apenapaperandadoofus

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new obsession unlocked

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how to train your curse

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The unparalleled power of Crimson Rain Sought Flower

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Commissions open

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Just posted my last prompt for tgcf Congo gotcha!

Words: 9,481

Prompt: Pre third ascension, XL's bad luck strikes and he gets captured by a group of mortals and used as a human sacrifice to summon a demon. This "demon" is HC, who sees an injured XL tied up and immediately loses it, getting rid of all the mortals before whisking his god away. XL assumes the demon is saving him as a meal for later, or maybe plans to keep him as a servant. HC does his best to make sure his honored guest is comfortable and has adequate accommodations, meanwhile, XL is continuously pleasantly surprised by how well his captor/new master treats him.

Read here.

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This would be fun for my OCs, so ask away!

Names are Theodore, Anastasia, Deana, Ophelia, Nikolai and Shinji!

DETAILS ABOUT OCS !

send an emoji/description of emoji to learn more about a writer's oc! many of these are taken from my munday asks meme, because i thought it would be fun to make a version for characters too! the prompts are categorized by emoji type and given descriptions in case anyone can't see the symbols. can be used for roleplayers and any general writers alike! for roleplayers, these can also be used for your interpretations of canon characters if you so desire as well!

𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒. 💭 THOUGHT BALLOON — what is your oc's MBTI, enneagram, and/or other personality aspects (if known/interested in)? 🚗 CAR — does your oc have a driver's license? can they drive/operate any automobiles/machinery besides cars? ✈️ AIRPLANE — does your oc like traveling, or do they consider themselves a more homey person? 🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc's favorite hobbies? 💍 RING — does your oc have any piercings? do they want any (more) piercings? 🖊️ BALLPOINT PEN — does your oc have any tattoos? do they want any (more) tattoos? 📚 BOOKS — what level of education has your oc most recently completed/is currently in (GED, undergraduate, grad school, phd, etc)? 🎻 VIOLIN — does your oc play any instruments? what is their skill level (beginner/intermediate/advanced/virtuoso/etc)? 🩹 ADHESIVE BANDAGE — does your oc have any physical and/or mental disabilities? 🩸 DROP OF BLOOD — what is your oc's blood type?

𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐁𝐎𝐋𝐒. 🎶 MUSICAL NOTES — what type of music does your oc like? do they listen to music very often? 💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know. 💤 SLEEPING SIGN — is your oc a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? how are their sleeping habits? 🔱 TRIDENT EMBLEM — can your oc swim? do they enjoy swimming? 🔺 RED TRIANGLE POINTED UP — does your oc know how to use any weapons? 🔶 LARGE ORANGE DIAMOND — does your oc know cpr? do they have any other medical expertise? 🚫 PROHIBITED — does your oc drink/smoke? do they do it regularly, or is it more on occasion or for special events?

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄. 🌈 RAINBOW — what is your oc's sexual orientation/gender identity? what pronouns do they use? 🎄 CHRISTMAS TREE — what is your oc's favorite holiday? 🐶 DOG FACE — does your oc have any pets? 🐈 CAT — does your oc prefer a wide circle of friends or a few close friends? 🐷 PIG FACE — what is your oc's favorite animal? 🐉 DRAGON — what is your oc's favorite mythical creature? 🍃 LEAVES FLUTTERING IN WIND — what is/was your oc's favorite subject in school? 🌴 PALM TREE — does your oc have a green thumb? do they enjoy gardening? 🍎 RED APPLE — where was your oc born? do they still live in/around their place of birth or do they live somewhere else? how do they feel about their birthplace?

