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tausper · 8 months

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Tropes in TTRPGs: D&D Translations of Magical Nannies, Part I

This is the first in a series of posts on adapting tropes using TTRPG character creation systems, documenting my process and thoughts with an endgoal of producing two or three prime player characters, along with complementary party members if applicable. Obviously, making homebrew characters is a very real option for anyone who has the extra time to make original shit or sift through the search engine. That being said, if you don't, this is meant to be an alternative.

➤ Idea Germs: The Focal Characters of the Trope

My main goal is to create two player characters that fit the Magical Nanny trope in a way that is mechanically coherent but still engaging to roleplay. The defining page linked in the post title lists two distinct flavors of the trope, each of which will serve as a base reference for a respective design, if hopefully distinct to my own interpretation.

The first type of Magical Nanny is empathetic and warm, an artistic or beautiful free spirit who relies on personal connections to enrich their charge's lives. We'll call our own version of this character Madeline Medley, or Miss Madeline to the children.

The uber-example of this trope is Maria Von Trapp, but Fran Drescher is another well-known, if less traditional, version. Looking at their shared qualities, Madeline will have a romantic side, but she also needs to be a fish-out-of-water. Honestly, I'm already imagining her as a Bard, not just because of the classic musical Maria hales from, but because this archetype is essentially a guardian who inspires and empowers their kids as much as guiding and protecting them, but I won't commit to that yet. The most important aspect is ultimately a talent for forming earnest relationships with those around them, and that isn't a Bard-exclusive trait. She'll probably at least multi-class in Bard, though, tbh.

The second type is a taskmaster with a no-nonsense attitude who takes on an almost trickster element to outwit her charges and our version of the firm but fair-minded nanny will be Dorothea Dougal, but we'll give her the snappy pseudonym of the Good Governess to give her a nursery rhyme-ish edge.

Call to mind Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee, or even Eglantine Price. Actual magic or at least unsettling and uncanny fortuity is a staple of my favorite versions of this type. It's not enough, in my book, to just be a wise nanny that smacks some sense into the heads of children. Even if magic isn't a mechanical factor, there should be some kind of a mechanical capacity for manifesting coincidences, even if it just ends up the Lucky feat. Also, the Governess will be of a higher level than Madeline, for sure. I'm tempted to just make her Level 20 out of commitment to the bit, but that's something to consider much later.

(Obviously you don't have to adhere to this when you make your own characters; I just thought it would be fun to try to find a way to draw on two distinct characterizations the whole way through.)

➤ Idea Germs: Extended Characters of the Trope

On the off chance that you want to create a family for your Magical Nanny, I'm also making six bonus characters: one young charge, one teen charge, and one parent for each of our nannies.

The children in stories like fun-loving Miss Madeline's are often neurotic and misguided because their parents, often single fathers, don't know how to listen their kids, or just have fun. The family is, more than anything, unhappy, and each member, including parents, is equally in need of intervention for this reason.

The father in need of kind Madeline's aid, and in statistical likelihood, hand in marriage, will be stick-in-the-mud Major Marcus MacBride. As for his children, he could always have more, but we'll spotlight baby Graham, and eldest Salem.

The children that require the intervention of Mrs. Dudley or forces of nature like her are typically spoiled or mischievous due to parental failure to correct bad behavior and set healthy boundaries. The family may not necessarily be unhappy, but it's certainly, in the grand scheme of things, dysfunctional.

And the mother in need of the Governess's intervention will be the overindulgent and absent-minded Mrs. Helen Hawkins. We'll also make profiles for Grendel, her youngest, and Shannon, her oldest.

The Magical Nanny as a trope is a personal favorite that I consider underutilized, so I'm excited to start. Now that our inciting characters and their potential party members have been vaguely sketched out, I can get into the creation process.

➤ Determining Race

There's no correct order in which to determine race, class, abilities, background, etc. I switch up the order I deal with them in every time and often go back and make changes later on before they're finalized. This time I decided to start with race first.

While you could create a Magical Nanny of any race, there are a few that more easily adapt mechanically. That said, I'd encourage players to reskin these however they see fit, flavor-wise. Needless to say, you are also free to adjust, replace, or eliminate whatever racial features you wish. I just like the challenge of finding an angel that works.

Skimming through for possible options, the Kalashtar race's feature descriptions made me laugh, and it's also mechanically fitting for the role. It makes an excellent choice in particular for Miss Madeline:

The overall concept fits well, as it is often we equate childhood with dreaming, and which makes our Magical Nanny comparable to a bridge between humans and spirits of dreams, or youth. The base ability score increase also gives a +2 to Wisdom and +1 to Charisma. Fitting for a nanny or caretaker who relies on a personal rapport with and understanding of their wards to do their job. Dual Mind gives advantage on all Wisdom saving throws, while Mental Discipline gives resistance to psychic damage - and hell knows either of those help would help working with children! This is a nanny with clear eyes and a thick skin. Mind Link gives you telepathic abilities to those within a certain range, which is a fun mechanical metaphor for Teacher Face™, silently reprimanding or rewarding behaviors based on approval. It also fits considering studies that show those who are adept with children are more generally intuitive in communication. Severed from Dreams works really well in a few different ways. The character exists as a manifestation of "the union between humanity and renegade spirits from the plane of dreams" and thus retains a need to sleep and rest, but is incapable of dreaming themselves. Finally, they get one language, which depending on the setting for our character may be a throwaway, at least in this system. I chose Minotaur in this case. I think poor Asterion could've used a nice nanny who understood him.

With this selection, we already give ourselves solid foundations for character motive. What does it say about Madeline that she's trying to teach children to embrace imagination, reflect on their emotions, and build confidence as someone who can't even dream herself?

Returning and continuing through the list, I found Warforged to be another mechanically reasonable, if otherwise unexpected, choice. But it is especially amusing considering the Governess:

The concept of the Warforged is a conscious being that was "built as [a] weapon[... that] must now find a purpose beyond war". Quite fun for a more militant nanny that almost comes across as engineered for success. Warforged get a base +2 to Constitution and +1 to an ability of the player's choice. Constitution works as one definitely needs focus and stamina to keep up with kids, and the extra +1 can go wherever it's best suited. I'll set it to Intelligence for now, but will make a note to return and adjust later if need be. They have multiple bodily advantages: resistance to poison and advantage on saving throws against poison, immunity to disease, and having no need to eat, drink, or breathe. This matches the unsettling condition of characters like Nanny McPhee and Mary Poppins. I can't imagine either with a cough. They're also immune to sleep-inducing magic, as instead of sleeping, they rest for "at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state" that mimics sleep but leaves them perfectly cognizant of their surroundings. Rendering any potential tricks in the dead of night played by children, or enemies, most ineffective. They have a +1 to their AC, but can only wear armor they have proficiency in, which takes an hour to either put on or remove. We can frame our nanny's dress ode as comparable to their armor, in this case. It may give them an advantage, but adjusting it further takes time to integrate according to uniform. They get one skill and one tool proficiency each. I tentatively selected Perception and Herbalism, but I did eye Vehicles (Air), considering all the classic Magical Nanny umbrella shenanigans. And finally, they also get the extra and potentially irrelevant language. In this case, I chose Ogre, considering it often takes a nanny of this type to get through the more brutish side characters in these stories. (No offense meant to ogres.)

This choice also gives our nanny in-built depth. Perhaps Darby is a woman using expertise on child-rearing, social graces, and domestic work to retain economic and social independence rather than find and support a partner - designated to perform an assigned role, but using associated skills to fulfill a purpose she determines for herself.

Other races that translate particularly well for a Magical Nanny are Eladrin, Githzerai, Githyanki, Mark of Detection Half Elf, Mark of Hospitality Halfling, Mark of Sentinel Human, and Loxodon. Some that are slightly less intuitive but can work well with narrative effort are Scourge Aasimar, Astral Elf, Aereni High Elf or Wood Elf, Firbolg, Forest Gnome, Goliath, Hadozee, Half Elf, Half Orc, Variant Human, Kobold, Orc, Owlin, Shadar-Kai, Tabaxi, and Vedalken. The Hexblood and Reborn Lineages may also pose interesting possibilities if incorporated narratively. Again, any could be used, so these are just the ones I can imagine mechanically adapting smoothly.

As for the family, there's a case for selecting the same race for all its members, but practically speaking, it's more advantageous and, I'd argue, more interesting to forgo neat optics in favor of finding complementary builds, then reskinning, so that's what I'll do.

I do think almost any race could be more or less justified for the parents and kids seeing as they don't have to, and arguably shouldn't, be optimized for parenting or facilitating familial communication. Arguably, the archetypes are a factor, especially in the case of this post, but those focuses can be changed.

Reviewing the options, I'm sorely tempted to make Major MacBride another Warforged, as it would work quite well, but I think I'll opt for variety... Ultimately, I landed on the TCoE Hobgoblin.

Hobgoblins are tied to the fey and to war. This immediately supplements existing interesting characterization. He has an element of mystique and distance, but also of ferocity and discipline. Maybe, as if often the case in such stories, The War™ has affected his noble household and he's left to pick up the pieces. TCoE Hobgoblins have a nerfed version of Legacy's Saving Face feat, renamed Fortune from the Many, allowing them to add a bonus to failed rolls based on allies within 30 feet of them, with a maximum +3 (formerly +5). This rewards our distant but supportive father when he's physically present with his kids. However, most notably, the Legacy feat Martial Training is replaced with one called Fey Gift, which lets them take the Help action as a bonus action, and provides some cool bonuses to choose from for the character that they help. Again, this rewards the character mechanically with increased options for working closely with his family, and also for directly guiding and supporting them. Other suitable races I found for a parent that needs to learn to have fun include the Fallen Aasimar, Bugbear, Dragonborn, Earth Genasi, Eladrin, Wood Elf, Dark Elf, Valenar Wood Elf, Githzerai, Goblin, Goliath, Mark of Storm Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Mark of Sentinel Human, Leonin, Minotaur, Orc, Shadar-kai, Variant Tiefling, Vedalken, Warforged, and Yuan-Ti. The Reborn Lineage also has potential.

For Mrs. Hawkins, I considered a fair many and went back and forth for awhile, but in the interest of making a contrasting choice to our Governess, I decided to make her a Mark of Sentinel Human.

The 'Mark of' races are tied to noble houses, status, and mystically specialized abilities, which works fairly enough for our fussy, high-status father. The ability score increases are +2 to Constitution and +1 to Wisdom, which is fine. Wisdom isn't my first choice but on second thought, it could make for an observant mother with no idea how to actually act on her observations. The same applies to Sentinel's Intuition, which allows her to add a d4 to Perception and Insight checks. Guardian's Shield allows her to cast Shield once per long rest using Wisdom. She can use Vigilant Guardian to swap places with a successfully attacked creature within 5 feet of herself as a reaction, causing her to be attacked instead, once per long rest. If she ever gains the Spellcasting or Pact Magic class feature, the list of spells will expand to include a number of others related to protection, such as Compelled Duel, Zone of Truth, and Guardian of Faith, due to the Spells of the Mark feat. All great additions for a mother whose most successful bag is providing for and protecting her kids, but needs help with... the rest. I think other good race options for a parent that lets their kids get away with too much are Protector Aasimar, Astral Elf, Bugbear, Changeling, Eladrin, Mark of Shadow Elf, Genasi, Half-Elf, any type of Halfling (but especially Mark of Hospitality), Hobgoblin, Variant or Mark of Passage Human, Kender, Kobold, Orc, Satyr, Swiftstride Shifter, Tabaxi, and Verdan.

Not having settled on archetypes for the kids, I decided to randomize their races from a list I narrowed down to be appropriate for their age range and general potential, to come up with some ideas for their future characterization and party roles.

Using this process, little Graham MacBride ended up a TCoE Changeling, and Salem MacBride was made a TCoE Satyr.

For the Changeling Instincts feat, I gave Graham proficiency in Performance and Insight. The most important aspect of this race is the ability to change aspects of their appearance at will. A chameleon who can blend in! Maybe little Graham has a tendency to imitate whoever has most recently won their favor? Obviously there will be plenty of hijinks played on our poor nanny involving this trait. Salem gets access to the Ram feat, which lets them use their head and horn in unarmed strikes for a d6 + their Strength modifier. A headstrong kid, then. They have magic resistance to spells - so, a bit of a nonbeliever. Mirthful Leaps gives them the ability to add a d8 to a Long or High Jump, so they are dexterous but make huge leaps, maybe? For the Reveler feat, I gave Salem proficiency in Viol, which I'm (barely) reskinning as a fiddle. They can play songs with their nanny!

With the same process, Shannon Hawkins is a PH Half Elf, and Grendel Hawkins, a MotM Deep Gnome.

Fey Ancestry is the first feat, which involves advantage on saving throws from being charmed and immunity to sleep magic. Fitting for the older kid who is less susceptible to getting told to behave or go to bed. For Shannon's Skill Versatility, I gave them proficiency in Perception and History. I'm seeing an intelligent and skeptical kid whose engagements with the world have left them disenchanted? No actual choices were required for Grendel! They have Gift of the Svirfneblin, which grants them one use of the Disguise Self and Nondetection spells per long rest at their respective levels. Gnomish Magic Resistance gives advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against spells, so we have a bit of a free thinker in the building. Finally, Svirfnefblin Camouflage give our young Grendel advantage on Stealth checks a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus per long rest. Very trickster friendly traits.

I was happy enough with how this turned out, but if I hadn't been, there are plenty of races I could have gone through instead.

Other races that work especially well for kids skewing younger are Autognome, Firbolg, Goblin, any Halfling subrace (but particularly Lightfoot), Harengon, Kender, Kobold, Swiftstride Shifter, Tabaxi, and Variant Tiefling. Bugbear, Mark of Shadow Elf, Mark of Scribing Gnome, Mark of Handling Human, Kender, Kenku, Longtooth or Wildhunt Shifter, Tortle, and Verdan are other races I might consider if you are planning to feature (pre-)teen charges.

➤ Rolling Abilities

Before I get started on any further character customization, I'll get my ability scores generated first, so I can know what I'll be working with. Personally, I prefer rolling, but it's a matter of discretion. Normally, I'd do it manually, but my dice are in another state, unfortunately, so I'll use DNDBeyond.

I'll roll the nannies with the families they serve, to start thinking about how they mesh. First, Madeline and the MacBride brood:

Miss Madeline's starting scores are 14, 14, 14, 9, 18, and 11. Her entire premise is her ability to form relationships with people, so it's likely Wisdom and Charisma will have to be higher stats, but the rest can be shuffled around as necessary.Major MacBride's starting scores are 14, 11, 15, 11, 12, and 16. As a stuffy but impressive type, this range works well, because he'll have a believable variety of skills and abilities. Nonetheless, I like that our nanny's top stat will be higher than his, at least by their base scores. It gives her an edge over him which maybe suggests that Captain-Maria, Fran-Mr. Sheffield dynamic we all love.Salem's starting scores are 12, 16, 15, 17, 10, and 8. I haven't nailed down the kid archetypes yet, but I like that we have a high and low contrast for Salem. The disparity sort of lands between Madeline's and their father's, which already adds a narrative level if I want it to.Baby Graham's starting scores are 16, 15, 14, 9, 15, and 6. The two very low scores are great because they can align with a vulnerability for the child with canonical reason to need a lot of development. The higher scores give them a fun, savant edge common to 'weird little kids' in this genre, too. The stars are aligning lol!

