#geneticcatalyst

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

ok i think you will enjoy this- last night i was thinking about how every time im thinking about the hly/jby dynamic, u have to factor zzs in there too automatically. unavoidable. and then i thought about a couple of specific jby/wuxi scenarios and zzs wound up in there too which is also a very good and fun flavor but now im just like wow. priest was right. guy who is always popping up in the background. who let him in here? idk too late. what a guy

i made smth for u

#u cant just drop this into my inbox and not elaborate!!!!!!!!! #geneticcatalyst #inbox #qiye #zhou zishu #ok so im aware that shell game thoughts doesnt really catch what ur talking abt here #but idk shell game has turned into a catchall phrase when #thinking of zzs's entire Deal in qiye #hes sort of always popping up where u least expect it #like in a . shell game

[geneticcatalyst]

one (more) thing that i love about qi ye is that in my reading anyway, colored by my love of sci-fi noir and cyberpunk, the capital itself has the same feel as a lot of those settings- glittering and seductive on the surface, corrupt and poisonous underneath. the drugs, the politics, the riches and the underworld, the way the city is regarded as an entity in its own right, one that's difficult to extricate yourself from, especially with your morals intact.

#yes im imagining the scifi au okay #something something human nature doesnt change no matter the millenium #but really this is probably more of a commentary on my personal tastes i love a semi sentient malicious city #you couldn't write a more (c) geneticcatalyst post with an algorithm #qi ye #qy meta

[yeliuxi]

Jing Qi & the sable: Why this little guy has more relevance than just being poisonous and cute

I was talking about Jing Qi & the sable with @geneticcatalyst on this post here and I had some thoughts (and feelings) about them

When Jing Qi is lamenting about human troubles, he says:

这人，要操心的事情太多，譬如父母兄弟，亲朋好友, 妻儿老小, 每日应酬也应酬不过来, 总有千千万万的诱惑叫人陷进去

People have too many things to worry about, like parents and brothers, friends and family, wife, children, elders, and juniors, and social niceties upon social niceties to take care of every day. There are always thousands of temptations for people to fall to.

All the things that Jing Qi lists here are things he has struggled with since the beginning of the story. He has filial obligations to his father, must upkeep his friendship with Helian Yi while keeping him at a distance, and has a lot of pressure on him to take a wife and have sons. He has no brothers who can pass down the position of yixing wang to their children in his place. He must keep up respect and facades for Helian Pei, Helian Zhao, and Great General Feng, as they are his elders. He has recently taken a junior, Liang Jiuxiao, under his wing, and is now, in part, responsible for him.

And the temptations? Napping. I say this unironically.

When Jing Qi wakes up in the 7th life, he wants nothing more than to fool around until his death, just bid his time until his karmic ties can be resolved. It would be very easy to do, considering the favorability that (not) "keeping in his own lane" gets him in the 7th life. Helian Pei dotes on Jing Qi even more than his own sons. He's his 半个儿子, as Helian Zhao puts it. (But also this is the same scene when he's calling himself Jing Qi's da-ge and saying greasy stuff like 北渊，你跟大哥说说 [Beiyuan, tell your da-ge]. Barf.)

But... "keeping in his own lane" also means that, without his interference, the nation will be in danger of falling into the greedy and violent hands of Helian Yi's brothers. Even if Jing Qi lazed around for a decade, he would inevitably have to deal with the much more unpleasant fallout.

It's kind of a no-free-lunch thing. Jing Qi has not earned his right to laze around if he ignores his duties to his nation, and will suffer consequences for it. So, Jing Qi resists temptations, upholds daily social niceties, appeases his elders, and tries to keep Helian Yi as the crown prince. And, in the end, he is rewarded: in making sure Helian Yi ascends to the throne, he now no longer has to worry about negative fallout, and can go with Wuxi to Nanjiang, where he will live a peaceful and happy life.

He slowly divests himself of all these worries by the end of the novel. He still has responsibilities, but suffers less for them. The first to go is his obligation to take a wife and have an heir. This is also, in a way, a direct reward of Jing Qi fulfilling his duties to his nation. But... Jing Qi has always been fond of children, and wanted some of his own. (Now I want to make myself sad. Jiang Xue feelings time.) And he gets a child, eventually. One that calls him Diedie 🥺 Luta is a package deal with his peaceful life in Nanjiang, and is also a "long-term payoff" for his character.

These are Jing Qi's mortal, human troubles and affairs.

Then Jing Qi says:

可畜生不一样，每日操心的不过是活着和吃喝。你养了它, 它平日里看得见的，认得的，也就你一个人。你有外面大千世界三丈红尘，它却只记得你一个人的恩情……

But animals are different; their only worries every day are living, eating, and drinking. If you raise an animal, they will usually only look at and recognize you. There is this great big world of mortal affairs outside, and yet it will remember only your kindness...

