#EXCEPT for Lao Jun

[laomelettedufromage]

The aroace flag color picked from my profile picture of Wuxian because I am aroace and once I saw it I couldn’t unsee it

[robininthelabyrinth]

Follow yp to this:

LQR is the wild one in a threesome with Lao Nie and WRH.

part 2 of that one

“Hey, Hanhan.”

Wen Ruohan was ignoring the other man. No matter what Lao Nie said, he didn’t want to hear it.

“You’re pretty old by now, right? A century or so?”

There was no way this conversation was going anywhere good.

“That should make you pretty experienced, I should think. I mean, even putting myself aside, you’re certainly not shy about bedroom matters.”

Lao Nie was probably referring to the whores Jin Guangshan was always digging up and offering to them, and which it was rather impolite (not to mention pointless) to refuse. At first Wen Ruohan had suspected the man of being extraordinarily clumsy in trying to place a spy, but time had led him to believe that that wasn’t the case; Jin Guangshan just liked fucking with the sort of enthusiasm most people devoted to breathing, and he thought everyone else did, too. In his own bizarre way, he was trying to be generous, or at minimum polite, with his sometimes too enthusiastic offers of sharing.

(He was so weird. And not in a good way.)

Yet, somehow, Wen Ruohan didn’t think that any of this was what Lao Nie meant, either. On the contrary, it was more likely that he was thinking of…

“Bet you never had that happen to you before.”

“Oh shut up,” Wen Ruohan blurted out, completely breaking his own self-made vow that he wasn’t going to engage with Lao Nie until the inevitable mockery had gotten out of his system. “It’s not like you’ve done anything like that before, either!”

“Nope,” Lao Nie said with a lip-smacking sound of satisfaction. “I haven’t. That boy’s damn creative, I’ll give him that! Do you think all Lan are like that?”

Wen Ruohan covered his face with his hands. “They are not,” he said, voice slightly muffled. “Trust me, they are not…I can’t believe he’s only eighteen.”

“I know! Eighteen! Eighteen and holding onto his purity for his one true love, no less,” Lao Nie cackled.

Wen Ruohan dropped his hands and turned to Lao Nie with a frown. “What are you talking about, you madman,” he said flatly. “There was absolutely no purity involved with any of last night’s goings-on.”

“There are by Lan terms,” Lao Nie reminded him, and upon thinking it over Wen Ruohan was forced to admit that in fact, despite the absolute insanity of what had happened (the very enjoyable insanity, for that matter, and he was quickly approaching a point where he’d have to pick between full-fledged denial or accepting a fair number of things about himself that he had hitherto been unaware), they hadn’t done anything that would technically breach the Lan sect’s archaic and excessively narrow rules on the subject of promiscuity.

Ridiculous as that might seem.

Wen Ruohan’s frown deepened and turned into a scowl.

“Are you saying,” he said through gritted teeth, “that after all that the boy thinks he’s…what…going to be holding out for someone else?!”

“Uh…Hanhan…”

“He thinks he can just – do that – and just – move on –”

“…Hanhan…”

“And to me, no less! The sheer gall –”

“…don’t you think you’re taking this a little too personally…”

“Absolutely not! In no way will I not tolerate this level of insolence, this level of disrespect. There is no way that anyone can – that he can –”

“Love and leave you?” Lao Nie guessed. “Wham, bam, thank you –”

“Where is he?!” Wen Ruohan roared. “I’m going to go find the little brat right now and make absolutely clear that there is no way I’m going to tolerate any of that nonsense –”

“That wasn’t the dynamic I was observing yesterday, Hanhan, but sure,” Lao Nie said, sounding amused for some reason. “If you’re so set on finding him, I think he’s probably in his brother’s house? He visits there early.”

Wen Ruohan stormed off, though his exceptional cultivation meant that he could still hear it when Qingheng-jun showed up to the courtyard he’d just been in and demanded, “What were you thinking?”

“My friend, you know, some people like to see the world burn,” Lao Nie replied. “Luckily for you, I just like to fuck with it.”

Wen Ruohan wasn’t sure what Lao Nie meant, but it wasn’t important enough to distract him right now.

First things first: he was going to find Lan Qiren and –

Well, they could work out exactly what he’d do with him when he found him.

[fourseasonsfigs]

I Have Caught You (Kiss of the Century)

The fig maker's original listing for this fig set was so wonderful I saved it (poorly machine translated, as usual):

I Have Caught You - mystery figures, wearing red and blue concert robes. The 5.3 concert was the beginning of all fate. I played the rps of the two of them, met a group of excellent and lovely friends, and did some interesting things. Occasionally, when I feel that I can't persevere, thanks to their encouragement, I can persevere all the way. It was not easy for them to catch each other.

The fig maker didn't make it easy to catch this set either - it was a small run limited to 500, and required proof of purchase of at least 164 yuan (each) of endorsements to prove support for each actor, and Gong Jun's endorsement purchase had to be after 5/4. While I had come late to the party and unfortunately never bought any of Zhehan's endorsements, I had made a donation in his honor for his birthday, which counted. For Gong Jun it was much easier since I had already bought some of his 361 products (which I really like btw, all very nice).

This is such a beautiful set - I love it so much. Of course because it's from the SHL concert, which is always an instant shot to the heart, but also it's just a delightfully done pair.

But first, a few pictures to go back down memory lane, on that first day of the concert on 5/3/2021...

HELP I'm feeling emotional! What a great night. Or you know, early morning Pacific Standard Time, it was 2000% worth getting up at 4am for.

I was going to keep going with the concert pics but I have to stop myself because Tumblr's 30 photo post limit has no remorse, and I need to save some bandwidth for these figs!

These arrived safely, thank goodness, tucked away in their polystyrene cases. I found (to my horror) that this, my most recent sea shipment, had a ton of resin figs I had forgotten to get bubble wrapped before I shipped. AND I shipped these with a literal ton (ok not that literal, but close!) of acrylic fig stands, which sure don't weigh much individually but add up when you buy 300 at a time. And when the warehouse puts the pounds and pounds of them right on top of all these figs in the box. The look on my face when I opened the box and came face to face with the sins of my youth. And I would have only have myself to blame, which is always the worst. But miracle of miracles, all these figs escaped unscathed.

Now I know I've said in the past that I can't stand to see figs cry, and I can't! But I will make an exception for this set, because tears of joy at the end of that concert was entirely acceptable and very welcome.

Their little hands! So cute.

Yes my husband just looked over at my screen where I had the enormous photo of two figs kissing up on my photo editor, and he just shook his head. I just started laughing and laughing! Yeah, I don't know how I became this person either (at my age!), but I have NO regrets! NONE.

[Side note - actually, I know exactly how I became this person. And it's this concert, together with the joint Happy Camp episode, that started launched my hyperspeed journey down the Couple Fan Junzhe road. Before this concert, I would have told you definitively, like I would have bet cold hard cash that there was no way I would ever be so crazy or this delusional. Like I've been around, you have to be pretty tough and cynical to survive in today's business world, and I'm not in the habit of believing in much of anything these days. And yet fast forward and here I am (at my age!), watching Gong Jun post vacation photos from Yunnan and swearing up and down these two are in love and married. I am the tinnest of tin hats and I have NO regrets! NONE!]

I think the hair is beautifully done - look at Lao Wen's beautiful guan (which should be gold instead of silver, but not quibbling here!).

The costumes are just beautiful here. I know fig makers despair over Wen Kexing's gorgeous red costume because it's so incredibly ornate that it's hard to replicate, but this looks wonderful.

I like the motion on the robes too, the sweep of it out behind them.

You can just barely see Zhehan's boots here, which is pretty accurate since his outfit is shorter, and given that WKX's red robes are really, really long.

Coming back around - I love the fig maker's choice to have Zhehan's eyes open and Gong Jun's closed, it's a beautiful call out to the Century Hug in the following day's concert.

Here's an extreme close ups of the beautiful costumes.

And from the top...

...and the bottom! These figs are decently stable on their white booted feet, and their interlocking hands actually holds them together really nicely.

One last close up of the Kiss of the Century!

Material: Resin, and a whole lotta love

Fig Count: 262

Scene Count: 19

Rating: Pure romance

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[hualianff]

Mi Amor(tentia) IV 《III》

It’s nearing the end of the first semester when some whispers around the halls questioning Xie Lao Shi’s position start. Students whose parents remember a certain Xianle heir blatantly using magic in front of nearly one hundred muggles during his last year at Hogwarts, and expelled as a result of such foolishness. 

Though it’s only a few students and parents who circulate such ghosts of the past - particularly those of higher class and pure blood - the gossip is enough to the point it affects XL’s reputation. 

“Jun Wu clearly has a soft spot for him.”

“He was given a teaching position out of pity, not merit. How shameful.”

“An outcast like him has no place teaching at Hogwarts, that’s for sure.”

When such nasty remarks reach HC ears, the potions professor silently secludes himself in his office for the afternoon, barely able to calm himself down. He will never forgive the ministry for treating XL like a criminal, especially after XL fought against prisoners the aurors should have had control over in the first place. 

HC had been so tempted to follow XL after he was forced to leave. But who was HC to XL besides a young junior he shared a potions class with; who was somehow on the receiving end of the older Hufflepuff’s smiles and kind gestures of help; and who was the only other witness who happened to be caught in the midst of the infamous battle that got XL expelled. 

***

HC remembers it like it was yesterday. It happened right as HC prepared to enter the barrier to platform 9 ¾. The sound of an explosion caught his attention, and the deafening screams of the scattering muggles made fifteen-year-old HC freeze in place.

A hand on his shoulder made HC flinch. Suddenly, that hand pushed him forwards toward the barrier, and a quick glance revealed XL’s concerned face looking down at HC.

“What’s going on!?”

“No time to explain,” XL grits out. “Hurry, we have to get through the barrier.”

Except instead of passing through the barrier, both boys collide into the pillar with a loud crash! HC’s luggage goes flying. HC himself almost ricochets back, but XL’s front keeps him from stumbling to the ground. 

“Fuck. What the hell is going on?” XL murmurs. His hands steady HC by the shoulders. When HC turns around to thank his senior, his eyes bulge as he spots multiple figures dressed in striped, prison robes approach. 

“Gege, there’s strange people coming. They have their wands out…” HC whispers. XL whips his head around, expression turning grim when he realizes these are the prisoners who had reportedly escaped azkaban the day before.

Now, they’re rounding up all the muggles on the train platform, the crowd forming around XL and HC. One of the dark sorcerers demands entry through the barrier or else they will massacre everyone currently standing on the platform. 

HC remembers XL’s gaze hardening. XL who pushes HC behind him, brandishing his own wand in defense. HC raises his own as well, but XL reaches behind to grab his wrist. Slowly, XL looks over his shoulder, locking eyes with a terrified HC. XL offers a comforting smile, shaking his head.

“Let gege handle this.”

When XL faces the front again, HC is met with his broad back that shields him. XL doesn’t hesitate in pointing his wand at the nearest attacker. 

“Oh? The student wants to play with the adults?” They sneer, causing the rest to chuckle in amusement. The five of them get into position, clearly feeling no remorse for killing a couple of vulnerable students. “So be it.”

And then XL lunges.

***

The rest is history.

While only one prisoner had been recaptured back then, all five of them have now been found and sentenced accordingly. Yet, XL was never properly given credit in defending those muggles with no fatalities. 

HC wasn’t even afforded the opportunity to recount the events from his perspective as XL at the time had already insisted HC had done nothing wrong and thus, shouldn’t have to endure the grueling interrogation process. 

XL shouldered all the responsibility, and consequently, received all the blame. 

Additionally, HC found out Hogwarts had sealed the barrier early that day, aware of the dark sorcerers within the vicinity of the school - completely disregarding students whose safety could be compromised in the process. It was a complete and utter shit show, and HC just wishes he could have been of use in any way.

Though he has the money, reputation, and influence now, HC would not be where he is if XL hadn’t been there that day - no, all that time - to protect him. It’s now HC’s turn to protect XL, and he will be damned if XL slips through his fingers once again.

