xthelastknownsurvivorx

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

Title: Not a Day I Don't Miss (Those Rude Interruptions)

Fandom: Red, White, and Royal Blue (rwrb)

Rating: Teen

Ship: Alex/Henry (firstprince)

Tags: canon compliant, missing scene, henry pov, angst/hurt no comfort

Henry opens his eyes to darkness and a half-remembered dream of Alex interrupting him with a kiss. He'd called Alex a menace at the time, yet as Henry sits up in bed some hours past midnight, he knows there will never be a day he doesn't miss any and all of Alex's cheeky interruptions.

Or, a Henry character study set during the week following Henry running from the lake house, loosely inspired by Taylor Swift's "Last Kiss". Written for firstprince week.

Written for the @thebrownstone's 2023 firstprince week

#rwrb fic #rwrb #reblogging for today's eras tour theme #red white and royal blue #firstprince

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

Fun stuff in mlc fanfic part 2/?

The Bicha/verdtea poison is Yin in nature apparently, and women are mostly more yin in nature while men are yang in nature. Yangzhouman is also extremely yang in nature, so cn fanfic writers decided that what if Yangzhouman was essentially the ancient wuxia equivalent of T, so when Yangzhouman eventually burns out llh becomes more feminine biologically, and Bhante Wuliao and his Fanshu (those needles with The apparent cosmetic surgery functions where llh no longer looks like lxy despite being played by cy still) complete the transition process by somehow using the bicha poison as a medium and burning it out. So essentially, transfem llh ft mildly bastardised yin and yang theory and questionable wuxia logic.

#mysterious lotus casebook #li lianhua #trans fem!llh lets goooo #we deserve more gender transing esp w that canon spell from lyxz

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

I'm gearing up to do a rewatch of MLC to eyeball the fight scenes and whatever else I missed and then remembered that I'd chatted in the past with @difeisheng about DFS wearing FDB's clothes (with possible LLH middle and under layers) -- while I strongly suspected that DFS was wearing FDB's clothes, I didn't really know why?

So here is our handsome anti-hero-villian-nemesis at Caillen Manor, and then here's a shot right before he changes clothes --- it's night and FDB has just punted him into the pond. Look at him all wet and cranky.

And here he is the next morning.

...I think he had to borrow clothes because he didn't have any spares.

And then he just went back to Jinyuan Alliance with them.

Also, have some bonus shots of DFS in action. Check out the detail on the sleeve when the light catches it just right. Shaoye's taste isn't bad.

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #mlc meta

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

do you ever think about how when we see their backstory, di feisheng and jiao liqiao are both victims? jiao liqiao physically restrained and surrounded by jeering, threatening men about to assault her; di feisheng restrained by mind control and jeered at, threatened, until he has no choice but to fight? both of them trapped, her knowing that she can't even hope for the escape of death, him knowing that if he dies here, he'll never be free?

and jiao liqiao takes that terror and violation and sees how it could be a tool she could wield.

and di feisheng takes that terror and violation and sees how it is an unendurable moral injury that has to be eliminated.

do you every think about how they were both so focused, both so driven, both so fully fixated on the single person who was their goal, their reason for everything?

and jiao liqiao let her obsession with di feisheng turn her into someone who would destroy the world, would destroy di feisheng himself, as long as it meant he would be hers.

and di feisheng let his obsession turn him into someone who would save a world he doesn't care about, would give up everything he's worked for, if it meant that li xiangyi would live.

#reblogging for the addition #and yeahhhh agreed about the threat of Di fortress #<- prev tags #mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #jiao liqiao #mlc meta

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

Title: The Frustrating, Intoxicating, Complicated Sum of Him

Fandom: Red, White, and Royal Blue (rwrb)

Rating: General

Ship: Alex/Henry (firstprince)

Tags: oneshot, the way I loved you au, arranged marriage, non-linear narrative, henry pov

Now that she's spoken the truth aloud, he no longer can pretend he wants that.

He wants Alex. Has only wanted Alex since the day they first met. The frustrating, intoxicating, and complicated sum of him.

--

Or, a firstprince the way I loved you au in which Henry finds his way back to Alex.

