#qiu rambles

[that-culdesac-kid]

So I was looking at Tamarack and Qiu's expression sheets a while ago and noticed that they have two versions of blush.

I thought: "Huh. I guess blush 1 is a soft blush and blush 2 is a deep blush?"

And since I was curious, I tried to compare the two by layering the images on top of each other.

That's when I realized...

TAMARACK'S NOSE TURNS RED WHEN SHE BLUSHES DEEPLY

AND QIU DOES THE SAME WITH THEIR EARS

THAT'S SUCH A CUTE DETAIL I-

Fic writers, this is a free real estate. Do what you want with this information.

[phoenixkaptain]

A story like Thousand Autumns is very subtle in its romance.

Shen Qiao has only ever known his sect. He knows it very well, because of this fact. He knows the people, he knows the rules, he knows the daily doings and who is doing them. He knows every blade of grass and every stone. He’s like a lonely mountain flower, on the highest peak, unseen by any but a few birds and unknowing that there’s more it might never know.

When he finds himself away from his sect for the first time, he’s confused. At most, he’s gone to the base of the mountain, maybe the fields surrounding that, but no further. The flower was plucked and tossed aside.

For a man stumbling blindly in the world, literally and figuratively, there really isn’t a better guide than one that knows just about everything. And that’s, without a doubt, Yan Wushi.

Yan Wushi has lived longer than Shen Qiao, has been more places than Shen Qiao, and has fought more battles than Shen Qiao. Yan Wushi is the perfect example of something out of reach even for someone out of reach. He’s the only one who could answer any questions asked of him, but especially the questions that Shen Qiao would want to ask him.

And there’s no question in my mind that Yan Wushi doesn’t fall for Shen Qiao at first sight, but he’s certainly attracted to him. Not in an overtly sexual or emotional way, but Yan Wushi, the way his character is set up? It’s impossible for him not to be fascinated by Shen Qiao.

He knows Shen Qiao is the very picture of a peerless immortal. He’s well aware that Shen Qiao is considered untouchable by even the people closest to Shen Qiao. He’s most aware that Shen Qiao is Qi Fengge’s (coughhndisputedcough) favourite disciple, and honestly that’s enough for him to overwhemingly want to mess with Shen Qiao.

There are a lot of reasons for Yan Wushi to fall for Shen Qiao. Most of the people in the novel fall for Shen Qiao, after all, there is a precedent.

But the one I’ve seen questioned is Shen Qiao’s affection for Yan Wushi. Where does it come from? When did it start? Does Shen Qiao even fucking like that asshole?

The easy answer is: yes, he does. The novel tells us that. Shen Qiao, despite everything, does fall for Yan Wushi’s, um, “charms” in the end. This is made clear.

But why? A thousand voices cry out. Why the fuck would any reasonable person like Yan goddamn Wushi in any capacity?

Well, there’s your first mistake. Shen Qiao is not a reasonable person.

Shen Qiao as a character is absolutely terrifying. He could absolutely destroy the world given half the inclination, but he just doesn’t want to. He’s already considered unmatched before he’s pushed unceremoniously off of a mountain, and his journey only increases his strength. He isn’t quite equal to Yan Wushi, but he’s the only person Yan Wushi ever sees as equal to himself.

Shen Qiao’s best and worst trait is his patience. He’s unwavering. He really just embodies taoism, especially as it’s presented in the novels. He is the picture of a river that doesn’t stray from its path.

Which is why it’s hard for him to reconcile his own attraction to Yan Wushi, but let’s all be clear here. Yan Wushi absolutely starts seducing Shen Qiao on day fucking one. If he could’ve (if Qi Fengge hadn’t been there) he would’ve tried to eat that cabbage when it was just a little sprout. Shen Qiao is unpracticed in most social interactions, to be frank, but he’s especially unused to romance and Yan Wushi really is his first introduction to being hit on.

Yan Wushi is far from good, at really any point, to anybody but especially to Shen Qiao. But that doesn’t particularly matter because Shen Qiao chooses to forgive him, again and again. And I really think, after giving Shen Qiao to a confirmed terrible, awful person who has already promised to do terrible thing to Shen Qiao, that Shen Qiao himself wouldn’t forgive literally anyone else for doing that. And he shouldn’t, because it was really fucked up, but that still doesn’t matter because Shen Qiao ultimately DOES forgive Yan Wushi.