When HC next catches even some professors discussing the possibility of removing XL from his reaching position, he puts an immediate stop to it by chewing them out at the front of the dining hall.

He makes a huge scene talking about how XL did the right thing and saved countless lives; HC also emphasized how fucking unfair the punishment was, for the ministry to ruin the life of a student for simply doing what was right; He even mentions the obvious bias from the traditionalists on the ministry court as well as those just waiting for XL of the Xianle legacy to slip up. 

“And if I hear anymore of this absolute bullshit about your own colleague-“ HC glares at the other professors. “-also your own professor“ he glares at the students who have indiscreetly gathered around to eavesdrop. “-then I’m whisking you back to my office and we can further DISCUSS the matter there. Understood?”

Everyone’s gut drops in their stomachs. Most of them would rather complain to Headmaster JW then be holed up in Hua Lao Shi’s office and ripped to shreds. A collective mutter of “understood” and nodding heads effectively ends the conversation.

HC briskly sweeps his robes to the side as he whirls around to stalk away. 

He rubs a hand over his mouth to will his snarl away. After all, he has a picnic date with XL on the grassy area by the lake. He mustn’t keep his beloved waiting any longer.

Plus, he’s eager to ask XL the question he was robbed of all those years ago. 

“Gege, will you go to the Yule Ball with me?”

[buzz-africa-media]

Lata Tandon Biography, Wikipedia, Age, Husband, Career, Networth

Chef Lata Tandon has left an indelible mark on the culinary world with her outstanding achievements. Born on April 15, 1980, in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India, Tandon’s passion for cooking blossomed from an early age, influenced greatly by her grandfather’s wisdom in understanding food ingredients. Tandon’s culinary prowess earned her the prestigious Guinness World Record for non-stop cooking, an astounding feat of 87 hours and 45 minutes. As the first woman to accomplish this remarkable milestone, she has gained global recognition for her unwavering determination, dedication, and love for the culinary arts. Her list of accolades extends beyond the Guinness World Record, with numerous national and international awards to her name. Tandon has been honored by the India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, Indo-China Book of Records, Vietnam Book of Records, Laos Book of Records, and Nepal Book of Records. In 2018, she proudly received the International Indian Chef of the Year award, solidifying her status as one of the world’s top chefs. Throughout her career, Tandon has honed her skills working alongside esteemed chefs such as Claude Bosi, Jun Tunaka, Pips, Dale, Maxx, Paris, and others in London. She has also been privileged to attend masterclasses led by renowned chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver. Her time in renowned Michelin-starred restaurants, including Bibendum in South Kensington, Aqua Shard in the Shard Building, and The Ninth in central London, has significantly contributed to her culinary expertise. Tandon’s passion lies in cooking traditional meals infused with regional flavors, garnering international recognition for her ability to showcase the rich diversity of Indian cuisine. She aims to redefine the perception of Indian culinary artistry and hopes to expand its influence globally. Additionally, her love for food has motivated her to promote environmental sustainability by encouraging people to purchase and plant saplings. During her world record event, she successfully sold over 17,000 saplings, further emphasizing her commitment to making a positive impact. Despite encountering numerous challenges, Tandon has admirably managed to balance her successful career as a chef with her family responsibilities. Her unwavering dedication and achievements have made her a role model for aspiring chefs worldwide. Chef Lata Tandon’s exceptional contributions to the culinary realm have propelled her into the spotlight, earning her a place in countless households and inspiring many with her remarkable journey. Read the full article

[musicmaniahub]

Lata Tandon Biography, Wikipedia, Age, Husband, Career, Networth

Chef Lata Tandon has left an indelible mark on the culinary world with her outstanding achievements. Born on April 15, 1980, in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India, Tandon's passion for cooking blossomed from an early age, influenced greatly by her grandfather's wisdom in understanding food ingredients. Tandon's culinary prowess earned her the prestigious Guinness World Record for non-stop cooking, an astounding feat of 87 hours and 45 minutes. As the first woman to accomplish this remarkable milestone, she has gained global recognition for her unwavering determination, dedication, and love for the culinary arts. Her list of accolades extends beyond the Guinness World Record, with numerous national and international awards to her name. Tandon has been honored by the India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, Indo-China Book of Records, Vietnam Book of Records, Laos Book of Records, and Nepal Book of Records. In 2018, she proudly received the International Indian Chef of the Year award, solidifying her status as one of the world's top chefs. Throughout her career, Tandon has honed her skills working alongside esteemed chefs such as Claude Bosi, Jun Tunaka, Pips, Dale, Maxx, Paris, and others in London. She has also been privileged to attend masterclasses led by renowned chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver. Her time in renowned Michelin-starred restaurants, including Bibendum in South Kensington, Aqua Shard in the Shard Building, and The Ninth in central London, has significantly contributed to her culinary expertise. Tandon's passion lies in cooking traditional meals infused with regional flavors, garnering international recognition for her ability to showcase the rich diversity of Indian cuisine. She aims to redefine the perception of Indian culinary artistry and hopes to expand its influence globally. Additionally, her love for food has motivated her to promote environmental sustainability by encouraging people to purchase and plant saplings. During her world record event, she successfully sold over 17,000 saplings, further emphasizing her commitment to making a positive impact. Despite encountering numerous challenges, Tandon has admirably managed to balance her successful career as a chef with her family responsibilities. Her unwavering dedication and achievements have made her a role model for aspiring chefs worldwide. Chef Lata Tandon's exceptional contributions to the culinary realm have propelled her into the spotlight, earning her a place in countless households and inspiring many with her remarkable journey. Read the full article

[heymeowmao]

JZ: According to the last time you streamed, did your present from Liu Yuning arrive yet? GJ: NO~~ What a liar. JZ: Leave him a message. GJ: What’s the meaning of this? Where’s my present, Liu Yuning?? Are you playing with me??? The next time I meet you I want double. Skins worth 600 RMB! (Last time was 300 RMB, right?) JZ: No, didn’t he change it to streaming equipment? GJ: That’s right! I forgot! (Hmph!) GJ: The lights in his streams look so nice... Clip: /lyn saying “professional~”/ JZ: You want to say something about him not gifting you what he promised? GJ: He didn’t give me... #LiuYuningDidn’tGive... GJ: /mispronounces “Liu” as “Niu”/ Clip: /gj saying “i’m sorry, excuse me”/ GJ: #LiuYuningCannotBeTrusted GJ: I’ll give you this! Write it on a public display!

JZ: When filming with LYN, does his dialect ever lead you astray? GJ: Really, though. But when he’s filming he doesn’t sound like he’s from Dongbei. As soon as the camera stops his dialect comes out. GJ: /imitating lyn’s dongbei dialect/ “Livestream.” “Why are you so busy*?” “But the two of us aren’t as busy.” He said I don’t have a lot going on and it’s great. I think he doesn’t have a lot going on either, and we get along well. [*”busy” as in trouble, i.e: scandals and gossip] Clip: /lyn saying “this, i do admit.”/ JZ: Liu Yuning said you were one of the few he’s met who is really popular but also has no trouble. Do you want to say something back to him? GJ: It’s true. He’s also someone I have rarely met who is handsome, sings well, acts well, AND has no trouble. GJ: /tries to say “人” (rén) with a dongbei dialect and takes a few tries/ JZ: “A Record of Early Man Taming the Tongue” GJ: Except! Except for the equipment thing. Where’s my equipment? Hurry it up. I want the same as yours. Next year... Next year might not be a stream... (Spoke too soon) But if it is! I’ll use your equipment! GJ: (to lyn) If it’s not your equipment, then your words cannot be trusted. Clip: /gj saying “I’ll wait and see”/

JZ: Have you ever discussed singing techniques with LYN in private before? GJ: No~~ He said my singing sounds good. Clip: /lyn saying “gong jun-laoshi already knows how to sing”/ GJ: I’ve humbly accepted it. Mhm. I know my singing is nice.  Caption: “Write “Gong Jun Sounds Good” on public displays”

JZ: He’s older than you, but why do you call him “Xiao Liu”? GJ: Ah? Isn’t “Xiao Liu” an honorary title? (cap: Who says I misunderstood?) JZ: It’s an honorary title? GJ: I’m calling him young. Is anyone unhappy being calling younger than they are? You want me to call him “Lao Liu”? GJ: /pointing to the MC/ She said it, ok?! [t/n: I’M not calling you old, SHE is. XD] Source: https://weibo.com/5291824241/L9Mi5k8nE Translations by me! ^^

[cienie-isengardu]

Erron Black. Arguably a character I don't know much about. Is Erron Black feminist, sexist, or just soft on girls? Now I know MK everyone can fight everyone, but in story mode...

In MK10 Milenna impale his hand with a knife, but he doesn't fight her. I'll except injury for that one.

But then with Cassie Cage later, he fights her, only after she engages him, but once he knocks her down he stops fighting her to fight Kung Jin in the market.

Later on the bridge fight, we do see him fighting Jacqui Briggs, in the background, but she charged him, so she initiated it, and when they focus in he is fighting Kung Jun again.

In MK11, when young Erron Black goes after Jade and Kotal, he let's Jade leave without so much as a glance.

In the Black Dragon fight pit, even though she is right next to him, he ignores Sonya Blade until she actually attacked him. He doesn't even point the other gun at her, he points it up and looks away, until she punches him.

The only time it looks like he initiated a attack on a woman was when Sheeva got shot in her shoulder armor (and shrugged it off), but we immediately see him chasing down Nightwolf, so that looks like a accident. And they only fight after she punches him across the room.

And in the comic's when he kidnapped Cassie and Jacqui he defended them against Kano, telling him not to hurt them, and when he realized they were in serious danger, tried to free them and help escape.

Unless I'm missing something, well he doesn't avoid it, he doesn't fight initiate fights with women.

Before I will talk at length about Erron Black and his attitude toward women I wish only to emphasize this is my subjective opinion and there is no need to agree with me on this. Because no matter how much source material will be brought into discussion, there are many ways to interpret his mindset, especially since A) what Erron says is not always compatible with what he is doing and B) the specific game mechanics that limit and/or adapt his “personality” to the needs of the storyline.

Long text ahead!

Mortal Kombat X’s stated Erron Black was hired by Shang Tsung 150 years ago. So he was born and raised at least the previous century and half, thus his approach to women may be old-fashioned but I wouldn’t say he was somehow deeply concerned per se about gender to begin with. Yes, the mentioned examples suggest otherwise but their context is as important as Erron’s action alone. Because the context of the game will not always work well with in-universe logic. I’m talking here stricte about game mechanics that are built around chapter’s main hero that must win against the opponents and in the mentioned examples Erron was sadly just an obstacle to beat down so it is not like he could headshot Mileena, Sonya or Sheeva or any woman and be done with the problem despite how marksmanship is his forte. Also, the game mechanic in MKX kinda made me joke that Erron shouldn’t be left on his own for too long because his competence in those chapters seemed that bad (from Outworld’s main cast only D’Vorah looked to me as a competent character and she was a traitor, that says a lot about Kotal’s team doesn it?). Anyway, on the basis of the specific nature of the game alone I wouldn’t go so far to judge Erron’s mindset, especially since he was a background/supportive character in MKX and MK11 story modes. So far, Black didn’t have his own chapter - thus the story isn’t told from his POV.

To be honest, games and comics present Erron in different lights, thus his approach to women may vary from one source to another. Because of that let’s firstly look at the sources separately.

In MKX, on Kotal’s voiceless order, Black was going to kill Rain. Mileena attacked Erron by surprise before he could shoot down the rebel but it was Kotal’s chapter so the emperor was the one that dealt with her. Erron was part of the background during chapter 2 without any impact on the story.

Then we have chapter 4 about Kung Jin.