#reblogging for today's eras tour theme #rwrb #firstprince #rwrb fic #red white and royal blue

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

do you ever think about how when we see their backstory, di feisheng and jiao liqiao are both victims? jiao liqiao physically restrained and surrounded by jeering, threatening men about to assault her; di feisheng restrained by mind control and jeered at, threatened, until he has no choice but to fight? both of them trapped, her knowing that she can't even hope for the escape of death, him knowing that if he dies here, he'll never be free?

and jiao liqiao takes that terror and violation and sees how it could be a tool she could wield.

and di feisheng takes that terror and violation and sees how it is an unendurable moral injury that has to be eliminated.

do you every think about how they were both so focused, both so driven, both so fully fixated on the single person who was their goal, their reason for everything?

and jiao liqiao let her obsession with di feisheng turn her into someone who would destroy the world, would destroy di feisheng himself, as long as it meant he would be hers.

and di feisheng let his obsession turn him into someone who would save a world he doesn't care about, would give up everything he's worked for, if it meant that li xiangyi would live.

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #jiao liqiao #mlc meta #love how so many characters can be considered foils

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

lhl ep 5 // 38

#mysterious lotus casebook #li lianhua #di feisheng #feihua #well fuck

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

“整个《莲花楼》大家只是在一个悬疑探案的，这样一个故事情节的大的框架里面，但更多地写的就是这些角色身上的爱恨情仇。我觉得这些是更重要的一点。因为现在的现实世界，没有更多能够感受得到武侠里面的那些情感。但我们反而可以从影视作品中，我们可以从故事里面，从角色身上体会到这种感觉。”

"In Mysterious Lotus Casebook, everyone is wrapped up in this overarching plot of suspense and mystery, but it's also about these characters and the love, hate, and sentiments they bear. I think all of that is a little more important. Because in today's real world, we don't have as many opportunities to feel the emotions we find within wuxia. But instead, we can experience them through film and television, through stories, through putting ourselves in the places of these characters." — Xiao Shunyao

“每个时代的侠都是不一样的，每个人都可以成为侠者。你包括出去，看到有一个老奶奶突然过马路，你去扶她一下，这都是侠。怎么说，就是江湖虽远，侠义永存。这个点我就觉得你自己只要相信有，那肯定就会有。”

"What a xia looks like is different in every era, and everyone has the potential to become a xia. Including, [for example], if you went out and suddenly saw an old lady trying to cross the street, and went to support her. That too, is xia. How do I put it? Although the jianghu is distant, xiayi is eternal. When it comes to this, I think that as long as you believe that it exists, then it will." — Cheng Yi

I adore the contrast in how CY and XSY view xiayi and the jianghu, and their roles acting as a part of it. For XSY, xiayi is experienced through the huge, sweeping emotions of these wuxia stories, while for CY it's about the mundane actions that still stem from a sense of chivalry and righteousness, however small. As well, to XSY wuxia media is a path for one to escape into the jianghu and live vicariously for a while, but for CY it's a way to bring part of the jianghu into one's own everyday life. It's interesting to see how their views differ, and how those understandings of wuxia translated to/shaped their characters (because if you look at DFS and LLH, they absolutely did). These two are such dedicated actors. I could listen to them talk forever about things like this.

#mysterious lotus casebook #cheng yi #xiao shunyao

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

i need to know more about jinyuanmeng's coroners

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #shi hun #mlc meta #love me some hyper-specific digging into world building

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

"It's better to sleep at home, don't you think Xiaobao?" part 1

#mysterious lotus casebook #fanghua #fang duobing #li lianhua #i love them your honor

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

now is not the time of night for me to be thinking about this in-depth, but there are two things i try not to forget in situating li xiangyi and di feisheng's places in the narrative. one, is that the jianghu in wuxia origin inherently exists as a space outside of and oppositional to (often ineffective and corrupt) figures of government, a concept key to wuxia as a genre and its historical context. two, is that the 侠 warrior holds first to their own honour before the dictation of any other authority or person. if you consider these conventions, and then look at how li xiangyi formed baichuanyuan as an ideal arbiter of justice for the jianghu (whose ultimate representation was himself), well. it's not surprising that di feisheng— lone swordsman answering to no one aside from his own code— gained so many allies and was uplifted as the perfect rival to counter li xiangyi, is it?

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #li xiangyi #mlc meta #fascinating!

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

Tumblr ate the anon ask I was responding to so I'm gonna paraphrase it here:

what do mean llh gave di feisheng to fang duobing? the letter totally said something else

Yes, it did - but I didn't feel I could comment too deeply on it when it's been retranslated and people who are far more literate than I am have analyzed the contents already. -- The letter itself seems pretty straight forward.

However, what I wanted to focus on was analyzing unspoken social dynamics - so I'm gonna get in depth into my reasoning for my interpretation. And admittedly in previous posts I was playing fast and glib with my responses (they were just insomnia-fueled thoughts I typed real fast) so I wasn't really in depth or anything. Anyway~~~ That means it's time for me to get long winded.

