#so apparently I had a lot of thoughts...

[ooffmlsorry]

hiii rocky ! may I ask some smutty Law head canons? Fem!Reader, preferably 🙂‍↕️

Hoo boy okay! Never done one of these but I have thoughts! (Or I guess I should say thots😉) hopefully I don't disappoint!!

Smutty Law Headcanons

A/N: I had to try very hard not to get too psychological on this lol like sexy! Sexy! Think sexy! It's just I think Law's mentality would greatly affect how he approaches sex...

I believe in inexperienced!Law supremacy. Not full virgin just...he's had sex like three (3) times (maximum) in his life.

Not super sexy but really cute. The first time you hold his hand and look into his eyes, he's so grateful he's sitting and you can't see the half boner he's got. (he's not used to loving touches okay!?)

Inside Law there are two wolves:

Wolf 1: vanilla asf. Congratulations! He's very happy he figured out how to make his girlfriend cum! Yay!...Now he's just going to keep doing that exact thing. Because it's producing the "desired results." (fear of failure????)

Arguably, he would start off like this but as the relationship progresses, and he gains some confidence...

Wolf 2: Absolute mad scientist. Your body is his favorite little test subject.

The first time it happens Law stops in the middle of making out with you, stares intently at you as if running some intense calculation, and when you finally get him to spill he says: "I want to know how many times I can make you cum." And he's so direct about it you nearly mistake him for Luffy??? 'Cause it's pure curiosity driving him. It's a genuine question that he wants answered. Somehow you're now tied up (when tf did he learn that!?) and on your third orgasm and Law hasn't even fucked you yet. It's just been fingers and tongue, and he doesn't stop until he thinks you can't cum anymore. And he's doing all of it like it's some kind of experiment too. He's more or less fully clothed before he starts fucking you with his cock, occasionally palming himself through his jeans but that's it. If he wasn't so focused on making you cum, you know he'd have a pad and paper to write things down.

Law has the absolute nerve to look at you, fucked out, twitching, overstimulated as hell, and ask "What does it feel like when I fuck you like this?" As if you could give a coherent answer. (psychopath)

Then he wants to know how many different ways he can make you cum. Tongue, fingers, cock, toys. Temperature play. Impact play. He's a certified freak seven days a week. If he asks and you give (enthusiastic) consent, he's trying it on you eventually.

He absolutely gets off on making you cum and being in control of it...

He also does it because he's in love with you and I think one of the ways Law shows love in his brain is knowing as much about you as possible. He's a knowledge guy. And that includes knowing what makes you whimper, gasp, moan, cry out, clench around him, etc.

Prides himself on how well he knows your body and he's very smug about it. "Don't act like you don't love it when I fuck you like this."

He loves fingering you, even when the sex part of the relationship was really new. He's always liked feeling the inside of you. Loves seeing, hearing, and feeling what his hands can do to you.

Tits guy. They don't even gotta be milk canons specifically. Just some cleavage. Law's laser focus slips as soon as you bend down in a v-neck in front of him.

A man of contradictions. Hates the idea of his crew knowing you two are intimate in any capacity (in a perfect world the crew would think you two sleep in separate beds like it's the 1950s lol) But he's the one that suddenly pulls you into a closet or a dark corner on the Polar Tang to make out and rut against each other like horny gremlins. And then he just sends you on your merry way, soaking wet and completely hot and bothered, like it didn't happen...He'll do that for days in a row until you're desperate enough to jump his bones. (what a tactician)

Any touch to his lower abdomen or ears goes straight to his dick. Nip and suck hickeys into that v-muscle area and his back will fucking arch, he has to bite his lip to keep from making any sounds. Same with biting and sucking on his ears, do that while you're fucking and it'll probably push him over the edge. Whisper in his ear at your own risk...it doesn't even have to be sexual, just your breath on it is enough to make his jaw clench.

Speaking of embarrassment...he likes being teased. Call him out on his inappropriate boners and his staring.

"What happened to professionalism, captain?" "You didn't have to wear that shirt..." "What's wrong with my shirt? You very obviously like it."

Also secretly loves it when you "take care of him" when he's stressed.

