#She might have missed the part in JC where everyone dies

[ibijau]

11 with chengxuan please? i hc that jc has a really nice singing voice

Singing together/catching them singing softly to themselves as they cook/do the dishes.

a prequel of this modern AU where Yanli and Wei Wuxian are missing after an accident that left Jin Zixuan disabled

warning for internalised ableism, and also just general ableism mentions

When Jin Ling is five, Zixuan starts working again.

It is not his choice, though he easily convinces himself that it is. His mother is right after all, he can’t go on forever staying at home doing nothing. Sure he’s taking care of Jin Ling, and still dealing with the aftermath of that day, but he can’t do just that, not when he’s clearly well enough to try doing more. His mother doesn’t want him to become a recluse, and she doesn’t want him to get completely out of touch with his father’s company… and she’s right of course.

It’s easier for everyone when she’s right.

Zixuan’s father is a little less enthusiastic about easing his son back into the family business. As he bluntly explains, there’s just not much that Zixuan can do. Going back to his old job isn’t an option. The accounting department, which Zixuan used to be in charge of, has now been given to Meng Yao who is doing very well there, helping the company make a steady profit. Not only that, but Jin Guangshan explains to his son that Meng Yao has uncovered an embezzlement plot that Zixuan apparently accidentally allowed to fester. Wen Ning has been arrested for stealing money in favour of his sister’s charity, and Jin Guangshan explains he had to use all of his influence to protect Zixuan from being dragged into this.

After something like this, it’s obvious Zixuan can no longer be trusted to lead a team. It’s also better if he doesn’t handle anything to do with finances anymore, because their company just cannot bear with another scandal.

Instead, Zixuan is offered a quick formation in web design, and incorporated into the IT team, just another worker among others. It’s work he can do from home, and he’s never met most of his colleagues. None of them seem to realise that he is the son of their employer, and apparently assume the surname Jin is just a coincidence. During a phone reunion, Zixuan hears someone talk about Jin Guangshan’s son who died some years ago, and doesn’t bother to correct it.

His mother can push all she wants, it’s clear Zixuan isn’t going to inherit the company. 

It bothers him less than he should. On the rare days when he still hopes that Yanli will return to him, Zixuan tells himself that they can drop everything and start a new life somewhere quiet. Just him, his wife, his son… and his brother-in-law, if Jiang Cheng feels like it. After those last few years, Zixuan can’t quite imagine living without him, and he knows Jin Ling wouldn’t want to either. Jiang Cheng has been there for all his life after all, and theirs is not the worst of lives.

Which isn’t to say that it’s always easy.

Some days are too much for Zixuan.

Today is such a day. His pain is flaring up like crazy, making it agony to sit for long. Jin Ling is in a bad mood, and determined to make it felt. And three urgent projects have been dropped on Zixuan’s hands, to be finished before the end of the week.

What Zixuan wants is to drop his son with Jiang Cheng, take all the painkillers he’s allowed, and sleep for about three or four days until he’s better. It’s not an option, of course. He can’t let down everyone, those projects are important, his mother will be furious if she hears that he’s using his health as an excuse to be lazy, his father will take it as more proof that he can’t be trusted with anything. He has to pull through, pain or not.

People with worse health than him can do their job, he can’t use disability as an excuse.

So Zixuan pushes himself, sitting in front of his laptop until the pain gets so intense he’s starting to see dark spots at the corner of his eyes. He has to do this, has to…

“I think you’ve been stupid long enough,” he hears Jiang Cheng says, surprisingly close to him.

Zixuan startles and looks up, grimacing as the movement pulls on too tight muscles. Jiang Cheng is glaring down at him, apparently more upset than usual.

“You can’t work like that,” Jiang Cheng snaps, dropping a glass of water and a pill next to the laptop. “Take that and go rest.”

“I have to…”

“You have to fucking take care of yourself. You look like you’re about to have a seizure or something. Take that painkiller and sleep before you make yourself worse.”

Zixuan blinks numbly. The medication he takes mostly helps prevent seizures, but it cannot fully eliminate them. He’s been having them more often since he started working again, and has told himself it’s only a coincidence.

“I’m fine,” Zixuan weakly protests. “I’m almost done with this, and then I’ll…”

“Don’t make me pick you up,” Jiang Cheng warns. “I’ll do it. I’ll fucking carry you to bed in my arms, I swear.”

“I’m really…”

“I’ll text Luo Qingyang and tell her you’re sick,” Jiang Cheng cuts him. “She’ll understand, and she’ll deal with this. So take the damn pill and go rest, Zixuan.”

It feels unfair that Luo Qingyang from HR should have to take care of Zixuan’s messes, just because he can’t pull through on single bad day… but the pain really is awful, and it might have been more than one single bad day. Su Minshan from research has been absolutely awful all month about the launch of a new website to showcase their innovations, and since he has Meng Yao’s full support, it’s been hard to deal with him. And there’s that charity dinner coming up, for which he’s also helping develop the webpage even though his father pointedly asked him not to come because even just using a cane would be bad for PR and he can’t make it through the evening without it. And also…

Zixuan sighs. It’s been a rough couple of weeks.

So he gives in, just this time. He takes the pill, and lets Jiang Cheng help him to bed where he promptly passes out.

When he wakes up again, hours must have passed. Night has fallen outside, and there’s no light in this part of the house, though Zixuan can vaguely hear something happening far away, in the kitchen. Although it is very tempting to stay in bed, Zixuan makes himself get up and, leaning hard on his cane, makes his way to the kitchen to check if Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling have had dinner yet.

Before he reaches the door, he’s startled to hear a singing voice.

