#TLDR: Tang.

[zaacoy]

It's 3 am!! You know what that means!!! Delusional tang posting time let's gooo yippee!!!!!!

Said I'd dump S4 Tang thoughts here a week ago and then I just kinda. didn't. oopsies, but I can start now!!

S4 Spoilers below the cut, you have been warned!!!

AUTHOR'S NOTE OF SORTS AFTER WRITING THIS: WOW IS THIS LONG. I got a little too silly and put too many thoughts down at once oops, prepare to be reading for a good minute you have been warned (twice!!) aughdhsj

My thoughts are so disorganized rn prepare for a rollercoaster of whatever my brain spits out!!

First. Ep 4 intro.

Good to see that Tang still can never have a nice landing unlike everybody else

THE CROCODILE??????? HELLOSNBD?!?

MF GETS BODY SLAMMED?????

THIS SCREAM????? He gets to scream for like, 2. SECONDS. BEFORE HE GETS?? DRAGGED RIGHT BACK INTO THE WATER????

ALL OF THE SCREAMINGSG??? THE BASS???? THE FUCKING GUITAR????????

I can't. I cannot. convey in words how incredibly funny this scene is to me. I can't sit through it and not laugh or start kicking my feet it's just THAT good. They had Z E R O business doing this to him, this scene had absolutely NO REASON to be THIS chaotic but they?? did it anyway????? jgkngm???? I love this show sm

He's so pretty in this specific lighting I need to draw him like this soon or I will explode wowowee

HE DEFLATED. SO FAST.

That's such a funny reaction, no more energy just. Whatever. Eat me I guess I don't care just start cooking so pigsy can come back please. He is so funny

weapon. just straight up bonk him into a demon like a plank of wood

Actually now that I think about it why? Did nobody untie him??? they found him and just left him like that?? Neither of them ever untied him if memory serves I'm pretty sure pigsy did it while he was cooking. ???

"To get crammin' APPARENTLY! HMPF!"

"Oh, haha! I'M the dinner! Excellent."

Good to see Tang's sass and saltiness never leaves, they should let him be sarcastic and talk back more often

Done with all of your bs glares at you glares at you glares at you glares at y

What comes around goes around!!! Their dynamic is fun wahoo

He noms very happily!!! omnomnom (he deserves it at this point mans DESPERATELY needs a break)

THEY DID NOT HAVE TO CALL HIM OIT LIKE THAT DHDHJS PLEASE????? JAJJS The little sad noises he makes as he gets torn into, little guy behavior tbh

"-stop gorging yourself on our rations!" "I'm sorry! It's just I'm stressed okay!?"

STRESS-EATER CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!! YOU AND ME BOTH BUDDY. No wonder he married a cook, wonder if in college everytime Tang was mega stressed about finals or a big deadline coming up (the latter could be true later when he's out of college and had a job too) if pigsy, assuming he had the time, would just make a meal for him. They probably wouldn't be able to spend much time together in that situation so making him something when he knows Tang is stressed seems like a realistic thing for Pigsy to do in order to subtly show he's there for support when need be. Tang pays that kindness forward by actually paying his tab for once coughs

"HEY! I so to am perfect!" (S1)

"hmmmm, if I wasn't so cool and relaxed all the time I'd be reeeeeally worried about the consequences of this" (S1)

"I know my issue is my self confidence" (S4)

(Can't find a way to make it a gif) Tang: so ""relaxed"" in his current situation that he is shaking hard enough to vibrate in place, coupled with the look of completely calm and collected and ""coolness"". (S4)

Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night chan- gets shot

ACTUALLY THo S4 fleshed him out as a character so much, especially when we compare him to how he started all the way back in S1. Beforehand in earlier seasons everything was mostly stable for him. Same places, same people, consistent comfort, it gave him some sense of security that could have made his "calm and relaxed" demeanor viable back then. But now that everythings been thrown up and ruined by powers out of Tang's control, his bubble of safety no longer stands. We begin to see it in season 3 with lady bone demon's attacks + macaque's continued interference. Tang seems a lot more on edge near the latter half of season 3 then he had been all of the rest of the show and there's definitely WAY more panic present as one bad thing after another unfolds, notably when he is quite literally moved to tears as he's forced to forge the samadhi fire. It does kind of consistently crop up during other prior conflicts too but much more mildly and on a more temporary scale. Now, seemingly not long after the lbd incident as mk evidently still hasn't pushed past lbd all that well, his entire framework of stability is practically smashed into pieces. He's stuck in a scroll, he loses track of all of his friends for a while, there is no comfortable safe space for him anymore(a book can probably only realistically tell you so much about a setting, probably not enough to evoke the same familiarity that his house or pigsy's shop does), he literally almost gets eaten, there's ANOTHER massively powerful divine being threatening the safety of his loved ones along with his own, and on top of it all he can't get his powers (which are evidently in DIRE need right now) to work half the time. He had built a dependency on the routine of mundane life beforehand and S4 completely shatters that routine and subsequent stability. It's no wonder why we begin to see him crack, it make sense why we're just now seeing the actual depths of his lack of confidence and his anxiety. This has always been a problem more likely than not, he was able to cope before, or at least hide it, but he can't now. His inability to use his powers properly inevitably worsens the problem. He needs to use his powers but he cant. He needs to be useful, he has to be, but he just can't no matter how long or how hard he tries. Every odd is against him, it's getting to him and it shows. I love how lmk doesn't try to hero-speech it's way out of every character's doubts. I love how they let him break down several times throughout season 4, I love how they let him show emotional weakness not as a plot obstacle that can be ✨✨completely overcome with the power of believing in yourself!! And friends!!! And flashy magic!!! Yayyyyy!!!✨✨ but as a fundamental part of Tang that he just has to work around and deal with it. They obviously can't get too in depth into it (and probably never will) because a. This is a kid show made by Lego, and b. Because he's, y'know, not the main character, but the attention they did bring to it is nice.

I have. Accidently written a paragraph. Oops. uhhhh tldr: They did a good job portraying Tang's internal struggles through S4 while not invalidating his character and behavior from previous seasons. When you kick the rug out from someone's feet and then throw them off a 400ft cliff into a pit full of spikes they're going to be at least a little bit terrified out of their mind and are probably going to understandably show weakness somewhere along the way, I'm glad Lego takes a moment to explore that with Tang at least a little bit.