You skate your fingers across Law's tense shoulders and walk around him to stand beside him at his desk. It's late at night. You know he's been running on nothing but coffee and sheer will, but he won't let himself stop. "Law, baby." You gently lift his head to look at you. His tired eyes focus on your soft ones. "It's three in the morning," you say. Your hand cups the side of his face as you gently stroke his cheek. Wordlessly you convince him to turn towards you. You settle into his lap, place his hands on your ass, and press sweet kisses to his shut eyelids, his forehead, his cheeks. You kiss over to his pulse and nibble at his ear, pulling a deep groan from him. Law's hand flex on your ass, pulling you onto his half-hard cock. "Come to bed, baby let me take care of you." FUCKING FOLDED LIKE A LAWN CHAIR.

Also, loves you riding him in his office, under the desk blow jobs, and bending you over his desk.

Wear a costume! He's gonna be into it! (the disturbing horror of Law fucking you in a Reiju costume before he learns about Sanji...) Just make sure it's not a character he cares too much about because he will get distracted by the inaccuracies lol

Hot take: He doesn't like being called captain in the bedroom. Law strikes me as the kind of guy who would want some separation between being a pirate captain (especially if he's your captain) and being your lover. It reminds him too much of work. He's much more likely to accept or use pet names during sex.

[elodieunderglass]

And one amang, an Iyrysch man,

Uppone his hoby swyftly ran…

WAIT HANG ON - slamming the brakes on drawing this stupid picture - do you nerds even KNOW the etymology of the word “hobby”? The thing you do for pleasure? The thing you have too many of? The thing you spend too much money on and share with your friends? The thing tumblr probably is to you? Those hobbies?

It comes from a now-kind-of-extinct breed of Irish pony-horse. It was called the Irish Hobby. Supposedly the hobby got its name from the Gaelic word obann, or swift. They definitely were. They’d obann your pants clean off.

Fast tough little bastards, built for rough terrain and renowned for their speed and stamina, hobby horses belonged to the Celts, and their highly annoying style of mounted warfare. but their conquerors liked hobby horses a lot, kept them, used them for themselves, and found them useful enough, despite the fact that they also had famously useful things like mounted knights or horse archers. A lightweight Irish warrior, mounted on a hobby horse, was called a hobelar.

Reportedly and in depictions, hobelars rode without stirrups. Or saddles. Or bridles. Or - well - this is all sounding very improbable, because the hobelars COULDNT have just been charging around basically bare-assed on naked ponies, screaming, and somehow in the process undoing the composure of actual mounted armoured knights. Knights who, I remind you, had stirrups. Stirrups are useful! It’s quite likely the hobelars had some gear. And clothes. and weapons. And the ponies probably had some tack - I am picturing a bellyband that you could at least hang a saddlebag on, and a neck rope for catching the bloody thing, even if not a saddle. But the overall impression, somehow created by people on darling little ponies, was apparently quite striking and fearful.

I mean. God Forbid People Have Hobbies.

Anyway after a while, whatever people became the British had eventually conquered all of the rough terrain that hobbies were best at, and horse archers just got sexier, and mounted knights became aristos, and all the bog and forest people had been subdued, so it was time to sunset the hobelars. but WAIT! Hobby horses are still tremendously fun and appealing! They’re so fast! and you can ride them without a saddle! Sure, they’re not up to the weight of a mounted knight, or indeed a lot of guys… but surely we can still find a use for a hobby or two? In the back garden? Somewhere?

At which point an English king decided to keep hobby horses just for fun. No military application. No further development of the technology. Not for fun. Just as expensive, pleasurable, pets. Just for the joy of the thing.

And that is how hobby (activity done purely for pleasure) comes from hobby horse (small horse) possibly from obann (swift.) they’re very interesting and you should look all this up for yourself! because it sure sounds like Elodie doing a bit, doesn’t it?

Today, Irish Hobbies are functionally nonexistent. References for drawing include the Kerry Bog Pony, the Connemara, and (I personally think) Dartmoors and Exmoors. They’re said to have lent their speed to the Irish Hunter/Sport Horse and from there to the Thoroughbred, but every damn horse in the world claims relation to the Thoroughbred, and they can’t be THAT thoroughly bred.

At any rate - you can never have enough hobbies. Just be glad that yours aren’t expensive beasts with minds of their own, eating their heads off in the pasture! …Unless they are. In which case, you’re part of a proud tradition.

[imaredshirt]

Give me a Stan who thinks Fiddleford doesn't know how to throw a punch, much less defend himself in a fight with your average goon, so one morning he takes it upon himself to show the nerd a few basic jabs and hooks and maybe an uppercut or two behind the cabin, because let's face it, there's gonna be a time when Stan can't be there to take a hit for the guy or defend his nerd butt. So he's gonna teach him some stuff for his own peace of mind.