The voice in question is good enough that he wonders for a moment if it’s not from a video, but the fact there’s no music is odd. Besides, Zixuan recognises that song as being from a cartoon that Jin Ling loves, but he’s never heard that particular version before.

The mystery unfolds when Zixuan steps in the doorway and finds Jiang Cheng singing with abandon as he cuts vegetables that Jin Ling is very carefully washing for him. The little boy seems very happy to be helping, his previous bad mood completely gone. It’s not such a surprise of course. Jin Ling adores his uncle, and Jiang Cheng has mastered the art of finding the line between too rough and too soft when it comes to dealing with his nephew. It always warms Zixuan’s heart to see those two together, but tonight it is almost too much for him.

There’s just something about the sincerity with which Jiang Cheng sings those stupid lyrics, his smile when Jin Ling joins him for the chorus, the happiness they radiate when Jiang Cheng picks up his nephew so Jin Ling can drop the vegetable into the pan… It is everything Jin Zixuan always hoped his family would be, even if it isn’t happening with the person he’d thought he’d live with.

And that’s what hit him hard tonight.

He’s had that thought before, watching Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling. The right amount of domesticity, only with the wrong person.

But Jiang Cheng spots him in the doorway and grins, blushing at being caught singing yet still happy, and Jin Zixuan realises that after five years of living together, he can’t say Jiang Cheng is the wrong person, not anymore.

It probably makes him an awful person. His wife might still be alive somewhere, and here he is, thinking that way about her brother.

He should be ashamed of himself.

He is, but not as much as he ought to be.

So Zixuan drops on a chair at the kitchen table, and smiles to himself as Jin Ling excitedly explains what they’re making, as Jiang Cheng resumes cooking and singing.

When they reach the chorus again, Zixuan too joins in.

[untamedficrecs]

Hiiiiii i’ve been looking for this type of fic but haven’t been able to find one yet. Do any of you know of fics that deal with jc after wwx died. like how the dealt with it and his thoughts, idk i’ve been in an angst mood lately lol

Hi! so I’m not sure if these are exactly what you’re looking for but I tried my best!! (really sorry for how long this is about to be!) 

our hero by grapefruitsketches

Rating: Teen & up | Jiang Cheng-Centric | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count: 1485 Author’s Summary: Jiang Cheng searches for his brother at the bottom of the cliff. He's not sure what he hopes he will find.

☆ personal comments: this is set right after wwx dies and it’s just jiang cheng trying to go through the emotions of losing everyone he cares about. it’s pretty short but i still think you’d enjoy it! 

storm by jiujiu (kiki_bw)

Rating: Teen & up | Jiang Cheng-Centric | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count: 1439

Author’s Summary: It's easier for Jiang Cheng to be angry than to try and make sense of his convoluted emotions. Or, Jiang Cheng stumbles back to Lotus Pier after the siege at Burial Mounds where Wei Wuxian dies.

☆ personal comments: much like the above fic ^^ just a lot of jiang cheng feels and pain ;;~;; 

wayward son by seofon

Rating: General | Character Study | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count: 727

Author’s Summary: Jiang Cheng’s heart is a patchwork quilt of a thousand black holes. He replaces the pieces that have run ragged with wear and haphazardly sews together lacerated edges. He walks the fine tightrope between love and hate and prays he won’t fall off. He’s been assembled by war, for war, and sometimes he doesn’t know whether there are any soft lines in the melody of his soul anymore.

☆ personal comments: it’s not long but definitely should read, it goes through jiang cheng’s character and covers a little bit about how he tries to cope with everything. 

and sever the rope to set you sailing from my harbour by morifiinwe

Rating: Teen & Up | Jiang Cheng-Centric | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count: 7433

Author’s Summary: If he was to be honest, and he was only honest late at night, when he was stressed to tears and there was only Jin Ling to hear him, Jin Ling who will remember none of this, Lotus Pier will always be lonely to him. He rebuilt it for more than just himself. It was for his softly smiling sister, married and happy in Lanling, for his obnoxious brother, whose promise Jiang Cheng held on to. He would never say it out loud, and certainly not to Jin Ling, but he missed Wei Wuxian. He missed him like he had lost a part of himself, missed him while he hated him, and hated himself while he missed him because look at all that he did.

Or, Jiang Cheng, through sixteen years of quiet grief.

☆ personal comments: i was 3 paragraphs in and was already tearing up. this is just sadboi jiang cheng hour up in here. this fic probably fits best with what you’re looking for. it’s also got a lot of uncle jiang cheng feels...and just...im sad...so you can be sad with me :(( 

storm to weather by mikoiifish

Rating: General | Character Study | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count:  5301

Author’s Summary: Forgiveness is complicated.Jiang Cheng watches his brother’s back as he walks away – rides away, accompanied by Lan Wangji as always – and wonders if it’s time he forgives himself.(Truth be told, he forgave Wei Wuxian a long time ago.)Or, a story of reconciliation. 

Character study of Jiang Cheng as he navigates his relationship with Wei Ying.

☆ personal comments: this is more snips of jiang cheng’s life and his feelings and thoughts but there are parts that somewhat go into his time after wwx dies and how he deals with things. it’s a really good fic tho...def has angst if that’s what you’re looking for!! 

(what obstacle can stay) the sea-seeking river by monocerosrex

Rating: Teen & up | Jiang Cheng-Centric | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count: 26085

Author’s Summary: Making it all the way home carrying her family on her back was impossible, but for all her ill-health Jiāng Yànlí was of Yúnmèng. Her arms trembled with effort, her breaths sawing in her chest; her muscles screamed, but still she fought to uphold her sect’s creed. Her focus wanted to narrow to the pain, the wet ground, the sad tinkling of her clarity bell, but the sniffling of her baby brother—both her baby brothers—kept intruding, driving her on. Her newest brother was still wracked with fine tremors at the thought being carried towards dogs, and her youngest brother clutched her robes in unspoken guilt. Jiāng Yànlí had no doubt his other hand gripped Wèi Wúxiàn in similar sentiment.