OKAY!! MOVING ON!!! SORRY ABOUT THAT GHFJJ

Mentioned this earlier on twt but the death grip he maintains on his staff when he gets really scared is a nice touch. He has a history throughout all 4 seasons of latching onto objects or people when he's distressed, a small but fun character detail!

LOOK AT HIM. GIVE HIM A BREAK HE HAS EARNED IT AND HE NEEDS IT PLEEEASDE IM BEGGING SOBS FORERVRRHRHNM

"ahh I'm sorry I'm just- I'm having a melt down and I have no idea what's going on and I just-!"

In line with what I ranted on about for an entire essay earlier- explicit mention of a meltdown! It's quick and short but the fact that they called it a meltdown at all is impressive, this is the first time I can remember a show calling one as such. A meltdown in response to a seeming extended lack of security and a disconnect between Tang and what's going on around him is realistic too, I think at least. The scene right after this when the gang (mostly sandy) does their best to bring Tang back down to earth for a moment was nice, they're such a supportive friend group I love this little found family

DHDJJ???? THIS ENTIRE SCENE WAS GREAT BUT THIS ONE??? WHERE HE JUST GOES ZOOMING THROUGH THE AIR SCREAMMG?? IS HE OKAY?????? HSJH

I HAVE. HIT MY IMAGE LIMIT UMMMM.

I had more to say and I will probably say those later!! For now this is it, it is almost 6 am I should really go to bed augahh

Remember!!!!: live, laugh, tang lego monkie kid. GOODNIGHT!!

#TLDR: Tang. #Can you tell how insane I am about this fictional man #I have so many thoughts about him in my head at all times and S4 made that so much worse!!! grahgahhmnmmmnn #tang lmk #tang monkie kid #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #I am so eepy rahh #Zaacoy rambles🌙

[quillheel]

// IM BRAINROTTING OVER EXOCOLONIST AGAIN. like this post for asks ( or if directly asked, a starter ) from all of my 'i was a teenage exocolonist' muses

#exocolonist tldr: scifi dating sim kinda; focused on people trying to survive on a foreign alien world after fleeing from a dystopian earth #via stealing advanced ai and a ship and charting to a new planet to start a colony on in the desperate efforts to live somewhere Better #or live at all #theres genetic modification and aliens and a wormhole right above the planet which causes all sortsa weirdness and its VERY GOOD #MUSE / Cal #MUSE / Kom #MUSE / Sym #MUSE / Tang #MUSE / Dys #━ ♔ blooming forth in every color : prompts.

[trans-li-ling]

I'd like ophelias character more if they leaned into either making her an awful piece of shit or a massive hypocrite more. It feels like they very clearly set her up as this cold blooded killer and then sorta yanked her back and im not talking abt her tragic backstory I genuinely like how she can't seem to be kind 2 the people luo yan saved instead of her boyfriend but I wish they just went with that instead of having her see this woman dying and going "wow that is sad :( I'll lie to comfort her" and aparantly in a bounty story of hers she was like playing with kids??? Anyways she was on top of Zora's hit list and I feel like the writers went "ok ignore that" even though Zora is the best character-

#The last part is like half joking. I love Zora and her event was probably my fave #Even if we don't have a lot to pick thru I think the writing was v strong and both she and Xiao Yin really got to shine #Plus she kinda stands out as an 'unaffiliated' character (yea bounty hunter but they're supposed to b neutral) but makes her hatred #VERY CLEAR like doesn't seem to hide it. So to just kinda go 'now feel sad for the person she hates' I'm sorry im not going to do that! #Especially when you implied/described her as being very cold blooded and not empathetic I don't really care #TLDR I think ophelia has potential but they didn't really reach it. Also Bonnie was underutilized in the story I know it's like #A side story so it's mostly ophelia like how it was almost totally ahmed last time but still Bonnie is one of the few shadow decree members #Who seem to be somewhat justified bc she GREW UP with the union not doing much! Not to say it justifies joining the organization that burns #Down an orphanage but like cmon she's 19 she's emotional she's the esper of the God of discord. I think she's allowed to be a little messy #AND HER BROTHER JOINED THE UNION. She's like tang yun if he wasn't a little bitch (affectionate I like tang yun and his writing but he is #Or at least seems to be kinda self sabotaging like. Get your shit together. Where Bonnie's situation seems more like outside factors #Fucking everything up for her. Anyways) #What the fuck am I talking about. Oops

[rongzhi]

do you have any idea when people in china stopped bowing to each other as a greeting? it seems like the most common forms of greeting now is to shake hands or wave both which were introduced from the west. it's the same in taiwan too.

Tldr: It never stopped because Chinese people never had the practice of bowing in greeting the way that Japanese people did/do.

-

(Note: there are types of greetings that involve a sort of bowing (ketou), but this is reserved for special occasions)

Back in the day, the greetings were made by clasping one's hands in front of them in the direction of the person being greeted. There might be some head lowering/slight bowing involved but it's done in conjunction with the hand greeting. You can see various forms of this in historical dramas and even hanfu shows and shortform videos. The exact way one held their hands changed in some years but the general idea is the same.

Women's and men's hand greetings differed back in the day. A women's greeting was called 万福礼 wànfùlǐ and consisted of holding the hands in front of oneself and bending the legs, or holding hands at the hip, etc. The exact way to hold the hands also changes through the years. Women also do what is called 肃拜 sù bài, which is an earlier form of a women's greeting and includes getting on one's knees (thus the 拜).

Some examples of greetings:

Men's vs women's hand positions

拱手礼 gōngshǒu lǐ ("cupped hands greeting"). The most common greeting. Top photo shows the gendered difference for proper etiquette for nowadays if you ware going to do it, for example, as a new year's greeting. Bottom photos: I think if you look carefully in modern society, you can still see examples of this greeting in China. It is a gesture that can also be used to expresses one's gratitude. It is still there, it's just fell out of vogue in favor for waving and hand shaking.