Then, the Good Governess, and the Hawkins household:

The Good Governess's starting scores are 17, 11, 15, 18, 11, and 13. I like that we have pretty high scores and nothing below 11 here. I'd have to dump Strength or Charisma otherwise, but this type of nanny should seem impossibly capable, and it's nice this reflects that.Mrs. Hawkins's starting scores are 12, 13, 13, 11, 15, and 15. Like the Major, Mrs. Hawkins is meant to be impressive but not particularly extraordinary, as that leaves room for our nannies to make waves. This is a very nice and respectable range, perfectly suiting a well-meaning mother who just needs guidance in how and when to apply her existing skills.Shannon's starting scores are 16, 12, 10, 13, 13, and 12. I'd have liked to see a lower score or two, but we do have a series of more average numbers and one a bit higher, which could suggest a generally capable older sibling who uses a particular gift for mischief? We'll workshop as we go.Grendel's starting scores are 13, 15, 13, 12, 10, and 14. Again, I'd have liked a low score or even multiple for them, seeing as they're a kid, but maybe it's silly to complain. A more even spread suggests a less specialized character, so there's potential to develop them toward something with later discovery, I guess.

Honestly, some of these score sets are so serendipitous with initial intentions for the characters, it's weird. It'd be possible to make it work if it wasn't the case; it just so happens they mostly have score ranges that suit their archetypes, other than the Hawkins kids.

End of Part I

Next post, I'll get into the rest of the process. On the final post, whether that's the next one or the one after that, I'll show the profiles for each characters, probably, maybe sketches. Thanks for reading!

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #tropes #magical nannies #character creation #dnd oc #dnd character #ttrpg #dnd 5e #long post

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fannish-karmiya · 3 years

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Wei Wuxian’s Position in the Jiang Household

Fandom tends to mischaracterise Wei Wuxian’s position in the Jiang family greatly. A lot of people project more modern ideas about adoption onto his relationship with the Jiang siblings, and write as if he really is their sibling and only Yu Ziyuan’s abusive nature gets in the way of their bond.

This strikes me as a bit misguided. While adoption was practised in ancient China, it was mainly for the purpose of obtaining a male heir in the absence of one, or obtaining more daughters to marry off for alliances. Jiang Fengmian had no reason to adopt Wei Wuxian into the main family, and he didn’t. Wei Wuxian’s position in the household is far more nebulous than that, and honestly it’s hard to find an exact corollary, in Chinese history or in any culture, precisely because it was so messy and ill-defined.

A Companion to Upper Class Children

Wei Wuxian is the son of a servant of Yunmeng Jiang; it’s notable that Wei Changze is always referred to this way, rather than as a disciple. Wei Changze wound up leaving the sect in order to marry Cangse Sanren, and Jiang Fengmian considered them dear enough friends that when he heard they passed away, he spent years searching for their orphaned son. He wound up finding Wei Wuxian on the streets of Yiling and brought him home as his ward.

Wei WuXian was taken home by Jiang FengMian when he was nine.

Most memories from back then were already blurred. Yet, Jin Ling’s mother, Jiang YanLi, remembered all of them, and even told him quite a few.

She said that, after his father heard of the news that his parents both died in battle, he had always dedicated himself to finding the child that these past friends had left behind. After searching for a while, he finally found the child in Yiling.

(Chapter 24, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s clear from the start that beyond this sense of obligation to his old friends, Jiang Fengmian also had a role set out for Wei Wuxian: he wanted him to be a companion to his children, and Jiang Cheng in particular.

He encourages a friendship between them, insisting on a sleepover between the two a week into Wei Wuxian’s stay.

On the second day, Jiang Cheng’s puppies were given to someone else.

This angered Jiang Cheng so much that he threw a big tantrum. No matter how much Jiang FengMian comforted him gently, telling him that they should ‘be good friends’, he refused to talk to Wei WuXian. Quite a few days later, Jiang Cheng’s attitude softened. Jiang FengMian wanted to strike while the iron was still hot, so he told Wei WuXian to sleep in the same room as him, hoping that they’d grow fonder of each other.

[...]

That night, Jiang Cheng locked Wei WuXian outside his room, refusing to let him in.

[...]

Wei WuXian waited outside for a long time. When the door opened, before the joy could spread onto his face, he was bombarded with a pile of things being thrown out. The door banged shut again.

Jiang Cheng told him from inside, “Go sleep somewhere else! This is my room! You’re even gonna steal my room?!”

[...]

Standing outside, as Wei WuXian heard that dogs would come bite him, fear immediately bubbled within him. Twisting his fingers, he hurried, “I’ll go, I’ll go. Don’t call the dogs!”

Dragging behind him the sheets and blanket that were thrown outside, he ran out the hall. Having only arrived at Lotus Pier for a short period of time, he didn’t dare jump around yet. Every day, he obediently holed up in the places that Jiang FengMian told him to stay at. He didn’t even know where his room was, much less have the courage to knock on other people’s doors, scared that it’d disturb someone’s dreams.

(Chapter 71, Exiled Rebels translation)

After Jiang Cheng is worried about getting in trouble, he goes to Jiang Yanli for help, and she searches for Wei Wuxian.

But this was the first pair of shoes that Jiang FengMian bought him. Wei WuXian was too embarrassed to make him go out of his way to buy another pair, and so he said that they weren’t too big. Jiang YanLi helped him into his shoe and pressed the hollow tip, “It is a bit big. I’ll fix it for you when we get back.”

Hearing this, Wei WuXian felt somewhat uneasy, as if he did something wrong again.

Living in other people’s homes, the worst that could happen was to make trouble for the hosts.

Jiang YanLi put him onto her back and began to walk back, wobbling in her steps as she spoke, “A-Ying, no matter what A-Cheng said to you, don’t bother about him. He doesn’t have a good temper, so he’s always home playing with himself. Those puppies were his favorites. Dad sent them away, and so he’s feeling upset. He’s actually really happy that somebody’s here to be with him.”

(Chapter 71, Exiled Rebels translation)

Later, Wei Wuxian offers to cover for him, saying simply that he ran outside by himself because he was scared. In this one case it feels like a genuine instance of children showing solidarity and covering for each other’s little misbehaviours. But it also follows a pattern of Wei Wuxian doing this and making excuses, time and time again, for Jiang Cheng. I wonder if on some level, he already knew that his role in the household was in part to be a companion-servant to Jiang Cheng.

Wei Wuxian normally never puts up with people treating him poorly or being arrogant; he constantly bites his tongue when Jiang Cheng does so around him. While they study at Cloud Recesses, Jiang Cheng frequently insults Wei Wuxian, who always just smiles and laughs it off.

Jiang Cheng humphed, “Him? He wakes at nine in the morning and sleeps at one during the night. When he wakes up, he doesn’t practice his sword or meditate; he goes boating, swims around, picks lotus seedpods, and hunts for pheasants.”

Wei WuXian replied, “No matter how much pheasants I hunt, I’m still number one.”

(Chapter 13, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng scolded with a darkened expression, “What are you proud of?! What is there to be proud of with this?! Do you think that it’s a glorious thing to be told by someone to get lost? You bring so much shame upon our sect!”

(Chapter 16, Exiled Rebels translation)

We never see Wei Wuxian excusing this sort of behaviour from any other character; he has no problem scolding Jin Ling for his arrogant attitude and telling him that he shouldn’t be imitating his uncle, after all! It’s only where Jiang Cheng is concerned that he does this, and honestly, even then he seems to be quite aware that Jiang Cheng’s behaviour is wrong; he simply accepts on some level that it’s his role in the household to put up with it.

He actually does, very gently, try to guide Jiang Cheng at times. In Lotus Seed Pods, for example, he tries to give Jiang Cheng advice on how to flirt with some of the maidens in Yunmeng and make friends:

Wei WuXian threw the seed pods toward the shore. It was a far distance, but they landed lightly in the women’s hands. He grabbed a few more and stuffed them into Jiang Cheng’s arms, shoving, “What are you doing, just standing there? Hurry up.”

After a few shoves, Jiang Cheng could only accept them, “Hurry up and do what?”

Wei WuXian, “You ate the watermelon too, so you also have to return the gift, don’t you? Here, here, don’t be embarrassed. Start throwing, start throwing.”

Jiang Cheng snorted again, “You must be joking. What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Whatever he said, however, even after all of the shidi began to throw seed pods, he still didn’t start to move. Wei WuXian urged, “Then throw some! If you throw some this time, next time you can ask them if the seed pods tasted good, and you’ll be able to make conversation again!”

[...]

Jiang Cheng was just about to throw one when he realized how shameless it was the moment he heard it. He peeled a seed pod and ate it by himself.

[...]

After a while of laughter, he turned around and looked at Jiang Cheng, who was sitting at the front of the boat eating seed pods with a long face. His smile gradually disappeared as he sighed, “Well, what an unteachable child.”

Jiang Cheng fumed, “So what if I want to eat alone?”

Wei WuXian, “Look at you, Jiang Cheng. Nevermind. You’re hopeless. Just wait to eat alone your whole life!”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

He even sighs rather disappointedly when Jiang Cheng refuses to take the hint; he knows that Jiang Cheng’s sullen behaviour is going to make him miserable down the line, but all of his gentle efforts to nudge him in a better direction have failed.

He also speaks with great awareness of Jiang Cheng’s flaws after the fight in the ancestral hall:

Wei WuXian reached out with one hand and massaged his chest, as if trying to break up the pent-up feeling inside his heart. A moment later, he blurted, “I knew Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have let us go so easily. That brat… How could this be?!”

[...]

Wei WuXian’s eyelids throbbed, “Every one of them. The brat’s been like this ever since he was young.He’ll say anything when he’s angry, no matter how bad it is. He gives up on all grace and discipline whatsoever. As long as it’d annoy whomever he’s against, he’d say it no matter what terrible insults he uses. After all these years, he hasn’t gotten better at all. Please don’t take it to heart.”

(Chapter 90, Exiled Rebels translation)

This is so interesting to me, because it really makes it clear that Wei Wuxian has always been aware of these flaws of Jiang Cheng’s. He hasn’t been viewing him through rose-coloured lenses or making excuses for him because he’s ‘family’. He puts up with Jiang Cheng’s behaviour because being his companion is one of his duties in the Jiang household. It may never have been directly stated, but there seems to be some unspoken understanding to this effect.

I honestly don’t know if there is any official role in history (in any culture, not just China) which perfectly correlates to this. In China a lady’s maid was expected to also be a close friend and companion to her mistress (in canon, see Bicao to Qin-furen and Yinzhu and Jinzhu to Yu-furen). In Europe an upper class woman would hire a lady’s companion, a woman from the lower fringes of the gentry who would serve as her companion in exchange for financial support.

I don’t know of any version of this role which involves two men. In general, this sort of role existed because upper class women were confined to the household by and large, and had very limited social spheres. Men, meanwhile, had much greater ability to meet with their peers and make friends. I almost feel like Wei Wuxian wound up being shoved into this role simply because even as a child Jiang Cheng was so unsociable that Jiang Fengmian didn’t know what else to do!

Wei Wuxian also at least once steps in and starts a fight in place of Jiang Cheng (essentially taking the fall for him). He does this when Jin Zixuan speaks disparagingly of Jiang Yanli at Cloud Recesses:

Jin ZiXuan asked in reply, “Why don’t you ask me how on Earth can I be satisfied with her?”

Jiang Cheng instantly stood up.

Pushing him to the side, Wei WuXian walked in front of him and sneered, “You sure think that you’re pretty satisfying, don’t you? Where did you get the guts to be all choosy here?”

[...]

Wei WuXian sighed, “… It’d be nice if shijie came. It’s fortunate that you didn’t hit him.”

Jiang Cheng, “I was going to. If you didn’t push me, the other side of Jin ZiXuan’s face would also be ruined.”

(Chapter 18, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s also very notable that Wei Wuxian is never shown having friends outside of Jiang Cheng’s social circle, despite what an outgoing and friendly person he is. Any time he expresses interest in someone for himself, as with Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng tries to nip it in the bud. Being unable to deter Wei Wuxian from Lan Wangji directly, Jiang Cheng instead tries to drive a wedge between them, constantly telling Wei Wuxian that Lan Wangji hates him.

“Yeah,” Nie HuaiSang spoke, “It looks like he really hates you, Wei-xiong. Lan WangJi usually… No, he never does something so impolite.”

Wei WuXian, “He hates me already? I wanted to apologize to him.”

Jiang Cheng sneered, “Apologizing now? Too late! Like his uncle, he surely thinks that you are evil and unruly to the core, and didn’t bother to pay you any attention.”

(Chapter 14, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng pulled him even closer, “It’s not as if you’re familiar with him! Don’t you see how much he hates you? You’re going to carry him? He probably doesn’t even want you a step closer to him.”

(Chapter 52, Exiled Rebels translation)

He even directly orders Wei Wuxian not to invite Lan Wangji to come visit him at Lotus Pier during the Lotus Seed Pod extra.

Wei WuXian, “Why are you so upset? My watermelon almost flew away! I was just being polite. Of course he wouldn’t come. Have you ever heard of him go anywhere by himself to have fun?”

Jiang Cheng had on a stern expression, “Let’s make this clear. I don’t want him to come, anyhow. Don’t invite him.”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s not only Lan Wangji he tries to steer Wei Wuxian away from; he also interrupts his conversation with Wen Ning at the archery competition:

Wen QiongLin was probably one of Wen Clan’s disciples furthest in bloodline. His status was neither high nor low, yet his personality was timid. He didn’t dare do anything and even his speech stuttered. Through much practice, he had finally conjured up the courage to enter the competition, but he blew it because he was too nervous. If he didn’t receive the right guidance, perhaps the boy would hide his true self more and more from now on and never dare to perform in front of other people again. Wei WuXian encouraged him a couple of times and touched on a few areas of growth, correcting some miniscule problems that he had when he was shooting in the garden. Wen QiongLin listened so attentively that he didn’t even turn his eyes away, nodding uncontrollably.

Jiang Cheng, “Where did you find so much nonsense? The competition is starting soon. Get into the arena right now!”

Wei WuXian spoke to Wen QiongLin in a serious tone, “I’ll be off to the competition now. Later, you can see how I shoot when I’m in the arena…”

Jiang Cheng dragged him away, short of patience. He spat as he dragged, “See how you shoot? Do you think that you’re a model or something?!”

(Chapter 59, Exiled Rebels translation)

Even when it comes to Wei Wuxian’s friendly flirtation with Mianmian, Jiang Cheng has something to say and tries to deter him from her:

Jiang Cheng, “The one that MianMian gave you? I didn’t.”

Wei WuXian exclaimed his regret, “I’ll find her for another one later.”

Jiang Cheng frowned, “You’re at it again. You don’t really like her, do you? The girl does look fine, but it’s obvious that she doesn’t have much background. Maybe she isn’t even a disciple. She seems like the daughter of a servant.”

Wei WuXian, “What’s wrong with servants? I’m also the son of a servant, aren’t I?”

Jiang Cheng, “How can you compare to her? Whose servant is like you, having your master peel lotus seeds for you and boil you soup. I didn’t even get to have some!”

(Chapter 56, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng really does seem to view Wei Wuxian in a very proprietary light; he’s not allowed to have any friendships which don’t exist under Jiang Cheng’s direct control.

The idea that Wei Wuxian was meant to be Jiang Cheng’s servant-friend is reinforced at its darkest when Lotus Pier falls: both Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian’s last words to Wei Wuxian are an instruction to protect Jiang Cheng.