Jiāng Chéng's story, told through a series of (mostly) missing scenes

☆ personal comments: this is more just snap shots of jiang cheng’s life but it’s a really good fic and you should def check it out. it’s got some angst and sadness in there. 

the meaning of family by wuxiansmelody

Rating: Teen & up | Jiang Cheng-Centric | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count: 2040

Author’s Summary: To Jiang Wanyin, family means a great many different things over the years.

☆ personal comments: very quick read this is just a mix of emotions that jiang cheng goes through as the meaning of family changes for him over the years..its pretty good! 

cocaine and able by brojorlas

Rating: General | Character Study | One Shot | Status: Complete | Word Count: 2433

Author’s Summary:  He would find no answer on that mountain, would only begin to feel what might be called closure long after the dust had settled, after he had been given time and space to process.

☆ personal comments: just...lot’s of jiang cheng feels. just..him. 

[crossdressingdeath]

1/6 something I find funny - how some people have somehow twisted JFM’s character as this weirdo with a huge obsession with WAC. I’ve seen a number of stories where this happens, to the point where other characters have to remind him that he has other kids. But like that isn’t even canon? Yeah JFM cares about WWX and he might have a huge guilt going on, possibly for not being able to prevent his friend’s deaths

2/6 and maybe that does affect the way he treats WWX, but I wouldn’t call it obsession lol. Contrary to (somehow) popular belief, he doesn’t treat his kids that badly - I mean I haven’t seen him treat JYL badly at all, if anything he’s more considerate of her feelings than YZY is, and I guess it all comes down to JC and even there...he’s not even that bad? A lot of the “JFM ignores JC and treats him badly” discourse seems to come directly from Madam Yu, who seems to twist the situation anytime

3/6 she’s able to, or times where he does seem strict because...well, JC kind of needs it in those moments? And JFM probably shouldn’t let the future leader of his sect run rampant and do anything he wants? I don’t want to go on too much of a tangent here, because I’ve seen this discussed on your tumblr already. But another thing I’ve kind of seen pop up a lot is how JFM searched for WWX so much after his parents death. But again, this isn’t an indication of him ignoring his kids. If a person

4/6 knows that their best friends have died and have a young child who is probably living on the streets right now, in a dangerous, potentially deadly situation...of course you’re going to freak out. Of course you’re going to want to find them as soon as possible, because any decent human would. It’s not a sign of him ignoring his own kids - his own kids who, by the way, are completely healthy, have a warm place to live, plenty of food, ect. - that’s just what YZY wants everyone to think.

5/6 I just find it so weird that he’s been twisted to be this awful parent on the same level as YZY when he’s really not. He’s distant and reserved for sure, and maybe a bit more indulgent of WWX than JC (I don’t really remember how JFM interacted with JYL, and I don’t think there was much of it, so I’m just basing this on his relationships with WWX and JC mainly) but that could be down to his own guilt/attachment to the past, WWX’s personality, and the fact that having a

6/6 child pretty much brainwashed by his wife to see him as the bad guy might have had a negative impact on his relationship with JC. I’ve see. The same thing happen with my mum’s dad and uncles. If that’s what did happen, I definitely don’t think it’s okay they he left his wife affect his relationship with his kids but...he’s not a terrible parent. He’s not abusive or outright neglectful like some fics portray him.

I mean... knowing your wife is mistreating your kids and your ward and not stopping her is... bad. JFM should have stepped in and stopped YZY, that’s true. But here’s the thing. Not stopping a thing isn’t as bad as actively doing the thing. Is JFM a great dad? No, definitely not. But it doesn’t automatically follow that he’s cruel and abusive. Is he outwardly kinder to WWX than he is to his blood-related children? Yeah, a bit. That doesn’t mean he ignores his own children. I think there’s a bit of black-and-white thinking going on: JFM isn’t always attentive towards his children, so he’s neglectful!

And yeah, the whole thing where YZY acts like it’s somehow a bad thing JFM focused on finding WWX after his parents died is like... WWX was about five when his parents died. I can’t even imagine the sort of person I’d have to be to see a man desperately searching for his best friends’ child who’s now alone and living on the streets, scrambling to find him before he could starve or die of exposure or any number of horrible fates could befall him, clinging to the last shreds of hope that this child isn’t already dead, and insist he was doing something wrong by not giving up on that child and just staying with his own children, who were perfectly safe and happy and had nothing to fear (or they wouldn’t if YZY wasn’t around). I feel like a lot of people miss the fact that when YZY says “You should have stayed with your family instead of obsessing over WWX” what she’s really saying is “You should’ve let WWX die on the streets”. And yeah, part of how JFM treats WWX is probably influenced by guilt; guilt at not being able to save his parents, guilt at the way JFM’s own family treats him... WWX is treated like a glorified servant by so many people, even in his own home. JFM being kind to him is likely caused on some level by wanting to show him that people in Lotus Pier do love him and do see him as family.

And JFM does have a duty to be stricter with JC than he is with WWX! JC is the future sect leader. JFM will be leaving Yunmeng in his hands, not WWX’s. Of course he’s harder on JC when the fate of Yunmeng depends on how well he teaches JC to behave! But YZY twists it into him loving WWX more, when even WWX himself sees and tells JC that JFM can just get away with being kinder to WWX. I imagine JFM was also getting a little worried about the future, after JC took the reins; JFM’s not blind, he’d be able to see JC’s character, how he snaps and snarls and is cruel to everyone around him, how he never comes first and complains about other people doing better instead of looking at how he can improve, how none of his peers outside of his own sect seem to like or respect him... He could’ve gone easier on JC, maybe, but I can see why he wouldn’t. On the flip side, of course he didn’t have to be as harsh with kind-hearted, charming, genius WWX, whose arrogance is always clearly playful and who gains faithful allies as easy as breathing. Or sweet and gentle JYL, who is beloved by everyone and has a gift for mediation. JFM’s actions didn’t occur in a bubble, he made decisions based on the people around him and what he thought they needed. 