What am I saying? I’m saying that Shen Qiao fell for Yan Wushi first. It is the only way the story makes any sense. Shen Qiao is annoyed at him, he’s furious at him, he’s so fucking pissed he could kill that man, but he likes him. He likes Yan Wushi’s company. He likes that Yan Wushi gives him a challenge. He’s exasperated, but he likes it.

Shen Qiao forgives Yan Wushi SO MANY TIMES. Yan Wushi humiliates him and mocks him and is the absolute worst, but Shen Qiao forgives him and more than that, Shen Qiao always is waiting for Yan Wushi to come back to bother him more.

Is there more to Shen Qiao’s attraction? Probably. Is it a daddy kink? It could be. But I honestly can’t help but read it as Shen Qiao falling for the absolute pits of a man that is Yan Wushi. Shen Qiao likes that old bastard and decides to spend the rest of his life with the fucker and he is just too much of a block of ice to show it.

[kayime]

[iwrite-sinsandtragedies]

Here comes the—

B-oyy~♡

Hello boyyy😂there he iiis~!

[prev.]

Look at the little Micha boy! He's such a little star!! Definitely that kid that people either love or hate, I think, lol. He's proobably gotten a little better with those social cues (maybe) but he's still very confrontational - he's that kind of person that's always questioning things and looking at them from every angle. His teachers don't know if he's a blessing or a curse tbh. Most adults probably feel that way about him!

He's very protective of Tamarack and very sweet on Autumn. He goes between He and They but gender is still a pretty dodgy subject to him, honestly - he doesn't really get the point of it beyond scientific and medical relevance. Overall, even if he seems a bit cool on the exterior and doesn't make friends easily, he's actually a pretty good and thoughtful kid and puts the work in for himself and others.

[anqelbean]

I love Shen Qiao so freaking much, his main motivation for becoming a powerful cultivator as a child wasn't to become strong, but because he didn't want to get sick so he wouldn't have to drink bitter medicine anymore and I honestly respect that so much

[dreamtydraw]

please... Darcy x Qiu crumbs... tell us more 👉👈

*Inhale* I already made a post about it once that resume the evolution of their relationship with some funfact here but let me dive further.

Rom com high school crush.

She’s his best friend’s sibling, they have seen each other afar for a long time, they have the familiarity you’d get off people who often see each other even if they don’t really talk.

There is this awkwardness of the jump between platonic care and affection to someone you grew close to the romantic attraction that both stop them from making any move or even thinking there is any move to.

They aren’t childhood friends they are childhood connaissance, there is a slow-burning connection that links them to each other and it’s scary because-

What if they said no ?

What if she just imagined feelings that weren’t there ?

What if

That is too scary to think about. The incertitude that if your selfishness for a romantic connection wasn’t reciprocated it would hurt more than just you two. It would hurt your close common friends, it would hurt your confort zone, it would be impossible to not be confronted to that refusal everyday when you get out of your house and see theirs and know that they are here too and you will bee seen but you don’t want to be seen.

The possibility of a failed relationship is scary, even more so when you deeply care for the other and want them to feel at ease after all they went through.

Darcie knew Qiu had a hard time when they were younger, Qiu noticed that Darcie changed when they entered high school, and they are proud of each other and want to cherish that growth.

They are content with what they have, despite yearning for more.

*inhale* in conclusion none of them would confess unless there is a 100% certitude that it would go well or when it’s already too late to regret it-

Step 4 is far away for now but if we can have an ending like with Cove where you reunite after college, they would probably confess at this period lol

Very long, long, long slow burn.

[unforth]

Heyo Danmei Fans and Twitter Refugees!

Do you love danmei? Do you love fanart?

WELL HAVE I GOT THE SIDEBLOGS FOR YOU!

Hi, I'm unforth, and I also love danmei and fanart, and I wanted to just make a huge gorgeous pile of art and roll around in it so I've made and run for years eight, yes eight, side blogs of danmei art, all with the kind of organization and searchability that twitter can only dream of.

So, if you want to flood your dash with fanart (or if you're an artist and want a little assist getting more eyes on your work now that you're posting here - you can DM me or @/me), why not consider giving a follow to...