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒. ❤️ RED HEART — what are three of your oc's positive traits? 🤍 WHITE HEART — what are three of your oc's neutral/questionable traits? 💔 BROKEN HEART — what are three of your oc's negative traits? 💘 HEART WITH ARROW — what and/or who do(es) your oc consider the most important to them? 🧡 ORANGE HEART — does your oc tend to prioritize family or friends? 💛 YELLOW HEART — how many languages does your oc speak? what language(s) are they learning, if any? 💚 GREEN HEART — does your oc prefer being inside or outside? 💙 BLUE HEART — does your oc have any cool/special powers and/or abilities? how are they with magic, if it exists in their world? 💜 PURPLE HEART — what is your oc's ancestry/genetic background? 🖤 BLACK HEART — has your oc killed or seriously wounded anyone before? have they broken someone's heart and/or broken someone's trust?

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒. 🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE — when is your oc's birthday? how old are they? what are their sun, moon, & rising signs (if known)? what about their tarot card, ruling planet, & ruling number (if known)? do they fit the typical traits of these sun, moon, & rising signs? 🍝 SPAGHETTI — what is/are your oc's favorite food(s)? 🍰 SHORTCAKE — what is/are your oc's favorite sweet(s)/dessert(s)? 🍦 SOFT ICE CREAM — what is/are your oc's favorite ice cream flavor(s)? 🍔 HAMBURGER — is your oc good at cooking? are they good at baking? which one do they prefer? 🥯 BAGEL — what does your oc's typical breakfast look like? do they usually eat breakfast? 🥪 SANDWICH — what does your oc's typical lunch look like? do they usually eat lunch? 🍛 CURRY AND RICE — what does your oc's typical dinner look like? do they usually eat dinner? 🍸 COCKTAIL GLASS — what is your oc's favorite alcoholic drink, if they can drink? ☕️ HOT BEVERAGE — does your oc prefer coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk, water, or some other drink? how do they like to take this drink (ex. coffee with milk, hot chocolate with whipped cream, a specific kind of tea, etc)?

𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄. 😊 SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES — what are your oc's career/general life desires? what do they want to get the most out of life? 😖 CONFOUNDED FACE — is your oc an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert? do they let people in easily, or are they more reserved? 🤔 THINKING FACE — what are some of your oc's quirks/mannerisms? 🧐 FACE WITH MONOCLE — is your oc more logical or emotional? 🤓 SMILING FACE WITH GLASSES — is your oc chatty or quiet? are they at ease in social situations, or are they more shy? 🤩 FACE WITH STARRY EYES — is your oc a planner, or are they more spontaneous in their actions? 😥 SAD BUT RELIEVED FACE — is your oc prone to getting stressed out, or is it easy for them to keep their cool? 😓 DOWNCAST FACE WITH SWEAT — is your oc open-minded or stubborn? are they inquisitive or do they prefer to keep to their bubble of knowledge? 😞 DISAPPOINTED FACE — does your oc attract others, or do they tend to be left alone? 🤒 FACE WITH THERMOMETER — does your oc get sick easily? 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 FAMILY WITH MOTHER, FATHER, SON AND DAUGHTER — how many people are in your oc's immediate family? how many people are in your oc's extended family? do they have aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc? who in their family are they closest with? are they close with their birth family, or do they have a found family?

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I was watching the donghua with my mom and just realized that when XL is in the cart they show he’s alone, kind of- but there’s one moment where it’s like- like it bumps into a rock?

Anyway in the novel it shows that XL notices HC in the cart pretty quickly, but in the donghua he notices him after the cart just kind of shakes for a moment and my mom yelled “THATS HIM THATS JUAN”

And I just first of all- found it hilarious to see my mom actually fangirling for Hua Cheng she LOVES him.

Second even if it’s not canon the idea that instead of a smooth teleportation into the cart, HC just YEETED himself into it is SO FUNNY LIKE AHSBSBA

I can just imagine him running 🏃 and then jumping into the hay bc Gege is there and then fixing his hair and getting into a hot yet twink pose for his man PFTTT

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woohoo Hua Cheng day!!!!!!!!!!! I tried to get a lot more doodles and sketches done for it but I didnt have the drawing motivation for a while and then I went out with friends, so this is all I have for you

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Haven’t been posting many updates on the animatic lately, but I’m working on it daily. Have a couple of frames I drew recently + the first 30 seconds of the animatic I’ve collected from the colored frames

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Just posted my last prompt for tgcf Congo gotcha!

