#those principles

[ducktracy]

A VERY HAPPY 110TH BIRTHDAY TO FRANK TASHLIN! i genuinely went into a cold sweat at the prospect of forgetting—one of my all time favorite directors, cartoon or live action, as well as creative influences as a whole. every time i see his work i’m left thinking “you can DO THAT?” like above.

he’s one director where i genuinely struggle to think about any duds in his filmography (outside of some select pieces aging poorly, but even those often are tight on a wholly technical aspect .)

whether it be cartoons, stop motion, live action, or illustration, he has a transcendent tone that consistently leaves me spellbound. so much energy, so much ingenuity, so much boldness, and none of it ever feels pompous or stuffy. as an influence, i’m seriously indebted to him.

#i think his influence follows me most in my day to day as not only how i draw cartoons but how i interpret them #live action as well. #like i’m always thinking of his silhouettes and strong line of action when working on SpongeBob which is a show with a heavy emphasis on #those principles #as well as studying consciousness behind motives in cartoons and films whether from a filmmaker or my own motives in my own cartoons #like he is just. 100% inspiration #a director like Bob Clampett is too but i feel like i understand his work more. not that i don’t understand Tashlin’s but my sensibilities #along a lot with Clampett’s so i can sort of understand his line of thinking in certain shorts. i wouldn’t say i’m equal with him because #that is horribly egotistical of me to every imply that i’m as good as him but i do have a. i guess familiarity with his approach #whereas Tashlin while my sensibilities also align with his a lot i’m always asking HOW. how did he do this. how. how did he think of doing #this. his work is genuine magic to me #happy birthday Tish Tash! #lt #porky pig’s feat #tashlin #vid

[cuddlytogas]

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

#everyone say 'thank you togas' for not including a long tangent about evil rimmer in red dwarf 5x05 #Our Flag Means Death #Togas does meta #and yes these principles DO fall apart slightly in s2 and i DON'T like those costumes as much #don't get me wrong they're fun and gorgeous - but generally a bit less deep and more inaccurate. so. :( #I'm not sure this really says anything new about Our Flag but I just needed to get my thoughts out #i hate hate hate Gritty Period Drama costumes they're so boring and so ugly and so wrong #god bless OFMD for using more than 3 muted colours and actually putting men in heels (and not as a shorthand for rich/foppish villainy) <3 #looking at that Tudors still is insane like they really will go to any lengths to not make men feel like they've got bare legs XD #image descriptions in alt text #and yes i DID just sink about two hours into those so you'd better appreciate them

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

British news report on Black Metal

#British news report on Black Metal #vhs #v h s #metal #heavy music #black metal #90's #90s #marduk #burzum #mayhem #Cradle of Filth #burning church #The Principle of Evil Made Flesh #Those of the Unlight #news #t.v. #my gif #my edit

[segretecose]

people who date taylor swift or others like her at this stage are so brave it's not even about the songs it's just the ticking clock before you get Commercialized that would make me run for the hills

#not saying these are poor little men who must be defended from evil witch songstress mind you. #idc if she threw those mfs into an active volcano literally or metaphorically #it's just the tmz-fication of music and art that irks me so much #like she's not being inspired by her personal life to write music be so serious that's not what she does #she very consciously and masterfully picks references she knows her fans will pick up on and connect the dots on #but she's not selling music (not only at least). she's selling gossip #i'll admit there's at least more artistry involved in that than in a paparazzi walk but in principle they're the same #she's not the only one who does it btw.

[sentientstump]

💥bombo-genesis💥

#the combined power of friendship!!! or something! “:D #explode those guys up!!! #hopefully this shows whos who on second glance if not then check the image description o7 #i took a break from drawing yesterday because i didnt want to draw daily hylics out of principle ...but idk tbh i still did- ... whistle #i am silly👍🏼 #hylics 2 #hylics #somsnosa #dedusmuln #pongorma #wayne hylics

[fireheartwraith]

Someone on twitter pointed out something very true: q!cellbit is still salty about tazercraft betraying him in fuga impossivel years ago. Of course he's going to hold a grudge against bad's spawnkilling. Being a salty bitch passiva tóxica is half his personality

#qsmp #i can never judge him #i hold a grudge over an argument i had when i was a ten #for more salty bastard people who can't let go 🩷 #i also identify with bad's “i know i'm wrong but now i'm too deep into this argument and i refuse to back down on principle” #not that those two facts about my personality have anything to do with each other..... #qsmp cellbit #qsmp badboyhalo

[lgbtlunaverse]

Life as a JGY stan is so hard because sometimes I want to make posts about the ways his very justified paranoia turns against him sometimes, rare moments where I think being more trusting or vulnerable would have helped but he felt like it couldnt, or talk about how his brutal survival instinct intersects with society's existing bigotries in a such a way that most of his violence is actually aimed at people lower on the ladder than him, with people like Jin Guangshan being the exception not the rule. Because he's a fascinating character and these parts of him are interesting!

