#i'm talking 3+ pages of if for at least 3 ships as far as i remember

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Brackets for round 2!

Round 2 bracket A starts tomorrow, bracket B a week later!

Please disregard the formatting above, the site doesn't allow a bracket with no preliminaries if there are 18 options in a bracket.

The options in red are on the same level as the others, this round will have 9 polls for each bracket (so 18 in total). Instead of preliminaries in this round, I decided to do double-elimination polls for round 3.

List of all couples/ships below, although not in order they're in the bracket:

Couples/ships that got 1 or 2 submissions and survived past round 1:

Sister Beatrice x Ava Silva (Warrior Nun) - canon, 2 submissions Suletta Mercury x Miorine Rembran (Gundam: the witch from Mercury) - canon, 1 submission Ruby x Sapphire (Steven Universe) - canon, 2 submissions Anthy Himemiya x Utena Tenjou (Revolutionary Girl Utena) - canon, 1 submission Rose x Kanaya (Homestuck) - canon, 2 submissions Caitlyn Kiramman x Vi (Arcane) - canon, 2 submissions Beauregard x Yasha (Critical Role) - canon, 2 submissions Adora x Catra (She Ra and the princesses of power) - canon, 2 submissions Ballister Boldheart/Blackheart x Ambrosius Goldenloin (Nimona) - canon, 1 submission Cecil x Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale) - canon, 1 submission Hornet x Lace (Hollow Knight) - subtext, 1 submission Amaya x Janai (The Dragon Prince) - canon, 2 submissions Caleb Widogast x Essek Thelyss (Critical Role) - canon, 1 submission Harley Quinn x Poison Ivy (DC) - canon, 1 submission Blake Belladonna x Yang Xiao-Long (RWBY) - canon, 2 submissions Alec Hardison x Eliot Spencer x Parker (Leverage) - canon, 1 submission

The couples/ships that got 3+ submissions and enter the tournament in round 2:

Jack Harkness x Ianto Jones (Torchwood) - canon, 3 submissions Wei Wuxian x Lan Wangji (The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi) - canon, 3 submissions Alec Lightwood x Magnus Bane (Shadowhunters/The Shadowhunter Chronicles series) - canon, 4 submissions Luz Noceda x Amity Blight (The Owl House) - canon, 3 submissions Vash x Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun) - subtext, 6 submissions Sergey Razumovsky x Oleg Volkov (Plague Doctor/Major Grom) - subtext, 3 submissions Nicolò 'Nicky' di Genova x Yusuf 'Joe' al-Kaysani (The Old Guard) - canon, 6 submissions Wu Zetian x Li Shimin x Gao Yizhi (Iron Widow) - canon, 3 submissions Gideon Nav x Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) - canon-ish/heavy subtext, 4 submissions Raine Whispers x Eda Clawthorne (The Owl House) - canon, 3 submissions Miles Edgeworth x Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney) - subtext, 3 submissions Wen Kexing x Zhou Zishu (Word of honor) - canon, 4 submissions Tan x Bun (Manner of death) - canon, 4 submissions Korra x Asami (The legend of Korra) - canon, 5 submissions Hunter Noceda x Willow Park (The Owl House) - canon, 4 submissions Sean x White (Not Me the series) - canon, 5 submissions Michiru Kaiou x Haruka Tenou (Sailor Moon) - canon, 4 submissions Neo x Miw x Shin (3 will be free) - canon, 5 submissions Kinn Theerapanyakul x Porsche Kittisawasd (Kinnporsche) - canon, 4 submissions Barry Bluejeans x Lup (Adventure Zone) - canon, 4 submissions

#badass queer couples battle #update #this round will have a LOT of propaganda for some ships #i'm talking 3+ pages of if for at least 3 ships as far as i remember #so this will be handled by propaganda masterposts rather than 'under the cut' like before #have a great day and i'm off to queue the polls! #tumblr polls #polls

[directdogman]

Hello Hound!! Since it's Dialtown's 2nd anniversary, I've been planning up a few "general" related questions about your series that I've been meaning to ask, but I decided to save them up for the big day because why not? Anyways, here's what I've got, these were meant to be fun to answer so don't sweat it :]

1: How do you feel about Dialtown's success? Are you proud of how far you've come? 

2: Which character was the MOST fun for you to write, and which was the most PAINFUL?

3: What is something you wish more people would talk about or just know about related to Dialtown in general?

4: If you had the opportunity to write a FULL complete, detailed life story of any of your characters, who would that be?

5: What's a character you wish you could have given more screen-time or just in general content? (Considering iirc you were trying to make sure Dialtown wasn't TOO long, so I was wondering if this ever came to mind)

6: From what I know, you've been doing the job of cosplaying several characters in the game and acting out their sprites, which one was the most fun to act out?

7: Speaking of sprites, do you have a sprite you could consider your favorite, out of ALL your characters?

8: Do you have a specific line of dialogue you could consider your favorite throughout the entire game?

9: Could you ever see Dialtown expanding into perhaps sequels or maybe even prequels? More DLCs mayhaps? Heck, maybe even a Dialtown 2 or a Chapter 4??

10: If you could make any fan-made interpretation (such as headcanons, designs, or ships) canon if given the opportunity, what do you think would be your pick?

11: What was the MOST fun part about developing Dialtown? Coming up with new characters? Writing them? Adding all the bizarre dialogue options?

12: And last but not least — on a scale of 1-10, how fun was developing Dialtown just in general?

That's all I have for now, and I'm really excited to see your answers!!

I normally don't answer this many questions, but... alright, sure, tis the season!

1: How do you feel about Dialtown's success? Are you proud of how far you've come? 

Yeah, of course! I'm a lil proud, admittedly, but I'm aware of how comically little I really have to do with it all, even if I did make the game. Luck does play a LOT into it, of course. Granted, I made my share of predictions that wound up being useful, but it always comes down to lady luck at the end of the day. I've seen good projects fail and bad ones go viral. It's really all just a hodgepodge of probability and whimsy. That being said, I am very pleased with DT's success, and the community that's formed around the game! It caught me by surprise!

2: Which character was the MOST fun for you to write, and which was the most PAINFUL?

Gingi's always fun to write. And Mingus. Most painful is tough to say. Maybe Crown. I got a little weird when I wrote his full backstory, kinda caught up in the emotion Norm talks about. Never been a fan of stories getting cut short. You gotta wonder what would've happened if he'd made different choices, y'know?

3: What is something you wish more people would talk about or just know about related to Dialtown in general?

Honestly? Karen, probably. She's super underrated for sure. The fandom still loves her, but she doesn't get the same kind of attention as Oliver, Gingi, Randy, Norm. She's worth it.

4: If you had the opportunity to write a FULL complete, detailed life story of any of your characters, who would that be?

Oh, I already have. I have this monstruous 30-40 page document detailing Crown's life and entire career. It's quite a read. and quite a mind-fuck if you don't know Dialtown's universe too well.

5: What's a character you wish you could have given more screen-time or just in general content? (Considering iirc you were trying to make sure Dialtown wasn't TOO long, so I was wondering if this ever came to mind)

Oh yeah, a few characters had scenes that were cut. Stabby, Shooty, Mingus, Bunny, even Bigfoot! There's also the game's cut 6th datable, who was an interesting character with ties to other characters in the cast who I wanted to do more with. Ah, maybe one day.

6: From what I know, you've been doing the job of cosplaying several characters in the game and acting out their sprites, which one was the most fun to act out?

Bigfoot. I made the ape noises in the suit. Had to. It felt right.

7: Speaking of sprites, do you have a sprite you could consider your favorite, out of ALL your characters?

I quite like Norm's set, Mingus' too. Karen's poses too are quite good.

8: Do you have a specific line of dialogue you could consider your favorite throughout the entire game?

That answer probably changes every day. I like pretty much any scene where Mingus loses her temper.

9: Could you ever see Dialtown expanding into perhaps sequels or maybe even prequels? More DLCs mayhaps? Heck, maybe even a Dialtown 2 or a Chapter 4??

I'd love to make sequels one day! I've got a lot of ideas for where the characters/story would end up. By the time DT1 wrapped up, I'd conceptualized way too much stuff to put in one game (without it taking another few years to finish), so if I ever wanted to make sequels, I'd 100% know where to start! But, that's a later down the road conversation.

For now, I'm gonna keep working on the Roger DLC and if there's demand for more, I can go from there :)

10: If you could make any fan-made interpretation (such as headcanons, designs, or ships) canon if given the opportunity, what do you think would be your pick?

I guess I COULD do that with, like, anything. Nothing immediately springs to mind, since, y'know, I'm in control of the canon anyway. I will say, I've seen headcanons and theories that ARE scarily accurate to canon, to the point where I've feared people would just think I'm lifting stuff from the fanbase! It's a good thing I talk about these things with collaborators, huh? I've got a PAPER-TRAIL!!!

11: What was the MOST fun part about developing Dialtown? Coming up with new characters? Writing them? Adding all the bizarre dialogue options?

Finishing a new scene and realizing how stupidly long it was (without me realizing it) was always a treat. But yeah, writing the characters had to be it. Specifically any scene where a character the audience knows meets someone the audience doesn't know well (or at all), with the dynamic changing. Those are fun to write.

12: And last but not least — on a scale of 1-10, how fun was developing Dialtown just in general?

Hard question to answer. I do really wanna give a high number, but truthfully, a lot of game dev actually isn't super 'fun'. Some tasks are, granted, but many parts are a slog. Sitting and formatting dialogue, and then adding text pauses and pose changes isn't exactly a super thrilling activity. The engine itself also has some issues which I have to work around that adds to the workplace. Play-testing a scene for the 4th time isn't super fun either, or trying to figure out why the game crashes on some PCs and ONLY very rarely... Those tasks are Sisyphean to some degree.

...But, while most of those parts aren't fun, it's all still rewarding. There's a sense of accomplishment when you finish a scene. You get to look back at your hard work, remember the hours you spent typing dialogue into a text box and formatting mass amounts of pngs, painstakingly + manually getting the game's awful pre-loader to deal with the sprites right, etc... and suddenly, at the end, you've got this lil experience that people can play and enjoy. Somehow, the sum of all of those not so fun activities has created something that's going to make people laugh, feel happy. That's special. and even if some parts of development weren't super fun on their own, that's always what I remember. That in the end, all of those not so fun days mattered.

The route I agonized the most over was Oliver's. I went through a few weeks of writer's block, and now, it's one of the most popular routes in the game! Crazy how that happens. I was SURE for about a week that people would rank the route at the bottom! That's what I mean, all of the stress I went through trying to figure it out amounted to something people connected with! To think I almost CUT the route entirely!!!

And y'know, God knows Dialtown gave me something to throw myself at during a time where I REALLY needed the outlet. I'm very grateful to the project for that. So, I'll give DT an honorary 8 out of 10, even if it wasn't a consistently 8/10 experience making it heh heh! Sure glad I did, though and I'm very glad if any of you reading this had a really good time playing it! :)

Thanks for the questions!

[lovelycleon]

Hello there

I recently had a horrific argument because some people can’t let a ship just be a ship. I genuinely have my fun and love for Cleon and it getting attacked was too much. However the person I got into a fight with also told me to count up 3 reasons why they should work. And I couldn’t believe that I had to think about it and it took longer than it should have. Out of curiosity…if you had to count up three reasons what would it be?

Hello!

I'm pretty sure I've already answered a question like this at some point, or at least the answer is spread out somewhere in several of my posts over the last 3 years.

But don't worry, I will try to make a short summary of the 3 things about Cleon that would make them work as a couple:

1.They have a lot in common.

Although their work occupies most of Leon and Claire's lives, through the franchise they have shown very similar everyday interests and hobbies:

Such as love for motorcycles. Capcom made Leon and Claire the official bikers of the franchise, always putting little references here and there in games and movies;

Their whole style. The taste for custom leather jackets, obviously, but also many other alternative outfits. Believe me, of almost all of Claire's costumes, Leon has one somewhere to match.