Fiddleford just kind of genially goes along with it, following Stan around the back of the cabin and watching with hands on his hips and a smile as Stan gets into position.

"This is one of the most basic punches in the world, so pay attention, 'cause I'm not gonna show you again," Stan says, knees slightly bent and fists up.

Fidds nods. "You've got my full attention, Stanley."

Stan isn't sure if he's imagining the way Fidds is eyeing him up and down, but he automatically flexes his arms a little more than he needs to. Up ahead, Ford is sitting on a tree stump and taking samples of the air or something (Stan had stopped listening to Ford's explanation once his words went from interesting to Big Science Shit that Stanley Does NOT Care About) and he's watching them with this amused grin, rolling his eyes skyward when Stan won't stop flexing and showing his arms off.

Stan ignores him and rolls his shoulders before jabbing his fists forward in a quick one-two. "There - you catch that?"

Fidds has got his arms crossed now and gives Stan a thumbs up. "Sure did!"

"See, just like this," Stan says, and shows him again despite saying earlier that he wouldn't.

He shows him a few more punches, going over each one a couple times before telling the engineer to mirror him, even getting in close to adjust the guy's scrawny arms and balled fists. He's being real professional about it and everything and doesn't understand why Ford keeps grinning and shaking his head at them, which is making him a little incensed but he stamps it down because Fidds is watching him with this nerdy, dopey smile while letting himself be maneuvered around and he's gotta learn to defend himself 'cause Stan can't stand the thought of some jerkwad wiping that smile off the nerd's face.

"See," he says near the end of the lesson, tapping his fist right against Fidds’s chin. "Do it right and your fist'll hit right here."

Fidds tilts his head a fraction at the touch. "Well alright then, seems easy enough."

"Yeah, like I said, if you do it right. Gimme your hand-" he takes Fidds’s wrist and taps the guy's balled fist against his own stubbly jaw. "Right here. You got that?"

Fidds nods. "Sure do!"

"Good." Stan drops Fidds’s wrist and gets into position again. "Then come on - lay one on me."

Fidds pulls back and blinks at him. "Come again?"

"Hit me!" Stan taps his jaw. "Right here!"

The guy suddenly looks nervous and galnces over at Ford for help. "Hit you? Stanley, I don't think-"

This is what Stan means. Fidds isn't always gonna be able to look to him or Ford to save him. He gets this weird, uncomfortable feeling in his chest at the thought of Fidds facing off against some asshat on his own, and that alone is enough to keep him from letting the guys off easy, if only to get rid of the weird feeling. Maybe a bit selfish but he doesn't care.

"Ah, come on, one little punch ain't gonna hurt ya, Fidds."

"I'm not worried about me," Fidds says, and then frowns when Stan barks a laugh.

"You think you're gonna hurt ME?"

Fidds is still frowning when Ford calls over in an amused, warning tone, "This is not a good idea, Stanely!"

"Just worry about your air test or whatever and leave us alone," Stan calls back. Ford shrugs and scribbles something in his journal, and when Stan turns back to Fidds, Fidds is finally getting into position.

He looks unsure, watching Stan nervously as Stan stands before him with his arms crossed.

"Hey, not bad form - you ready?"

"Well, I suppose so," Fidds says, accent coming in a little thicker than before. "Stan, if you're sure, I should probably warn ya-"

"Don't tell me nothing, just punch me!"

Fidds presses his lips into a line and throws his fist - and jabs Stan on the chin just hard enough to tilt Stan's head half an inch to the side.

"That's it?" Stan guffaws and shakes his head. "That was barely a tap!"

"I don't wanna hurt ya!" Fidds says, sounding so conflicted that Stan gets this urge to pull him into a headlock and ruffle his hair and drive the worry away.

Instead he riles him up.

"Please," he says. "Fidds, look - one of these days I'm not gonna be there to take a hit for you, and then what're you gonna do? Just let some jerk punch ya around?"

Fidds looks slightly perplexed. "Where is this all comin from? No, Stanley, I am NOT gonna just let some jerk punch me around."

"Good! So you gotta learn to defend yourself!" Fidds still looks unsure, so Stan tries a different angle. "Okay, how 'bout this - what if some jerks are beating up on me and Ford, huh? You're just gonna let em?"