Words: 9,481

Prompt: Pre third ascension, XL's bad luck strikes and he gets captured by a group of mortals and used as a human sacrifice to summon a demon. This "demon" is HC, who sees an injured XL tied up and immediately loses it, getting rid of all the mortals before whisking his god away. XL assumes the demon is saving him as a meal for later, or maybe plans to keep him as a servant. HC does his best to make sure his honored guest is comfortable and has adequate accommodations, meanwhile, XL is continuously pleasantly surprised by how well his captor/new master treats him.

Read here.

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From the mom that brought you, Juan for Hua Cheng, Woohoo for Jun Wu, Feng Shui for Feng Xin, we know bring you

Huevo (Egg) for Wei Wuxian. I have no idea how she arrived to that nickname, and I think she doesn’t either, but she called him that today and I almost died. That will be his nickname for the entire rest of the read through.

But yeah- after tgcf mom has begun to read MDZS, she’s about 60 ish pages in, just met Lan Zhan, I can’t wait for her to read WWX throw a tantrum with the donkey lmao.

I’ll see if we can read some together just like with tgcf too, since I just remember certain parts of it lol, but I remember some parts did also leave me flabbergasted pFT.

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Yes, I agree with you. Some things can only be truly understood when you put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Xie Lian was spoiled in some ways and doted upon by his parents; he was a prince. But I’d argue that there’s also something to be said about how Mu Qing and Feng Xin treated Hong Hong’er, and how the “one cup of water and two people” question ties into not just class inequality from above, but also how even those beneath the social hierarchy can internalize class bias. The system affects everyone. Xie Lian was kind and humble, but he also used to say, “I want to save the common people.” I saw a post suggesting that “common people” referred to those beneath the crown, and while his belief in saving everyone was sincere, he was also overconfident and self-righteous in thinking he could carry the burden all on his own. He had heart, but not experience. He was only 17. The Xianle arc shows his complicated relationship with the crown and with himself. Honestly, I liked Jun Wu’s prince arc more in some ways. He was more mature when things hadn’t yet spiraled out of control , or maybe the situation was just different. Civil wars are much harder to write about. I admired Xie Lian for not wanting to unleash the plague on the Yong’an people, but at the same time, I felt frustrated with how things unfolded. Yes, it was Jun Wu’s doing he wanted Xie Lian completely isolated but Xie Lian also had little to no experience as a prince, since he spent most of his time cultivating and disliked how his father handled politics. During those years, he began to understand why people steal, why they drink...swear, how everyone has their own life and path, and why sometimes, people must separate. And yet, even through all of that, we have Hua Cheng someone who would stay for him even after death, even when his soul was on the verge of destruction, just to stand by his side eternally.

If you ask me Mei Nianqing is a character who, like many elders, won’t easily listen to the younger generation because he sees them as naive. It was also Xie Lian who vouched for Mu Qing. The thing is, MNQ is a Guoshi, and even as a prince, Xie Lian’s role was technically beneath that. In many Asian cultures, your teacher or guru holds the highest status. You can challenge their ideas, but you can’t use your authority against them.In some ways, I do think Xie Lian could’ve done more. But from his position, he saw the problems as linear. He believed that if he, as a prince, took people under him and used his status or eventually became a god things would be resolved. I give him credit for standing up to his father, the king, and questioning him. But in reality, issues like these are much deeper and more complex. One person alone can’t bring about change. These kinds of problems require society as a whole to come forward and address them together.