But when I do that I have to live in perpetual fear of the moment that it escapes its target audience and someone takes it to go "Yeah he's a monster who fucked over everyone and is incapable of love! I wish he was killed earlier and his death was a thousand times more painful 🤪"

I mean, take my last example. Due to existing hierarchies it is, at any point, easier and safer for jgy to harm people less powerful than him instead of more powerful than him, even if the more powerful are the ones threatening his safety in the first place. Even knowing how it harms him and while working against it, Jin Guangyao is not immune to internalizing the mindset of the world he lives in. Even when killing Jin Guangshan- one man- it ends up costing the lives of 20 sex workers. You think I can bring up the sex workers in this fucking fandom? You think that will go over peacefully? The well has been so thoroughly poisoned here it feels like any conversation around morality automatically turns into a courtroom to determine a sentence for this fictional fucking character who's already dead.

#mdzs #meng yao #jin guangyao #complaining and whining about fandom #does fandom even know you can talk about morality in a way that's not adding up good person vs bad person tally points? #i think it's really fucking interesting how jgy is the person who's saved the most common people in the setting with the watchtowers #a politically unpopular move! this was a passion project he made becuase he wanted to help people! #and yet he's not afraid to take advantage of every bit of social capital he painstakingly gains to harm those below him either #i wish! that i could talk about that! #i also haaaate the 'incapable of love' thing on principle #morality is a choice! people don't need to FEEL love or empathy to not harm others #to use it as shorthand for 'evil' is reductive and fucking annoying #people hurt people they love all the time! #fandom does this in a similar way to nmj also. 'oh he can't empathise with other people' NOT THE PROBLEM. HE HAS A VERY DIFFERENT PROBLEM #what characters feel is very important to me from a 'studying blorbo' perspective but not in a debate about whether they're a good person

[pastadoughie]

yaknow i wish people didnt act like having areas of skin that are different shades was a feature exclusive to black peoples hands like, thats a really noticable area so when people get it wrong its pretty obvious but even in white people the palms of your hands are a noticably different color then the back

skin color is not even on literally anybody you are always going to have variations in shades and undertones in different sections of your body and when trying to draw skin more accurately that really shouldnt stop at just using a lighter shade on the hands of ur poc chrs

im white so i cant speak abt darker skin tones that much, but i think that people rlly need to stop acting like stuff like having variations in skin shade is a feature exclusive to them everybody has melinin and its gonna be distributed acrosss your skin differently always and you trying to be more accurate in how u draw skin shouldnt end at instagram info graphics abt how to draw black people better you should be looking at photos and at yourself (even if youre white, black people are not a different species and traits can & do apply to both groups) and trying to notice various features because thats always gonna give you a more accurate picture of things

#the beast speaks #lmk if this is worded in a kinda concerning way i am not good with words and i dont want to look. racist. #idk whenever people act like drawing darker skin tones is magically like entirely different then drawing lighter ones it just doesnt really #feel genuine to me like its a different color the same principles and funimentals apply its just that some things look subtler #and some things look more obvious #like tattoos and brusies show up differently depending on skin tone #but they still look like tattoos and bruises those concepts for drawing them still apply its just different shades #retchid opinions

[shorthaltsjester]

if i ever have to see another thought piece on the description of the white picket fence outside of fjord and jester’s place in mighty nein reunited indicating jester’s unhappiness in the relationship i will burn the world to the ground.

a) heteronormativity doesn’t exist in exandria !

b) fjord isn’t your Typical Male Love Interest Guy. if i ever have to read someone say that shit again i’m gonna (correctly) assume they haven’t paid attention at all to campaign 2 and any of fjord’s character arc.

c) perhaps, jester lavorre, woman who was raised on the ideology of romance novels and sexuality as exchange, might just find it uh… not a terrible thing that the white picket fence is falling apart outside since… fjord explicitly does Not feel like those romance novels to her, instead he feels comfortable. the way that a brightly painted but rarely used house might, especially when the couple in question spends most of their time adventuring together… which is an essential part of jester’s motivations throughout the campaign.

d) the reason fjord and jester seem unhappy in the reunion might be because, well, uh, whereas everyone else was getting a “vacation”, jester and fjord’s life together (specifically the fact that Fjord Loves Jester Enough To Risk The World (Momentarily) To Save Her) was the inciting action for an apocalyptic demigod being released - they Were unhappy. who wouldn’t be given those circumstances. jester nearly died, and fjord felt like the god that once saved him had now abandoned him, i am so truly sorry that their romance was not satisfactory for your vision of atypical romance (which, by the way, is literally reinforcing the restrictive romantic tropes you think you’re criticizing, so good job i guess). i would be much, much more concerned if jester and fjord Weren’t clearly dismayed.