(Also, on a tangent, Jing Qi uses 三丈红尘 to refer to the mortal world. Literally means "three zhang of red dust." The "red dust" of the mortal world comes from the poem 《西都赋》 and is talking about dust kicked up from daily life of mortals, from traveling, working, etc. And three zhang because most life is contained within three zhang (like 60 feet) of the ground. Unless you're special and live in the sky, I don't know.)

I imagine Jing Qi is speaking from experience, having been an animal in several of his previous lives. In this context, he is also specifically talking about the sable, as he just asked Ji Xiang if he thinks the sable will still recognize him.

When Jing Qi first meets the sable, the sable's position is very much like his own: holed up in the capital, kept there due to obligation to the nation of Da Qing (poor sable is also a hostage like Wuxi). He immediately terrorizes it, which is very different from Jing Qi promising to burn a fox paper money just after wearing its fur, remembering himself how it felt to be skinned alive in his 5th life. But it doesn't seem that he's too aware of the fact that he is terrorizing it... he claims that all he's done is "love it" and doesn't know why it's afraid of him.

Regardless, the sable is used to being scolded by Wuxi, who is strict with it. So it doesn't bite Jing Qi again, and is very well behaved. When Jing Qi takes it back to his estate, the sabel is far less behaved, and likes to make messes and stress out the household staff... much like Jing Qi himself. But, really, just as Jing Qi said: the sable, though it still loves and misses Wuxi, is now being fed, raised, and cared for by Jing Qi. It has no other concerns, and gets to play and laze about freely.

There's a moment when the sable kills the spy that was placed among Jing Qi's household staff, and Jing Qi is surprised, wondering, "You're really this viscious?" I think there's a case to be made that the sable, much like Jing Qi, can be ruthless, though outwardly does not seem like it. Jing Qi describes the sable as 没良心的 (conscienceless). 良心 (conscience) is also the word that Jing Qi asks Liang Jiuxiao if he knows how to write, and claims that a dog ate his own 良心. Jing Qi and the sable are just 没良心的besties over here.

While Jing Qi spends most of his time in the "mortal world" of Da Qing with too many worries, he eventually comes to be like the sable in other ways: concerned only about living, eating, and drinking, concerned only about one person's kindness. This is also a point in favor of Nanjiang kind of being like the underworld? Jing Qi dies in Da Qing, then lives a peaceful afterlife in Nanjiang, where he is no longer concerned with the great, big 三丈红尘 outside. (+15 Buddhist theme points to Qi Ye.)

Jing Qi fulfills his duties to his nation, dies as a ghost of Da Qing, lets go of his mortal affairs, and is rewarded for it. He gets his peaceful life in Nanjiang, and his worries of humans.

TL;DR, things the sable and post-canon Jing Qi have in common:

Love Wuxi

Loved by Wuxi

Hand fed by Wuxi

Scolded by Wuxi (eat your snake meat, Beiyuan)

No stress about family, friends, elders, juniors

Being ancient (accoording to Liang Jiuxiao)

Disciplined by Wuxi (Luta is traumatized)

没良心的

Get to be carefree and playful and laze about at the end of the novel

Terrorizing servants

#qi ye #jing beiyuan #danny💫 #i'm just bullshitting mostly. just like jing beiyuan<3 #but still. some kind of serious thoughts #helian zhao was greasy so so greasy #you are NOT jing qi's da-ge. you're nothing

[sweatyflytrap]

MORE TAG GAMESSSSSS

Got tagged by the most adorable @effervescentdragon 🥹🥹🩷🩷

Last song: Sleep Deprivation by Chance Peña according to spotify (hilariously ironic considering my sleeping habits)

Favourite colour: pink my beloved 🩷

Currently watching: Hawaii five-O posting got to me so that 😭😭 they are so old married couple and it's only the second episode 🥹

Last movie: questions i have to ponder far too much because i barely watch stuff. Oh ya the second knives out movie, re-watched that with mom some weeks back!!!

Currently reading: I am always reading some or the other part of lotr, tying to get the spirit of insanity that made me finish it in three days to possess me again 🥺🥺

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: SPICY!!!! We stan good amount of spice in this household, then savoury and then sweet. Not the biggest fan of sweet stuff but it does have a role in the ecosystem of midnight snacking.

