#on another level it is genuinely very dear to my heart that they give him very obvious positive symptoms and dont rly make it a big deal

[cedarbranch]

hannibal moment of all time was when will starts seeing the stag in s1 and you go ooohh omg he's hallucinating because he has a brain infection and the show goes yesss he is hallucinating because he has a brain infection and then his brain infection gets cured and he just keeps hallucinating for straight up the rest of the show.

[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Edition: It's the Most HTGSC Time of Year

Happy 25th Anniversary to this spooky little episode~. To celebrate, I compiled a collection of fics themed right before, during, after, and very after Mulder and Scully's Christmas Eve adventure.

Loose chronolgical order below~

This_ape_writes's So What Were Those Christmas Gifts Anyway?

She had been looking for paperclips. They were usually on top of the desk just free floating but now there weren't any to be found. She'd started digging through drawers with free floating sticks of gum, a sharpie, napkins both new and used, and some unidentified stickyness. She had also pulled out a baseball card that he quickly dove across the office to pull away from her grasp.

Pre-HTGSC Mulder draws parallels between keeping his father's baseball card and Scully's longing for a very expensive kaleidoscope.

@minuete-blog/Minuete's

Last Minute - Chapter 1

Scully hits the jackpot at the toy store as she grabs the last Tickle Me Elmo that, presumably, someone stashed away in a random place in the store behind some puzzle boards.  Another beeline to the checkout counter, resulting in a 10-minute wait as she shuffles the many shopping bags she has from one arm to the next while guarding the Tickle Me Elmo toy with her life.  Across the KB Toy store, she spots a Sam Goody store and knows exactly what to get for Mulder this year. 

Pre-HTGSC Scully is rushing about doing last minute Christmas shopping.

Christmas Offerings - Chapter 1

She hums in defiance, wraps the afghan blanket more securely around her.  

“That won’t do.” She hears Mulder chuckle.  She furrows her eyebrows and manages to crack open her eyes making out a blurry image of Mulder kneeling on the ground, his chin resting on the crook of his right elbow upon the couch, facing her at eye-level.  He smiles softly.  

Post HTGSC Mulder wakes Scully so she can spend Christmas with her family.

@leiascully's (Ao3) Day 25: Wrap

Last Christmas, there was Emily. This year, Scully will smile at her nephew with genuine and deep affection and not a little envy. Mattie is thriving and Emily is gone.

Pre-HTGSC Scully buys Mulder a kaleidoscope while remembering her painful last Christmas.

FridaysAt9's Worse than Rush Hour on the 95

Scully struggled with the bags in her hands as she thought about taking off her jacket to get some relief from the heat that was blasting through the store. The line was at least fifteen people deep, and she was seriously starting to consider ditching the sweater for her sister-in-law in favor of practically anything from a store without a line. 

Pre-HTGSC Scully is managing crowded malls and last second instructions from her mother when Mulder gives her a call.

Erin Blair/Erin M. Blair’s

155 Words - Dear Santa by Fox Mulder

She believes that I'm in love with Diana Fowley. Diana's my ex-partner and it has been over for many years. I don't know why Scully believes this, but I would like to set the record straight.

Pre-HTGSC Mulder asks Santa for advice concerning Scully and Diana.

Christmas 1998

Mulder, you asked me why I decided to come out with you tonight. You wanted to know why I wasn't at my Mom's celebrating Christmas with my family. I had every intention of being there with my family, but somehow my heart wasn't in the holiday spirit. I think you know why.

Post HTGSC Scully is grateful for Mulder's distractions and Melissa's previous words.

is_this_just_fantasy's Insomniac Ghosts

“Again?” Scully asked genuinely.

“Yeah.”

“So, Mulder, your plans were to spend Christmas, and Christmas Eve staking out an old house?”

“With ghosts Scully, don’t forget the ghost.”

AU-- Pre-HTGSC Mulder's apartment is (once again) fumigated; and Scully invites him over. Both really didn't want to be alone.

@ghostbustermelanieking/skuls’s merry little christmas 

"Will you really be alone on Christmas, Mulder?”

He’s shrugging at her. “Sure, why not? I’ve spent enough of them alone.” The casualness in his voice isn’t quite as strong as it should be; it’s strained, just a little.

Scully switches off the water, watching him drink his coffee out of the corner of her eye. An idea springs up in her mind, too tantalizing to push away. “You don’t have to spend it alone, Mulder,” she offers, her voice going quiet at the edges.

AU-- Pre-HTGSC Scully drags Mulder out shopping before he drags her out haunted house hunting.

Jennifer Stoy's Christmas in Space

So, yeah, yeah, yeah, they say in DC that Fox Mulder's heart grew three sizes that day. It was an accident! I wasn't all that converted when I retrieved my precious cell phone, grabbed some Chinese at the food court, and went home. I can't explain how I woke up the next morning brimming with Yuletide cheer. It might have been the Elvis; the clock radio was playing "Blue Christmas" when I woke up. But the magic of the season had me in its tinseled, consumerist clutches before I finished my shower.

AU-- Pre-HTGSC Mulder might have wanted to surprise his partner for Christmas, but didn't quite expect Scully to pull a gun on him.

Jennifer Brady's Secret Santa

"Any holiday plans, Scully?" He asks, a little curiosity in his deep timbre.

Well, actually. "Yes, in fact we have a case," Uh oh, where did *that* come from? Was that me?

Mulder's face breaks into a grin, and he walks over to my desk, perching himself on a corner. "A case? I haven't heard anything," He says, his voice taking on a definite teasing tone.

Time for all those improvisational classes I took in high school.

Post FTF, Pre-HTGSC Scully is ready to tread on the wild side, unleashing Dana as she lures Mulder to a Christmas retreat on a bogus case.

Titania de la Mer's Conspirators' Dark Designs

The afterlife wasn’t half as thrilling as it appeared, but on this one night they had always had fun. Their games were perhaps not the most pleasant. Well, not for their guests anyway, but you had to get your kicks where you found them.

HTGSC Maurice and Lyda are more contemplative than bothered.

@wexleresque/hellsteeth's Msr + mistletoe??

She joins him in his gaze upon very old and shrunken mistletoe that hangs above them. It is mostly curled up and decayed to nothing, save for the red ribbon pinning it to the doorframe.

It's old and dusty and beautiful in its own very weird way, just like this house.

AU-- HTGSC Scully and Mulder stumble onto more than just ghosts in the old, haunted mansion.

BarbaraWar's The Ghosts Whose Christmas Was Stolen

"Are you afraid Mulder?" She asked, her voice wavering slightly, although he couldn't tell if it was from the strenuous position or fear of her own.

A gun went off.

At first he didn't notice it'd been his own, but he felt the recoil, saw Scully's eyes widen in surprise, saw her fall back with a whimper, saw a red stain form on her formerly white blouse. But hadn't it been red? He then noticed his own clothes were now blood-stain free . He dropped the gun, ran his hands over his chest, nothing. Oh, no. "Scully!"

AU-- HTGSC Mulder shoots Scully, and watches as she snarks her way into death. The ghosts convince him to finish the deed.

 @allyinthekeyofx’s (Ao3) Bittersweet promise.

Softly, quietly he had asked her what was wrong, his fingers smoothing the sweat-damp hair from her face, a simple act that calmed her hitching breaths almost immediately and which gave encouragement to speak.

"I haven't had my hot chocolate. Mommy makes me my special hot chocolate before I go to sleep."

Post HTGSC Mulder makes Scully the same hot chocolate he'd shared with Emily.

@i-gaze-at-scully/ i_gaze_at_scully's All I Want for Christmas (Ao3)

It didn’t help being sidelined. Long days in the bullpen with as much intellectual stimulation as watching paint dry. Long days knocking on doors, using honey to catch flies while the vinegar bubbled in her throat. 

But she had Mulder.

Post HTGSC Scully is glad that Mulder distracted her from Emily; and he is glad she got him a very hard-to-find Christmas present.

Leyla Harrison's (Alt. Tumblr, Gossamer, Mulders Creek) The Star

She looked just like a little kid.

Her eyes kind of widened and then softened at the edges. Then the blue of her irises danced around. I can't even begin to explain how her mouth turned up. Her whole body language just screamed giddy, and for Scully that's pretty restrained. But hey -- I don't get to see Scully very giddy very often, and it had been a rough night, you know?

Post HTGSC Mulder gifted Scully a star.

stellar_dust's (Gossamer) Fall of Snow, Pacal's Tomb, and Thou, A; or How We Stole Christmas Back From the Ghosts (Ao3)

"Mulder, why don't you come to Mom's house with me in the morning?"

He opened one eye and looked at her for a moment. "All right. I'd like that. I think."

They stared at each other.

"Um," Scully fumbled.

Post HTGSC Mulder sets aside the neglect of his mother to focus on spending the day with Scully-- watching her nap and facing off in a snowball fight.

@slippinmickeys/SlippinMickeys/Slippin' Mickeys's Unnamed

“Pick a key,” Mulder said, setting two keys of similar profiles in front of her.

They were thick and ancient, with a patina that had probably been earned. They looked so old – practically antediluvian – that she thought briefly that if the locks they unbolted survived, the doors they had protected probably had not.

Post HTGSC Mulder has Scully pick between her Christmas gifts for a bonus surprise.

Sheryl Nantus/Sheryl Martin’s (FFN) It Hurts (FFN)

Suddenly he noticed that her arms were tightening around him - not enough to hurt, but in a sudden shift of emotion.

Then he felt it.

The first touches of dampness on his bare skin.

Post HTGSC Scully tearfully relates the pain of Emily's death.

pokeitlikejello's The Drabble Files - Chapter 28

“Scully, what are you doing here?” Mulder leaned against his open apartment door. “I thought you’d be halfway through a warm, cozy Christmas dinner.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about how you’re all alone,” she told him honestly.

AU-- Post HTGSC Scully fails to lure Mulder to her family party... and decides to stay with him, instead.

Nynaeve's Almost Home

"How is work?"

"Work," she had said flatly, sighing. "Let's just say I'm not exactly making that difference I thought I could."

Maggie had covered her daughter's hand with her own. "I'm sorry."

Another smile had twitched at the corner of Scully's mouth. "No, you're not," she told her mother. "You're thrilled I'm doing something safe." There was no malice in Scully's voice, only the recognition that Maggie, like all mothers, was glad her child was in a safe job, at least momentarily.

"All right, yes, I'm glad you're safe," Maggie had agreed with a laugh. "But I *am* sorry you're not satisfied."

AU-- Post HTGSC Scully recalls her childhood-- the cold, sibling truces, and snow fights-- then shares that magic (and more) with Mulder.

@catharsisxf's (Ao3) When We Finally Kiss Goodnight (Ao3)

They sat comfortably for a while, watching little flecks of white dance past his window. He could admit to himself now that this was what he'd wanted all along. To not feel so alone. He'd felt the need to frame it as a case when he'd have been perfectly happy just spending a quiet evening in with her.

AU-- Post HTGSC Mulder and Scully revisit that moment in the FTF hallway.

@lotsoforangesoutside/@lotzzoforangezoutside/lots_of_oranges_outside's Fall Like a Feather (Ao3)

“Look at what we’re wearing, Mulder.”

He’s not following. “We’re wearing what we’re always wearing.”

Scully shakes her head. “It wouldn’t be snowing if we were...” She stops, and tries again, “I’m not even wearing a sweater, Mulder. It can’t be snowing outside. I’m not dressed right, and neither are you. I didn’t feel cold on my way here. Your neighbors are way too quiet... the world feels too quiet.”

AU-- Post HTGSC Mulder and Scully wake to a white Christmas... and the realization they'd both died the night before.

piece_of_the_stars's Christmas Ghosts and Imaginary Mistletoe

Mulder was there when she found it. They’d stopped for gas in the middle of Wyoming and Scully got out to stretch her legs. There was a shop next door selling knick knacks and Mulder walked in the store to find her staring at the necklace, unmoving. He silently made his way to her and only then did she look away from the gold cross in her hands. He lead her to the register where she paid and he did the talking for her, knowing she had nothing to say. When they were back in their rental car, Mulder silently took the hand not holding the necklace and laced their fingers together. They drove silently back to their motel and haven’t said a word about it since.

AU-- Post HTGSC Scully decides to make a decisive overture before leaving for her Christmas obligations.