Not to mention... JFM has an example of a young master of a great sect whose arrogance and cruelty are allowed to go unchecked, whose opinion of his own abilities is inflated until he believes anyone surpassing him is something they should be punished for. I don’t think he wants his son to turn into another WC.

He should have done more to stop YZY from turning his son against him and tormenting his children and ward. But failing to do that doesn’t make him evil, or as bad as she is.

[mrs-denton]

Sappy Paul Denton x OC Fanfic [Part 2]

The Start of the Collapse

After Paul’s departure, Bebe’s eyes struggled to shut. She laid in bed and kept glancing over at her phone occasionally, half-expecting something from Paul to come up. When she realized worrying was futile, she put the phone down and laid it down on its charging pad. She was worried, but she tried equilibrating those thoughts with reasonable positive ones because she was pregnant. She had to avoid as much stress as possible.

Staying up to write, as she did on sleepless nights like these, she scribbled her thoughts into her diary until she crashed. In the morning when she awoke, the unwelcome feeling of first trimester morning sickness sharply seized her from her slumber. She went to the bathroom to alleviate herself from the nausea.

Treating patients at the hospital she worked at, including those with the Grey Death, was dreary. Their spirits were broken and some of them got desperate. She wished she could divulge the truth behind the virus, or at least what she knew, but it would likely get her fired. She made sure to wear the most protective gear—respirator, face shield, gloves, a gown, and foot covers. Her health was going to have to become her top priority if she wanted a healthy baby.

Hours ebbed and flowed with moments of hectic excitement during rushes of patients and emergencies, but inched like slugs when things were slow and she caught herself worrying about Paul. She wondered what time it was in Hong Kong—surely, at least half a day ahead—and if he was alive. She thought about JC as well and didn’t want any harm to come to the Dentons, namely because JC was a cool person, but especially because she knew Paul would be devastated if his younger brother should fall. She scrubbed the pressing thoughts away from the walls of her mind—months of meditation had helped—and she continued to show up at work.

She checked her work emails to see if by some crazy chance, Paul had been daring enough to send her a message there. But of course not—he would never do something to endanger them, especially with the Aquinas net. After what felt like a 12-hour shift, Bebe returned home with takeout and quickly checked her computer. There, an email from Paul—or rather, his alias—was sent hours ago while she was still at work.

“Hey babe. I made it safely to Hong Kong, thank god. Good news—everything’s taken care of. My brother and I are gonna be fine. The bad news is that I’ll have to be living here for a few months as I recuperate, as I predicted. I was in pretty bad shape when I arrived, which is why it’s going to take longer for me to recover. Tong wants to keep me under supervision for a while. But I’m already feeling better.

Things are pretty tight in HK. I’m a wanted man here as well. I don’t think making a move right now is wise, but I can’t wait to see you again. I’ll keep you updated whenever I can. Try to take it easy and don’t worry about a thing—I’ll take care of it. I love you, and I’m always thinking about you. - P”

Bebe typed a reply.

“My darling, I’m glad you’re alright. I was worried about you, but I also knew you’d make it through this. Give the doctor my sincerest gratitude—he saved the man I love. I’m also happy J is fine. I completely understand if you need to stay there—in situations like this, a doctor’s supervision is necessary even after the treatment.

Let me know how things go. I want to be with you but things have to be just right. I love you, P. I hope you get better soon. I already miss you. Hugs and kisses. Yours,

- B”

Within the following day, Bebe received another email.

“Bebe—so much is happening right now. I don’t have much time, and neither does the world. Just bear with me. I’m going to be fine, I think, but my brother keeps unearthing more of this conspiracy. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know something will, and if it does, it’s going to be big. I can’t explain everything over the net, but I promise I will when I see you. I don’t know how much time there is and I know this sounds crazy but you’ll just have to trust me. Withdraw your savings now. There’s a high chance the net might crash and everything will be lost. Savings, records, and all sorts of info. Make sure you have plenty of food and supplies as well.

No matter what happens, I will find you! And that’s a promise. Just stay where you are. I love you so much more than you could ever imagine. - P”

Something inside Bebe told her Paul wasn’t lying. Everything Paul told her before and everything they had researched and pieced together made sense. She knew there could only be so much more to this story than most people knew and few had theorized about. After typing her obedient reply, Bebe set off for the bank and asked to withdraw the entirety of her account. Her salary provided her with decent savings she had accumulated over a few years.

But she wondered if the funny look the bank teller gave her was indicative of ignited suspicion. She knew it was. She smiled as the bank teller discussed the request with the manager, who gave her a poorly-disguised look of surprise. Who else but a shady person would just want to remove all their chits from the bank? Only somebody that knew something that most people didn’t know would act this way . . . She would just have to lie and say it was for a potential family emergency. Or that she’s just paranoid and that there are rumors the banks will fail soon. Hearsay type of stuff. But no, the latter would be too suspicious. Just go with the family emergency, she thought. 