e) both fjord and jester are individuals whose entire lives and character are defined by the expectation (both external and internal) that they behave and emote a certain way. that they’re in a relationship with someone who they feel that they can show that they are frustrated with or disagree on the layout of their house with or have different ideas on how to deal with the looming threat of a demigod is incredible. jester and fjord are emblematic of a relationship in which the characters Aren’t meant to be, but they Want to be together and they want to understand and support the other person so they work at it. we wouldn’t have conversations like “you seem disheartened..” “i am very disheartened! you almost died!” if they didn’t take the time and care to communicate with one another.

f) if you want a honeymoon era joyful queer romance, yasha and beau are right there! they are explicitly horny and in love and bright about it! if queerness is your measure of “trope breaking” i am very sorry to tell you that queer people partake in white picket fences, and i’d actually argue that in terms of Lifestyle Metaphor, beauyasha are more adherent to the whitepicket fence, nuclear familyism. this isn’t a detriment to them, just, very literally, beau works a 9-5 where she comes back to her housewife who gardens and cooks dinner and their future includes explicit reference to children. comparatively, fjord wants to address some issues in his past, jester is an artist, and both of them are interested in adventure for the foreseeable future.

g) if you truly think that a single part of laura’s description of the part-time abode of fjord and jester overrides every interaction and choice that both laura and travis make towards fjord and jester caring for each other in a deep and meaningful way that goes beyond the weird fandom constructed Man/Woman characters being portrayed by a married couple i truly, Truly have no idea why you even watch the many hours of content that cr is when you could… play/write your own shit.

#usually i would simply block and ignore but! i got one of those weird twitter recommended tweet notifs #and there were far too many likes #also like. ppl talk about that home as if it is where fjord and jester are living their everyday life #they are on the ship most of the time. of course it’s downtrodden and illlooked after. they are adventuring. they’re writing their own story #fjord #fjord stone #jester lavorre #fjord + jester #fjorester #critical role #cr2 #mighty nein #cr meta #kinda #i’m not tagging this discourse because it’s stupid and against my principles if u don’t like this block me :) #the mighty nein

[anglerflsh]

hatching is a terrible idea by the way

#[.art] #could I have used a hatching brush istead of going by hand? maybe so. It's a matter of principle and those brushes look bad #les mis #javert #jean valjean #technically also cosette but not /really/ #quando finalmente posso consumare media letterari qualcosa nel mio cervello si ripara istg #sono un paio di giorni che provo anche a tirare fuori dei design per montecristo. Prima o poi ce la faccio #oh those shapes in the background are wolfsbane

[tomwambsgans]

tomgreg is not "i could fix him" nor "i could make him worse" but "i could make him feel like a real person." from both ends.

#tomgreg #there is genuine incompleteness on either end without each other #i'm thinking nrpi and the mutual obsession and being (successfully) singularly inclined toward monetary success #EXCEPT in regards to each other #greg having only the most naive aspirations until he meets tom #tom having an essentially directionless desire to be a caretaker until he meets greg #i'm thinking of that one rebvilla tg art with the caption #'doderick fell from the fantasy doggy land and became a real boy in the arms of a guy named tom' #i'm thinking of how the last time greg smokes weed onscreen has him throw it away when tom shows up #how he first does coke. an upper. onscreen directly as tom shows up #tom wakes him up and guides him #greg gives him someone to guide #they're both sponges that soak each other up bc they were sorely missing something #the ethics of their behavior are besides the point #the point is that they cease to be performative about it. tom gets less conservative greg gets less liberal #bc both were masks that weren't necessarily real #'don't be an asshole greg you don't have PRINCIPLES' <- tom accurately calling greg out for being fake #i'm thinking we don't change minds. maybe we do change minds. #once again whether it's in the direction of being 'good' or 'bad' could not be FURTHER from the point #bc the human condition does not condern those things. LOVE does not concern those things. #they just push each other in the direction of being complete people. of being fucking real #mine

[batarangsoundsdumb]

some people have prophetic visions, i have the image of oliver and hal fighting over a green plastic lawn chair at the justice league barbecue rotating in my mind all hours of the day

#them trying to bump each other off by scooting their ass to the side !!! #it's like one of those basic lawn chairs in green arrow AND green lantern green #clark is like 'you know we have enough chairs right?' #and hal and oliver at the SAME TIME like 'its about the PRINCIPLE' #damn right its about the principle #also @ ma and pa kent. why do you only have one green lawn chair at home. maybe shouldve thought about it before hosting the jla barbecue #hal jordan #green lantern #oliver queen #green arrow #dc #jla #justice league #the justice league

[uncanny-tranny]

When I find it hard to do certain things, I like to pretend I am a neanderthal living in a cave with my clan, and I must do The Thing in order to survive.