Ten's (The Salvation Archive) Having a Happy X-mas

By the looks and some quick whispering, rumours had been flying, sailing, driving, sprinting and galloping around for the last few years. The fact that he and Scully were still holding hands only added to it. "Merry Christmas, everyone," he managed, while turning 180 degrees.

150 degrees into the turn he saw Bill glaring at him from over near the fireplace. /Wonderful./

Almost at the end of his turn, his eyes met those of someone over in a corner. The occupant was an old lady in a motorised wheelchair, eating a cookie. She stared at him. Her eyes widened. Mulder inwardly sighed. /Billy boy has done a sterling pre-publicity campaign on me./ Time stopped for a second. Suddenly she coughed and made a choking noise.

AU-- Post HTGSC Mulder is persuaded to Scully's party where both Scully brothers are not allies... and where he meets a familiar face who recognizes him from 1939.

Pattie's Happy Turkey Trot

"I bet you didn't get a turkey this year, did you?"

"Scully, I think you pretty well know how I spend Christmas."

"Well, I have one in my freezer, Mulder, at all times."

"What?"

AU-- Post HTGSC Scully and Mulder get food poisoning together.

@agentwhalesong/sadandangstyagent's (Ao3) Tell Him

“Listen, Scully… there are things I have been wanting to talk to you about and…”

Mulder had no time to complete his sentence. A very loud and very clear word filled the room.

LEAVE!

Post HTGSC Mulder and Scully visit another haunted house; but this ghost helps them just as much as they help her.

Vickie Moseley’s (Ao3, Gossamer) Comfort

OK, so she came over and she forgave me and I got this really neat tie that I can almost tolerate even though it's pretty mundane, but it's 100 percent silk and you really can't go wrong with silk. And I got to give her my present, a nameplate for her desk. A nice one, not like the cheap gold painted metal ones from supply, but a wooden one with her name engraved on it.

Post HTGSC Mulder's snippy POV as he and Scully are badly shot up at a crime scene.

Mystic's Truces

Pulling into the curb in front of her house, she was a little more than shocked to see Mulder sitting at her front step. He looked up at the car and stood, walking towards her.

Scully opened the car door and let a small smile escape her. "Mulder, where have you been?" She tried not to sound amused, or upset, but neutral.

He lowered his head shyly, "I went home."

Post HTGSC Scully calls a truce with Diana while Mulder drops in on his mom (and leaves.)

whatliesabove's ghost ship

Scully blinks, jaw set. As she stares at him, she realizes she’s been hiding from the wrong things this entire time, so scared of the what-ifs that she's refused to even entertain the possibility that they wouldn’t crash and burn.

And maybe they still do. Maybe they end in fire and destruction and broken hearts. Maybe they end up hating each other; no longer lovers, no longer friends, but strangers again. Maybe she becomes someone he’ll always miss, maybe his name becomes something she no longer acknowledges.

But maybe they don’t.

AU-- Tithonus Scully dreams of an alternate timeline with Mulder, from Season 1 to making unpartnerly moves in Detour that are (sort of) resolved in HTGSC to family life with a little girl... and then she wakes up.

petit_chou's from now on our troubles will be out of sight

She loves to hear about their old cases. While most other young children hear fairy tales and nursery rhymes, Annie’s bedtime stories are fantastic tales of her parents chasing real monsters in the dark.

And there’s one such story that’s perfect for today. “How would you like to hear about the time me and your mom went ghost-hunting in a haunted house on Christmas Eve?”

Post HTGSC Mulder and Scully enjoy a post Revival Christmas with Jackson and their little daughter. And what better way to celebrate than competitive snowball fights and spooky ghost stories?

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[p0isonyouth]

hi sweet!! hope you’re having the most wonderful day! if there’s any room in your requests, I was wondering if I could request a letter from Spencer Reid? if I missed an announcement that these requests are closed now, please ignore this and accept my sincere apologies!! ♡

if you are still accepting requests, though, here’s some information you might need:

my name is Heather, I’m 5ft tall (so my head is level with Spencer’s chest BARELY and that’s not something I can think about at this time) with light blue, long wavy hair, grey eyes, I’m British a total film nerd. Doctor Who is my favourite show, The Terminator is my favourite movie - I have the script memorised and I’m not joking when I say that’s basically the only thing I can reliably remember, memory issues caused by trauma are, very much, unslay! due to what I went through during my childhood, I come across as a very bubbly, ditzy girl now and I take great pride in that, since I never had the freedom to enjoy life in such a way before, and I take being called a ‘silly girl’ as a genuine compliment :) I’m always excited about something, super easily distracted, very expressive, and empathetic to a fault - I can and will form sentimental attachments to inanimate objects and there’s not a force on Earth strong enough to stop me. a chair missing a leg? my son. I’ll take care of him. how much is that chair in the window. I’m also fiercely protective of everyone I care about and if I witnessed someone so much as giving Spencer a funny look I’d probably commit a small act of arson :)

for the letter itself, I was thinking maybe I’m part of the BAU but am on holiday and have returned to England to spend time with my family, so Spencer being the old-fashioned gentleman is all “I’m going to write my mutually-pining-best-friend a letter and post it across the sea instead of text her :)” - what do you think?

the only thing I would ask you please don’t mention is my biological father being involved in anything related to me spending time with my family, because he wouldn’t be.

anyway, so sorry for such a long message! thank you so much for reading it, I hope you have the loveliest rest of your day and that you find plenty that makes you smile today!! take care sweet ♡

Dear Heather,

Thank you for the prompt! I hope you have a lovely day as well and enjoy the read!

Sincerely,

Alyssa

Dear Heather,

I'm sure you're wondering why I'm writing you this letter, sending it all the way across the seas instead of sending you a text. it's just, some things are better said handwritten then in an electronic message.

How's England treating you? Say hello to your family for me, I'll try to go on the trip with you next time, it's just that Hotch didn't want two BAU agents out at the same time. I'm sure that we can convince him one way or another.

Back to my cryptic message above that I'm sure you're wondering about, my silly girl. I wanted to tell you this before you left, but I believe that writing it in a letter could possibly save me from some humiliation of rejection. I just can't stop thinking of you, Heather.

I promised myself that I wouldn't get too attached again with someone, in fear that they will leave or worse. But you've been by my side through all of it, and I couldn't be more thankful. With everything that has happened with Gideon, Maeve, JJ, and everything else, you're just there. I can't deny that I've always felt something for you, but I pushed it down because you matter too much to lose you over some feelings that are most likely one-sided.

Everything about you is simply mesmerizing, it's even too much to describe in words. Your laugh keeps my heart beating, your ability to memorize every line of the Terminator, the warmth of your body pressed to mine after a case. Every decision I make, I think about how it will affect you, I always have.

So, in case this letter gets lost at sea, I'm writing this down to tell you, Heather, my best friend, that I have feelings for you. And hopefully, you feel the same.

Meet me at our spot when you return home? We can talk about this in person.

All my love,

Dr. Spencer Reid

[ciaossu-imagines]

I just wanted to say how thankful I I that there are still people loving KHR and writing about it!!!! Wish you good luck for more than 10 years hehe. I love your depictions of the characters but I couldn't find much written works about Tsuna on Tumblr and just wanted to ask what you think are the pros and cons of dating him?

Oh my god! You are just the best, dear! That is incredibly sweet of you to say, and I really appreciate it! As for the luck on more than 10 years….I hate admitting I’ve been a KHR fan and creator for a bit longer than that as is, and it’s never really faded in terms of something I enjoy! I just hope there continues to be a small but fantastic fandom who feel the same as I do about the characters and the show! And you are right – I’ve never gotten a lot of requests for Tsuna ever and I don’t find a lot of attention gets focused on him so I am more than happy to give him some love and I hope you’ll enjoy!

Tsuna will be such an incredibly trustworthy romantic partner. He’d never so much as flirt with another person while in a relationship and he’ll be transparent in his dealings with anyone. His partner will have access to his phone, his emails, anything they need to feel secure and comfortable but honestly, the thought of Tsuna cheating on his partner isn’t one that would naturally come up because all of his actions will prove otherwise.

While I also list it as a con down below, Tsuna’s family is also a huge pro to dating him. It’s a new built-in group of friends, a new surrogate family, who will genuinely want to like this person because they are important to Tsuna. His family, should his partner prove to be on the level and okay and good to Tsuna, will always have his partner’s back, will protect them, and will support them right alongside Tsuna.

While he can be a bit of an idiot at times, Tsuna is surprisingly observant towards his partner. He’ll often be able to read their moods well and will offer support if anything is up or will offer to do something with them to distract them. He’ll remember every special occasion because those things will be equally important to him. His partner changed their hair? Got a new outfit? Did anything slightly different? Tsuna notices and is always quick to compliment it, albeit while being shy and clumsy about it.

I think I point this out for every Mafioso in the fandom, but especially so for bosses like Tsuna. While there is bonuses to his family, it’s very rare for Tsuna and his partner to ever get just alone time for the two of them or any true privacy. His family means so much to him; they’re all his precious friends and while he does deeply love his partner, his family will always be around and will always be demanding his attention. Tsuna will try harder than some of the other Mafia bosses to really make time for his partner but at the end of the day, he does have responsibilities to his family that may take up more of his time than his partner would prefer.

Okay, but no matter how long the relationship goes on or how comfortable things will get between Tsuna and his partner, he’s always going to be that flustered, awkward teenage boy in some ways. He’s actually very much a romantic at heart, but his feelings are very hard for him to outright say or show for him. He tries but it can be clumsy and awkward and he’ll get easily flustered when his partner does cute things or shows a lot of affection to him, which can be cute sometimes but can seriously put a strain on a partner who needs a lot of verbal cues of love or a lot of physical affection to feel loved because, while Tsuna will try, those things are hard for him and might not be present right away.

Any serious partner of Tsuna’s will be thoroughly checked out, especially by Reborn, who will always remain slightly protective of Tsuna. They can have no secrets, no real privacy, no life outside of Tsuna that won’t be known about completely. For any more private, reserved people, this can be an incredibly hard pill to swallow and honestly, could be very dangerous for anyone hiding anything major or who just doesn’t live up to the expectations Reborn has.

[calliopechild]

none of the emojis from the wip ask game fit exactly with what i want to ask, which is that if you have even the tiniest crumb of anything to say about the more things change i will feast until the end of my days >.>

Apologies for how long it took to answer this, but the levels of Catholic guilt this ask triggered (I say as someone who is not remotely Catholic) were so substantial that I dug out my old jump drive with all the TMTC files on it so that I could find a snippet for you.

The Telltale Heart moment aside, it is...bewildering in a lovely way that people still remember TMTC. Even though it's been *checks ff.net* oh Lord, almost 11 years since I touched it? I genuinely can't tell you how flattering that is, because this fic is still very dear to me, which I know is probably counterintuitive given all the dust and cobwebs that have gathered on it.

The radio silence is a combination of life stuff and the fact that I had the story plotted out when I started, and even had a decent portion of the ending written--and the fic as it exists now at chapter 24 went off the rails from that plan at least two chapters back, lol. A lot of what ended up happening in the fic means that what I had planned couldn't happen now, either because it'd be OOC or the circumstances just aren't possible. A lot of the relationships have changed too, and it kind of got to the point where I got so annoyed with having to basically scrap the whole final slice of the fic and start over that I put it on hold for a bit...and then here we are. ^_^;;

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up and promise that it'll be finished soon, but I also don't want to leave it unfinished forever. I can say that I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I have a lot more written of the new ending than I thought I did, so finishing it might not be impossible.

In the meantime, though, as thanks for still remembering my abandoned child fic, have a blurb of Naomi trying to restrain herself from beating Leo to death in the hospital for being a stubborn idiot:

“Why did you jump between us, then? When tou-chan drew that sword?”

“I told you, it was instinct.”

“And you knew you could protect me.”

Leo nodded again, and I fought down a grin; he’d set me up just like I’d wanted him to. “Well, then maybe you can understand why I’m confused. I’m having a little trouble reconciling the fact that you knew you could protect me with your idea that leaving is supposedly the best way you can keep us safe.”

“Just because I can protect you doesn't mean I want to make it necessary; if I stay away, the trouble does too.”