Fidds looks up. "What? No, I am not!"

"You're gonna defend us?"

"Dangnabbit, Stan - of course I am!"

"Not gonna let us get our teeth kicked out?"

"What!? No!"

"Then show me!" Stan slaps a hand against his own chin. "Right here, come on! I'm some jerk who just threw your friend Stan to the ground and I'm about to kick him in the gut, what're ya gonna-"

The blow lands hard. Stan's head jerks to the side and he's thrown off balance, and he sees actual stars before his vision clears again and he realizes he's crumpled on the ground. His head swims as hands pull him around onto his back.

"Mother o pearl!" Fidds gasps. He's got his hands on Stan's face, careful touch at complete odds with the punch he'd just landed in the same place. "Are you alright? I am so sorry! I hit ya and you weren't even ready and - you just got me so riled up and I tried to tell ya and I shoulda said earlier instead o just lettin ya show me all those moves, but I just wanted to, well - goddangit, Ford, this ain't funny."

Ford's laughing as he comes up behind them, looking down at where Stan is staring kinda dazedly up at Fidds, who's kneeling by his side in the cool grass. "We did try to tell him, Fiddleford."

"Tell me what?" Stan demands. His jaw is already aching but Fidds’s hands feel kinda good so he doesn't tell him to move.

"Fiddleford was a boxing champion back back in his hometown," Ford says.

Stan blinks. "Bwuh-?"

"Not much of a champion," Fidds says with a wince, but he's blushing a bit as he goes on, "It was never anythin official, but - well, I did win more than a few matches at some backyard parties, see, and - well, people usually don't think I got any hittin power or can defend myself, but my Ma's been all too happy to teach me since I was little, and-"

The guy's rambling, and Stan quits being able to understand what he's saying half way through cause the accent is coming in thick and Ford’s chuckling and standing there looking proud of his best friend and Stan’s a little worried that he's still jarred from the hit, cause when he looks at Fidds kneeling there, one hand one Stan's chest and the other bashfully rubbing his neck while he rambles on - he's still seeing stars.

Later, while Stan sits in the living room with an bag of ice in his jaw and Fiddleford sitting next to him, still rambling about all the times he'd knocked a few guys into the mud in some backcountry hoedown get-together or whatever, Stan can lean back and relax and grin, knowing Fidds is gonna be just fine.

He can't wait to teach him wrestling.

[ulteri0rm0tives]

Now.. I'm not doubting Johnny somewhat (?) loved Alt in his own convoluted and severely misguided ways but uh.. to call them soulmates? Did we uh.. did we not play the same game? Watch the same scenes? Because it's crazy y'all r saying that when we literally play as his actual soulmate

[black-and-yellow]

[erinravenseeker]

there's this really fun dialogue that paranatural has with itself about parental/adult responsibility and to what extent we should shield children from the harsher realities of the world. or, as Zack puts it, Everybody's Beef With Their Weird Dad.

This is a sort of half-baked analysis that should really just be taken as my own personal observations and opinions. Also Big Spoilers.

From the get-go we can see that Grandpa Guerra's approach to training Isabel has strained their relationship immensely, because he focuses so much on making her strong enough to survive what's coming but refuses to actually tell her the risks involved. Whatever it is, is dangerous enough to convert every Consortium spy that comes into town to his side, and yes maybe he's right to think she's too young for whatever is that serious, but it also means she's also walking into this blindly.

Gwen Burger's sentiment in the dream sounds great. "Yes, let us adults clean up our mess," is exactly the sort of thing we want from our elders, that they don't destroy their homes and leave us with the wreckage. But there's another side to the coin here. She and the rest of the adults insist on shielding the kids from the truth, but withholding information means there's no backup plan if they DO fail, just that everyone's back at square one. She avoids taking responsibility for her mistakes by insisting that it's fine, she still has time to fix them, so you don't have to worry about it. We can't fix the mistakes of our elders, or avoid them in the first place, if we don't know what those mistakes are.

