxian wound up being shoved into this role simply because even as a child Jiang Cheng was so unsociable that Jiang Fengmian didn’t know what else to do!

Wei Wuxian also at least once steps in and starts a fight in place of Jiang Cheng (essentially taking the fall for him). He does this when Jin Zixuan speaks disparagingly of Jiang Yanli at Cloud Recesses:

Jin ZiXuan asked in reply, “Why don’t you ask me how on Earth can I be satisfied with her?”

Jiang Cheng instantly stood up.

Pushing him to the side, Wei WuXian walked in front of him and sneered, “You sure think that you’re pretty satisfying, don’t you? Where did you get the guts to be all choosy here?”

[...]

Wei WuXian sighed, “… It’d be nice if shijie came. It’s fortunate that you didn’t hit him.”

Jiang Cheng, “I was going to. If you didn’t push me, the other side of Jin ZiXuan’s face would also be ruined.”

(Chapter 18, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s also very notable that Wei Wuxian is never shown having friends outside of Jiang Cheng’s social circle, despite what an outgoing and friendly person he is. Any time he expresses interest in someone for himself, as with Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng tries to nip it in the bud. Being unable to deter Wei Wuxian from Lan Wangji directly, Jiang Cheng instead tries to drive a wedge between them, constantly telling Wei Wuxian that Lan Wangji hates him.

“Yeah,” Nie HuaiSang spoke, “It looks like he really hates you, Wei-xiong. Lan WangJi usually… No, he never does something so impolite.”

Wei WuXian, “He hates me already? I wanted to apologize to him.”

Jiang Cheng sneered, “Apologizing now? Too late! Like his uncle, he surely thinks that you are evil and unruly to the core, and didn’t bother to pay you any attention.”

(Chapter 14, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng pulled him even closer, “It’s not as if you’re familiar with him! Don’t you see how much he hates you? You’re going to carry him? He probably doesn’t even want you a step closer to him.”

(Chapter 52, Exiled Rebels translation)

He even directly orders Wei Wuxian not to invite Lan Wangji to come visit him at Lotus Pier during the Lotus Seed Pod extra.

Wei WuXian, “Why are you so upset? My watermelon almost flew away! I was just being polite. Of course he wouldn’t come. Have you ever heard of him go anywhere by himself to have fun?”

Jiang Cheng had on a stern expression, “Let’s make this clear. I don’t want him to come, anyhow. Don’t invite him.”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s not only Lan Wangji he tries to steer Wei Wuxian away from; he also interrupts his conversation with Wen Ning at the archery competition:

Wen QiongLin was probably one of Wen Clan’s disciples furthest in bloodline. His status was neither high nor low, yet his personality was timid. He didn’t dare do anything and even his speech stuttered. Through much practice, he had finally conjured up the courage to enter the competition, but he blew it because he was too nervous. If he didn’t receive the right guidance, perhaps the boy would hide his true self more and more from now on and never dare to perform in front of other people again. Wei WuXian encouraged him a couple of times and touched on a few areas of growth, correcting some miniscule problems that he had when he was shooting in the garden. Wen QiongLin listened so attentively that he didn’t even turn his eyes away, nodding uncontrollably.

Jiang Cheng, “Where did you find so much nonsense? The competition is starting soon. Get into the arena right now!”

Wei WuXian spoke to Wen QiongLin in a serious tone, “I’ll be off to the competition now. Later, you can see how I shoot when I’m in the arena…”

Jiang Cheng dragged him away, short of patience. He spat as he dragged, “See how you shoot? Do you think that you’re a model or something?!”

(Chapter 59, Exiled Rebels translation)

Even when it comes to Wei Wuxian’s friendly flirtation with Mianmian, Jiang Cheng has something to say and tries to deter him from her:

Jiang Cheng, “The one that MianMian gave you? I didn’t.”

Wei WuXian exclaimed his regret, “I’ll find her for another one later.”

Jiang Cheng frowned, “You’re at it again. You don’t really like her, do you? The girl does look fine, but it’s obvious that she doesn’t have much background. Maybe she isn’t even a disciple. She seems like the daughter of a servant.”

Wei WuXian, “What’s wrong with servants? I’m also the son of a servant, aren’t I?”

Jiang Cheng, “How can you compare to her? Whose servant is like you, having your master peel lotus seeds for you and boil you soup. I didn’t even get to have some!”

(Chapter 56, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng really does seem to view Wei Wuxian in a very proprietary light; he’s not allowed to have any friendships which don’t exist under Jiang Cheng’s direct control.

