#props to the author

[cartoonguy08]

MY SHAYLA MY SHAYLA 😔😔😔

Reading a depressing ass fic right now that is written SO GOOD CHEFS KISS TO THE AUTHOR AMAZING AMAZING—I’m so upset. I’m literally so upset I’m fuming it’s so well written but what do you mean soldier does what to Demo? WHAT DO YOU MEAN-

[thesnazzysharky]

“Seen a lot of people talk about this SCP. Looks cool.” I said. “I’m pretty desensitized to horror and fucked up shit at this point. Can’t be that bad.” I said…

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t that bad. It was actually way fucking worse than I could have ever imagined.

[dearmyloveleys]

RE: the absolute fascination (and adoration) I have with the symbolism of Zhu Yan's and Li Lun's weapons, how it reveals their respective characterisations and the discussion of humanity

There are so many aspects that I love about FoF but I still believe how the show represents LiYan's relationship + worldview through their weapons is one of the best uses of visual storytelling and literary/visual devices I have seen in recent years. (long text ahead!)

A Gift and A Curse

Where did their complications start? The exchange of gifts. Why do we gift another presents? For affection. It's so ironically simple, free of malice and at its basis so, so human. For a demon like Li Lun who claims to not understand humans, he reciprocates the moment of kindness Zhu Yan shows him - the rattle to make him happy, and him giving Zhu Yan the umbrella to shelter him from rain.

There is something so beautifully ironic about two great demons eventually using ordinary, human household objects as their weapons. And items given to each other at that. When they first receive them, both the umbrella and rattle are just simple objects with no meaning attached to it, except for the goodwill of friendship. There is no inherent ill-intention and it is pure. Yet.

Li Lun ultimately only understands reciprocation, and not truly the innate kindness and affection which Zhu Yan demonstrates. Zhu Yan gave Li Lun the rattle to have him understand why he finds humans wonderful: Can any of our demonic powers have the ability to make someone happy just like this rattle does for a child? Li Lun gives Zhu Yan the umbrella because Zhu Yan gave him the rattle and made him happy. Li Lun understands the action, and does not grapple with its underlying intentions. He consistently struggles with this throughout the story, especially when actions do not match up with the speaker's reasonings.

Dissonance in character is an extremely human trait, and the understanding of this is where Zhu Yan and Li Lun’s stories and similarities diverge. Zhu Yan on one hand, understands the complexity of humans and is at terms with it. Li Lun on the other hand, never understands the ability to be complex and paints humanity black. Their gifts are still turned into weapons that will eternally curse them of their once-there closeness, because of each other and their inability to reconcile their ideologies. How they use the umbrella and rattle from here on, represents their differences in their views of humanity.

Double Edged

When watching any fantasy/wuxia/xianxia cdrama, everyone who is written as a fighter usually has an offensive weapon used and made for injuring and killing. But not when it comes to Zhu Yan and Li Lun - they are two individuals who will certainly be masters in weaponry if they wielded a sword or blade. But they don’t.

In the Wilderness, from what we see, none of the demons use weapons. Even Cheng Huang uses an hourglass. Both Li Lun and Zhu Yan do not own any weapons before gifting each other the rattle and umbrella, and these aren’t even supposed to be used as weapons. There is such an underlying innocence to demons that instead of choosing a blade to take as a weapon, they choose these essentially harmless items instead. Though, this innocence ends here. The concept of weapons is a human creation. The concept of making an item specifically just to harm others is an especially human conception. By adopting the identity of weapons onto their gifts, the multifaceted nature of weaponry and thereby humanity seeps into their characters. Weaponry is both ironically and ironically human, and their weapons represent both sides of human nature that Zhu Yan and Li Lun believe in.

A weapon is only causes harm in one's hands if you make command it to. Do you protect or do you do harm with it? I find it so telling and intriguing that Zhu Yan and Li Lun run off in either directions with the purposes of a weapon. Zhuyan has always been fascinated by the human world versus Lilun having apathetic views of the human world, and they reflect this in how they use their weapons.