One hand holding him, Madam Yu grabbed Wei WuXian’s lapels with her other hand as though to strangle him to death. She spoke through clenched teeth, “… You damn little brat! I hate you! I hate you more than anything else! Look at what our sect has gone through for your sake!”

[...]

Madam Yu, “Don’t make such a fuss. It’ll loosen up when you’re somewhere safe. If anyone attacks you on the journey, it’ll protect you as well. Don’t come back. Go to Meishan straight away and find your sister!”

After she finished, she turned to Wei WuXian and pointed at him, “Wei Ying! Listen to me! Protect Jiang Cheng, protect him even if you die, do you understand?!”

[...]

Jiang FengMian stared into his eyes. Suddenly, he reached out. Only after pausing in the air did he finally touch Jiang Cheng’s head, slowly, “A-Cheng, be well.”

Wei WuXian, “Uncle Jiang, if anything happens to you, he won’t be well.”

Jiang FengMian turned his eyes to him, “A-Ying, A-Cheng… you must look after him.”

(Chapter 58, Exiled Rebels translation)

Even Jiang Fengmian, who supposedly favoured Wei Wuxian, only gives him instructions as pertains to his own son; he doesn’t spare a single last word for Wei Wuxian himself.

A Lower Status Family Member

It wasn’t uncommon throughout human history, across many cultures, for wealthy families to take in relatives who were orphaned or had otherwise fallen on hard times. They tended to have a lower status than the main family; they lived with them and were still a part of their social sphere, but were not quite equal, either. The English term for this is ‘poor relation’.

Obviously, Wei Wuxian isn’t actually a blood relative at all. But his position in the Jiang household definitely has some similarities. He lives in the main house, eats meals with the family, attends school with the son... He is even on some conditional levels accepted into the gentry of cultivation society. But he isn’t a full equal member of the family, either.

The fact that he’s Jiang Fengmian’s ward, not a blood relative or adopted into the main family, puts him at even more of a disadvantage. It seems that Jiang Fengmian paid for all of Wei Wuxian’s expenses:

Wei WuXian took a bite, “Back then, I didn’t even have to pay when I ate at the dock. I grabbed whatever I wanted, ate whatever I wanted; ran after I grabbed, walked as I ate. A month later, the vendor would get the reimbursement from Uncle Jiang.”

(Chapter 86, Exiled Rebels translation)

While this is a bit of conjecture, I gather that he was given access to family money as if he was part of the clan, and could just charge Yunmeng Jiang whenever he shopped in Lotus Pier. Which is great so long as Wei Wuxian is accepted in Yunmeng Jiang...but as we see during the Burial Mounds settlement period, the moment that acceptance fades, Wei Wuxian is left out in the cold without a single coin. And because he isn’t a member of the family, it’s a far easier matter for him to be thrown aside, as he was when Jiang Cheng grew angry with him over his decision to protect the Wens.

Of course, Chinese families traditionally did share their wealth, and still do nowadays. Ideally, in a loving family, this is a positive and means they all support each other; but when that isn’t the case, it leaves the victims of abuse vulnerable.

In Wei Wuxian’s case, he has some of the benefits of being a member of the Jiang clan, without ever actually being a member. He can be cast aside at any time, and he is never afforded the same respect by wider cultivation society which an inner clan member would have.

I don’t believe the novel ever directly addresses Wei Wuxian’s acceptance into the guest lectures at Cloud Recesses in this light, but the donghua actually has a very interesting little exchange about it which takes place between Nie Huaisang and a relative of his:

“Wei-xiong is just a disciple from Yunmeng. Why could he come to Gusu to study?”

“Wei-xiong is the son of Jiang-zongzhu’s old friend. He has been treated as their own son.”

“Oh, I see. That explains why they don’t look like master and servant, they seem like brothers.”

(MDZS Donghua, Episode 3, Guodong Subs)

Wei Wuxian was only allowed to attend these lectures, which seem to mainly be for sect heirs and inner clan members, on the grace of being Jiang Fengmian’s ward (and probably to accompany Jiang Cheng). While this exchange is not from the book, we never do see or hear about any of the other students being outer disciples rather than members of the main clan. Here’s what the novel had to say about it:

In that year, aside from the YunmengJiang Sect, there were also the young masters from other clans, sent to study here from parents who heard of the reputation. The young masters were all around fifteen or sixteen. Because the sects all knew the others, although they weren’t close, they had seen others’ faces before. It was widely known that, although Wei WuXian’s surname was not Jiang, he was the leading disciple of the sect leader of the YunmengJiang Sect—Jiang FengMian, and also the son of his friend who had passed away. In fact, the sect leader regarded him as his own child. This, along with how youths were not as concerned with status and ancestry as elders, they were soon friends. Only a few sentences passed, and everyone started to call others older brothers or younger brothers.

(Chapter 13, Exiled Rebels translation)

And Wei Wuxian isn’t treated as an equal at school, either; when he and his friends get up to mischief, he’s frequently the only one punished. Nie Huaisang even notes that Lan Qiren seems to be far harder on him than the other students:

Nie HuaiSang spoke, “Why does it seem like old man Lan is especially strict towards you? He always directs his scoldings at you.”

(Chapter 14, Exiled Rebels translation)

And we see Wei Wuxian being the sole one punished out of a group taken for granted by his friends multiple times:

As a result of cheating notes flying everywhere in the air, Lan WangJi suddenly attacked during the test, and caught a few initiators of the commotion. Lan QiRen exploded with anger, writing letters to the prominent clans to tell on them. He loathed Wei WuXian—in the beginning, although these disciples could hardly sit still, at least nobody started anything, and their buttocks were able to stick to their legs. However, now that Wei Ying came, the originally spineless brats were influenced by his encouragement, venturing out at night and drinking alcohol however they pleased. The unhealthy practices grew greater and greater. As he had expected, Wei Ying was one of the biggest threats to humanity!

Jiang FengMian replied, “Ying has always been like this. Please take care to discipline him, Mr. Lan.”

And so, Wei WuXian was punished again.

(Chapter 14, Exiled Rebels translation)

The boys were all cheating, but Wei Wuxian is the one punished most severely. This happens when he's caught sneaking alcohol, too (though to be fair to Lan Wangji, he probably was only punishing him, and himself alongside him, for being outside after curfew when he threw them off the wall).

Of course, Jiang Cheng didn’t dare to say that Wei WuXian was at fault. Thinking back, it was them who urged Wei WuXian to buy liquor. Each and every one of them should have been punished. He could only speak in a vague way, “It’s fine, it’s fine; it’s not that serious! He can walk. Wei WuXian, why are you still up there?!”

(Chapter 18, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s not entirely unreasonable for the one who gets caught to take the punishment (what’s he going to do, rat his friends out?) but their ready acceptance of this does fit into a pattern.

Jiang Cheng’s top was tied at his waist. Hearing his mother’s chastise, he hastily put it over his head. Madam Yu scolded again, “And you boys! Can’t you see that A-Li’s here? Who taught you brats to dress like this in front of a girl!?”

Of course, it was needless to think who led the group. Thus, Madam Yu’s next sentence, as usual, was “Wei Ying! Do you want to die!?”

[...]

He could still feel some pain in his back, so he tossed the paddles to someone else, sat down, and felt the stinging piece of flesh, “How unfair. Nobody else was wearing anything, but why was I the only one who got scolded and beaten up?”

Jiang Cheng, “Because you hurt the eye the most with no clothes on, for sure.”

[...]

Everyone nodded. Wei WuXian, “Thanks for the praise, you guys. I’m even starting to feel some goose bumps.”

The shidi, “You’re welcome, Da-Shixiong. You protect us every single time. You deserve even more!”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

While we know that Yu Ziyuan is an abusive person in general, she abuses Wei Wuxian far more harshly than anyone else, even the outer disciples. It’s made clear to us in Lotus Seed Pods that she whips him regularly over minor infractions:

Madam Yu was even angrier, “How dare you run! Come back right now and kneel!” As she spoke, she let loose her whip with a flip of her wrist. Wei WuXian felt a searing pain slash across his back. He loudly exclaimed, “Ow!” And almost tripped on the ground.

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

And that his back is heavily scarred from it:

He felt his back, covered in scars both old and new, and still couldn’t hold back the question he’d be thinking about, “How awfully unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who gets beaten up, whenever something happens?”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

Rumours about this even made it outside of Lotus Pier; during their visit to the ancestral hall years later, Lan Wangji even states that he heard about some of it:

Lan WangJi had on an expression of understanding, “Kneeling as punishment?”

Wei WuXian mused, “How did you know? That’s right. Madam Yu punished me almost every day.”

Lan WangJi nodded, “I have heard of a few things.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s so famous that even people outside Yunmeng, even you Gusu people know—how could it be ‘a few things’? But, to be honest, in all these years, I’ve never seen a second woman whose temper was as bad as Madam Yu’s. She told me to go to the ancestral hall and kneel no matter how small the matter was. Hahaha…”

(Chapter 87, Exiled Rebels translation)

Wei Wuxian’s lower social standing is definitely a part of why Yu Ziyuan is able to abuse him so terribly and receive little to no censure for it. Everyone at Lotus Pier simply takes it for granted, with the exception of Jiang Yanli who at least does try to deflect her mother when she is angry with Wei Wuxian:

Yet, all of a sudden, someone’s quiet voice drifted by Madam Yu’s ear, “Mom, do you want to eat some watermelon…”

[...]

Jiang YanLi almost cried from her mother’s pinching, mumbling, “Mom, A-Xian and the others were hiding here to relieve the heat and I came here on my own. Don’t blame them… Do… Do you want some watermelon… I don’t know who gave them to us, but it’s really sweet. Eating watermelon in the summer is great for cooling down and quenching thirst. I’ll cut them for you…”

(Chapter 125, Lotus Seed Pod, Exiled Rebels translation)

She both tries to deflect her mother from her anger, and also outright states that Wei Wuxian and the other boys weren’t at fault. Jiang Yanli seems to be the only one at Lotus Pier who ever does this.

After the war, Wei Wuxian attends social events at Jiang Cheng’s side but is never quite treated as an equal, either. See how at the Flower Banquet, Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue greet Jiang Cheng but not him:

Suddenly, a voice spoke, “Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Lan.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Wei WuXian’s heart jumped. Nie MingJue turned around again. Jiang Cheng came over, dressed in purple, hand on his sword.

And the person standing beside Jiang Cheng was none other than Wei WuXian himself.

He saw himself walk with hands behind his back, wearing all black. A flute in the shade of ink stuck to his waist, hanging down with crimson colored tassels. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jiang Cheng, he nodded in this direction to show respect. Attitude slightly arrogant, he took on a profound, disdainful appearance. As Wei WuXian saw the stance of his younger self, the root of his teeth even cringed in soreness. He felt that he really was pretentious, and itched to just beat the hell out of himself.

Lan WangJi also saw Wei WuXian, who stood beside Jiang Cheng. The tip of his brows twitched ever so slightly. Soon afterward, his light-colored eyes returned to where they were, still looking forward in that composed way. Jiang Cheng and Nie MingJue nodded at each other with grave faces. Neither had anything unnecessary to say. After a hasty greeting, the two walked their separate ways. Wei WuXian saw his black-clothed self glance around as he finally saw Lan WangJi. He looked as if he was about to speak before Jiang Cheng came over and stood to his side.

(Chapter 49, Exiled Rebels translation)

They then proceed to talk about him and his lack of a sword behind his back, never having said a word to Wei Wuxian himself:

Nie MingJue’s gaze turned over again, “Why does Wei Ying not carry his sword?”

Carrying one’s sword was like wearing formal attire. In such gatherings, it was a non-negligible indication of etiquette. Those from prominent sects saw it as especially important. Lan WangJi responded in a lukewarm tone, “He had probably forgotten.”

Ning MingJue raised a brow, “He can even forget something like this?”

(Chapter 49, Exiled Rebels translation)

At Phoenix Mountain it also seems that Wei Wuxian is conditionally a member of the gentry, but not treated like an equal. Sometimes there are these more cheerful interactions:

Holding the flower, Lan WangJi seemed to be quite cold. His tone seemed cold as well, “Was it you?”

Wei WuXian immediately denied it, “No, it wasn’t.”

The maidens beside him spoke at once, “Don’t believe him. It was him!”

Wei WuXian, “How could you treat a good person like this? I’m getting angry!”

Giggling, the maidens pulled their reins and went to the formations of their own sects. Lan WangJi lowered the hand that he held the flower with and shook his head. Jiang Cheng spoke, “ZeWu-Jun, HanGuang-Jun, apologies. Don’t pay attention to him.”

Lan XiChen smiled, “That is fine. I will thank Young Master Wei’s kindness behind the flower in place of WangJi.”

(Chapter 69, Exiled Rebels translation)

But then he will be publicly disparaged and it is readily accepted by others. Jin Zixun first starts an argument with him by criticising Wei Wuxian for fighting Jin Zixuan, then turns the topic to Wei Wuxian’s having taken a third of the prey in the hunt.

Jin ZiXun, “Wei, just what what do you mean by going against ZiXuan so many times?”

[...]

Jin ZiXun sneered, “How is it presumptuous? How is any part of you not presumptuous? Today, in such an important hunt involving all of the sects, you really showed off your abilities, didn’t you? One third of the prey have been taken by you. You sure feel pleased, don’t you?”

[...]

He mocked, “But it’s only natural that you don’t think you’re in the wrong. It’s not the first time that Young Master Wei has disregarded the rules. You didn’t wear your sword in both last time’s flower banquet and this time’s hunt. It’s such a grand event, and you care nothing for courtesy. In what regard to you hold us, the people who are present with you?”

[...]

No disciple had ever dared say such lofty words in front of so many people. A moment later, as Jin ZiXun finally regained his composure, he yelled, “Wei WuXian! You’re only the son of a servant—how dare you be so bold!!!”

(Chapters 69-70, Exiled Rebels translation)

Naturally, Jin Zixun is able to weasel out of giving an apology, even though Jiang Yanli demands one. And guess who also takes a third of the prey, but this time without any censure?

Jin GuangYao, “In reality, not only did Young Master Wei keep a third of the prey to himself, our eldest brother has eliminated over half of the fays and the monsters as well.”

Hearing this, Lan XiChen laughed, “That is how Brother is like, after all.”

(Chapter 70, Exiled Rebels translation)

Never a Brother

As I’ve already mentioned, Wei Wuxian was never adopted by Jiang Fengmian, or adopted into the clan in general in even a distant way. And this nebulous ‘we’re letting you live with the main family as a charity, but you aren’t really one of us’ attitude also reflects in his relationship with Jiang Yanli.

I’ve already discussed how Wei Wuxian was more like a companion servant to Jiang Cheng than a brother. It’s also worth noting quickly that neither of them ever refers to the other as a brother. Wei Wuxian refers to Jiang Cheng as his shidi a few times, and Jiang Cheng never even refers to him as his shixiong (because Jiang Cheng views him as his servant, not as even a martial brother, I’d argue).

Only one member of the Jiang family ever does use familial terms to refer to Wei Wuxian: his shijie, Jiang Yanli. At Phoenix Mountain, when Wei Wuxian is being insulted by Jin Zixun, Jiang Yanli stands up and defends him, and states clearly that she considers Wei Wuxian a little brother:

The people who gathered around Jin ZiXun had on the same dark faces as he did. Yet, taking into consideration Jiang YanLi’s background, they didn’t dare talk back to her directly.