In this way she's also denying the autonomy of the kids. Spender & Zarei are already involved with whatever happened, so this is a burden they will have to carry later. Isn't it better to make sure they understand and are better prepared now? (Cody's section of the story has some similar or parallel ideas about autonomy and overprotectiveness but I'm not going to go into it too much, mostly because I haven't really collected my thoughts on it.) To Gwen's credit, she does realise this upon Mina's insistence moments later, which leads BL to tell them the bare minimum of what a wight actually is:

Which brings us to the main gang. Spender insists to himself that he is going to do his best to protect them, and train them to protect themselves, and he'll go off and do what needs to be done without them when the time it right, but let's face it. They're all at risk by simply associating with him. So he also tries his best to make them into a team that can protect themselves, while keeping things lighthearted and never letting them get too close to the darkness. Over the past few chapters the tone isn't really any less irreverent, but the stakes have massively shifted from overdramatic-teenage-middle-school-bullshit to oh-god-this-is-actually-serious. And part of why everything is still pretty upbeat is that none of the kids really have the full picture of all the dark corners, nor should they have to be exposed to that. But it also means that they're under-equipped for danger they're already stuck in the middle of.

And especially Dimitri. Dimitri is fantastic because he is the PERFECT encapsulation of all of these themes.

In his home life, his parents don't openly talk about their struggles, so he doesn't get to share in any of the responsibility. Instead he privately takes on all the guilt, because nobody bothers to properly absolve him of it. He takes on this same philosophy of "sacrifice [was] best honored when its cost remained concealed", sacrificing himself almost entirely for other people without complaint, which then later creates the same problem for Isaac that Dimitri's parents did for him.

In the world of the supernatural, to everyone (including himself) he can almost be viewed as the most separate from everything going on. He left the Activity Club, he doesn't actively fight ghosts or anything, his family is about to move out of town. He is entirely burdenless in this fateful struggle.

And yet he's actually the closest to the centre of everything, the fulcrum on which the spirit world of MBayview turns. Dimitri has been host to Peekaboo practically since he was born, and that whole time he has had to suppress his own emotions and play to what others want in order to appease what is essentially a toddler with the power of a god, just to keep it from thoughtlessly hurting him.

This is already his burden, the Activity Club's burden. Preserving childlike innocence is a noble pursuit and deserve not to feel burdened by the struggles of their seniors. But if these burdens are going to be thrust upon them nonetheless, is it then cruel or kind, to put them through pain now in order to make sure they have a steady footing in the days to come?

[corporealchaos]

NO THOUGHTS JUST THIS:

[dipperscavern]

icl I want Jon snow to wrap his arms around me and tell me everything’s gonna be okay 😔✌️

jon snow is… he just has this calming aura about him, it’s so hard to explain. like, everything is just okay when you’re with him. and his touch reassures that thought.

let’s say this is after his resurrection. you can hardly believe he’s alive — you watched him die. and sometimes, it feels like you’re right back at that day, your legs in the snow as you kneel next to your dead lover. some days it feels like he’s still dead, and sometimes, your nightmares don’t remember he’s alive either.

sometimes you fall asleep, and you dream of him surrounded. surrounded by men that swore oaths, men that claimed to be brothers, men that fought beside jon. men that were under his command. you dream of the different knives that enter his body, and it all goes painstakingly slow. it never ends fast enough, and all you can do is watch. for a dream, it’s pretty accurate. you watch the blood trickle out of him and look at the knife that stopped his heart — and you remember the patches of red snow in those exact places.

you always wake startled. opening your eyes, and immediately sitting up with a hand on your chest. your eyes scan the room for the men you saw in your dream, and they also scan for the man in the snow. for jon.

he’s always been a light sleeper, but since joining the watch and enduring his wildling escapade, he’s able to wake on a moments notice. as soon as you sit up, his eyes peel open. he turns to find you looking around the room, as you’ve done before, and he sits up as well. your eyes fly to him, and you visibly relax seeing him. seeing him alive.

“What’s happened?” he asks, reaching a hand out to your cheek. his touch relaxes you more, but there’s still worry etched in your features.

“Nothing… I just-“ you shake your head, swallowing. “we’re alright, get some sleep.”

you feign anything being wrong. but jon knows you better, and your mannerisms betray you. your words speak of security, but the way your eyes focus on a distant wall, and your fingers begin to trace your chest tell a different story.

jon moves his thumb to the other side of your chin, and uses his hand to tilt your head towards him. eventually, reluctantly, your gaze follows. you make eye contact, and you begin to crumble under his gaze. his pupils have grown since he’s woken, they move. they’re alive, and so is he. his lashes flutter as he blinks. he’s okay. the tap of jon’s fingers against your cheek snap you back to reality.

“Tell me.”