Zhu Yan uses his umbrella to always shield his team, protect and deflect harm, while the harm he inflicts on others comes from his innate spiritual energy (one word spells). He protects this simple umbrella and preserves its goodness, indirectly making sure to not sully the goodness of humanity. Instead, he chooses to use himself as the offensive weapon. On the other hand, Li Lun turns his rattle into an offensive weapon, changing its tip into a dagger. Before it is destroyed, all his attacks are summoned from strikes against the rattle. He doesn’t care, and humanity is trash, therefore he treats this object of innocence with irreverence and violence.

Though, there still is Li Lun’s favourite question: Is it better to be a demon or human? He chooses human. Which at the very least, is interesting.

Who You Wish To Be

The thematic concern of LiYan's relationship is very much defined by this question they often pose or have been asked by others: Is being a human or a demon better?

On an even deeper level, the juxtaposition between Li Lun's use of the rattle and what he says, being a human is better, is even more encompassing of his character — driven, conflicted obsession. The same way he keeps trying to break Zhuo Yichen and Zhuyan, but manages to maintain somehow civil and emotional conversations with them, his treatment of his rattle but the fact he thinks being human is better, and his one-time statement “maybe the human world is interesting after all” are contradictory. He is never at peace with himself and cannot accept things the way they are. He is very much a child, misguided and believing that things are one-dimensional (all humans are bad, Zhuyan how could you hurt me for them) while things in reality are complex. Even his best intentions, from his line “I, Li Lun, will never run away from things (…)” is innocently one dimensional. He will never be the human he wants to be until he comes to terms with this. And most importantly, it's not even about being human. It's never about titles or names, it's about who he wants to be. Li Lun once again is fixated on surface levels that he doesn't grasp the depth of reality.

"Whether one is a human or demon, it's only a matter of titles. Just be whoever you want to be." - Zhu Yan, Ep 26.

Zhu Yan is the stellar opposite of Li Lun. He doesn’t sully Li Lun’s gift to him and uses it the way Lilun initially gave it to him for: to protect. And his answer to the Demon or Human question as written above is telling of his character, compared to Li Lun's set-in-stone answer. But despite everything, what makes everything so tragic is what started it in the first place: affection. One keeps that affection as a weapon to spread the same to others, while the other keeps and weaponises that affection to regain it all back.

Just like how he uses his rattle to relentlessly pursue revenge, Li Lun is so insistent on what should have been, that he doesn't see what can be, and it curses him. Zhu Yan sees the possibilities of everything, wants to protect the good, and it curses him. Perhaps its this inevitability of their separation and also the sliver of hope that they can reconcile, trapped in their shared respective curses, that troubles them deep down.

-

Their weapons symbolise both their ideologies, and serve as physical reminders of their intertwined past. Regardless of how they use their weapons, they use a reminder of the other as defense and offense against the world. A diverged path still has met once before. The sharpest blade is still one crafted from the torment of memory.

On Visual Story-Telling

The use of these unusual objects in c-drama land as weapons is such a stroke of genius on the production team and writers' part. It gives so much more flavour and uniqueness to these characters instead of the usual sword or spear. Such small, precise, details with large implications on characterisation.

[dragon-queen21]

My toxic trait: Checking ever single new fandom I enter if there are any agere fics, never having my hopes up... and then thinking that I should be the one to write a fanfic for said small fandom

This is how I end up starting way to many projects (���‸╥)

[strange-lamp-stranger]

my @emis-equivalent-exchange gift for @tacocat7997! i tried a new sketching + lineart technique and i had a lot of fun with it! i hope you like it <3

[jeronandor]

Cassian Andor in Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills (2019)

[sunny374940]

Did you hit your head? pt.2

Hello, I'm back with more pining as an apology for the emotional devastation that was the last story. It's Emmrich's turn now and he can pine reaaally well. Part one is here. cw: description of a fracture

Here on ao3. And here are my other stories.