He learned the true meaning of his stance on “one cup and two people” by distributing his own luck to those less fortunate after his second banishment, and he refused to take off the two shackles that brought him misfortune because they reminded him of Wu Ming—a ghost with no name, his last believer—who destroyed his own soul for Xie Lian as a result of Xie Lian having once thought of taking it out on innocent people for things orchestrated by White No-Face.

BTW, it was nice talking to you, and I really like your posts about your mom reacting to TGCF , they are my favorite. I wish I could also share this type of stuff with my family, especially my mom, but it’s just hard for me. People here still aren't very open about these things. Have a good day!

Oh yes! There’s also the fact Mu Qing is also in his way classist- everyone in the book, in Xianle, seems to place importance on class, like XLs father, they seemed to grow in that environment.

Like I said, I think XL is a case of both- he sometimes does things he doesn’t realize arent helping the cause but that’s mostly bc of ignorance- while I do think he has a really optimistic look to change the way people view the whole class situation, it’s a bit wonky since he hasn’t experienced being of a lower class or station, so maybe what he thinks could help could actually cause more harm.

I really wish we could have learned more about Jun Wu! If he was a lot like XL when he was a prince, but got to live a bit longer (I think? I think JW ascended younger but he spent longer as a god didnt he? Correct me if I’m wrong) I wonder how he had matured as a god, and what his choices then would have been.

I think his story is really tragic- obviously it doesn’t justify what he did to XL, but imo the heavens back then totally deserved to be turned into sidewalks pFT. I think it’s so sad how someone who clearly cared so much for his people was practically driven crazy by not only heaves, but because of the betrayal of his people themselves.

I know some people don’t like that Jun Wu didn’t get killed (I’ve seen some) but I think (not to justify his actions btw) that eventually the prince he was got buried behind the hurt and evil exterior. I think the Jun Wu that wanted to save the common people is still there, just like when XL was white no face, but buried underneath the hate, and sadly, unlike XL he wasn’t able to have someone place a bamboo hat on his head, or a Hua Cheng to show him otherwise.

Which thinking of it like that- because we saw it with XL, which was kind of what Jun Wu went through, I think it’s tragic because Jun Wu clearly just goes fuck it we ball, and buries it all out of anger. So I hope, even if it was late, that after being sealed in mount tonglu, being with MNQ slowly unburied the starry eyed prince from before- or rekindles the flame. Once again, not justifying his actions and I don’t think I’d like him to reconcile with XL, far too much trauma there, but I hope he personally gets to grow and become at peace. While he can’t undo the insane damage he did, he at least won’t do anymore? Lmao. I just hope he regains his love for humanity, no matter how long it takes. After all, even he was shaped by the terrible heavily officials before him (again not justifying mass genocide -the old heavens deserved it tho- or traumatizing XL) but he was kind of driven to that madness also by being around terrible, greedy people, and facing betrayal by the people he’d worked so hard to protect :(

Maybe it’s because I’m someone that can’t forgive easily (cough Hua Cheng cough) but I give SO many props for XL for not destroying Yong’an. Obviously it’s easy for me to say “oh I would have ended it all!” But yknow just like XL with the lower class when he’s a prince, I can’t 100% say I know what it would feel like ahshs

But seriously I remember admiring XL so much- I was angry for him and at that moment when I first read I was still angry (since I read everything in one go the 100 swords and everything else’s feelings hadn’t had time to fester lol) so I was like “crap no! Destroy them! Get your revenge they deserve it!” But then XL did it- and most would see it in like…such a Mary Sue way? Like in movies where the hero can kill the villain but doesn’t because “oh the goodness of my heart I would never go to your level because I’m so kind and righteous” and it’s kind of annoying bc you KNOW a normal person wouldn’t do that and that it’s because the author doesn’t want the audience to think the MC is evil! Or has any flaws!