The idea that Wei Wuxian was meant to be Jiang Cheng’s servant-friend is reinforced at its darkest when Lotus Pier falls: both Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian’s last words to Wei Wuxian are an instruction to protect Jiang Cheng.

One hand holding him, Madam Yu grabbed Wei WuXian’s lapels with her other hand as though to strangle him to death. She spoke through clenched teeth, “… You damn little brat! I hate you! I hate you more than anything else! Look at what our sect has gone through for your sake!”

[...]

Madam Yu, “Don’t make such a fuss. It’ll loosen up when you’re somewhere safe. If anyone attacks you on the journey, it’ll protect you as well. Don’t come back. Go to Meishan straight away and find your sister!”

After she finished, she turned to Wei WuXian and pointed at him, “Wei Ying! Listen to me! Protect Jiang Cheng, protect him even if you die, do you understand?!”

[...]

Jiang FengMian stared into his eyes. Suddenly, he reached out. Only after pausing in the air did he finally touch Jiang Cheng’s head, slowly, “A-Cheng, be well.”

Wei WuXian, “Uncle Jiang, if anything happens to you, he won’t be well.”

Jiang FengMian turned his eyes to him, “A-Ying, A-Cheng… you must look after him.”

(Chapter 58, Exiled Rebels translation)

Even Jiang Fengmian, who supposedly favoured Wei Wuxian, only gives him instructions as pertains to his own son; he doesn’t spare a single last word for Wei Wuxian himself.

A Lower Status Family Member

It wasn’t uncommon throughout human history, across many cultures, for wealthy families to take in relatives who were orphaned or had otherwise fallen on hard times. They tended to have a lower status than the main family; they lived with them and were still a part of their social sphere, but were not quite equal, either. The English term for this is ‘poor relation’.

Obviously, Wei Wuxian isn’t actually a blood relative at all. But his position in the Jiang household definitely has some similarities. He lives in the main house, eats meals with the family, attends school with the son... He is even on some conditional levels accepted into the gentry of cultivation society. But he isn’t a full equal member of the family, either.

The fact that he’s Jiang Fengmian’s ward, not a blood relative or adopted into the main family, puts him at even more of a disadvantage. It seems that Jiang Fengmian paid for all of Wei Wuxian’s expenses:

Wei WuXian took a bite, “Back then, I didn’t even have to pay when I ate at the dock. I grabbed whatever I wanted, ate whatever I wanted; ran after I grabbed, walked as I ate. A month later, the vendor would get the reimbursement from Uncle Jiang.”

(Chapter 86, Exiled Rebels translation)

While this is a bit of conjecture, I gather that he was given access to family money as if he was part of the clan, and could just charge Yunmeng Jiang whenever he shopped in Lotus Pier. Which is great so long as Wei Wuxian is accepted in Yunmeng Jiang...but as we see during the Burial Mounds settlement period, the moment that acceptance fades, Wei Wuxian is left out in the cold without a single coin. And because he isn’t a member of the family, it’s a far easier matter for him to be thrown aside, as he was when Jiang Cheng grew angry with him over his decision to protect the Wens.

Of course, Chinese families traditionally did share their wealth, and still do nowadays. Ideally, in a loving family, this is a positive and means they all support each other; but when that isn’t the case, it leaves the victims of abuse vulnerable.

In Wei Wuxian’s case, he has some of the benefits of being a member of the Jiang clan, without ever actually being a member. He can be cast aside at any time, and he is never afforded the same respect by wider cultivation society which an inner clan member would have.

I don’t believe the novel ever directly addresses Wei Wuxian’s acceptance into the guest lectures at Cloud Recesses in this light, but the donghua actually has a very interesting little exchange about it which takes place between Nie Huaisang and a relative of his:

“Wei-xiong is just a disciple from Yunmeng. Why could he come to Gusu to study?”

“Wei-xiong is the son of Jiang-zongzhu’s old friend. He has been treated as their own son.”

“Oh, I see. That explains why they don’t look like master and servant, they seem like brothers.”

(MDZS Donghua, Episode 3, Guodong Subs)

Wei Wuxian was only allowed to attend these lectures, which seem to mainly be for sect heirs and inner clan members, on the grace of being Jiang Fengmian’s ward (and probably to accompany Jiang Cheng). While this exchange is not from the book, we never do see or hear about any of the other students being outer disciples rather than members of the main clan. Here’s what the novel had to say about it:

In that year, aside from the YunmengJiang Sect, there were also the young masters from other clans, sent to study here from parents who heard of the reputation. The young masters were all around fifteen or sixteen. Because the sects all knew the others, although they weren’t close, they had seen others’ faces before. It was widely known that, although Wei WuXian’s surname was not Jiang, he was the leading disciple of the sect leader of the YunmengJiang Sect—Jiang FengMian, and also the son of his friend who had passed away. In fact, the sect leader regarded him as his own child. This, along with how youths were not as concerned with status and ancestry as elders, they were soon friends. Only a few sentences passed, and everyone started to call others older brothers or younger brothers.