It was not appropriate to throttle a hospital patient, I reminded myself, but I was going to win this argument one way or another. “People get hurt; that’s life. If your benchmark for successfully protecting someone is that they never get hurt, you're always going to fall short because no one can guarantee that. I know it’s what we’d all prefer, but we can’t keep the people we love from ever getting hurt. Things are always going to happen that we can’t prevent. You’re setting a standard for yourself that no one could reach, Leo, and I don’t know why you’d want to do that to yourself. I'm fine, my father's fine, and if we're ever not fine, it won't be because of something you did or didn't do. I don't want to be kicked out of your life just because you've suddenly decided you're too dangerous to be around.”

Leo closed his eyes for a second, then looked up at me, mouth hard. “Maybe I don’t want another person to protect.”

For a few seconds I just sat there, listening to the squeak of shoes in the hallway and someone's voice buzzing on the overhead speaker, waiting for—something. For Leo to say he didn't mean it, for my stomach to stop dropping, for it to somehow make sense how Leo had gone from telling me we'd been a safe place to saying we were a burden he didn't want.

He didn't say anything. He just sat there, eyes on mine and not giving an inch.

I'd have believed he really meant it if it wasn't for the way his hands were fisted in his blanket, the knuckles standing out sharp and white. Something April had said in our conversation the other day floated into my mind.

“I'm…look, I don't want to sound insulting by saying this, but I'm glad you care enough to ignore Leo when he told you he was too dangerous to be around. I don't know how much he's told you, but he did the same thing to me once, except it was in the middle of us running after being attacked. It was in my home, and my friends who were being attacked, and Leo still told me it was their fight, not mine. That's just Leo—he accepts danger to himself but doesn't realize that in his efforts to protect others, he's being insulting by implying no one else might accept that danger too. But he never tried that with me again, so he really can learn; just hang in there.”

From the sound of things, Leo had just tried to get her to leave, rather than making it sound like he wanted her out of his life. I knew this was probably some idiotic belief that it'd keep me safe, as if doing so would somehow make Karai forget about me and tou-chan. And maybe it should have warned me about how serious Leo thought the danger was. Maybe it should have made me listen, especially since I had evidence of how willingly Karai would resort to violence right in front of me.

What it actually did was piss me off.

If that was how he wanted it, fine. I shoved my chair back as I stood up, reaching for my purse and my temper. “Good.”

Leo's eyelids flickered. “Good?”

“Yes, good.” I leaned into his space, bracing my hand on the bed beside his shoulder, because if he was going to hear me about anything, it was going to be this. “You know why? Because I don’t remember ever asking you to protect me. That's not what I'm here for. The sentiment—that you don’t want to see me get hurt—that’s nice, really, but the way you go about it…” I shook my head, ignoring the fact that when I was this close, I could see flecks of blue in his eyes; this was not the time, dammit. “I'm going assume it's the drugs making you forget that you don't get to decide for me what risks I'll take. And since you apparently haven't figured it out yet, you're about a week too late to try and cut us off, because Karai already knows about us. You leaving isn't going to magically make her forget where she found us.”

I bit my tongue before I went any further. There was a line between making my point and trying to hurt Leo back, and implying that we were in danger from the minute Karai realized we might be important to Leo was charging right over that line. “You can’t fight life, Leo. You can’t stop every bad thing from happening to the people around you. I guess the real question is whether or not you can accept that, or if you'd rather not let anyone in ever because they might get hurt.”

I walked out, trying to ignore the way the nurse at the desk dropped her eyes to her computer and pretended to look busy. That was fine. I didn't want anyone looking at me right now anyway.

"Maybe I don’t want another person to protect."

In Leo's head, that was probably some sort of sign that he really did care, to the point that he was willing to burn all his bridges and make me mad enough to write him off for good so long as it kept us out of the line of fire.

But maybe part of him had meant it. I could tell Leo had meant it when he'd admitted how important the dojo was, how important it was to him to have somewhere where he didn't have any obligations. Maybe he'd wanted it to stay that way, for us to not turn into more people he had to keep safe, for us to just keep being a slice of normal for him to visit once in a while. He'd said it before, when he told us about Karai, that he couldn't be responsible for anyone else.

Except of all the things I'd learned about Leo, it was that protecting was what he did when he cared. So what did it say that he didn't want to add us to the list?

[aburningscale]

Thoughts about HotD 1x04

Question: Is Daemon in love with Rhaenyra?

My answer: I honestly don’t know, and I think Daemon doesn’t know either but I do think he has a genuine affection for Rhaenyra, in his own Targaryen way, which is why his plan entailed ruining her rather than killing her.

I also believe his reasons for this were twofold. He sees Rhaenyra as his pathway to the throne and he’s also desperate to get out of his marriage to his Bronze bitch, because whatever Daemon says about fucking whoever they want, it is also true that marriages are political. Viserys likes to act put upon and innocent in the rift between them, but it was on his insistence that Daemon was married out of the bloodline, and this enraged Daemon, not because he felt the marriage blocked his way to the throne - at least not primarily - but it because it lessens the chances of his issue becoming dragon riders, which is the path to true Targaryen power as far as Daemon is concerned

Rhaenyra is also about to run up against the same maneouvering, Laenor is of Valyran stock, but he’s also a ‘sword swallower’. The chances of him creating any issue with Rhaenyra are slim, and Viserys must know this. It is his way of reneging on his promise to his daughter that she would be queen without saying it out loud and I think, on some level, Rhaenyra sees this.

And I think this isn’t the only lesson she’s taken to heart, because I believe the scene in which Daemon leads her to the puppet show is more formative to her character than I initially envisaged. It gave Rhaenyra a perspective on her position that she may not have seen clearly until now. Daemon had his own reasons for leading her there, maybe he hoped he might wear down her resilience, make her more amenable to seeing him as her match, but I think I was this scene that enlightened Rhaenyra in a way Daemon didn’t predict. It was the moment it clicked for Rhaenyra that if she was to have any chance to become queen, she had to act to get rid of Otto Hightower.

She is more clear eyed now, and there is a ruthless edge to her that wasn’t as apparent before now. She has learned her uncle’s lesson a little too well.

But to go back to that brothel scene. My, my, that was delicious. I think, up to that very moment Rhaenyra chased his lips, he thought he was the dominant one in that relationship and, of course, in many ways he is, but this also is the first time he really sees Rhaenyra as another dragon. Someone who can actually match him in sheer will power and ruthlessness and, quite frankly, not giving a shit about what anyone else thinks of her. And that fucking terrified him because I think that was the moment he realised he really wanted her.

Which is why, of course, he left her in that brothel with her pants down and her hair showing, A way to regain the upper hand and leave her on the defensive.

Boy, was that a mistake, because Daemon had unleashed a part of Rhaenyra that will not be put back in the bottle. The part that realised that she could not put her faith and future in the hands of either father or uncle. If she was to have any pleasure or warmth in her life, she would have to take it. If she wants to have power, she’ll have to take that too.

Take who she wants to bed.

Lie through her teeth and even throw her dear uncle under the bus to hide her newly evolved nature.

Use even a defeat to pick away at an enemy’s stonghold (Otto Hightower)

Daemon has lost the advantage in their relationship, he just doesn’t know it yet.

But, ah Daemon, one again saying the truth out loud because he knows nobody will ever take it as such. “I’ll take her as she is,” he says, and Viserys takes it as a slight on his daughter's honour and a bid for throne, which it was, but it was also the truth. Daemon, maybe for the first time, sees Rhaenyra as she truly is and covets her for the person she is, as well as the power she represents.

Which I believe is going to make their next meeting truly explosive.

[danpuff-ao3]

2022 round-up

Thanks for the tag @cindle-writes!! I do have fun with these things!

Rules:

Post the top 5 works you're most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular),

your top 4 current WIPs that you're excited to release in the new year,

your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year,

your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year,

and your number 1 favorite line you've written this year!

Tagging: @bluesundaycake, @fleetingdesires, @onbeinganangel, @broomsticks, @vdoshu, @thistlecatfics, @greenmegsnoham, @givereadersahug, @sugareey-makes-stuff, @ashariewrites, @makeitp1nk, @lumosatnight, @swoontodeath & anyone else who wants to join in the fun! (And no pressure to those I've tagged, of course!)

5 Fics

Contempt [Snarry, E, 20k] - (oh yes, THAT'S RIGHT, another opportunity taken to talk about my PRIDE & JOY, my HEART & SOUL, my beloved Contempt.) (Don't look at me, this is Cindle's fault, they tagged me.) Anyway. For the uninitiated. Contempt is the best thing I've ever written ever and is the product of 19 years of Snarry obsession love and untold years preoccupied with the very specific idea of Harry's really complicated, really negative feelings towards Snape. This fic contains every Snarry feel I've ever had. And I'm glad I wasn't able to write it all those years ago, because I definitely didn't have the skill or life experience to do it justice in ye olden days.

A Matter of Time [Snarry, E, 3k.] - the second best fic I've ever written! Yes, my 2 best works came out of 2022. How? Idk. Am I levelling up?? Let's hope so! Anyway: this is an angsty little piece full of my favorite things: tragedy, discovery, judgment, open endings. It was also a bit of a writing challenge, both in the alternating POVs (which I don't often do) and the reverse chronology! Also that last line was a sucker punch to the gut. And the heart. And all other major organs, probably. I'm quite proud of it, I'm not gonna lie. (Also, when AAP was still in Anon stage, my dear friend Nina DMed me all "DANNI, WAS THAT YOU??" Fun times.)

In My Veins (In My Blood) [Snarry, Harry/others, E, 7k] - this one is a dead dove monstrosity, I won't lie to you. It's not even "fun" dead dove. It's genuinely super intense and dark and super messed up. Voldemort wins. Non-con. Humiliation. And more! (Seriously, read the tags on that one.) (I had a dead dove connoisseur comment that of all the extreme dead dove they've read, this was the one that made them sad. Which made me sad. And also a little smug.) (I had to get smug to erase the sads, okay?) Anyway...I don't know. This is really a horrific story that I don't recommend anyone read, but I'm stupidly proud of what I accomplished with it.

Black Skies [Snegulus, Regulus/Sirius, E, 7k.] - Marauders' Era, Regulus POV. Underage, obvious incest. Jealousy! Angst! It was a fun exploration of Regulus' character and how I see him. And exploring 2 Regulus ships I love at the same time. All the wrongness, the complication, the emotion. Oh, and the smut. The smut is very good on this one, not gonna lie. The best part, though, is that one reader told me that this story portrayed an idea I believe strongly in: letting characters be flawed, internally and externally, and giving that respect and admiration. Handling the admission of those flaws with loving hands. That I suceeded here is just like...yes! I do practice what I preach! Can you feel my love?? You CAN? Excellent!

Orange Blossoms [Snarry, T, 3k.] - Snarry + flowers? + courtship? + student/teacher?? Yes please, and thank you. It really began as my desire for Snarry + flowers, and my decision to write a fic for HP Flowers for my own birthday. I was really quite resigned to writing a very simple, short piece for it. But this fic had a mind of its own, and became so much more! Between the floriography, the symbolism, the poetic nature, the Snarry dynamic, the traditions...I don't know, it all sort of came together into a story that made me genuinely happy, and one I was quite pleased with! It's quite bittersweet, a love story set during wartime, and the comforts people turn to in such dire circumstances.

4 WIPs

smile with sweet surprise (chapter 3) [Snarry, Snily, E, WIP] - this story and I have a complicated history, but I'm bound and determined to finish it! Even if it means posting one chapter per year, which looks like it's going to be a real thing and not just a joke. Oops. It's Snarry featuring Stepdad Snape, underage filth, and mega angst. A fun time for all, basically! And with luck chapter 3 will be out next year! I'm feeling mightily inspired after a lovely comment from @inarticulateimbecile!

Magic in the Stars: Astrological Essays on Wizarding World Characters and Relationships [meta] - the working title of my HP Astro series when I post it to AO3! I'm gearing up to post it on January 3rd! It won't feature all current essays right away, just the ones I manage to edit by the third. Then I'll do bulk chapter uploads maybe quarterly, as to not bombard my poor subscribers haha! I've done a lot of prep work (and HTML!) on this one to have it be as book-like as possible, and I'm very excited to share it!

[Hoggywartyxmas] - can't share the title just yet, sorry! I'm not sure as of yet when it will go up on LJ, but I know I'll be putting it on AO3 myself January 9th (author reveals!) So...okay maybe this one is less of a WIP and more of a complete fic sitting in my drafts. But hey! It sorta counts towards "releasing in 2023."