“Jon…”

his gaze is unwavering, and you sigh. he’s the one who lived through this, why should you be so affected? you hate bringing it up, not wanting him to relive the day it happened. he-

“Bad dreams?”

you hate when he doesn’t let you think. you nod, feeling silly. but truthfully, you can’t hold it in forever. your fingers begin to trace your chest again as you drop your gaze.

“I always see you in the snow. You stained it red.”

jon takes a moment, looking at you. to have someone care for you so, he thinks.

his hand leaves your cheek, and wraps around your own. he brings it to his bare chest, and you feel his heartbeat beneath his skin. his warm skin. it’s warm because his blood is flowing, not cold and clammy, like the day of red snow. he gauges your reaction, eyes never leaving you. your gaze is fixed on his chest, on where your hands meet over his heart. the heart that’s moving, pumping blood to the rest of his body. your pupils dilate, and jon has to resist the overwhelming urge to kiss you — because god, how lovely are you?

you move both of your hands to his neck, right under his jaw. his pulse point, and it thrums under your fingers. it’s moving, it’s alive, and so is he. he looks at you, and how focused you are on him. it makes him nervous, and his pulse changes, beginning to hammer under your touch. the hint of a smile graces your features, breaking eye contact with his neck to look at him directly. he’s already looking at you. he always is.

he’s alive. he’s alive now, and you have him. he’s here with you, not out in the cold, blood dripping onto the frost covered ground. your eyes begin to water, and you drop your head. you hate crying in front of other people. he hates when you cry. your hand breaks from him to wipe away your tears, and his own goes to cradle your cheek as he did earlier. he leans in, pressing small chaste kisses to anywhere he can reach. anywhere he can soothe. your temple, your cheek, kissing your tears away before wrapping his arms around you.

his touch is comforting. it’s everything and more. he’s touching you, he’s warm, and he’s safe. jon’s safe, and he’s right here.

“It’s alright. I’m alright… ‘m right here.”

you lean your head against his chest, and bring your hand to rest on his neck. your fingers rest on his thrumming pulse point once more. you spend some time like that, wrapped in each other, savoring each others presence. he eventually moves you both to lay down, and you rest your head on his chest. you trace his skin, the heat of it making your fingers tingle. it’s not long before you can’t keep your eyes open any longer, and the sound of his heartbeat lulls you to sleep.

[gempearlrpf]

🐦‍⬛gem talking about pearl in the minecraft live preshow ngl sounds uncomfortably scripted to me. doesnt stand out for minecraft live but it is so far from any time i have heard gem talking about pearl ever. she sounds like she isnt even thinking about her, there is NO emotion in her voice. is she trying to hide something or what?

I absolutely agree, but honestly I dont think it was because of pearl specifically (though I think it factored in)

when I watch gem it always feels like she has different levels of how much her personality shines through in a recording, with stream gem usually being the most candid (especially on other peoples streams), and video gem usually being the least. which makes sense considering her main audience on youtube is children, in her solo recordings it can be very obvious

you can kind of hear it in her voice, shes a lot more peppy when shes clearly recording a solo bit in video talking to her audience, and it can be more obvious sometimes in her own streams when she goes from addressing chat (peppy) to talking to another hermit (more natural)

but the pre-show made me realise another layer, which is gem live, in an unfamiliar environment. I think I remember gem admitting at one point that shes quite introverted in real life, so being in such a high profile position as being in person, hosting the minecraft live preshow, having none of her usual friends to bounce off of, and being in front of an audience of up to a million people seems like so much. it does remind me of oli pointing out the fact gem was shaking when she was holding the camera for his stream, I wonder if she was nervous because of the anticipation/worry about hosting the preshow

so yeah with all of that I think it makes sense that she would default to a very stiff and forced "oh, that pesky pearl hahah" tone after probably feeling very put on the spot with the fact pearl included a clip of gem herself, and calling it one of her favourites. she cant let it throw her off, so she has to force herself not to linger on pearl

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part Three

For Xiantober Day Five: Past and Present, in which the author gets very unhinged about what parts of the past are shown and how that’s affected by the present!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

The Power of Agency: Shaping the Narrative

When I've discussed Wei Wuxian's agency previously, I’ve talked about how what’s shown and omitted tells us about a character, and we’ve talked about the character himself. Though this is a niche topic, it’s not necessarily something out of the ordinary to analyse, and we can assume everything up to here has been in some way intentional.