(Chapter 13, Exiled Rebels translation)

And Wei Wuxian isn’t treated as an equal at school, either; when he and his friends get up to mischief, he’s frequently the only one punished. Nie Huaisang even notes that Lan Qiren seems to be far harder on him than the other students:

Nie HuaiSang spoke, “Why does it seem like old man Lan is especially strict towards you? He always directs his scoldings at you.”

(Chapter 14, Exiled Rebels translation)

And we see Wei Wuxian being the sole one punished out of a group taken for granted by his friends multiple times:

As a result of cheating notes flying everywhere in the air, Lan WangJi suddenly attacked during the test, and caught a few initiators of the commotion. Lan QiRen exploded with anger, writing letters to the prominent clans to tell on them. He loathed Wei WuXian—in the beginning, although these disciples could hardly sit still, at least nobody started anything, and their buttocks were able to stick to their legs. However, now that Wei Ying came, the originally spineless brats were influenced by his encouragement, venturing out at night and drinking alcohol however they pleased. The unhealthy practices grew greater and greater. As he had expected, Wei Ying was one of the biggest threats to humanity!

Jiang FengMian replied, “Ying has always been like this. Please take care to discipline him, Mr. Lan.”

And so, Wei WuXian was punished again.

(Chapter 14, Exiled Rebels translation)

The boys were all cheating, but Wei Wuxian is the one punished most severely. This happens when he's caught sneaking alcohol, too (though to be fair to Lan Wangji, he probably was only punishing him, and himself alongside him, for being outside after curfew when he threw them off the wall).

Of course, Jiang Cheng didn’t dare to say that Wei WuXian was at fault. Thinking back, it was them who urged Wei WuXian to buy liquor. Each and every one of them should have been punished. He could only speak in a vague way, “It’s fine, it’s fine; it’s not that serious! He can walk. Wei WuXian, why are you still up there?!”

(Chapter 18, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s not entirely unreasonable for the one who gets caught to take the punishment (what’s he going to do, rat his friends out?) but their ready acceptance of this does fit into a pattern.

Jiang Cheng’s top was tied at his waist. Hearing his mother’s chastise, he hastily put it over his head. Madam Yu scolded again, “And you boys! Can’t you see that A-Li’s here? Who taught you brats to dress like this in front of a girl!?”

Of course, it was needless to think who led the group. Thus, Madam Yu’s next sentence, as usual, was “Wei Ying! Do you want to die!?”

[...]

He could still feel some pain in his back, so he tossed the paddles to someone else, sat down, and felt the stinging piece of flesh, “How unfair. Nobody else was wearing anything, but why was I the only one who got scolded and beaten up?”

Jiang Cheng, “Because you hurt the eye the most with no clothes on, for sure.”

[...]

Everyone nodded. Wei WuXian, “Thanks for the praise, you guys. I’m even starting to feel some goose bumps.”

The shidi, “You’re welcome, Da-Shixiong. You protect us every single time. You deserve even more!”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

While we know that Yu Ziyuan is an abusive person in general, she abuses Wei Wuxian far more harshly than anyone else, even the outer disciples. It’s made clear to us in Lotus Seed Pods that she whips him regularly over minor infractions:

Madam Yu was even angrier, “How dare you run! Come back right now and kneel!” As she spoke, she let loose her whip with a flip of her wrist. Wei WuXian felt a searing pain slash across his back. He loudly exclaimed, “Ow!” And almost tripped on the ground.

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

And that his back is heavily scarred from it:

He felt his back, covered in scars both old and new, and still couldn’t hold back the question he’d be thinking about, “How awfully unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who gets beaten up, whenever something happens?”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

Rumours about this even made it outside of Lotus Pier; during their visit to the ancestral hall years later, Lan Wangji even states that he heard about some of it:

Lan WangJi had on an expression of understanding, “Kneeling as punishment?”

Wei WuXian mused, “How did you know? That’s right. Madam Yu punished me almost every day.”