This can also be seen in The video above shows Ming era 万福礼 as well as men's 揖礼. 作揖礼 zuòyī lǐ ("bow with clasped hand greeting") is kind of the same thing as 拱手礼, but 作揖 specifically includes a slight bow whereas 拱手礼 is merely the raising of the hands.

叉手礼 chāshǒu lǐ ("crossed hands greeting") popularised during the Western Jin - Song dynasties, seen in the drama "The Longest Day in Chang'an", which takes place in the Tang Dynasty. This particular greeting started out as one used by Buddhists in the Eastern Han dynasty. https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/489897518

抱拳礼 bàoquán lǐ ("cupped fist greeting"). This one is something done more so by martial artists. For men, you use your left hand to cover your right hand. For women, the opposite is true. It is also called 吉拜 jíbài when showing respect. If you flip your hand (keep in mind men/women do this the opposite way), it is called 凶拜 xiōngbài and it used to show respect to the dead. So one has to pay attention to this.

There's kind of a lot more etiquette rules you could get into but this answer has already sort of gone beyond the scope of your question lol. Chinese people wrote rites books over the many dynasties so actually there are descriptions of how these greetings were done and over time and that's how they are replicated in dramas and movies.

#text #answered ask #chinese culture #chinese history

[thoughtssvt]

the apothecary diaries spoilers for manga chapters 60 & 66

guys i'm never one to fight sub v dub but the absolute gasp i let out when i was watching 「the apothecary diaries」 in eng dub for kaiji tang and jinshi said maomao's name in ep 19. i wonder how they're gonna play out the first time jinshi says her name according to chapter 66.

i didn't pay too close attention to this detail while watching in sub, but to my knowledge jinshi either calls maomao "apothecary" or just starts talking to her. idk about the culture of imperial china but i feel like the manga insinuates that the lack of use of maomao's name from jinshi is a pretty big thing since consort gyokuyou teased him about it in chapter 60. to which it almost seems like jinshi makes it a point not to use her name, finding ways to avoid it.

and at least to me, i thought it was a pretty big deal in chapter 66 when he said this

maybe i'm dense and this wasn't the moment jinshi finally says her name, maybe it's just supposed to be a giggling-like-school-girl moment because he's progressively getting more possessive of maomao.

tldr: i wonder how they're gonna do this scene in the eng dub and if it's going to have the same impact as it does if you watch in sub or have been following the manga. maybe the big moment will be that he finally said her name in front of everyone...

i'm curious about how you feel about this! pls lmk your thoughts if you're a manga reader who's also an eng dub watcher. thank youuuu!

#the apothecary diaries #kusuriya no hitorigoto #jinshi #maoamao #jinmao #master jinshi #xiaomao

[shijiujun]

Why You Should Watch 少年歌行 | The Blood of Youth

TLDR: Super good, you should absolutely watch this! Not at all a BL/danmei but from what the donghua gave, there’s quite a healthy bit of bromance and brotherhood between the two male leads, and this show has comedy, plot, excellent pacing, exciting wugong moves and conspiracy, plus tons of gorgeous women and men who can all fight!!! CGI is great too, I initially thought this was gonna be a trashy but funny and moderately good wuxia drama but it’s really well-made and it is still funny and really good on all fronts.

*It has a donghua but I haven’t watched it!!!

---

Summary: 

Xiao Se is a handsome but relatively poor inn owner in the middle of nowhere on some snowtop mountain, and said inn barely sees any visitors year after year. Just as Xiao Se is deciding whether or not to sell the inn, they finally get one visitor, a young traveler, Lei Wujie who’s traversing jianghu for the very first time on his own, and then they soon get a bunch of hooligans who want to rob the inn. Lei Wujie ‘saves’ Xiao Se by defeating the hooligans but in the process damage the inn; Xiao Se demands payment and Lei Wujie says he needs to get to Xue Yue City to find money to pay him back essentially, so Xiao Se follows him out of his inn in the mountains on a journey.

Along the way, they stumble upon Tang Lian, a skilled and well-known disciple of a famous shifu from Xue Yue City, who’s guarding and escorting a golden coffin to another city, not knowing what is in the coffin. He’s been hunted down repeatedly and ambushed by multiple groups of skilled experts, all coveting what’s inside the golden coffin. Xiao Se and Lei Wujie get accidentally embroiled in the mess, and then realize along the way that a monk - Wu Xin - is in the coffin. And everyone is after Wu Xin, from the demonic sects to other sects in the pugilistic world, all the way to the royal palace. 

As Xiao Se and Lei Wujie end up traveling with Wu Xin, conspiracies and past feuds unravel, and Xiao Se is not who he seems to be.

Watch on Youku (YT): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1xIuBPN-lk (Total 39 episodes, from Dec. 2022 - Jan. 2023)

---

Main Characters:

Xiao Se/Xiao Chuhe (Li Hongyi): The exiled 6th prince who was once a prodigy in martial arts and cultivation before he lost all of it after an attack, and he’s been at the inn ever since. Very well informed of everyone and who’s who, plus all the big happenings in the pugilistic world. Nonchalant, dealing with some issues, very bold and haughty (rightfully so), and this man was a prince and skilled fighter from before too, HAS A LOT OF BAGGAGE, banters a lot with Lei Wujie (cuz this boy is dumb) and is forced to face his demons with the help of Wu Xin. Mysterious, but not really because the moment he walks out everyone knows him like come on he’s the beloved 6th prince before he was exiled

Wu Xin (Liu Xueyi): The son of the demonic sect head before his dad went to war with the royals and was betrayed and defeated, and the demonic sect had to send him over to the royal palace as a hostage, but he gets ‘adopted’ by an old monk and is taught everything that he knows (and was loved) by the old monk. He looks very demonic LMAO more than a monk, super skilled, known for his magic eyes, and he kidnaps Xiao Se and Lei Wujie to be his companions, has a bit of daddy issues too and a lot of pent up anger from when he was younger, but also like super zen at times, and then flippant at other times

Lei Wujie: Dumb husky or golden retriever. Very skilled, pure-hearted, but still very young. SO DAMN FUNNY!!! 

