extraordinarilyextreme · 9 months ago
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today, i wanna talk about this point that i've referenced a couple times across my yrzx fics:
For the fate of the world, Wang Ye relinquished his days of peace and tranquility. To save Zhuge Qing’s life, Wang Ye could sacrifice everything beneath the heavens. (from 岁月不待人 | the moon and the tides, you and i)
i'll start during Beijing arc, when ZCL asks why WY doesn't just give up Feng-hou Qimen to the ppl who want it.
in the manhua (ch. 185) & donghua (s3, ep. 3), WY's response is vague: "for various reasons, i can't give out [that power]."
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(note that the dialogue differs slightly btwn these two adaptations, but the meaning is the same)
but in the live-action (s1, ep. 22), WY clearly explains that "it would throw the ways of this world into greater disorder. this calamitous fate must be shouldered by me alone."
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these lines perfectly demonstrate one of WY's most defining traits: 心怀天下 / a heart that cradles everything beneath the heavens.
we see it first during the tournament arc, when WY admits to ZCL that he didn't need to get involved in this mess—but did so anyway because the fate of the world was implicated.
WY: Actually, whatever happens to you all has nothing to do with me. No matter how terrible the world ends up, I can still protect myself and my family and keep us unscathed. So, actually, I shouldn't have come here. [...] ZCL: What you mean is that if I continue my investigation, the future of this world may very likely develop in a bad direction. Daozhang, who this "bad future" impacts isn't limited to only me, right? The two of us are neither kin nor kith; you wouldn't have come to get caught up in these troubled waters because of me, right? WY: This, involves another concept. I call it the weight of fate. [...] And you, Zhang Chulan, you hold a high ratio of that weight. Your choice will change the fates of many, many people. (LA s1, ep. 14; see also manhua chs. 121-122 & donghua s2, ep. 12)
this is the extent of WY's selflessness. and as his conversation w ZCL continues, something else is revealed to us.
ZCL: The you who could have stayed out of this matter entirely chose instead to come here and persuade me. Did you also not choose the future that would have been best for you? (LA s1, ep. 14)
that 'something' is none other than WY's conduct: 明知山有虎,偏向虎山行 / knowing full well the mountains harbor tigers, yet insisting on traveling deep into the mountains anyway. or, in other words, the practice of forging on into promised danger.
which, coincidentally, is exactly how WY praised Zhuge Liang's character during his match against ZGQ.
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可他却放弃了作为一个修者该坚守的一切。就算逆大势而行,也要投身到乱世当中,只为了去救那个明知已无可救药的天下。/ But he chose to give up everything that a cultivator should uphold and protect. Even if it meant opposing the momentum of the times, he threw himself utterly into chaos of the mortals—all to save a world he knew full well was beyond redemption. 为了那个天下情愿去和天理和大势对抗 / For that world, he was willing to hold off divine order and destiny itself. 明知不可为而为,这就是他那个级别的术士作为。/ To do something knowing full well of its impossible nature—this was the practice of a sorcerer of his caliber. (LA s1, ep. 13; see also manhua ch. 110 & donghua s2, ep. 10)
with such a heart of compassion (怜悯之心, HMH's words) and sense of responsibility, WY is unlike anyone else in his generation. instead, it can be argued that the character most similar to WY is in fact one of his seniors, lao-Tianshi.
they are, at least in the LA, the only two 麒麟 in the story after all (s1, eps. 8 & 20):
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and just like lao-Tianshi, it's easy to think of WY as a saint (��人) or a god—something "above" mortal humans. he's operating on a scale (格局) far greater than anyone else in our main cast; WY is always taking the whole world into consideration, even if that's the choice least favorable to him.
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(LA s1, ep. 23)
and then Beijing arc happens. and by the end of it, WY has an epiphany:
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“The me who has always avoided involvement with worldly affairs has no right to speak of leaving them behind.” (manhua ch. 196; see also LA s1, ep. 23 & donghua s3, ep. 7)
he's begun to have a reckoning with his own human-ness. he's starting to realize that he's fallible, that he's ordinary and secular, that he has attachments—and, importantly, that he wants attachments. that he desires companionship (just as humans are wont to do).
and it's with that moment of enlightenment that we dive into Biyou Village arc.
because, overall, WY has not actually changed that much. he still feels responsible for the peace and safety of the world; he still wants to figure out how ZCL and FBB are related to the Jiashen Calamity. he still remembers clearly what Hong-ye said: "you are the chosen one." (LA s1, ep. 4)
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and even ZGQ himself remarks (manhua ch. 228; see also donghua s4, ep. 5):
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yet when ZGQ's safety is at stake, WY doesn't hesitate for even a moment:
(donghua s4, ep. 5; see also manhua ch. 228)
that is not the conduct of someone who always thinks about the bigger scheme of things. that's the conduct of someone making a choice for himself, an arguably selfish choice, to save his friend and doom everyone else.