Even the same kind of sense of humor, with similar one liners, bad good jokes and literary references that I posted here many times before;

It would be easy to imagine what their life together would be like outside of work, on a daily basis with so much in common and the banter they have when they are together.

2.They have the same morals.

Despite following different paths in the fight against bioterrorism, Leon and Claire carry the same code on how to act in certain situations:

Like the idea that both have already stated about not giving up the fight in the name of their comrades who died alongside them (Damnation, Heavenly Island);

The strong will to protect those in need, like Sherry, Ashley and others, no matter how impossible the mission seems or what has to be done;

Not blindly believing in something and always questioning and digging deep when something doesn't feel right (Degeneration, Infinite Darkness);

Trying to understand all sides of the situation and even sympathizing with some of the villains they faced (Annette, Rodrigo, Jason, Buddy, Dr. Taylor and more);

Along with many others, sharing these characteristics can bring stability to their relationship. Having them always on the same page, knowing what each one stands for.

3.They can understand each other.

Besides the shared trauma in Raccoon City, Leon and Claire went through very similar traumatic events even on different missions years apart and, in one way or another, felt the same type of pain:

Being kidnapped, infected and subjected to a race against time to save themselves and others (RE4 and REvelations 2);

Having to see their superiors whom they trusted (and are somewhat emotionally involved) become monsters obsessed with power. (Neil and Krauser)

Being used, mistreated and framed... Leon by the government and its corruption; Claire (along with terrasave) by willpharma and later on by Neil and the FBC;

Witnessing friends sacrifice themselves for them... some even in a very similar way: like Gabe and Mike exploding in a helicopter while Claire and Leon can only watch;

Don't get me wrong, a lot of RE characters have trauma and they all can bond through that, it's undeniable. But here, about Leon and Claire, I'm not just talking about "what happened and their reaction", but also HOW it happened and the physical and psychological similarities of each event for them. As if the narrative chooses to create parallels between them.

And this opens the door for a deep interactions (like the one in Degeneration) that can add new layers to their relationship and find comfort in each other.

Now just let me give you a little bonus (because I would like to write a lot more, but that is already too far from the short summary I promised)

4.Their amazing chemistry.

Haters will always try to deny it (and that's expected since they are haters), but the chemistry between Leon and Claire is great.

Not just the way they look and smile at each other, but how they act together and how they care for each other. I mean, Capcom didn't write scenes like Claire's big smile when she sees that Leon is okay, or Leon giving up of himself for Claire's safety, or them flirting cracking jokes in the middle of a zombie outbreak, or running and screaming each of their name in despair as soon as they see the other is injured for nothing.

It's to highlight their chemistry. The chemistry they are writing for Cleon.

Again, haters will always deny it, because it's inconvenient for them, but it's there.

Leon and Claire love and care for each other deeply, they can have fun hobbies, overcome hardships and find comfort together. The entire basis for a healthy relationship is there, written by the devs at Capcom themselves.

We just need to wait and see what they do with it.

#claire redfield #leon kennedy #ask #cleon #claire x leon #leon x claire #resident evil #resident evil infinite darkness #resident evil death island #resident evil degeneration #resident evil 2 #resident evil darkside chronicles

[tri-pofdeath]

I'm LATE at this point but goddammit i want to talk about the Vash/Leonof fight and the Wolfwood/Ninelives fight, how their visuals contrast each other, and what these artistic choices say about the characters.

So, first and first most, as a general rule the panels in Vash's fight are very light, in wide open but barren spaces that span across several areas in the ship. There is a lot of physical distance between him and the Puppetmaster, and the fight feels very tense and contemplative. For Wolfwood's fight with Ninelives, it's just about the opposite- it's very dark, close quarters, and brutal. It takes place in a small enclosed space that Wolfwood makes even more tight by trying to close a door on Ninelives. To get a quick idea of what I mean, look at these pages side-by-side.

Wolfwood's pages at a glance just. have literally more ink on the pages, and all of the panels are almost entirely filled with the characters within, and with the exception of Ninelive's splash page there, you don't get a chance to sort of , step back and take a good look at them persay. It's all hectic, with sound effects and intense speech bubbles filling a lot of the sparse negative space.

The pages with Vash's fight, on the other hand, are mostly white and a very light gray-tone, with more focus on the environments than on the characters. He spends a lot of the fight assessing threats, looking for the puppets, exploring- it's very suspenseful.

First off, the location and the framing of the panels works very well for what's actually going on with these fights- Vash's fight with Leonof involves everyone on the ship (at least as far as he knows), so the "camera" being far away (like the reader is observing from afar, hiding perhaps) works well, but so does the focus on the notably empty environments. This place is a paradise compared to the rest of No Man's Land we've seen - there's grass! Nice houses! Working ship rooms! This place should also be teeming with people happy to see Vash, too! It's deeply wrong that this place is so empty.

The barrenness of these places is also reflective of how much Vash has lost very quickly- he gave up his life with Lena (and as far as he knows they're either in danger or Gone, they were used against him) , he hasn't seen Meryl and Milly in years and I imagine is unsure if he Will again, and has to

Meanwhile with Wolfwood- this is a fight between two people on the same side. Their peers, and they're mad as hell at each other (well, Wolfwood is more mad as hell in general, but y'know.) If Ninelives gets out of here and it gets back that Wolfwood has properly totally betrayed Knives, as far as Wolfwood knows, that could be very bad for him.

Not only that, much of Wolfwood's current inner turmoil has to do directly with violence and his humanity, and he is having a hell of a time coming to terms with that. Vash's words have had a real effect on him, and even if he's not necessarily taking them to heart, they're certainly getting under his skin

(This happens before the fight, but still, the mindset of "completely pre-occupied and haunted by a moral crisis" is how he goes into this ) Wolfwood is definitely one to go all in on fights, but even this one is especially brutal and violent- he's definitely taking things out on Ninelives. His fear of Vash/Knives, fear of what happens next in the grand scheme of things (ik that's vague but YKNOW) , the whole aforementioned Moral Crisis- It's definitely notable that Vash is Not present and there are no witnesses to this fight except for Ninelives, his equally damnable peer who went down the same awful path (working for Knives/Legato) that he did.

also. not related to the bigger point I was making here but I have to say, I really really love inkwork and Nightow does a lot of cool stuff with like, high-contrast lighting or really stylish use of spot-blacks in Vol 3 and 4 and I am putting them directly in my mouth. Look at that WW up there!! Look at this one!!

The way a lot of him is just left Implied bc the light is that bright but you can still tell exactly what's happening, even with such an extreme angle as this is just, chefs kiss, beautiful

AGAIN while i'm here I want to talk about this page too, right before their fight starts, this is GREAT. The movement in this page is great- the explosion smoke leading into WW's cigarette smoke, which leads into him throwing aside the cigarette and getting ready to Fight. And how the side of his jacket blends in to the background of this big panel? SO COOL, very stylish and fun, I can only imagine Nightow felt like a god when he planned out this page

#hope yall like this one i like talking about The Art #I really enjoyed these two fights #also apologies if any of the ww stuff aint quite there I don't feel super confident in talking about him. I am not a ww scholar i'm afraid #trigunbookclub #wolfwood #vash the stampede #leonfof the puppetmaster #gray the ninelives

[erisenyo]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @ofherlionheart, thank you!!

1. how many works do you have on Ao3? 36?! When did that happen...

2. what's your total Ao3 word count? 1,612,719, and now I'm eyeing the shibari fic and my written WIP where chapter 4 of 6 is going to be 60+ word document pages all on its own...

3. what fandoms do you write for? ATLA! Though I'm starting to eye The Radian Emperor too, if I can figure out the writing style

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Love is in the Hair 2. These Things Written 3. These Things Known 4. These Things Unsaid (lol the middle of the series having the least kudos of the three, middle book syndrome strikes) 5. Lessons in Proper Asset Management

5. do you respond to comments? I do! I do my best to reply to all of them, I love hearing people's thoughts and chatting about the fic or the characters or canon. Though I am currently egregious behind after the holidays, doing my best to catch up...

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't know that I do angsty *endings* versus just highly emotional situations that end in (hopefully) satisfying ways? To Cleave These Roots We've Made is probably my angstiest run into an ending, and Of Tea and Turtle Ducks (and the Turtle Duck Guy) just had a very high-emotion end. I don't know, what do you guys think? I don't always have a good read on the tone of my own fics lol

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Ohhh this is tough, maybe To Be Named, To Be Known (To Be Loved) or (With Wonder and Care) Reach for Far-flung Dreams, in part because the endings are just a culmination of a lot of like warm feelings? Or Didn't Know What I Was Missing (But I Guess I Found It) because we were all so happy the three of them finally talked lol?

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really, though Katara in Burning Bright has been fairly polarizing. It's not hate but it's also like...not happy haha

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Oh, do I ever! And...all the kinds (m/m, f/m/ poly, f/f incoming)? Full on, graphic, self-recognition-through-the-boner character-developing smut.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I don't!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? oh man I hope not. I don't even know how I'd find out, unless someone told me

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! Into Russian!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, though I got close with certain installments in the Zukki series with the way Ash helped me outline haha. I wouldn't be opposed to it, but it feels more like long-form roleplay when I imagine it.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? This is a hard question! Because there's stuff I read fic for and stuff I write and then stuff I've like, read and gently rotated in my head for the rest of my life. But to make it easy--Zukka haha

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I tend not to let myself have too many simultaneous WIPs, and I don't really break my rule about finishing a work before starting to post, so no, looking at the current set. There's ideas I'd like to write that I'm not sure I will, but nothing started.

16. What are your writing strengths? I'd say dialogue, characterization, and building narrative tension and momentum

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Fight scenes lol. I don't know why they're so much harder than smut scenes, they should be the same, except smut is like intensely close and intimate and full of sensation and emotions and fight scenes have to be go-go-go but still full of sensation and emotions just different ones haha

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've never tried! It seems like it would be difficult, me knowing only the one (and Latin, that doesn't count haha) and so much of the fun of language being in the wordplay and clever turns of phrase and the world of difference between someone saying "father" or "dad"

19. First fandom you wrote for? ATLA! I wrote some original fiction back in the day, but fandom-wise ATLA is my first go

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? So cruel to make me choose! I am a little bit in love with everything I post. And I will cheat by saying either To Open Every Door to Night, To Meet Each Rising Sun or Just Let My Love Adorn You (You Gotta Know that I Adore You) right now, I'm so pleased with how they both came out, and they were so much fun to write. Both really came together so well from what I initially imagined.

tagging @queendollophead-ao3 @lizardlicks @ranilla-bean and anyone else who wants to play! I'd love to see your answers

#tag games #fic writing #if we take Burning Bright as one fic for Q4 then Part-Time Plumber and Oh the way your makeup stains are the next highest by kudos #Also asking me to pick a favorite is so cruel I love all my creations so much and for such different reasons

[lunanoc]