Jiang YanLi added, “Besides, hunting is hunting, so why bring the matter of discipline to the table? A-Xian is a disciple of the YunmengJiang Sect. He grew up with my brother and I, and so he’s as close as a brother is to me. Calling him the ‘son of a servant’—I’m sorry, but I won’t accept this. And thus…”

She straightened her back and raised her voice, “I hope that Young Master Jin ZiXun would apologize to Wei WuXian of the YunmengJiang Sect!”

(Chapter 70, Exiled Rebels translation)

It doesn’t come through in the Exiled Rebels translation, but she actually refers to Wei Wuxian as her didi in this scene, not her shidi. She’s trying to draw a line and state that Wei Wuxian is a part of the family. However, no one takes her seriously, and shortly afterwards we see Jin-furen insisting that Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian shouldn’t be walking alone together because it would be inappropriate.

Jiang YanLi whispered, “That’s not necessary. I’d like to have a few words with A-Xian. He can walk me back.”

Madam Jin raised her brows, looking Wei WuXian up and down. Her gaze was somewhat cautious, as if she was feeling displeased, “A young man and a young woman—you two can’t stick together all the time if nobody else is present.”

Jiang YanLi, “A-Xian is my younger brother.”

[...]

Wei WuXian lowered his head, “Excuse my absence, Madam Jin.”

He and Jiang YanLi bowed at the same time. As they turned around to leave, Madam Jin grabbed Jiang YanLi’s hand and refused to let her leave.

(Chapter 70, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jin Zixuan also never treats Wei Wuxian the way one might a brother who is still angered with him over his past dismissive treatment of his sister. For example, see their argument at the Flower Banquet:

Before he could see how Lan WangJi reacted, a series of clamor suddenly came from the other end of the base. Wei WuXian heard his own raging shout, “Jin ZiXuan! Don’t you forget about what things you said and what things you did? What do you mean by this, now?!”

Wei WuXian remembered. So it was this time!

On the other side, Jin ZiXuan also fumed, “I was asking Sect Leader Jiang, not you! The one I was asking about was also Maiden Jiang. How is that related to you?!”

[...]

Jin ZiXuan, “Sect Leader Jiang—this is our sect’s flower banquet, and this is your sect’s person! Are you going to look after him or not?!”

[...]

...Jiang Cheng’s voice came, “Wei WuXian, you can just shut your mouth. Young Master Jin, I’m sorry. My sister is doing quite well. Thank you for your concern. We can talk about this next time.”

Wei WuXian laughed coldly, “Next time? There is no next time! Whether or not she’s doing well isn’t any of his business, either! Who does he think he is?”

He turned around and started to leave. Jiang Cheng shouted, “Get back here! Where are you going?”

Wei WuXian waved his hands, “Anywhere is fine! Just don’t let me see that face of his. I never wanted to come, anyway. You can deal with whatever’s here yourself.”

Having been abandoned by Wei WuXian, Jiang Cheng’s face immediately clouded over.

[...]

Jiang Cheng stowed away the clouds on his face, “Don’t mind him. Look at how impolite he is. He’s used to such rude behavior at home.”

He then began to converse with Jin ZiXuan.

(Chapter 49, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jiang Cheng also quietly dismisses the notion of Wei Wuxian as a brother in relation to Jiang Yanli; when they visit to show him her wedding dress and she asks for a courtesy name, Jiang Cheng specifically says:

Jiang Cheng, “The courtesy name of my unborn nephew.”

(Chapter 75, Exiled Rebels translation)

Not our nephew, mine.

Even the disastrous invitation to Jin Ling’s one month celebration is framed as a favour to an old shidi, not a family member:

Jin ZiXun, “Since you’ve heard it from him already, you should know that I can’t wait. Don’t tell me that you’ll disregard your brother’s life for the sake of Sister-in-Law’s shidi?!”

Jin ZiXuan, “You clearly know that I’m not that kind of person! He might not necessarily be the one who cursed you with Hundred Holes either. Why are you so rash? I was the one who invited Wei WuXian to A-Ling’s full-month celebration anyways. If this is the way you do things, where does that leave me? Where does it leave my wife?”

Jin ZiXun raised his voice, “It’s best if he doesn’t attend! What does Wei WuXian think he is—does he deserve to attend our sect’s banquet? Whoever touches him gets nothing but a splash of black! ZiXuan, when you invited him, weren’t you worried that you, Sister-in-Law and A-Ling would receive an irremovable stain for the rest of your lives?!”

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s clear that not only does wider society not consider Wei Wuxian and the Jiangs siblings...they themselves don’t, either. Wei Wuxian, after all, readily accepts that his relationship with them is over after he leaves the sect:

Before they parted, Jiang Cheng spoke, “We won’t see you off. It wouldn’t be good if someone saw us.”

Wei WuXian nodded. He understood that it wasn’t easy for the Jiang siblings to have come out here. If someone else saw them, all those things they did for the public to believe would be wasted. He spoke, “We’ll go first.”

[...]

He turned around, knowing that it’d be a long time before he’d get to see the people he was familiar with again.

But… right now, wasn’t he on his way to seeing people he was familiar with as well?

(Chapter 75, Exiled Rebels translation)

Cast Aside

The way cultivation society treats Wei Wuxian when he is not with the Jiangs is also very revealing. Any level of respect he is given is contingent on his position in the Jiang household, and when they aren’t around that minimal respect fades away. Look at how disrespectfully he is treated when he approaches Jin Zixun to ask for Wen Ning’s location.

Wei WuXian didn’t make small talk either, getting straight to the point, “No thanks. I don’t.” He nodded slightly at Jin ZiXun, “Young Master Jin, could I please have a word with you?”

Jin ZiXun, “If you have anything to say, come after our banquet is over.”

In reality, he didn’t want to talk to Wei WuXian at all. Wei WuXian could see this as well, “How long do I have to wait?”

Jin ZiXun, “Probably around six to eight hours. Or maybe ten to twelve. Or until tomorrow.”

Wei WuXian, “I’m afraid I can’t wait for that long.”

Jin ZiXun’s voice was arrogant, “You’ll have to wait even if you can’t.”

Jin GuangYao, “Young Master Wei, what do you need ZiXun for? Is it a pressing matter?”

Wei WuXian, “Pressing indeed. It allows for no delay.”

[...]

Jin ZiXun, “Wei WuXian, what do you mean? You came for him? You aren’t standing up for a Wen-dog, are you?”

Wei WuXian wore a broad grin, “Since when is it your business whether I’d like to stand up for him or cut his head off? Just give him to me!”

At the last sentence, the grin on his face vanished. His tone turned cold as well. It was clear that he had lost his patience. Many of the people within Glamor Hal shivered in fear. Jin ZiXun felt his scalp tingle as well. Yet, his anger soon soared. He shouted, “Wei WuXian, you are too bold! Did the LanlingJin Sect invite you today? And you dare run wild here. Do you really think that you’re invincible, that nobody has the courage to confront you? Do you want to overturn the Heavens?”

Wei WuXian smiled, “You’re comparing yourself to the Heavens? Excuse my language, but your face is a little too thick, isn’t it?”

[...]

Just as he was about to rebut, sitting on the foremost seat, Jin GuangShan spoke up.

His voice seemed kind, “It’s not anything too important anyways. You youngsters, why lose your tempers over such a thing? However, Young Master Wei, let me be fair here. Barging in when the LanlingJin Sect is holding a private banquet is indeed inappropriate.”

To say that Jin GuangShan didn’t mind what happened at Phoenix Mountain would be impossible. This was also why he only smiled when Jin ZiXun bickered with Wei WuXian but didn’t stop them, and only spoke up when Jin ZiXun was at the disadvantage.

Wei WuXian nodded, “Sect Leader Jin, it was never my intention to disturb your private banquet. My apologies. However, the whereabouts of the people whom Young Master Jin took are still unclear. Just a moment of delay, and it might be too late. One of the group had once saved me before. I will definitely not sit back and watch. Please do not feel pressured. I will make amends for this at a later date.”

[...]

After a few laughs, he continued, “Sect Leader Jin, let me ask you something else. Do you think that, because the QishanWen Sect is gone, the LanlingJin Sect has all right to replace it?”

All was silent within Glamor Hall.

Wei WuXian added, “Everything has to be given to you? Everyone has to listen to you? Looking at how the LanlingJin Sect does things, I almost thought that it was the QishanWen Sect’s empire all over again.”

[...]

A guest cultivator on his right shouted, “Wei WuXian! Watch your words!”

Wei WuXian, “Did I say something wrong? Forcing living people to be bait and beating them up whenever they refused to obey—is this any different from what the QishanWen Sect does?”

Another guest cultivator stood up, “Of course it’s different. The Wen-dogs did all kinds of evil. To arrive at such an end is only karma for them. We only avenged a tooth for a tooth, letting them taste the fruit that they themselves had sown. What’s wrong with this?”

Wei WuXian, “Take revenge on the ones who bite you. Wen Ning’s branch doesn’t have much blood on their hands. Don’t tell me that you find them guilty by association?”

Another person spoke, “Young Master Wei, is it that they don’t have much blood on their hands just because you say so? These are only your one-sided words. Where’s the evidence?”

[...]

Jin GuangShan stood up as well, his face a mixture of shock, anger, fear, and hatred, “Wei WuXian! Just because… Sect Leader Jiang isn’t here doesn’t mean you can be so reckless!”

Wei WuXian’s voice was harsh, “Do you think that I wouldn’t be reckless if he were here? If I wanted to kill someone, who could stop me, and who would dare stop me?!”

[...]

“Young Master Wei really is too impulsive. How could he speak in such a way in front of so many sects?”

Lan WangJi spoke coldly, “Was he wrong?”

Jin GuangYao paused almost unnoticeably. He immediately laughed, “Haha. Yes, he’s right. But it’s because he’s right that he can’t say it in front of them, correct?”

Lan XiChen seemed as if he was deep in thought, “Young Master Wei’s heart really has changed.”

(Chapter 72, Exiled Rebels translation)

The only person at this banquet who speaks to Wei Wuxian respectfully is Jin Guangyao, a consummate manipulator who is also of a lower social status. Everyone else speaks to him dismissively, refusing to respect his request for Wen Ning’s location even though he states that Wen Ning helped him during the war. Wei Wuxian is extremely polite at the beginning of this conversation, and only slowly begins to lose his temper when Jin Zixun speaks rudely and Jin Guangshan decides to bring up the matter of the Yinhufu (Wei Wuxian is right in suspecting him of wanting to replace Qishan Wen, of course, and that it’s very bold of them to think they have the right to a spiritual tool of his just because...they’re rich?).

When the sects meet at Koi Tower to discuss the breakout at Qiongqi Path, no one considers Wei Wuxian as an independent agent who they might actually want to meet and negotiate with themselves. He is a wayward servant of Yunmeng Jiang who the sect leader has failed to keep in hand.

Jiang Cheng only spoke after a few moments, “What he did was indeed a bit too much. Sect Leader Jin, I apologize to you in place of him. If there’s any way at all to help the situation, please let me know. I’ll definitely compensate for things however I can.”

[...]

Jin GuangShan, “Sect Leader Jiang, Wei Ying is your right-hand man. You value him a lot. All of us know this. However, on the other hand, it’s hard to tell whether or not he actually respects you. In any case, I’ve been a sect leader for so many years and I’ve never seen the servant of any sect dare be so arrogant, so proud. Have you heard what they say outside? Things like how during the Sunshot Campaign the victories of the YunmengJiang Sect were all because of Wei WuXian alone—what nonsense!”

[...]

Lan WangJi sat with his back straight, speaking in a tone of absolute tranquility, “I did not hear Wei Ying say this. I did not hear him express the slightest disrespect towards Sect Leader Jiang either.”

[...]

The good thing was that, not long after he felt awkward, Jin GuangYao came to save the day, exclaiming, “Really? That day, Young Master Wei busted into Koi Tower with such force. He said too many things, one more shocking than the next. Perhaps he said a few things that were along those lines. I can’t remember them either.”

[...]

Jin GuangShan followed the transition, “That’s right. Anyhow, his attitude has always been arrogant.”

One of the sect leaders added, “To be honest, I’ve wanted to say this since a long time ago. Although Wei WuXian did a few things during the Sunshot Campaign, there are many guest cultivators who did more than him. I’ve never seen anyone as full of themselves as him. Excuse my bluntness, but he’s the son of a servant. How could the son of a servant be so arrogant?”

[...]

“In the beginning, Sect Leader Jin asked Wei Ying for the Tiger Seal with nothing but good intentions, worried that he wouldn’t be able to control it and lead to a disaster. He, however, used his own yardstick to measure another’s intents. Did he think that everyone is after his treasure? What a joke. In terms of treasures, is there any sect that doesn’t hold a few treasures?”

“I knew that something would eventually happen if he continued on the ghostly path—look! His killing intents are being revealed already. Killing indiscriminately those from our side just because of a few Wen-dogs…”

[...]

Jin GuangShan continued, “Sect Leader Jiang, you’re not like your father. It’s just been a couple of years since the reestablishment of the YunmengJiang Sect, precisely when you should be displaying your power. And he doesn’t even know to avoid suspicions. What would the Jiang Sect’s new disciples think if they saw him? Don’t tell me you’d let them see him as their role model and look down on you?”

He spoke one sentence after another, striking the iron while it was still hot. Jiang Cheng spoke slowly, “Sect Leader Jin, that’s enough. I’ll go to Burial Mound and deal with this.”

Jin GuangShan felt satisfied, speaking in a sincere tone, “That’s the spirit. Sect Leader Jiang, there are some things, some people that you shouldn’t put up with.”

(Chapter 73, Exiled Rebels translation)

This is very reminiscent of the way that Jin Zixuan would often turn around and say, ‘Why aren’t you controlling your servant?’ to Jiang Cheng whenever he had a dispute with Wei Wuxian over his treatment of Jiang Yanli.

When Jiang Cheng goes to the Burial Mounds and Wei Wuxian defects from Yunmeng Jiang in order to help the sect save face, Jiang Cheng treats this as a personal betrayal. He not only challenges Wei Wuxian to a duel but then announces that Wei Wuxian has betrayed Yunmeng Jiang and declared himself the enemy of cultivation society:

After the fight, Jiang Cheng told the outside that Wei WuXian defected from the sect and was an enemy to the entire cultivation world. The YunmengJiang Sect had already cast him out. From then on, no ties remained between them—a clear line was drawn. Henceforth, no matter what he did, they’d have nothing to do with the YunmengJiang Sect!

(Chapter 73, Exiled Rebels translation)

“Wei Wuxian has betrayed the sect, and publicly regards all cultivation sects as enemy! Yunmeng Jiang Sect hereby expels him, breaking all ties with him and drawing a clear line between us. Henceforth, no matter what this person does, it will have nothing to do with Yunmeng Jiang Sect!”

(Modao Zushi Radio Drama, Season 3 Episode 5, Suibian Subs)

Naturally, no one ever questions this or wants to hear Wei Wuxian’s side of the story. Jiang Cheng is a sect leader and Wei Wuxian his servant, and that is all cultivation society needs to know.

In Conclusion

Wei Wuxian was never really part of the Jiang family. The wider social view was that he was a servant who was lucky to be taken in by the family and allowed to live in the main house alongside the sect leader’s children. He’s accepted into cultivation society conditionally, but only as someone who remains a rank below everyone else.