This? Linking structure to a character’s in-universe preferences?

This is where we get unhinged.

Before I start, let’s quickly establish something which will be important later: although Wei Wuxian is the central character, MDZS isn’t strictly from his POV. While omitting events a character doesn’t like to dwell on and concealing things the character wishes to hide is common in books with only one narrator, MDZS has multiple narrators which it switches between relatively quickly. This includes Wei Wuxian, but it also includes nearly every major character that appears in the story, and omniscient narrator as well. As a default, this format doesn’t lead to this deliberate shaping and omission because of one character’s preferences, since we have many other sources of information and events – which is what makes Wei Wuxian’s influence over the narrative and structure so interesting. We could have access to a lot more information, and access to it at different times, than we do (and that’s not an insult, quite the opposite!).

To begin: we’ve established that times such as Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets, his three months in the Burial Mounds and his loss in the Siege aren’t shown because Wei Wuxian has little agency there. But that’s not the only special thing about them. They’re also the three most traumatic times in his life, and so moments Wei Wuxian himself either can’t remember, or doesn’t like to dwell on.

This is why discussing Wei Wuxian’s treatment of tragedy in his life was important. Firstly, it shows he doesn’t focus on the tragedy in his life, so the idea that the narrative not focusing on this tragedy relates to his character has merit; secondly, it affirms that this is not a passive trait, but a choice. Therefore, when the narrative omits events due to this aspect of Wei Wuxian, it’s respecting not only a character detail – which would be cool by itself – but also an active decision. One that shapes the story it’s made in.

In other words, its very structure is respecting Wei Wuxian’s agency!

Now, of course there are flashbacks to other moments of his past he probably wouldn’t like to dwell on, too. But within the structure, they’re only shown when Wei Wuxian is thinking about them (or when he has reason to)!

Wei WuXian hadn’t woken up yet. His eyes were still tightly shut, yet his hand didn’t let go either. He seemed to be dreaming, muttering, “… Don’t… Don’t be angry…” Lan WangJi seemed somewhat surprised. His voice was gentle, “I am not angry.” Wei WuXian, “… Oh.” Hearing this, as though he finally felt assured, his fingers loosened. Lan WangJi sat beside Wei WuXian for a while. Seeing that he was motionless again, he was about to stand up when Wei WuXian grabbed him with his other hand, hugging his arm and refusing to let go. He shouted, “I’ll go with you, quick, take me back to your sect!” Chapter 63, EXR translation

Which, of course, is him dwelling on…

Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Go back to Gusu with me.” Hearing this, both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were surprised. Quickly afterward, Wei WuXian laughed, “Go back to Gusu with you? To the Cloud Recesses? Why go there?” He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.” Chapter 62, EXR translation

…the painful flashback immediately preceding this. The third set of flashbacks (which are also painful) are a similar case. Look at the contex:

He lifted the bottom of his robe, revealing a prosthetic leg made of wood, “This leg of mine was destroyed by you, that night in the Nightless City (…)” (…) “Wei WuXian, I won’t ask you if you remember or not. Both of my parents died by your hands. You owe too many people. You definitely won’t remember them either. But, I, Fang MengChen, will never forget! And never forgive you!” (…) “In the fight at Qiongqi Path, my son was strangled to death by your dog Wen Ning!” “My shixiong died by poison, his entire body festering due to your cruel curse!” Chapter 68 (immediately preceding the flashbacks), EXR translation

And Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts and words:

Wei WuXian looked at the cultivators before the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Their expressions were the absolute same as those of the cultivators from the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine on the ground as they took the pledge to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants and him.  (…) Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?” Chapter 79 (immediately succeeding the flashbacks), EXR translation 

Once again, Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts relate to the flashbacks we’ve just been shown. And, as I previously mentioned, though all the events which are shown are tragic, they’re also events which Wei Wuxian’s own choices and actions shaped – which he has this to say about:

“The things I did, not only do you remember them, I remember them too. You won’t forget them, and they’ll stay even longer in my mind!” Chapter 82, EXR

Admittedly, this applies more to the third set of flashbacks than the second (which is still fitting as the third set was the most recent), as in the second, although he still had agency within and influence over his circumstances, the majority of the pain was caused by others’ actions (excluding, of course, the Golden Core transfer… which is something we know stays for a long time in his mind, albeit with a caveat we’ll soon discuss). But it’s still important to note – especially considering that otherwise, focusing on this very painful time in his life wouldn’t seem like something very in-character for Wei Wuxian to do.