When Cage Team met Erron Black for the first time, the man demanded to know what is Special Forces’ business here including “a reason why we shouldn’t kill you”. Despite the not so friendly welcome, Erron was willing to address Takeda’s remark (“I can read you… You’re not from Outworld.”) and did not resort to violence once Cassie’s explanation did not satisfy him. Looking at the uncertain situation of Outworld, Erron’s lack of trust is understable - Kotal was still at war with Mileena thus in constant danger. Of course, it is up to interpretation, did Erron listen to Jin solely because the prospect of money spoke to him so much or there is some bias (thus the cynical remark about Raiden’s seal and dismissive attitude) against Cassie, the woman in charge. I personally tend to think Erron was simply cautious because the last Earthrealm that got close to Kotal tried to kill the emperor. And yeah, Kano is nothing like Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda or Jin but there was no way for Black to know that for sure, especially since Outworld and Earthrealm weren’t really at the best terms at that time and Raiden’s name did not foreshadow anything good.

The next sequences may be interpreted as Erron being soft on women but I’m gonna present here different possibilities:

Once Jin went ahead to disrupt the execution, Erron’s first reaction was to shoot him yet Black took aim instead of shooting blindly without care for the crowd (or at least the slow down of his action is how it looked to me). Because he was focused on Jin - the main culprit whose action caused unwanted riot, Cassie easily stopped the attack. Should Erron be more focused on the female soldier at his side? Most likely, but all of this happened in mere seconds so I can understand why stopping Jin acting on his own accord was priority to the mercenary since it was related to his job and he was the one that agreed to take Earthrealmians to Kotal. Which may be the reason why Black just knocked down Cassie and immediately ran after Jin. And mind you, Erron knocked down Cassie by hitting her on the head with the butt of the pistol, which is not a gentle way by no means.

The chapter 6 is focused on Takeda and partially on Cage Team’s run from captivity. The Earthrealmians were important hostages, even if falsely accused of working with D’Vorah. So it makes sense that “Outworld Champions” weren’t trying to kill them. Otherwise Kung Jin would be shot down for good yet Erron kept him just at gunpoint. Once again, the game mechanics don’t make much sense considering how Jin stayed behind as air support but somehow ended up on the bridge while Jacqui disappeared somewhere in the background. Also, the same as with Cassie in Chapter 4, Erron did not kill defeated opponents nor tortured / injured for fun (Rain is a different matter because Erron went for killing only after Kotal’s voiceless order to finish the traitor).

In Chapter 11, Erron is even more degraded into a support role and he did not attack nor take part of the skirmish in the forest until Jacqui beat down Kotal. Personally I suspect he could be (in universe) too injured for hand to hand combat but once Team Cage was surrounded and Kotal gave the order for execution, Erron was aiming at Jacqui and if Sub-Zero did not show up, Black most likely would shoot to kill.

(Also, he did not shoot any enemy from a distance, so the women and men were treated the same although if this is a matter of game mechanics or Erron’s own moral code, hard to tell. Black recognized himself more as Outworlder than anything else so he may actually follow the common there idea of one on one fight.)

So, MKX story mode alone does not tell us much about Erron’s mindset about women because he has never been the one starting fights in the first place. This kinda makes sense since he is a mercenary and kills or injures only those who Kotal wishes to see dead or punished. Besides that he didn’t injure / kill Cassie when he had a chance but he didn't do so with Jin either. MKX!Erron gives the impression of a collected, detached type of person who is far from macho stereotypes or psychopath/sociopath like Kano.

Thankfully there is additional information like dialogue intros and Erron’s ending (from what we learned about Erron's approximate age) that aren’t canon per se but at least give some insight into his psyche.

The best counter argument for eventual Black’s habit of going easy on women is his own ending in which he ambushed and killed Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda and Jin (this situation was repeated in Briggs’ ending except this time Cage Team was saved by Jax). This is a rare moment in which Erron was the attacker and on his own initiated the violence toward others. In this case, he attacked women and men alike.

Then we have intro dialogues in which Erron usually deals with people in a professional manner, some even sometimes addressing in a polite way. Like “Mr. Kung” to Lao, “Mr. Hasashi” to Scorpion and “Mr. Takahashi” to Takeda. Surprisingly, he addresses Cassie and Sonya by their military rank (Sergeant Cage and General Blade respectively) which suggests that whatever Erron learned a century or two ago about gender-related social norms most likely evolved accordingly to his own life experiences, especially those gained in Outworld.

At the same time, it seems some of outfashioned - harmful - convictions are still enough deeply rooted in him to say stuff like that:

Kenshi: The friendless wanderer.

Erron Black: Least I don't take orders from a woman.

Kenshi: Which century are you from?

Which is kinda ironic since Kenshi takes orders from Sonya whom Erron addresses by high military rank without any snide comment about a woman in the army. But as far as I managed to check the intros, this is the only(?) one outright sexist thing Erron said to anyone and surprisingly, he didn’t say that to any woman, just to Kenshi. Frankly, if the idea of taking orders from women was so offensive, why would Erron bother to call Mileena the Crownless Queen or Kitana the Fallen Princess, if both titles by itself imply facing women that are used to give commands or even hire people like him? Once again, there is little to no sexist attitude toward women in context of their power over other men. Which suggests that whatever prejudices Black may have, he does not allow them to affect his interaction with other characters. Usually, at least.

Okay, the insult toward Kenshi could be some of Erron’s deep-seated sexist beliefs adding to the reason why he didn’t support Mileena in the fight for the throne. Yet, at the same time, if that was the case, he could outright say he doesn’t agree to be bossed by a woman to her (or he could be accused of that by her or any character really). Of course, it could be something similar to Black’s claim to care only about money with MK11 strongly hints he is saying one thing and doing differently but I will come back to this topic in a moment.

Another argument against this insult: Erron was one of the characters that did not mock Mileena’s look, origin or called her crazy. If he really thought listening to women's orders was so bad, then he didn’t show that when interacting with her or other female characters.

At the same time, like many other male characters, Black is not immune to the beauty of women around him and some of his comments sounds disrespectful and are unwelcome by the ladies:

Sonya: The gunslinger.

Erron Black: I could take you away from all this.

Sonya: I must be a jerk-magnet.

→ Sonya is not amused by Erron’s words at all.

Erron Black: Hello, beautiful.

Jacqui: Messin' with the wrong girl.

Erron Black: But it feels so right.

Jacqui is like the only one woman described by MKX!Erron as the beautiful one, the other he usually referred to along the lines of hot / sexy. Yet once Jacqui outright warned him to not mess with her, Erron deliberately ignored her because it amuse him. Whatever it is a sign of an old-fashioned mindset (a remnant of the times he grew up) or just simply (male’s) egoism on his part, Erron likes to flirt with women but he does not always respect their opinion or wish to be left alone.

At the same time, Erron rarely tried to change women’s minds about him or their eventual relationship. So far, only the intro dialogue with Kitana seems to be the exception:

Kitana: Stop!

Erron Black: We've barely begun, my lovely.

Kitana: It will end quickly.

Black may put his own amusement above other people's personal comfort, yes, but didn’t act creepy like Kano did, especially toward Blade-Briggs-Cage family as a whole.

So we have this

Jacqui: I really don't like you.

Erron Black: I really don't care.

Jacqui: As long as we're straight on that.

in which Erron doesn’t care for Jacqui’s dislike of his person but doesn’t impose himself on her. He does not resort to the common rapist “excuse” that woman says no but her body says otherwise, like Kano did (“Your mouth says Kano, but your eyes say Kan-yes.”) and this contrast puts Black in a more positive light. Similar thing happened in the intro dialogue toward Tanya.

Erron Black: My friend, Tanya.

Tanya: We are not friends, bounty hunter.

Erron Black: Have it your way...

Again, whether trying to be friendly or ironic, once Erron was “turned down”, he simply accepted the situation without any additional crude remarks.

Interestingly, interaction with Sonya showed that Black was capable of rethinking his statement about hot/sexy women:

Erron Black: Girls with guns? Always hot.

Sonya: I'll shove 'em up your ass and fire.

Erron Black: Almost always hot.

Those examples suggest Erron may treat women differently, depending on their “fighting experiences”, age and origin and maybe even how sexually / aesthetically appealing they are to him. For example, veteran Sonya’s threat was taken seriously while (novice / new generation) Jacqui’s warning was ignored. At the same time, the intro dialogues didn’t hint at any romantic or sexual interest in Ferra (a young female symbiote) nor D’Vorah (Kytinn) and relatively good looking Mileena who deserves a separate paragraph.

To be honest, Erron, Johnny and Kano are like the main three men openly showing their (sexual?) interest in women around them. Understable, Black’s flirting / comments rarely were appreciated yet he still was less creepy or aggressive towards others than Kano. Erron didn’t bother to hide his eventual (sexual) interest in beautiful women but it can’t be said A) he had no control over his sexual drive and B) has rapist / sexual predator tendencies.

Another interesting thing: with few exceptions like Kano or Quan Chi, Erron threatened people with violence usually after they offended him and most of the time maintained professional neutrality toward his rivals. In that regard, Erron treated other characters the same regardless of their gender.

This is something worth keeping in mind how Black, as mercenary, in general is not the initiator of violence. Unless someone will pay him. For money, Erron would attack (kill) anyone, including women (to Tanya, “The Kahn wants your head.” + Erron’s Epilogue).

The last detail to talk about: one of the intro dialogue with Cassie suggests Erron thought she was an easy opponent.

Cassie: Is something funny?

Erron Black: I'll win this easy.

Cassie: You're going down hard.

but to be fair, he thought the same about Sub-Zero

Erron Black: You're an easy target.

Sub-Zero: As are you.

Erron Black: Bullets beat snowballs any day.

so I wouldn’t say it was the bias toward Cassie because of her gender and just Erron’s own arrogance (and maybe lack of good judgement on his part).

In summary, MKX!Erron in game alone tends to act in a professional manner. He had an occasion to shoot defeated opponents but did not seize the opportunity against not only Cassie but Jin as well. During the storyline he was rather collected, emotionless. In intro dialogues he openly expresses his interest in tough, relatively attractive women yet the banter is far from the creeping tone of Kano’s interaction with female characters.

Then we have Mortal Kombat 11 in which past and future timelines are messed up. Sadly, Erron’s characterization departs from the neutral-polite one seen in the previous game. Of course, this could be blamed on the younger version of Erron, but frankly, twenty years for someone living at least for a century and half shouldn’t make that big difference in behaviour and well, MK11 outright claims Erron is prone to violence for violence’s sake instead of just money. Which is one of many plot-holes and divergences between both games I guess.

Anyway, Erron, again, was the background character to beat down, so it is worth remembering that he couldn’t permanently hurt or kill anyone from the main cast. In chapter 2 he let Jade get away when he was facing Kotal and frankly, there is little explanation for that in-universe wise. I personally suspect it may be related to Erron’s own sense of honor, as in respecting one on one fight without cheap moves like shooting someone’s beloved person. Not practical in the mercenary job but it is possible for someone born and raised around two centuries ago. Also, Shao Kahn’s anger was focused mainly on killing Kotal for taking the throne. Because of that Erron could be not interested in Jade who simply did not have any significant political matter at that time. Sadly, it is really hard to say for sure what was on his mind.

In chapter 6, past!Erron stormed the Special Forces Base alongside Black Dragon members. There were women in that group but sadly, Black did not interact with anyone beside Johnny Cage. We can at least assume, Black did not mind fighting side by side with women.

Similary, present!Erron in chapter 7 showed up in the background during the alliance attack on Coliseum. The attack was led by Kitana (albeit did Erron join her to save Kotal out of loyalty or for money, it was not explained) and there were female fighters in the group. It seems then Erron does not mind fighting side to side with women.

During the pit fight (chapter 8), past!Erron faced the past!Sonya and the past!Johnny. Frankly, the same as in the previous chapter, game mechanics make little sense because there was no real reason for Erron to open the ring and face the characters when he could simply shoot down both from a safe distance. This really undermines the whole point of Black being a gunslinger, isn’t it?

Anyway, Cage took the forward position (which I think is both because despite his injuries he tried to shield Sonya AND because he actually met Erron during an attack on a Special Forces’ base) and got shot in the arm. After a short skirmish, Erron knocked down Johnny and aimed to kill the injured man.