Lan WangJi nodded, “I have heard of a few things.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s so famous that even people outside Yunmeng, even you Gusu people know—how could it be ‘a few things’? But, to be honest, in all these years, I’ve never seen a second woman whose temper was as bad as Madam Yu’s. She told me to go to the ancestral hall and kneel no matter how small the matter was. Hahaha…”

(Chapter 87, Exiled Rebels translation)

Wei Wuxian’s lower social standing is definitely a part of why Yu Ziyuan is able to abuse him so terribly and receive little to no censure for it. Everyone at Lotus Pier simply takes it for granted, with the exception of Jiang Yanli who at least does try to deflect her mother when she is angry with Wei Wuxian:

Yet, all of a sudden, someone’s quiet voice drifted by Madam Yu’s ear, “Mom, do you want to eat some watermelon…”

[...]

Jiang YanLi almost cried from her mother’s pinching, mumbling, “Mom, A-Xian and the others were hiding here to relieve the heat and I came here on my own. Don’t blame them… Do… Do you want some watermelon… I don’t know who gave them to us, but it’s really sweet. Eating watermelon in the summer is great for cooling down and quenching thirst. I’ll cut them for you…”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

She both tries to deflect her mother from her anger, and also outright states that Wei Wuxian and the other boys weren’t at fault. Jiang Yanli seems to be the only one at Lotus Pier who ever does this.

After the war, Wei Wuxian attends social events at Jiang Cheng’s side but is never quite treated as an equal, either. See how at the Flower Banquet, Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue greet Jiang Cheng but not him:

Suddenly, a voice spoke, “Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Lan.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Wei WuXian’s heart jumped. Nie MingJue turned around again. Jiang Cheng came over, dressed in purple, hand on his sword.

And the person standing beside Jiang Cheng was none other than Wei WuXian himself.

He saw himself walk with hands behind his back, wearing all black. A flute in the shade of ink stuck to his waist, hanging down with crimson colored tassels. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jiang Cheng, he nodded in this direction to show respect. Attitude slightly arrogant, he took on a profound, disdainful appearance. As Wei WuXian saw the stance of his younger self, the root of his teeth even cringed in soreness. He felt that he really was pretentious, and itched to just beat the hell out of himself.

Lan WangJi also saw Wei WuXian, who stood beside Jiang Cheng. The tip of his brows twitched ever so slightly. Soon afterward, his light-colored eyes returned to where they were, still looking forward in that composed way. Jiang Cheng and Nie MingJue nodded at each other with grave faces. Neither had anything unnecessary to say. After a hasty greeting, the two walked their separate ways. Wei WuXian saw his black-clothed self glance around as he finally saw Lan WangJi. He looked as if he was about to speak before Jiang Cheng came over and stood to his side.

(Chapter 49, Exiled Rebels translation)

They then proceed to talk about him and his lack of a sword behind his back, never having said a word to Wei Wuxian himself:

Nie MingJue’s gaze turned over again, “Why does Wei Ying not carry his sword?”

Carrying one’s sword was like wearing formal attire. In such gatherings, it was a non-negligible indication of etiquette. Those from prominent sects saw it as especially important. Lan WangJi responded in a lukewarm tone, “He had probably forgotten.”

Ning MingJue raised a brow, “He can even forget something like this?”

(Chapter 49, Exiled Rebels translation)

At Phoenix Mountain it also seems that Wei Wuxian is conditionally a member of the gentry, but not treated like an equal. Sometimes there are these more cheerful interactions:

Holding the flower, Lan WangJi seemed to be quite cold. His tone seemed cold as well, “Was it you?”

Wei WuXian immediately denied it, “No, it wasn’t.”

The maidens beside him spoke at once, “Don’t believe him. It was him!”

Wei WuXian, “How could you treat a good person like this? I’m getting angry!”

Giggling, the maidens pulled their reins and went to the formations of their own sects. Lan WangJi lowered the hand that he held the flower with and shook his head. Jiang Cheng spoke, “ZeWu-Jun, HanGuang-Jun, apologies. Don’t pay attention to him.”

Lan XiChen smiled, “That is fine. I will thank Young Master Wei’s kindness behind the flower in place of WangJi.”

(Chapter 69, Exiled Rebels translation)

But then he will be publicly disparaged and it is readily accepted by others. Jin Zixun first starts an argument with him by criticising Wei Wuxian for fighting Jin Zixuan, then turns the topic to Wei Wuxian’s having taken a third of the prey in the hunt.

Jin ZiXun, “Wei, just what what do you mean by going against ZiXuan so many times?”

[...]

Jin ZiXun sneered, “How is it presumptuous? How is any part of you not presumptuous? Today, in such an important hunt involving all of the sects, you really showed off your abilities, didn’t you? One third of the prey have been taken by you. You sure feel pleased, don’t you?”