WY would sooner give up his Feng-hou Qimen and restart the Jiashen Calamity than see ZGQ in danger. that is how important ZGQ is to WY.
在王也的心中,诸葛青的命比天下苍生还重要。/ in Wang Ye's heart, Zhuge Qing's life is more important than everyone in beneath the heavens.
and that's because ZGQ is the first of his generation to approach him. to make an effort to befriend him. to look beyond the power he possesses and also see him.
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(LA s1, ep. 15; see also manhua ch. 131 & donghua s2, ep. 14)
in other words, it was ZGQ who made WY's godlike love for the world human. WY is no longer an outside viewer looking down on the plane he feels beholden to; WY is a part of this secular world, and that is why he should want to protect it.
because the red dust realm is where ZGQ exists. here is where their bond exists.
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(unrelated pic from manhua ch. 196; see also donghua s3, ep. 7)
tldr: Wang Ye places the world before himself, and Zhuge Qing before the world.
— all this to say, i really am excited for s2 of the live-action, even though the casting rumors have been disheartening. Biyou Village arc is a climactic chapter for YeQing, so i hope the adaptation does it justice.
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(LA s1, ep. 27)
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eff-plays · 1 year ago
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Ok so I watched the interview with Stephen Rooney, Astarion's writer, and here are some highlights. (I'm an aspiring writer and current game design student who wants to write for games so I'm sorry if some of these insights aren't as interesting to you as they are to me <3)
He calls Astarion his "horrible little vampire boy"
He loves seeing the fandom around Astarion<3
He did write other characters in the game, but mostly NPCs surrounding Astarion or his storyline, so it mostly revolved around Astarion
Astarion is not as connected to other companions/Origins as, for example, Lae'zel and Shadowheart, or Wyll and Karlach are to each other, but he is still reactive to their stories, even if it's just to stand off to the side and laugh when something terrible happens
He had a clear sense of where Astarion's story would start and end, but it got "muddy in the middle", but those are also moments where the best ideas come from
They write from the general idea that every character has one "good" and one "evil" ending, in order to give the player choice. RIP Ascendant apologists :(
According to Stephen, two of the most important aspects of Astarion's character (to keep consistent when bringing him to Idle Champions, at least) is that he enjoys violence, but is also fun about it
"He has a certain appreciation for violence, I guess? A bit of a murdery streak. [...] He's a vampire, he's all about blood, and he's all about, kind of, those darker sides of humanity. [..] But at the same time, he is ... He is really fun, he's really fun to write, he's really fun to have in your party, and it's very important for me that that is also represented."
"He's gonna stab you, but will have a smile on his face as he does it? I mean, I dunno. That's kind of him in a nutshell."
Larian would not have allowed for Astarion to be a typical brooding Dracula type, and there were scenes that were shot down for not being original enough
The main thing about Astarion was trying to get a "sense of fun." It would be easy to write a character that was very unlikable, and they absolutely did not want to do that
Rooney says Astarion is consistently terrible throughout the game and awful in a whole lot of ways, but he also needed to be charming enough that you could tolerate his presence and wanted him around
Rooney also had a lot of input on Astarion's stats (meaning the 10 Charisma is probalby 100% intentional)
He also had input on how certain lines should be delivered, even though the writers didn't directly work with voice actors
The way Astarion moves and poses is "all Neil"
Apparently, Neil Newbon worked on the character for years and Rooney did not speak to him once, though his voice work did influence how Astarion's lines were written and it became a "feedback loop" (Possible context for "ONLY SLIGHTLY, NEIL")
There were no points where a line delivery drastically changed Astarion's writing; rather it was a constant, slow evolution
However, there was one very spoilery moment where Neil gave such emotion to some "basic" lines that it fundamentally changed the scene (WHAT IS IT OMG)
It's difficult to balance approval, as you don't want to straight up write a monster. Every character needs to have some humanity in them. So if it comes to leaving the party, it needed to be the result of something central to said character. They wanted to be mindful of situations that would cause actual rifts between characters. (I assume this is why most generic disapprovals/approvals are +/- 1 or 2, while character-related ones give +/-5 or more)
However, as they don't write straight up horrible people/monsters, it doesn't come up as often as one might think.