So, when I'm doing cardio at the gym, I'm actually chasing and tracking a mammoth, and when I need to cook, well, I'm not cooking on a stove top, I am hurdled over the first fire and watching the fat of our kill drip down onto the burning wood. And when I find it hard to crochet, I pretend that the first winter storm is coming and our clan needs me to make blankets to hurdle under and that I must contribute.

I hope whatever you do to do The Things will help. It is a uniquely personable trait to motivate yourself through pretend and stories. That's what makes this life interesting - that's what makes you feel larger than yourself 💛

#mental health #positivity #it helps that i absolutely adore learning things about ancient people too - it's endlessly fascinating #unironically if somebody has textbook/video recommendations about neanderthals/ancient civilization let me know i will froth at the mouth #i like talking about this because it gives other people ideas about how they can motivate themselves #and personally the feeling of being ancient or a part of something old makes me feel that #in addition to the There Are 8 Billion People principle i work on the There Have Been ~117 Billion People Here principle #i find it comforting to think that i don't stand out significantly in a good or bad way because of the sheer NUMBER of people who have live #the human brain is bad at computing those numbers but... just... that's an insurmountable number #there truly are very VERY few experiences truly unique and that's not a bad thing #that just means that you aren't forgotten nor are you alone in anything #i was watching a video about somebody making flax into thread using a paper that was published about ancient textiles #and holy shit i wanted to bite somebody because i was so interested in it and it's just so humanizing to both us but also ancient people #those people probably used very very similar techniques that the video maker did - at first she used a rock to get the fibers #and then she remarked that saliva helped to get to the fiber of the flax and i wonder how many ancient people also did that

[murshoom]

i had this drawing of teen louise sitting on my desktop tht i didnt know what to do with and then i saw this post and IMMEDIATELY sprang into action

#bob's burgers #louwheeze #louise belcher #regular-sized rudy #bob's burgers fanart #artists on tumblr #fanart #my art #roudise #rudise #louise x rudy #if you reblog this ill kiss you on the lips. with tongue even #if you want. #oh btw i censored the op's name bc they requested their name be removed in another post that referenced it #so ig i just assumed they wanted it to be censored always? and also they deleted the original post #on principle im uncomfortable abt shipping child characters. but i love love love their dynamic sm and they will be in love #when theyre OLDER #i love them as best friends AND future partners #i think they are going to be one of those very cute couples where ppl quietly debate whether theyre together or just very close besties #(and both teams are correct❤) #i just like the fact that her earliest memory of him is watching him wheezing and gurgling and being like 'this dude rocks' #oh and yes louise is nonbinary and bi #i also dont mean to shove my ship in anyones face. this can be purely hypothetical if you want. it can be platonic. non shippers welcome

[lambinarmor]

f1 au

#those who have been following me for a while know that I am weak for f1 #Wesker would fit so well into the sport he’s so fucking disloyal LMAO #just hops from team to team until he becomes team principle of his own #also the hardest part of f1 au is coming up with sponsors #I gave up but if any of you have ideas he has plenty of room on his suit #f1 #my art #Wesker #Albert Wesker #re #resident evil

[magnaflourious-nerdity]

People who excessively hate on lan xichen and paint him as some kind of villain in a quest to simplify a complex, open-ended narrative are both boring and incorrect

#its not his fault if you subscribe to moral absolutism!!! #dont push that on him #isnt that just reinforing the lan methodology we all condem so much for punishing wangji so ruthlessly #for the same crime his brother commits?!?! #ie loving someone whos fundamental understanding of the universe syands against those principles??? #the mistake of all lans!!! #tthe only problem being that xichen and jgy stand as narrative foils to the same struggles of their younger generation peers #in you know probably an effort to adress the intergenerational trauma of war and what not #so theyre doomrd from the jump!!!! #im just having dome feelings please be nice to my sons #cql #the untamed #jin guangyao #lan xichen #like yes his inaction led to tragedy!! much like lan wangji!!!!!!! #but we dont all get to start over via the magic of necromancy! #some of us have to be sacrificed to the purpose of the narrative!!!!! #sorry #im just feeling protective of my lil guy #is he free of crime?!?! no!! #but he should not be unilaterally condemned for failing in the same moral pilgramage lan wangji had to struggle with for 16+ years!!! #also for anyone wondering who lan qirens tragic love that bound him to someone fundamentally opposed to the world view he was raised under #its xichen and wangji #like its always been them #his failure is the failure 2 commit tonthat same kind of moral pilgrammage and willingness to fail inthe effort of keeping a so called peace #that worked only for the oppressive party #ok NOW im done probably