This attitude isn’t just the wider social view which the family themselves disregard; they all play into it. Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Cheng both actively enforce it, Jiang Fengmian passively enforces it, and Jiang Yanli tries but fails to break through the social barriers between them.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #modao zushi

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meanscarletdeceiver · 3 years

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"Literary Agent Hypothesis" is honestly the best trope, bless Rev. Awdry for making it canon

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about how most of the RWS books are set during the year they were published (or sometimes the year before)… but then, those first six books. Y’know? The backdated ones?

In what has to be one of my most on-brand posts ever, please accept some lengthy “meta” headcanon I have about the early years of the RWS!

this is not at all compatible with my fics nor even with some of my other HCs because consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds mmkay?

1. The Thin Clergyman first visited Sodor during the latter years of WWII, because his children had been evacuated there. They had been made very comfortable and happy, so much so that, rather than merely sending for them, their parents made the trek to escort them home in person, after boarding for a short period at Tidmouth, in order to see the people and places that their children had written them of, and to thank them.

2. The Thin Clergyman had, of course, always been an engine enthusiast, and he was very taken by Thomas’s branch line, and later the Harbor Station. Throughout the country, many engines and automobiles had gone numb and silent, their smokeboxes blank and black, due to the hard labors and scant comforts of the war. One reason Sodor would become a destination for families in the coming years would be the generation of evacuee children who went home but did not forget the Sodor engines—for some of them, they were the last “living” engines they saw for years.

3. Wilbert Awdry first met Topham Hatt I when, on what seemed a quiet hour, he rapped on the door of his office, curious to know if it was as simple as this to see the Fat Director in person, and ready to offer him his commendations on what a fine railway he was running.

He found the great man, awash to his elbows in papers and his blood pressure roughly in the stratosphere, cursing a (North Western) blue streak over the phone!

Between Hatt’s calls and his barking for various people through the window, Awdry got through about a quarter of his planned speech. Then Hatt snapped that, if he were capable of handling correspondence, the reverend could offer his thanks in a more practical way by addressing *vague but violent gesture* that pile, which all required a politic and gracious ‘no’. As for Hatt’s usual secretary, she had been drafted to stand in for the flagman in the yard! And his assistants were out firing engines on the line! And Hatt was losing his $%^& mind!

Awdry meekly sat down at the corner desk and spent five hours deciphering the secretary’s margin notes and drafting responses.

4. A year later, Awdry returned to Sodor with an appointment to see the Fat Director again. When he knocked, Hatt chuckled ruefully and said that, this time, he was at Rev Awdry’s service.

5. Nevertheless, Hatt was a little sceptical when first presented with notes and sketches of how Gordon’s hill got its name, both Henry’s tunnel misadventures, a few Ffarquhar stories, Percy’s scarf, a story of Thomas and Edward’s from “the old days,” and (so rumored) a couple more stories involving engines that never did make the series.

Most of these stories depicted more-or-less embarrassing moments that the Company had always worked hard to stamp out, not to publicize.

But Awdry had come prepared with an explanation about how that misguided approach to public relations would leave untapped a huge potential pool of middle- and working-class passengers, especially in an age where living engines would be rather rare. (Much of the engine population ‘returned’ to their smokeboxes postwar, but no one knew yet that this would happen.) Besides, Awdry had already discovered how to turn these moments of confusion and delay into morality tales that edified children even as they entertained—

Hatt had begun to envision the possibilities for himself, and largely tuned out the rest of the Thin Clergyman’s earnest lecture on the moral education of youths in an atomic-bomb world.

6. The island’s Board of Tourism had not required this much of a pitch. They were an easy sell, and started purchasing Awdry’s railway tickets for him once the first book was published to good success.

7. The N.W.R.’s Board of Directors did require lots of hand-holding. The new chairman, Albert Regaby’s successor—not his hand-picked successor, mind you—objected to the use of this free publicity to, as Awdry first proposed, tell stories from the building of the railway to the current day with the WWI-specific details airbrushed out, as Awdry had no interest in writing war tales. Who cared about the history of a dinky little island like Sodor? (As you might have guessed, this was an Englishman.) What was the point in endorsing materials featuring *makes a point of checking notes and then almost deliberately butchering or air-quoting the names* Thomas and Edward? No, if this was to be done at all, it should be as part of a marketing campaign centered around Gordon. Duh.

8. Awdry’s counter-offer of The Three Railway Engines was accepted. How the board was left with the impression that the engines in question would be Gordon, Henry, and James is a mystery… an enigma…

9. Please don’t look at Hatt… who had been shoehorning Edward into every promotional campaign the railway had run since 1931.

10. James knew what was going on. He played along with good grace, partly due to his better nature—and partly because he was promised a whole book to himself in future.

11. The Board did not offer the same resistance to Thomas the Tank Engine, as nationalisation was in the air, and there were local fears that the Ffarquhar line would get the axe.

Utterly forgetting that a mere three years ago they had flatly declared that they would not agree to let Awdry use any of their tank engines as characters, they actually asked Awdry to write as much about Thomas as he could, as quickly as he could. They asked nicely, too!

12. The Wilbert books have stories that are all essentially true, but there are many details that were inaccurate, especially in books 1-6. Sometimes this was for convenience: For instance, Henry was not in fact freed from the tunnel in order to immediately steam up and pull a stranded Express. That would be madness. However, Henry was indeed left inside Ballahoo tunnel for several months during construction as a punishment for willfulness (and because he wasn’t proving much use when outside of it anyway), and there was a time when Henry and Edward took over the Express after Gordon burst a safety valve. Awdry combined the events into one story.

13. Some other examples of “grouping” together events that had happened separately or with large gaps:

Gordon did cover himself with embarrassment when he was switched onto a loop with the express immediately after some unadvised boasting, and James was on hand to snark about it. But James did not in fact single-handedly relieve a failed Gordon of the Express until 1929.

James had his wooden brakeblocks for quite a while. Thomas did retrieve him from a minor derailment early on, but James did not have his spectacular wreck that led to overhaul until he’d been on the island for a few years. (Thomas's 👏 promotion 👏 to 👏 branch 👏 line 👏 never 👏 had 👏 anything 👏 to 👏 do 👏 with 👏 heroism! God, that's the worst of the common TTTE takes...)

Hatt did ride-alongs with Henry and figured out that his firebox was too small way earlier than 1935. Henry was first given Welsh coal during the late ‘20s. The railway could no longer afford this expense in the belt-tightening early ‘30s, and indeed they were purchasing lower grades of coal even than their usual. The other engines could muddle along, but Henry couldn’t cope with such inferior stuff. The Flying Kipper wreck occurred only a few months after Henry was in Welsh coal and pulling his weight again; this had been after an unexpectedly successful summer season, and the coal had been bought in hopes that Henry would be able to cover for Gordon while Gordon was at Crovan’s Gate for a planned overhaul. (Henry’s wreck and rebuild put off Gordon’s own much-needed overhaul for a further three years.)

14. Finally, sometimes characterisations reflected them as they were when Awdry met them, in the 40s, but not as they were when the events actually happened.

Who are we talking about here?

Well, Hatt, mostly.

“The Sad Story of Henry” and “A Scarf for Percy,” which not coincidentally stick the most closely to the wording as Awdry heard it from an engine, offer a rather more accurate picture of Topham Hatt I as he was in the ‘20s and ‘30s than anything else in the books!

The Hatt that Awdry met (unfortunate first impression aside!) was an older, more matured, and less cocky man than the one Awdry’s new engine friends had known when they first arrived on Sodor. Hatt I had been a fierce and not exactly sentimental fellow, respected for his tenacity, but certainly not loved by anyone. People felt admiration, even gratitude... but good Lord, himself was a fat bastard, wasn't he? He hadn't been exactly cruel to his engines—not by the low standards of his day—but he had not been especially good to them, either… not until a couple decades of looking after the same lot. Not until the horrors of WWII had made him think that there may be more to life than engineering and business. Not until approaching the peak of his own career made him start to reflect about mortality and legacy.

But most of all, not until the Coffee Pots were scrapped.

Until that point, Hatt was quite ready to scrap engines that had served their purpose. Henry, for instance, had been given a narrow escape only due to the dual pressures of 1) Hatt much preferring the idea of a mended Henry than the idea of keeping ’86 and ’62, whom Hatt had decided were way more trouble than they were worth and 2) to scrap Henry would have been to admit defeat. For better or worse, Henry was notoriously Hatt’s purchase, and for the sake of his own reputation Hatt wanted Henry to succeed if at all possible. Hatt had also pushed through Edward’s overhaul in ‘31 in the face of considerable skepticism from the Board (the railway was doing Depression-era downsizing), but this was only because Edward had offered him considerable evidence that it was a good investment.

Not every engine had been able to make that case. ’86 was sold for scrap, and the W. & S. engines had been as well.

But Hatt hesitated a little with the Coffee Pots, who by the start of WWII were in terribly poor condition. He told himself that, after all, they were of some historical value. “Too busy” to deal with them just then, Hatt had them placed into store, with a promise that at least one of them would be restored and displayed after the fighting was done.

Behind his back, during a period where the War Department had summoned Hatt to the mainland, the acting manager had the Pots scrapped. He justified it as an act of patriotism, such metal being at a premium due to war shortages, and even as an act of friendship, sparring Hatt from a necessary but unpleasant duty.

No one, however, bothered mentioning this to Hatt. And immediately after the war, Hatt put off the duty of retrieving them still longer… he was still immensely busy, and then preparations had to be made for nationalisation, and trying to retain the region’s autonomy despite it…

Hatt did all this to resounding success and, immediately after being named Controller of the new region, he decided to celebrate by returning to his (and to the North Western's) roots, wakening the Pots, and making much of a restoration.

When he found out why this wouldn’t be possible, the guilt and the regret hit him like… well… a train.

A really heavy one.

He had already become a different man by that point, but he didn’t exactly realize it until this process of finding himself grieving his old creations with much more emotion than he would have thought possible.

Between his years shepherding the railway, the experience of the war, and this… Hatt’s values shifted quite a bit, after 1947.

15. Thus the firm but kindly Director/Controller that Awdry portrayed in his books was pretty accurate to how he observed Hatt interacting with the engines during Awdry’s time. But, uh. The harried man Awdry met that first day screaming obscenities into the speaker… that was a fair bit closer to how Hatt used to arrive on the scene after one of the engines’ not-so-cute mishaps!

16. (Not the Kipper. Hatt wasn’t quite as kind about it as portrayed in the book, but that was another case where the stakes were so high—and the carnage was so damn horrifying—that Hatt’s better self shone through. He did indeed tell Henry on the scene that he did not blame Henry, and told Henry to close his eyes and rest…)

17. Therefore the first time Hatt ever told one of his engines (all of whom left by this point, mind you, really were all kick-ass hard workers) he was proud of him was heading into the Christmas rush of '47. It was Thomas, who silently but promptly freaked out, as did every engine in earshot. Kind of the way Bob Cratchit did after the ghosts were done with Scrooge.

Hatt was really committed now to doing right by his engines, so they all got a fair bit more practice in hearing this.

18. The other character who was notably different as Awdry knew him than he’d been at the time of these early events was James.

The Thin Clergyman didn’t like James, and it’s hard to blame him. James suffered a great deal of trauma during the war, and he emerged from it raw, and trying to protect himself by a sharp and bitter tongue. He did say horrible put-downs to other engines, he did talk himself up at near all times, he was cruel about it. Lots of engines were getting scrapped after the war and James became mercilessly self-interested.

But that is not what James had been like when he arrived (and, after some healing, it wasn’t what he was like for the rest of his life). The Thin Clergyman, with some reluctance and a good deal of bafflement, fulfilled his promise to give James a book, relying on the accounts from the engines very faithfully, as well as accounts from some of the workers (James’s old fireman from that era was still around, and happy to talk). But the Thin Clergyman absolutely thought that, somehow, all those accounts of James were just deliberately scrubbing his personality. He went along with it, that’s all; he didn’t begin to realize until years later that perhaps there had been even a little truth to the picture everyone painted of a hasty, emotional, but very charming, determined, and sincere engine.

19. Henry didn’t go green again until his rebuild. He was still blue during the tender engines’ strike. The author, illustrator, and publishers all agreed to make him green again a book early due to readers’ confusion between him and Gordon. (Henry did have Gordon’s spare buffers, but that was for a couple of years post-war; once again, that was illustrated in the books as if it had happened in the ‘20s.) The N.W.R. directors, which had never really been on board with the storyline depicting “old” Henry, enthusiastically approved the change.

20. I’ve mentioned this somewhere else, but, similarly, Edward was still painted in his old railway’s colors until after the events of “Edward and Gordon.” This was not depicted for obvious reasons.

21. I don’t think I’ve discussed on my blog, but the engines did not have the numbering scheme that we now know until the beginning of 1949. At this point, British Railways conceded to the North Western Region the right to have their engines carry their own numbers, so long as a special plate was worn when the engines ran on metals beyond Barrow.

The North Western took the opportunity to re-do its numbering system, which had been a complete mess (thanks to just how fuzzy, and therefore how temporary, their definition of “ownership” could be!) As just one example of the sheer tomfoolery, Edward’s old number had just been carried over from the Furness, despite it being ludicrously higher than any other number in use on the N.W.R. at the time. Except, the paperwork had been incorrect, because the superintendent at the time was so confused as to which of the flock of borrowed and visiting engines they had actually purchased, so in fact Edward was left carrying the number of another Furness engine who had put in a good bit of time doing work for Sodor. Except, even if the superintendent meant that engine, he still got it wrong, for by 1920 that engine had been re-numbered by his owners anyway, and the superintendent had never even noticed the change.

Hatt sacked this chap within a month of being named managing director. If you’re wondering. But the numbering system was also kinda political, so it remained in all its baffling glory until '49.

22. Thomas had not officially been 1 prior to this year, but his loyal crew from Southampton had been proudly painting or chalking the number on Thomas’s side tanks in a ballsy attempt to claim it for decades. No amount of warnings, fines, or suspensions had ever deterred them for more than a year or two. And the fireman at least had the last laugh, for he lived to see the Board confirm their old bit of cheek!

23. But yes, when Troublesome Engines was published, the opportunity was taken at once to bring prospective passengers up to speed on the increasingly popular engines’ new numbers! So they were depicted in the illustrations, however anachronistically.

24. (In James’s case this aspect of the publicity campaign was unnecessary. He had arrived right after the previous #5, a W. and S. tank, had been scrapped, so his had ‘always’ been correct.)

25. Another note about the railway’s “modern” numbering system (as we may call it, for it has never been revised since): Slots 1-30 were reserved for engines due to appear in the railway’s now quite indispensable “books,” as well as other promotional campaigns. Only starting with #31 were the remaining engines simply numbered in order of arrival.

Of course, it actually took decades for those reserved slots to fill up… but that’s another story.

#ttte headcanon #ttte analysis #the railway series #meta HCs #the fat controller #the thin clergyman #ttte thomas #ttte edward #ttte henry #ttte gordon #ttte james #ttte percy #(the rws version of percy's scarf is much shorter and severer than the tvs version haha)#(britt oversaw some good dialogue getting added into that one)#(even i can't object to those changes!)#long post #the island of sodor #ttte: wwii

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makeste · 4 years

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So, which of these desperately sobbing children gets to compete for Worst Day? I... think Shouto's our, uh, lucky winner, but I think Deku, Momo, and Tokoyami all put up strong fights

so seeing as we are finally approaching New Chapter Times again after a very long three weeks, this feels like a good time to do a recap of just how much everything currently sucks for our intrepid heroes. it may seem a bit insensitive of me to go through the cast list one by one and arbitrarily assign each character a number score based on how shitty their day was, but... well actually I don’t really have a good defense for that, lol. whatever, let’s just get to ranking these children’s misery (and while we’re at it, some of the adults’ as well).