The interviewer makes a point about how characters like Astarion and Lae'zel are good examples of how to play "evil" characters, as they are maybe not the best people but are still eager and willing to stick around the other party members
They worked to make sure the characters would work as a group, no matter the configuration of the group. The characters needed to be on the same path, even if they don't always agree or walk that path the same way.
Stephen Rooney is very proud of the "climactic" scene of Astarion's story. (AS HE SHOULD BE.) He even had to step away from the computer and have an emotional moment. Me too, man.
He's also "extremely pleased" that there's a point where you can punch Astarion in the face. "Actually, that one might be my favorite part" A MAN OF THE PEOPLE!!
Stephen Rooney's tip on what specific thing you should try out with Astarion: When he's trying to get a "sneaky nibble" at night, you should "probably" let him bite you. Way ahead of you there, sir.
No discussion about Astarion's romance unfortunately, but that's that!
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zhukzucraft · 3 months ago
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i'm sure nothing bad will come from this guy getting a position of power over the Permit Office and the Poe Poe
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leonardcohenofficial · 2 years ago
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hello to all of my colleagues here on tumblr dot com; currently the largest academic strike in history is happening across the university of california system with 48,000 academic workers on the picket line. if you’re interested in showing your support for this historic action, you can donate to the official hardship fund of UAW 2865, UAW 5810, and student researchers united-UAW here
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shadowblade8192 · 1 year ago
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🤯
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spicy-dragon · 6 months ago
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I saw this ship meme template and COULD NOT rest until I'd done it for zosan
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owlsie-hoot · 1 month ago
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Heart eyes "Don't be daft"
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veemark · 1 month ago
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Same, Yin, same [cr. 1 2 3 4 5]
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queenofshilla · 8 months ago
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ROBERT PATRICK as T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) (dir. James Cameron)
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jeeaark · 10 months ago
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Shirtless Disaster pt 1 and Shirtless Disaster pt 2
At one point, while decision-making, I tried. real hard. not to have a conflict of interest.
But uuhh...Apparently the game said 'Nah, Greygold's in friggin' love with two people now', So- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is Greygold's life now!
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betaphannie · 3 months ago
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thank you all for your sacrifice
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splatoon-confession-box · 3 months ago
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I don’t think I have to say this but please don’t buy the Grand Festival Bracelets off eBay. They will come to the US, it was posted it will just be at a later date. (Probably closer to Grand Festival)
Please don’t pay $30-$50 for this bracelet that is for sale with platinum points that would cost like maybe $10 max for shipping 💀
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froog-water · 10 months ago
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happy new year monty enjoyers!! and everyone else ig
lol anyway! i hope you are having a good day/night/ whatever else! i love you all very much! i cannot put into words how much i appreciate everything!
i hope to keep doodling these silly goobers in the year to come! cheers🥂
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leonardcohenofficial · 4 months ago
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i do think that people have different relationships to each doctor depending on what series they began with (i.e. whatever doctor was “their” doctor) but it still boggles my mind that eleven era seems to be consistently the least loved; like how do you not find exceedingly desperate deeply angry struggling old man stuck in a new twenty six year old body dealing with some of the more terrifying ongoing storylines (between the cracks in time and the silence both really got to me) and grappling with his ongoing trauma and emotional issues with virtually everyone he’s able to get close to and thus puts in imminent danger deeply moving how do you NOT find eleven and series five and six compelling
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sketchy-tour · 11 months ago
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✨DANDY COMMISSION APPRECIATION POST✨
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Of course, being commissions I bought, none of these lovely beautiful pieces are by me. Credits (in order) @frillsand @weevmo @lanlishiba @parrotparfait @kandavers
I am!! GONNA attempt to gush about all these pieces without devolving into keysmashes or screams but like. A. AA. AAA. I was gonna say "yall have no idea how annoying I am about Dandy" but honestly you do. You all do because I shake my silly puppet oc around CONSTANTLY.
ANYWAY I JUST!!! AUGH! ALL OF THEM MAKE ME SO HAPPY!!! The fact I get to see Dandy in art styles I love and adore around the fandom fills me with a joy I cannot even DESCRIBE to you!! OOH I JUST!!! I love them. I love these pieces. I stare at them all the time and now I'm rattling them all around at you guys!!!!! LOOK!!! LOOK AT THESE LOVELY LOVELY PIECES RN AND CHECK OUT THE ARTISTS!!!!!
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penofwildfire · 22 days ago
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You're not gonna believe this but it's more Bonzle
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