[Untitled Dralbus fic] - I make no promises on this one, actually, but in theory I'd really like to finish and post this one next year! Like smile, it has a complicated history linked to my old friend group. This link makes both fics difficult to work on, but also makes me super determined to finish both! Because I'll be damned if those people keep me down! They've done plenty enough of that, methinks, without letting them affect my writing!

3 Improvements

Less obsessing over stats - I've taken active measures to stop fretting so much and focusing on numbers. I've set up a system to not check my statistics page during the week, only on weekends. And I'm working towards checking my profile less (as to not gawk at each story's statistics), though it would help if I stopped being lazy and implemented a site skin that will hide those things. But I'm not doing half bad for relying on self-discipline!

Writing longer works! Back in ye olden days all I wrote were ridiculously long fics. When I came back in 2019 I dove onto the opposite end of things: shortfic! Which was great, but I sort of trained my brain to think that anything past a certain word count was rambling, meandering, and unnecessary. I've started to become better at allowing stories to get longer and sort of gauge what works for the story, rather than relying on numbers for my success. (My reliance on word count here, and my obsession with stats in 1 are hilarious when you know my lifelong undying hatred of math and numbers.)

Letting go/saying no - I have a terrible compulsion to stick things out and see them through to the end, to my own detriment. It's been healthy for me to look at projects and activities and decide whether I can actually accomplish those goals while taking care of myself. And stepping back if I realize that pushing towards those goals will be harmful to me.

2 Resolutions

Work on "Three of Hearts", the longfic I've been talking about for ages! Even better if I can write and finish it, but for my sanity's sake let's just say I'll make some progress on it somewhere!

No more fests Snarry Bang. And maybe Snarry-a-Thon. ...Cut back on the number of fests while still attempting a few special Snarry ones? (I stg I need a babysitter...) (For myself, yes.)

1 Line

This is the single rudest question I've ever been asked in my entire life and it keeps coming up!!!! I've posted over 70k words this year!! Written over 90k!!!! 19 works this year!!!! And I have to narrow it down to 1 line???? Jesus H. Merlin Christ. Oh well, let me rummage through Contempt and find something.

How can Harry not despise him? It's been ages since he's been in Severus' arms, and the moment he is, he — it's — damn him, but it's wrong how right it feels. Like all of his broken pieces have been gathered up and stored in a box for safekeeping.

[jinxthejubilee]

Do you believe any of the villains or the villain sidekicks would beg or make a risky chance or deal if their recruiter is in deadly trouble? If so who and how far would it take and how far would their desperation go? I mainly think Jafar and Scar and Maleficent and maybe the queen of hearts would use force if their minions are in trouble but Jafar I feel like would actually bargain and plea if Farja is in dear death of evil

Oh no, I highly doubt it.

The recruiters, at the end of the day, are highly disposable. They would never beg or act in desperation for someone they see as beneath them.

Maleficent would never bargain for an underling. Maybe for Diablo, but never for Malfie. She could easily find or create another servant unless Malfie served an irreplaceable purpose.

In Scar's case, he might, but not because he genuinely cares. There are plenty of hyenas to serve him, but he might save Mzuri if she has valuable information, an interesting skill set, or to keep the rest of the hyenas on his good side.

Same goes for Jafar. Although he might care for Farja like he does for Iago, and he is a certain level up from Scar in terms of humanitarian qualities, he still sees Farja her as a tool.

I can see Hades bargaining for MH, though very reluctantly so. It's only because she's great at her work. He wouldn't be able to do his job without her.

Ursula? No. She'd laugh in Joe's face. She'd do it for Flotsam and Jetsam, but not Joe. And I definitely don't see the eel brothers even attempting to bargain for the octopus. Unless Ursula demanded it, that is.

Evil Queen/Grimhilda, maybe? That would depend on Apple's backstory. If he was a creation of hers or an orphan who somehow ended up being her beloved servant. She wouldn't plead, though. A queen, in her eyes, never shows weakness.

The Queen of Hearts is hard to say because she bounces back and forth from cordial and caring monarch to a tyrannical monster. Given how many times she's sentenced the card guards to the guillotine for minor mishaps, I want to say she wouldn't. But considering that Jack would probably be popular with her, I'd give it a definite "maybe."

The king would be encouraging her to save him.

For Captain Hook, I'd say yes. He might even plead if you hit the right nerve. He's a very emotional man, and he cares for Mr. Smee, despite how he treats him.

Mr. Smee would also definitely beg for Lady Hock. He's a sweetheart at the end of the day.

Claude Frollo....no. He wouldn't. He doesn't care who he has to sacrifice in the process to get his way. He wouldn't care if Veil died. As tragic as that is. This is the man who humiliated and nearly killed Quasimodo, his adopted son. He'd trade Veil for his sinful desires in a heartbeat.

Cruella doesn't care about Horace and Jasper. The only reason why she cares for Dalma is due to

Because he's a (somewhat) smarter minion than them.

She loves his coat pattern.

That's it. He's just a dog to her. Why would she care if anything happened to him? She would only mourn the loss of his coat and adequate assistance.

The thing about these villains is that most of them view their minions as just that: minions. Nothing more, nothing less. They are past the point of truly caring for another living being. And if they do care for them, they are only possessions. If they are taken away by someone else, they feel challenged by that person in a "how dare you take MY puppet" kind of way.

You can't expect much from them.

[lilmashae]

hi <3 so this is gonna be a long ass jake request with two parts so bare with me as I explain my deepest desires lol

(1) firstly have you heard that song baby can I be your favorite something like this ?! I'm sure you did anyway there's a part in the song that goes "my name's whatever you make it" and first time I heard it I instantly thought that it sounds like something jake would say to a girl he's trying to hit on and is a simp for in the answer to what's your name ?! what should I call you ?! I feel like he would be the kind of man who would make you feel like you're the centre of his world, like he didn't exist before you he breathes for you, he's an idol now and making his fans feel so loved and special imagine how is s/o would be treated !! so therefore I was gonna request a SMUT something like a simp jake having a crush on one of his friend's friend and finally deciding to shoot his shot and he is just such a romantic man he would start the sugar coating and flirting right away !! but at the same time he would still be the one in control of your relationship regardless of how soft he is to you man is a scorpio he will dominate your life softly and fuck you harder than expected !!! also I would like to include a spoiling his girl with jewellery especially TiffanyAndCo that he's ambassador of !! like he would go design a whole cute ass ring with a very unique pink heart diamond on it just to give it to his girl (he wouldn't say it out loud probably but he would think to himself that this ring is a kind of his ownership over you so everyone would know who you belong to even if you're still not married) he would probably design and buy everything from any brand deal he gets for his girl as a surprise !! yeah that's it

(2) I saw this video on twitter that he says "what you gonna do in five seconds" in response to be my boyfriend for five seconds, and oh dear heavenly father the way he looks at the damn camera saying this ?!?!? I'm just on my knees instantly !! you know he's usually this cutie pie softie bubbly person running around being fun but then he suddenly shows his smart ass serious manly side and I just get physically shocked !! the way he looked dead seriously to the camera asking "what you gonna do with 5 seconds ?! tell me" it's like him showing that yeah I'm a cutie pie but at the end of the day you do as I tell you (NOT in a fake alpha wattpad daddy way BUT as in a mature guy even though he's younger than you but he's wise and smart and knows you so well way) so I would like to request yet another smut but also angst cause I'm sad and I wanna fight someone and who better than jake who would know his girls mood swings so well to let her cool off by pushing his limits until he ends up fucking the attitude out of her, it would be like the reader getting mad at him for the very small things and nagging constantly and picking up fighta until he's mad mad and he tries to hold her but she pushes his hand away harshly and he gets to the last level mad "okay you're done level" grabs her arm and take her to their room and ends up in fucking the frustration out of the reader

Here's the link to the video I yapped about for an hour:

https://twitter.com/baekwoniee/status/1743260394989461760?t=r6usdOzWTYi_1BCVkpI_6Q&s=19

also I said younger than the reader cause he is two years younger than me and I know it's not much but still he's the first ever younger bias I have and it felt weird to begin with but now that I'm seeing underneath all that puppy like personality he's actually mature and a man I need in my life I'm getting along with it better but still please somehow include this in them writings (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ

At the end I just wanted to share my thoughts and I can wait for a response as long as you need (you can fully ignore it too I don't mind) but yeah thank you in advance hahaha

-💘 The Yapper Anon

BABY I LOVE YOU 😭 im sorry i took so long to get to this :( awe genuinely thanku for sharing all of this !!! I like your ideas a lot and I can definitely do both 🤭 I’m gonna keep both of these in mind and write them as soon as I can 🫶🏽 !!!

[valorxdrive]

Ophelia smiles at Sora, pleased at his strength and commitment. He was neither arrogant nor dismissive. Tapping her finger upon the table, the cards rapidly shuffled themselves at high speed before laying themselves out in formation upon the tables surface. "Magic dates back eons, dear boy. Long ago, it was called Thaumaturgy. That means Creation of Mysteries. It has been a pursuit among the mundane and mystics of every age. I was no exception." She flipped a card. Tower, upright position. She hummed. "Long ago, I was a Witch. I pursued magic for no other reason than to be the best. I wanted to surpass all mages of yore. I put my all into that grand undertaking. I was strong, smart, and talented. A prodigy they called me." She flipped another card. Death, reversed. She said nothing for a moment. "I achieved the very peak, the absolute pinnacle of mortal ability. Not just the peak of humanity, but the peak of mortals everywhere. I wasn't satisfied. I had hit a wall, and my prowess could go no further. I was convinced there was a level beyond. I pursued those lofty heights with zealous fervor." She locked eyes with Sora now.

"Until I finally succeeded. I shattered that wall, and my magic ascended beyond mortal limits. At first, I was elated. It was only later I truly understood." She placed a hand over her own heart. "Sora. I lost something. A part of myself I can't name, a part of myself that I never knew I had. I had become something different, and lost a part of myself I can never get back. I have become a warden of the world itself. Eternal, until the very day I am either struck down or this world's end. Heed my words. Magic is fickle. If you try to take too much, it will take from you in turn."

There's a considerate pause as the tale is unwoven before him. For the intro into this lesson, in all honesty, Sora couldn't find himself surprised. Science within his old days of schooling had centered the land's creation by those means, yet, becoming a wielder of the Keyblade and actively living alongside these great forces offered a new truth. It makes him curiously reflect across the scale of his own journey for a fleeting moment.

Reality. Dreams. Data. The Heart Realm itself, to new and more hidden frontiers. That power of creation felt the most fitting with the endless vitality of the heart that situated itself in all places.

Given Ophelia's expertise and way she seamlessly played with boundaries. (Making a small, humble home have the spatial significance of a mansion within), it was so easy for him to imagine. As his vision kept a surprisingly solid focus on the cards she held and the amount, it was through the arcana did these particular symbols hold a new vestige of mystery to him. It could genuinely wait as her tale breaking through the mortal limit was.. sad. Leaning in, he keeps to his politeness, not daring to interrupt as through the birth of their developing connection, an aura of melancholy flocked through the training room.

"Ophelia..."

The heaviness that permeates the current atmosphere is a cloak he refuses to shed. Right now it was a lesson to drink in, and for the time, it gives him the most abrupt smidgen that he also found himself crossing upon a similar border by entirely different means. By facing the great Natural Laws, determined to march past their boundary in order to win a desolate war, it left a price to be paid. ..That said, he could confidently believe that his intentions hadn't been a measure of pride.

Power to Sora has always been a well to where takes only as much as he needs. For the power that remains alive and thriving in the vessel of his heart, it brought to limits carried in it's capacity. That said, there's the unnerving reality that he could also be introduced to a risky brink.

"When it comes to magic and it's might.." There's a pause as he draws himself from his seat, standing steady as a means of showcasing his respect on the matter. "I only want what I need, and with a lot of the dangers out there.. It does make me recognize I need to refine my strength. As it stands, with the exercise you showed me, heheh. It shows me that I still have an incredibly long way to go, mainly in new ways to see it and make it shine."

"And share that with the countless people who helped me get this far. That goes for you now too. I'm.." There's a momentary pause as he tries to find the words. Feelings are one thing to professionalize in, translating them to speech is another, something the warden has in spades.

"I want you to know from what you've shown me so far, you still do hold a lot of what makes you, you. Heheh, can't really say that without knowing you as long, but warmth like this? That's just something I want to put my bets into believing."