But with XL it feels natural. I didn’t think oh the author did this because XL is such a Mary Sue and is ALWAYS so kind like a Disney Princess (I do think he’s a Disney Princess lmao) but you actually see him crash out before- you see him get mad and that’s what makes the forgiveness more bittersweet because you might be mad- but you see why XL at the end doesn’t destroy Yong’an- it’s not because the author was afraid to show XLs bad side- in fact MXTX shows us all of humanities flaws with her chats characters in a realistic way that I love because I feel like media nowadays is afraid to have characters that have flaws, that have ugly sides, just like we normal people do.

I love seeing XL at his kindest moments because they mean more after seeing his angriest ones. The kindness he shows is ten times more meaningful and significant because you have seen him be angry- you have seen him make mistakes and let his feelings consume him. But that’s what makes him so lovely- because you see it all and what shapes him, and you understand he’s just someone who had to grow up too quickly and was set up to fail, but is still kind.

And I love that’s what HC loves about him because people see flaws as something ugly- when they’re what makes us humans. Obviously we can work on ourselves, but we will have flaws no matter what, no one can be perfect. And the fact MXTX makes them gods, when usually religions make their deities be such perfect beings (except the Greeks I believe which is why I loveeed reading about them when I was wrong, the gods seemed like what I would think actual gods would act like- prideful, overconfident, etc etc) and MXTX shows even they have flaws which aaaaa I looooove

I actually did not know in Asia teachers or guoshis were held to such a high status actually! I thought even if he was the teacher, since XL was a prince he would have more power but it doesn’t seem like it, that’s so interesting! Then it makes more sense as to why maybe XL couldn’t directly speak to him, or change his mind so easily, I understand! My apologies for not knowing before! I still think since like you said, he stood up to the king he wouldn’t be afraid to step up to MNQ, but maybe there’s the fact XL was in a bad place with his father and Guoshi at the time took a more parental figure whom he respected.

And of course, I loved talking to you too! Feel free to message me or drop an ask about whatever you want to talk about! I love needing out over books and media, even if sometimes views don’t align I love reading and even arguing (respectfully) the points of view! I hope I was able to correctly articulate my thoughts haha, sometimes words be hard 😭

It really sucks you aren’t able to share something you like, I hope you’re able to someday :( if you want, you can talk to me, I’d love to hear you out 🥰

I’m happy you enjoyed my mom’s silly reactions, they made me laugh and I’m glad it made others as well!

Have a great day! Sending you tons of hugs 🤗

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Guys guess who’s mom after finishing tgcf started mdzs 🤨😌😌😌

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Hello...i genuinely liked your take in that particular post and I am with you on that. It's one sided for people to judge mu qing for his actions and let go xie lian. Both of their actions were orchestrated by discrimination/judgement all through his childhood and in case of xie lian by Jun wu trying to mold him into his image. It's how they are written and i read somewhere mxtx tried to mend xinale trio's friendship by reversing their places. It's the part I beg to differ is - HE BELIEVES IT BC ALSO AS MUCH AS I LOVE XL LETS BE REAL HE HASN’T DONE A LOT TO HELP HIM HAS HE???? (Tumblr deleted this part I hate everything why)

“That gold foil leaf fell out of the rattling carriage while coming up the mountain. Mu Qing was passing by while carrying water and found it in the bushes. He kept it under his bed and hadn’t figured out what to do with it, but that very night the State Preceptor suddenly struck, ushering everyone out to search their rooms. I didn’t know him at the time, just saw an errand boy who looked distraught. Later, while I was sitting outside, he came up to serve me tea and admitted everything. That’s how I found out.” “He really did look quite distraught at the time. Pale as a ghost. People here at the Royal Holy Temple already dislike him, so if I had said anything, his life here would be over. Our places in life are different, and we stand at different vantage points in this matter. The consequences can’t be compared.”

Xie Lian shook his head and said gravely, “To be honest, I may have been thoughtless in regard to this. I know Mu Qing is disliked, so I originally wanted him to run more errands for me—I thought that if I let people know he’s my personal attendant, they’d be nicer to him. But I didn’t realize they were already so nasty. Not only did nothing get done, he got bullied too. If you think about it from another angle, you’ll find his moodiness understandable.”