The most logical thing for Erron in this situation would be to shoot down Sonya first and then finish already beaten down and exhausted Johnny. In defense of the Black though it is worth emphasizing that he didn’t completely ignore Blade nor turned away from her.

Most likely the weird slow-down action of aiming at Johnny was a moment of distraction that Sonya simply used to attack. Similar to MKX, game mechanics do not allow Black to headshot the main heroes, even though, in-universe, he should do just that and be done with the job. There is also a possibility that past and present Kano still wanted to keep Sonya alive for their own amusment (torture and sadly most likely rape) what could explain why Erron didn’t shot her from safe distance. I mean, the game alone did not voice what Kanos really ordered Erron to do.

I know that MK games like to slow down action for dramatic effects, but I strongly believe it was actually a matter of a few seconds of distraction (Erron looking aside to shoot Johnny and aiming) that Sonya took advantage of rather Black ignoring her on purpose. Even more since Black did not hesitate to shoot at her and seemed to enjoy facing “the legendary” Sonya Blade.

The same as MKX, Mortal Kombat 11 does not explain Black’s mindset. He does not shoot Jade or Sonya when he has a chance but he does not make any rude remarks toward women in general. However the intro dialogues shed a light on the complicated relationship that Erron has with women.

From what we learn about Erron, his childhood was far from normal or safe. We don’t know details, but what he shared with Cetrion and Cassie strongly suggest that Erron’s both parents were abusive people:

Cetrion: You shot your own father, Erron Black.

Erron: Sonofabitch had it coming.

Cetrion: Honor thy parents, mortal!

or

Erron: My Ma would’ve loved you, Cassie Cage.

Cassie: Aw, sounds like you miss her bunches.

Erron: I hated Ma.

or

Erron: I grew up around tough women.

Cassie: Didn’t they teach you respect?

Erron: They taught me to hit back.

The last statement suggests young Erron was abused by women (most likely including his own mother) to the point he is now willing to hit back anyone regardless of their gender without remorse. Erron himself says “I ain't above shootin' a lady” (intro dialogue vs. Sonya).

Beside that, an abusive mother alone could influence Black’s approach to women - and most likely she did, since he admitted to hate her. Surprisingly, Erron uses the past tense (“I hated Ma”) so there is a chance he gained distance over time in that matter. It also seems like whatever he feels about mother usually doesn't affect his relationship with other female characters. For example, in the mentioned banter he did not insult Cassie for reminding him about the abusive parent. Despite the bad childhood intro dialogues hint Black actually likes dangerous women.

Erron Black: I stepped out with Nitara before you.

Skarlet: You clearly have a type, Erron.

Erron Black: Just like living dangerously.

Like in the previous game, Erron openly shows his (sexual) interest in various women. The interesting change however is how:

His interest extends now to more alien-looking female characters like Nitara or Sheeva. Surprisingly, Mileena’s advances are still rejected. Also, Erron has like zero respect for the goddess Cetrion but to be honest, he does not respect any god.

Erron is more disrespecting by using nicknames like Legs or Baby Doll for Sonya or Sugar for Cassie. Of course, it may be just the “charm” of younger Black - hard to tell in most cases which version is speaking - but it creates an overall feeling of ironic, at times irritating or insulting approach to female fighters. At the same time, there are women that Erron refers to in a rather consistently respectful manner - Jacqui (Miss Briggs, Little Lady), Jade (ma’am, missy), Kitana (Princess, Kahn).

Before I will focus on the complex situation with Mileena, I need to talk about Erron’s important trait: he often says one thing but does the opposite. This is especially noticeable in intro dialogues concerning money and loyalty. Both games agree the main motivation for Black is a good payment, albeit MK11 highline also the thrill of danger. Anyway, Erron admitted he is willing to betray Kotal, a current employer, if someone offered a better deal (“Until a better offer comes along.”, “There's always a better offer, Kotal”). This strengthens the impression Black cares only about himself yet he rejects all propositions coming from Kotal’s enemies such as Shao Kahn, Rain or Mileena, Quan Chi, Shinnok and Kano/Black Dragons. At the same, he is willing to work with/ for Kitana who happens to be the best friend of Jade, Kotal’s beloved. Which makes Erron still operate in a group wishing no harm to the ex-emperor.

I’m bringing this into discussion because there is strong possibility that under the tough guy act, Erron still follows some “old-fashioned” sense of morality and is decent enough to not attack or harm women (and in my opinion, people in general) unless A) it is part of the job or B) is self-defense. Which could explain why he let Jade walk away or why he didn’t shoot Sonya from a safe distance but faced her in hand to hand combat. Depending how long he lived in Outworld, he could simply adapt into local customs - the people of Outworld are a combat-focused society and because of that have a strong sense of honor code. Erron’s eventual softness toward female fighters would get him in serious problems and I doubt he could afford such weakness when serving Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn.

So, why did Erron not want to serve Mileena, the designated successor? As the Empress, she was in position to offer the best (materially wise at least) deal after all.

In MKX!banter Erron claims Kotal paid him better:

Mileena: You aided the usurper.

Erron Black: He offered more coins.

Mileena: ...and no protection.

Meanwhile, MK11!Black outright says it was not a matter of money but of Mileena’s behaviour. Considering how prone to violence she was, it is no wonder why Erron decided to work for someone else.

Erron Black: Now what's got you all rip-snorting mad?

Mileena: When I gained the throne, you abandoned it.

Erron Black: Wasn't no pay worth dealing with your crazy.

This brings me back to the MKX’s banter suggesting Erron may dislike being bossed by women. Considering the implication he is currently negotiating a proper deal with Kitana Kahn (“New Kahn, same deal?”), the problem is more complex than judging someone by gender alone. I mean, Erron worked for Shao Kahn who himself was a cruel tyrant so sadism shouldn't be anything new for Black, right? Except, he was hired by Shang Tsung and because of that I think it is highly possible Erron had just indirect contact with the Emperor. Thus Erron could be not ready for Mileena’s unstable nature(?) and cruelty.

I mean - Erron comes from a pathological family and grew up around tough women. In his opinion Cassie has some traits or behaves in a way for which his mother would’ve liked the girl. So there are certain things that Black connects to hated mother. Now, Cassie is more of an extrovert type of person, showy and with sharp ripostes but she is one of the good guys and cruelty for fun is not her thing. So, if someone like Cassie can somehow make him think of a hated parent (that most likely is dead for decades now), how much Mileena could trigger Erron in the wrong way? To the point he chooses his mental health over money and/or thrill of danger?

If this is true, we may further wonder if bad experiences with tough women in childhood are the reason why despite flirtatious nature, Erron’s interest in female fighters usually is strictly sexual attraction? Because it really looks like he does not try to emotionally connect with women. Even his “thing” with Skarlet seems to be more a matter of thrill than a serious relationship, considering how Erron was okay with her eventual death.

(The possibility of Erron being freaked out by Mileena also rises an interesting question about her mental state between MK9 and MKX)

This is why I think Erron did not have a problem with working for women as long as they did not remind him too much of past abuse. And this is pretty nice implication, considering how tough guy Erron is for most of the time.

Because of that, Kotal questioning if Erron is jealous of Jade could be read in different way too:

Erron Black: So, you and Jade, huh?

Kotal Kahn: Jealous, Erron Black?

Erron Black: She's quite the looker, Kotal.

And yeah, Erron brings this to the matter of appearance alone, but hopeful as I proved earlier, Erron sometimes says one thing but does (thinks) something totally different. Because of that I suspect he may not be really jealous of Kotal for having a sexy lady but actually of the relationship itself. You know, build on respect and love than just build on sexual drive.

Like I said before, the game cutscenes and character banters may be interpreted in many ways but for me MK11!Erron Black - at least the older version - seems to mask his trauma and/or complex nature of his relationship with women under the act of tough guys. At the same time, there is a high possibility he still follows an out-fashioned sense of honor and though he is not above shooting women, he does not attack them unless it is demanded. Though to be fair, in my opinion this is how he approaches everyone. A mercenary’s mindset that distinguishes him from the likes of Kano.

In Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermatch, Erron met Sheeva, when the Shokan Queen in the company of Fujin, Nightwolf and Shang Tsung carried a coffin to the Soul Chamber. Black and Baraka decided to confront the Shokan woman and it quickly turned into a fight (and the typical game mechanics).

There is a question though - did Erron really take Kitana's offer or did he stay with Kotal? Because it’s really suspicious that he happened in the place where defenless, injured Kotal was in the healing process. Anyway, whatever the case, Black directly or indirectly worked for the new Kahn so it is highly possible his actions were dictated by Kitana’s best interest rather than his liking or disliking anyone.

Let’s just look at the situation - Kitana is the empress but she promised to treat her allies as her equals. That means Sheeva, as well respected Shokan Queen, plays an important role in the new regime - killing her or permanently injuring was out question, otherwise Shokan people could rebel against Kitana and in result the freshly established peace would go straight to hell.

In my opinion, this is why Erron asked Sheeva’s group to go with them quietly so the situation could be explained to Kitana without unnecessary violence. Black actually was okay with Sheeva go to Soul Chamber as long as Shang Tsung (Shao Kahn’s sorcerer) and the suspicious coffin was returned to him. Thanks to Shang Tsung, one of Tarkatan warrior died and thus the situation got out of hand. It makes sense Erron was more focused on Shang Tsung (hated by Kitana), Nightwolf (whose current self is revenant) and Fujin than on Sheeva who, potentially, was protected by political immunity.

When the Shokan Queen beat down Baraka, Erron in my opinion did not try to hurt her, only fired a warning shot. Maybe to make sure Sheeva will not kill Baraka (another important leader whose support Kitana needed to uphold the peace in Outworld). The Earthrealmers on other hand were another matter. Maybe Erron was too trusting or too reckless to not pay more attention to Sheeva or simply didn’t really think she was the traitor. It was after learning she is trying to resurrect Kitana’s evil mom - a dangerous, not consulted with Empress decision - Erron faced Sheeva in hand to hand combat.

Not much to analyse here, especially not with limitations of game mechanics yet I strongly believe Erron’s course of action was dictated by political situation and Kitana Kahn’s best interest so killing or seriously injuring Sheeva could be out of question. Also, like I said previously, Black is rarely the aggressor, what I believe is related to his mercenary’s mindset.

The last source, Mortal Kombat X comics series, requires a little clarification: I treat it as a potentially additional insight into Erron’s psyche than any real canonical material. Partially due to many plot-holes but also because of overwhelming violence used for violence’s sake alone. That said, here what happens:

Earthrealm (Special Forces) and Outworld (Kotal Kahn) weren’t on the best terms. To help Kotal, Erron and Black Dragons kidnapped young (under 21 years old) Cassie and Jacqui and took them to Outworld. During the journey through the dangerous jungle, girls tried to run away but got hurt in the process by Kano. Erron openly talked against brutal treatment of prisoners.

Looking at the difficult situation of Kotal, it was in Erron’s best interest to keep Cassie and Jacqui in one piece. Otherwise the whole plan would fail and then Kotal would be forced to deal with really pissed off Sonya Blade. And that would take a bad turn for Black himself. But like I said earlier, the tough guy act could also cover Erron’s more empathic nature that in the mercenary world was seen as a weakness to exploit. I personally think he did not like torturing people if that was unnecessary but also that he would have spoken against it even if Cassie and Jaquie were boys.

Then the Red Dragons attacked to take over hostages.

(Once again, a tough guy act with the “girls are Kotal’s property” as in cover up his worries about the situation or his true mindset, or mix?)

When the fight started, Erron went to tied hostages:

One one hand, Erron needs the girl to stay alive and not be taken by the enemy. On the other hand, he does not promise them safety nor ask them to run away. He is freeing them so the two girl (both under 21 years old) will fight against experienced criminals armed with swords and other dangerous stuff. This is actually an interesting detail, because it suggests Erron thought Cassie and Jacqui had a chance against thugs or that at least that way they wouldn't be a burden to him.

Jacqui punched him and Erron, either was taken by surprise or did not want to hurt her, was “saved” by Kano. And then betrayed by the Black Dragon leader.