Is there a dmbj fandom space of sort that's... Not focused on Liu Chang characters? Or to put a positive angle on it, I'd love to talk about dmbj canon and its characters and their on page/screen interactions or how the books and sites compare but I'm not really sure where to do that? Do you have a discord or tumblr tag or blog suggestions? (Or if that doesn't exist, this is a marker of interest if you make one. I think there's actually if nothing else a lot of people in this fandom who are interested in pingxie who don't know where to go to talk to each other because it seems like most of the fandom spaces apart from the yucun discord are pretty dead)

hi anon! i’m both glad and sad you asked because i get that feeling and i’m sorry to say there’s… not really much of a good answer i can give you 🫠 though i can offer the start of one at least

a lot of the problem is the people you’re talking about, for reasons i don’t fully understand myself, have come to take up most of the visibility in the public fandom spaces to almost the exclusion of anyone and everything else. this is definitely a hot and likely unpopular take, but it’s gotten to the point where ironically (as far as the english speaking fandom goes at least, the chinese fandom is very different) in some respects, pingxie has become something of a “rarer” pair these days by comparison to ships involving more minor characters, particularly ones involving the characters you mentioned, and i find wu xie and xiaoge themselves are less talked about outside of the context of those ships than the characters you mentioned as a whole. and this isn’t a post meant to dunk on those particular interests, just my opinion on what the dmbj fandom is like at this point in time. the issue is, like you said, it leaves the people who aren't interested in that lost and with no one to talk to despite i'm sure there being a lot of us that would love a place to actively engage with each other

as far as places to talk about pingxie and the dmbj canon in general outside of that, in my experience tumblr doesn’t have all that much to offer apart from a few isolated people unfortunately. just checking the main tags tells you as much, but there are a few people. but i also know tumblr isn’t necessarily the best space for genuine conversations as i get the feeling that’s more what you’re looking for (correct me if i’m wrong). there’s a bit more going on on twitter, but it’s also fairly marginal and it also depends on what it is you want to talk about (and also, it’s twitter).

for discord servers, i can suggest 3 options, two of which i’m sure you’ve probably heard of:

the “dmbj (盗墓笔记)” server (https://discord.gg/xjTSVdUP), which was the original server created before the yucun one was and is technically the largest one (the yucun discord server actually broke off from it in part to be a space more dedicated to liu sang and liu chang characters and eventually became the fandom’s most active hub). fair warning, it’s pretty dead in the sense most of the minimal talk that goes on there isn’t really about dmbj at all, and is more generally drama-oriented. it’s also not strictly dedicated to pingxie

the “dmbj book-centric fun times” server (https://discord.com/invite/z7ZNNEbv3P), which as its name suggests, is book-oriented rather than drama-oriented. it’s also pretty dead apart from one or two sporadic posts from time to time, which i see as partly the consequence of a good chunk of the dmbj fandom either not having read the books or not particularly caring about them by comparison to other things. that being said, if enough people went there, i’m sure it could be more active. this one is also not strictly dedicated to pingxie

the “盗墓笔记 - changbai mountain” server, which is going to be my biased suggestion as it’s a tiny server started somewhat recently by myself and a couple of other friends who felt the same and wanted to try and create a safe space to talk about pingxie (and other ships if relevant, though by this i mostly mean heihua for now) and the dmbj canon and its characters as a whole. it’s very small atm and as active as it can be given that, and while it’s open to anyone interested, because of previous experiences with some people in the fandom, i would need you to get off anon and dm me if you (or anyone else reading this) is interested (as long as you’re comfortable with that ofc) as i don’t necessarily feel comfortable posting a public invite. for the record, anyone interested is very welcome to dm, we really do need more alternative fandom spaces

i’m sorry i can’t help more anon, but i hope this is something of an ok answer even if it’s not the best one

#dmbj #pingxie #fandom discourse #i guess that's a relevant tag? #daomu biji #盗墓笔记

[churro-lord]

Hihi i'm 🎛 anon over on your eridan blog i'm curious how do you feel about eridan rarepairs like erikar 👀 personally i am very Normal about these two [also i like having quad vacillation with those two switching between flushed and pale. love these two]

Yes yes yes yes YES

Absolutely up there as a favorite ship, hell I’d say it was one of the first Eridan ships I REALLY got into

Eridan and Karkat just *work* and I absolutely agree with the flushed/pale vacillation 100%

It’s why it pisses me off when Andrew in his book commentary tries to claim the two don’t like each other like 🤨 you’re telling me you’re gonna write these two being chummy with one another, and literally out here being on record as being gossip buddies and helping each other out (or at least TRYING on Eridan’s part because yes it is absolutely a mutual want to help each other as he’s tried offering help out to him BEFORE)

You can’t sit here Hussie and tell me there wasn’t any fucking care between the two

1. He’s shown to talk more personally to Karkat than FEFERI of all people, one who he’s shown to hold up higher than anyone else and who was his god damn MOIRAIL

2. The way Karkat responds to Eridan’s plea for help with Feferi…you can’t tell me he doesn’t care by that tone of voice (also going as far as calling him a bro and stuff)

3. You know, Eridan who’s often portrayed as self centered by the narrative offering to talk things out with a Karkat who so clearly in distress over what the hell Eridan did during murderstuck

4. How Eridan is reprimanding Gamzee for not being of any help not only to himself, but to Karkat

Listen I’ll tell you now there’s some fruity behavior going on over there and I’ll die on that hill!!

You can probably find like a singular piece of old outdated Erikar art on my page but I haven’t drawn them in forever and I really really fucking should because they are my BLORBOS and I think they deserve to be happy as a god damn TREAT

#Homestuck #eridan ampora #karkat vantas #erikar #reblog

[anotherworldash]

a pokeshipping tribute to my favorite shojo all the time , Vampire Knight . pose reference is YxZ couple STRAIGHT from author note's page (volume 3 page 191) . i've been having hyperfixation over VK, it's an amazing series with most beautiful art ever. and i just gotta make one of my OTPs based on such masterpiece (yeah although my pfp is YxK, i do ship YxZ, why a girl's gotta choose? we can have everything! it is truly a hot ship afterall)

i look at that hot reference and i thought it might be a good idea to make ash and misty pose it. why them , though? they're such an cute innocent couple. will they fit posing a couple from smut vampire shojo? i dunno i can't answer. i think my other OTPs from H_x_H series might fit more, but i haven't find the desire to do it. the dynamic are too similar, perhaps. (which is a good thing but i'll pass for now)

on the other hand i find joy putting ash and misty in this pose. at first, i thought it might be too far from their canon dynamic. i mean, this is a very intimate teenager pose. but when i look at the end result of this doodle. hmmm why not? i think they look ADORBZ in it. and it quite fits them.

from that distance i'm sure ash can tell how fast misty's heartbeat is and he's for sure gonna tease her for it. and the good news is he doesn't need to do much, just a glance would be enough.(plus he's winning he get to be that close to misty hey!!!)

as for VK... honestly idk, i've been wanting to draw just one fanart to get rid of my brainrot but i haven't gotten any idea. i'm not an expert when it comes to finding ideas in shojo. i feel like most shojo already shows me what i want to see. perhaps tomorrow, or next week, or next year.

and talking abour the choppy parts in drawings above. this won't be the last time i pray i can redraw or remake this someday with proper coloring and render. it's been years since i properly rendered a drawing. i don;t know if i could ever do it again. at least the idea is visualized for now

#pokeshipping #long post about reference aka my favorite shojo ever

[thebrokengate]

How do you think it’s possible that m!levens haven’t noticed that Mike didn’t mention WHAT he “loved” about El? He just claimed he did, but why? What traits draw him towards her? Looks? Humor? Common interests? Apparently not. Also why don’t they see how sexless they are together? A 15 year old dude would atleast be trying to touch something. Thighs, knees, hip, waist, accidental ass brush, hugging hard to be pressed against breasts, or even playing with her hair. Mike’s more flirty with Will!

Probably because they were too busy looking for the surface level "I love you" to prove M*lev*n as endgame more than anything else. As long as they had that, most of them were happy, no matter how cheesy, Disney-fied, and cliche the monologue sounded. For them, that sold it. Even though he had to be prompted to say it. Even though there were so many contradictions. Even though certain things went against already established canon. Those things didn't matter as long as they got the "I love you", and some of them refuse to look deeper than that surface level regardless of how off the monologue sounded. When you get something that seemingly confirms your ship, 9 times out of 10, you won't want to look deeper just in case there's something that goes against it. Those things should have been taken into account that he can't describe anything he loves about her except her powers, and by that I mean literally him going "I love you with your powers, I love you without your powers" and then immediately turning around and telling her "you can fly, you can move mountains" and calling her his superhero. But they elect to ignore that because they got the "I love you", so to them, it must be true, and they'll hang onto that no matter what.

And also, while "sexless" isn't the term I'm most comfortable with in regards to 15 year olds, you are correct, especially after the way they were in season 3, making out all the time. If anything, the relationship is 70/30 (just like Mike's flowers) where El's input into the relationship was always heads above Mike's input (just look at her Mike shrine for instance, vs. how he has nothing of her and even crumples up and throws away her love letters.. but has his basement full of Will's drawings and a giant binder full of them, too.. hm). They don't even flirt verbally, like the clearly flirty conversation that was going on between Mike and Will in Will's bedroom in season 4 episode 4 (that script, wow!). But, I would also argue that this series isn't the biggest on those aspects of physical intimacy either at least with the kids, and it gets really weird really fast when they do overdo it like with Mike and El in the beginning of season 3. I remember watching those makeout scenes the for the first time and feeling so incredibly awkward about it. I don't even have kids, but the show definitely put me in the perspective of feeling like I did and I had just walked in on them, which was probably intentional (I know @kaypeace21 made a post about it a long time ago). For reference, comparing Mike and El's relationship to Max and Lucas's, Max and Lucas's physical intimacy happens very few and far between. The only kiss we ever got between them was at the SnowBall in season 2. They've held hands a few times. But physical intimacy was never a big thing between them, and as Lucas's actor, Caleb, stated.. it's more because their relationship is based in friendship. They have things they like doing together, like going to the movies, and they have a greater understanding of each other. They actually talk, and they don't have to put up a front for each other. They don't have to pretend to be someone else to make their relationship work. Mike and El, however.. they're never themselves with each other, they don't talk, they lie to each other, they're never on the same page, they don't share common interests, and because of all this, their relationship crashes and burns every time they've tried to make it work. They just don't know each other - not their real selves. El is just now growing and maturing and becoming her own person with and without her powers, trying to stand on her own, but Mike has stayed the same at hero worship and idolization. He only tells El he loves her because he thinks that's what she wants to hear, he was prompted by Will to speak to her to save her, moved by feelings that weren't even hers but Will's, but he couldn't name anything of her personality that he loved because he doesn't know her as a person. Their whole relationship.. it's not love, it's codependency.

#ask styx #byler #anti M*lev*n

[kariachi]

Radgit, because it's funny: 1, 14, 51

"Who would end a heated argument by defending their actions with ‘because I love you!’?"

Neither, they just are not that sort've pair. Rad comes closest with very strong 'you know damn why' vibes, but Argit will just let an argument hang in the air until eventually even he can't take it and generally that involves 1) a break from the argument followed by never bringing it up again, 2) a break from the argument followed by a random gift he found somewhere as sort've a reconciliation payment, or 3) just straight changing the topic and refusing to go back to it.

(why no, I do not write Argit as having healthy anything, I'm planning a post on it)

"How do their personalities compliment each other? How do they clash?"

Complimentary-wise, both are career-oriented so they're on the same page there (plus complimentary careers, always fun), neither's the type to just let themselves be steamrollered over- though Argit is moreso- which is trust me a good thing with them, both appreciate a good lie-in. Rad's never been good at de-escalating a conflict while Argit is a master of the art, even if it sometimes involves deflecting the problem onto somebody else. On the other hand Argit tends to just try to ignore shit until it's a tangible problem while Rad's the more proactive of the two of them. Both are seemingly allergic to properly vocalizing their emotions, which is a double-as-fuck-edged sword but on this side keeps either from pushing the other into a corner about it- and it would be into a corner. Their life experiences are similar, to a point (Argit's shit has been more extreme and Rad had a more-or-less happy homelife, but neither grew up in the best of circumstances) so there's a level of understanding there that neither would get from somebody who grew up more like the Tennysons. Neither has to really worry about the other (though both do even if they wouldn't say it) because they're both perfectly capable to taking care of themselves and while Argit is more likely to get into trouble he's gonna struggle with he also has a Kevin to back him up. Argit likes himself a man who gets shit done and whom he can feel mostly safe around, while Rad's a fan of a cunning mind and perfectly happy to have someplace he can feel comfortable just relaxing.