It said, yes while XL defended him that one time with MNQ when he was blamed about the whole entrance to the festival thing and later on with the bullies WHICH BTW has clearly been happening for a real long time) MQ has been reprimanded by the state preceptor since he was 15. FIFTEEN PEOPLE. Do you know what hearing that his hard work will never be enough compared to others, yo be bullied endlessly like that will do to a person? Are you sure it was only that one time he defended him against his Ghoshi, the thing is xie lian isn't afraid to talk against his Ghoshi or any other athoritive figure. If Mu qing or any other person was bullied by others and if Xie lian saw it happening he wouldn't let it slide. The thing is Ghoshi thinks xie lian is too naive and he mostly disregards his views. And even after he ascends MNQ is SO shitty to him, only showing us a bit of what MQ had to go through EVERY DAY as a TEEN. XL never took his guoshi and was like “hey man can you please not bully this guy so much? Please don’t be so prejudiced towards him.” He doesn’t. Again how you know he doesn't? Xie lian alone can't change a class system. He will still speak his mind against his Ghoshi's 2000 years old views. Was there a scene supporting that he didn't? In fact he did defend him against ghoshi.

“Why didn’t you report this to me when you returned yesterday?” Xie Lian asked. Mu Qing turned around while still kneeling, and prostrated, his voice quiet. “Your Highness, there’s no need to look further into the matter with that shixiong. I didn’t say anything after returning yesterday simply because I don’t want to make this into a big deal. In any case, it’s nothing major. If Your Highness was to defend me openly, it would hurt the camaraderie between everyone.” Xie Lian disagreed, sounding upset. “What ‘camaraderie’ are you talking about? The kind of camaraderie that’s used to abuse others?”

He was willing to take 100 belts in place of Feng Xin and not satisfying his father's stupid ego.

And again, thats bc XLs flaw at that time is he doesn’t know what others struggle with since he’s been successful and pampered his whole life, obviously he wouldn’t think about that at the time which is a flaw- just like MQ has flaws as well and acts accordingly.

“Mount Taicang recently sent a batch of fresh fruit. I don’t like cherries, but there’s a method of making them into paste for facials, so I squeezed some for fun. There’s not much use for it and I was about to have it thrown out, so you can’t possibly drink it!” Xie Lian smiled as he listened but suddenly recalled the events of the previous day. There were very few times in a year where Mu Qing’s mother could taste cherries, and Mu Qing himself was bullied just for trying to pick some. It was something of a sensitive topic, and Xie Lian was afraid Mu Qing would be uncomfortable listening to it, so he smiled and changed the subject.

He is class conscious. Yes he is naive in thinking he can change all this by being a God. He messed up. It's the power structure that's the problem. It went all wrong because he didn't knew the right way he could. The intention was there.

Hiii!! Im glad you liked it! Adnd yes i love talking about this!

So I apologize for maybe not explaining myself clearly (I wrote that all in one go and as you can see tumblr deleted an entire paragraph so I had to kind of remember what I said and how I said it but was tired atp and just clumsily tried to rephrase my argument lmaooo)

For the first point: is it the first time XL defends MQ against his Guoshi?

While we can’t know for sure, I feel like given how MQ is treated in Book 7/8 after he meets Guoshi again, we can imply XL only defended MQ in cases where people started throwing accusations. It’s only after MNQ accuses MQ he starts to talk, and he defends him against the accusations but not the attitude which he’s shown to have even later on (which he says nothing about). I think this is just XL in general bc he seems to be the type to let people defend themselves until things get ugly, like with Banyue or MQ and FX. He lets them fist (each other lmao) until he is eventually after a few minutes like aight let’s stop now, but I think that’s just part of his laid back personality. But he did defend XL at that time and the Golden Foil time, I did kind of spent the time exposing his bad things instead of his good to prove my point and that was my bad lmao, he DID help at those times but due to the state preceptors attitude not changing later on I don’t think he intervened much when it wasn’t MMQ accusing MQ. You’re right in saying that the state preceptor doesn’t take him seriously and that can also be part of the issue, what I mean was we aren’t really shown XL asks Guoshi to tone it down in general- he just defends when MQ is accused and fair enough, we can say XL maybe thinks Guoshi won’t change his mind so eh but he doesn’t tell him to chill about MQ at that moment either, like a “hey maybe next time don’t immediately assume the worst of MQ?”