Mo Dao Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/The Untamed: @mdzsartreblogs

Tian Guan Ci Fu/Heaven Official's Blessing/Eternal Faith: @tgcfartreblogs

Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong/Scum Villain's Self-Saving System/Scumbag System: @svsssartreblogs

Erha he Ta de Bai Mao Shizun/The Husky and His White Cat Shizun/Hao Yi Xing and Yuwu/Stains of Filth: @erhaartreblogs

Daomu Biji/The Graverobber's Chronicles/The Lost Tomb/Too Many Other Names to List: @dmbjartreblogs

Zhenhun/Guardian: @zhenhunartreblogs

Tian Ya Ke/Faraway Wanderers/Word of Honor and Qiye/Lord Seventh: @tykartreblogs

Literally Everything Else I Can Find (especially works by Meng Xi Shi, works by Priest, manhua on Bilibili, books by Fei Tian Ye Xiang, books by Please Don't Laugh (so yes, baihe too!), and so much more): @cnovelartreblogs

All blogs run on a queue; I post at a "the queue will last for 7 days" rate that changes more-or-less every day and varies from 30 to 40 posts a day (mdzsartreblogs) down to 1 to 2 posts a day (zhenhunreblogs) and everything in between.

Note that these spaces are all ship and let ship, don't like don't interact, and pro-kink. (I won't reblog everything, but I do reblog almost everything, and even if I'm personally too uncomfortable with something to reblog it - I SUPPORT YOU.) I tag extensively - you can check the pinned post on each blog for currently used trigger warnings (they're consistent across all the blogs) and many of the other tags I use for characters, ships, etc., and I strongly encourage you to use the tags to find That Rare Thing You Love, and also to blacklist anything that's not your thing. Antis kindly fuck off challenge.

Welcome to Tumblr (or welcome back, as the case may be), don't be a stranger, like and reblog works to support artists, and have fun!

(help signal boosting much appreciated. <3 )

[luck-e-charms]

Part 1 of my He Brothers HCs

- In the future, He Tian grows to share more of He Cheng’s physical attributes (height, musculature, facial structure, etc.)

- They uncannily resemble their father but they inherited their mother’s eyes

- From the back, they look almost like the same person except for little details: despite both slicking their hair back, He Tian’s hair is longer and darker, he doesn’t have an undercut, and his posture is more lax

- From the front, the difference is more noticeable; He Cheng has more lines on his face from all the years dealing with his family’s bs

- Not to mention, their personalities are VERY different

- But there are times when they’re on mafia mode (particularly when they’re trying to achieve the same goal - which is a very very rare occurence), they seem to tune into the same wavelength and whoever is facing off with them, whether it be in combat, negotiations or whatever, are absolutely demolished by the end of the ordeal. Of course, they still clash more often than they get along, afterall He Tian is forced to work for his family for sometime until he can do whatever he wants (start his own non-mafia related business to be free with his Momo)

- People in the family business (especially the new guys) sometimes mistook He Tian for He Cheng and vice versa, much to their horror and He Tian’s amusement

- It doesn’t help that He Tian could mimic He Cheng’s voice and mannerisms; when he was younger he wanted to be like his brother cuz he thought he was cool but obviously that didn’t last long so whatever behavior he learned from his brother he used to mock the latter

- But He Tian and He Cheng don’t think they look THAT much alike

- There was one time when He Tian was wrongfully targetted by a rival group because they thought he was He Cheng

- There were also times when Jian Yi, Zheng Xi, and Mo mistook He Cheng for He Tian (He Cheng’s back was to them and they weren’t paying attention)

- One morning, after a long night at work, Mo saw a He Tian shaped figure in the kitchen. Thinking that his boyfriend was back from his business trip, he hugged them from behind and nuzzled his face onto their back, his sleep-addled brain missing the way said figure froze when he made contact with them. Then he heard He Tian’s scandalized voice from behind. Mo opens his bleary eyes, makes eye contact with the person he was cuddling, and his stomach drops to the depths of hell when he realized that this was not his boyfriend, but his boyfriend’s scary mafia older brother, He Cheng. He literally flies off the other, face redder than his hair from embarrassment and absolutely terrified for his life. Cue the: “I COULD EXPLAIN!” “I SWEAR, I THOUGHT HE WAS YOU, CHICKEN DICK!” Meanwhile, He Tian went from feeling confused to jealous/betrayed to extremely amused within a matter of seconds. He Cheng was weirded out but also found the mistake slightly amusing, enough so to crack a millimeter of what could be a smile

- The only person who had never & will never mistake them for each other is Brother Qiu; he knows the difference between his boyfriend - yes He Cheng and Qiu are together - and his boyfriend’s demon baby brother from miles away

- Now imagine a crack AU where the He brothers switch bodies oh man that’d be hilarious

[crimsonrainsoughtstrawberry]