---

Why You Should Watch This:

1. Possible bromance between Wu Xin and Xiao Se - So far they’ve been very brotherhood but I expect that all to change soon, their first meeting is hilarious af this is the first thing they say to each other, when Wu Xin asked if Xiao Se would accompany him to place and bro went “No wtf”

I mean look at how demonic and slutty Wu Xin is with his eyes and that jawline and see how close they sitting to each other even though Xiao Se is like get-away-from-me

GUYS WE REALY DO GET BROMANCE!!! HAHAHAHA also i was wrong xiao se at this point isn’t the 团宠 just yet, wu xin is!!! he’s the center of attention do you know how many people ran to catch him when he fainted?!?!??!

AND THEY WERE FORCED TO BE SEPARATED FOR A BIT AND LOOK AT HOW THEY TEARED UP WHEN THEY WERE BACK FACING EACH OTHER WTF YALL WERE BARELY BROS FOR AN HOUR

2. Gorgeous men and women and they all can fight and murder you with their eyes?!?!?! (There’s more than the below LIKE A LOT MORE)

3. COMEDY

Example this dumb boy introducing his big name to everyone and then hitting his head 

Example the whole fucking carriage has been exploded to smithereens BUT guess who is literally untouched and still in his bed?? Sleeping beauty Wu Xin

Example Xiao Se praising how amazing Wu Xin is but then like “We’re his hostages but we’re praising him” wtf

4. The CGI!!!! And the fighting sequences are really amazing!!!

---

And lastly am I the only one thinking about Xue Xian and Xuan Min from Copper Coins!!

#少年歌行 #the blood of youth #liu xueyi #li hongyi #wu xin #xiao se #why you should watch #cdrama

[alexanderlightweight]

I am loving the thread of "cultural misunderstandings" between Magnus and Alec in your fics/canon. Can we get some resolution of one of them, either for dragon!Alec series where he realizes that Magnus doesn't feel appreciated (or Magnus learns more about dragon culture), or for any other series really! Tldr idiots in love realizing that they have been missing some major signs~

magnus is about to be *shocked pikachu face* and alec is just: why are you acting so surprised?

and i'm glad you're enjoying them! i enjoy non-super angsty miscommunication rn so i have quite a bit of fun with both parties misunderstanding while working to the same goal with different efforts and etc

i hope you enjoy!

<3 lumine

*canon typical violence and alec has to be bribed not to eat someones remains because he's very angry and digesting them would make him feel better

—

Alec doesn’t care one way or another that Magnus enjoys Pandemonium. Especially now that he knows his warlock no longer allows others to touch him as intimately as he once did.

It also means that Alec continues to prefer joining Magnus by wrapping around his neck or shoulders, unwilling to risk getting a stranger’s strench on himself.

There’s a presence that joins them and Alec lazily blinks open a single eye, watching curiously to see what is new. He figures it out immediately, recognizing the tang of pheromones and the winding, sleek magic that steeps around the figure.

Aesthetically, he’s probably pleasing to some standards but Alec gives the man a disdainful once-over. He can hardly compare to Alec’s precious hoard and while his incubus attributes clearly give him a boost, Alec simply rolls his eyes and settles back down under Magnus’ jacket for a longer nap.

Or at least, that’s his plan until Magnus straightens and welcomes the incubus with a purr of power, magic brushing but not tangling with the seelie’s power. 

“Bryn, well met.” Magnus says in greeting and Alec begrudgingly allows it, tail curling around the chains of Magnus’ necklaces possessively.

“Well met, Bane.” Is returned and then Bryn gives a deeper, lingering look over Magnus and smirks. “I heard you’d picked up some kind of magical reptile.” The look he casts at Alec is one of casual interest, not true intrigue and Alec gives a warning hiss, wings pressing against the back of Magnus’ neck.

He will not be a prop used to get close to Magnus and if this one tries it, then the queen shall find herself lacking an ambassador.

“You’ve heard.” Magnus says and it’s not a pleasant tone to anyone but Alec who snuggles more closely to Magnus’ skin, enjoying the warmth of him as anger heats his body. “I did not realize that the gossip of my personal deeds were so important to your people, Bryn. Do you have actual news for me, as an ambassador of your people? Or shall I inform your queen that you no longer have the intelligence to convey pertinent information between the realms?”

The incubus flounders for a moment and Alec can smell the way he’s pushing down his irritation and then true arousal taints his anger.  He’s drawing on his attraction to Magnus to manipulate his own body and when he steps close he even goes so far as to kneel.

“Forgive me, Magnus. I overstepped.”

“And in the same breath you ask for clemency, you take a privilege not granted you. There is no reason for my name to leave your lips.”

—

Magnus isn’t sure what Bryn thinks he’s doing and if this is his own personal mistake or one that was assigned to him. It only matters because one is easy to deal with while the other will involve politics and Magnus hopes that it’s just Bryn’s arrogance rather than true maneuvering.

“My apologies, my king.”

Magnus lets his glamor drop, keeping his gaze firmly on Bryn even as he wonders just what Bryn is playing at.  For him to be able to call Magnus ‘my’ king is either a sign that he’s switched allegiances, or that he thinks he owns some part of Magnus. That some piece of Magnus might belong to Bryn, when Bryn had merely been a part of a conduit in a mildly entertaining orgy that had been used for a ritual.

Magnus doesn’t even notice the hand reaching out to press against his thigh until a heavy weight is in his lap.

Alexander is draped over his thighs, naked and unashamed and with rippling scales that role down his bare skin in tantalizing designs.  When Magnus finally stops staring at Alexander’s skin, he looks over his treasure’s shoulder and finds Bryn on the floor.

The metal and gems of his clothes have twisted around him and he lies in shock even as the metal tightens cruelly around him. The softly seductive aura of his power flares as heat rushes down Magnus’ spine and arousal forcibly floods his system and those around them.

Alexander makes a startled noise, turning to give Magnus a sour, unhappy glare even as he shifts back — as if pressing his naked, muscled body against Magnus’ erection is doing anything to help the situation.

Then, his darling little treasure gives a furious scoff and inhaling first with a grimace, exhales.