Kano’s worlds raise a question, how much Erron is driven by the money and how much he uses the tough guy act to actually hide his unwanted “vulnerability” (as in, having moral sense and not being the heartless psychopath like Kano).

My general conclusion about Erron is that, for a side character he has a really complex relationship with women around him. I strongly believe that Erron sticks to some old fashioned sense of honor that mixes well with a mercenary's mindset. Thus rarely he is the one attacking first. This most likely influences his interaction with female fighters but at the same time, Outworld is not a place where people are judged by gender but for their skills and powers. So, Erron living there for decades for sure got influenced by that mindset to some degree.

I would not call him a feminist - not because he couldn’t be one but for lack of proper material to analyse. Feminism has many shades but in the most general sense is about establishing the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Erron does not show much opinion on that matter and does not interact with “common” women; those truly weaker than him, disabled or anything else other than warriors, soldiers or queens. With lack of such interaction there is no chance to come to a proper conclusion.

Does Erron have a soft spot for women? It is possible but that would not stop him from hitting back or killing them if the situation called for such action. I think the safest option is just that Erron is in general a more emphatic and honorable human that he wants to admit, to not look weak or be exploited by others. In contrast to Kano, Black for sure has some moral code he follows no matter what. Even if this get him into trouble more often than not.

Hope it answers your question!

[kittyann]

A Misplaced Soul with a Familiar Face

I stumbled across another great WenZhou video which would make an excellent fanfic. 😆 It’s part WenZhou and part JunZhe. This one came from Bilibili.

 Summary: Zhou Zishu dies, and his soul and memories are propelled into the future. He wakes in the body of Zhang Zhehan. ZZS is perplexed as to where he is and how he got there. Then he notices photographs of him and someone who looks very much like his Lao Wen but with the same short hair and strange clothing. He goes looking for Wen Kexing and asks him what happened to them. Except he doesn’t find WKX. He finds Gong Jun. GJ is startled to find his co-star acting strangely and gives him a puzzled look. To his shock and horror, Zhang-laoshi says, “Lao Wen, what’s wrong? It’s me. It’s your A’Xu.” ZZH has completely immersed in the role to the point that he believes he truly is ZZS. GJ is devastated, and the angst commences from there. FYI: The video has a happy ending.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1QU4y187Xf/?spm_id_from=333.788.recommend_more_video.0

[psqqa]

Nirvana in Fire Character Reference Sheet Roughly in the Order Those Characters Are Introduced

For @howdydowdy, as promised, and for anyone else who, like me, is terrible at names and needs some kind of “Who?? Ohhh right. That guy.” reminder.

Basically, my Nirvana in Fire Journey started with me watching half the first episode, being wildly confused, realizing I was in over my head re: names and thus deciding to go back to the beginning and watch it again But Taking Notes This Time. I watched the whole show with a notebook and pen at my side. I figured I may as well spare you all the labour by typing it up. 

As more information was revealed, I often added it to a character’s initial note, but by and large I’m leaving those extra notes out so you can experience the joy and confusion and anguish of New Information yourself. The exception to this is generally a person’s name, title, and position. E.g. Duke Qing’s name, Bai Ye, isn’t mentioned until a number of episodes after he’s first mentioned, if I recall correctly, but knowing that the person named “Bai Ye” is the same person called “Duke Qing” is exactly why I took these notes for myself in the first place.

Basically this isn’t intended to be a character guide that lays out exactly who a person is, their relationships to the other characters, and their place in the story, but rather something you can look at whenever someone mentions a name that jogs your memory just enough for you to be able to place to person. Which is why the notes tend to be either the context in which the person was introduced or the relationship through which they’re introduced.

Some names and notes are inherently spoilers, but hopefully by virtue of the fact that this is broadly in the order a character is first mentioned/introduced, you can avoid spoilers simply by not scrolling down too far. For those persons where their name or an alter ego comes in significantly after their initial introduction and is a spoiler, they are listed a second time starting with the “new information” and with the note in italics indicating their original entry (there aren’t a lot of these, don’t worry).

I will readily admit that some of my handwritten notes are just a name and then a blank space because apparently I just never actually added a note for them. I haven’t bothered adding those people here. Yes it’s because I’ve forgotten entirely who they are, but I’m pretty sure that means you’ll be okay if you immediately forget who they are too. (That being said, I get the sense there are actually relevant people missing from this list. As the show carried on and introductions became less frequent, remembering them became less difficult.)

The List

Lin Xie –> Commander of the Chiyan Army

Lin Shu –> “Xiao-Shu” –> Lin Xie’s son –> Mei Changsu --> Chief of the Jiangzuo Alliance --> Su Zhe

Lin Chen –> Young Master of Langya Hall –> NOTE: The “Lin” of Lin Chen and the “Lin” of Lin Xie & Lin Shu are both written and pronounced differently. These people are not related.

Northern Yan’s 6th Prince –> Now Northern Yan’s Crown Prince

Minister Xu –> Da Liang’s envoy to Northern Yan

Prince Yu –> Xiao Jinghuan –> 5th Prince of Da Liang

Xiao Xuan –> Emperor of Da Liang

Empress Yan --> Prince Yu’s adoptive mother

Consort Yue --> Crown Prince’s mother

Grand Empress (Dowager) --> Emperor’s grandmother

Xiao Jingxuan --> Crown Prince of Da Liang --> metonym is “Eastern Palace”

Zhuo Dingfeng --> Master of Tianquan Manor

Zhuo Qingyao --> Eldest son of Zhuo Dingfeng --> guy on the horse and later the guy helping the old couple on the boat and later also the guy who calls Xie Yu “father-in-law” (I am telling you this specifically because I am not bad at faces but this guy added so much confusion to my life that was cleared up the moment I realized these people were the same person. And also because my mother is terrible at faces and for like 15 episodes every time he showed up in another random place I would say “that’s horse and boat guy” and she would say “wait what? really???” So I’m assuming at least one other person will share in this struggle)

Xie Yu --> Marquis of Ning

Qin Banruo --> Prince Yu’s strategist

Duke Qing --> Prime Minister --> Bai Ye

Ji Ying --> member of Double Sword Sect

Li Gang --> member of Jiangzuo Alliance

Fei Liu --> Mei Changsu’s bodyguard

Yan Yujin --> Son of Empress Yan’s brother

Xiao Jingrui --> Eldest son of Xie Yu

Mu Nihuang --> Commander of the army in Yunnan --> Princess of Yunnan’s House of Mu 

Xie Bi --> Second son of Xie Yu & Xiao Jingrui’s younger brother

Mu Qing --> Mu Nihuang’s younger brother

Xia Dong --> An officer of the Xuanjing Bureau

Nie Feng --> Xia Dong’s late husband --> Vanguard General of the Chiyan Army under Lin Xie

Meng Zhi --> Commander of the Imperial Guards

Xuan Bu --> From Da Yu --> stronger than Meng Zhi

Gao Zhan --> Emperor’s chief eunuch 

Fei Changshi --> Prince Yu’s guy out looking for Mei Changsu

Prince Jing --> Xiao Jingyan --> 7th Prince of Da Liang

Concubine Jing --> Mother of Prince Jing

“Xiao-Xin” --> Attendant to Concubine Jing

Grand Princess Liyang --> Xie Yu’s wife & Emperor’s sister

Eunuch Zheng --> Eunuch who is mean to Tingsheng

Prince Qi --> late Crown Prince of Da Liang --> Xiao Jingyu

Tingsheng --> servant boy caught reading

“Lao-Wei” --> Mu Qing’s subordinate of some kind

Wei Zheng --> member of Chiyan Army at Battle of Meiling (and survived)

Sima Lei --> member of Royal Guard --> Consort Yue’s preferred suitor for Mu Nihuang

Liao Tingjie --> Son of the Marquis of Zhongsu --> Empress Yan’s preferred suitor Mu Nihuang

Baili Qi --> Mu Nihuang suitor from Northern Yan --> A favourite of the 4th Prince of Northern Yan

Lady/Madam Zhuo --> Zhuo Dingfeng’s wife

Xie Qi --> Zhuo Qingyao’s wife & Xie Yu’s daughter & Jingrui’s sister

Consort Hui --> bullied by the Empress

Young Lady Zhen (I think is what my handwriting says) --> servant being sneaky at late dowager empress’s palace

“Wu-momo” --> older servant with the Bad Wine

Consort Chen --> now dead --> son was a rebel

3rd Prince of Da Liang --> Xiao Jingting --> Prince Ning --> disabled

6th Prince of Da Liang --> no ambition 

9th Prince of Da Liang --> too young to fight for throne 

Former Crown Princess --> late Prince Qi’s late wife

“Qi-momo” --> Grand Princess Liyang’s senior attendant

Gong Yu --> window lady who works with Mr. Shisan --> a musician

Mr. Shisan --> member of Jiangzuo Alliance --> connection to Lin family

Minister Lou --> Lou Zhijing --> Minister of Trade/Finance/Revenue/other words that mean “money” --> Knows about the corpse well --> Crown Prince’s faction

Zhang Jing --> Owner of corpse well house (Lan Mansion) at the time the corpses ended up in the well

Shi Jun --> Servant at corpse well house at relevant time --> has record book

Magistrate Gao --> Gao Sheng --> The Capital Magistrate

Princess Xuanji --> ruler of a previous dynasty --> founded the “Hong Court”

Minister Qi --> Qi Min--> Minister of Justice --> Prince Yu’s faction

Minister He --> He Jingzhong --> Minister of Personnel --> Prince Yu’s faction

Minister of Public Works --> Prince Yu’s faction

Minister Chen --> Chen Yuanzhi --> Minister of Rites --> Crown Prince’s faction

Minister of Defence --> Li Lin --> Crown Prince’s faction

Bai Xun --> Duke Qing’s brother

Lie Zhanying --> Staff Officer under Prince Jing

Qi Meng --> One of Prince Jing’s men --> fights Fei Liu and commits Great Offence

“General Bian” --> One of Prince Jing’s men

Shen Zhui --> Acting Minister of Finance

Princess Qing He --> Shen Zhui’s mother

Cai Quan --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> Did well-received report on the Bing case 

Han Zhiyi --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Zhang Jianzhen --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Wei Yuan --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Yuan Shiying --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Qin Yue --> Works at Ministry of Justice --> worked on Bing case

Tong Lu --> Vegetable cart guy --> brother of one of the corpse well girls 

Qiu Zhe --> Son of Count (Duke?) Wen Yuan

He Wenxin --> Son of Minister He --> dislikes Qiu Zhe 

Grand Prince Ji --> Emperor’s youngest brother --> Owns hot springs

Yang Liuxin --> A dancer

Hong Xinzhao --> Has “understanding girls”

Xinliu & Xinyang --> Brothel sisters --> their younger brother was murdered by Qiu Zhe

Princess Consort --> Lanjin --> Prince Yu’s wife

Zhou Xuanqing --> renowned scholar

Li Chong --> former Imperial Tutor --> former teacher to Lin Shu

“Brother Zhao” --> Canal transport guy --> Jiangzuo Alliance

Lin Xiangru --> famous literary envoy

Marquis Yan --> Yan Que --> Yan Yujin’s father & Empress Yan’s brother

Lin Yueyao --> Prince Qi’s mother --> Consort Chen

Zhen Ping --> Jiangzuo Alliance --> sword challenger

Xia Qiu --> An officer of the Xuanjing Bureau

Xia Chun --> The most senior of the officers of the Xuanjing Bureau

Prince Jingli --> Consort Hui’s son

Yuwen Xuan --> Prince Ling --> A prince of Southern Chu

Yuwen Nian --> “Niannian” --> A princess of Southern Chu --> student of Yue Xiuze

Yuwen Lin --> King of Southern Chu --> Yuwen Nian’s father

Ouyang Chi - Head of CApital Patrols

Xia Jiang --> Head of the Xuanjing Bureau

Li Chongxin --> Schoolteacher assassinated by Zhuo Dingfeng 

Jun Niang --> former member of “Hong Court” under Princess Xuanji

“Miss Liu” --> Granddaughter of former Chief Secretariat Liu Cheng

Wei Qi --> The general at Jiaxing Pass --> was Xie Yu’s lieutenant for years

Su Tianshu --> Chief of Yaowang Valley --> 7th on the Langya Rich List

Su Xuan --> Su Tianshu’s adopted son --> Wei Zheng

Yun Piaomiao --> Su Xuan’s wife 

Concubine Xiang --> Prince Yu’s birth mother

Zhu Yue --> Head of the Review Court --> Prince Yu’s brother-in-law

Cheng Zhiji --> Elder Master of Feng Hall --> 75 years old

Princess Linglong --> A princess of the Hua Kingdom --> Princess Xuanji’s sister --> Concubine Xiang

Grand Princess Jinyang --> Lin Shu’s mother & Lin Xie’s wife --> Emperor’s sister

Yao Zhu --> Official Fan’s servant who knows The Secret

Official Fan --> Harbouring Xia Jiang

[whatifxwereyou]

Embers Chapter 6: Life As Usual

Mortal Kombat 2021

Liu Kang x Reader | Eventual Kung Lao x Reader

Summary: Finally, we meet Jun. She doesn't seem so bad. Things are almost normal. Almost. Except you killed someone. There is that.