Midoriya Izuku

current status: unconscious. currently has a pair of those floppy inflatable flailing tube men dealios for arms. had to watch his teacher and his best friends get hurt and nearly die while being helpless to do anything to stop it. has a new quirk which “warns” him of approaching danger by giving him ice pick headaches, as if he didn’t have enough pain in his life as it is. is being targeted by the most dangerous person in the world. and last but not least, is probably on the verge of his super-secret quirk becoming not-so-secret, and having to deal with the fallout of that.

rank: 9/10. hard to imagine how things could get much worse for this little guy atm. NO HORIKOSHI THAT IS NOT A CHALLENGE. YOU LEAVE HIS MENTOR ALONE.

Bakugou Katsuki

current status: unconscious. got impaled by the Big Bad which initially did not look good, but apparently it wasn’t enough to stop him from flying around in drunken loop-de-loops whilst ignoring Iida’s protests, so who knows. proudly announced his new hero name to the world only to be met with scorn and ridicule and hysterical laughter from that fucking Caillou-looking motherfucker whose opinion he never mcfucking asked for, thank you very much. and also his best friend’s self-sacrificing tendencies are giving him anxiety, and his other best friend’s brother just pulled a reverse Darth Vader on Endeavor and upended hero society as we know it. so there’s a good chance he might be called upon to provide emotional support to one or even BOTH of them in the near future. has... has he actually become the stable friend in the trio. fuck.

rank: 7/10 just because he briefly appeared to be in a situationally-inappropriate good mood for those few brief minutes right after Jeanist appeared. you were having too much fun to get a top score, Katsuki.

Todoroki Shouto

current status: not unconscious but probably wishing he was. older brother came back from the dead and revealed that he was a mass murderer and broadcast all of Shouto’s personal traumas to the entire world before earnestly trying to set him and his friends on fire. so is currently dealing with all of the fun fallout from that, on top of watching his teacher and friends all come within inches of death. will probably be dragged into a national controversy against his will now that Endeavor’s past has been revealed. all of it is honestly so shitty that it’s all but impossible for me to put an irreverent spin on this. I honestly can’t think of a single joke to make. goddammit Shouto.

rank: 10/10. a perfect storm of shittiness.

Yaoyorozu Momo

current status: somehow Momo went from having no mentors that we knew of, to having two mentors, and then back to having no mentors, all in the span of a single day. has to be some sort of record.

rank: 8/10. and the worst part of all is that she was a fucking BAMF during this arc, but she can’t even enjoy that now because of all the trauma. I’m still proud of you, Momo.

Uraraka Ochako

current status: mentally and physically exhausted after spending a day out on the front lines dealing with the aftermath of an unnatural disaster. saw things that were canonically enough to make a grown man have a nervous breakdown right then and there. had a really weird and unsettling encounter with Toga who keeps trying to relate to her by telling her things like “hey Ochako, this one time I turned into you and used your quirk to murder someone horribly isn’t that wild.” it’s just been a very long day for her.

rank: 6/10. stressful af but she’s still in one piece and no one was actively murdered in front of her. sometimes you gotta take whatever wins you can get.

Tokoyami Fumikage

current status: his mentor was nearly burned to death in front of him and he was almost burned to death too, and the guy who kept attempting to burn him was all “YOUR MENTOR’S A MURDERER BTW AND SO YOU SHOULD JUST LET ME KILL HIM”, and so he was kind of put on the spot there and he didn’t really know what to do, and somehow he managed to escape with Hawks anyway but Hawks’s wings were all burnt off, and then a fucking video of Hawks stabbing Twice in the back got broadcast to the entire nation and so it’s like, ???? he didn’t sign up for this??? he is just a little birb??? can he live????

rank: 7/10 because he missed out on all of the other traumatizing stuff, but it’s honestly impressive how bad his day managed to be even in spite of that.

All for One

current status: All for One’s day is actually going pretty good.

rank: 0/10. hey but fuck you, AFO.

Shigaraki Tomura

current status: woke up early from his nap which always sucks. only got to enjoy his cool new Transcendent Being powers for a few minutes before the heroes all ganged up on him and incinerated him a bunch of times and fucked up his shiny new cape. has his old mentor currently taking up residence in his head uninvited and trying to boss him around. found out his grandma was part of One for All?? then slept through all of the fun stuff with the Dabi reveal. also a bunch of his friends are either dead or captured. all in all was not really the best day for him.

rank: 8/10 because he was having himself a grand old time for a while there, but once some of this stuff finally sinks in the Suck Factor is going to go way, way up. also, seriously, AFO is currently possessing his body, jesus christ. just leave him alone already.

Hawks

current status: had to make an impossible choice between sitting back and letting an untold number of people die, and turning on a good but misguided man who was only trying to help his friends. has to live with the trauma of literally stabbing his friend in the back for the rest of his life. may have been rendered effectively quirkless. was publicly dragged through the mud alongside Endeavor, and unlike Endeavor he didn’t actually do anything to earn it (though that probably won’t stop him from feeling like he has). oh and speaking of Endeavor, just found out that the hero he looked up to since childhood abused his family and shit, and so now he has to grapple with that on top of everything else. how fucked is it that the minute he finally got to drop his whole double agent balancing act, his life somehow got even more fucked up and complicated.

rank: 9/10. let Hawks rest.

Aizawa Shouta

current status: unconscious. seems to have lost an eye which may possibly affect his quirk. had to saw off his own fucking leg. met the man who experimented on his childhood friend. doesn’t know yet that said man was originally targeting him and not Shirakumo. oh and also his other other childhood friend just died and he doesn’t know it yet. and someone else sacrificed himself in order to save him. and most of his other hero pals are either dead or wounded too, and all of his kids are deeply traumatized. and the guy they went through all of this shit to try and capture in the first place got away, and hero society is now in shambles.

rank: 11/10. Horikoshi. wtf did Aizawa ever do to you.

anyways it’s getting late and I was gonna throw in a few honorable mentions, but I think I’ll just call it a day instead. feel free to weigh in on any of the ones I missed. Dabi for one is having himself a FINE, fine day. but Endeavor not so much. sob.

#bnha 296 #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks

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skybristle · 3 years

Text

GOING INSANE AGAIN. this time about STRAWBERRY CREPE COOKIE. copy/pasted this from my dms but this is MY fanon and I make the rules. some oc stuff in here but honestly i don't care god is dead and i can do whatever i want. putting it under the cut because it's long and ALSO tw for manipulation/abandonment of children

okay so for context white lily in my fanon was always kinda,,, Off??? like i def see her as a brilliant mind with good intentions and misguided ways but shes very distant and gets kinda obsessed with her ideas of creating the 'perfect' cookie, even after the massive failure at the acadamy resulting in what happened happening pv gets kinda dragged into it because,,, she's his sorta lover sorta friend sorta ????? [idk i headcanon them as qpr with a really complicated relationship] and he has the healing magic in case anything goes awry, not to mention the kingdom and revolutionary technology so she can work. he kinda turns a blind eye to it because,,, it's his beloved lily,,, she wouldn't do anything like that,,, again. she was extremely remorseful over what happened at the acadamy [we see it in the flashback chapter 10 cutscenes] then she drags him in the lab one day, finally executing one of her biggest experiments. strawberry crepe. he's there for their creation and,,, crepe comes out faulty. they're crumbling, very easily [they lose their arms first but could have easily died right there], are mostly deaf, and while they can process what's happening its obviously,,, Very hard to grasp considering they can't hear anything + dude they were created 5 seconds ago. white lily immediately dismisses them as a failure [she's in deep at this point, it's only a couple months before the night of the witches] and pv is like HELLO???? THAT'S A CHILD??? but he doesn't know What to do with crepe at all [healing magic is just as much about a plan of action as the power behind the magic] so freezes them in stasis and tries to figure it out,,,, but dark flour war happens, he loses time for it inbetween everything, running off to other kingdoms to heal wounded soldiers,,, and by the time the war's over, he's gone. having rejected the light of truth feeling he failed and is no longer worthy of it, and healer doesn't remember anything, let alone crepe of course, dark enchantress knows what happened to them, and when she takes over the castle in the sky as her base of operations she takes a look around,,, and is surprised to find them intact [or, as intact as they were when pv froze them]. she wakes them up, slaps some cake arms on that fucker [PV did some more general long-term spells to keep them intact], and basically starts the manipulation from day one. she realizes quickly crepe is far smarter than a failed experiment would let on so,,, indulges them. plays with them, and introduces them to the wafflebots. crepe is immediately fascinated with them and is practically clambering at the chance to get into engineering. perfect. she claims they must be a prodigy and sets them off to mess around. one of the first things crepe makes is their headset [which are also hearing aids! tons of anatomy texts lying around for em to reference] and later their paw prosthetics [cake limbs tend to kinda mess with your head and crepe absolutely Hates it. they gotta stay in their own mind!!! de praises them all the time for their intellect,, they can't lose that, can they?]. their prosthetics r modeled after cat paws. they wear gloves over them most of the time but u can see it a bit in one of my drawings de basically immediately puts lies into their head, blaming PV for their failed creation, blaming PV for them being frozen for decades, blames PV for everything [which, admittedly, some of it is kinda PV's fault but like he only did that because of what SHE did and his denial over it], and grows distant with time. isolation is one of the best weapons of a manipulator, and as crepe desprately chases that shred of attention from the only cookie they know [DE even keeps the other cookies of darkness away from them], they'll do practically anything for her. they're so alone,,,, they fill the void with building shit like the waffle goliath and setting them all off on the surrounding wasteland to break shit,,, not thinking that there are cookies down there. there can't be, everything is dead down there. right? tldr chapter 9 is a. Shitshow. they

spend

most of the time messing with the starter squad because. hey!!! cookies!!! :]]]] they haven't seen any besides the rare glimpse at the cookies of darkness and DE herself. but,,, towards the end,,, it kinda,,,,, Hits them??? when black raisin freaks out and says "YOU'RE the one who's been attacking our village?" not to mention they get the shit beat out of them,,,, they're destroyed with guilt + DE told them that nobody was down there [distracting the village with wafflebot attacks was good to keep them off her back up in the castle in the sky, especially because there's no way she doesnt catch on to healer being pv] and crepe starts to unveil the lies, especially afterwards when PV is back and goes back,,, guilty as hell it took him so long to help them and let DE play her twisted games with them. they heal crepe up and try to start them on reversing the damage done but,,, crepe at this point has a deeply instilled hatred of pv. they almost try to kill him and spend the rest of their time avoided them and smashing shit in the workshop. they're entire reality crumbled apart in front of them and they are NOT ready to let someone else worm into their head claiming that they're 'the right one'. never again. actually funnily enough the way that crepe gets out of their 'i can't trust everyone everyone wants to hurt me everyone is lying!!!" deal is a. road trip. when messenger returns to their kingdom,,, they see pv's attempts with crepe aren't working [they know about everything white lily did, including the creation of a failed cookie who they quickly figure out is crepe], they're incredibly blunt with crepe [good for someone who thinks everyone is trying to worm into their head] and basically says "hey, i know what happened, i'm not going to tell you because you'll think i'm lying, i would too, but i can show you the direct evidence and letters" and they take crepe to the grove,,,, being really silly and fucking around and taking them to all sorts of spots to pad out the journey and help the poor kid open up and eventually letting crepe read the letters and diary entries and diagrams,,,, comforting them through the ensuing breakdown. it's what crepe needs,,, but it's definately hard on them, especially reading it point blank that their creator simply saw them as a failure and truely abandoned them, only coming back when they could be 'useful' to her schemes. messenger is no therapist, but they can play the cool older brother motif and open them up so PV can get in and help them properly i dont think crepe will ever be Not a bit of a little shit and kinda a chaotic asshole but. they have tons of trauma to work through and it would be good for them if they understood cookies and cared for them a bit more

#sky rambles #cookie run oc #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #crk #strawberry crepe cookie #so sorry for anyone who tries to read this goliath of a post #oopsie #i had fun writing it HFSDLKFSD crepe is my SKRUNGLY

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daylighteclipsed · 3 years

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Ok I haven't watched Naruto in years but your tags are pure gold

Honestly one of the biggest problems in Naruto is that the setting is SO FULL OF POTENTIAL! And the crafting of the story is popular for a reason, the Zabuza arc is so emotional and the whole "children being forced to wage war needs to stop" is such a central & repeated theme

BUT THEN it's slowly revealed that the third Hokage has completely betrayed the whole reason the village was formed! But he's still shown as the good guy? And that the wars just became bigger after the villages were formed and they STILL used child soldiers?!! After the whole "no burying younger siblings"!?! There was no international agreement between villages like "hey, the minimum age requirement for soldiers is at least 18"

Like. What

Tbh as a narrative choice I find it okay to keep repeating the same message many times to hammer in the point, which in this instance is "don't make children fight in wars" and all the things you said about generational differences and protecting kids from trauma. After all, it's not easy to build a good society and changes often are gradual, where the next generation has more resources to make better choices.

But my issue is that the problem(s) should be SOLVED at the end of the story, and that the future is better, that this generation finally managed to fix some big issues, like idk, the treatment of orphans in the society?

I don't know anything about Boruto, I don't know if the villages were ever like "oh yeah this whole trapping tailed beasts is dangerous & unethical af & btw there are actual adults making sure orphans aren't kidnapped" etc. because at some point I was just like "I don't enjoy this anymore" so I just read fix it -fics about Naruto nowadays

But from what I've understood of the ending, it... didn't really feel like the sacrifices of characters like Itachi, Haku & Neji were appreciated in the story.

Instead the ending was rushed to make way for Boruto and that's a bit... :/

Anon, that’s A LOT :////////// or more accurately 😤😤😤😤😤😤🤬🤬🤬

I think I’ve said this before, but I don’t even need to see that the future is better. I just need to see that the characters are working to make it better. I need to know that the process is underway because, yeah, realistically major changes take a long time to happen. Decades upon decades upon decades… So it’s fine if I don’t see the future. I’m fine with an open, hopeful ending, like a rainbow at the end of a rain storm, because it means the sun is coming out.

I don’t watch Boruto. But I know Team Taka works for Orochimaru again, I know Orochimaru still experiments on humans, I know Team 7 is miserable, I know their kids are child soldiers and the Kage structure is still in place, and the Shinobi system is still in place, and Naruto did NOTHING to help the Hidden Rain Village… And that is all I need to know. None of the major problems from the og series are solved or respected. But Naruto achieves his misguided childhood dream of becoming the general of a fascist military state. Yay.

The world of Naruto has so much potential. The characters, the setting… Land of Waves sets the bar so high. Because the world opens up. For a moment, there’s more than ninjas. There’s people who have never met ninjas, know nothing about them, and the hidden villages are actually hidden. For our child protagonists, there is suddenly something else. A whole different way of life. A whole different world that they’re not part of. To the “civilian” world, they hardly exist.

And a whole different attitude. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were raised to think Shinobi are undeniably good. Shinobi are heroes, and all the harsh rules and training are normal. But then, the bridge builder is horrified by their way of life. Haku and Zabuza reveal a very ugly side to Shinobi. To become a Shinobi is to become a killer, to sacrifice your humanity for a dictator who doesn’t care about you as a person. You’re not a person. You’re a tool. You are useful, or you are nothing.