On the other hand. Like I said, neither of them is good with properly vocalizing their emotions so communication is, a mixed bag. Alongside Argit's tendency to let a situation boil over if it's not an immediate issue and Rad's issues with de-escalating things? They're far more likely to argue than talk something out. Talking it out means being open and vulnerable and that's just a bit too much for Rad and a lot too much for Argit. The end result being that disagreements or issues end in either one immediately giving way to the other or a full on fight with no real middle ground. Add in that Rad tend to be aggressive and Argit has his whole backstabby trust issues thing... Getting to a point where it's an entirely healthy relationship is slow going.

"What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?"

Neither one is a verbal 'I love you' type so non-verbal is pretty much all they do. It's in little things, like Argit getting him random gifts (I've mentioned in other headcanon stuff- Argit is horrible with dates but makes up for it with a tendency to just get people things at random because he was thinking of them), 'dragging' him to 'family' things, not actually holding a grudge against the man's inability to call him ahead of time, letting him stay at his place without any sort've teasing or expectation of rent. On Rad's side, meanwhile, it shows more in things like him letting himself get dragged to things, the fact he does stay at Argit's when he's in town rather than staying on his ship like he does when he's anywhere else that isn't his hometown, gifts every time he comes back to town because he as managed to learn at least one of Argit's love languages, and on at least two occasions he's gone out and threatened to blast a hole through a fucker for giving Argit trouble.

#it's not the healthiest relationship but they can make it work with a bit of effort and actually *working on their respective bullshit*

[nehswritesstuffs]

The Thick of UNIT - RECAP - Part 3 of 6

So, you know how tumblr's dashboard has been made jankier and jankier with each passing update? I'm taking it into my own hands to make some masterposts of some of my long-form fics because even though they have a side-page on my blog, I don't know how long that will hold out, and this is easier to share anyhow.

The Thick of UNIT - 225k words - a crackship crossover Doctor Who/The Thick of It AU centralized on the Malcolm Tucker/Kate Stewart ship

Broken into six parts because tumblr is such a webbed site.

Part 1 - Part 2 - [Part 3] - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

Part XXXI [FFN]/[AO3]

It’s been nearly five months since the Turmezistan Incident and Colonel Walsh being put on medical leave. Of course this means that her debriefing starts off any way but normal.

Part XXXII [FFN]/[AO3]

It’s two days before the Big Day and an important visitor drops in a bit earlier than expected.

Part XXXIII [FFN]/[AO3]

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mister Malcolm Petair Alexander Tucker and Ms. Katherine Mary Lethbridge-Stewart, 27 September 2014, their back garden. All unauthorized guests will be bollocked, with a subsequent mind-wipe. Dinner to follow.

Part XXXIV [FFN]/[AO3]

The best place for a holiday is where one can get as far away from work as possible. A honeymoon though? Missus and Mister Stewart-Tucker can’t find a place that’s fucking far enough.

Part XXXV [FFN]/[AO3]

Mainframe UK gets an unannounced visitor and the game is changed. Permanently.

More under the cut!

Part XXXVI [FFN]/[AO3]

Surprises are abound as Mainframe UK’s newest temporary resident settles in, especially for the resident in question.

Part XXXVII [FFN]/[AO3]

It’s Christmastime once again. While the Mainframe panics, the Stewart-Tuckers have more important matters to take care of… such as sitting their youngsters down for a talk.

Part XXXVIII [FFN]/[AO3]

Kate drops in on an old friend of the family.

Part XXXIX [FFN]/[AO3]

Malcolm can’t shake what cannot be and feels like a broken record, while Kate second-guesses a bit too late.

Part XL [FFN]/[AO3]

When the Director’s away, even for a day, of course things plan on absolutely driving those left to find solace in coffee and bollockings.

Part XLI [FFN]/[AO3]

Mainframe UK’s Biomedical Head calls up a colleague overseas for an additional opinion, leading to a meetup her patient wasn’t exactly anticipating.

Part XLII [FFN]/[AO3]

Good things come to those who wait. It is a good thing, however, that at least not all sixty-five weeks were spent as such.

Part XLIII [FFN]/[AO3]

Malcolm and Fiona have a heart-to-heart on a summer afternoon.

Part XLIV [FFN]/[AO3]

Malcolm is not a sap. No way. No how. He doesn’t do all that mushy shit… especially not on his anniversary.

Part XLV [FFN]/[AO3]

After nearly a year of planning, the most dangerous infant in the galaxy finds his way home.

CONTINUED IN PART FOUR!

#The Thick of UNIT #bollockingUNIT #satstewart #Malcolm x Kate #Malcolm Tucker #Kate Stewart #The Thick of It #Doctor Who #fan fiction #repostober

[goddslayerr]

SHIPPING INFO //

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSE(S) SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

tbh most of the ships are from...silly lil discord rps and from jokes my friend and i run along with LOL i dont really have any otps w ashton atm aside from the familial bond they have w their captain (my fav cousins ever <3). their relationship is vvvv important to me

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

i dont ship w underaged characters. ashton is 21 and pretty much flirts with anyone so long as they're an adult. but i wouldn't actively ship them romantically w other people's muses if they're over the age of 30

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

haha now i don't write nsfw on here (at least publicly) bc i find it very embarrassing but when characters start undressing that's where i do jumpcuts and won't write any further

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

ehhh i wouldn't exactly say "selective" but i do prefer if we've interacted a few times! there's gotta be chemistry going on first and foremost

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

like. p much all the characters i ship them w are from non-rp stuff over on discord (they've got like... what, 17 husbands, i think?) but i don't like talking abt that here since it's completely unrelated to this little blog that i've set up

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

yes. i am absolutely clueless when it comes to roleplay relationships but if you approach me about shipping (ESPECIALLY with other ocs) then there's a 9/10 chance that i'd be down for it. i'm not very talkative here but i promise i don't bite

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?

ship obsessed. mention it to me once and i will be all over it. most of the ships i've made non-rp-wise straight up came from one-off jokes and ended up becoming some of the biggest comfort ships that i currently have

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?

yes! ashton is actually polyam and highly prefers being in open relationships so it wouldn't make much sense if i wasn't multiship

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?

if youve seen my toyhouse page you might know the answer to this. i love messy and dysfunctional relationships a normal amount

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

really all you gotta do is ask me and i'll most likely be down. i prefer natural chemistry over pre-plotted ships and i also HIGHLY prefer shipping w other ocs over canon characters (but i'm not completely against it). that's pretty much all there is to it!

#ashy rambles :: ooc #seemed like fun to fill out haha #i keep meaning to be more active here but. life says otherwise

[archaictunic]

now that i've finished!!! i have THOUGHTS i'm just rambling don't mind me. this is the abridged version of this post because i initially had 12 different points and lost most of my thoughts when i accidentally hit ctrl+z :3 SPOILERS FOR TOTK PLEASE DON'T CLICK IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED.

first. i am ignoring that link got his arm back. i understand why it does that, but i am not keeping nor acknowledging that bit of information - not for a while, at least. the gloom can be gone. ganon can be destroyed. rauru still had to REPLACE LINK'S ARM ENTIRELY. unless his weird ghost arm just… slid on top of link's existing one like a glove. but thats SILLY. i like the cool dragon arm. i want link to start growing out his nails on his other hand and get them done in hateno or something and continue to have cool little claws.

second. i want to write up a page or something somewhere detailing my opinion on Ships. like… i didn't ship zelink really UNTIL botw/totk, and even then, it is purely because of my partner and i talking about/developing some stuff with them. and the more i think on sidlink or even link/mipha the more the zora age starts to make me Question things?? and then obviously, despite my personal adoration for revali, he and link would NOT get along super well , especially romantically? ( at the very least, NOT my link, not without some MAJOR work on both sides ) idk. link ships in-universe are hard lmao give me crossovers or something where i'm not working off the burden of canon (this is only mostly a joke) - also urbosa is a lesbian, and daruk is more like a dad. this is hard. riju is ............ viable i guess but i dont know they also don't feel super romantic. yunobo is his hype man not his boyfriend.

third. the ganon fight was SO fun. i absolutely adored the very end of it; and it felt way more involved than the big pig from botw?? so like even though, essentially, those final phases were the same sort of type of gameplay (very hard to lose, honestly) it was STILL super fucking fun i had such a good time exploding his pustules. how many times now has link stabbed ganon in the forehead.

fourth. other than the arm, i'm excited because the ending really didn't step on the toes of ANY of my vague thoughts for development so far?? like i will still be able to take my link in EXACTLY the direction i was hoping to!! where he KNOWS what responsibility rests on him; and he's quiet because of the burden, but also like… he doesn't know WHY he's the hero. why ganon is the villain. he knows ganon did evil things, he knows he's supposed to hate the man for … well, everything, but he sort of sits on a weird little line where he hates him, but also doesn't understand why he should feel anything at all about him? the hatred is a requirement. he has to hate the calamity. the demon king. even if he's never really met him. even if he doesn't know anything about how they got here. he just. HAS to hate him.

fifth. i am thinking about link's scars. not that he canonly has ANY. but i really want to look over the events of these games, and my own personal playthroughs, and find a few scars to really give him more character. i think that scars can be something SO important. something that can have such a heavy story behind it. like… i'm never gonna forget my first lynel battle, for example. idk i really need to draw him a WHOLE reference i'mj ust fufuckcing tired. might also make an art sideblog for that when it comes to it because i fear my content getting notes.

sixth. i want to chew on every character in this game like a stimmy squeaky toy

#╰ △ ╮❝ ᴀ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ sᴏᴜɴᴅ ⋰ 「 ooc . 」 ⋆ #totk spoilers /

[organic-guacamole]

I've got a lot of thoughts on this finale.

starting with the length.

27 minutes? really?

I'm not asking for a 2 hour episode but cmon, at least give us something closer to 40 minutes.

next, the characters

the characters just didn't feel like themselves, especially portwell.

all season long we saw how much potential they had, how well communicated they were, how good they were at being a proper, healthy couple, and now they just can't talk to each other?

it doesn't feel like them.

portwell had arguably the best set up of all the other ships, they showed us how good they had the potential to be only to throw in a cheap plot to wrap it up? I would understand that they want some angst to make the ending all the more satisfying, but this was pathetic.

there I said it.

of all the ways to add drama in a ship, don't use the one that completely contradicts their entire development.

paired with the length of the episode, it seemed even more poorly written.

here I made a lovely, handy dandy homemade graph to represent how I see portwell's storyline:

as i said before, we saw the build up being nearly perfect. they peaked during episodes 9-11 because they just had the chemistry, the communication, and the most potential to be the endgame couple.

they just got eachother.

then we get Jamie popping in for 10 seconds and erasing a lot of that, only for mediator Ashlyn to jump in and solve their problems.

then there's the "kiss".

I know that Sofia is underage and that even if she/her legal guardians consent to the kiss, the writers can still decide not to show it, but still. In my opinion, if you're not going to show the kiss, then don't bother.

there are other ways to establish a relationship that would work better in this situation. Of course if they get together they'll have to kiss sometime, but one way they could postpone it is by having Gina be a bit more reluctant to give away her first kiss like that. it could also show how accomodating EJ is.

I like to think that Gina is very meticulous when making decisions so she'll probably want to be very sure of the relationship before giving him her first kiss. perhaps she'd stick to cheek kisses until she's ready, and then she kisses him and he's surprised.

that would've been, in my opinion, a sufficient way to hold off the kiss while still wrapping up portwell until season 3 when Sofia would be 18 (assuming they get picked up for S3 this summer then start filming fall-winter. Sofia will be 18 in January).

as my friend @rtcosley (idk why it's not letting me tag them, so their page is linked) said,

"They created like 10 plots

And instead of wrapping it up

They added 4 more"

there's just so much more they could've done...it's the season finale for crying out loud.