I still think given the fact his attitude didn’t change towards him the 800 years either XL never tried to talk to him about it, or he did and Guoshi just didn’t care, which is fair enough.

Now as for the bullies- while we don’t know if it later changed, I still think it’s implied XL didn’t chase the bullies out, at least until the cherries moment.

He himself says

And it also says

In both cases they say MQ is currently at that time both avoided being helped or having had things made difficult. For the moment which means XL didn’t explicitly defend him (which true he doesn’t have to but as his friend and crown Prince with power- which he’s been shown to use to defend- would help) plus the only thing he says he did is “I let people know he was my personal attendant to have people be nicer to him.” Which to him, is helping, but it’s not putting a stop to it which as crown Prince, he totally has the power to do and he later shows by how defensive he gets when MQ says that one guy didn’t let him talk to his Guoshi plus later on with the cherries.

So while yeah he tries in his way to help, it shows a bit of his ignorance by thinking having MQ name drop him that it would help with the bullying.

He says he didn’t know they were that nasty which implies he did know they were nasty and his solution was to show MQ was his personal attendant to have them stop. Which fair enough the intention was there, but MQ was still bullied (at least until that time that we can tell, tbf we don’t know later on since he does become a general) but that’s the only thing XL does (which we know fair enough) and it’s until later he uses his crown Prince ™️ power to get them to stop (though we don’t know how long for). But he knew he was at least being treated bad, and to be honest could have done much with his power.

While it’s fair he didn’t know the full extent of the bullying he did know there was some, and he could’ve gone full protect “imma beat your asses” mode since the start but he didn’t because he just thought eh it’s not that bad. Which I’m not gonna shit on him too much bc he is a baby so it’s fair he didn’t know what to do, but also it’s kind of sad to know he knew his friend had been kind of bullied and didn’t confront it directly. BUT we can say he was being subtle (thought maybe after seeing that didn’t work he could’ve gone at it head on.)

As for the last part I think XL is and isn’t class conscious at the same time.

And it’s not because hes mean or smth- it’s because I low-key think at that moment he can’t. Not really.

XL shows us parts of his high upbringing thought process multiple times.

We know he used to never wear the same outfit twice, which already makes a huge divide in the thought process between him and others.

There’s also the fact he didn’t care about the Pearl being lost even thought it was a rare jewelry.

It’s a precious pear that is probably worth so much and he’s very non chalant about it, something that could probably feed a family for a while, he dismisses it because he just doesn’t understand the impact that amount of money can have on someone. I’m not trying to say him being spoiled is a bad thing, keep in mind, I know he’s a baby and that’s fine bc he was raised such way, but also we can see it with the outfit which is rare and special too.

XL doesn’t care it’s stained because he’s the prince, no one can really do much except his dad or MNQ tell him off. But look at how MQ takes it, before this he had like caressed the robe as if it was something precious, and now he takes care of it bc if it tears he would get maybe executed? or worse. XL meanwhile, just doesn’t think of it as anything much, doesn’t even care it’s dirty, just thinks it’s heavy and that eh, it’ll be fine once someone takes care it it.

There’s also carrying little Huahua which I think it’s cute but XL thinks there’s nothing wrong with it (which tbh there’s isn’t) but in the context of the time and place a prince carrying a kid would be seen as wrong because of the class difference and bc he’s a prince, but XL doesn’t understand why it would be wrong for a prince to be doing that.