Signing some papers that would let the federal revenue office know the reason for her massive withdrawal, she questioned just what the hell she was doing. She stopped for a while and glanced up at the bank teller, who was too busy counting chits to notice her. Bebe questioned herself for a bit--she was blindly obeying Paul’s orders, which wasn’t really a problem in and of itself, but how could she really know what was going on? Paul wouldn’t lie to her though. She knew that man for three years and he never lied. She just had to trust him. Worst case scenario, she’d be tracked down. But if nothing were to happen, she could just say she got worried sick for an ailing family member and took the money out to help with treatments.

“Forty-six-thousand, two-hundred and fifty-nine chits, ma’am,” the bank teller said, fat stacks of the electric green notes neatly sitting on the counter.

“Thank you so much,” she said, handing them the signed papers. “Here you go.”

She opened up her purse and filled it with the money, trying to act naturally. The teller and his manager looked at her strangely, as well as the clients behind her. She felt herself tense up.

“Thank you so much,” she said again. “Have a nice day.” She had a habit of being overly-polite sometimes.

And with that, she carried her loaded purse all the way to her car and drove home, the tunes blaring and the pedal to the metal. Suddenly, the music stopped. Could this be it?

She checked her phone and noticed there was no signal anywhere. The music stream was buffering continuously until it lost connectivity for good. Moving to the network settings, she confirmed there really was no net anymore. She couldn’t believe it at first, and then, she did.

Parking her car, she rushed inside the lobby of her apartment building. There were people standing outside with their cellphones in the air, trying to obtain signal, their faces scrunched in bewilderment. Glancing at the far end of two blocks over where one of the P-Mobile buildings was, people swarmed into the store to complain about their phone services.

“Miss, have you heard? The net’s gone black—disappeared,” the alarmed security guard at the reception said. “Everyone’s internet just shut off. Even the phones, TV, everything. We don’t know what’s going on.”

“Oh my god,” she said. “I’ll have to check mine out. Thank you.”

She went upstairs and rapidly scanned her nanokey to her door, eager to get inside. What would she do now?

She checked her computer. The internet was gone. No new emails from Paul, just the cached one from before. As she sat in her apartment, she heard her neighbors arguing loudly in desperation. Turning on the TV, she checked every channel, finding nothing but static—ultimately confirming everything Paul told her. Glancing outside her window and down at the congested streets, violence intensified.

After a few days to a week of the world descending into darkness, reports of the global net crashing and burning appeared on every newspaper. A national emergency was declared, and speculating specialists wondered who was responsible, pointing fingers at foreign governments and even “traitors” within the United States. The zealously religious stood outside every corner, wailing that it was the beginning of the Apocalypse, and the conspiracy theorists held meetings in their garages, claiming it was aliens. But soon enough, the Dentons were named. Bebe paid close attention.

“It is suspected that terrorist JC Denton and his brother, Paul Denton, are behind this massive communications collapse worldwide. We are slowly but surely receiving letters that confirm the internet shutdowns in every nation. Agencies are investigating the matter as best as they can.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. She just hoped the bank tellers didn’t put two and two together and decided to send somebody after her. After all, there was nothing suspicious about a woman withdrawing all her savings a few minutes before the world collapsed. But she sighed in relief when she knew that they wouldn’t have been able to pull up her personal information without the internet.

She thought about her family. Her dad had left them before she was even born, and her mother died of the Grey Death before Ambrosia was released. Her cousins were all living their lives as married people with children, and her only living aunt was old now. What would they think, though? What would they think if she were to run off with a “criminal”, a “terrorist”, a wanted man? Crises were meant to be times where family stuck together more, but with Bebe leaving . . . would they label her as selfish? Crazy? Bad? She only hoped that one day they would understand that Paul was not the person the media and the government was portraying him to be.

They didn’t even know she was pregnant. Engaged? Yes. They knew Paul and they liked him. But the media was a powerful weapon, especially now that the people’s only source of outside knowledge was funneled via the last remaining newspapers. They could twist and besmirch the Dentons as they wished, and people would buy it. Not everybody, though, as there were people who had been following the Juggernaut Collective—until it disbanded—and a few other rebel news disguised as tabloids and conspiracies. But alas, the perceptions of Bebe’s friends and family could definitely be warped against Paul. She had to be careful.

But most importantly, she had to figure out what the next steps in her life would be. If only she could talk to Paul. She wondered if she should keep going to work—part of her would think it better to disappear from society at once and wait until Paul came back, but the other part of her couldn’t just leave all those poor patients behind. She knew there were other doctors and nurses who would do a fine job—but could she really just disappear now? Did she still have to keep up her façade of normalcy? As if she weren’t the woman of the second-most-wanted man in the world right now?

She got up and started packing, hoping that at least sorting this out would bring her more clarity. What were her favorite clothes? What could she stand to leave behind? What would be useful? She took her favorite shoes as well as personal keepsakes and important documents, neatly enclosed in file folders and manilla envelopes, and put them in a suitcase. Most of the money was also stored there. Then, glancing at her desk, she took note of her journal.

How could she leave this behind? She had to take it. Unless, of course, she wanted to be that mysterious woman who left her revealing memoirs in a secret diary. She considered the thought briefly and then took the journal, the pages automatically splitting upon a section with a dried red rose that had been stamped between the weight of the pages. It was the first flower Paul ever gave her. She instantly smiled as she felt the crispy, dark garnet petals on her fingertips, her mind going back to when the petals were bright as fresh blood and smooth like velvet.

[kangseluigi]

minutemarch replied to your post “JC hate under the cut fghjkl[[MOR] But like BRUH I hate him so...”