And if you’ll notice in that arc, none of Team 7’s Shinobi skills help them save the day. Following the Shinobi way only makes the situation worse, only results in Sasuke injured and Haku dead. One of the cardinal rules is to never show weakness, and Naruto saves the day by breaking that rule, by crying. For someone he doesn’t know and a world that doesn’t care and a way of life he now fears will cost his heart. Zabuza defeats Gato (who literally parallels the Kages) by rejecting the Shinobi way and embracing his humanity. His heart.

Team 7 doesn’t defeat Gato’s bandits. Not in battle. None of the kids shed blood. It’s not their willingness to fight and kill, but to stand up and defend, to die protecting, this town that inspires all the townies to defend themselves. The town runs the bandits out. All Team 7 does is give them hope.

Land of Waves also introduces the existence of widespread oppression through Haku’s character. Naruto thought that he was the only one suffering because of power he never asked for, but there are more people, entire clans, that have been oppressed and exterminated because of their Kekkei Genkai.

So the world opens up and a plot starts forming. Land of Waves says okay, here’s what this story is really about, and the arc concludes with Team 7 questioning the Shinobi way and Naruto especially realizing that “real” missions are not very fun. Naruto hasn’t given up wanting to be a ninja, but the rose-tinted glasses have faded. So shaken is he by this experience, he declares he will follow his own moral code unlike the ninjas of old. He will not lose his heart.

And then… then it’s like this entire arc never happened. The next episode opens with Naruto repeating his words from before Land of Waves, about wanting to go on a “real” mission. We’re ushered into the chunnin exams where suddenly lots of kids have unique abilities like Sasuke’s sharingan and Haku’s ice jutsu, and Kakashi’s emphasis on valuing teammates before the mission is no longer an unorthodox take. Neji and Gaara’s characters, at least, keep the themes of oppression and child abuse/trauma in mind. But it’s jarring how Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura do not question anything after everything they’ve seen.

They don’t think, hey, having to fight and kill our classmates to graduate to chunnin is pretty fucked up. Especially after learning that Zabuza had to do that to graduate to genin in his village. And, maybe our village isn’t so great either. Naruto, who heard the entirety of Haku’s story, who was horrified by Zabuza’s heartlessness, never thinks, why am I being encouraged to fight and kill these other kids? They’re kids, like I am. Like Haku was. Naruto, who is scared of becoming cold-hearted, never thinks, this feels wrong. I don’t like this. ??

Apparently not. I guess it wouldn’t be very shonen of the main character to decide fighting to prove your strength is kind of bad actually. But then, maybe there shouldn’t have been an arc before this highlighting how tragic battle is. Maybe they shouldn’t have had the main character say, “There are other ways of showing your strength than just by beating someone in battle.” Maybe they should’ve saved that for after the child gladiator fights.

Anyway, I didn’t even get to the generational trauma here, but this is all a long-winded way of saying I completely agree with you. I’d be more willing to forgive the shoddy writing throughout the series if the ending had the characters acknowledging and tackling any of the systemic or societal issues that led to their suffering and the hellish world they live in, but that doesn’t happen.

#I’ve been working on this for days and I’m tired of looking at it so #take this #yeehaw #naruto

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aggressive-positivity-network · 3 years

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So I (A white cisgender heterosexual woman who likes pumpkin spice lattes and Animal Crossing, so yeah) grew up in a very, VERY LGBTQ+-phobic household, and that translated into me having basically no knowledge on the LGBTQ+ community. Could you do me a massive favor and just lay out straight the words and phrases and generally help a dumbass out?

Oooh, no problem! And believe me, you aren’t a dumbass. I knew next to nothing for a while, and I grew up in a very supportive household. I just didn’t have the means to learn about it.

Here’s a phrasebook for some common phrases you might hear:

TERF: Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist; they believe that trans women should not be included in their fight for gender equality, and that because trans woman “used to be men” they shouldn’t be allowed in women safe spaces because they might rape someone. Sooo yeah. Keep away from them. They are pretty nasty and misguided. Also known as radfems.

Pansexual: Attracted sexually to anyone of any gender identity.

Panromantic: Attracted romantically to anyone of any gender identity

Bisexual: Attracted sexually to two or more genders.

Biromantic: Attracted romantically to two or more genders

Pan/Bi Discourse: Some people think pansexual and bisexual should become one or the other because they’re very similar to each other, but whether you identify as either of them is a personal choice, and you shouldn’t let anyone dictate your identity - ever. You can even be both at the same time, if you choose to identify that way! Honestly, it isn’t that big of a deal which one you choose, as long as you feel comfortable between them!

Demisexual/Demiromantic: Needs to form a strong emotional bond with someone before pursuing a romantic or sexual relationship. They probably wouldn’t enjoy speed-dating or sleeping with someone they just met. They might not experience sexual attraction for someone unless they knew the person very well.

Asexual: Does not feel sexual attraction for anyone; however, they still might like to have sex, may be neutral about sex, or might even be repulsed by it. Most people confuse this with chastity (not choosing to have sex, usually for religious reasons) or abstinence (choosing not to have sex until married). However, they still might get horny, or want to pleasure themselves. The usual difference is having it with another person. If they see a hot guy, for example, the immediate thought may be, “Wow they’re attractive,” rather than, “Have my babies.”

Aromantic: Does not feel romantic attraction for anyone; this may mean that usual romantic relationships don’t appeal to the person, or that shows of romance (flowers, dates, etc.) doesn’t appeal to them. However, they can still have very strong platonic relationships, and still do enjoy sex, but might not develop crushes or want to go on a date with someone. They might marry platonically, or marry romantically on certain terms.

Grey/Graysexual: Anyone who is in that “gray” space between being asexual and being sexual. They might like the idea of sex, but hate the product. They might have fantasies they’d like to live out in the bedroom, but not actual sex. They might like sex, but under certain conditions. People have their own names for the different facets of graysexuality, but are all under this umbrella.

Grey/Grayromantic: Anyone in that “gray” space between romantic and aromantic. They might like huge shows of romance in novels, but wouldn’t be a fan of it happening to them. They might have a crush on a person, but would never be in a relationship with them, even if asked. Graysexuality also has different names for different facets, but it’s still all under this umbrella.

Queer: Usually used as a temporary or even permanent label for when someone is still trying to figure things out. They know that there is something inside of them that’s different - but they’re not quite sure yet.

Non-binary: People who are neither male nor female, and are outside the gender spectrum. A few have androgynous (gender-neutral) styles or body types, but no matter what they wear or what they look like, they are still non-binary!

Trans: Someone who was born gender, but knows in their heart that they are another. Someone may be born a boy, but always feel like a girl, vice versa, or both genders may change to non-binary, bigender, genderqueer, or genderfluid. Being trans simply means you are making the physical and/or mental transition from one gender or another.

Transmasc: A trans person that presents as masculine, with both clothes and manner.

Transfemme: A trans person that presents as feminine, with both clothes and gender.

Bigender: Someone who identifies as male sometimes and female sometimes.

Genderfluid: Someone who drifts from one end of the binary spectrum (male on one side, female on the other) and may have several sets of pronouns. They may feel more feminine one day, more masculine another, and somewhere in between later that week.

AMAB: Assigned Male At Birth; this has no bearing on current gender identity, but it’s medically useful and can help trans people talk about themselves before they transition.

AFAB: Assigned Female At Birth; this has no bearing on current gender identity, but it’s medically useful and can help trans people talk about themselves before they transition.

Two-Spirit: A Native American who identifies as the traditional third gender, with both a masculine and a feminine spirit inside of them. It’s a pretty new term, and not all Indigenous people choose to label themselves or others that way.

Femme: A woman who dresses and acts in a traditionally feminine way.

Butch: A woman who dresses and acts in a traditionally masculine way.

Beard: Describes a partner in a relationship that exists for the purpose of keeping someone’s true sexual attraction status a secret. A gay man might have a relationship with a woman, who would be considered his beard.

Queerplatonic Relationship: A relationship that is a mixture of the traditional platonic relationship and the traditional romantic relationship. People included in this relationship can raise children and own a house together, but most likely won’t participate in sexual and/or romantic activities.

Polyamorous Relationship: A relationship that includes three or more people at any given time. This may look like a couple having an open relationship, where they can date others as they please, or it may be a set few people that stay together. Two people can be attracted to one other person, three people can all be attracted to each other, two couples can have sexual or romantic relations with each other’s partner - there are infinite combinations, and, as long as it’s healthy, they’re all valid!

I hope this helps! This is not an exhaustive list, but these are pretty much the basics and a little bit more. If you have any specific term you’d like me to define, I’d be more than happy to! Also, if I got any wrong, please feel free to correct me, and I’ll edit the post as soon as I can!

Also, who’s your favorite Animal Crossing character? I like Blathers a lot! Nerds and professors have my entire heart.

#lgbtpeople #lgbtq rights #lgbtq positivity #lgbtq+#lgbtqiia+#lgbt representation #lgbtq community #lgbtq #lgbtqplus #send asks #send anons #lovely anons

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crystalbahamut · 3 years

Text

become the night

FFXIV Write Day 6: Avatar

Summary: Eulmore has captured its most hated villain. If they want you to be the Warrior of Darkness so badly, then perhaps you will oblige them.

Author’s note: AU thing (I guess?) where WoL is captured by Eulmore having defeated maybe two or three Lightwardens? I’m not sure. Also it’s definitely more AUish in that WoL can better channel the power of the light. I just like the idea of using the dark to filter it– sort of moon-like. I don’t know where this came from but it felt like a neat idea, even if I could only manage a small snippet of what feels like could be a larger whole.

Warnings: Shadowbringers spoilers, some violence, unspecified/ambiguous WoL/D, not dark knight main but dips into it, playing a little bit loose with aether/magic abilities

Words: 1,469

---

“Is the food not to your liking?”

Vauthry is a disgusting man taking advantage of people within and without his city and yet treating you to a saccharine tone like an honored dinner guest. And, as a most exceptional dinner guest, you are sat next to General Ran’jit and attended by no less than eight guards with various sharp objects just waiting for you to breathe wrong.

The situation doesn’t tend to work up much of an appetite.

“I don’t eat food prepared by people I don’t trust,” you say.

“Oh come now. If I wanted you dead, you already would be,” Vauthry says and takes a long swig of his wine.

He would think that. But if you hadn't had to sacrifice yourself to keep Ran’jit from getting Minfilia, you wouldn’t be here, and you know that. “Why am I alive then?” you ask. “I loathe you and I’m fairly certain the feeling must be mutual, given how far you’ve gone to keep me from killing the other monsters blighting this world.”

“No no no,” he says and sets his goblet aside. “You are simply…misguided. The Crystal Exarch has been feeding you lies and false promises, but I will teach you the truth. Here, have some wine; it will relax you.”

“No thank you,” you say, words clipped as you remember the last time you had a glass. Trauma aside, if someone wanted to poison Vauthry, you don’t think you’d mind.

“Stubborn.” His voice is barely raised but he slams a hand upon the table, making everything on it jump. “How will it serve you to deny me? You are here whether you like it or not; if you submitted to me I would make you a citizen of this city. Do you have any idea what people are willing to do for such an honor?”

“I do,” you say. “And if they truly knew what they were walking into you would be left with no sacrifices to your petulant temper.”

He stares at you for several moments– potentially you used too many big words– before he bears his teeth, shouts, and slams his fist against the table a few more times before grabbing a meol loaf and thrusting it at your face. “I’ve had enough– eat!”

You lean back but he presses forward. “Eat, damn you!” he says and pushes it against your face as you can lean away no more with hands holding you in place. You turn your head to get away from the bread that the light inside you reacts to. You don’t know what that means but it feels wrong in a way that turns your insides. However Vauthry is bearing down on you and he reaches in with his other hand to hold your nose.

So you oblige him.

Your teeth sink in to the base of his thumb and he howls. His flesh is pale, putrid, spongy…

…sickeningly familiar.

He rips himself away, leaving you with a tainted taste of sour blood just before the guard rips you out of your chair, slams you to the ground, and descends upon you.

By the end of their assault you wouldn’t claim to have much dignity left, bleeding on the floor as you are, but Vauthry is still whimpering about his bandaged hand so by comparison you’d say you’re doing all right.

There’s a knock on the door and Vauthry composes himself. “What is it!” he barks.

The door opens. “M-my lord,” the servant whimpers. “The- the Crystal Exarch is at the gates. In his words he demands an audience with you, to speak of the wrongful imprisonment of his warrior– his words, not mine!”

“Feh.” Vauthry sneers down at you. You let your eyes close and continue to steel yourself for what is to come. “I’m half-tempted to throw you from an airship and watch you break at his feet. But you may be of use yet. You– bind and bring them. You– tell the guard the Crystal Exarch is hereby an enemy of Eulmore and is to be executed on sight.”

The servant confirms his orders in the most simpering way possible and Ran’jit, finally, speaks up. “My lord, we need not truly negotiate, but we could make him return Minfili–”

“I don’t care about the girl,” Vauthry spits out. And then literally spits. “We have the Warrior of Darkness and the Crystal Exarch’s futile plans will never succeed without them. The girl will fight and die like all the others and a new one will be born. You can have the next reincarnation; the current one is too much trouble.”

“…My lord,” Ran’jit says, somehow deferential and seething with rage both.

As your hands are chained behind your back you feel a familiar calm settle into your bones and seep through your blood. Warrior of Darkness indeed. For a while the title didn’t feel right; you were a Warrior of Light taking the power of the light and everything about you felt too bright and burning. The Warrior of Darkness was a convenient title– a children’s story, a religious figure, and you felt sacrilegious ever even thinking about taking the mantle.

But now. Now the light is dimming as you allow an old friend back into the shadows of your mind and you feel yourself deaden to the world with only Fray’s echoing chuckle in your ear, even as you are dragged to your feet and paraded out to a terrified populace. Vauthry speaks to his people to– inspire them? Cow them? You aren’t truly paying attention. Not until he turns to you and asks, “And what would you say for yourself, villain?”

You look amongst the crowd, making sure not to linger on familiar faces. They don’t feel wrong, they don’t feel deserving of your wrath, and so this is not the place to make your stand. And you’re not a politician. Not an inspired speaker. However the things you have been through have given you just enough experience to know how to stir people. For better or for worse.

“Night is coming whether you like it or not,” you say. A little pull, a little pitch-black glamour, and all across the room you drape all the aether you can muster to…‘turn off the lights,’ so to speak. There are a few shrieks and shouts, and a chorus of gasps– even from Vauthry himself. You look right at him. “So you had best get used to the dark.”

---

“By the Twelve, you’re a right mess.”

You crack open one eye. The other one is too swollen to budge. “Thancred?” you ask with a throat too dry to nearly speak. “What are you doing here?”

He scoffs and starts picking open one of the manacles. This is unexpected– and entirely too soon; you haven’t yet healed enough from the last beating to carry out your plans. “I got in here once already; you can’t think they’d keep me out now?” There’s a clicking sound and Thancred works with more careful motions. “I’ve simply been awaiting my opportunity. Nice little lightshow, by the way; it–”

“Thancred, did you find–” Alphinaud’s gasp is joined by another and both twins exclaim your name.

“I’m all right,” you say as Alphinaud’s healing magic begins to settle into you. It prickles, but after a few moments you can blink open both your eyes, and open and close your now-free fist. Perhaps everything can go ahead as planned.