So! First thing - this is the scene: The letter was written from Li Xiangyi and addressed in its entirety to Di Feisheng. However, when it was delivered the fisherman asked for both DFS and FDB. It was then read outloud by either the fisherman or FDB -- I assume read out loud, and loudly, because DFS never left his position by the rocks and emoted his distress at the contents. That means everyone there also was privy to the letter contents.

The letter itself is straight forward. It's addressed from LXY telling DFS that he regretfully can't make the duel and that he respects him both as a martial artist and as a person, and if he wishes, he can go to FDB who has inherited his skills and shows great promise, etc.

The thing IS - I firmly believe that this is not a message meant just for DFS.

Both LLH and DFS code switch between their non-leader selves vs Li-Menzhu and Di-Mengzhu. It's easiest to see based on what they're wearing. Li Xiangyi when he's dressed in the Sigu Sect uniform. Or the Styx flower hand-off scene where he calls him Di-mengzhu (not Lao Di or A-Fei or whatever else) likely as a reaction to his official regalia/red uniform which means DFS was showing up in an official capacity. Both of them know very well the importance of a certain.... how to say.... drama? They're both leaders and they were also very performative in their roles as leaders. They both expected that massive peanut gallery that showed up to witness the fight - the one filled with members of various sects, including Sigu Sect leadership -- because dfs was likely the one announcing it.

Imo - aside from the need to express the full weight of what he felt, part of the reason LLH was so formal in his letter is expectation that there would be other people there - influential people. The very people DFS and FDB would have to deal with in the future alone. FDB would be ok but he's largely unknown to the rest of jianghu and therefore his story is still malleable. DFS is known, but infamous and his narrative is as much of a trap as LXY's was. And now he no longer has the benefit of a sect to act as a buffer.

LLH's last act as LXY was not to save Yun Biqiu but to carve a new path open in the world for DFS and FDB:

Expresses that he bears deep emotion and the greatest and deepest respect for DFS despite a reputation of them being enemies

Informs everyone that DFS is not seeking dominion or 'the throne' but rather, is going the fighter-scholar path of studying and testing martial skill -- aka, this is message from one sect leader to all the others present. Spread the word, this man is NOT gunning for your power. None of you have reason to take him down.

Establishes FDB as his one and only successor - while also stating clearly it's entirely up to FDB to decide whether to continue down this path or not

Creates a pathway for DFS and FDB to maintain their connection with each other - and in fact lets everyone else know that there is a pre-established, legacy relationship between DFS and LLH that FDB will be inheriting.

Gently asks DFS to keep an eye on FDB's development - iterating that if dfs is the one asking, then FDB may make the decision to continue to train - aka help him see his full potential whatever his decision is.

At the same time, he silently wishes FDB to maintain connections with/keep an eye on DFS. In another reply I kinda went on about this: imagine a scenario where your friend's mom pulls both of you in front of her. And the whole time is telling your friend that they need to do, expectations, a list of goals, etc. The entire time she's only focused on your friend - but there is this silent implication that you, as the witness, is expected to act a reminder or even an enforcer if your friend isn't listening. If things go wrong, you're expected to go in there and help them to do the thing they were asked to do. This is the unspoken message I'm getting for FDB. Even though his name wasn't mentioned in the letter, it was explicitly delivered to both him and dfs. He's standing right there while an imaginary LLH talks to DFS. So if after all this, dfs disappears without another word = fdb can feel emboldened to go after him, knocking on doors until he answers. Should he decide to do so.

Entreaty - "These are LXY's (my) last wishes. Please respect my memory after my death."

Conclusion: LLH's last actions were to create a space where both DFS and FDB can make their own decision on their path in the world, without the weight of all those other people in jianghu influencing them.

Note: I also believe that on dfs' side, his clothing choices point toward his plans to publicly step down and leave the martial path with Li Lianhua. But llh sucker-punched him and left him standing on some rocks like a widow waiting for her husband who's lost at sea. They were technically on the same page, but it somehow went wrong because... well. Unfortunately that's DFS' narrative. He never quite reaches his goal without the hero either hindering or helping him. The entire drama was LLH being that karma busting fulcrum for him. But now, should he wish it, it'll be FDB's turn to step up and do the same.

#fascinating analysis op #mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #fang duobing #li xiangyi #li lianhua #mlc meta

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

okay, i never realized this until now, but there's this interesting hidden significance of the waltz in rwrb. basically, in the beginning of the book, henry asks june to waltz at the royal wedding. however, he later says to alex when they're together in the v&a museum: "no waltzing... never cared for it." So we can basically interpret waltzing as something that represents duty to henry. another formality that is a part of his image as the perfect prince charming figure that has never been true to who he really is. and the fact that he can admit that to alex later on in the book it's honestly a big show of trust and it signifies that henry is done pretending to be someone he's not, who likes things that he actually doesn't

#rwrb #henry fox mountchristen windsor #rwarb spoilers

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks @read-and-write- for the tag!