A/N: Forgot to update this on Sunday, so doing that now. Will still be updating this one through the next couple weeks while I plan and stuff. Hope everyone is well. Love you!

First Chapter << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index Ashes

Night came and went. You were just fine.

No intruders. Not even any nightmares.

That and your arm, while stiff, felt world’s better than it had the day before. You couldn’t afford to keep both the dojo and the shop closed a second day so that was fortuitous. There were classes to teach and orders to be picked up. Deciding you wouldn’t want attention drawn to the gauze on your arm, you chose a long-sleeved shirt for teaching.

Then you exercised and stretched, working on your range of motion, and testing your limits with your wound. The last thing you needed was to find out what your limits were while you were teaching.

You had more mobility than you’d expected. It felt good.

Then you went out about your day like nothing crazy had happened. Like there had been no break in, no assault, so murder, no fire. You opened the store and the usual customers came in for their wares, barely looking at you as they exchanged their money for goods that only you provided.

Each time the bell rang it made you tense up. You weren’t sure you’d ever forget the fear that had come with finding those masked strangers in your store. You would certainly never forget their eyes. But no strangers came in to attack you. Just customers. It went on without event. It was boring, even.

Just before your first class would begin, you closed up the shop and then went into the dojo. Opening the doors and windows, you felt the chilled breeze and smiled. Then you set out mats for the students. Most newer dojos had matted floors but this one was so old that the floors were wood and painful to land on. You’d been hurt on them more times than you could count. But it would cost a fortune to renovate since the old building was laden with problems so mats it was.

Once you were done, you smiled.

Things felt normal.

Other than the dragon mark on your lower back that had not come off with any amount of scrubbing during your shower and the ache in your arm, it was like every other day. It was deceivingly normal even though you knew that nothing was normal anymore and never would be again.

Liu Kang.

He wanted you to join him at Raiden’s Temple. To leave your life behind and start fresh to protect Earth. Part of you wanted to jump on the opportunity and abandon your miserable life in your hometown. He had been right about a few things. You hated it there. But you had also become complacent. Leaving was frightening. Change was intimidating. This was all you’d ever known. Who were you without it?

Part of you wanted to know because you felt trapped here.

A deep breath.

One step at a time. For now, you had classes to teach.

A knock on the open door made you jump. A woman just a tad shorter than you stepped barely inside. Her hair was dark, long, and pulled back from her face in a braid. She seemed tired.

Jun. Your sister.

“Dad complained about you literally all afternoon.” Jun had never been comfortable inside the dojo since you had taken it over. You never understood why since you’d both grown up there. You’d asked once but Jun had avoided answering. Rarely had anyone had answers for their behavior toward you in town. You’d gotten used to not knowing. “It was exhausting.” Jun leaned against the doorframe. You straightened up the last of the mats for your students. Ten of them.

“Is this novel? Isn’t complaining about me one of his favorite past times? Oh, wait, sorry, I know it’s different than his usual pretending I don’t exist.” You hadn’t meant for the bite that had come with your words but it was tiring to constantly hear how horrible you were all the time from everyone. There were times where you resented having to hear Jun complain about it too. If she thought hearing about how much he hated you was annoying, she should have tried actually being hated.

“He kept saying something about you keeping the dojo and shop closed because you were careless and started a fire?” Jun was more curious than accusatory. You regretted your hostility. Jun only wanted to know what had really happened.

“Yeah. There was quite a bit of damage so I spent yesterday cleaning up. There was no way I could juggle teaching and customers while doing that.”

“…you really started a fire?”

“A candle fell over.” You didn’t want to share the dirty details so you were evasive. You were a terrible liar, avoiding eye contact, keeping busy with things that didn’t need to be done like readjusting the mats on the wood floor. Terror had taken you. What if someone found out you’d killed that man? “It was an accident.” You meant that for more than one reason.

“You didn’t get hurt, right?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” That was a nice surprise. Jun didn’t usually express concern or ask about how you were. You spoke a few times a week but most of your time was you listening while Jun talked. Your relationship was fairly one-sided. There were days it bothered you. Today you were grateful that Jun wasn’t very nosy.

“Dad said something about you fooling around with a monk, too. I couldn’t really picture that. There was a lot of cursing about you in pretty foul ways. More than usual.” Jun perked up. Ah, yes. She wanted to talk about that. Of course she did.

“I didn’t think you were this much of a gossip.”

“Depends on the day. But I heard my sister was fooling around with a monk so… that’s one for the books and color me curious.”

You laughed.

“I’m not fooling around with anyone. A friend was helping me clean up. A friend who happens to be a monk. Dad just assumed the worst of me, I guess. He always does though so neither one of us should be surprised.” You rolled your eyes but you had to fight the burning in your cheeks. You had definitely thought about how much fun it would be to fool around with Liu Kang on more than one occasion now.

“Is he at least a cute monk?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.” You, again, were a terrible liar.

“It’s relevant to me.” Jun pouted. “Come on, Y/N! You never have anything fun to joke about. And you never talk about yourself! Let me have this.”

“Look, Jun, I’m having a tough few days. Can we not do this today? Can we instead do the usual… you asking me to get my shit together so that dad will get off your case about getting on my case? Then you just babble on about whatever bullshit you and the other moms talk about.” You usually had more patience. You were content to listen because it was nice to hear someone’s voice other than your own without the added disdain from most everyone else in town. But you were tired. As much as you hated Jun’s complaining about your dad’s complaining, you would rather dwell on that than your most recent trauma.

“Okay, but just for today. You’re no fun, you know that, right?” Jun sighed. You thought that was wrong. You were tons of fun, just not in town. Then Jun looked you over and frowned. “You’re pale.” Oh, good. She’d decided to pry.

“I haven’t slept well the last few days.”

“Maybe you should be fooling around with the monk. That’ll help you sleep.” Jun teased and you rolled your eyes. “If dad thinks you are already then so does everyone in town. You might as well do it. Even if it’s with a boring monk.”

“Wow, Jun.”

“The last thing we need is for you to have an episode and if you’re this stressed…”

You couldn’t have sighed heavier.

“Jun…”

“You’re responsible for so much now. I’m allowed to worry. We can’t afford for you not to keep it together these days.”

“Could you give me some credit?” You snapped. Your mood tanked. What nerve Jun had sometimes. “I haven’t had something like that happen since I was twelve. Sometimes things are exactly what they appear to be, Jun. I was sick back then. Today I’m just tired. I haven’t been sleeping well. With the fire and everything, I’m exhausted.”

“I wasn’t attacking you, Y/N.”

“You were a little. I’ve got this, Jun. You have no reason to think I don’t.”

“I didn’t mean it like an attack. Just… you should try to relax sometimes. You’re always tense.”

“Yeah, sure.” You wanted to say that was super easy to do with your dad breathing down your neck and after having murdered a man who had attacked you but instead, you held your tongue. You were reminded that nothing would be normal again. You’d never go back to those moments before that break in.

“I’ll stop by again tomorrow to check in on you.”

“You don’t have to be dad’s spy. I run a better shop and dojo than he ever did. Students actually like coming to class and things arrive when they’re supposed to.”

“I’ll tell him you’re doing great and he’s worried about nothing!” Jun left before you could say anything else, waving. You shook your head in dismay. You were glad Jun hadn’t overstayed her welcome that day. It had sent your blood pressure through the roof. There were a thousand things more important to worry about right now than your dad’s opinion of you. Besides, he always thought you were terrible so there wasn’t much you could do about it.

Thankfully there wasn’t much time to dwell on the annoying conversation because your students were arriving. They were as excited to see you as a group of six-to-ten-year-old kids could be. They were the beginner class and it was an easy session which your aching arm was grateful for. It was difficult to hide your bandages under the loose sleeves and one of the students asked you what happened.

You’d joked with them and said you’d fought off ninjas. Then you’d insisted it was fine and nothing to worry about. They’d believed you and made ninja jokes with you. For a few moments everything felt normal. You were even happy.

There wasn’t much that made you as happy as teaching did. Exams were coming up so you spent the last few minutes of class answering questions and reminding them of what to practice. It was nice to do something you were genuinely good at and passionate about.

Before you knew it class was over and you were waving goodbye to your students then cleaning up mats. There was time before the next class but not enough time that it warranted opening the shop. The next class was older students. Pre-teens. They weren’t your highest-level class but they would have noticed if you weren’t yourself. So, you would spend your spare time practicing.

Wushu was your preferred martial art. It was a style of Kung Fu. You taught a specialized class in it to a handful of older students but were currently between sessions. There was a signup sheet on the back wall for students who wished to be part of the next set of lessons. Everything was coming to a close in the next few weeks.

Next Chapter >>

[drwcn]

after wwx marries into the gusu lan sect, how are people supposed to call him ? would that change his courtesy name to lan wuxian ? or ?? how does this work o,o

Hi Anon! :) 

I think I got a similar ask regarding what to call the husband of a sect leader in fanfics. It is [here]. I also reblogged a post about last names after marriage [here].

For Discordance, I probably only mentioned it in passing in Part 1, but I use the term “Wei-jun”.

There is really no cultural term for it in Chinese, so fanfic writers will have to make things up. Like... 100% of the titles are geared towards women which would not apply to Wei Wuxian. Generally speaking, with the exception of Yu Ziyuan, a woman’s title after marriage is [Husband’s Last Name]-fu’ren. 

For example: 

Jiang Yanli’s title after marriage is Jin-xiao-fu’ren (Madam Jin the Younger)

The xiao in this case means “Younger”, because Jin Guangshan’s wife would be Jin-fu’ren, since JGS is still the head of the family. 

When JGS dies and Jin Zixuan becomes head of the family, then Jiang Yanli would be called Jin-fu’ren (Madam Jin). Jin Zixuan’s mother, at this time, would become Jin-lao-fu’ren, or tai-fu’ren (the Dowager Madam Jin).

Notice however:  A woman does not change her last name after marriage, no ifs, ands, or buts. In narration and in speech, Jiang Yanli will always be Jiang Yanli, and never Jin Yanli. 

It is ONLY her title that changes. She goes from Jiang-gu’niang to Jin-xiao-fu’ren.

For Discordance, same logic applies. Wei Wuxian would not be changing his name under any circumstances. He is still Wei Ying, still Wei Wuxian. 

My options were kind of limited because it had to be a term that matched wwx’s personality (so it wouldn’t be too ooc) but it couldn’t surpass LXC’s title. I briefly considered giving him an actual title like Hanguang-jun, Zewu-jun or Qingheng-jun, but that means I would have to make it from scratch. While I’m not opposed to doing that for a less developed character (i.e: I do that for JYL and WQ in bstf), for someone like Wei Wuxian, I just... it’s hard to find a name for him when his character is so tied to his canonical title Yiling Laozu. Anything else I come up with would feel...disingenuous. 

So I took the easier route and called him Wei-jun.