Shen Qiao’s maturity and capacity for forgiveness, understanding, compromise and honesty are all traits Yan Wushi better appreciate and cherish for the rest of his days. Cause he put our A-Qiao through it!!! And that man still grew this enormous attachment and tender feelings for him. Can not blame him at all cause Yan-lang is a true silver fox daddy. But truly I love them so much and I just want them happy 🥺

[sapphoscorner]

You guys do realize qiu is not a man right? Like the whole point of their character arc is that they're not a man and it seems like some of you are treating them as a man.

i mean they have a whole arc around their gender identity. that was a pretty significant thing that happened. like i understand where you’re coming from here but they reason why they're so angsty in step 2 is because of the gender identity crisis.

Like, like you know that if you want a male love interest you can just play all the other otome games right? Are you aware of that? Are you aware that if qiu meet you irl they would not be your friend because you're being transphobic? Are we understanding this? Are we aware that olnf does not have male love interests?

[theo-grayson]

Anyone who's taken a look at my notes knows I Fucking Ramble, so don't look here unless you wanna see me share way too many thoughts about Our Life: Now and Forever (including way too much about my personal life)

Guys. Oh my god. Where do I even start. Maybe with just:

Little things I love about the demo

I am a sucker for character customization, and this game delivers that in spades. You can choose so many different things, from your appearance with a doll maker/picrew type thing, your gender and pronouns (with a BUNCH of customization), to what your bedroom looks like, to little stuff like what kind of drink you get at a restaurant. This was present in the first game too, Our Life: Beginnings and Always (OL:BA), but it's more in-depth here, and I love it. And I love that you can see your little avatar when your character speaks. I feel like it just flows so nicely, and it makes me wanna replay it with different characters. Of course, you also get many different dialogue choices, and there are so many choices to pick from. I LOVE it.

So, I absolutely adore OL:BA, and I love Cove with my whole entire heart. But man, inside of me there are two wolves: one of them is a Summer Disliker, and one of them is a rabid Autumn Pinterest Girlie. I ADORE fall, colourful leaves, mushrooms, rain, etc etc etc.

So seeing that Our Life: Now and Forever (OL:NF) takes place in a sleepy town in the AUTUMN?? With scenery like THIS???

I want to live here in real life.

The art style in general is just so beautiful. The colours, the softness of it all, the spritework, the cg art: everything is so stunning. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing too.

On a different note, the extent to which you can customize your relationships with Qui and Tamarack is so cool. You can go through a slow-burn romance, as neighbours to childhood friends to crushes to partners. You can have a cute love-at-first-sight childhood crushes story. You can avoid romance altogether and have a chosen-family dynamic. You can have a poly relationship and date both of them. Not ONLY that, but even the way that they interact with you can be customized;

That's so cool!! You can choose whether a character looks up to you or takes care of you, or whether they prefer to compliment you or tease you. And you can choose the same kind of thing when you interact with them in turn! A visual novel having this level of depth in a relationship is so awesome. The game will even remember things: like, if you react negatively to certain types of interactions, the characters can remember and act accordingly in the future. That's so cool!

I like that this story seems to be a little bit more serious than the last game. OL:BA has basically zero stakes, and very little serious conflict. That's not a bad thing at all, it's very much supposed to be a comfy, indulgent game. But OL:NF begins Step 2 by showing that the main characters have drifted apart as they've grown older. Not only is that nice realism, but it also adds both possible comfort potential (bringing your old friends back together and having good times) AND possible whump/angst potential (watching who used to be your best friends drift apart completely). The (optional) jealousy mechanic could also add to this. Obviously the game isn't finished yet and I could totally be off the mark, but even if this kind of thing doesn't end up happening, the fanfic potential is also there!

I really like how complex the characters are. Even as kids, they have wants and motivations and flaws, and they're so likeable. They change throughout the story, because not only are they growing up and older, but they have their own experiences and personal struggles. And speaking of characters:

Quick thoughts about Main Characters

> Tamarack Baumann

Oh my goodness. Ohg. Tammy. She is so so important to me. She is so sweet and supportive, and she's so pretty. Look at her. Oh my god I love her.

I absolutely adore Tamarack, and part of it is that I relate to her in a couple ways. I grew up as the insecure fat girl. I love frogs and toads. The cello is my favourite instrument, and I would love to learn to play one day. When she first said that she lived with her Omi and Opa, I literally gasped in real life, because I lived with my Omi and Opi for about a year, when I was her age.