There’s also his reactions later on in the amnesia extra when he’s around the age (17) of the flashbacks

XLs reaction, and thought process show he is pampered and spoiled at the time- that was his lifestyle. While I’m not saying he’s out there yelling at people for being poor (lmao) he is certainly the type of classist that just is accidentally- because of ignorance.

While yes, Xie Lian tried to help with the class divide- his thought process with everything was one of someone who was born with a silver spoon and couldn’t truly understand those in lower stations because XL truly just hadn’t lived it. Another example is he didn’t know how much the ghost lanterns would cost later on.

XL just accidentally is classist with MQ- having him even clean and do his laundry even after the fall of Xianle- which also brings another point-, I don’t think he did on purpose- but realistically in that situation, why would you have your friend still do that?

That’s the thing- XL clearly tries to be friends with MQ, obviously in the ways he thinks is right- but clearly ends up accidentally pushing him away by accidentally drawing a line. I think the issue was he sometimes would treat MQ like a friend, and sometimes like a servant, and I don’t think having the shift works out in either’s favor because a friend is someone who is beside you- meanwhile the servant is someone who is supposed to (in the book context) be below you- and while XL tried to treat MQ like a friend- if he still had him as a servant he couldn’t.

Because again, the role of servant will always be one of submission.

And XL didn’t know that, or see it because he is a prince- in this case he doesn’t know servitude- not even with his father or MNQ or the emperor- XL at this point hasn’t been below anyone, which is why he can never truly understand MQ until later on- and why he does things that accidentally show his classism, wether it’s a small comment or actions, like the pearl or the clothes, or how he later still cleans his clothes , he still shows it. Not with the intention to hurt obviously- it’s with ignorance because XL just hasn’t lived that life.

XL, as we would say in Spanish, le falta calle, or an English equivalent i guess, needs street experience.

And ofc I’m not blaming him for it- it’s the way he was literally raised, it’s not his fault. But I do in fact believe he did have moments where he was accidentally rude or classist towards MQ, mostly because he didn’t know 100% the issues of a lower class person in Xianle and because he didn’t know how to work with the servant/friend relationship in a balanced manner.

I just really don’t think someone like a prince can just sympathize with someone of a lower class because their head can’t truly wrap around the issues that involve being a lower class- there are some things they can feel bad for, but they won’t know the extent of starving, of having to work hard hours for one piece of food that can decide wether you will live to see the next day, of always walking near the edge of the cliff close to falling. He can’t know that truly until he goes through it.

I think the only way XL could understand and truly help MQ and the lower class people back in Xianle was if he was the XL we see at the beginning of the book, only he could understand them truly.

Anyway I think I’ll leave it here for now I’m sleep deprived

If you’d like to reply feel free to send me another ask!

Sorry if it’s once again all over the place, I started answering it and had a bunch of crap go down and have just now finished to answer it again. If anything I said doesn’t make sense feel free to tell me as well!

[apenapaperandadoofus]

Current Exchange: MXTX Spring 2025 | Tagset

Theme: MXTX works

Modao Zushi (MDZS)

Tian Guan Ci Fu (TGCF)

Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (SVSSS)

And their adaptations.

Schedule:

Tag-Set Nominations: May 20th - May 30th

Sign-Ups: May 30th – June 16th

Assignments by: June 18th

Works Due: July 30th

Works Revealed: August 1st

Creators Revealed: August 7th

All deadlines are 11:59 PM EST on the date listed.

Requirements:

Participants will create a complete fic of at least 1,000 words or a finished artwork for their recipient.

This is an exchange that is friendly to all ships, themes, and concepts. Please label dead-dove content appropriately, but otherwise engage freely with any content.

[apenapaperandadoofus]

state of you // 花城

qifrey cover redraw! because i realized what's better than drawing blorbo once is drawing blorbo four times

(no reposts; reblogs appreciated)