THIS. I hate that every relationship is about him. I hate that everyone contantly has to prove themselves to him while he won't get out of his own way for them. I hate that he tortures people but is only talked about as a victim. I hate that he speaks to JL almost entirely in sneering threats. I hate that people think he still loves WWX when he poisons JL against him. (Who does this for someone they love?)  And was he going to stop torturing once he found WWX?  Make him a cake maybe?  I hate that he acts like a snotty 15 year old when he's in his 30s and raising a child and he still gets kudos for it.  Still expects to be respected as a sect leader.   His relationship with Yanli is the only one that doesn't suck and he still spits venom all over her son.                    I get liking a character despite their flaws but let's stop pretending he doesn't have any and/or he they're all on his parents.  Yes he had a had time but WHO DIDN'T? He's only mad at WWX because he felt let down by him and he couldn't do that because he'd been left to die by the Wens in the burial mounds and gave up his golden core like the "selfish git" he is.  Appreciaion for WWXs situation?  Zero.  Concern over how he'd be seen? High.  But WWX is the selfish one.

OMG thank you!

Also can I just

Yes he had a hard time but WHO DIDN'T?

A MOOD! Both for the show and real life.

But maN ok listen. Hard same to all of this, and GOD I hate his relationship with JL SO MUCH!!!!???!?!?! He’s treating him no better than his parents treated him, and like, I get it, breaking out of the cycle of abuse is hard yada yada but a) the fandom response is generally painting him like he did break out of it which ???? where do y’all see that maybe I’m missing something lmao and b) Wei Ying got beaten up and told he needs to die by their mother and somehow managed to not treat A-Yuan like that :))))) like he had his outburst/emotional moment(s) that made A-Yuan upset, like the lotus seed thing, but he never hit him or threatened him iirc, it was more “UGH what the hell I’m upsET and retreating >:(((” and when A-Yuan apologised he accepted it and explained that he’s just in a shitty mood and it’s ok. JC WOULD NEVER.

Instead he has all those lines of “I’m gonna beat your ass, you think I can’t I WILL AND I WILL BREAK YOUR LEGS” and idk man JL says he doesn’t do it but STILL it’s fucked up and maybe I’m hyper-sensitive here bc of my own background with an aggressive brother who beat my ass whenever but Boy i do not like this.

ALso lmao speaking of Yanli, can you IMAGINE her being around to see JC treat her son like that? Like I’m sure she’d try to be gentle and see it as joking at first when it’s the kinda banter he had with WWX or w/e and just go “Ahh A-cheng don’t be like that haha, don’t worry my child, he’s just joking :) …No really, bro, don’t be like that he is a child, not our dead brother STOP IT!” but once he’s going in for the breaking his legs? She’d break his nose before he finishes that sentence and I would pay to see that.

Also, I keep thinking about that moment when JC was all “you are the reason Yanli died and now I’m stuck in this situation!” like??? What you had a raise a child you are related to? the horror???? Why so sorry for yourself. “I lost my sister bc of you” ok I can get but ?????? (Might be mistranslation though dfghj)

Fucking TEA though goddddd I hate it. I hate that he never ONCE stopped for 4 seconds to ask himself “is wwx maybe NOT okay? Could he possibly have lied??!!?” like…yanli did. She was all “hey he says he cool but IS HE?” and asked LZ. Not JC though. You’d think after that many years in such a tight relationship of being bros you’d know when someone is not okay and lying about it but lmaoooo his ass too self-centred

He’s always more concerned about his own reputation than anything else. People talk shit about wwx? he never goes “Hey stop talking shit, you don’t know what’s happening, it’s OUR matter and I. AM. HANDLING IT!” which…would probably have given people something to consider impressive about him, but no. Instead he’s running around sulking that ~he can’t control WWX and it’s ruining things~ like just improvise, say “I’ll tell him later, we don’t need him right now, he’s got shit going on” nooo PLUS I keep thinking about his whole crush on Wen Qing and YET he ran into the burial mounds like “hey wwx come outta here and let her D I E” THe whole time I keep thinking, like…if WQ was a whole dumbass with no taste and had said “omg yes a comb??? Let’s get married!” would he… would he have stood up for her? Or would he still have said “you’re a Wen, sorry gotta die :) bye bitch” because at that point, he gave NO shits about her life. Yet he cried about being rejected lmao what even And ofc he wanted A-Ning to die, despite being saved by him and A-Ning risking everything and killing his own people for JC’s life, despite knowing how much A-Ning means to his own crush, nah, totally, is cool and reasonable

also hated the entire golden core-reveal reaction. Loved the Wen Ning. LOVED the WangXian. Hated that I had to look at JC ugly crying and whining “IT’S NOT TRUE”

No hate at his actor, he seems cool enough but W O W that part was annoying lmao

[missnight0wl]

About Merula: I agree with what you said but also she does change, slowly but she does. It’s mostly apparent in the dialogue boxes during lessons imo, where she starts admitting MC and others are good at what they do in fifth year. But also there is still time for her to change more. Unless, it seems that JC is working more on her ‘redemption’ because she might be the one who dies this year and they need her to be more sympathetic first.

I don’t recall a single line where Merula acknowledged that someone other than MC “is good” (not to mention better than her). I also can’t think of anyone saying that Merula was nice or helpful TO THEM (not to MC). Since we’re talking about the classes lines, it’s possible that I missed something - even though I follow quite a lot of discussions both on Tumblr and Reddit, and nothing came to my attention. But of course, I will accept it if I see it, and I will adjust my opinions. Until then, this is what we know about Merula changing towards others:

Rowan noticed (in Potions, I believe) that Merula seems to be nicer recently. However, they didn’t say she’s nicer to them. It could very well mean that they just observed Merula being nicer around MC, especially that they all sit together in this class.

Merula told us she feels sorry for Beatrice. Yet, she calls her sister “Half-blood” a while later. Also, she still can’t admit Penny is better than her at Potions, and she believes she’s Snape’s favourite student (when it’s obviously Penny).