Frost tints the air and a cool gust of air devours the aura, forcing the power away. The crowd around them shudders, the twist of Bryn’s forced arousal being cleared from their systems.

There is a moment of silence and then Alexander leans forward and Magnus nearly grabs him by his nape to keep him in Magnus’ lap. Instead, his dragon balances against the laws of physics, somehow staying in Magnus’ lap even as his spine twists and pops. The usual chime of his voice is gone and the harsh rasp that comes from his throat makes them all wince.

Even Magnus.

It sounds like metal cleaving metal and then Alexander’s tongue flicks out, black and forked before it flicks.

Magnus knows Alexander has a great many natural abilities and it doesn’t surprise him that Alexander can taste the very magic in the air. It only makes sense with how carefully he curates his palette.

“Even if he were your king, he would not be yours to touch.” Alexander speaks with a low solemnity that Magnus has never heard from him. “A mere ambassador of the seelies dares to try and steal from me?”

Magnus blinks and lets his hands settle on the scaled curve of Alexander’s hips.

“I stole nothing.” Bryn begs, voice a begging whisper that Alexander’s growl silences.

“To try and touch a dragons hoard is to court death.” Alexander murmurs in a vicious murmur that echoes around the large room. “I will reward you with what you seek, for your bravery.”

The mockery in his tone is nearly physical and then he flicks his tongue and Magnus sees a single, shimmering drop of venom fall to Bryn’s bare arm. 

There is a moment of nothing and then an agonized, screeching plea as Bryn gasps out the last noise he’ll ever make. His body freezes so quickly and so powerfully that he looks like a corpse that has been lost to the elements for years, not mere seconds.

Alexander snorts and then — still somehow staying in Magnus’ lap — reaches out and taps the frozen skin of the seelie with a single touch of his nail.  Bryn’s body breaks apart into hundreds of small pieces, nothing of him spilling as even his organs are now crystal ice.

It’s impressive, but Magnus is still surprised by the cause of it all.

“I know you love these pants, treasure.” Magnus murmurs, because Alexander adores the current outfit he’s wearing. “But I didn’t realize they were a part of your hoard.”

“You’re wearing them, anything you wear becomes a part of my hoard.” Alexander returns evenly, looking completely nonplussed by the frozen chunks of seelie shattered across the club floor. His tongue flicks out and Magnus recognizes the gleam in his eyes and immediately summons a gem that he holds up to Alexander’s mouth.

“Treasure, you cannot eat him. Any of him.” Magnus is both ordering with his words and coaxing with his tone. “He’s nothing but poison.”

Alexander seems to consider that for a minute and Magnus hopes they can end this casually. Without Alexander further desecrating the corpse that Magnus will have to send in pieces back to the queen… Magnus wants it to remain recognizable by magic at the very least.

“True.” Alexander sniffs, “and if his queen liked him so much that she was willing to overlook his stupidity, then we should let her piece him back together. A cracked statue of failure for her to look upon and recognize her own incompetence.”

Magnus chuckles, unable to help himself and Alexander accepts the gem with a pleased trill. It’s a relief to hear the gentle song of it and Magnus relaxes, finally letting go of the magic he subconsciously summoned. It twines around Alexander with a covetous pulse, still full of the rage Magnus had felt at the idea of Alexander’s mouth anywhere near another, even if it were a corpse.

The seelie remains vanish through an easily called portal.  The queen will recognize the lingering magic of her own subject easily enough and while she is a queen, she is a queen in her own realm alone and not a king of dominion as well.

“Why does everything I wear become a part of your hoard?” Magnus asks as casually as he can. Dragons covet their hoards and as much as Alexander adores him, it wasn’t a topic Magnus has been willing to broach without a good opportunity.

Alexander turns and twists himself to straddle Magnus and — remembering the people still around them — Magnus summons a robe that he wraps around his treasure. Alexander seems confused, looking at Magnus with dark eyes that seem to piece his soul.

“Because anything my hoard claims, becomes mine as well.”

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #the taste of his magic #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #malec

[quitealotofsodapop]

So what's your opinion on Tripitaka/Sanzang?

A lot of people tend to write him as abusive. Granted the fillet was messed up. Though a lot of people tend to forget that he was only human. Not just that but he was surrounded by confirmed human eaters, I mean Ao Lie wasn't confirmed but I'm pretty certain he ate people too.

This doesn't also consider the fact that Tripitaka was sheltered his whole life, had a complicated and convoluted family, and was basically shoved into this journey with no warnings whatsoever.

My hc for Tripitaka was that he was a sheltered, neurotic, mess surrounded by ex-convicts.

He falls so often for dirty tricks and traps partly because he doesnt *want* to believe that there's so much evil in world. He's human compassion personified.

He probably thought that the fillet was given to him for a reason, no matter how messed up it was as essentially being a shock collar for SWK. But tbf SWK did pretty much tell Tripitaka that he'd kill him if he p-d him off enough. Sooo the monk has reasonable doubt.

A huge aspect of Jttw is that Tripitaka became almost a fatherly figure to Wukong - someone who was willing to geniunely guide his emotions. But Tripitaka was also 20-something human parenting a 1k+ monkey demon. He didnt have books or experience to tell him how to deal with SWK getting murder-y on bandits, or even emotionally tackle the possibility of SWK killing an innocent person.

However from an outside observer (i.e, Macaque), Tripitaka looked like an unreasonable man holding the key that imprisoned a hero just to keep a moral high-ground. If Tripitaka had *known* of Macaque ahead of the deception, then likely would have welcomed the other monkey to the pilgrimage with open arms.

Ofc Macaque would rather die than join some "worthless" holy mission that kept his best friend/mate away from returning home and to him. So...

In the end, Tripitaka *tried* and that meant the world to Wukong.

But the existance of Tang in the present suggests an interesting contradiction to Tripitaka's ending...

Tripitaka was meant to be the *last* Golden Cicada incarnation... unless someone he did/or felt that he did led to him not obtaining enlightenment.

Maybe the monk felt guilt for Macaque's passing? For the pain that could have been spared if he'd just trusted Wukong's judgement? The demons that he could have redeemed rather than let be killed?