[...]

He mocked, “But it’s only natural that you don’t think you’re in the wrong. It’s not the first time that Young Master Wei has disregarded the rules. You didn’t wear your sword in both last time’s flower banquet and this time’s hunt. It’s such a grand event, and you care nothing for courtesy. In what regard to you hold us, the people who are present with you?”

[...]

No disciple had ever dared say such lofty words in front of so many people. A moment later, as Jin ZiXun finally regained his composure, he yelled, “Wei WuXian! You’re only the son of a servant—how dare you be so bold!!!”

(Chapters 69-70, Exiled Rebels translation)

Naturally, Jin Zixun is able to weasel out of giving an apology, even though Jiang Yanli demands one. And guess who also takes a third of the prey, but this time without any censure?

Jin GuangYao, “In reality, not only did Young Master Wei keep a third of the prey to himself, our eldest brother has eliminated over half of the fays and the monsters as well.”

Hearing this, Lan XiChen laughed, “That is how Brother is like, after all.”

(Chapter 70, Exiled Rebels translation)

Never a Brother

As I’ve already mentioned, Wei Wuxian was never adopted by Jiang Fengmian, or adopted into the clan in general in even a distant way. And this nebulous ‘we’re letting you live with the main family as a charity, but you aren’t really one of us’ attitude also reflects in his relationship with Jiang Yanli.

I’ve already discussed how Wei Wuxian was more like a companion servant to Jiang Cheng than a brother. It’s also worth noting quickly that neither of them ever refers to the other as a brother. Wei Wuxian refers to Jiang Cheng as his shidi a few times, and Jiang Cheng never even refers to him as his shixiong (because Jiang Cheng views him as his servant, not as even a martial brother, I’d argue).

Only one member of the Jiang family ever does use familial terms to refer to Wei Wuxian: his shijie, Jiang Yanli. At Phoenix Mountain, when Wei Wuxian is being insulted by Jin Zixun, Jiang Yanli stands up and defends him, and states clearly that she considers Wei Wuxian a little brother:

The people who gathered around Jin ZiXun had on the same dark faces as he did. Yet, taking into consideration Jiang YanLi’s background, they didn’t dare talk back to her directly.

Jiang YanLi added, “Besides, hunting is hunting, so why bring the matter of discipline to the table? A-Xian is a disciple of the YunmengJiang Sect. He grew up with my brother and I, and so he’s as close as a brother is to me. Calling him the ‘son of a servant’—I’m sorry, but I won’t accept this. And thus…”

She straightened her back and raised her voice, “I hope that Young Master Jin ZiXun would apologize to Wei WuXian of the YunmengJiang Sect!”

(Chapter 70, Exiled Rebels translation)

It doesn’t come through in the Exiled Rebels translation, but she actually refers to Wei Wuxian as her didi in this scene, not her shidi. She’s trying to draw a line and state that Wei Wuxian is a part of the family. However, no one takes her seriously, and shortly afterwards we see Jin-furen insisting that Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian shouldn’t be walking alone together because it would be inappropriate.

Jiang YanLi whispered, “That’s not necessary. I’d like to have a few words with A-Xian. He can walk me back.”

Madam Jin raised her brows, looking Wei WuXian up and down. Her gaze was somewhat cautious, as if she was feeling displeased, “A young man and a young woman—you two can’t stick together all the time if nobody else is present.”

Jiang YanLi, “A-Xian is my younger brother.”

[...]

Wei WuXian lowered his head, “Excuse my absence, Madam Jin.”

He and Jiang YanLi bowed at the same time. As they turned around to leave, Madam Jin grabbed Jiang YanLi’s hand and refused to let her leave.

(Chapter 70, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jin Zixuan also never treats Wei Wuxian the way one might a brother who is still angered with him over his past dismissive treatment of his sister. For example, see their argument at the Flower Banquet:

Before he could see how Lan WangJi reacted, a series of clamor suddenly came from the other end of the base. Wei WuXian heard his own raging shout, “Jin ZiXuan! Don’t you forget about what things you said and what things you did? What do you mean by this, now?!”

Wei WuXian remembered. So it was this time!

On the other side, Jin ZiXuan also fumed, “I was asking Sect Leader Jiang, not you! The one I was asking about was also Maiden Jiang. How is that related to you?!”

[...]

Jin ZiXuan, “Sect Leader Jiang—this is our sect’s flower banquet, and this is your sect’s person! Are you going to look after him or not?!”

[...]