[byhismercyandgrace]

John 6:65

So earlier this week I found myself in a deep conversation with someone very dear to me about Spirituality and Christianity.

He was talking to me about how he has never felt the need to seek a higher power or pursue spirituality; despite being raised in a Catholic household.

I have to be honest I find myself reliving this conversation over and over in my head as I am so on fire with the Lord that my true wish is for everyone to feel and experience this amazing joy he has set in my heart.

However, I have come to terms to respect that everyone has their own journey and no journey is alike. We must continue to pray for those who are on there way to the light and continue to trust in the lord.

(Always remember God’s timing is perfect!)

As I dived into my morning scripture routine I just couldn’t stop thinking about that conversation, as scripture revealed to me John 6:65 that says:

“Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me (Jesus) unless the Father (God) gives them to me.”

Let’s talk about it!

In scripture the book of John verse 6 reveals to us one of Jesus most biggest miracle which was the Feeding of Five Thousand of his followers. During this event he fed 5,000 people with only five barley loaves of bread and two fish. He even had left overs!

He then Walks on Water to his disciples as they were on there way to Capernaum. Confronts his disciples of their genuineness of faith and announces that he is the Bread of Life. Jesus revels that it is through his flesh and blood (his testimony) that you may have eternal life and that our own human effort accomplishes nothing.

In the beginning God gave us free will, which defines itself as the power to make your own decisions at your own discretion.

However, God also gives us or enables us with Divine Enablement better known in simple terms as Grace.

The Britannica Enciclopedia defines Grace as: the spontaneous, unmerited gift of the divine favour in the salvation of sinners, and the divine influence operating in individuals for their regeneration and sanctification.

There is a famous quote by the famous American Writer Abigail Van Buren that says: “The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”

Grace is obtained by the Father, our God who grants us his grace when we free willingly ask for his mercy and forgiveness for our sins. Grace is granted by our God when we fully surrender our lives to him by acknowledging that we don’t know it all and that God is our fountain of knowledge and life. We surrender our own will to do his will.

We are also granted Grace when we establish a relationship with God and our Lord Jesus Christ; and just like every other relationship in life we need to foster and nurture it for it to blossom.

As Catholics, we nurture our relationship with God and our Lord Jesus Christ by the power of prayer, obtaining strong examples of living a life strong in faith by our spiritual mentors: the saints, living the sacraments, worshiping our Lord by attending to mass, scripture and by actively participating in your local parish.

If your new on this journey just like I am and you would like to pursue God’s calling, I invite you to visit your local parish, talk to your local priest or spiritual director and create a spiritual plan to ease your transition into the your new spiritual life.

I will also invite you to participate of a Welcome retreat weekend if it is available or offered near you. This retreat was THE pivotal point in my life and I truly Welcome everyone and anyone who is looking for that missing piece in their life and/or is wishing to take their life to another level.

Knock knock, Jesus is knocking, Open the door…YOU WONT REGRET IT!

Mathew 7:7 reveals: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

God bless you all,

Hope.

‭ https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/welcome.html#why-welcome-section

[starfall-spirit]

She's in Love With the Boy

Summary: One photograph can change a duo’s whole dynamic. When Marinette's Adrien shrine is replaced with friendly photos as well as a selfie she took with Cat Noir one night a few weeks ago, even our blind boy Adrien is a little suspicious about that.

Chapter I: Until the Very Last

Marinette's POV:

"Girl, are you sure you're ready to do this?"

"Alya, you and I both know it's time. Adrien's never gonna fall for me anyways."

"Is that all that this is about? Or is this another layer of your I don't have room in my life for love?"

"Don't make this more complicated than it is, Alya."

But it was complicated. Complicated on a level I couldn't begin to explain to her, no matter what she knew about me at this point. Especially with how things had shifted on that terrible night. "You still have me." It had been less than a month since Shadow Moth had claimed the majority of the miraculous. It was so quiet with only Tikki and Fluff flying around my room. Quiet enough that I had room in my head for those words to echo over and over.

Cat's words and the Celestial Guardian's. "One mistake. That was our agreement. This defeat goes far beyond that. Your time is up, Ladybug. You and your partner will give me the box and both miraculous. You are careless and unworthy to hold a title of such honor."

"And what are you?" my partner had demanded, ready to go toe-to-toe in my defense. "You threatened to take the only confidantes Ladybug has without so much as offering to help us fight our enemy. You showed us you were trained to fight miraculous holders that went wild, right? So why aren't you searching for Shadow Moth? Why are you hovering over Ladybug, watching her every move, when you could be helping us track this guy? What honor is there in that?"

I had never appreciated what was right in front of me. Alya was my best friend, yes. She was the fox hero, yes. But she would never quite match up to Cat Noir when it came to the bond we had built fighting side by side. "You and me against the world, m'lady."

I was indeed well on my way to falling in love with my partner. The selfless, loyal, kind-hearted goofball I had the honor of standing beside. The pun-loving wild child with a determination incomparable to any other I'd known. Shaking those thoughts away, I assessed my bedroom walls that were now bare of Adrien's face. "Alright," I said. "Let's do this."

It was a masterpiece when we were done. Yes there were a few solo shots of my old crush, but then there were plenty like that of all my other friends. Solos, pairs, and larger groups were strategically scattered through the room, showing the adventures my friendships had built. "Alright girl. I've got to get home for dinner. Mom made something special tonight since Ella and Etta are back from their camp. Love you, girl."

"Love you too." I slid into my desk chair, smiling as Tikki tested her new miniature hats I'd made for her. "Now, time for the scrapbook."

I happened to be a photo fiend and my partner wasn't much better. Translation, I had hundreds of “Ladynoir” photos, as my dear BFF labeled them. I didn't just pick the flattering angles as I filled the pages of my fresh scrapbook. There were days we were sporting hideous sunburns or crazy bruises. Sometimes we'd snap a photo when the other had fallen asleep on us. I wasn't picking the best moments, but the cheesiest, most valuable moments that I knew I'd cherish for an eternity. A book that I'd give him to guide me through after passing on the miracle box and losing my memories. But for now it was mine, to be tucked away in the sewing box safe beside the miracle box I had manage to keep for the recovery of the miraculous.

"Well get them back. One by one until the very last," I said, quoting my partner.

Tikki flew over as I flipped through the scrapbook, doodling in quotes from specific moments we'd captured. "We were being genuine, you know. You two are the best holders Plagg and I have had. It's always wonderful, watching our holders fall in love." I blinked. "Did you think you were the first Ladybug to love her cat holder? Your bond is natural. Your love is natural because of that bond. Marinette, you're practically meant to be."

"I'll admit, I'm seeing Cat differently now. I really regret how I've treated him lately." I shook my head. "I wouldn't say I'm in love with him, though. We're just... growing. You know, like all teams do."

”If you’re sure,” she said, watching me pin up the only loose photo of Cat and me right by my pillow. Hearing my mother call for dinner, she zipped away, mumbling something to the tiny rabbit about human behaviors. With the book and box hidden, I made my way downstairs, ignoring the earlier thoughts and insinuations.

Next

[fannish-karmiya]

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.

[lostinthewiind]

Piss Off Your Parents - Part 9

Ukai Keishin - Haikyuu

Synopsis: freshly turned 18, you want to prove to your parents that you aren’t a child for them to push around anymore. First, get a job at the local corner store. Second, use the store owner’s 26-year-old son with piercings and a cigarette addiction to piss your parents off. Third, accidentally fall in love.

Rating: PG13

Warnings: arguing, harsh language, swearing

Song → 18 by Anarbor

Previous → Part 8

Next → Part 10

The trek up the stairs from the store to the apartment felt like climbing a never-ending escalator that was going the wrong way. After the day you had had, you were both mentally and physically exhausted and ready to call it a night early.

Thankfully, as if you had finally hit a stroke of luck that day, Keishin had texted you saying that he would pick up dinner on the way home, saving you the exertion of having to leave the apartment again. So, with that information in mind, you kicked off your shoes for the day and fell unceremoniously onto the couch in the living room.

As you sat down, you heard the envelope in your back pocket crinkle and the sudden noise seemed to completely fill the otherwise silent apartment.

Ah yes, the envelope.

Pulling the decision to your future out of your back pocket, you stared at it for what felt like another hour or so. No matter how long you held the envelope in your hands, you couldn't force yourself to open it. You simply didn't want to.

At some point between when your mother had handed it to you and now, you had subconsciously decided that you wanted to choose your own path forward despite what the decision letter may or may not say.

Feeling strangely empowered and confident, you stood to your feet and ventured into the bedroom where you slipped the envelope into one of the drawers Keishin was letting you keep your clothes in and tucked it underneath one of your sweaters. Maybe one day you would open the damn thing when whatever was inside wasn't weighing so heavily on your mind and future, but today was not that day.

Just then, you heard the front door open and knew Keishin had arrived home. Closing the drawer, you plastered a smile across your face and exited the bedroom to greet your boyfriend.

"Welcome home, Dear," you giggled, trying your best to fake the part of a doting housewife. "How was the volleyball game?"

Keishin chuckled softly as you took the takeout bags from him. "It was a close game, but they pulled it together in the last set and won."

"Oh, good!" You placed the bags onto the table before retrieving some plates and chopsticks from the kitchen.

"How was your day?" he asked as he pressed a chaste kiss to your cheek.

You sighed as you thought back on your day. "It was okay," you answered, not really wanting to go into much more detail than that. You doubted Keishin wanted to hear about your minuscule problems with rude customers after the long day he had clearly had.

Keishin, however, picked up on your uncertainty right away. "Doesn't sound okay," he commented. "Want to talk about it?"

You shrugged. "Just some shitty customers. Seems I had forgotten how poorly low-level workers are treated sometimes . . . just threw me a little," you said. "I'll be fine. Just glad the day is over now."

"You and me both." He flashed a smile as he turned to head for the bedroom. "I'm just going to change quickly and then we'll eat."

"Sounds good." You started dishing out some of the food. "I was also thinking we could watch a movie tonight as well. I could use something to clear my mind."

"Sitting on the couch with a beer is an ideal evening in my book," you heard him respond faintly from the bedroom. "There's a new action movie that came out. I think it's about-"

You waited for Keishin to finish his sentence, but when he didn't, you cocked your head and looked toward the bedroom doorway. Before you had the chance to call out to him, he appeared in the doorway shirtless, eyebrows furrowed and the envelope from the university in his hand.

"W-why do you have that?" you asked, the look on his face upon discovering the letter making your heart drop. "That was in my drawer . . . why were you going through my things?"

"I was looking for my sweater, the one you always steal," he answered. "Y/N . . . what is this?"

Rounding the table and approaching Keishin, you snatched the envelope out of his hand. "That is one of the many reasons why my day today was so shitty."

As you turned to head for the kitchen to toss the envelope in the garbage and rid your life of it, Keishin followed you. "You didn't get in?" he inquired.

You shrugged. "I have no idea. I didn't open it."

As you moved to toss the letter into the trash, Keishin grabbed your wrist and stopped you. "Why are you throwing it out if you didn't open it yet?"

"Because I don't care what it says. I've decided that I'm going to stay here with you and work at the store. This is the life I want . . . the life I get to choose for myself."

"You should still open it," he reasoned. "You might change how you feel about it when you see the result."

"I don't want to change how I feel about it." You shook your head as you gently pried your wrist out of his grip. "No need to make things more difficult than they need to be. I've had enough difficulty for one lifetime, thank you very much. This decision is easy, and best of all, it makes me happy."

Gesturing to the envelope, Keishin sighed. "But this is what you wanted. When you told me about your dream to play soccer at the University of Tokyo, your face lit up. Why are giving up on your dream before you've even given yourself a chance to experience it?"

"Dreams can change, Keishin," you told him before sighing and deciding to humour him for a moment. "Okay, let's say I open this letter and somehow did get in. What then? I couldn't pay for that school in my wildest dreams; not without my parents' help. Sometimes dreams are just childish and unrealistic. So I found a new dream, one with us living here together."

"You could apply for student loans. Tons of people do." He folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think this is about the money or your parents. I think this is about us. You've gotten comfortable here."

Throwing your hands up into the air in exasperation, you huffed. "And so what if I have? Is that really so bad?"

"I just don't want you to throw away an opportunity like this over me."

"Over you?" you cocked a brow. "Because you're, what, trash? Not worth it? A lowlife? A burnout?"