I'm back with more Liam-centric fic today, pulling some memories from my last year of high school as inspiration

"Ugh," Alex says, wiping his mouth as he passes the bottle of Maker's to Liam. "I cannot believe we have, like, five more months of this shit left. Can't we just have prom and graduation and go?" Liam accepts it gratefully, taking a swig. "At least you know that you're in, man. The rest of us don't get to find out for another six weeks at least." Alex steals the whiskey back, knocking back a solid gulp. "Yeah, but now I have to keep my grades up so they don't rescind the offer even though I want nothing more than to senior slump until I've walked across that stage with my diploma." "And yet somehow you'll work hard as ever and be valedictorian at the end of it." Alex flashes him a sardonic smile. "You know it." Then the expression slips from his face. "Though it's not like it matters when my girlfriend's dumped me and my parents are still divorced as ever." So they've reached maudlin hours, Liam thinks as he watches Alex stare blankly at the wall in front of him. It usually doesn kick in for Alex until a party has dwindled to the last few guests or he's had whisky, but today both of those conditions are more or less met. "You're not your parents, Alex," says Liam, knowing exactly what Alex isn't saying. "Besides, that relationship was doomed from the start. You said it yourself." "How do you know me so well, Li? It's like I don't have to say anything and you just know." "I've been your best friend for years, Claremont-Diaz. It be weirder if I didn't know." "Touche," Alex says, accepting the lie with an almost painful ease. As if all best friends have each other memorized down to the smallest detail. Even Alex himself doesn't know Liam that well—if he did, Liam's feelings would be painfully obvious and impossible to overlook.

Passing this on to @celeritas2997, @gayrootvegetable, @happiness-of-the-pursuit, @historicallysam, @inexplicablymine, and anyone else who wants to do it

#tag game #wip wednesday #rwrb #red white and royal blue #rwrb liam #alex claremont diaz

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

WiP Wednesday Have a bit more of Barista!DFS- he's going through it poor guy.

#mysterious lotus casebook #fascinating #can't wait to see where this is going

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

get to know me better tag game

thanks @bbcphile for the tag!

last song I listened to: "dream talk" by jason zhang/张杰. I've been listening to a lot of his music on shuffle recently after watching him on a hello saturday episode (and also listening to the main mlc trio's cover of "天下 underneath the heavens" on repeat basically since I first heard it)

currently watching: finally got around to watching blue eye samurai after literally everyone recommending it to me and I'm loving it so far! also making my way through a mlc rewatch now that it's been released for free on iqiyi

currently obsessed with: also blue eye samurai haha (though please don't spoil because I'm not finished yet). it just feels so different from everything I've been watching recently, especially among western-produced shows. I'm really excited to dive into the fandom once I'm done watching. (and of course there are my other fandom loves rwrb, mlc, and recently orv as I've been doing a reread)

tagging @celeritas2997, @bidoofenergy, @firenati0n, @firstprince-history-huh, and @papiercranes, plus open tag as always

#tag game

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

Six (+ Seven) Sentence Sunday

Finally doing one of these after a while. Thanks for the tags @adreamareads, @14carrotghoul, @happiness-of-the-pursuit, who have each tagged me at least twice for this in the past several months

Today I feed the rwrb girlies (gender neutral) with many sentences from my rwrb eras tour liam-centric fic because cutting this piece shorter felt like it wasn't doing the section justice. Kept below the cut for mention of nsfw activities just in case

"You know, I didn't see you after midnight," Alex says as he drives. "The rest of the guys wondered if you left the party." Liam shrugs. "I did. Had my fill of the action and drinks, then caught a Lyft with John to WaHo." "Thought you might want to have a little fun before we left. There are a couple of girls who have been asking about you." "Not interested." Alex scoffs. "Surely you can't be satisfied with just the two of us getting off in your bedroom together." "Which is why I also masturbate when you're not around," Liam deadpans. "C'mon, man, dream a little bigger," says Alex, checking the intersection before taking the turn. "At this rate, it sounds like you're going to die a virgin or something."

Not sure who's done this already, so if you have take this as the tag for next week @gayrootvegetable, @cha-melodius, @cricketnationrise, @historicallysam, @hgejfmw-hgejhsf, @orchidscript, @read-and-write-

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #rwrb liam #alex claremont diaz