I get that seblos already had (what I assume is) their storyline for the season, the fight and resolution. Ignoring the fact that that only lasted for 2 episodes and didn't have anything to do with what we were expecting, (i.e.the financial differences between their families, as mentioned in episode 1, the fact that everyone treats seb like he's stupid, this being carlos' first show and the drama that the stress of that caused, etc.), seblos had to purpose this episode than to stand next to eachother and be gay.

I get that they're not part of the core four or anything, but the poster for season 2 has all of them, as opposed to season 1 just being the core four.

They deserved better, just like redlyn and kowie.

redlyn's arc was pretty early in the season compared to the other ships. they had Ashlyn confessing her insecurities in episode 3, antoine stirring the pot of confusion and causing a bit of distance between them briefly, and then big red confessing his goals and plans for the future in episode 8 and for the rest of it, we just see them getting closer and more comfortable with each other and caring about each other more and more.

they had a good arc together.

but that's just it. I wanted to see them have their own arcs. but then again, this show can't seem to balance multiple storylines. I think it is possible, but not when they keep adding new characters that don't contribute anything much to the story(more on that later).

kowie's storyline is... confusing.

I really like their dynamic, how carefree and happy Kourtney gets around him, how she's remaining true to herself and managing a million and one things, plus a relationship in her own without losing herself to it all.

but the main issue I have is that the entire development was never shown.

we went from strangers, to coworkers, to friends that flirt, to lovers that text constantly and went on numerous dates (and Howie met her mother at some point). but all of that, was off screen.

it's like the writers made every episode with them in it kind of thrown in at a new stage of relationship progression and said "here, accept this, no questions asked because we don't have answers"

I just wish we could've seen more of howie trying to get in her good side again after episode 7 because it seems like that's when a lot of it happened.

I appreciate the Rini scene in this episode, seems to be the very end of them, for good this time.

i'm happy about that.

Ricky especially deserves to be free for a while to focus on his development, and Nini has the chance now to really shine through her talents and make a name for herself.

The Rini storyline is the only one I'm fully satisfied with.

now, that being said;

what the heck are they trying to pull with Lily and Ricky rn???

just like that.

after lily being the villain this whole season, they're just gonna not redeem her and then have her confess her feelings to Ricky, a guy she barely knows and only talked to to harass and intimidate, and for him to reject her publicly then call her afterwards?

please I hope it's just to say "you dropped something, here it is and never contact me again, thanks." /hj

speaking of the villains, this season was promoted as the season of rivalry between North and East High right? so why did that plot idea only progress in about 3 out if 12 episodes?

we got Zackey Roy in there for a few episodes then he disappeared, Lily just caused Gina to stay true to her friends in episode 2 and 7 and then basically did nothing else?

this is what I mean by the new characters providing nothing to the show.

the writers can't manage having so many characters and plots at once so they start so many promising arcs, only to kick them aside later on.

we already know that the first half of the season felt like filler episodes, so I think they could've cut those down to leave room for the more important plots to take root, rather than have them pop up and get rushed at the end of the season.

all that, and they just add 4 more plots at the end of the season.

this post sounds very negative looking back...but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm just very very disappointed.

I love this show so much and I really expected better for the season finale, especially if they don't know if it's getting renewed or not.

given the IMDB ratings of this episode so far, I don't have very high expectations for the renewal, but I'm still hopeful because this show is a great thing, one of the best things that happened to me over the course of this quarantine. I've become so attached to this show, the cast and the friends I made through it, that I don't know what I would do if it just ends like this. writing these reviews and posts about this season has been so fun for me to do and thinking that this may be the very last one is a painful thought.

I'm sorry if you were expecting this post to be as light-hearted as my other posts about the episodes, I just had a lot to say about this episode in particular.

all my episode posts are tagged with "#guac's episode text blocks :)" in case you wanna read through and reminisce the simpler times🥲

#it got kinda cheesy at the end there oops #i love this fandom so much #i cant imagine if we dont get s3 #hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #hsmtmts season 2 #hsmtmts season 2 finale #hsmtmts spoilers #guac's episode text blocks :)

[lemony-snickers]

I ship one of the pairings you have mentioned but I only do it when they are fully adults and have rarely read anything nsfw for them and I don’t talk about them on my blog. Would that still be okay or am I going to be blocked? I don’t want to lose our friendship ☹️

hey there, anon.

let's dig into this a little bit (i hope you don't mind) because i actually have some very conflicted thoughts on this.

student/sensei ships make me deeply uncomfortable, as i've said. that's a period. full stop. i do not care what age they are; they met when one person was a fully matured adult and the other was a child. that's gonna be a hard pass for me, regardless.

what i will say is, depending on who this is, i might actually already know your identity because i know i interact with a few people who ship at least one of these things on a semi-regular basis. it's almost unavoidable in this fandom, which is probably why i spent a decade just not interacting with a single other soul in the naruto community, lol.

in the end, i do fully agree that people should be allowed to ship what they want. these are make-believe, 2-dimensional characters from a cartoon. i get that. so it's on me to make sure i'm not interacting with content that makes me uncomfortable.

to do that, before i follow anyone (or follow them back), i scroll through their blog for posts related to these ships. if i see even one, i will not follow. (this goes for ao3 accounts, too; if your bookmarks are public, i will look at them and make my decision based on that information.) same for fanart; i won't even rb stuff if i know the person who creates it ships one of these things simply because i want to keep it as far out of my orbit as possible.

because based on my own personal history & experiences, these things can really upturn my entire day. even seeing the ship name sends this visceral reaction through my body (oh, hey my mostly ignored ptsd, nice to see you again!).

as such, i will often block on sight blogs that are recommended to me by tumblr's lame-ass algorithm if they are blogs dedicated to these types of ships and have zero remorse about it. i also recently blocked someone who writes solely for one of these ships because they reblogged some of my content. i felt really badly about it for, like, an entire night. i don't like blocking people. i don't enjoy that these things have such a measurable impact on my well-being.

but we each have to decide where our comforts and discomforts lie and prioritize that. because if we don't, who tf else will?

so what i am going to say is: if you keep that shit off my blog, we can probably be cool for the most part. i'm never gonna follow your, and i hope you will understand and respect that decision.

but as i said in that recent post, if anyone who i know ships one of these things spreads any team 7-specific content i have created, that's a hard no. you want to reblog my smutty kakashi/reader fics? that's fine. (unless someone were to tag it with a ship name in which case, like, why? there is so much content for those ships everywhere, please leave me out of it.)

just, please, understand there are reasons these ships are so upsetting to me. just as i'd never push anyone to accept something i shipped & they didn't, and i would never expect anyone who is uncomfortable with reader-insert smut to interact with my page, i hope others will see where i'm coming from even if we disagree on ships.

i hope that helps. sorry it's so long; this has been eating at me for a while, tbh. i hope you are having a good day. <3

#ask #and answered #tw discourse #tw shipping #lemony overshares #lemony crumbles #even if it's only mostly alluded to you can probably figure shit out from context lol

[xiyao-feels]

So, this started off as a shipping bingo for MDZS nie//lan; I've added the bingo meme above so that you know what you're getting into. What it evolved into, however, is several thousand words of close reading of the NMJ+LXC relationship, getting some into the 3//zun dynamics and comparing it with LXC and JGY's relationship to help demonstrate my point. If that sounds interesting to you, read away! Fair warning: as you might gather from the bingo above I am not very gentle, not only on the idea of a romantic relationship but also on their friendship.

Originally, I imagined I'd be saying something like, while of course they were very good friends and LXC grieves for NMJ, there's no evidence of romantic interest. But I wanted to look over the scenes first, to get a handle on them properly and to pick out some quotes; and what I found, when I looked at it closely, startled me—I couldn't believe how little there actually was.

My methodology for this review, by the way: I searched the entire text for every variation on their name I could think of, and then read over the chapter for chapters they were both mentioned in. I also reviewed chapters where only one of them is mentioned (that's how I caught the reference in ch 16, where NMJ is only referred to as NHS' brother). I might have missed something, or I might have read it and not registered it, etc etc. I definitely don't have JGY's memory XP But I've done my best to be thorough.

Also, a heads up: while I've done a little bit of addressing NMJ's emotions, this is mostly focused on what LXC feels, because otherwise this would be even more ridiculously long and because that's where my interest lies.

I'll state my conclusions up front, in case you just want to know what I think and not have to wade through [mumble] thousand words to get there. But it's far enough off from even the standard non-shippy take on their relationship that I really did think it was worth walking through the evidence.

It seems to me that while NMJ and LXC were to some extent close before the war, they grew apart during the war and very much so afterwards. There are a few moments that suggest NMJ might feel unusually tender towards LXC, there is nothing similar on LXC's part, and frankly their post-Sunshot interactions that we see suggest that—while LXC certainly cares about him—he does not at all feel close to him.

Moreover, his personal grief for NMJ's death, and whatever personal betrayal he may feel about JGY killing his, LXC's, friend, are not the drivers of his emotional difficulties with respect to JGY.

Okay, now the evidence. This has been divided up into two parts, NMJ alive and NMJ dead.

Pt I: NMJ alive

LXC and NMJ were friends before Sunshot; while we don't have a lot of evidence to guess how close they were, we can certainly see signs of long familiarity with each other in their later interactions, and it's worth noting that we don't see either of them having other friends beyond, in LXC's case, JGY.*

*NMJ got along with his subordinate MY very well, but except for one incident it was purely in the context of a superior/subordinate relationship, and he does not seem to have been interested in MY as a person, so I'm not classing them as friends.

Nevertheless, during Sunshot, we can see LXC begin to grow apart from him, and in their post-Sunshot interactions they start not very close and end up quite distant. By the time if NMJ's death, it's clear that while LXC cares about him, he is not emotionally close to him at all.

A brief discussion of NMJ's feelings, before I spend most of the rest of the post focusing on LXC's. As I mentioned above, LXC seems to be NMJ's only friend, and he does react to him in ways he doesn't really seem to anyone else. In the teacups scene, for example, we're told that "while Nie MingJue had never been one for humor," nevertheless "in front of Lan XiChen, his expression eased." Later, towards the end of the stairs incident, LXC is able to dissuade him from immediately pursuing JGY's death, which I believe is as much as we see anyone ever do with NMJ's anger. Finally, in ch 46, when LXC and LWJ are playing music to deal with NMJ's headless corpse, WWX thinks that NMJ might particularly be responding to LXC playing Liebing: "Wei WuXian didn’t know if it was only his imagination, but as soon as the soft, serene tone of the xiao appeared, the corpse’s movement paused. For a moment, he seemed to have stood still and listened, then turned around, as though he wanted to see who was the one playing the music."

If you wanted to say that NMJ has romantic or quasi-romantic feelings about LXC, then I don't think that would be an unreasonable extrapolation from the text, although I also don't think it's a necessary one; friendship and minor romantic feelings are I think pretty much equally fair readings.

Even so, LXC is not his priority; rather, he prioritizes NHS and (probably not unrelatedly) JGY's moral rectitude. In Ch  48, the friendly 3zun conversation only happens because NMJ was seeking LXC out to bring him NHS' saber, which he'd left behind, and when he qi deviates it's NHS and not LXC who manages to bring him some calm just before he dies, and whose features he can recognize (ch 50). At the Phoenix Mountain Hunt (ch 69-70), we see no sign that either he or LXC sought each other out, and on those occasions we do see NMJ initiate discussion with LXC it's usually about JGY's moral rectitude (ch 73, his sarcastic remark about JGY's hard work after the conference about WWX; ch 49, his interjection during the guqin scene; ch 49, the beginning of the stairs incident). 

And what about what LXC feels? Let's take a close look at the progression of their relationship.