Keishin bit at his bottom lip. "You know what's not what I meant."

Inhaling deeply, you glared down at the god-forsaken envelope in your hand and began to tear at the top. "Let's not fight about something that probably isn't even going to happen." You pulled the letter out and unfolded it, your eyes scanning the text quickly. "The University of Tokyo is notoriously difficult to get into and I-"

Keishin quirked a brow when you stopped mid-sentence. "What does it say?"

A broken laugh was the only thing you could manage as you lowered the letter and shook your head. "Un-fucking-believable." You handed the paper over to Keishin, the edge crumpled from where your grip had tightened when you read the decision.

Keishin looked at the page for all of two seconds before he found the bolded 'Congratulations' and a huge grin spread across his face. "You got in!" He was way more excited than you were about this. "This is good news. You can play soccer at the University of Tokyo. Come on, you can't tell me this doesn't make you at least a little happy."

"I wish it did," you answered honestly. "I wish it were that easy."

"It is! It can be." Keishin set the letter down on the counter and took your hands in his. "Student loans, part-time jobs, it's all possible. Sure, it might be a little tricky to work out, but it's totally possible."

When you didn't respond, Keishin hooked his fingers under your chin and tilted your head up to look at him. "Accept the spot at the university. Follow your dream," he told you.

". . . but I'll have to leave you." You felt the words catch in your throat and tried your hardest not to start crying. "You make me happy—you're the first thing that's made me genuinely happy in a long time—and I don't want to leave that for a chance at something that might not even work out."

"But what if it does work out? You don't know that it won't," he said softly. "Don't end up like me, looking back at your past and wondering what might have been if you had just chosen a different path. I know this might seem good enough for now, but how will you feel after ten or twenty years of working the same dead-end job for the same shit pay all while getting treated like shit by people who look down on you? Look at how one day of catering to pretentious assholes made you feel. Do you really want to live the rest of your life like that?"

"But what about you?" you asked, your voice shaky.

Keishin dropped his head, a few stray strands of hair falling into his face. Unlike that morning, when he had been asleep with loose hairs in his face, he looked annoyed and frustrated now. The bags under his eyes and tension lines on his forehead were a stark contrast to the soft, peaceful face you had woken up to that morning.

"Don't throw this away over me," he repeated. "Don't throw your future away over a 26-year-old burnout."

Lip quivering, you sucked in a deep breath. "I thought you were different . . . but you're just like everyone else."

Keishin eyed you. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You said I should make my own decisions and live my life how I wanted but it was all a facade." You slipped your hand out of his and took a step back. "In the end, you're just like everyone else . . . you think you have a right to plan my future for me without giving me a say in the matter. You want to tell me how to live my life just like my parents."

"How could you say that?" Keishin almost snapped but managed to collect his anger before he did. "All I want is what's best for you."

You scoffed as you wiped a tear from your cheek. "If I had a penny for every time I've heard that I'd have enough money to pay for the University of Tokyo and then you'd get your damn wish . . . I'd be gone."

"When did I ever say I wanted you gone? Why are you so adamant that going to Tokyo means we can't be together?"

"Why are you so against just letting me make my own decision about this?! Why do I have to go to play soccer at that fucking university and leave you? I don't want to leave you!"

"Why not? Why are you so damn hung up on someone like me?!"

"Because I love you!" The two of you froze in place the second those words left your mouth. Chest heaving from the shouting and high emotions, you snapped your mouth shut before you said anything else in the heat of the moment.

Eyes wide, Keishin stared at you like a deer in headlights. "You what?"

You debated whether or not you should repeat what you had said, but by then, the damage had been done. "I love you," you breathed. "And I know you told me not to fall in love with you . . . but I did. I fell hard and fast and now I'm stuck in you and I cannot possibly leave you so please stop asking me to."

You waited for what felt like an eternity for Keishin to say something, say anything. He opened his mouth a few times like he was about to, but nothing ever came out.

"Keishin . . ." You took a cautious step forward. "Please say something."

Keishin swallowed hard before looking you directly in the eyes. "If I said I didn't love you back, would you go?"

You felt your heart crack and the sensation of being punched in the gut spread throughout your entire body. "Is that what you're saying? You don't love me?"

"If I didn't, would you leave?"

You inhaled sharply. "If you look me in the eyes right now and tell me that you don't feel the same way that I do; that everything over the past few months has meant nothing to you, there would be no possible way I could stay in Miyagi," you answered truthfully. "If you tell me that you don't love me and that you never have, I would have no reason to stay in this prefecture."

Keishin's lips parted once more. "Y/N . . . I-" His brown eyes locked onto yours and you could feel what he was about to say even though he never did. "I . . . I can't do this right now."

With that, he brushed past you, grabbed a sweater from the bedroom and threw it on before storming out of the apartment, leaving you and the now cold takeout food alone.

Tears in your eyes and a lump in your throat, you turned to look over your shoulder at the decision letter sitting on the counter, practically taunting you.

You should have thrown the thing out the second your mom dropped it off. Or better yet, maybe you should have never made that deal with Keishin and applied for the university in the first place.

[we-love-imagines]

hi i don’t know if you’re taking requests right now, but based on your recent post about rohan and his stand and jotaro’s dating hcs, is there anyway that we could see a dating headcanons with rohan? please and thank you!

Of course my dear! Head Cannons are way faster to write than one-shots so I tried to get this one out quick for you! :)

Rohan Dating Hcs

~Rohan is certainly the type to scoff at his own feelings and set them aside, so he really has to like you to ask you out. He doesn’t fall fast either, preferring to date people he’s known for a while and letting his feelings grow over time. However, when he does finally acknowledge his feelings for you, he’ll embrace them in stride. He’ll be trying to impress you and show off his best self at every opportunity. As you two get closer and become an official couple, he’ll loosen up a bit, but your first few dates are very expensive and flashy.

~You become his sole confidant. If you thought Rohan was mean, his private thoughts are a whole lot meaner; after a long day out on the town, he’ll return to you with loads of gossip and sassy comments about his friends. Especially Josuke. He really feels like he can be his true self around you, and can rant and rave about whatever is on his mind with little judgement. You put him at ease.

~If you’re in a relationship with Rohan, you definitely influence his art in one way or another. While he’d enjoy it if you modeled for him- Hell, he’d probably use your likeness for a Pink Dark Boy character if you were okay with it- he’d also respect it if you didn’t want to. However, he’ll sketch you regardless. It may be that you’re always so close, or how the warm feelings he gets from you inspires him, but he can’t help but draw out your face from time to time. He loves seeing how flustered you get when he shows you the finished product. Of course, these would never be published without your permission, but part of him secretly wishes to. It’s some of his best work!

~If you’re an artist, I pray for you. He loves your art, of course, but he’s not one to hold back constructive criticism. While he’ll try to be nice about it, he can come off rather blunt and sound harsh. He’s also a bit of a backseat artist; if he sees you sketching, he’ll watch over your shoulder and critique as you go. It can get rather annoying at times, but at least his advice comes from a genuine desire to see you improve rather than malice. 

~Strangely, he’ll want to move pretty fast with you. With his extremely busy schedule, part of him knows the only real way for him to spend any substantial time with you is if you move in. So, if you’re up for it, expect to be moving your stuff into his house pretty early on in the relationship. To both your surprise and his, he really enjoys cute little domestic things: getting matching mugs, making dinner together, movie-night cuddles on the couch. Though, his undisputed favorite moment of domestic bliss is waking up next to you every morning, kissing your forehead while you sleep before he starts his day.

~He claims to not be one for lovey-dovey stuff like pet names or excessive kisses, but you can certainly convince him otherwise. While he is strictly against PDA, in private he can be very sweet. While he’ll usually call you by your name, you can squeeze out a “Dear” or “Darling” if he’s feeling especially affectionate. Rarely will he initiate affection unprompted, but on a good day, he’ll hug you from behind as you cook something and place chaste kisses to the side of your face. If you catch him on a very good day, he’ll shower you with all the love he can muster. 

~Despite that last point, he eats up your praise and affection like he’s a starved man. You can never do anything just once- if you kiss him while leaving for work, he’ll demand another. If you give him a hug before turning over in bed, he’ll insist you two cuddle. Don’t even get me started on compliments! Any off-handed praise you give him results in a, “Really? You mean that?” egging you on for more. Of course, he’ll act like he’s somewhat unfazed by your kind words, but it always makes his cheeks go pink and his heart beat a little bit faster.

~While he loves your praise, Rohan tends to hold back a little when it comes to verbal affection. He tends to show his love through quiet actions. But, when he’s in the mood to tell you how much he loves you, Rohan pulls out all the stops. Seeing as he’s a mangaka, he is very good with words, and knows just what to say to make your heart melt. 

~Somewhat bad at comforting you when you’re down. He knows you well enough to tell when you’ve had a rough day, but part of him is scared to approach you. He knows he can come off as rude sometimes and he doesn’t want to make it worse. So, he’ll silently make you a warm cup of tea, have something sweet waiting for you in your room- and retreat into his studio. Of course, if you’re extremely upset and crying your eyes out he’ll be there to cuddle you and cheer you up. But on just kinda-crappy days? Yeah, he’s doing the minimum.

~Rohan vows to never use Heaven’s Door on you, unless you ask him to or it’s an emergency. He’s ignored people’s boundaries in the past by using it, and he knows how pushing said boundary might ruin his relationship. While sometimes his anxiety tempts him to take a peek- to check if you’re thinking of leaving him or if you haven’t been loyal- he always stops himself. He doesn’t want to lose you, and that level of privacy invasion is too much for healthy relationship. Though his nerves may flare at times, he trusts you.

~Speaking of nerves, Rohan is always a little afraid his partner would cheat on him. He’s an extremely busy man, and sometimes it feels like he never leaves his studio. It’s easy to feel a little neglected from time to time. So, he fears that you leave when you know he’ll be working for hours, sneaking off to meet with someone else. While you assure him that this isn’t the case, he still gets jealous from time to time when he sees you being a little too nice to others.

~While he can be a tad prickly, Rohan is whipped for you, and he wouldn’t have it any other way!

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Be Very Afraid

This is the best story arc episode in season three and arguably the best written episode since The Great Tree, but it’s still season three so there are still issues with it. 

Summary: When Zhan Tiri tells Cassandra she must destroy Rapunzel in order to wield the Moonstone's true power, Cassandra discovers that she can create, with fear, red rock spikes that cause fear and freeze their victims. Varian discovers the red rocks and teams up with Rapunzel to use his amber solution on them. Meanwhile, Eugene and Lance decide to throw a talent show to distract everyone from their fears. 

Why Can’t Cassandra Control The Rocks?

The series never gives an actual explanation for this. She could control them just fine in Rapunzel’s Return, so what’s changed? 

There is No Destiny!

There’s no prophecy, no oracle, no grand design nor master of fate to fight back against; the characters literally have no reason to do what they do. If you want destiny to be a goal then you have to establish what that destiny is first. 

What does Cassandra want? How does this connect back to Gothel, Rapunzel, and the Moonstone? Why she just failing about like an idiot here? Did she not have a plan when she threw her life away for this stupid rock? 

And of course Zhan Tiri is lying here, but why should Cassandra believe her? What does she gain by listening to a creepy ghost girl? This ‘destiny’ has not been established, so therefore there’s no hook nor bait for Zhan Tiri to trap her with. 

Leading directly into “you should kill your bestie’ should logically put Cassandra off of Zhan Tiri’s advice for good because Zhan Tiri isn’t actually offering anything. Temptation requires the person to be, you know, tempted by what they want, but Cassandra doesn’t know what she wants so none of this makes sense. 

The writing is desperately trying to make Cass sympathetic here, but all it winds up doing is making her look like a moron instead. 

This Isn’t Consistent

Not only does this fail to explain why Cass could control the rocks previously but no longer can, but it’s also contradicted just a couple of episodes later with the incantation bullshit. 

You need an established magic system in place in order for the character’s actions to make sense show!

This Ultimately Goes Nowhere

Ignoring how Varian should have been in season two and how translating the scroll should have led to freeing his father, which we’ve talked about previously; this subplot should have had more impact on the narrative than it actually did. Yes, Varian’s translation winds up driving the plot of Cassandra’s Revenge, but 90% of that episode winds up being utterly pointless, including the incantations themselves, so.... 