Alisaie watches you sharply, and when you’re unshackled and healed up enough to start walking towards a collection of old weaponry, she says your name warily. “We should go.”

“Not yet. There’s something I have to do,” you say and dig through the pile until you find a greatsword.

“My friend you are barely healed,” Thancred says and holds out his hands. “We must return to the Crystarium and regroup.”

“We won’t get a chance like this again.” You give the sword a few swings. It’s far from perfect, but it will do. Until you find a guard with a better one. You turn towards your friends. “You don’t have to come with me.”

They look like they might refuse. Thancred looks like he might try to bash you over the head and just steal away, but whether he relents because he wants to or because he senses he can’t win, you aren’t sure. Either way he shrugs and smiles. “Very well,” he says. “Just answer me honestly, my friend– are you certain you feel well enough for this?”

“Yes. In fact…” You turn towards them, light pulsing beneath your skin and ready to be unleashed with the darkness already gathering. Stars and moonlight, there is a place for it, and you will show it where to go. “For the first time, I feel right.”

#ffxivwrite2021 #ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite prompt 6: avatar #ffxiv fanfic #shadowbringers spoilers #warrior of light #vauthry #captured #rescue

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lizacstuff · 3 years

Text

SCK/EDSER anon asks ep 41

Apologies for getting to these so late in the week, but lots of good asks for this episode.

Find them under the cut:

Anonymous asked: Your thoughts on the epi? The kisses were a huge surprise! I'm glad she didn't slap him. And I'm kind of liking the two assistants' story. Its subtle but nice. And Aydan is so weird around Kemal! Is it just me or does her voice change frequency when she's talking to him. I like that they explained why Eda named her daughter Kiraz. I wasn't a huge fan of the name initially but it's growing on me.

So once again I thought it was a really good episode of television, the time moved quickly, it was well constructed and the acting was terrific.

The only thing that marred my enjoyment of it was grappling with Eda’s lies. Sometimes that just got too much for me. I think at one point I actually yelled “LIAR” out loud at the screen. I understand why Ayse and the writers wanted to delay Serkan finding out, it gave us two really great things, one Serkan deciding to pursue Eda again without knowing of their forever tie, and Serkan bonding with his daughter while thinking she has no connection to him.

Dramatically, both of those things are great and entertaining and I’m happy they went that direction. However, that once again requires me to set aside reality and find a way to stomach the fact that Eda not only didn’t tell him about his child, but now is forcing her child to actively lie to the person she wants most to meet.

That was really hard to take on first viewing. She’s also dragging poor besotted Burak into the lie, allowing Melo to continue the lie to her former eniste, expecting Piril to lie to her husband and to her business partner/“friend”, not to mention all the direct lying she’s doing, both to the man she once loved more than anything and to her beloved daughter. They’ve done a good job of making us understand the pain Eda went through and why she might want to protect her daughter, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING justifies what she did. And let’s be real, she going to say she did it to protect Kiraz, but if Serkan had rejected being a father, everything else could have been the same. Kiraz didn’t need to know. Eda could have left, raised her on her own, and told the fairy tale of an astronaut. She decided not to tell Serkan in order to protect herself, it was entirely selfish. And it’s really hard to watch Eda hold Kiraz in her arms when Kiraz tells her of dreaming of her father and Eda still come out of that determined to keep Serkan in the dark. I know she’ll come around. But I really don’t want it be brushed under the rug and for the narrative to consider what she did as totally okay. Perhaps that could come in the form of Kiraz making her pay a bit when she understands she’s been lied to and Eda has hidden her father from her. We’ll see.

Alright, enough of that, I saw several tweets on twitter complaining about Edser alone screen time, that it was too little, but during the episode I didn’t feel it. Probably because I consider funny scenes like them using their assistants as go-betweens to flirt and fight as an “edser” scene. Of course I always want more, but I think we’ll get much more in the coming episodes.

As for Kiraz’s name, I’m super glad it has meaning related to Serkan. That’s very heartwarming. Though still a bit at odds with the fact that she hid her from him. She’s going to deprive him of knowing he has a child, but give her a name connected to Serkan? These are the things you handwave when a show swings big for dramatic purposes, I guess.

On the positive side for Eda, I do appreciate that except for that one gargantuan thing, she is being very open with him in their conversations. It’s new for them for one to be honest about how much they were hurt by the other. Eda would always pretend that she wasn’t impacted when they parted, I’m glad she’s past that.

I’m also happy that Serkan isn’t wasting time pretending he’s not still in love with her or that he doesn’t want her. It took him, what, like a day, to decide he wanted her back? LOL. And even though he was being high-handed in manipulating hotel-owner lady to force Eda to work with him, it was all very in character for the old Serkan so I enjoyed watching it. Even if he had zero rights to do it!

Loved watching her guard come down when they were working together, they were always a very good team, and I’m sure neither of them has had quite that same dynamic since they parted, so it was fun to see them syncing right back into old rhythms. Oh and watching her thaw completely when he complimented her work. Serkan as her mentor was one of my favorite things about their relationship so it was nice to see that aspect back and that she still respects him professionally as much as she ever did. Then the flowers! Gah! I love that the show is picking up these old threads and using them to illustrate how Eda was still a priority for Serkan during the 5 years of estrangement.

So far we’ve only seen flashbacks from Eda’s perspective, it will be very interesting to start seeing them from Serkan’s perspective so we know why he did what he did. I think there’s no doubt that he pushed her away out of some sort of misguided attempt to get her to pursue a better life without him.

Wasn’t it refreshing for there to be a misunderstanding about the phone call, for us to get to see jealous Serkan, but for Eda to actually clear it up for him? Don’t get me wrong, Serkan had no right to get angry and it was frankly none of his business, but it was also a honest emotional reaction from him, and I’m glad to see Eda recognize that and put his mind at ease. Also it was worth it for us to see their argument in the car and them both deciding to walk back. I wish we would have gotten like a 4 minute scene of them just walking and bickering on their way back, though.

Their conversation once they were back was great, so open (except for that pesky secret) so emotional. Serkan really putting in some emotional work for one of the first times ever.

And I love how it continued the next day. Eda searching for the pick that means so much to her, Serkan coming right out and telling her that her wants her and still loves her. And he just upped and kissed her. And she kissed him back! if nothing else, I’m just so happy that the cliffhanger was “happy.” I’ll take a kiss cliffhanger over the horrifyingly heartbreaking ones we got used to there for awhile!

As for the other characters: Fuck off, Ayfer. Shut up, Aydan. Bad judgement, Melo. You’re a traitor, Piril. Hugs to you, Engin. Kemal, you’re a saint. Seyfi, grow a pair. Baby assistants, you’re cute. Burak, wake up. Deniz, you’re embarrassing.

Seriously, Ayfer is insufferable, I can’t stand when she’s on screen. At least Aydan is funny and has her own storyline, even if it’s stupid. Why, oh why, is she lying to Serkan about Kemal? Good grief!

Who does Melo think she is taking a letter out of Serkan’s car? I get the comedy of that letter moving around the supporting players and causing misunderstandings, but it was none of her business and I think out of character for her to meddle to that degree.

However, I’m glad that it looks like from the fragman that while both Aydan and Engin figure it out, they want proof before they do anything about the info. That makes sense, and will allow time for Serkan to figure it out on his own without being any more betrayed by those closest to him.

The baby assistants, are adorable, and now I’m rooting for them, but Kerem needs to tone down his middle class outrage. As for Burak... oh honey. With or without Serkan, does this dude really think he has a shot with Eda? It’s like a 4 deciding he is entitled to date a 10. Just no, dude, she’s so far out of your league you’re not playing the same sport. And once he sees Serkan... seriously? That handsome hunk of man is her ex and you still think you might be her type? I say again, oh honey. Melo seemed to be crushing on him, but I hope that’s not the direction they’re going unless they flesh it out. Melo deserves to be someone’s first choice.

Anonymous asked: Hi! Love reading your sck-related answers! Been wondering about this: how do you think Serkan will react once he finds out about who Kiraz really is? I’m hoping, of course, that he will turn into the soft serky bolly we knew but am also a bit afraid that his dislike of children would not go away instantly and he will act a bit cold towards Kiraz at first..coupled with the anger towards Eda for lying

Thanks for the kind words! Honestly, I don’t foresee him acting cold towards Kiraz, I don’t think that is the story they’re telling. Especially since they’re going to have spent 3 full episodes having Serkan/Kiraz grow close without even knowing. Him reverting to robot bolat once he knows, doesn’t make sense to me. Plus, as you alluded to, once Serkan allows himself to open his heart, he becomes the biggest softy in the world and I expect that exact same dynamic with Kiraz as soon as he processes the information. I can so see him spoiling her rotten trying to make up for lost time. He might not know what to do or always how to act with her, but I think he’s going to try really hard.

His anger at Eda may linger, and that will probably be a wedge between Edser, a wedge I expect Kiraz will work hard to remove by forcing her parents to spend time together.

What I hope to see is a Kiraz who doesn’t want to let her father out of her sight, including out of her house, and a Serkan who wants to get to know his daughter and a Serkan and Eda who are both so riddled with guilt that they will pretty much do whatever she asks of them, including living together and spending tons of time together. We’ll see, but that could be marvelous to watch.

Anonymous asked: I loved that they brought the guitar pick back. Same feeling regarding the ring turned necklace. Those are symbolic and since they got rid of most of them (globe, mug, flower case), I'm happy we have something. I also love the Kiraz/Serkan relationship. He may be a bit annoyed by her but the things he does for her! My heart!!! I can't wait for the moment he realizes she's his!

YES! So happy to have some of these symbols back! Love that she carries that pick around with her, and so did Serkan, lol. That was the thing that gave him hope that she hadn’t forgotten him.

I love that Serkan and Kiraz are so drawn to each other before knowing, it’s like something deep down it telling them the truth, even though they have no conscious realization of their real relationship. Kiraz is surrounded by people who cater to her every whim, (and let her get away with murder) so I think Serkan was a surprise to her. Like her mama, Kiraz is intrigued by someone who challenges her. And Serkan challenges her.

The clues are piling up, and you’d think Serkan would be able to have put them together by now. I mean we have the kid slipping up and poking holes in the ‘Melo and Burak are my parents’ lie, you have her aptitude for building, her strawberry allergy, not needing sleep and getting up early, being frustrated when folks don’t finish their sentences. Come on, Serkan! Though, I think he’s so distracted by having Eda back in his life, that he can’t focus on anything else.

The arrow scene was adorable, and I just love how she goaded him into playing with her. They are obviously very alike and I will never get enough of him being unable to say no to her. There are, apparently, exactly two people Serkan is unable to say no to in everyday situations, and they are mother and daughter.

I wish we had seen a little more from Eda’s point of view when she found Serkan and Kiraz sitting there together having ice cream for breakfast. Because a more un-Serkan like thing is hard to imagine. I want to know what she thought and felt at that. Why wasn’t she curious how they’d gotten to that position and both were compelled to want to be there? I suppose the writers didn't give that to us, because if they had, and had portrayed the character of Eda honestly, then that probably would have been enough for Eda to decide she should tell Serkan.

Anonymous asked: People are playing the team Serkan/team Eda game but in my opinion both are right and wrong in their own way. We still need more flashbacks to explain how things went down but I think everyone should be team Edser. At the end of the day it's about them learning from their mistakes and moving forward to build a family and life for their daughter and themselves.

Yes, I really don’t want to vilify either one. Even if Serkan pushed her away to protect her and give her a better life, once again he was being controlling and making decisions for her, just like he did back in episode 14. And Eda’s mistake is obvious... and too much pride has always been one of her fatal flaws, so having too much pride to tell him and wanting to avoid that rejection in some ways makes sense for her.

I can’t wait to watch how they find their way back to one another, they’re already having better, more open conversations than they ever did.

Anonymous asked: ANOTHER scene of them talking maturely, laying out their feelings, who are they and what have they done to edser?!? sure we still get their usual bickering beforehand when they both walk back to the hotel (LOL). but him voicing his feelings at that night scene about how he KNOWS how much he hurt her, and that he broke them apart, but he "just can't leave" and how he repeats that over and over again... ugh just chef kiss!

Oh, that conversation at night on the boardwalk, that was something. They were both so raw, and Serkan is actually showing a lot of growth by owning his mistakes, admitting he hurt her, apologizing and being honestly about wanting to start something. That is BRAND NEW, it was what we needed after amnesia and never got. It’s very satisfying to watch them having these heart-to-hearts and it looks like there are more in our future.

Anonymous asked: as much as the flashbacks actually HURT my heart to watch, i've really appreciated them bc without them i don't think just telling what happened in the past would be enough for this plot and we need to have it actually shown. we've had eda's pov so far on the events that happened, but im really looking forward to serkan's thought process behind his actions in the past, even though i do already understand where he was coming from, i think it's needed for eda to understand.

The flashbacks are really good, but oh so painful.

As for getting them from Serkan’s perspective, yes please! There’s a lot that both we and Eda don’t know. We know that Serkan couldn’t leave his house for months after Eda left, but Eda doesn’t know that. Eda really thinks he fell out of love with her and once again choose work over her, but I’m sure that’s not what happened. Hopefully, in 3 and 4, we’ll see what spurred Serkan on to act so coldly to her. Sure, part of it probably was depression and changes in him brought by the cancer, but I’m sure it was more than that. We shall see.

Anonymous asked: Do you get the impression that Piril has known the entire time that Eda was pregnant and had a baby? I thought she only found out when she went to Sile for the hotel project but a lot of people seem to think she was in on it all along? did I miss a key line somewhere? Like I can see why she hasn't told Engin if it was recent but keeping it from him for 5 years? Idk about that. And it makes Piril a little more bearable if she hasn't stood next to Serkan all these years with this secret

My guess is she’s only known since this project. There is absolutely no reason for Eda to have confided in her prior to that, unless Piril somehow stumbled onto them during the years. But I think that scene in the second fragman, where Eda is telling her that it’s better for Kiraz to have no father, than a father that doesn’t want her, is a flashback to when Piril and Eda first meet for the project and that’s Eda convincing her to keep the secret. That’s my best guess at least.

It’s bad enough if Piril has known for weeks and has actively worked against Serkan figuring it out, but it’s a whole other thing if she’s lied to her husband for years. Either way, I sure hope this causes problems between Piril and Engin, it should.

Anonymous asked: One thing I love about Serkan now is that the man has learned to apologize. That was one thing that was very difficult for him but in the past two episodes he's apologized a few times. Yes in the first season he was sorry over his actions but never said the words "I'm sorry". What a great improvement. And I love that he's communicating. His "I want you" and his other efforts are great to watch.

I LOVE THIS! I think the first time he ever said the words “I’m sorry” was in 15 and that was after she forced his hand by driving like a maniac and really losing it so when they’re on that cliff he finally breaks down and says it. But that was one of the only times. Even in 28 when they have the big miscommunication about getting married, he only says something like “me too” after Eda apologizes.

It would be interesting to know how he came to this point, but I assume he’s had a LOT of time to think over the last 5 years and to think about what he would say if they ever met again. That has to be it, because he’s been able to articulate a lot of very sincere, heartfelt things in the course of these conversations

Growth! We love to see it.

#Sen Çal Kapımı #sen cal kapimi #edser #serkan bolat #eda yıldız #sckask #sck 2x41 #sck 2x02 #edser discussion #sck episode discussion #asklizac #anonymous

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