Perhals in shedding his mortal form as a cicada does his childhood shell in Chapter 98; Tripitaka may have decided that he still needed some time to "grow up" so to say. His presence at Red Son's ritual many years on suggests that he atleast stays in the mortal realm for some time.

And maybe keep an eye on the next generation, unlike real life cicadas are unable to.

Tldr: Tripitaka is a fascinating character, (especially to a high-empathy, bad-with-detecting-lies autistic person like myself) and its way too easy for writers to interpet him as an abusive jerk when in reality he was just trying to be a good person and survive whilst surrounded by so much danger and corruption.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #jttw character analysis #lmk character analysis #lmk tripitaka #journey to the west

[astronnova]

How is the true sun wukong that nobody will love??

nobody in the show loves the true sun wukong. everyone views him as something that he is and also isnt

MK thinks of wukong as this flawless idol in the beginning. there's no room for failure on wukong's end; he has to be perfect because MK expects that of him. after the bone demon arc, MK's perception shifts, but he still holds wukong to an incredibly high standard while also bringing him down by constantly reminding him of his failures.

macaque doesn't love the real wukong, he loves the old idea of him, if his lines like "the old you would've leveled this mountain range to stop me. but now you're scared of hurting some kid? pathetic!" prove this. macaque wants the old, strong, intense wukong that only cared about himself, his monkeys, his demon alliances and his ego. macaque for s1-3 just wants to make wukong feel inferior and upset, he's constantly putting wukong down.

mei, sandy, tang, and pigsy are all incredibly disconnected from wukong. mei doesn't seem to have any bad blood, but it can definitely be assumed she has some sort of a grudge due to the samadhi fire incident. when the fire's active, she berates him. (of course, she has a reason to be doing that,not saying she doesn't.) tang views wukong as this untouchable legend, and pigsy honestly seems to dislike wukong the most out of the main five. sandy seems like he'd be the most level-headed tbh

tldr: people only care about what they perceive wukong as, and don't actually care about him as a person. they care about him as a king, as a hero, as an idol, etc. they put him so high up onto a pedestal, that when eventually he does something that contradicts that mindset people get mad at him.

MK's kinda gettin it by the end of s4, at least understand why wukong is so distant and chooses to not explain anything, but he's still falling into the habit of idolozing wukong to the point of copying his behaviors subconsciously (and consciously); both the good behaviors and the bad.

#🐒 critical watches the kid monkie show #lmk s4 spoilers #critical . txt #✉ mailbox

[tang-aus-by-quill]

Made a Tang Au!

Transmigrated back in the past as the Wandering Monk,Tripitaka

Tang Au! Aka,Tang took Tripitaka's place after he realized that Tripitaka's relationship with Wukong was not good and he wished that��.

"If I were in his place,I would do so much better than him! If it wasn't for him,Wukong wouldn't end up like this! Grrr!..."

In which he did get what he wanted…..

Except he didn't want any of this!

Now Tang must survive being with the ancestors of his friends but more so look after Wukong and deal with his shit,along with the fact he decided to screw with everyone.

The Gold Cicada is Happy for the chaos~

Tang is having a migraine soon….

All the while chaos happens…..

Then again…..

He did crave Chaos after all~~~

TLDR;too long, didn't read-

Local Scholar became the Monk of his ancestor and deal with his mistakes-

More at 5-

What do you think? It will be funny to see Tang deal with Sha wujing,Zhu bajie and Wukong shit along with Ba Longma-

Plus some misunderstanding that Tang created-

A peachtea ship too-

*insert sound of lip smacking and bowl clinking* mmph, Mhm this shit good. Eatin it up. And I just love the idea of tang having to keep everyone on a leash Omfg- I know it probably doesn’t work this way BUT IF IT WERE A COMPLETE PLACEMENT SWAP AND TRIPITAKA WAS STUCK IN THE PLACE OF TANG- cause imagine Tang’s ready to sass everyone into their place, meanwhile Mk and everyone else is dealing with someone who looks like Tang but acts like Tripitaka, and MK is sooooooo close to whacking the “imposter” with his staff just to see if they’ll get the usual Tang back 😭😭

also, would Tang have his hair with the monk outfit cause if he has to be bald imma roll on the floor laughing

#lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid au #lmk au #lmk tang #tang lmk #lego monkie kid tang #tang sanzang #lmk tripitaka #tripitaka

[autistic-fool-with-ideas]

Does azure know wukongs relationship with baby mk? Does he know they have a connection?

Cracking my knuckles

Ok, lots of stuff to say here.

First I’ll have to go over MKs hatching from the stone egg and how it changes in this au.

Wukong spent the day in his cabin, only leaving when he heard one of his generals shouting to him. When he left, the general immediately rushed him over to the stone egg where several other monkeys were freaking out

Mostly because it was glowing

Wukong immediately is so fucking confused and then the egg hatches which doubles it

So now Wukong has found this baby who hatched from stone like he did so now he has several questions like:

How did I not notice a stone egg

Does this kid have any of my shit (EG. Laser eyes and stupid resilience)

Am I the father

So, very confused all around.

Wukong tries his best to raise MK.

For a week.

After the week he remembers how many people hate him, he looks at baby MK, thinks about all his enemies, back to baby MK.

So he decides to give up MK in hopes it’d keep him safe from the hundreds of people that hate Wukong.

Wukong takes MK on his cloud and zips over to Megapolis, gets his lawyer to do the paperwork, and shows up at Pigsys Noodles. Tang loses his SHIT upon seeing Wukong

Wukong explains the whole deal to Pigsy and Tang and hands MK off to them.

BUT

Someone saw the interaction. Azure did specifically. So reasonably he heads up to flower fruit mountain to ask Wukong about the whole thing bc, Y’know, that was a baby.

Wukong explains, AGAIN, and Azure decides: “well I guess I’m the kids uncle then”

And he heads over to Pigsys Noodles to offer Tang and Pigsy help in raising MK, which Pigsy agrees to upon learning that Wukong had laser eyes when he was born and Pigsy does not want to deal with MK also having laser eyes alone.