(Editing to summon my guys. I will not be hurting you this time, promise. @mercars-musings, @starfleetteddybear, @sorrowsfallallaround, @redheadsramblings, I hope you don't mind me calling upon you)

Emmrich was staring after Rook's retreating back. His fingers were still tingling with his brief touch and he flexed them, trying to commit the feeling to memory. Rook seemed to be nervous in his presence lately, yet he insisted on taking him on every outing. It didn't matter whether they were fighting Venatori or shopping in Treviso, Rook would have him there. Not that he complained, as he did enjoy the company of the young elf. He was ever so cheerful, always ready with an encouraging word (and the occasional horrible pun) and so charmingly earnest. 

Rook was also undeniably attractive. He was so graceful, his lean body moving in such precise ways it captivated Emmrich. And those bright eyes, the way he smiled when Emmrich was talking to him, hanging on his every word, almost as if his interest ran deeper than Emmrich's words. As if…

But he couldn't allow himself to act on his impulses, not with Rook being under so much pressure from all sides. And he was so much younger! There was a good quarter of a century between them and he wouldn't take advantage of his youth, he had to be better than that. 

He was torn out of his musings by Assan, who was chirping at them from up a tree and sure enough, an Usnea cavernosa was growing there, and quite a quality specimen as well.

“Thank you, Assan, well done,” he called to him. “But it is quite high up. Davrin, do you think Assan could bring his find here?”

“He'll probably crush it in his beak, sorry Emmrich,” Davrin said, validating his suspicions. So how in the world would they-

“I'll go get it!” 

Rook was already removing his armor and weapons, keeping only his pants and the sleeveless tunic he wore to keep the armor from chafing against his skin. The sight of his bare arms was doing things to Emmrich that he wouldn't dare mention in polite company, so he forced himself to look Rook in the eyes instead. 

“Rook, are you certain this is wise?” he asked, as he was a little worried, given Rook's previous fall.

“Yeah, I'll be fine, I've climbed hundreds of trees,” Rook said, not assuaging his fears in the slightest. He had probably also walked upon hundreds of roads and yet he managed to tumble off one earlier.

But Rook started climbing anyway and Emmrich allowed himself to appreciate the muscles of his arms as they bulged from the effort of getting him up the tree. Rook couldn't see him now that he was otherwise occupied and it certainly wouldn't hurt to just look, would it? And Rook seemed to be showing off a little, jumping from branch to branch, lithe as a cat, making his way up to his goal. Assan followed him in his ascent, chirping in delight at having a playmate in his own domain, so far away from the ground. 

Rook was quick in getting up the tree and he carefully plucked the lichen from its branch.

He was now using only one hand to climb back down and Emmrich was none too happy about that.

“Rook, do be careful!” he called up, worried at his recklessness. Assan was following Rook close with concerned squawks and suddenly Rook's foot slipped and he nearly fell, just barely managing to catch himself with his free hand. He was dangling there, trying to pull himself up, and Assan tried to reach him, to help, but he was going too fast and Emmrich could see what was about to happen and cursed his inability to stop it.

“Assan, no!” Davrin shouted, but it was too late. Assan landed on the branch Rook was hanging from too hard and the force of his impact shook Rook loose, and he was falling the rest of the way down, landing on the ground with a thud.

Emmrich ran to him, but Davrin got there first, rolling him over onto his back, causing a pained whimper to leave Rook's lips. His right forearm was bent unnaturally and he was pale from the pain of it, his eyes squeezed shut. Emmrich was no stranger to mending broken bones and he knew how this had to go, though he didn't entirely like the knowledge.

“Davrin, I need to set the bone before I heal him. You will have to hold him still, I'm afraid.”

Davrin nodded and made Rook sit up with his back against his chest, winding his arms and legs around him to keep him from moving. Rook was now watching him with wide eyes and Emmrich was so sorry for what he was about to do, but there was no way around it.