...Jiang Cheng’s voice came, “Wei WuXian, you can just shut your mouth. Young Master Jin, I’m sorry. My sister is doing quite well. Thank you for your concern. We can talk about this next time.”

Wei WuXian laughed coldly, “Next time? There is no next time! Whether or not she’s doing well isn’t any of his business, either! Who does he think he is?”

He turned around and started to leave. Jiang Cheng shouted, “Get back here! Where are you going?”

Wei WuXian waved his hands, “Anywhere is fine! Just don’t let me see that face of his. I never wanted to come, anyway. You can deal with whatever’s here yourself.”

Having been abandoned by Wei WuXian, Jiang Cheng’s face immediately clouded over.

[...]

Jiang Cheng stowed away the clouds on his face, “Don’t mind him. Look at how impolite he is. He’s used to such rude behavior at home.”

He then began to converse with Jin ZiXuan.

(Chapter 49, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng also quietly dismisses the notion of Wei Wuxian as a brother in relation to Jiang Yanli; when they visit to show him her wedding dress and she asks for a courtesy name, Jiang Cheng specifically says:

Jiang Cheng, “The courtesy name of my unborn nephew.”

(Chapter 75, Exiled Rebels translation)

Not our nephew, mine.

Even the disastrous invitation to Jin Ling’s one month celebration is framed as a favour to an old shidi, not a family member:

Jin ZiXun, “Since you’ve heard it from him already, you should know that I can’t wait. Don’t tell me that you’ll disregard your brother’s life for the sake of Sister-in-Law’s shidi?!”

Jin ZiXuan, “You clearly know that I’m not that kind of person! He might not necessarily be the one who cursed you with Hundred Holes either. Why are you so rash? I was the one who invited Wei WuXian to A-Ling’s full-month celebration anyways. If this is the way you do things, where does that leave me? Where does it leave my wife?”

Jin ZiXun raised his voice, “It’s best if he doesn’t attend! What does Wei WuXian think he is—does he deserve to attend our sect’s banquet? Whoever touches him gets nothing but a splash of black! ZiXuan, when you invited him, weren’t you worried that you, Sister-in-Law and A-Ling would receive an irremovable stain for the rest of your lives?!”

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s clear that not only does wider society not consider Wei Wuxian and the Jiangs siblings...they themselves don’t, either. Wei Wuxian, after all, readily accepts that his relationship with them is over after he leaves the sect:

Before they parted, Jiang Cheng spoke, “We won’t see you off. It wouldn’t be good if someone saw us.”

Wei WuXian nodded. He understood that it wasn’t easy for the Jiang siblings to have come out here. If someone else saw them, all those things they did for the public to believe would be wasted. He spoke, “We’ll go first.”

[...]

He turned around, knowing that it’d be a long time before he’d get to see the people he was familiar with again.

But… right now, wasn’t he on his way to seeing people he was familiar with as well?

(Chapter 75, Exiled Rebels translation)

Cast Aside

The way cultivation society treats Wei Wuxian when he is not with the Jiangs is also very revealing. Any level of respect he is given is contingent on his position in the Jiang household, and when they aren’t around that minimal respect fades away. Look at how disrespectfully he is treated when he approaches Jin Zixun to ask for Wen Ning’s location.

Wei WuXian didn’t make small talk either, getting straight to the point, “No thanks. I don’t.” He nodded slightly at Jin ZiXun, “Young Master Jin, could I please have a word with you?”

Jin ZiXun, “If you have anything to say, come after our banquet is over.”

In reality, he didn’t want to talk to Wei WuXian at all. Wei WuXian could see this as well, “How long do I have to wait?”

Jin ZiXun, “Probably around six to eight hours. Or maybe ten to twelve. Or until tomorrow.”

Wei WuXian, “I’m afraid I can’t wait for that long.”

Jin ZiXun’s voice was arrogant, “You’ll have to wait even if you can’t.”

Jin GuangYao, “Young Master Wei, what do you need ZiXun for? Is it a pressing matter?”

Wei WuXian, “Pressing indeed. It allows for no delay.”

[...]

Jin ZiXun, “Wei WuXian, what do you mean? You came for him? You aren’t standing up for a Wen-dog, are you?”

Wei WuXian wore a broad grin, “Since when is it your business whether I’d like to stand up for him or cut his head off? Just give him to me!”

At the last sentence, the grin on his face vanished. His tone turned cold as well. It was clear that he had lost his patience. Many of the people within Glamor Hal shivered in fear. Jin ZiXun felt his scalp tingle as well. Yet, his anger soon soared. He shouted, “Wei WuXian, you are too bold! Did the LanlingJin Sect invite you today? And you dare run wild here. Do you really think that you’re invincible, that nobody has the courage to confront you? Do you want to overturn the Heavens?”