“jun” 君 is typically an honorific that means ‘lord’ or ‘liege’. In The Untamed, we see it being used in people’s titles, however you can also put it after someone’s name as a title or show of respect. In Eternal Love, the male lead’s name is Yehua. He is the crown prince of heaven, so his title is “taizi-dianxia”. The female lead also calls him “Yehua-jun” as a sign of respect. 

For Wei Wuxian, Wei-jun sounded better than Wuxian-jun and is more concise and elegant imo, so that’s just what I went with. Lol. 

Now that you asked me this, I might write a lil thing where I narrate Wei Wuxian’s inauguration into the clan morning after the wedding (and very uneventful wedding night. idk they played Go Fish or something.) 

[robininthelabyrinth]

Curse-breaker (Chapter 2/4)

- ao3 -

“If you can’t find him, that means it’s not meant to be,” the Nie sect leader said, and perhaps looked a little relieved somewhere beneath the grim scowl that had replaced the easygoing smile he had once had. “Let it be, then. Only…”

“Yes, Sect Leader?”

“I want our borders shut,” he said, his gaze distant, his hands tucked behind his back in stiffest formality. “Let no cultivator pass through; no scion or servant of any other sect, large or small.”

“Sect Leader…?”

“I don’t care what it does to our reputation,” he said, voice flat. “I don’t care if it hurts our commerce, makes everyone laugh at us as cowards – I don’t care about anything like that. That he’s well enough to evade us does not mean he is out of danger. If anyone else should find out…”

He shook his head.

“I have failed him enough already. I will not do so again.” He turned his head to stare at his subordinates. “Shut it down. All of it!”

They saluted, and went to enact his will.

-

Lan Wangji hadn’t been especially impressed with the Nie sect at first.

They were loud and constantly moving yet also guarded and standoffish, as if they couldn’t decide if they wanted people to pay attention to them or to leave them alone. He initially had thought it was arrogance the same way as the Jin sect, wanting to be looked at without wanting to admit it, but after some observation he’d realized that it really wasn’t like that at all. It was a little more, he thought, that they were naturally outgoing and extroverted, innately social in nature, and had to keep reminding themselves that they actually didn’t like any other people.

Certainly that was the impression the Nie sect heir gave off.

Nie Huaisang was Lan Wangji’s age, but he was much less accomplished – he talked a lot, smiled a lot, was a lot, and yet Lan Wangji didn’t think he’d ever actually said a single thing that really mattered. Lan Wangji hadn’t thought much about Nie Huaisang at all other than gritting his teeth and acting as his escort on the Nie sect’s first visit to another sect in years and years, thinking that if Nie Huaisang was any example, the Nie sect’s fearsome reputation for being as straight and unsubtle as their sabers was all a bunch of nonsense. Maybe he would have gone on thinking that, too, except that on the fourth day of their visit he discovered that Nie Huaisang listened as well as talked.

“I’m sorry,” Nie Huaisang said at one point, smiling. “Could you repeat that?”

Lan Wangji hadn’t really been paying attention, and he certainly hadn’t been speaking – he looked at Nie Huaisang in askance, wondering if he’d accidentally said something he wasn’t aware of.

“Your father,” Nie Huaisang clarified, and Lan Wangji tensed. “How often is he in seclusion?”

Lan Wangji frowned, cautious – that was a secret, of course, one of the family secrets. Everything behind what happened with his parents was secret. “Quite often,” he temporized. “He’s trying to focus on his cultivation –”

“That wasn’t what I asked,” Nie Huaisang said, cheerfully cutting him off without making it seem like he was doing that. “My da-ge says that he heard from – from somewhere, anyway, that he wasn’t just in seclusion often but always. He says that your father hasn’t used his sword in years, leaving it to rust on the wall, betraying all his old principles of swordsmanship.”

Lan Wangji bristled, thinking that it was an insult, but Nie Huaisang was looking at him, face open and sincere and, for once, serious, and looking over his words Lan Wangji had to admit there was more truth to it than lies. And wasn’t his uncle always saying do not tell lies?

“It’s not his choice,” he said, trying to defend it even as he wondered who was the da-ge that Nie Huaisang was referring to, since he was supposed to be the only heir of Qinghe Nie. “He has to be there, because of –”

He stopped.

“Because of what?” Nie Huaisang asked. His eyes were too sharp, too knowing, and suddenly Lan Wangji was sure he already knew. “Because of the broken sword buried under his house?”

“…my mother’s,” Lan Wangji said, and knew that he had admitted too much.

Except maybe keeping secrets the way he was supposed to wasn’t actually what he was supposed to do, because Nie Huaisang nodded and said, “My da-ge wouldn’t like that.”

Then he went back to his father and said something about how his da-ge wouldn’t approve of what was going on and the next thing Lan Wangji knew, Sect Leader Nie was striding through the Cloud Recesses with a terrifying scowl, going straight up to the house where Lan Wangji’s father was in seclusion and tearing the door right off the hinges.

“She’s dead already,” he bellowed, voice echoing right down the bones. “You should save your care for the living, or else you’ll blink and next thing they’ll be gone. Gone right along with the dead you’ve already lost. Don’t you dare throw away your chance the way I did!”

After that, all of a sudden, Lan Wangji had a father again.

-

“There are rumors, you know,” Lan Xichen said.

He was having tea in the garden in the small teahouse just outside of the Nie sect lands in Qinghe, the place where the Nie sect usually received its visitors now that the Unclean Realm and most of its surrounding environs were shut off from the world by fiercely patrolling guards. He was with Nie Huaisang, who barely stopped talking, and Lan Wangji, who almost never started; ever since the day old Sect Leader Nie had forced Qingheng-jun out of seclusion and back into the world, they had been the most unlikely pair of best friends he could have ever imagined. Whenever they were together, they fit together like two improbable puzzle pieces that should never have been separated.

When he was with them, Lan Xichen always felt a little lost, a little alone – like there was someone else that should have been there, too, someone who fit with him just right the way they fit together.

Perhaps, he thought, reflecting on what he had heard, there really should have been.

“About what?” Nie Huaisang inquired politely.

“The Unclean Realm,” Lan Xichen said, even though that was obvious there’d be rumors about that – there’d been people trying to sneak into there ever since it had been locked down, even though the Nie sect had announced that they’d imposed orders permitting any trespassers to be killed on sight, no excuses allowed. It hadn’t made that much of a difference; everyone wanted to know what they were hiding. “The – inheritance thereof.”

“Oh?” Nie Huaisang fanned himself lightly. “How interesting. What do the rumors say?”

“That you have an older brother,” Lan Xichen said, and noted with interest that neither Nie Huaisang nor Lan Wangji seemed surprised. “That he’s the real heir of Qinghe Nie. And that he’s…”

“That he’s what?”

“Subject to a curse,” Lan Xichen said, feeling bashful for even saying such a thing. It sounded like a children’s story told in the nighttime, not like anything a cultivator ought to be speaking of.

Except Nie Huaisang smiled a little, his eyes curving into crescents in a grim sort of humor, and he said, “Well, they’re not wrong.”

-

“I trust that this is an illustration of the reason we have rules against spreading rumors,” Lan Qiren said mildly, and noted that Nie Huaisang looked thoroughly abashed for once.

It didn’t happen very often: Nie Huaisang was in many ways utterly shameless, as shameless as his father had always been. As shameless as his mother, who Lan Qiren had met only twice, had been when in search of a snack, and given that woman’s force of personality (and, for that matter, appetite), that was saying something.

“I wasn’t expecting them to start talking about breaking the curse,” Nie Huaisang said bitterly. “I didn’t mean a curse like – like a kid’s story, or something! I just meant, you know…”

The qi deviations, he did not say.

“It could be seen as a curse, if you look at it in the right light,” Lao Nie agreed. He didn’t seem especially perturbed by the fact that his son’s conversation with Lan Xichen had been overheard and then spread out everywhere, nor that the secret of his eldest son’s improbable survival was being gossiped about all over the cultivation world. “It’s quite a reasonable way to describe it, really.”

Lan Qiren shot his old friend a frown. “I trust you’ve heard the rest of it, too?” he asked tartly. “They’re saying that you’d let the entirety of the Qinghe Nie go to whoever succeeded in breaking the ‘curse’.”

“Who says I won’t?” Lao Nie asked, and Lan Qiren turned to him fully to stare: he couldn’t be serious.

Lao Nie caught his glance and shook his head, and in the light he didn’t look grim and angry, the way he always was these days; he looked tired, and sad, and broken. “Oh, I’m quite serious, my friend,” he said. “If someone could bring me back my son, I would give them my head off my shoulders in a heartbeat.”

He was speaking hypothetically, Lan Qiren knew, and yet – with a sinking sensation in his heart – he knew, too, that they weren’t sitting somewhere as secret as he would have liked for a conversation like this. He knew that others had probably heard what Lao Nie had said, and instead of understanding that he was expressing regret for what had happened to his son, they would think…

Well.

They’d think a lot of things.

“Think of your health, instead of your death,” Lan Qiren finally said, shaking his head. He’d been helping Lao Nie for years now, fighting a rearguard action against Lao Nie’s own inevitable qi deviation, trying to win enough time for Nie Huaisang to grow up old enough to take over properly, but it was getting harder each visit, the treatment less effective, the healing slower.

It would not be too long now.

“They’re the same thing,” Lao Nie said, shaking his head. “I should have lost my life years ago, instead of losing him his…it’s been so long, Qiren. Every day I wake up is a day I live for him, not for me – living the way he would want me to, doing what he’d approve of. It’s the least I could do. If someone could bring him back to me…someone, anyone, anyone at all…”

His gaze was distant, and sad. Terribly sad.

“What Qinghe Nie? What Unclean Realm? What inheritance?” he finally said.  “There’s nothing I wouldn’t give for that. Nothing at all.”

-

Wen Ruohan was the first.

For some reason, Lao Nie hadn’t been expecting that, though perhaps he should have – the reason he’d first started liking Wen Ruohan so much all those years ago was purely because of how shameless the man was, arrogant and careless of the world in the way only the truly dangerous could be. He’d liked that aspect of his back then, and when he wasn’t lying to himself, he knew he liked it still.

But this?

This was too far.

“How dare you?” he roared, and there was a red haze over his vision of the sort that he knew boded extremely ill for his long-term health. “My Unclean Realm is closed – do you think that you would be welcome? You, of all people?”

Wen Ruohan had forced his way right up to their gate, bringing with him a small retinue rather than the invasion force Lao Nie’s elders were always a little concerned about. As a result, he was now surrounded, surrounded and outnumbered, but he did not seem afraid.

Detestable man.

Lao Nie hated him now. He hated him as much as he’d once liked him.

He hated that he couldn’t hate him more.

“I’m here about the curse,” Wen Ruohan said, and Lao Nie stared at him, utterly speechless. “You did say ‘anyone at all’.”

“You want Qinghe Nie?” Lao Nie asked blankly, though of course he would – Wen Ruohan’s ambitions to take over the entire cultivation world were hardly secret. No, even if that was the first thing that came to his lips, Wen Ruohan’s blatant overreaching wasn’t actually what surprised him.

No, what surprised him was –

“You know it’s not a curse,” he said.

“I do,” Wen Ruohan said, and when he lifted his eyes to meet Lao Nie’s, Lao Nie was surprised to find them bloodshot. Not the familiar sort, the qi deviations of rage the way all Nie sect leaders went eventually, but rather a sort that was even more common than that.

Grief. Sorrow. Guilt.

Regret.

That last one was a word Lao Nie would previously have put money on Wen Ruohan not knowing.

“You said ‘anyone at all’,” Wen Ruohan said again, and it occurred to Lao Nie that that was the part that Wen Ruohan had quoted, the part he was stressing: not the inheritance, not There’s nothing I wouldn’t give, but just that. Anyone at all, Lao Nie had said, and he’d meant it, too. Anyone at all meant anyone.

Even Wen Ruohan.

“Since when do you care?” Lao Nie asked. “You were the one who did it.”