In chapter 16, when NHS is studying at Cloud Recesses, we see LXC run into him and convey NMJ's query into his studies, having apparently recently returned from Qinghe. While he doesn't say what he was doing there, it seems reasonable to infer that he was either visiting NMJ or at least visited him while he was there. (ETA: NHS also hopes that LXC will put in some good words for him to NMJ, which also suggests that he expects they'll be in contact.) This establishes a baseline of closeness from before the war, however much they drift apart during and after. However, we never see any of their interactions before the war, or anything else about their relationship; this is all we get.

The high point of the NMJ and LXC interactions that we see on page happen during Sunshot, where we see them have three conversations (all in ch 48). High point, however, is a relative phrase. In order, there's the teacups scene; there's their conversation (including MY) after NMJ agrees to release MY from his service, with a recommendation letter no less; and there's their conversation where NMJ recounts what happened with MY in Langya.

Let's start with the teacups scene. NMJ and LXC do talk, but it's part of a group conversation with other cultivators—at least three and as many as six of whom we see interject,* one of whom is another sect leader—and it seems mostly about practical or immediate matters. The exchange on the page isn't long and "Soon afterward, Lan XiChen and the rest stood up" and are led to their resting areas by MY. Moreover, interestingly, it's NMJ who asks all the questions; LXC answers him, but doesn't ask him questions in turn, or comment on his situation. 

*there are two separate occasions where there cultivators per chime in

(Note also that the focus of the conversation suggests that NMJ and LXC aren't communicating extensively through letters or anything, as does LXC not knowing MY is NMJ's deputy. I don't think this is hugely significant, given that there's a war on and presumably they don't want information leaking everywhere and LXC doesn't seem to have a fixed address, but it does seem worth noting—as does the implication, perhaps more significant, that LXC only stops at Hejian when he's escorting other cultivators: "Everytime Lan XiChen passed Hejian as he was escorting other cultivators, he would rest shortly[.]")

NMJ and LXC's conversation in the teacups scene stands in really stark contrast to the conversation between LXC and MY that NMJ is about to overhear. That conversation is very much private; it's in LXC's private resting area, and MY is sitting in the presence of Zewu-Jun. The conversation is sort of about the war, but really only as it relates to MY's dream of "earn[ing] a proper place in the LanlingJin Sect" and "receiv[ing] the approval of [his] father." The very first thing we hear LXC say is a comment on MY's situation ("What a coincidence. You joined MingJue-xiong’s force and became his deputy")! He is of course going to go on to raise the possibility of MY going to Langya (to serve his father), and independently volunteer to talk to NMJ if NMJ isn't willing to let MY go. And even after NMJ joins them, some things are kept private between LXC and MY; when he asks them how they know each other, LXC refuses to answer, and then when he asks MY to answer as LXC will not, MY also refuses him, since LXC doesn't want it spoken.

The two conversations are simply very different, in a way that suggests a strong contrast between LXC's feelings for and interest in NMJ and LXC's feelings for and interest in MY. It's also worth noting, as I mentioned above, that it seems that NMJ sought LXC out because he was bringing LXC NHS' sabre, so LXC can bring it on to NHS. 

Now, let's look at the conversation the three of them have after NMJ volunteers to give MY a letter of recommendation and send him to serve his father in Langya. This conversation is, I think, the high point of the interactions they have that we actually see. LXC expresses a positive evaluation of NMJ: "Look, I told you that MingJue-xiong would respect your decision." He smiles at NHS' sabre, and responds directly to NMJ. And then of course there's this famous paragraph:

The three chatted back and forth, at times serious, yet at times light. The conversation was much more relaxed than when they had been in the living room. Listening to their chatter, Wei WuXian often wanted to get a word in as well, yet he was unable to do so.

That said...well. Again, there's nothing about anything here that suggests romance, and if you look at the reasons I give for it being the high point, that's not actually very high. As to the paragraph—again, I do think they're friends! But I think it's also noteworthy that the easiest conversation we see/hear about them having is one that is early in the war,* and where MY is also present, and one where NMJ has just done something good for MY.

*MY is noted as having joined the Nie forces "right after" Sunshot begins, and to have been promoted to NMJ's deputy after not many interactions; LXC also seems surprised at least by MY being NMJ's deputy, which suggests that he hasn't stopped there before while this was the case, and he comes by in the paragraph immediately after MY is promoted. Finally, after MY vanishes after his confrontation with NMJ in Langya, we're told that "during the next few years" no traces could be found of him. All taken together, this suggests to me that MY was NMJ's deputy for 1-2 months early in the war, and the conversation of course takes place at the very end of that period

(As ever, I recommend confusion-and-more's close reading of the second scene, here.)

The next interaction that's mentioned in the text is after MY tricks and immobilizes NMJ and flees, when NMJ describes what happened with him to LXC. I think it's worth noting exactly how the exchange is introduced:

Even when Lan XiChen had the time to assist Langya, a few days later, his anger hadn’t died down one bit. As soon as he came, Lan XiChen laughed, “MingJue-xiong, what a temper you seem to be in. Where is Meng Yao? Why does he not come and douse your flames?”

"As soon as he came," note! It seems to be literally the first thing LXC says. And while it is a comment on NMJ's state, its primary function seems to be as a lead-in to asking about the state/whereabouts of MY. Their exchange as the text shows us is /entirely/ about MY, and he's clearly the focus of LXC's interest. We also have this from LXC, which I think is interesting as it shows the contrast between his morality and NMJ's:

"Judging from his words, the person whom he killed had definitely done wrong. However, he should not have taken his life either. We are in harsh times, so it is quite difficult to determine who was at fault."

Their next interaction is in chapter 49, LXC defending MY from NMJ post Sun Palace—and I don't just mean verbally, he's defending against Baxia with an unsheathed Shuoyue through this whole conversation. At this point, he still has some faith in NMJ's ability to act rationally towards MY, as he asks MY if MY hadn't told NMJ about his being the spy, and NMJ displays familiarity with LXC, knowing that he rarely interrupted people. I'll note that unlike in CQL, LXC does not seem particularly angry at this point—MDZS LXC is almost never angry, including at multiple points where CQL LXC /is/—but overall it's hardly an example of particular closeness, and we see that LXC's morality continues to differ from NMJ's: "MingJue-xiong," he says of MY, "he was undercover in Qishan, and sometimes there would be some things that… could not have been helped." 

Later in the chapter, just before the Flower Banquet, it's mentioned (possibly as inference from WWX) that LXC brought up the sworn brotherhood to NMJ, "having always hoped that the two [NMJ and JGY] would reconcile." Obviously we can infer things about their closeness from the fact that LXC does in fact swear brotherhood with NMJ, but we have no direct textual statement as to why he wanted to swear /himself/ to NMJ, be that personal or political or both.

Next comes the Flower Banquet. NMJ seeks JGY out, first, for his usual concerns with JGY's moral rectitude. Shortly after, LWJ and LXC come over; shortly after that, JC and WWX come over, though they soon move on. There are two things I want to note here. First, it's the only time we see LXC seek NMJ out (and one of only two times we see one of them seek the other out—the other will be in ch 73, after the conference about WWX, when NMJ comes over to him and JGY talking). Second, this is the only time we see LXC respond to NMJ verbally post-Sunshot in a way that isn't about defending someone, either JGY (the usual case) or WQ (at the conference in ch 73)—although it is to some degree a defense of WWX, and it's not quite directly in reply to NMJ, as NMJ and LWJ have a brief exchange on the subject first. These positive signs will not occur again, and I think it's significant that this is the earliest post-Sunshot scene we see.

The next scene for this analysis (chronologically speaking; it's in an entirely different chapter) is the Phoenix Mountain Hunt. Although we see NMJ and LXC arrive to the hunt in ch 69, NMJ arrives after the Twin Jades have started slowly riding into the distance and we don't actually see them interact at all; nor do we see them together in ch 70, the rest of the hunt. Moreover, there doesn't really seem to be any suggestion that they /did/ interact. When JGY says he's not sure if he'll be able to expand the hunting ground in two hours, LXC asks him why, instead of saying something like "oh right da-ge was doing all that hunting too." Moreover, when JGY answers him ("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"), LXC's response doesn't indicate that he saw NMJ earlier, or knew what he was doing, though it does suggest a general familiarity with Nie Mingjue's character: 'Hearing this, Lan XiChen laughed, “That is how Brother is like, after all.”' 

Now, this hardly rules out the idea that they had any interaction, but I think it at least suggests they didn't have any significant interaction, or any interaction after the hunt began. This is in contrast (again!) to his relationship with JGY—he was with him earlier for who knows how long, as they arrive on the scene together, and after this is going to go help expand the hunting grounds. They do have LWJ with them for this last, but he's helping them at LXC's request, and the framing of that request is very—well: "WangJi, should we leave, or would you like to help as well?" So LWJ can come help them, but if he doesn't want to, LXC is simply going to go off with JGY again.

If the Flower Banquet was the high point of their actual interactions on the page, post-Sunshot, then this is I think the most purely emotionally positive we see LXC feel about NMJ post-Sunshot. Significantly, it's based on an apparently older familiarity, and it's when they don't seem to have interacted recently and NMJ isn't even on the page.

The next scene they're in together, again chronologically, is in chapter 73. They're seated together in the first row, but that's explicitly because of their status, and they're grouped with LWJ and JC: "In the front row sat sect leaders and famed cultivators like Nie MingJue, Jiang Cheng, Lan XiChen, and Lan WangJi." During the conference, they have a brief conflict about WQ's culpability, which LXC leaves off explicitly because he's familiar with NMJ's hatred for the Wen. After the conference, we're told "the Venerated Trio gathered," but what this looks like in practice is LXC and JGY talking together and then NMJ coming over. LXC observed that JGY has worked hard, JGY is amused by the destruction JC wrought on his table, and then NMJ interrupts with a negative comment about JGY*: "All clever talk—hard work indeed." LXC smiles but doesn't reply. JGY tries to change the subject by asking LXC where LWJ is, and LXC gestures to the front, where LWJ and Mianmian are finishing up their conversation. NMJ compliments Mianmian, and JGY agrees. That's the end of the scene. I noted for the Flower Banquet that that scene unusually involves LXC replying verbally to NMJ in a way that isn't /just/ about defending someone; here, LXC does not speak a single word after NMJ joins them.

*In the interests of not being unfair I will note that NMJ did observe JGY lie; this doesn't really matter to the NMJ-LXC stuff except that it's a lie that LXC would also have noticed, as it involved contradicting LWJ.

NMJ and LXC are once again in the same scene in ch 78, for the swearing ceremony, and even speak one after the other. However, they don't seem to interact in any way, and their speech seems to be an important sect leader thing; we're told of their responses to JGS' toast, and then JC is explicitly contrasted in not speaking: 

Nie MingJue, “May their souls live on.”

Lan XiChen, “Rest in peace.”

Jiang Cheng, however, still had on a darkened expression. He didn’t say anything even after he poured the wine.

Now we're back in the Empathy chapters, after a not insignificant gap: the next scene is the guqin scene, in chapter 49. Although LXC is playing guqin in the Unclean Realm, and is going to offer to teach JGY the Song of Clarity which he can use on NMJ, LXC and NMJ barely interact at all—they only have one very brief exchange, where NMJ objects to LXC teaching JGY the SoC (because it's leaking Lan techniques), LXC defends his decision, and NMJ realizes he's not going to change his mind so he doesn't say anything. Again, in contrast, LXC is very focused on JGY, asking him questions about his background, complimenting his playing, and independently offering to help him improve his guqin and even teach him an "exclusive teaching" of the Lan! The contrast is very noticeable.

A little after this, it's revealed that LXC left a guqin at the UR, apparently for JGY to use to play the SoC to NMJ. This is ostensibly because he is busy with the rebuilding of CR, although WWX speculates that this is just an excuse and that he "simply wanted to give Nie MingJue and Jin GuangYao a chance to ease their tension."