I Like This Sequence; Shame It Winds Up Being Undermined Later  

Unlike the majority of dream sequences in this show, this nightmare has an actual point. It more firmly establishes Varian’s fears and gives the audience some insight into what happened to him back in season one. Something we were sorely lacking. It also becomes the core conflict and drive of Varian’s character development through out the episode. 

Only for the episode to ignore Varian’s real issues and fail to adequately address anything. By series end this plot point will be completely forgotten. The show acts like bringing it up once and then never acknowledging it ever again just magically revolves Varian’s character arc. It doesn’t.  

So How Come Quirin Isn’t Affected By the Rocks? 

He’s right there next to them and he shows no reaction to them at all. You’re telling me the man who lost his home twice to these things, almost died to them, and nearly lost his only child because of them, is just not going to respond to new creepy red ones popping up? 

Quirin would have a treasure trove of trauma to explore in his own right, that undoubtedly would connect back to Varian’s own issues, but we’re just going to ignore it and have Quirin off screen for the majority of the episode?

Are These New Character Models?

Are you shitting me!? 

They built five new models just for a short two minute scene, one where none of the new characters are named nor given lines, only to never appear ever again!

What the fuck? Why did you waste time and money on this? What happened to all of the other background characters you already built? Did a bunch of season one models just get lost or deleted or something? 

Also why are they all wearing green? Is it St. Paddy’s Day? 

This Plot Point Wasn’t Established Enough Beforehand

Look, I’ll buy that there are people in Corona who still blame Varian for what happened in season one and for the Sapoiran take over. I mean they’re only getting half the story and were directly effected by his actions whether or not he intended harm to them. But we needed to see more of it beyond just this one scene.

No one was bullying him in Lost Treasure or The King and Queen of Hearts, so for all purposes he appeared to be integrated back into society, and now you’re telling me he’s not and that Rapunzel risked his well being by forcing him to interact with people who were hostile to him back in Lost Treasure? 

And yeah you can’t really move Lost Treasure back any further than it already is cause that’d leave a giant hole in the wall of the throne room for over a year. Which also makes no sense either. 

Or hey, maybe it’s just Feldspar being an asshole. In which case why should Varian or the audience care? 

Eugene is Wasted

Look I understand that there’s only twenty five minutes to tell this story and that Eugene isn’t the focus of the episode. I also understand that the B-plot is meant to be comedic in order to relive tension from the A plot, but this wasn’t the best way to go about it. 

The B plot swings too far wide in the other direction that it dilutes the tension too much. The A plot now has to work over time to keep the urgency going. I could understand it, if the show wanted start off with small fears first, but it needed to ramp up the drama as it got closer to the climax, not under cut it. 

We never see Eugene freak out over anything other this this cowlick. In fact we never see him scared of anything else beyond this one scene, which undermines Rapunzel’s arc this episode as she’s suppose to be the only one bottling things in. What makes Eugene so special that he can keep a lid on it with out consequences, or are you telling me that a dumb cowlick is his only fear? 

Either answer is stupid. 

I Hope You Have Copies of the Map

You went through all that trouble to steal the journal for this very reason and now here you are prancing around without it like it’s not that big of deal. Way to undermined past story arcs. 

It’s like the writers know that season one was their most successful season, and therefore try to make callbacks to it whenever they can, to make up for ignoring it in season two completely, but they still don’t want to actually acknowledge anything that happened during that season so they just refer to it in the laziest way possible, rendering the previous events pointless. 

So Close and Yet So Far

I’m mainly posting this whole conversation so that you dear readers will have context for what I talk about next. 

For you see, this scene starts out okay and it looks like we’re finally going to address the elephant in the room regarding Rapunzel’s involvement in Varian’s past trauma, only for the scene to immediately side step the issue all together and not resolve the conflict at all. 

No! Don’t Interrupt; Listen! 

Or at least go all the way and accept some of the blame yourself. 

It may look like Rapunzel is comforting Varian here on a superficial level, but without her verballing acknowledging what she did wrong, this action just winds up taking the focus off of Varian and what he needs and places it upon Rapunzel, both narratively and physically.

So what happens is that, in universe, it comes across like she’s just consoling Varian for her own personal comfort rather than genuinely trying to help. 

Why Would Varian Ever Think This? 

Okay, first off this has nothing to do with what Varian was talking about previously. Why would he jump from discussing his trauma to praising Rapunzel? You know the woman who is responsible for said trauma? 

Secondly, this switches the focus of the conflict off of Varian’s specific trauma and makes it about a generic “over coming fear” lesson mixed with an out of place validation issue. Which is not what’s actually needed for his character development; nor for Rapunzel’s for that matter. 

Third, being the sundrop has nothing to do with Rapunzel as a person. Her being born with magical powers was an accident of fate, same as her being royalty. She’s not innately better than anybody else because of this and nobody has any narrative reason to assume otherwise. Especially since her powers are utterly disconnected from her actual personality, choices, and actions. All three of which have become unbearably unpleasant by the last season. 

Finally, Varian, of all people should be the last person on earth to ever think so highly of Rapunzel. Them being friends again is already pushing believability. Him suddenly kissing her ass the same as everyone else this season is just flat out bad writing.  

Varian knows better than anybody what an awful person Rapunzel is. He’s seen her at her worse. He’s seen her not live up to her hypocritical ideals. He knows the larger problems that steam from placing people in power on pedestals. As her former victim, Varian by all accounts should be the one person who can bring Rapunzel down to earth and poke holes into her ego, even while still being her friend. Especially while still being her friend. She needs that! Writing Varian as another blind Rapunzel stan is not only writing him out of character, but it also damages Rapunzel’s own development. 

Also Varian hates magic. Why would he now worship someone just for having magic? 

THIS AIN’T ABOUT YOU BITCH!!!

I literally yelled that at my tv screen when I first saw this scene. Those were my exact words upon the episode’s first airing. And believe it or not, I’m not one to usually scream obscenities at inanimate objects. 

I understand what the writers were trying to accomplish here. They wanted Rapunzel to ease the tension by saying something funny and to make Varian laugh to distract him from his woes; thereby defusing the situation. But it doesn’t work because of season three’s tendency to make Rapunzel the most egotistical, smug, self-centered, abusive, self-righteous twat in the show. 

It really boggles the mind just how unaware the writing is. Like, surely no one makes their protagonist this unlikable on accident. Clearly they meant for Rapunzel to be an ass on purpose right?  They wanted Cass to have a reason to hate her so they decided to make her insufferable to the viewer in a misguided attempt to make Cass more sympathetic? Right? 

Then where is the bloody comeuppance? 

I genuinely thought this was all going to lead somewhere. That Rapunzel was going to learn to be a better person and I would have been fine by that. I would have applauded the show if they had turned her into an asshole intentionally so that they could teach a mature and nuanced lesson about morality. 

But they didn’t, and here I am; still shaking my head in confusion over a year later. 

Seriously what the fuck happened behind the scenes to cause this? How can processionals paid by the largest animation company in the world be so incompetent? 

Having Trauma is Not the Same Thing as Having a Phobia  

This is where Varian’s arc falls apart. Not only does the episode fail to have Rapunzel acknowledge her past wrongs for a second time, but it also completely mishandles Varian’s trauma because it equates it to being an irrational fear. One that can be overcome through pure force of will at that, same as Lance and everyone else’s fears in the episode. 

Ok first off Varian’s fear isn’t irrational. He even just said so at the start of the conversation. Varian’s trauma is very real, it’s not a hypothetical unlike clown-spiders and cowlicks. Also has been given very little reassurance that it won't happen again. Varian has no reason to trust Rapunzel or anybody else in the show. They never owned up to abandoning him previously, and both he and the audience have little reason to believe that Rapunzel wouldn’t just neglect him again if it was convenient for her.   

Secondly one does not simply ‘overcome’ trauma. Oh you can deal with trauma, you can manage it and learn to live with it. But it never goes away. It doesn’t magically disappear just because you ‘faced it’. 

In fact confronting it head on is actually the opposite of what your suppose to do when going through something traumatic. Studies have shown that distracting your mind after a car crash or what have you actually helps with PTSD later on. And ‘dealing with it” doesn’t mean ignoring the problem out right, but rather learning how to function despite the pain. 

But as the show acts like Varian’s trauma never even existed after this episode. 

This Doesn’t Resolve Anything!

What does “being special” have to with fear? How does this help Varian with his trauma? Empty validation has nothing to with what we were just discussing. 

Everyone gets afraid. Everyone has trauma of some sort. Are you telling me that my need for therapy some 20 years after being physically assaulted is just because I’m not special enough? Fuck you show! 

Moreover, this doesn’t resolve the story arc from season one. Varian and Rapunzel’s conflict with each other has nothing to do with self esteem. It was about personal responsibility, conflicting needs, and abuse. Yes, self image and acceptance was a small factor in their motivations, but it was never the driving goal behind their decisions. 

This is yet another broken narrative promise to the audience. There’s no closure to be had from this and leaves the viewer wanting, if not outright frustrated. 

In order to justify this exchange fans have to ‘read between the lines’ and make shit up in order for any of this to make any sense. People who still defend season three do by doing all the heavy lifting that writers themselves should be doing. 

If it’s not on screen, it doesn’t count. 

If Rapunzel never apologizes on screen, then she never apologized. If Rapunzel never checked up on Varian on screen, then she neglected him outright. If Rapunzel never acknowledges her wrong doings on screen, then she’s never learned anything. The characters pretending like she has doesn’t make it so. 

Why Does Cassandra Even Want a Destiny? 

Yes, Zhan Tiri is lying, there is no destiny, but Zhan Tiri being a liar doesn’t absolve Cassandra of her own actions. 

Cassandra herself believes in destiny and is looking for her’s, but why? 

Why does she want a destiny? What is this destiny she’s after? Why does she believe such a thing exists? What does she believe it’ll gain her? Why is she willing to risk so much for such a vague goal? What does any of this have to do with the moonstone or her mother? How does this destiny connect back with her personal feud with Rapunzel? 

It’s all disjointed and confused. Nothing lines up. It’s like the writers just had this dart board full of ideas for Cassandra’s villain arc, but couldn’t decide on which one to go with, so they just threw darts randomly each episode and went with whatever stuck for any given scene.

“Oh she want’s revenge for her mother during this scene, or wait no, she’s actually looking for destiny this episode?” “What destiny?” “Who knows. Now for this scene we need her to be sad because reasons...” “What reason?” “I don't care, make something up... Uuuuh, she’s sad cause she’s not a royal guard still” “But she became a guard during season one.” “Ignore that. Kids won’t remember. Now she needs to be angry and threating here” “Why?” “Because it’ll look cool.” “But why is she angry?” “Cause it looks cool Bob! Geez! Oh but she still needs to be sympathetic so give her a frowny face afterwards. Just have Zhan Tiri remind her how much she hates Rapunzel later, so as to egg her on and keep her doing stupid shit?”  “But why does she hate Rapunzel?”  “Do I have to think of everything BOB!!!???”  

There, there’s my non-so-accurate behind the scene’s glimpse into the Tangled writer’s room when discussing Cassandra’s arc. I could be wrong. There could have been some intricate and complex plan thought out that just didn’t make it onto the screen for whatever reason, or maybe everyone involved was so far up their own ass that they just forgot to give their main villain an actual reason for being the villain. But regardless the over all effect is that Cassandra is handed the idiot ball for a whole freaken season in order to even have a conflict and that is never good writing; or rather she’s hit in the head with it repeatedly. 

This Actually Goes Against Zhan Tiri’s Plan

Zhan Tiri’s short term goal is to be released from her dimensional prison and apparently she needs Cass and Raps to fight into order to do this. This was never established before hand and goes against her disciples pervious plans, but whatever. One could argue that this is just a lie in order to get them to fight later... 

However, this lie jeopardizes her long term goal. She eventually wants to wield both the moonstone and the sundrop herself in order to destroy Corona, but Rapunzel is the sundrop and you can only take her power during an ellipse, supposedly, which means if Cass actually succeeds in killing Rapunzel before then, then Zhan Tiri is up a creek without a paddle. Also if Cassandra did manage to steal Raps’ power with or without an ellipse then Zhan Tiri would still be out of luck. 

This was wholly unnecessary; you didn’t have to go from zero to sixty in one fell swoop. Have Zhan Tiri claim that fighting Rapunzel will award the power to the winner or something. There’s no need to bring up the ‘kill her’ option. That should logically just drive Cassandra away and puts Zhan Tiri’s plan at risk. 