Wei WuXian smiled, “You’re comparing yourself to the Heavens? Excuse my language, but your face is a little too thick, isn’t it?”

[...]

Just as he was about to rebut, sitting on the foremost seat, Jin GuangShan spoke up.

His voice seemed kind, “It’s not anything too important anyways. You youngsters, why lose your tempers over such a thing? However, Young Master Wei, let me be fair here. Barging in when the LanlingJin Sect is holding a private banquet is indeed inappropriate.”

To say that Jin GuangShan didn’t mind what happened at Phoenix Mountain would be impossible. This was also why he only smiled when Jin ZiXun bickered with Wei WuXian but didn’t stop them, and only spoke up when Jin ZiXun was at the disadvantage.

Wei WuXian nodded, “Sect Leader Jin, it was never my intention to disturb your private banquet. My apologies. However, the whereabouts of the people whom Young Master Jin took are still unclear. Just a moment of delay, and it might be too late. One of the group had once saved me before. I will definitely not sit back and watch. Please do not feel pressured. I will make amends for this at a later date.”

[...]

After a few laughs, he continued, “Sect Leader Jin, let me ask you something else. Do you think that, because the QishanWen Sect is gone, the LanlingJin Sect has all right to replace it?”

All was silent within Glamor Hall.

Wei WuXian added, “Everything has to be given to you? Everyone has to listen to you? Looking at how the LanlingJin Sect does things, I almost thought that it was the QishanWen Sect’s empire all over again.”

[...]

A guest cultivator on his right shouted, “Wei WuXian! Watch your words!”

Wei WuXian, “Did I say something wrong? Forcing living people to be bait and beating them up whenever they refused to obey—is this any different from what the QishanWen Sect does?”

Another guest cultivator stood up, “Of course it’s different. The Wen-dogs did all kinds of evil. To arrive at such an end is only karma for them. We only avenged a tooth for a tooth, letting them taste the fruit that they themselves had sown. What’s wrong with this?”

Wei WuXian, “Take revenge on the ones who bite you. Wen Ning’s branch doesn’t have much blood on their hands. Don’t tell me that you find them guilty by association?”

Another person spoke, “Young Master Wei, is it that they don’t have much blood on their hands just because you say so? These are only your one-sided words. Where’s the evidence?”

[...]

Jin GuangShan stood up as well, his face a mixture of shock, anger, fear, and hatred, “Wei WuXian! Just because… Sect Leader Jiang isn’t here doesn’t mean you can be so reckless!”

Wei WuXian’s voice was harsh, “Do you think that I wouldn’t be reckless if he were here? If I wanted to kill someone, who could stop me, and who would dare stop me?!”

[...]

“Young Master Wei really is too impulsive. How could he speak in such a way in front of so many sects?”

Lan WangJi spoke coldly, “Was he wrong?”

Jin GuangYao paused almost unnoticeably. He immediately laughed, “Haha. Yes, he’s right. But it’s because he’s right that he can’t say it in front of them, correct?”

Lan XiChen seemed as if he was deep in thought, “Young Master Wei’s heart really has changed.”

(Chapter 72, Exiled Rebels translation)

The only person at this banquet who speaks to Wei Wuxian respectfully is Jin Guangyao, a consummate manipulator who is also of a lower social status. Everyone else speaks to him dismissively, refusing to respect his request for Wen Ning’s location even though he states that Wen Ning helped him during the war. Wei Wuxian is extremely polite at the beginning of this conversation, and only slowly begins to lose his temper when Jin Zixun speaks rudely and Jin Guangshan decides to bring up the matter of the Yinhufu (Wei Wuxian is right in suspecting him of wanting to replace Qishan Wen, of course, and that it’s very bold of them to think they have the right to a spiritual tool of his just because...they’re rich?).

When the sects meet at Koi Tower to discuss the breakout at Qiongqi Path, no one considers Wei Wuxian as an independent agent who they might actually want to meet and negotiate with themselves. He is a wayward servant of Yunmeng Jiang who the sect leader has failed to keep in hand.

Jiang Cheng only spoke after a few moments, “What he did was indeed a bit too much. Sect Leader Jin, I apologize to you in place of him. If there’s any way at all to help the situation, please let me know. I’ll definitely compensate for things however I can.”

[...]