> Qui "Autumn" Lin

QUI!!!!!! I love them so dearly, their mannerisms and the way they speak are so so endearing. They change a lot throughout the story, which is going to be so interesting to see. And they are ALSO so so pretty. Oh my god.

As a trans person myself who is definitely playing as a trans MC, I'm so curious to see the interactions with Qui, since they struggle with their own gender identity as well. Also, when they do figure out their identity in Step 3:

What??? That's so cool!!!

In which I get a little bit too personal:

This is probably tmi but I don't care. To make a very long story short, I had a really shitty traumatic childhood. Especially around ages 10-15. Even disregarding that, I was always a 'mature for my age' child, who followed all the rules and was terrified of ever stepping out of line. I never got the chance to be a normal kid.

So, getting the chance to go through this game, being able to experience growing up in such a beautiful area, with a supportive family and no trauma and friends that care about you. It's just. So nice.

-

Anyways. I'm gonna go now and make a bunch of OCs to play through the demo with and make different choices, because the hyperfixation is truly all-consuming

[that-culdesac-kid]

So... remember that ask about Baxter having a crush on Qiu?

Half of the child-aged population?

Yeah, Golden Grove is a small town, but recalling Qiu's comment on how there are three classes in their grade and assuming this also applies in other grades, that's still a LOT of kids. I know Qiu is popular, but damn.

Couple this with the fact that they aren't subtle about their crush on MC.

I mean, we can already see Baxter, a representative of the kids who have a crush on Qiu, has noticed what's happening between Qiu and MC and is clearly not happy with it.

MC, realizing that half of the kids in Golden Grove are onto them:

[mitoad]

unofficial intro to my cod oc / self insert !! he is a very very silly guy and he likes working w demolitions and semiautos

dynamics w/ the 141

john price + qiu li yang : neu-strong positive

price is a father and mentor figure for qiuli, and they work very closely together . a lot of his morals are based off of price’s, and he generally seeks advice from him . price does regard qiu as a very capable individual, though sometimes he can be overbearing protective of him . he often worries that qiu li is taking on burdens to quickly and is getting in far more dangerous situations than he realises .

kyle garrick + qiu li yang : strong positive (in relationship)

kyle and qiuli are very close . often stay around each other in joint missions , hang out in each others offices , and have a shared flat . kyle helped coax qiu out of his shell a lot, and looked after him in his early days . qiuli has been a very strong supporter of gaz , acting as his rock and one of the closest people to him .

simon riley + qiu li yang : neutral (positive ?)

qiuli is still quite nervous to interact with ghost, but simon does act as his mentor figure . very little words are exchanged between them , and when seen together it’s either qiu getting simon to test run a weapon or simon teaching qiu how to navigate certain situations . ghost sees himself in qiu through some of their shared experiences and ideologies, and he worries . they both want to befriend each other but neither has said anything regarding it .

johnny mactavish + qiu li yang : strong positive

soap is the first person in the 141 that qiu befriended . bonded over demolitions in the early days of their friendship . qiu enjoys soaps liveliness and personality , and soap enjoys qiu’s curiousity and calmness . soap is the first person qiu calls when he wants to test weapons.

[kayime]

oops..already doin legal business dey said

[iwrite-sinsandtragedies]

We've done it boys!😭it took us all night but we have a bean bb!!

Look at him, look at my little Micha -gently holds- he's just so precious

I say this knowing full well he's an absolute bastard child, tbh😂very closed off but also has no filter, so people think he's either shy and awkward or just rude; but the truth is that he just doesn't know what he's feeling most of the time - unless he's angry, he knows what that feels like! He gets angry a lot, mostly at his mom ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ he'll grow out of it one day!

He really likes Tamarak and Qiu though, so he sticks to them both like glue (especially Qiu). He also like the boys well enough too (does not like his teacher) and is pretty neutral to everyone else he's met so far.

I don't think I can actually go into the details until the game itself releases 🤔So I'll just leave the exposé there for now. The rest will be up to your imagination while we wait 😘 Enjoy~!

[anqelbean]

Yan Wushi: *actively planning Shen Qiao's downfall and death*

Shen Qiao: I got you another jar of plum juice cause I know you like cleanliness and don't like sharing with others.

Yan Wushi, internally: Fuck fuck fuck, no, you're not supposed to be nice to me!!! You're not supposed to remember little details about me!!! You'll make me fall in love with you then I'll be sad when you die!!! I cannot handle that sir, stop being so considerate and cute RIGHT!! NOW!!!