TLDR: Azure knows the whole situation, but has no idea if Wukong is ACTUALLY related to Mk (no one knows actually, it’s a running bit that no one actually knows)

#uncle Lion au #Lego monkie kid #monkie kid #azure lion #sun Wukong #lmk mk #cassettes tapes

[imminent-danger-came]

Hi! This has nothing to do with anything, but we as a fandom need to talk more about Mei canonically attaching cameras to the rest of team MK. Yes, this is a thing. She admits it in S1E4. 

Like, imagine there’s a moment next season where MK somehow gets separated from everyone (again), and it’s this big problem that everyone’s freaking out about… only for Mei to calmly take out her phone and pull up MK’s exact coordinates because she got tired of all this separation shit and chipped all of team MK (does the squad have an official name?) between seasons. No more lost friends on her watch! 

And for bonus points, this could be a way to not only give the writers an easy explanation for how the characters know to go to seemingly random places for the plot to happen, but also add some (likely much needed) levity to a potentially dramatic moment involving MK and Mei being separated. Like, for example, a hypothetical moment of build up that leads into a certain interaction between MK and Mei that harkens back to a particular confrontation from S3E10? 

…Look, I have Samadhi Fire part 3 on the brain, okay? Let me have this. 

Anyways, TLDR Mei loves her friends a whole lot and is more than happy to show it in the most chaotic-good-who’s-also-good-with-tech way possible, and we need to talk about it more.

I always refer to them as "MK & the gang" or just "the gang", but surprisingly they don't have an official in-show name! They're just our guys. Our goobers.

And lol Mei totally would. Everyone keeps leaving everyone else, so at this point let's just track 'em! The writers are fantastic at pacing, and with the 10 minute episodes that means not spending a long time on having the characters figure out where to go. Instead they focus on the characters actually being the places they need to go, which is the meat, the good stuff.

I think 4x03 is a real good example of this, where MK and Mei overheard Tang Sanzang's location, we saw that time passed, and then we see them finding Tang in the forest. This sorta-kinda-reunion with Tang in the forest is MUCH more important to give time too than watching them wander around in search for him, and that's what makes this shows pacing so good. They cut out the middle man, and we get to really focus on what's important.

SO. All that to say a Mei tracker would be a really cute way to do exactly that! And *cough cough* Samadhi Fire part 3, which is something I am in no way biased for. I totally wouldn't cry at their reunion being Samadhi Fire part 3, where this time no one leaves.

#legos make you lose control legos make you lose control #gahh. I LOVE MK AND MEI SO MUCH #MEI MY GIRL. MY LOVE. MY HOPEPUNK SHONEN PROTAG GIRLY #PROBABLY ALSO SLOWLY DEVELOPING ABANDONMENT ISSUES WITH MK SWK AND MACAQUE RIP #lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk analysis #asks #lmk MK #lmk Mei #unhinged anon #I think

[zaacoy]

Additionally while I'm here I want to give a quick update on how this account is going to be operating from now on!

This is supposed to be my doodle silly account, I have completely failed to treat it as such but that's what I want to make it. Going forward I think I'm going to try to be less formal here and more open, uploading things as I draw them without worrying about there being "enough" content or the content "being good enough". Still going to be doing sketch pages and comics from time to time because I think those are fun but also just posting one off sketches because I feel like it. Also!!!! More personal stuff!! Freenoodles and Tang still fill my entire heart and soul but I've recently had fun redesigning old ocs, creating stuff in minecraft and animal crossing, making little crafts (some of which are lmk related, some of which aren't), making a bunch of lore for this one mc persona on an smp I play ON TOP of wanting to redesign my main sona again. This probably still will be an lmk centric account but I'd like to have a place to put that other stuff too, so I'll be putting it here on my silly doodle account from now on :3 Also I might just? talk? on here? If there's a comment I really want to make I might just start throwing them into the void idk I want to start voicing my thoughts more but twt scary lol

mmr TLDR: this is a doodle account!! Also an account for me to be silly on and do whatever I want!! So I'm finally going to treat it that way, or at least try to ehe- Twt is my rendered+animated+nice sketches account this is the one where I go bonkers on heeheehoo

#Zaacoy update post? I guess? What do you call this #Anywho you get silly Legos here but you'll see a few other sillies every now and again #I'll try to organize it with the tagging system somehow #:3 !!!!! >:3c 💥💥💥

[rongzhi]

not sure if you've answered this before but would you happen to know if lgbt+ is common in 'ancient china'? if it was when did it stop being 'common'? i just ask this because i heard of the story about the emperor (? i think) who cut off his sleeve for his lover

The story you're referring to is often called "the Passion of the Cut Sleeve", a story recorded in 汉书 (A History of the Former Han, about Emperor Ai, Liu Xin, of the Han dynasty (who ruled from 7 BC - 1 BC and died at 25 y.o, for perspective) and his lover, Dong Xian. To put it shortly, in order to not wake Dong Xian from sleep, Emperor Ai cut off a sleeve of his robe so that he could get up without disturbing him. "Cut sleeve"/etc (断袖/断袖之癖/断袖之宠) thus eventually because a euphemism for homosexuality. Similar euphemisms came from other, older stories involving monarchs:

"The Story of the Shared Peach"/"The Bitten Peach" led to "shared peach" (分桃) and "bitten peach" (餘桃） becoming a slang for "homosexual". This story is actually often posed as a fable of sorts. Mizi Xia was a courtier of Duke Ling of Wei (not to be confused with the later state of Wei) (ruled 534 — 492 BC) who was very good-looking and once shared a peach with the duke, who was charmed by the gesture and allowed Mizi Xia to use his carriage without having to ask permission. Later, when Mizi Xia's looks had faded, he lost favor with Ling-gong, who then said that Mizi Xia had stolen his carriage and insulted him by giving him a half-eaten peach. Still, Mizi Xia as a legendary figure is often referenced as the ideal lover.