“I did it,” Wen Ruohan admitted. “I was angry at you. I’ve been angry at you for years. I thought I’d cleansed myself of all feeling before you dug the heart out of me, and yet you treated me lightly, giving me only as much of yourself as you wished. I thought that if I could only get rid of you, I could seal my heart up again and be none the worse for it.”

“You would’ve gone mad,” Lao Nie said, feeling irritable. “I told you time and time again, the path of clarity is a dead end. No man can live without feeling emotions. Sorrow may try to trick you into thinking it’s preferable, but in the end...”

Wen Ruohan smiled, humorless. “Sorrow can be very convincing. But that’s not what you asked – you wanted to know why I was here.”

Lao Nie crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, then?”

“You’re still here,” Wen Ruohan said. “My heart is not dead. And I – I nearly murdered a child.”

That brother of his, Lao Nie thought, and he understood.

But what good would his understanding do?

“I have to try to fix it,” Wen Ruohan said. No, not said – he was nearly begging. “Lao Nie, you said anyone. I did it, I acknowledge it. I was wrong. I regret. Let me have a chance to try to fix it.”

“There’s no fixing it,” Lao Nie said, and turned away. “You ran a fool’s errand, Hanhan. He’s not even here.”

[fourseasonsfigs]

Concert Banquet

The Word of Honor concert was one of my most favorite things ever, so naturally I want any fig set that has anything to do with it.

These figs are from the wedding reception concert after-party banquet on the second day, and capture the moment when Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun are speaking to the crowd.

Some inspirational photos from their speeches:

Chinese Subs awesomely provides an English subbed clip of their banquet speeches on YouTube here.

Zhehan is looking casual and delightedly smiley in this set, while the fig maker captured Junjun's pose with his one bent leg perfectly from the pic above. The little details are rendered perfectly - Junjun's shirt tails peeking out under his jacket, and the white decorative lines on the jacket. Zhehan's slouchy Lanvin lobster hoodie looks pretty comfy!

I love Zhehan's flyaway straps on his hat! You can also see Gong Jun's crossbody LV bag here, except its a bummer it doesn't have the Wen Kexing doll hanging off of it. That being said, I am sure it would have been hard to do with any level of detail, especially in PVC. So probably better it not be there, than a lump vaguely resembling Lao Wen!

What cuties. Junjun does balance, if precariously, and Zhehan aaaaalmost does and then tips over backwards. It's those flying hat straps! I had to stick them down a bit to take these pics, and will be putting them on my acrylic bases this weekend.

Cute details all the way around with the hat and the bag. The maker did a nice job with the partial links in the chain going halfway up - they checked their details! They're so happy and casual and relaxed post concert!

An extreme closeup so you can see the lobster in all its glory, as well as finer details. I hadn't noticed until now that the writing on Zhehan's microphone is his "Be Strong" and Junjun's is "Wuhu".

Ultra cute box here with the cameras all set up at the banquet!

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 140

Diorama Count: 9

Snowglobe Count: 1

Rating: 囍 for double happiness

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[angelic-jeonghan1004]

Spin the bottle || Minghao college! au

For this request I was given the 2 prompts with how they paralleled eachother having it be a friends to lovers seemed fitting. for the fun of it made it a collage au but if you want me to change it to normal I can do that too love💓

Synposis: You and Minghao had been friends for a while, will that change once the collage party everyone's been hyping up is thrown?

Prompts: #3 "How oblivious can you be?" #5 "Can you please stop talking so I can kiss you?"

Pairing: Minghao x reader college! Au

Warnings: a lil bit of jealousy but as usual it's fluff :))

Gif credits to owner

~~~

You and Minghao had been friends for a while meeting in a art course, after becoming friends you both usually where attached to the hip so everyone would always joke saying you where like lovers but both of you would get shy and brush it off to then come back at them with a roast. This weekend a party was gonna be thrown, you of course knew about it since how could you not? It was the only thing everyone in your friend group and campus was talking about, you weren't sure on going but you decided why not? The weekend rolled around and you got dressed and ready waiting for Hao and your friends to pick you up. They texted saying they arrived at your dorm so you headed out and looked around till you spotted their car, Cheol waved at you from the drivers seat, there was only 4 seats in the car and all where taken so you had to sit in someone's lap. You looked at the 3 boys in the back (Jun and DK on the end seats with Hao in the middle) then to Jeonghan in the front, you decided the easiest spot would be Juns lao since his car door was nearest, even if you'd liked to sit in Haos lap he was in the middle seat. You spent the car ride talking to Jun, he wrapped his arms around your waist to keep you secured since you didn't have a seat belt, Minghao kept glancing at you but then sighing to focus on something else causing you to stir confusion. You arrived at the party and everyone dispersed into where they wanted to go except for you and Hao, you both walked to the nearest couch and sat down finally getting to share a conversation with him after he was so silent in the car ride. You kept chatting till all 12 other ppl in your friend group + a bunch more girls and boys came over to you guys and asked if you'd want to play spin the bottle 7 minutes in heaven with them, usually you'd say no, but you thought why not be risky once? It's college why not take risks, causing Minghao to join with you in the game. Everyone got in a circle till one of the guys asked

"so who's gonna take the honer in chugging the drink to then be our bottle for the night" the boy asked.

"I'll do it, why not" you said, thinking the alcho would hopefully help with the situations that potentially could pursue. The boy handed you the bottle and you chugged it, everyone screaming different woos of excitement for you to finish the drink, once you did you put it in the middle. A girl decided to spin it and it landed on some dude your friend group didn't know but went with it since its a party and for this game the more the merrier. Rounds kept going at a very fast pace till It came around to your turn, you took a big gulp of nothing and spined the bottle, it landed in between Minghao and Hansol. Hansol immediately saw the outcome of the other result so he immediately gave the round to Hao. You both stared at eachother not fully knowing what to do as they dragged you too into the closet, the door shut and you both stood there for a little bit.

"I'm sorry this is probably weird, especially since you probably don't like me that way and we've had conversations on wanting a kiss to be with someone we like like" you said chuckling a bit but stopping once you saw Minghaos confused expression.

"how oblivious can you be?" He said with a little laugh at the end.

"oh no it's not like I was trying to be mean, you just probably like someone else so doing this with me would probably be weird since you talk about how you want to have a connect-" you rambled but he cut you off.

"can you stop talking so I can kiss you?" He said causing you to stop and look at him in shock

"uh yes okay uh sure-" you said, given the go he walked closer to you till you where pushed together against the door, he leaned in and it's a classic fairy tale type of feeling of having fireworks go off in your mind but with that kiss and knowing the feeling is mutual + the alcohol coursing through you? How could you not say fireworks weren't going off. You both pulled away from the kiss smiling and he took your hand in his.

"So what do we call this" you said.

"if you're alright jumping to it then relationship" he said chuckling leaving a peck on your lips

"that sounds good to me" you said kissing him back smiling into the kiss.

"great, you know I've been waiting for this for a while baobei" he said. Your time had ran up so the door opened but you stayed linked hand in hand, deciding to exit the game and just watch from afar.

[noirbriar]

MDZS AU Headcanon dump: Stay (6)

(Part 1 here)  (Part 2 here)  (Part 3 here)  (Part 4 here)  (Part 5 here)

LWJ did regain his mobility gradually as Wen Qing has said. A-Yuan seems flustered why WWX is so distraught but LWJ have taught the child well,( or as well as he could he thinks ) he didn’t fuss or wail, but going as far to bring his toys and give his Xian gege and try and cheer him up.WWX was still physically weak but not as bad as LWJ who got poisoned.What were the odds seriously?

But until the talisman burns, they will wait. they will keep faith. Brother, Uncle, please. Don’t. LWJ hopes quietly. After sometime, a-Yuan tired himself out reading and fell asleep between the two. LWJ can move his upper body but his fingers are still numb, as he shifts and adjusts the space among the three of them to let the child sleep better.While WWX is tucked beside him ( LWJ you opportunistic lil shit ) “Lan Zhan.” 

“Mn.” 

“Do you think...things would have gone differently?If I had not been so reckless.So foolish? So idealistic in thinking I’m infallible and now, everyone around be just...just..”

 “You did what is right, Wei Ying.” 

“Lan Zhan.” 

Why did you choose to stay?” 

“...” 

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for you doing so much for me, for the Wen family and all.For staying beside me.Its just...strange. My mother used to say I should always remember the good others do for you, never the good you do for others.To be honest, I can fathom why you would do all this except-” “Wei Ying.” “Lan Zhan, you...are especially nice.I like you.” ”...!” ”Its not simply out of gratitude or whatever nonsense.You are really nice Lan Zhan.This lifetime, or another, I can think of no one else to be with.” ”!!” ”I want to go on Night Hunts with you forever.” LWJ froze.WWX can feel the cultivator next to him going rigid, he can hear the man’s heart for goodness sake. And quickly tried to salvage this awkward situation. “Ah.Ahaha.Ha...I mean, no one who do all this for a nobody.I know its weird and we are men and Hanguang Jun must have fair maiden you are keen about. But its true you are really nice. Ahahaha! I’m sure your uncle is flipping out now and demand that we release you or something!Or that I got you possessed! Imagine that! The righteous Hanguang Jun getting controlled by the scary Yiling Lao Zu-” The next thing WWX knows, is a hand grabbing the back of his neck and LWJ’s crushing his lips on his.Neither chaste nor gentle, its reason was clear.In no way he had expected this but he isn’t weirded out by it, in fact, deep down he welcomed it...?All those days hanging around LWJ, spending time together, those small soft feelings started bubbling up inside.WWX knew then.And he swears, if weren’t for the fact he can’t feel his limbs, he definitely wouldn’t with how intense LWJ is kissing right now.All he can do is return it, his tongue softly running over LWJ’s velvet lips.And-wait a moment. WAIT A MOMENT. ”L-Lan Zhan!Stop stop stop stop-!” ”?!” ”This, I-, Lan Zhan...was it you who kissed me on Bai Feng Shan?!Was that why you-Oh.Oh hoh.Ho.” ”I-” ”Lan Zhan.Lan Zhan~Lan er gege~Why are your ears so red?Was I right?Ahhhhhh!It was you! Wait!How long-Have you really liked me for-no no no, how long have you been hiding this!Ahhhh, Lan Zhan, I’m so happy, Lan zhan~Lan er gege~” LWJ shut the demonic cultivator up once more, making sure to bite the smug man who was grinning into his kisses. (FFS you two have a kid there!Right there!) Without a sign still, LWJ finally regained his mobility. and went to check on the things Wen Qing had prepared for them ( “Lan er gege...release me?”’No.You will go running into danger first.””But-””Its been awhile, if anything happens, it would already have.””True...””We promised the Wens.”) Provision, medicine, Bichen, Wangji Qin, notes for cultivating a core by Wen Qing herself, Chengqing...Suibian is missing but then again, LWJ isn’t even sure if WWX knows where is it himself. A-Yuan woke up and got restless, going back to his books beside WWX when they heard of people approaching.LWJ quickly went over and undid WWX’s locked points and they gather up a-Yuan and his butterfly toys. Could it be Wen Qing was too late in warning them?He was too careless! Things happened quickly then, Nie cultivators had come up the Mounds and NMJ slowly approached the trio. He barely glanced at them and continued his survey of the area. LWJ had Bichen out and ready. Even though he is barely in any condition against the leader of Qinghe Nie with his Baxia, making sure to shield WWX and A-Yuan behind him. “So?Where are they Wei WuXian?” “Who?” “Wen cultivators.Your army.Fierce corpses.” “....They went to meet you and the other leaders didn’t they?Are you here to finish up and get rid of menaces like us-” “Wei Ying-” Although nothing could have prepared the cultivators for an unexpected attack. Especially not NMJ, as he looked down and finds the huffiest and most baleful looking child to look back at him. The exact same child to tried (key word tried) to knock his leg over that also looked like he’s about to cry. “You are a bad man, go away!You are making everyone upset!C-Cultivators are suppose to help people!Wen Yuan wants you to stop!” ( throw back to the second seige where Sizhui snapped ) “...” “...” “...” “Oh heavens, a-Yuan.PLEASE.WHY.” (Part 7 here)