“I apologize, my dear boy, but this will hurt for a moment,” he said with a gentle stroke of his hand against Rook's shoulder and pretended that nothing stirred at the way Rook seemed to lean into him.

He took hold of Rook’s forearm where it met the wrist and tugged to make the broken parts of bone separate from where they were crushed together and Rook was shaking, trying to free himself, making Davrin hold him tighter. Emmrich could see that it pained Davrin to be doing this just as much as it did him. His brow was furrowed and he was humming quietly, as if trying to calm a spooked halla. Emmrich then jerked the bone back into alignment with one quick motion. Rook cried out, still trembling, and Emmrich could finally send a healing spell into the fracture, watching with great relief as color returned to Rook's cheeks at last.

“Stop being a dumbass, okay? I've had enough for today,” Davrin said, mussing up Rook's hair with his hand, and he stalked off to Assan who was watching them with a rather sad expression.

“It's alright, boy, you did good,” Emmrich heard Davrin say and he smiled to himself before turning his attention back to Rook.

He took hold of his wrist once more, checking his pulse to make sure that the arteries healed correctly (and nothing more than that, not at all!). He looked up into Rook’s face to tell him that his arm was mended and their eyes met and Emmrich's breath hitched from the way Rook was looking at him, eyes round and full of longing. And Rook's pointed ears were an absolutely beautiful shade of pink and Emmrich had a bad feeling that his own ears were beginning to redden as well. He made his hand fall away before he did anything he would regret. He stood up, clearing his throat.

“Gentlemen, I believe this is enough adventure for the day. Shall we return to camp?”

“Good idea, let's get back before Rook manages to kill himself,” Davrin said and Emmrich noticed that Rook shot him quite a dirty look.

Rook stood up as well and dusted himself off. He went to get his armor and weapons from where he left them under the tree and then he walked back to Emmrich, stopping close enough to him that he could feel the warmth radiating off him.

“Okay, I'm ready to go. And thanks, Emmrich. But I could pass up on the bone-setting next time, that really hurt,” he said, but there was no resentment in the words. Emmrich wanted to apologize anyway, but Rook was smiling at him so brightly that he found himself wanting to kiss him instead.

“That's what you get for being a goddamn idiot!” Davrin said to him from where he was comforting Asssan and Rook stuck his tongue out at him, causing Emmrich to chuckle despite himself. He was secretly glad for the interruption, because he really was about to kiss Rook right there and he just couldn’t be doing such things! He was a distinguished professor, not some lovesick fool!

Emmrich found his hand reaching for the small of Rook’s back of its own volition and that at least he allowed himself and a spark of joy ran through him when Rook relaxed into the touch. 

Oh. Oh no. He was a lovesick fool and he absolutely shouldn’t be doing this, he should be above taking advantage of him. But he didn't have the heart to take his hand away either when he saw the blush rising on Rook's cheeks, so it stayed where it was for the whole walk back to the campsite. Emmrich kept telling himself that he was simply making sure that Rook wouldn't come to any more harm, but he couldn't quite make himself believe it. He was out of excuses by the time they reached Rook's tent and he regretted having to let go of him.

“Thanks for, well, everything,” Rook said with an expansive gesture, turning to face him. He was shorter than Emmrich and he had to tilt his back a little to look him in the face with how close he was standing. Emmrich’s throat ran dry. There were freckles on his cheeks, arranged into little constellations and Emmrich longed to map them out with his lips, but he couldn't do that, so he reached out to take his hand instead, much like Rook had done to him before. He squeezed his fingers and felt Rook do the same and what was it he wanted to say? Ah, yes.

“You are welcome, Rook, but please take better care of yourself. I hate seeing you get hurt.”

“Y-yeah, I'll try. Sorry, Emmrich,” he said, stammering his way through the words and he was blushing so prettily again. 

“Oh, here's your lichen,” he added, handing it to him and Emmrich realized he had completely forgotten about it.

“I- I'm gonna go rest now. Bye!”