A third story is just that of King Wei and Lord Longyang, which would've taken place somewhere around 260ish BC (give or take a decade). It was recorded briefly that once when the two were out fishing, Longyang began to cry, and when asked why, he said that he was afraid that when he lost his looks, the king, being surrounded by so many beauties, would eventually abandon him. As a result, in order to show Longyang that this was not the case, the king handed down the order that it would be forbidden to discus any other beauties, and punishment for doing so would be death to the entire family and confiscation of property (I know, extra). Later, Longyang was given a fiefdom by the king and "Lord Longyang" (龙阳君) is a slang for homosexual, with "the closeness of Longyang" (龙阳之好) and similar expressions (龙阳之兴) also being a synonym for homosexuality.

As for the other part of your question, I'd say yes....ish. "LGBT+" is a modern concept dominated by western queer/gender/sexuality studies in many ways so I personally do not find it useful to use this term when talking about or trying to understand (Chinese) history.

But yes, there homosexuality in ancient/imperial China, and it was not pathologised or treated as a medical issue or perversion for much of history (basically not until religious/Christian-based homophobia arrived and spread through China via Europeans, esp. missionaries). Neither Buddhism, Daoism, nor Confucianism, the most popular religions/philosophies in China throughout history and today, condemn homosexuality, either. TLDR; for the most part, homophobia was propagated during the Qing Dynasty via Western (European) influence.

Now, was it 'common'? As common as it is today, I suppose. Or, to answer the question I think you're more likely trying to ask: was it open? From my understanding, there were changes in attitudes toward same-sex relations (and sexuality in general) through the dynasties and in certain groups, but for much of pre-modern Chinese history, same-sex attraction and relations were accepted as a facet of life and society. It's often been said that the Tang Dynasty was extremely liberal in many areas including sexuality and sexual expression, whereas by the Qing dynasty, society was increasingly conservative, with more laws being affected to deal with prostitution and sexual deviancy (rape, assault, etc) (unfortunately probably linking homosexuality to deviance due to prevalence of male prostitution for example) while also infamously having a rich culture around (male) same-sex relations (homosexual, homoerotic) in Beijing opera up through the end of imperial China. Overall, Chinese history is so long and varied and attitudes toward and practices surrounding homosexuality changed.

People also got married for different reasons back in the day, i.e, political and social (financial) reasons. Confucius reasons, lol. If you do any reading into it, you'll probably find that Fujian province is often mentioned as place were homosexuality seemed prevalent. Such was even the practice that men would marry into one (usually the more powerful/better off one)'s family. Of course, at the end of the day, there was generally an expectation that one should produce offspring to continue on the family name; at that point there was either adoption or, one man might after a couple years take a wife or concubine (has a lower status/marital rights than a wife) and raise a child to fulfill their duties to family (as dictated by Confucianism).

I should add that lesbians through history often fly under the radar and are less academically explored but my understanding is that female same-sex relations (lesbianism, homoeroticism) was actually more prevalent and unwavering throughout the times, since laws, politics, and society were mostly concerned with what men were up to, basically. Although less discussed, depictions and mentions of lesbianism are nonetheless found in Chinese literature and art throughout history.

And, kind of a side note I couldn't figure out where to stick in this answer, it's worth noting that gender expression was different and somewhat still is different in China so it's ineffectual to completely map modern and western ideas/theories of gender/gender queerness and all that onto...things.

Uh oh the words are leaving me. Aaand I am starting to ramble anyway, so I'll leave it here. Obviously I did not source anything in this reply—I am really just summarising things off the top of my head so if you're truly interested in the subject, it's worth researching and verifying on your own. Maybe this response will give you ideas for jumping off points in any case.

#text #answered ask #long post #gay ask #同志历史 #there could be typos but........ i aint readn that LOL #< update: i read it and there were typos 😒 #sorry i took a couple days to get to this

[mythicalmagical-monkeyman]

MK with 🥀 and 🌵

Oh yeah! Fun ones >:3

I can actually answer both of these with the same answer (basically).

So in my reincarnation au a goddess teaches MK how to connect with things via chi but he mostly uses chi to connect with mythical creatures to like get them to chill the f out. But there's one specific mythical creature, Stormhunter, which is basically the Toothless to Mk's Hiccup, which he's connected to with enough that MK can tap into Stormhunters' lightning powers and use them himself (TLDR: MK uses chi to get lightning powers).

And this ^ ties into my dark MK headcanon that if MK went all harbinger of chaos he could use chi to like tap into the powers of people he's connected with and use them for himself (aka use Red Son's fire, or use Tang's mythical transportation powers) and then this would basically turn him into a god overnight.

(Unstoppable, thunder bringer, harbinger of chaos)

#thanks for the ask! #evil mk headcanon #ask #love this #lmk #lmk mk #lmk qi xiaotian #lego monkie kid #harbinger of chaos #reincarnation au #2nd chances au

[liberty-or-death]

SHL Episode 7/Thousand Autumns Chapter 124: 有花堪折直须折，When the flowers are in bloom, it’s time to pluck them.”

In Episode 7, Wen Kexing tries to wake Zhou Zishu up, and he utters the line “有花堪折���须折，When the flowers are in bloom, it’s time to pluck them.”.  

This phrase comes from the popular Tang Dynasty song “Gold Lined Clothes 金缕衣/Wealth”.  The author of this song is unknown.  TLDR; the song can be simply summed up as “cherish what you have and don’t let the good times go to waste."

劝君莫惜金缕衣，

I advised you not to care about clothes lined with gold.

T/N: Clothes lined with gold refers to riches in general

劝君须惜少年时。

I urge you to cherish your youth.

有花堪折直须折，

When the flowers are in bloom, it’s time to pluck them. 

莫待无花空折枝。

Don’t wait for the flowers to fall before you pluck them.  

A Thousand Autumn analysis behind the cut (Chapter 124)

If the Thousand Autumns fans are wondering why this is poem sounds so familiar, that is because the same idea was echoed in Chapter 124.  Yan Wushi uses the same analogy of plucking flowers when they’re in bloom before they wither to explain to Shen Qiao why he wishes to fight.  The exact sentence that Yan Wushi says goes like this

“In my opinion, that flower has already bloomed to its very best, and if it continues to grow, it will only wither day by day.  So I’ll send it on its way and leave its most beautiful season in your heart.  Why is that wrong?” - Translation by myself.

#shl #shl meta #wen kexing #zhou zishu #thousand autumns #qian qiu #shen qiao #yan wushi