Jin GuangShan, “Sect Leader Jiang, Wei Ying is your right-hand man. You value him a lot. All of us know this. However, on the other hand, it’s hard to tell whether or not he actually respects you. In any case, I’ve been a sect leader for so many years and I’ve never seen the servant of any sect dare be so arrogant, so proud. Have you heard what they say outside? Things like how during the Sunshot Campaign the victories of the YunmengJiang Sect were all because of Wei WuXian alone—what nonsense!”

[...]

Lan WangJi sat with his back straight, speaking in a tone of absolute tranquility, “I did not hear Wei Ying say this. I did not hear him express the slightest disrespect towards Sect Leader Jiang either.”

[...]

The good thing was that, not long after he felt awkward, Jin GuangYao came to save the day, exclaiming, “Really? That day, Young Master Wei busted into Koi Tower with such force. He said too many things, one more shocking than the next. Perhaps he said a few things that were along those lines. I can’t remember them either.”

[...]

Jin GuangShan followed the transition, “That’s right. Anyhow, his attitude has always been arrogant.”

One of the sect leaders added, “To be honest, I’ve wanted to say this since a long time ago. Although Wei WuXian did a few things during the Sunshot Campaign, there are many guest cultivators who did more than him. I’ve never seen anyone as full of themselves as him. Excuse my bluntness, but he’s the son of a servant. How could the son of a servant be so arrogant?”

[...]

“In the beginning, Sect Leader Jin asked Wei Ying for the Tiger Seal with nothing but good intentions, worried that he wouldn’t be able to control it and lead to a disaster. He, however, used his own yardstick to measure another’s intents. Did he think that everyone is after his treasure? What a joke. In terms of treasures, is there any sect that doesn’t hold a few treasures?”

“I knew that something would eventually happen if he continued on the ghostly path—look! His killing intents are being revealed already. Killing indiscriminately those from our side just because of a few Wen-dogs…”

[...]

Jin GuangShan continued, “Sect Leader Jiang, you’re not like your father. It’s just been a couple of years since the reestablishment of the YunmengJiang Sect, precisely when you should be displaying your power. And he doesn’t even know to avoid suspicions. What would the Jiang Sect’s new disciples think if they saw him? Don’t tell me you’d let them see him as their role model and look down on you?”

He spoke one sentence after another, striking the iron while it was still hot. Jiang Cheng spoke slowly, “Sect Leader Jin, that’s enough. I’ll go to Burial Mound and deal with this.”

Jin GuangShan felt satisfied, speaking in a sincere tone, “That’s the spirit. Sect Leader Jiang, there are some things, some people that you shouldn’t put up with.”

(Chapter 73, Exiled Rebels translation)

This is very reminiscent of the way that Jin Zixuan would often turn around and say, ‘Why aren’t you controlling your servant?’ to Jiang Cheng whenever he had a dispute with Wei Wuxian over his treatment of Jiang Yanli.

When Jiang Cheng goes to the Burial Mounds and Wei Wuxian defects from Yunmeng Jiang in order to help the sect save face, Jiang Cheng treats this as a personal betrayal. He not only challenges Wei Wuxian to a duel but then announces that Wei Wuxian has betrayed Yunmeng Jiang and declared himself the enemy of cultivation society:

After the fight, Jiang Cheng told the outside that Wei WuXian defected from the sect and was an enemy to the entire cultivation world. The YunmengJiang Sect had already cast him out. From then on, no ties remained between them—a clear line was drawn. Henceforth, no matter what he did, they’d have nothing to do with the YunmengJiang Sect!

(Chapter 73, Exiled Rebels translation)

“Wei Wuxian has betrayed the sect, and publicly regards all cultivation sects as enemy! Yunmeng Jiang Sect hereby expels him, breaking all ties with him and drawing a clear line between us. Henceforth, no matter what this person does, it will have nothing to do with Yunmeng Jiang Sect!”

(Modao Zushi Radio Drama, Season 3 Episode 5, Suibian Subs)

Naturally, no one ever questions this or wants to hear Wei Wuxian’s side of the story. Jiang Cheng is a sect leader and Wei Wuxian his servant, and that is all cultivation society needs to know.

In Conclusion

Wei Wuxian was never really part of the Jiang family. The wider social view was that he was a servant who was lucky to be taken in by the family and allowed to live in the main house alongside the sect leader’s children. He’s accepted into cultivation society conditionally, but only as someone who remains a rank below everyone else.

This attitude isn’t just the wider social view which the family themselves disregard; they all play into it. Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Cheng both actively enforce it, Jiang Fengmian passively enforces it, and Jiang Yanli tries but fails to break through the social barriers between them.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #modao zushi

779 notes · View notes