Relationship status: planning how to kidnap the 42yr old geriatric I am parasocial about

Current obsession: old man posting but that's just me everyday. Honestly the start of winter has taken the wind out of my sails so we are just doing one day at a time 😭🫡

Last google: sauve vs suave (tbh most of my searches are just words and their spellings because english stops englishing randomly alot)

Currently working on: job search, trying to make sure my piercing doesn't die and take me with it, various other issues of the mental health variety :))

Current game: the game of life which I am getting a solid below avg at (i don't play games, last i did was probably subway surfer minion rip off on my sister's phone last year or something)

Tagging @skitskatdacat63 @breathofnyx @merenwenformulauno @parallelplayers @lil-shiro @pitayyaaa @ayceeofspades @userkritaaay @geneticcatalyst

No pressure at all ofcourse, if anyone else wants to do this feel free to tag me 🥹🥹

#love tag games #love to ramble #love to force people to read my ramblings even more ☺️☺️

[cryptidafter]

get 2 know me meme

tagged by @lugarn! 💕

tagging @sirenofthegreenbanks @crithir @geneticcatalyst @thatswhatsushesaid @whoisthatmovinginthedark and anyone else who feels like doing this!

Do you make your bed?

Yes! I make it every morning. After I stayed with my grandparents for a while, I got into the habit and I’ve kept it up ever since.

What’s your favorite number?

Seven. Because it’s a lucky number or something lol

What is your job?

I’m a ✨graphic designer✨. I mostly do editorial work and advertising.

If you could go back to school, would you?

No. College wasn’t for me. I’d much rather take classes that interest me on my own time.

Can you parallel park?

Ha, I’ve never tried. I have my license but I rarely drive and parallel parking wasn’t required for my drivers test. I’m sure I could get the hang of it with practice.

A job you had that would surprise people?

Uh, I haven’t really worked anywhere that exciting lol. I guess I did work at a manicure stand in the mall that was for “quick nail appointments”. As you can imagine, it was terrible and it didn’t last very long.

Do you think aliens are real?

Anyrhing’s possible! 🛸👽

Can you drive a manual car?

No (never tried).

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Deep dives about niche topics I’ve never heard of before lol

Tattoos?

I have two! My plan is to get one arm covered and then see if I want both sleeves done.

Favorite color?

I like burgundy and I’ve been in a neutral shade mood for awhile (olive green, tan, brown, etc.)

Favorite type of music?

A lot! But I can always jam to dance music and metalcore.

Do you like puzzles?

I like jigsaw puzzles? Yes! Crossword puzzles? Also yes lol

Any phobias?

A few and no I’m not telling you what they are.

Favorite childhood sport?

I didn’t play/like sports as a kid. Wait, does rollerblading count as a sport?

Do you talk to yourself?

Yes, quite often.

What movies do you adore?

Too many to list but a few of my favorites: It Follows, Us, 28 Days Later, Train To Busan, Superbad, Hereditary, Spirited Away

Coffee or tea?

Coffee, 1000% (unless I’m in a matcha mood)

First thing you wanted to be growing up?

I wanted to be a pop star lol. Thanks Britney Spears and Destiny’s Child 😂

#cryptid’s thoughts #ask game

[thislittlekumquat]

hi there @geneticcatalyst I miss u glad u like my reblogs like in the good ol days <3

#I feel my power returning

[quiet-sunny-corner]

Got tagged by @sindar-princeling, thanks :)  Mine won’t be quite as complicated as yours lol.

Rules: spell out your URL with song titles and tag 10 people.

Oblivion - Bastille

Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod - The Mountain Goats

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men

Uma Thurman - Fallout Boy

Rollin’ Girl - wowaka (ft. Hatsune Miku)

R.I.P. - 3OH!3

as for people to tag, @geneticcatalyst @queenfurball @avoyagetoarcturus if you’d like to I’d love to see your music choices!  And anyone else who’d like to give this a try, go for it!

#lurr talks

[silveryair]

@roselover411 yeah it will give me something to do lol @geneticcatalyst the state gym! Im using my roommates isu card lol

#i wish my job had given us like. a weeks notice. #they saw the sample numbers dropping snd they didnt say anything bc theyre cowards tbh