In chapter 30, it's revealed that at a Discussion Conference in the past, NMJ (who we are told otherwise would not have shown up, note, although it would have been an opportunity to see LXC) confronts the Jin about their refusal to sentence XY to death. He draws his sabre with the intent of killing XY, and gives JGY "a harsh scolding," causing JGY to "hid[e] behind Lan XiChen, not daring to say anything else." It seems likely that LXC defends JGY and/or helps to calm NMJ down, although nevertheless the Jin Sect has to (temporarily) give in on the matter of XY's death sentence; nothing about any further interaction they may have is noted.

Their next interaction is at the stairs incident, back in chapter 49. NMJ charges in on LXC and JGY, who are discussing the watchtower plans together, and tells LXC to stay there and JGY to come out with him. LXC's "face disclose[s] his worry," but JGY stops him and follows NMJ out. Some time later, LXC shows up at the conflict, coming to see what's happening, "concerned after having waited for long." He manages to calm NMJ down and prevent him from further trying to kill JGY, by talking about the work JGY has put in with the Song of Clarity, pointing out that he really is in a terrible situation, and urging NMJ to give him more time. Nothing he says particularly suggests that he feels close to NMJ; if anything, he seems kind of in denial about just how much NMJ is set against JGY.

Finally, there is their last interaction, just before NMJ's death. LXC is defending—well, not so much NMJ as the idea that NMJ hasn't rejected JGY completely, to JGY. His arguments are as follows: NMJ chose to become sworn brothers with JGY, which means he approves of JGY; when NMJ included in the oath stuff about "face a thousand accusing fingers, be torn from limb to limb," and so forth, he /also/ included "if one were to think otherwise," and since JGY doesn't think otherwise, he doesn't need to worry about it too much; that NMJ has always cherished JGY's talent and hoped he would choose the right path; and finally, that he's really really troubled by the saber spirit, that "[h]is anger was simply too great for him to have thought before speaking," and that JGY must not provoke him again (presumably by talking back, as he did at the stairs). As shining defenses of character go, this... isn't one. Again, he seems like he's kind of in denial about how much NMJ is set against JGY—notably, he didn't see all of the stairs incident, certainly not the part before JGY talked back—but it also doesn't exactly contain a strong positive assessment of NMJ. Forget his defense of JGY to Wangxian: this doesn't even compare to his confidence in NMJ in the conversation NMJ overhears and then joins at the Hejian front.

I realize all this is a lot, so to sum up their post-Sunshot interactions: we only see LXC seek out NMJ once, early post-Sunshot, and that's at a party. The fondest LXC seems of NMJ is one line during the Phoenix Mountain Hunt, when NMJ isn't even on-page. We do not see them spend any time privately together when JGY is not also there, and every time they interact publically JGY is also present at the party or gathering. When we do see them interact, the only time LXC responds verbally directly to NMJ is in defense of someone; if we include his indirect defense of WWX at the Flower Banquet, then that becomes 'the only time we see LXC respond verbally to NMJ at all.'

This is not of course to say that they don't have interactions we don't see. Given the time gaps, they must! But there's nothing about the interactions we *do* see to suggest that the ones we don't are in any way actually emotionally close, certainly not on LXC's part. Again, a contrast with his interactions with JGY is instructive; as with NMJ, we certainly don't see all of their interactions, but what we do see signals their closeness, mutual respect, and tendency to spend time together. 

PT II: NMJ dead

Okay, you say, but wait! What about the depth of his renewed grief after he finds NMJ's body!! What about his deep personal betrayal about JGY killing his close friend!!!

Yes, I say, wild-eyed, having tried to find anything in the text for just that. what /about/ all that.

My problem is, how do I prove a negative? In the chapters with NMJ alive, LXC's presence and his interactions with NMJ are short enough that I could reasonably if lengthily discuss and summarize; that's just not going to work here (there are twelve and a half temple chapters!), not least because some of it is a matter of context or interpretation. So I'm doing two things. First, where we do see him actively upset, I'm going to show you what he seems upset about, and second, I'm going to point out places where we might expect him to react if he's feeling a deep personal grief about NMJ specifically, and instead he does not, or reacts differently.

Let's start with chapter 46, where LXC sees NMJ's moving corpse for the first time. I've seen the idea around that LXC recognized NMJ by his abs, but this doesn't really seem to be the case; it's either the shape of his (headless) body or his saber-fighting movements. Significantly, LWJ also recognizes it at the exact same time: "As they saw the headless shadow, both [LXC and LWJ] paused shortly." LXC's reaction to this recognition is extreme surprise, "almost to the point of shocked," and he takes a bit to resume playing Liebing, joining LWJ on the guqin (to deal with the headless corpse that's going around). 'Shock' is hardly incompatible with immense personal grief, but I will note that in this section he is also not described as anything other than shocked, although it is his first time seeing NMJ's body in ten years. 

In a few paragraphs they deal with the corpse, attacking its energy enough that it falls back into pieces. As WWX seals the pieces back into his qiankun pouch, LXC asks him to wait: he wants to look at the corpse first, and he's described as having an "ashen" complexion. In context, though, both of these things seem to me to be about the likely identity of NMJ's killer, rather than NMJ himself; when LXC says he want to look at the corpse, WWX asks him if he recognizes the corpse, but it's not LXC who replies: "Before Lan XiChen could reply, Lan WangJi already nodded slowly." Moreover, as WWX points out, LWJ has already given LXC all the evidence that points at JGY as the killer—and also, after they do start talking about the identity of the killer, LXC shows no further interest in the corpse. This, from WWX, seems to me to sum up LXC's emotional conflict in this conversation: "Sect Leader Lan, you know who is the most suspicious person. You’re just refusing to admit it." It's not about NMJ being the corpse per se; it's what NMJ being the corpse suggests JGY did. ETA: I look at this scene in more detail here.

(I'll also note that the very first time we see LXC have anything to do with NMJ's corpse, it's in chapter 11, in the context of LWJ asking if LXC is visiting JGY "again" and a paragraph on JGY from WWX which includes the revelation that he and LXC are sworn brothers on the one hand, and LXC talking about LWJ being in good spirits and bringing guests home on the other. Meanwhile, NMJ's arm: 'Lan XiChen spoke, “Uncle has taken and examined what you brought back from Mo Village.”'

Now obviously we can't infer LXC's feelings about NMJ from this directly, given that he doesn't know it's NMJ's arm at the time, but it's certainly textually suggestive, and it very much fits in with a pattern of LXC prioritizing JGY and LWJ.)

That's most of the end of chapter 46; the next chapter has LXC, LWJ, and WWX going to the discussion conference at Carp Tower. Again, it's kind of hard to prove a negative, and LXC's reactions aren't really described at great length (though he does of course greet JGY with a smile); the only thing that seems unusual is that he seems "absent-minded." 

Chapters 48 and 49, and part of 50, are the Empathy chapters. After WWX escapes from the flashback and returns to LWJ, he and LWJ start causing a ruckus trying to get into JGY's bedchamber (to get to his secret room). An audience is attracted, including LXC. Taking a cue from LWJ, he pressures his way into the treasure room; he seems relieved when NMJ's head isn't behind the curtain WWX lifts. He has—well, he certainly has a few emotional reactions, but at no point does he seem driven by grief over NMJ instead of uncertainty about JGY. At one point he "nod[s] heavily" to confirm to NHS that he's talking about NMJ. Or consider this exchange:

Jin GuangYao’s eyes still held tears, but appeared as if they were red with anger. He clenched his hands into fists and shouted with both grief and resentment, “Dismembered… Dismembered! Who in this world could’ve done such an insane act?!”

Lan XiChen shook his head, “I do not know. When we were searching for the head, the clues disappeared.”

Now obviously JGY is acting—but he's acting the role of someone who /is/ personally mourning NMJ, and he's showing more anger than LXC ever does about it. Now—to be fair, MDZS LXC gets angry even less than CQL LXC, who is hardly an angry person. But there are a few times we do see him angry—certain moments confronting JGY in the temple, in the temple courtyard when he's angry at WWX for how he's treated LWJ—and what happens to NMJ's body, never mind the fact of the death itself, doesn't seem to make the list.

In chapter 63, WWX wakes up in CR, having been recovering for four days. In this chapter and the next two, LXC becomes increasingly distressed as they discover the Song of Turmoil and the evidence seems to weigh against Jin Guangyao, enough that it's not really feasible to review every instance of it. Nevertheless, there are a couple of parts I think it's worth looking at directly.

In chapter 64, we get something extremely valuable: LXC's statement of his own emotional quandary.

Lan XiChen supported his head on his hand. His voice was low, as though he was trying to hold something back, “WangJi, the version of Jin GuangYao that I know is entirely different compared to the version that you know and the version that the world knows! Throughout all these years, in my eyes, he has always been… enduring his suffer, caring for all people, treating everyone with respect. I have always believed, without a doubt, that the criticism he received from others all came from misunderstandings, that what I knew how he truly is. Now, you want me to believe, at once, that everything about this person is fake, that he planned to kill one of his sworn brothers, that I was also a part of his plan and even helped him… Could you please allow me some more discretion before I make my own judgement?”

So, what is he distressed by here? It's quite clearly the idea that he /doesn't/ know JGY, that the JGY he knows is fake, a falsehood, and relatedly that their relationship is not as he understands it ("that I was also a part of his plan and even helped him"). JGY killing NMJ is obviously what inspires this crisis, but it's not at all what's centered in his speech here, and even the half-sentence mention that it gets doesn't frame it at all in terms of NMJ's relationship to LXC. "He planned to kill one of his sworn brothers," he says, not "our sworn brother" or "my sworn brother" or even "my friend." 

(The paragraph immediately following reads to me more like WWX's conclusions than narrative certainty, but either way, it's not about his personal relationship with NMJ: "Lan XiChen had taught Jin GuangYao the Song of Clarity, keeping in mind the grudge between Jin GuangYao and Nie MingJue, hoping that they could be how they used to be. He requested Jin GuangYao to help calm Nie MingJue in place of him. Who would’ve known that his kindness made possible Jin GuangYao’s cruelty? How should he face himself now?") 

Later in the chapter, there's the famous section where he tells WWX about his and LWJ's parents' story. I do think part of this is about telling WWX something about LWJ (although not that LWJ has feelings for him, which MDZS LXC thinks he already knows), but it's also pretty transparently about his own uncertainty re: JGY.

He paused before speaking again, “Young Master Wei, can you understand why he did such a thing?”

Wei WuXian answered after a moment of silence, “He could neither forgive the one who killed his teacher nor watch the death of the woman who he loved. He could only marry her to protect her life and force himself not to see her.”

Lan XiChen, “Do you think that this was right?”

Wei WuXian, “I don’t know.”

Lan XiChen looked somewhat lost, “Then, what do you think would be right?”

Wei WuXian, “I don’t know.”

A while later, [Lan Xichen speaks again, in a whisper]

He spoke, “Madam Lan must’ve been a very gentle woman.”

Lan XiChen, “In my memories, Mother had indeed been so. I do not know why she did such a thing back then. And, in truth, I…”

He took in a deep breath before confessing, “Do not want to know either.”

It's not what you might call subtle.

But it's also worth noting, I think, exactly what LXC focuses on telling the story. It was one of his father's teachers that his mother killed—and while that is absolutely a very important position, and obviously would have mattered and indeed did matter to QHJ a great deal—that's literally all the information we get about him, that he was QHJ's teacher. He lingers on why QHJ did what he did, and whether it was the right thing; he talks about the crime his mother committed, and his response to that. He does not focus at all on the teacher, the clear NMJ-analogue in this scenario. He's not QHJ's beloved teacher, or his favourite teacher, or anything like that—he's not even just "his teacher," he's "one of his teachers." And maybe that's all the information he has about him, but he doesn't linger on that question either! Again, there's nothing here to suggest that his conflict is about his personal connection with NMJ.