The series wants to act like Zhan Tiri is this master manipulator, a chess master like Zantos or Palpatine, but she couldn’t even tie their shoes. Her plans make no sense and often contradict one another. They only work because the rest of the cast are reduced to imbeciles in order for them to work. 

This Plot Point Contradicts Season Two

His fear of spiders was establish early on, and I’ll accept the clown thing as there’s nothing to contradict it, but Lance has preformed numerous times before now and has never show stage fright. He’s a huge ham and back in Return of Quaid he mentioned how much loved acting and preforming and apparently been on stage before, so where does this fear of singing in public come from? Heck he sung in public just a few episodes ago in Rapunzel’s Return. 

If you have to sacrifice established character into order to make your plot work then you need a new plot. 

This Song is Nice; It Just Needed to Be in a Different Episode 

I’m glad Lance got a solo. He deserved one and the song is good. However it breaks the tension of the climax and gives the episode tonal whiplash. 

More than a song, Lance needed an actual focus episode in season three. One that was fully his. If anyone else shared it with him it needed to be Red and Angry, not Varian and Cass. 

Just imagine if this song came during an episode where he had to watch the girls. Imagine if he was singing it just for them. How much more impactful would that have been? 

Now imagine that we had a Rapunzel and Varian duet in it’s place here. That would have tied the episode together better and helped to further their own stories. Glenn Slater can write lyrics far better than Chris can write dialogue. I bet you a thousand to one Tangled the Series would have solved like half of it’s problems had Menken and Slater been allowed write and actual apology duet between Raps and Varian. 

Such a duet was proposed during Rapunzel’s Return but it could have worked here too, and you could have placed Lance’s solo in Day of the Animals or something, just leave Rapunzel out of that episode all together. 

Nothing honestly needed to be cut music wise, yet for some reason season three has less songs than the other seasons, even when counting the reprises, and they’re mostly shorter too. 

That’s mismanagement right there. Plain and simple. Someone at the top didn’t know how to balance the budget or resources and didn’t know where to the throw the money at. 

You Have a 70 Foot Shield Made of Magic Hair, Rapunzel

You couldn’t think to just block those rocks instead?

Giving your protagonist a big hero moment doesn’t work if they placed the person the have to save in jeopardy to begin with show. 

I Do Not Care About Rapunzel Right Now, Show

Yes, she’s the main character. Yes, her feud with Cass is the main conflict of the season and kicked off the episode. That does not mean that I automatically care about her personal feelings at this moment in time. 

Rapunzel has kept such a tight lid on her real feelings for the whole episode that this just comes out of nowhere. I was never waiting with baited breath for her to confess her deep dark secrets or whatever. 

It’s not even an interesting reveal. It’s just “Oh, see Rapunzel’s human too. She’s gets scared just like everybody else.”. I already fucking knew that, thanks. And what she’s afraid of isn’t even that compelling either; it’s a just a rip off of the prophecy dreams she had back in season one. The same ones that had no explanation and never furthered the story, so why should I care about this one?  

You have to earn the audience’s investment in your conflict. The character’s likability, as little as that may be currently, will only carry you so far, you have to establish shit first.  

Varian’s conflict has been the focus of the entire episode so far, and it’s a conflict that was set all the way back in season one, so of course that is what I’m invested in seeing get resolved. Rapunzel is once again just butting in and making it all about her when it’s not actually her story. 

And if you wanted it to be her story then you should have made her the actual focus to begin with and had her learn something by the end of it. 

This is Poor Choice of Words, Writers 

I could be generous here and pass this off as Rapunzel not fully believing in this prophecy. After all Corona’s destruction is still a hypothetical at this point and Cassandra really has left already. Since the episode is about fear, Rapunzel is of course more afraid of losing Cassandra’s friendship as it’s real tangible possibility. 

More than a possibility even, Rapunzel’s been dumped. Season three is a classic break up story, right down to the poor plotting and tunnel vision, hence why it’s so gay baity. 

However, this reading only carries so far. For starters this is Rapunzel’s what, fourth prophecy dream so far? Haven’t the past three already came true, so why would she think this one wouldn’t? 

Secondly, all that good grace goes right out the window once it becomes clear that, yes, Cassandra is indeed a threat; a threat that Rapunzel refuses to take seriously because she cares more about her own personal validation than her kingdom. 

Even as Cassandra does succeed in destroying Corona, and no doubt harms other people while at it, Rapunzel still is obsessed with ‘winning Cassandra back’. Oh and make no mistake, this is not because she actually cares about Cassandra as a person and her needs or feelings. Nope. Rapunzel just doesn’t like being dumped. 

Why Does Varian Need to Shove His Feelings Aside for Rapunzel’s Bullshit?

Rapunzel’s ‘confession’ has fuck all to do with Varian’s current issues. They do not connect in any way.  

Varian is dealing with real trauma, trauma that she helped cause, while Rapunzel is only dealing with a hypothetical prophecy and one very shallow, self-centered fear. There’s nothing to relate to here. Neither for Varian himself nor the audience. 

Yet for some undefined reason this is what gets Varian to ignore his PTSD flashbacks? What? 

This is once again break the narrative promise. I was promised closure for Varian’s story arc and instead of that the writers just brush it up under the rug. 

From the outside looking in this doesn’t come across as Varian ‘overcoming’ his ‘fear’. It looks like an abuse victim using learned helplessness to placate his abusers.

And yes, for the last time Rapunzel is Varian’s abuser. 

NEGLECT IS ABUSE!!! 

And and even though he is no longer her ‘responsibility’, she is still neglecting him emotionally as his supposed friend. 

Varian’s and Cassandra’s Stories Undermined Each Other’s 

Varian stopped the rocks. Rapunzel had nothing to do with it. Zhan Tiri blaming Rapunzel for it steals agency away from both her and Cassandra. 

However, if Rapunzel had used the hurt incantation to stop the rocks and Cassandra had felt it rom the other side, then you’d have something to back up Zhan Tiri’s claim and an actual point of real conflict to carry the rest of the season. Not to mention an actual tangible goal for Cassandra to work towards, survival. 

Cassandra’s conflict with Rapunzel not only prevents the resolution to Varian’s arc from being satisfying, but Varian fulfilling his arc in turn winds up cutting off Cass’s story at the knees. 

It didn’t have to be this way. Varian’s and Cassandra’s arcs should have complimented each other, but instead the creator decided to make them complete for screen time and relevance. 

It is such an gratingly stupid and petty decision that winds up being a disservice for all the characters involved.   

Cassandra’s motivation and goal should have been revealed back in season two. Varian should have been the sole focus of Rapunzel’s Return and gotten his big hero moment there along; with an actual ending to his conflict with Rapunzel that didn’t feel so lopsided and half assed. Then Rapunzel and Cassandra could have both been held accountable for their conflict in season three, instead of pretending like their shit smelled of roses the whole damn time. 

Lance Got a Whole Crowd Cheering Him On For Singing a Song, Varian Just Gets One Asshole Giving Him a Single Line of Congratulations

Did I mention this show has an odd anti-Varian bias? Cause it does. For whatever reasons his own creators hate him and that’s just utterly baffling to me. Like why create a main character that you don’t like? 

I look down on professional writers who treat characters they didn’t create poorly within their works, like with James Gunn and Scrappy Doo in the Scooby Doo Movie, Adric in the Doctor Who spin offs, or even the treatment of Doofus in Ducktales 2017. I don't care how much a character is liked or disliked by fandom, that shit is just tasteless and often unfunny. But at least I understand where they are coming from when they do it. 

But I’ll never understand what compels a writer to sabotage their own work; one that they are getting paid to write no less. Especially when said character is super popular with their fans. And Chris knows this. He knows the ratings plummeted without Varian in season two. He knows the merch didn’t sell because there wasn’t enough Varian products. That’s why he hyped up Varian’s return a whole week before Season Three’s airing with a massive online campaign, but he wasn’t smart enough to treat the character decently afterwards? 

I mean congrats, you convinced a just enough viewers to come back to season three to keep the show on the air I guess, but you left them all pissed off and have nothing to show for it to the higher ups a Disney. 

And Chris wonders why he wasn’t asked back to work on new Disney princesses shows that are currently in the works. 

That is Not Quirin. That is a Plank of Wood Pretending to be Quirin.

*Beep* *Boop*...*Dad Bot Is Proud. exe* 

Quirin is such a pale shadow of his season one self that he might as well not exist. I genuinely don't know why the writers released from the amber so early if they weren’t actually going to use him until the season finale. 

For the longest time I honestly thought that Rapunzel sucked out his soul with that decay incantation; what with that lyric about “setting the spirit free”. I genuinely thought that would be a later plot point, but nope, it’s just bad writing

Him just saying hi to son once and smiling blankly isn’t compelling and it’s isn’t fulfilling. It doesn’t actually resolve his arc. I mean he’s at least shown spending time with his son, but that’s not enough. We need to see him acknowledge past, we need to see him acknowledge his own flaws, and we need to see him being more attentive when Varian is in need. .  

Season one Quirin would be trying to stop Varian from going near the red rocks, a post season one Quirin should logically go after his son to make sure he’s alright, even if he’s know longer trying to actively stop Varian like he once did. 

There’s also that damn note and it’s secrets! 

You know what? That’s it. That’s the problem. The focus is all wrong in season three. Episodes get pulled into to many directions trying to juggle too many characters rather than dedicating the needed time to each individual arc. 

Season two’s finale should have been a three parter with Cass’s full motivation and goal laid bare before leaving.

Rapunzel’s Return should have been solely about Rapunzel and Varian’s conflict and resolving that arc fully 

Either Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf or Day of the Animals should have been a Lance episode about him and the girl’s, no Rapunzel. 

And this episode should have been about Quirin and Varian resolving their issues, with the Rapunzel and Cass stuff as the B plot not the stupid talent show 

There, all fixed. You don't even have to cut much, just rework the focus and leave Rapunzel and Cassandra out of conflicts they have no business being in. 

This Does Not Excuse Rapunzel’s Later Negligence Regarding Cassandra

Just because the red rocks was an accident doesn’t mean Cassandra should get a free pass for all the awful things she does later. Rapunzel uses this one interaction to excuse everything else Cassandra does in season three, as if she was just some poor lost baby and not a grown ass woman out to kill them. 

In fact Cass showing hesitancy here actually makes her later actions even worse. This means that she fully acknowledges that what she’s about to do is wrong, but goes ahead and does anyway, even gleefully so at times. Then she has to gall to act baffled when people see her as a threat? 0.o 

When fans say Cass isn’t redeemable or shouldn’t be redeemed, it’s not because he actions are so much worse than everybody else’s (even though they are), It’s because she doesn’t act like she wants to be redeemed half the time. The show doesn’t properly set up her ‘redemption’, instead it just lazily has Rapunzel yell at us how she’s ‘not lost’. 

Like below for instance. 

What Does Cass Need Saving From?

Cassandra is not in danger. She is the danger. 

She made the conscious decision to leave taking a world endangering artifact with her, and she later makes the conscious decision to come back and be an asshole for no adequately defined reason. 

She’s never shown to be in any physical danger from the rocks, the moonstone, or even Zhan Tiri herself. She apparently can take care of herself in the wild for over a year. She also has the capability of getting a job else where and just living out her life if she wanted to. Nothing is forcing her to listen to Zhan Tiri. 

Heck, even her hurt arm, the one thing Rapunzel is responsible for and could potentially be a continued threat to Cass’s well being, is just completely forgotten about.

And no, mental illness and past trauma are not excuses as well. In fact it’s rather insulting to both people with mental heath problems and abusive survivors to suggest otherwise. We don't need ‘saving from ourselves’ and we aren’t automatically dangers to anybody. Nor do we get free passes if we hurt someone. A jerk who happens to have a mental illness is just a jerk who so happens to have a mental illness; coloration is not causation. 

Conclusion 

It’s better than Rapunzel’s Return, but this episode was still a disappointment. A small part of me whishes this was a two parter because it has so much untapped potential, but I know it’s just be wasted in Chris’s hands. 

Anyways, I consider this to be the true mid-season finale of S3. Not only did the hiatus kick in after this episode, but it also clearly divides the season between the first half filler and the later Cass conflict. As such the next entry will be the mid-season recap. See ya, then. 

Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

Redbubble https://www.redbubble.com/people/RBH129/shop?asc=u