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

deeply enjoy that the novel can also be read as a commentary on the fallacy of information. we have zzs as the main narrator who adds to this nuance by being a former spymaster and leader of a bunch of proficient investigators. hes very intimate with the process of verification of information, and even his vast databank of knowledge and his abilities of filtering and sorting the "true" from the "fake" is tested throughout the novel through many instances and events. its especially interesting because he makes a major mistake, almost from the very start, that he resolves only after a very long time, and only after overcoming personal weaknesses. his personal weakness at recognizing truth vs decept reveals itself in the inability to meet personal events with a human perspective; he is basically functioning like a person with two lives, and most of the time, he at least acts as if he is regarding wkx, suspected master of ghosts, from the professional business grounds of the retired leader of shadows rather than from the perspective of a person with an adventurous life and wishes of his own. in this lies the danger to misinterpret and to refuse to confront what is truly going on. if zzs cant 'find' the "true reason" for the ghost master following his humble retired self, he is going to do his utmost to make up one (on the basis of his personal and professional experience with such situations), instead of considering at least once the admittedly unlikely chance that wkx might like him and is even deeply sincere about him. this doesnt signal anything less but that we, as the reader, should not irrevocably trust even the one person who is in most stories the most trustworthy; the main narrator. instead, we are advised to reserve us the right to doubt and think for ourself, to look critically upon even zzs, which only circles back to the novel's theme of the fallacy of information. it even lends to the novel's dialogue with the human right to form your own opinion and your own thoughts and come to your own conclusions, no matter how much they might diverge from norm or mainstream or traditions, and no matter how tempting it might be not to.

#tian ya ke #just thoughts im having while im continuing my reread #zhou zishu from tyk #zhou zishu #this has me wondering if zzs's struggle with himself regarding trusting in wkx's display of sincerity #can also be read as his general struggle with being a person with a life of his own and private opinions in service of no other than himsel #one of the things he learns is that is okay to have desires and its okay to Be a person #oftentimes that reveals itself in the novel's question of morality as a concept and the conditions for receiving love and care #'are villains and ppl whove done bad stuff deserving of love and care? do they need to earn it?' #but i think it also comes true here where zzs essentially needs to find a way to be human again #going from having lived a life with a truly atrocious work/life balance to a life that is fully and entirely his own #(i always think that zzs taking the nails has a lot to do with reclaiming ownership) #(and also with 'detoolifying' himself; hes turning himself into a cripple he is 'useless'. this gives him the justification #he needs to live according to his own personal whims and desires.) #updating my tags to find my insane chat with geneticcatalyst again-> #bouncing thoughts back and forth #the mutual tag #geneticcatalyst

[yeliuxi]

WIP Ask Game

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs

I was tagged by @tavina-writes (<33)

I have one redacted WIP which I am not allowed to talk about for the big bang, but here are the rest:

白头偕老

privilege of mother tongue

XY return home

kan cheng; as said

I was going to say fandoms for them but I think that's part of the intrigue. But first one it's probably, you might be able to guess based on title hehe ;)

I do not know how many of my mutuals are writers 🤔 But I am tagging: @octarina @bbcphile @difeisheng @geneticcatalyst and anyone else who comes across this who wants to do it. Just say I tagged you because I am<3

#danny💫

[sweatyflytrap]

Thank you for the tag @schumigrace 🩷🩷🩷

Your first celebrity, outfit, quote, and aesthetic pic on pinterest is your vibe !

Tagging @geneticcatalyst @skitskatdacat63 @userkritaaay @xiaoluclair @fractalkiss @wewentcarracing and @lil-shiro if you would like to ☺️

#I LOVED THIS #fun tag games #also the amount of times i had to refresh to get one quote because i dont use the app at all for that #didn't have to for clothes and shit because thats all i do on it #scroll and stare all day at various clothes and bags and shoes and mope 💀 #also not lana being the first celeb #i thought it would be kendal because i keep saving her fits #or some model from the 90s #anyways that outfit fucks severely and so do those boots #need all of that #also i know you tagged Catie already grace but i am gonna bother her too 🤭🤭

[cryptidafter]

Current Tag Game

Current Time: 5:00 PM

Current activity: Chilling at family’s house

Currently thinking about: my next painting & a really good fic I just finished reading (you know who you are lol 💕)

Current favourite song: The Summoning by Sleep Token

Currently reading: Random Yi City fics on AO3, The Rise of Phoenixes, slowly making my way through Tai Sui. Basically ping-ponging between them depending on my mood.

Currently watching: I May Destroy You (started rewatching Haunting of Hill House but that was before Netflix announced season two of Sweet Home so Hill House is on hold until I watch that lol)

Recently Watched: Last TV show was Only Friends and the last movie was Double Mints.

Current WIP: Rise of Phoenixes fic about Ning Yi’s mommy + daddy issues (and a healthy dose of yiwei, of course).

Tags: If you want to do it, do it! No pressure tagging basically. @crithir @calyxcurl @thatswhatsushesaid @jiaoliqiao @sirenofthegreenbanks @geneticcatalyst

#cryptid’s thoughts #tag game

[thislittlekumquat]

(credit @ creator-chaos)

ajbdkbfskdjgbskjgsdgks girl you already have my number, and my heart ;)

#geneticcatalyst #ILU THANKS #submission