Rook released his hand and hurried into his tent without letting Emmrich thank him, leaving him staring after his retreating back once again, this time with lichen in hand. He realized with a start that there would be no going back for him, as he was utterly smitten with this silly young man. But he couldn't allow himself to act on his wants, not now.

He noticed that Davrin was watching him with a knowing smirk from where he was sitting in front of his tent and Emmrich quickly ducked into his own to avoid any smart remarks about his obvious pining.

[destialpal]

Currently reading an andriel fic that showcases the sheer power those two freaks (affectionate) give off by having me giggling, kicking my feet, hysterically laughing at Kevin Day’s misery, having such a good time and they never even kiss

[fromtheseventhhell]

Arya and Dany stans: *discuss the likelihood that they'll have a positive relationship given their parallels, foreshadowing, status as key characters, and being two of George's favorite characters*

Stansas: Is this Sansa shade?

I think it's hilarious that Stansas got mad at me for (accurately) pointing out that they accuse Arya and Dany stans of being motivated by Sansa hate simply because...we get along and like both of them lol. The idea of them getting along is about their characters and has nothing to do with Sansa. Just because they pit Dany and Arya against each other for Sansa's sake doesn't mean we're motivated by the same thing. Are there some conversations that bring up Sansa + Arya's strained relationship? Absolutely, that isn't baseless in the books considering they're written as foils and George has already said they have issues they need to work out. The "Stark sisters 4ever" fantasy they have is just that, and it's funny we never see this same energy for Arya being turned into a prop for her sister 🤔. Sisterhood didn't stop Sansa from siding with Joffrey, telling Cersei that Arya was a traitor (even though she had no idea where Arya was), or calling Arya unsatisfactory when she thought that she was dead so why are we supposed to pretend it's an all-important factor when discussing Arya's potential relationships with other characters?

[communist-ojou-sama]

The practicing never does quite end

[archerdepartures116]

10 for the ask game pls?

10. worst part of fanon

the weirdness around ppl and Shen Jiu's trauma, most importantly his slavery

many a time I've read the description for a fic or smth and have been gobsmacked by what the fuck is being done to this poor guy

[bilesandthesourwolf]

So, I do this thing where I go look at ao3 after I watch a movie or show or whatever to see if anyone's written fic for it and, if so, who they're shipping. And sometimes I find myself reading the only 12 fics for that fandom/ship at 3am while wondering what the hell I'm doing with my life.

[briebysabs]

I just have so much respect for mochijun as a writer. Obviously she’s not perfect I wrote a whole post of complaints I had with ph. But you break it down, her writing is so intricate and precise. The way she chooses to tell her stories is very hard to pull off. Especially for a long-running series. Of course she won’t have every single thing planned but few manga authors could’ve written ph for instance. It could easily go so wrong.

Like jokes aside, mochijun loves her characters so much. Like Oz for instance. He could have easily been a generic, happy-go lucky, shonen protagonist. And I would’ve been fine with that, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that trope. But she went the extra mile with his character. And put so much seasoning in it like damnnn. And that guides how she goes about telling their issues, their arcs, their growth. The way her twists and reveals are done is impressive because again, it’s hard to do. Vnc may be going to the unreliable narrator path. PH had its mind fuckery. It’s hard to string along your audience for several volumes and pull the rug under them. And have them not feel deceived in a bad way or feel like its an asspull.

Everything always makes sense.

[kohi-karasu]

Hello! Have you ever read the fic “ Echoes of Eternity” by ShrimpKrillingSpree? It’s persona 5 and it’s set in a fantasy AU with some cool dragons and neat world building!

I haven't! I'm not toooo big on full AUs for shuake tbh, I personally prefer canon compliant/post canon fics 🙏

[schrondingers-dumbass]

Yet again Abria with the steel chair on the most fitting yet crushing character move. Many emotions this evening on the world beyond numbers podcast.

,

[spiritedstars]

As happy as I am that authors get the opportunity for several special editions of their books, this special edition nonsense is getting wayyyy out of hand. At this point, it’s beyond excessive.