Merula asked MC how’s Barnaby doing. Nevertheless, she later called him stupid saying he’s “like a walking Confusing Concoction”. There are no hints of Merula’s friendly interactions with Barnaby that I can think of. Having this in mind, her question looks more like asking about your friend’s dog - you like it and maybe even care about its well-being, but you’re too good/busy/whatever to take it for a walk.

I’m not gonna accept that Merula changes only because she’s somewhat nicer to MC - the only person who’s equal to her (at least in her mind). Even with us, she still didn’t show any kind of remorse for her actions. Her change is not a slow process, it doesn’t exist yet. She doesn’t understand how human interactions work, despite MC acting fairly towards her for almost five years, despite observing us having good relationships with people because we treat them well. She doesn’t get it, and she doesn’t even try to change it.

Look, I understand that everyone deals with their trauma differently. I get that not everyone will be as smart and mature as Barnaby - a person whose personality is built on the desire to be strong in order to make his father proud, and at the same time can understand that his prejudiced ideology was flawed. I know that Merula has walls around her and all, but the writers do nothing with it except trying to excuse it with a sad backstory.

Now, imagine such a scene. MC meets with Penny to see Beatrice, and maybe discuss something. Suddenly, Merula appears. She’s kind of startled, but she was noticed already, so she approaches us. She asks Penny about some potion because she’s “supposedly so good and should know that”. After Penny answers her, Merula says “I knew it, of course, but I wanted to test you. I’ve heard you’re getting worse in your studies, and Snape apparently likes you for some reason so maybe you could think about not making him more grumpy than he already is on a daily basis.” Or something like that. Then she goes away, leaving baffled Penny and MC. What would we get from that? Well, first of all, it could make us think: why Merula was there? Did she want to check on Bea? Or maybe keep Penny company, but wasn’t expecting to see MC? Next, she shows concern about Penny while still covering it a bit with her “I’m better than you” attitude. Moreover, she would even show that she cares about Snape in a way, even if she explained it by her own inconvenience connected with his grumpiness. Do you see what I mean?

With Barnaby, it could be even easier. We just need his line during DADA class that Merula helped him with studying Hexes, for example. She’s supposed to be good in this class, and Barnaby clearly struggles. He often says that he doesn’t understand things and asks MC for support. I’m not even saying that Merula should’ve thought about helping him before O.W.L.s - I get that the idea was to have each character in the part involving their specialisation. It’d be really nice nonetheless, of course. But still, let it be a regular class. Let it be anything.

I’m not expecting Merula to suddenly be super friendly towards everyone. That she’ll be writing poems to apologise for things she’s done. I want her to not be hostile all the time without reason, to see any signs that she might think twice about her past actions. We didn’t get any of that yet. She’s 15-16 years old already, she’ll be an adult for the wizarding world in a little over two years. It’s high time to start changing.

[badlydrawndrawnings]

Of Character Analysis and Comparison For the Detective

Because someone put Bad Ending 1 on Youtube, creating early discourse on the Youtube comments, so I’m like ‘screw it, i’m posting this right now and it still has some parts unpolished since I used (and lost) multiple translations’!

Major Ass Spoilers for Persona 5 (and Persona 1, Persona 2, Persona 3, Persona 4, and believe or not, Shin Megami Tensei If)

Recipe: Goro Akechi (Akechi Goro)

Ingredients: Reiji Kido from Persona 1, Jun Kurosu (Kashihara) from Persona 2 (Innocent Sin variation), expired sugar, expired maple syrup, whipped cream, cherries. Substitutes can be Ken Amada from Persona 3 and honey. *squints*  Oh, and Tohru Adachi from Persona 4 and Ideo Hazama from SMT ...if can be used as substitutes as well.

Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn it off soon afterwards.

2. Get about 2 cup of Reiji Kido, and put it in a large bowl. Specifically, 1 cup for containing Reiji’s backstory as a bastard child* to a rich man who ditched his lover because he can, and another cup for Reiji’s terrible lust for revenge via killing his father (or Takahisa Kandori in Reiji’s case, his half brother since their father is dead in P1 proper, so go after the next best thing). NOTE: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE LOVER (aka the mother) BE ALIVE FOR GORO. IN FACT, GORO’S MOTHER SHOULD RUINED HER HEALTH AND DIE DUE TO THE ABANDONMENT SHE GOT FROM HER LOVER (and general idea of being stuck with a child).

3. Get three tablespoons of being an orphan and pretty much suffering as a youngster because well, it’s not Little Orphan Annie.**

4. Stir the mixture together until it you can’t tell the two ingredients apart, and make sure he is alone for about 48 hours in the fridge so Goro can get a sense of resentment to others, desire to be love, and the will to do anything to get his ‘justice’ on his asshole father. You can leave it in the fridge a little longer than that (49 hours is best). He needs to be bitter and alone. Like, super bitter and alone. Like, so super bitter and alone he doesn’t think clearly and be like ‘hm, it seems I can’t find another way to deal with him because it’s not like I have friends or family to keep me on the straight path’.

5. Add one and half cup of sifted Jun Kurosu. It doesn’t have to be sifted, but Goro is supposed to look more fluffy due to his hairstyle. This cup should contain Jun’s status as a villain (or antagonist, whatever you think is the better term***), foil for the protagonist of the leading game (Joker/Akira in Goro’s case), terrible crimes they did (er, terrible actions for Jun as JOKER I guess since he didn’t kill anyone, only making them empty husks), and being helped (more like being unintentionally manipulated) by a god. NOTE: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD JUN KASHIHARA FROM ETERNAL PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE ADDED SINCE THAT’S THE RESULT OF A RESET CREATED BY THE INNOCENT SIN CAST AND FRANKLY, GORO ISN’T ALLOW A RESET (as far as we know).