ETA: I actually missed something here. Thanks to some critique in the notes (and which I discuss more extensively in the post linked at the bottom of the page), I looked at the Chinese here, and the word LXC uses for teacher is 恩师, which Pleco gives me as “mentor; one’s kind and respected master (or teacher).” So on the one hand, that's not nothing. On the other hand, the point remains that it's only one word, LXC isn't adding lots of adjectives on to describe the teacher, and as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, simply doesn't linger on the teacher in his conversation with WWX; the focus is elsewhere. I think the point as a whole stands.

Now to the temple chapters. I think it's fairly well-known, at this point, that he doesn't bring up NMJ to JGY in the temple chapters, but I'm going to point it out again—he doesn't bring up NMJ to JGY in the temple chapters! And this is, I feel, even more significant in MDZS, where he's seen NMJ's fierce corpse. That said, there are a few instances where he reacts to NMJ/NMJ's corpse; I'm going to look at all of them.

First of all, in ch 104 when WWX says "Looks like being called the son of a prostitute is really Sect Leader Jin’s weak spot. No wonder you killed ChiFeng-Zun," we're told that "With the mention of Nie MingJue, Lan XiChen’s expression changed." No further details are provided; we don't know what it changes into, and the only hint we have as to what it changes /from/ is that LXC's last described reaction, only two paragraphs previous, was calling "Sect Leader Jin" because he knew JGY was about to fuck with JC. Also interestingly, LXC does /not/ have any reaction described when JGY and JC have the "isn't it hard being your shixiong/isn't it even harder being your sworn brother" exchange, earlier in chapter 101. Perhaps his reaction is simply not noted by the text—it seems unlikely he has literally zero reaction to it—but if we're looking for a difference, it seems like it's either the explicit reference to killing NMJ, or the reminder of NMJ calling JGY the son of a prostitute.

Second, there's the moment NMJ('s fierce corpse) shows up (ch 106). He, JGY, and NHS all say "Brother."  JGY and LXC's responses are one paragraph after the other, and the punctuation is the same: "… Brother."* Meanwhile, NHS reacts first, a few paragraphs earlier, and he cries out, "Brother!!!" We're told that "[their] three tones were drastically different," which is interesting as well. NHS seems in the grip of some strong, active emotion—excitement? grief? We're explicitly told that JGY is scared. Whatever LXC's tone is, it's hard to say—but it's not like NHS'.

*(In the original text it looks like LXC's is "…Brother." and JGY's is "…Brother...", but either way they're significantly more similar to each other's than either is to NHS'.)

Thirdly and finally, when the Jin cultivators are fighting NMJ's corpse (ch 107), NHS peers out from behind LXC's back and calls out to NMJ ("both frightened and eager"), leading NMJ to charge at them. LXC stops him by playing Liebing, then then tries to get him to recognize identifying NHS ("Brother, this is Huaisang!"); the latter unfortunately does not work, NMJ being totally overcome by resentful energy. This section does actually have some evidence of grief: when he plays Liebing, it's described as "with a sob of Liebing."

He'll continue to try and deal with NMJ's corpse, notably with LWJ and WWX, but those three moments are the only times he reacts to NMJ (as NMJ, as opposed to as a fierce corpse that needs to be dealt with). That's not a lot, and each moment is very brief, not to mention fairly ambiguous about LXC's emotional reaction. If he /was/ being driven by his grief for NMJ's death, you would think we'd see more of it.

Furthermore, there's one moment I think it's important to pull out as explicitly not about NMJ. LXC tells JGY (and had told him previously) not to call LXC er-ge, /not/ because he killed da-ge (which you might expect!) but because of the second siege: “Sect Leader Jin, I have already said, when you went your own way to scheme such havoc at Burial Mound, that there was no longer the need to call me ‘Brother.’” 

Now, to be clear, it's not that LXC's reactions to things just aren't described in the temple sequence in general. Obviously we see him react when he's telling LWJ about WWX's feelings, but even beyond that, even when he's occupying a more background role in the narrative, we're given his reaction quite a few times. He sighs when LWJ seals his spiritual powers (ch 100); he tends to NHS, covering with his outer robe (ch 102), comforting him when he's disturbed at the sight of the coffin (ch 103), protecting him from SMS (after NHS frames him for stabbing him, ch. 107) and from NMJ (ch 107), and comforting him and giving him pain medicine about the wound in his leg (ch 108); along with LWJ, he's distressed by the sound of JC's sword-scraping technique against JGY's music (ch 101); he tries to warn JC a couple of times when JC is fighting JGY (ch 101), cautions JL (ch 101) and later JC (ch 102) about worsening JC's injuries, and along with JL, WWX, and LWJ freezes when JC slaps JL to the ground (ch 102); he asks Minshan why he's being rude to LWJ, and a little later, with SMS and JL, pauses in astonishment when LWJ laughs (ch 100); he averts his gaze from and seems perhaps embarassed by the ghosts that WWX summons (ch 104); he calls out to WWX to remind him that his current body is closely related to JGY, and will therefore attract NMJ's fierce corpse (ch 107). He actually has a couple of entertaining reactions to Wangxian being Wangxian: he coughs and tells WWX it is maybe not the best time and place for this when WWX is about to repeat "I really wanted to sleep with you," and then later he and Jin Ling inexplicably! move their sitting cushions far away from Wangxian's and gaze into the distance (ch 100).

And more than anything else—in what I think is a very instructive contrast—he reacts to JGY, in a way that reflects an ongoing continual emotional investment. He is, quite notably, consistently worried about JGY and unable to stand the sight of him in pain, even when he thinks he shouldn't be. When the coffin trap goes off, and they overhear Jin cultivators wailing and a pungent smoke emerges, there's worry in LXC's eyes; after JGY and Minshan make it out, and JGY takes some medicine against the poison, LXC hesitates for a moment and then asks what happened (ch 103). After LWJ cuts JGY's hand off—which means /after/ he's taken JL hostage, note—LXC "seemed as though he wanted to help him for an instant," though "in the end he dared not" (ch 106). When Minshan asks him for medicine for JGY, seeing how terrible JGY looks, he hesitates slightly before they're interrupted by NMJ's success fighting the Jin cultivators (ch 107). After they've defeated NMJ, he treats JGY's wrist; moreover, "Seeing that Jin GuangYao almost passed out from the pain, Lan XiChen, who in the beginning wanted to use this to punish him, still didn’t have the heart to bear it," and goes for the pain-relief medicine from NHS. And this is all not even accounting for his reactions to JGY either during his questioning of JGY or post-stabbing!

And what about when he's distressed by JGY? When he's reacting with upset or anger? There seem to be two consistent threads: first, that JGY did awful things/hurt people /not/ under constraint, and second, the idea that he doesn't know JGY after all and their relationship was a lie. 

For the first, he calls out Sect Leader Jin when JGY starts in on JC after JC calls him the son of a prostitute (ch 104), although notably he does not do the same in their earlier confrontation when JGY is distracting JC in order to defeat him, only warning JC (ch 101); when JGY confesses to having burned down the brothel, he's distressed when JGY says that it wasn't entirely to remove the traces (ch 105); he becomes /less/ angry about the second siege and about QS when it turns out that he was operating under constraint in those conditions (ch 106); and of course, the thing he's angriest about is JGY killing his father, "and even in such a way" (ch 106). In ch 103, looking down at the coffin he is shocked that JGY buried something that caused such horror to its surroundings, but without further information about JGY's reasons this does not metamorphose into anger.

For the second, when WWX him asks why there's no light shining from Shuoyue, he tells him "It's quite a shame," and that he "was fooled by lies" and had his cultivation sealed (ch 99); when JGY assures him that he'll let him and NHS go without harm when the time comes, he asks if he should believe him (ch 100); when JGY asks if LXC isn't going to ask him /why/ he set the fire (since it wasn't entirely to erace the traces), we have this important excerpt (ch 105):

“In the past, it was not that I did not know what you did, but that I believed you had your reasons behind doing them.”

He continued, “But, you have done too much. And I… no longer know if I should believe you.”

Fatigue and disappointment sunk heavily into his tone.

And then after JGY takes JL hostage (ch 106), this one:

Lan XiChen spoke slowly, “Sect Leader Jin, you lied again.”

Jin GuangYao, “Just this once. There’ll be no next time.”

Lan XiChen, “This was what you said last time. I can no longer tell which of your words are true.”

LXC asks him about the letter in the first place because "whenever he heard there might be hiddenmight hidden reasons, he just had to hear it" (ch 105); when WWX challenges him before he tends to JGY's wounds, he says "Many things still remain unanswered" (ch 108).

His upset at JGY "attacking" him is in ch 108, I think, a combination of the two—in CQL, it reads more like he's angry that JGY took an action that made him need to attack JGY than anything else, but in MDZS he experiences it as a real betrayal: "As he saw Nie HuaiSang’s expression along with the warning, he felt something in his heart go cold." Because it would have been one; it's a line that JGY hasn't crossed, and as it turns out it's a line that JGY hadn't crossed, and would never.

And lastly, after JGY's death, we have once again LXC's explicit statement of his difficulties—and while LXC's post-stabbing difficulties could be different from his pre-stabbing ones, it's at least an important consideration, and it is in line with the rest of what we see:

“… Just what does he want to do? I once thought I knew him well, and then I realized I did not. Before tonight, I thought I knew him well once more, but now I do not.” Nobody could give him an answer. Lan XiChen repeated in frustration, “Just what does he want to do?”

Looking over the evidence, he's hurt and angry that JGY would do awful things not under constraint, and about the idea that he doesn't know JGY after all/their relationship is a lie. I do think it's unlikely that he's zero percent upset about JGY contributing to NMJ's death—I tend to think they talked about if offscreen, between LXC leaving with him from Gusu and WWX finding them in the temple, and that's why LXC doesn't bring him up in the temple sequence. But whatever he's feeling, his reactions to JGY don't seem to be about his own personal grief for or relationship with NMJ, and if they /had/ been about that I think there's several moments in the temple that would have played out differently.

One last note: I see often the idea that LXC going into seclusion after JGY's death is for his grief about /both/ his sworn brothers. At this point, you're probably unsurprised to learn that I don't think the evidence supports this. Not only, again, do we have very little evidence of his personal grief for NMJ post-timeskip—ten years past NMJ's death!—even after NMJ shows up again, but there's a distinct change in him after JGY dies. Before that, he's obviously distressed, but he's still tracking and on top of things; afterwards, on the other hand, we're told that "If it were the usual ZeWu-Jun, he couldn’t have failed to fathom [what WWX was suggesting the letter be intended to cause]. But right now, it was likely he had no more space in his mind to think" (ch 109), which tracks pretty well with his absent-mindedness at the banquet a few months down the line (ch 116). Nothing about LWJ's discussion with WWX of LXC's state suggests it's at all precedented (ch 115), and in fact when LQR talks to him immediately after JGY dies, we're told that "Lan XiChen’s face was full of an unspeakable grief" and that "Lan QiRen had never seen Lan XiChen, a child he single-handedly brought up, look so agitated and discomposed" (ch 110). JGY's death is a breaking point; NMJ's death, at the time or now, simply is not.

In conclusion, while he was certainly friends with NMJ pre-Sunshot, and that is genuinely rare for LXC, they began to grow apart during Sunshot; and while LXC continued to care for NMJ, he was not at all intimate with him, and showed no sign of particularly enjoying or seeking out his company. Later, while he is certainly disturbed at the idea that JGY might have killed NMJ, this is because it suggests that he /doesn't/ know JGY after all, and his reactions to JGY then and at the temple are not driven by his personal grief for or relationship with NMJ, nor is his seclusion in any way related to his feelings for NMJ.

ETA: All quotes taken from the Exiled Rebels translation.

ETA: I discuss some critique of this by @/hqfeels here.

#ship negativity cw #ship meme #I'm done!!! #good fucking god this took me a month #that damn bingo post #long meta #profound philosophical differences #anger burned in his heart #the best of men #a gentle warmth filling the deepest of needs