6. Stir the mixture again until it looks like pancake batter. When that happens, adds half cup expired sugar and three tablespoons of expired maple syrup to make sure the sweetness is the right amount of awkward (Goro has a soft spot underneath his issues and flaws and will show it to one person, but will not admit it because when confronted with it, well, he’s super bitter and alone). Stir again until mixture looks like a sweet sweet mess. If you don’t have maple syrup, honey is acceptable.

7. Pour mixture into cake pan. No, the cake pan shouldn’t have parchment paper inside it. Bang the pan onto the table (or counter, or where you’re making this at) to make sure there are no air bubbles.

8. Turn back on the oven until it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit again. Place the cake pan into the oven. Let it bake until it looks like it’s a fluffy burnt pancake because someone was supposed to check on it, and instead, managed to make him their personal yet expandable supernatural hitman (dad little’s villain is more like it...but isn’t that more of a female villain trait?).

9. After letting it cool for an hour, decorated with whipped cream and cherries. Take one slice from it, and eat it while trying to figure out your feelings. Once that is done, try to take another slice. You see that the cake has vanish.

If you don’t have Reiji Kido, you can use one cup Ken Amada (containing terrible lust of revenge via killing), but you got to put six tablespoons of being an orphan and pretty much suffering as a youngster. Also, make sure the mixture is in place into the fridge again for 52 hours so the mixture has more time to think about everything it can do dealing with his asshole father.

If you don’t have Jun Kurosu, you can use one and half cup of sifted Ideo Hazama (status as villain, even more bitterness at others around him, the mother not being in life-granted, Hazama mother just ditched him and took his sister away-,and strange vagueness for their fate like did  you and your sister actually just vanish forever) and three TEASPOONS (not tablespoons, TEASPOONS) of Tohru Adachi (foil to protagonist/got powers by goddess, job occupation, and terrible actions). UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU ADD ANYMORE THAN THAT (they don’t really have the same motives, and well, Adachi isn’t MIA and has a solid conclusion).

If you don’t have Reiji Kido or Jun Kurosu... well, use the measurements for the substitutes, but put it in the microwave before baking.

So yeah, that’s Goro Akechi (Akechi Goro)! He has lots of issues (like jc you ought to have therapy and legit question, does Japan has good therapy because if they don’t is that why he fell through the crack?), and while a victim of unfortunate circumstances in society, you little shit you’re also a perpetrator as well by making things worse like were you thinking clearly (answer: no). If your dead body was shown on screen, then I say you earn your redemption equal death. Sadly, you’re MIA for potential spinoffs.

Man, maybe I should make a recipeh for something else, like prompto^.

  \(oWO)/

*People either forget or don’t realize that bastard children in Japan and other Asia countries are treated worse than the West since over there, family's image and prestige holds a lot of weight (hell, if you seen any J-Drama or K-Drama that has bastard kids or implied bastard kids, you know they get treated like dirt). Sure, bastard kids aren’t consider a good thing anywhere in the world, but in Japan and other countries, like it’s the end of the world cause it can metaphorically destroy lives, and in Goro case, made his own mother kill herself from the shame and abandonment (Goro’s ultimate plan was to help his father get to the top of his political career before spilling the beans to the world, forcing Shidou to kiss his career goodbye). Hell, Goro is like, the Anti-Reiji since Reiji got lucky his mother decided to bear the storm and raise him, because I swear, Reiji could have turn out like Goro (re: might have killed more than just Kandori) if she wasn’t alive (she does ask P1 Hero/Naoya to befriend Reiji, and frankly, if Goro had friends before/during his revenge plan, they could have been like ‘don’t do the thing’...then again Kandori does die due to the P1 cast so maybe they would have help him with the thing?).

**I had three other articles about this, but I didn’t bookmark them. I’m sorry. You can type ‘Japan foster system’, and you can see some of the problems it has. It’s somewhat of a ‘blink and miss’ conversation with Goro in the game as it’s brought up once in his Co-Op/Confidant, but knowing some context explain (not excuse) why Goro did his revenge plan and not do anything else

***Oh boy. Let’s admit it, Jun did wanted revenge at his friends due to ‘Maya’s death’ when they were kids, and pretty much was villain/antagonist for 2/3 of the game. Yes, he was manipulated and incorrectly remember, but he was still a villain/antagonist and didn’t realize the truth until they beat the crap out of him and became so horrified with what he done, becomes the atoner. Goro is like the anti-Jun in this regard since Goro was only close to Joker/Akira and at best ‘hello...you’ with the others, and well, not MIA/dead. If Cognitive!Goro didn’t interrupt, it was obvious Goro was going to take the PT offer of re-joining them to take Shidou along side them (before he goes to jail because there’s no way he going to get away scott free). Even before Goro’s death, they admit they know how he feels and tried to comforts (er, cheer up?) Goro after he admits his life is just a bunch of bad choices (re: being envious of them having friends and fame of being heroes while he was going to get the short end if his plan work) and pretty much craps on himself (re: couldn’t be special, tells the PT it’s better to kill him so he couldn’t get in their way and tells them they should had killed him when given the chance right before he dies on them anyway). Hell, even after Goro’s death, in a group chat, despite the mix feelings, mourn him and feel bad for him (Yusuke pointing out he could have been just like Goro if he didn’t have the others stands out the most imo as it drives home the point that despite everything, he was like them) and fully put Shidou as the culprit to everyone’s problems when they confronted him about everything, from his crimes to the treatment of his own kid (logic behind this: Goro was the killer, but Shidou was the murderer as he planned it all).

^release the forbidden robbie daymond interview atlus because i swear to f*cking god i’m going to make more shitty ffxv jokes, not just relating to goro