Of course, this can all just be explained by good writing. It is best to insert flashbacks when they’re relevant to the characters and events in the present day! But it is interesting to compare these to the start of the (not painful) Gusu flashbacks, which open this way:

At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months. Chapter 13, EXR

Again, considering the circumstances around which these flashbacks take place – returning to the Cloud Recesses for the first time since the lectures, and meeting Lan Wangji once more – it makes complete sense for Wei Wuxian to be thinking about these events*. So it does fit the pattern of Wei Wuxian dwelling on something, thus leading to the narrative dwelling on it, too (and being shaped by his thoughts)… but there’s another layer to this. Importantly, it is the only flashback where Wei Wuxian’s present thoughts don’t lead to this happening, with his thoughts at an unspecified future time leading to it, instead. I like to interpret this as the text saying that, since these events aren’t something Wei Wuxian wouldn’t focus on in normal circumstances, he can dwell on them at any time. Therefore, they’re free to come up in the narrative at any time as well, even if he’s not dwelling on them in the present moment!

So, to summarise: Wei Wuxian’s decision not to focus on the painful times in his life directly influences the narrative to not focus on these times. When painful times are brought up and shown to us, it’s in the context of him thinking about them in the present day, and even then, his most painful moments still aren’t shown to us. His agency in this regard is still respected by the narrative structure.

This is the main way his agency influences the structure of the narrative, but I’d like to talk about the revealing and concealing of information, too. For example, I said I’d talk about the Golden Core transfer – though Wei Wuxian does think about this many times, as evidenced by his internal narration in Chapter 103. But unlike everything we’re shown through the flashbacks, this is something Wei Wuxian is actively trying to hide from others. And the narrative respects this choice (Wei Wuxian’s agency, again), never reveals it even when it would be relevant in the flashbacks, and we find out not through narration, but through a character’s dialogue!

And to clarify – I know these aspects may not be in the book for this exact reason. Showing flashbacks in relevant moments is good writing, concealing an important plot point you want to do a reveal for is necessary writing, and MXTX has said she didn’t want to write about Wei Wuxian’s time in the Burial Mounds, due to not liking to write transformation sequences (and also because it would not be pleasant at all, which likely also applies to Wei Wuxian’s death). That doesn’t prevent it from also being intentional – MXTX’s intelligence is shown in many aspects of this book, and there’s nothing disproving it – but there’s no proof for either option, so I won’t pretend there is. I bring this up because I know this feels like I’m overanalysing, as I feel that way as well.

But, whether it’s intentional or not, it exists in the text, and I adore it – so, regardless, it’s something I’ll explore. Because taking this into account… We aren't just told about Wei Wuxian having agency, we aren’t just shown it in the text, we aren’t even just shown it through which parts of his past are shown and hidden in the structure of the text (as I talked about in Part One). The parts of the past that are shown and hidden also have an in-universe reason for being shown and hidden, this reason being the choices he makes! Agency is the ability of a character to influence the story they’re in, but Wei Wuxian’s agency, as a property of a character who only exists in-universe, shapes the out-of-universe structure as well! That’s how we’re shown its importance! How cool is that?

At The End Of The Road: Summary and Final Thoughts

In this essay, we’ve covered how important Wei Wuxian’s agency is not only to the events of the plot, but to the structure of the narrative as well. The narrative omits periods in which Wei Wuxian has little or no agency, in favour of showing us periods in which he does, even when important events happened in the former. This indicates that who Wei Wuxian is without agency isn’t important enough to be shown to the audience, and therefore that his agency is an integral aspect of his character in MDZS. We’ve discussed how both in-universe and out-of-universe, tragedy does not define him – out-of-universe, the tragic events in Wei Wuxian’s life are used not to build sympathy but rather to show his strength of character and who he still is despite going through them; and in-universe, he chooses not to focus on the negativity and resentment caused by his circumstances or others’ actions, instead staying true to his moral compass and enjoying his life in the present day. Finally, we’ve also explored how this choice is another reason for the omission of certain events from the narrative, resulting in his agency shaping the story in a very literal way – it affects the out-of-universe structure, as well.

It’s quite fitting, for a story whose essence is about defying a conventional narrative – that of righteous clans rising up and defeating a great evil – and about a character who defies many conventional narratives on his own – that of status defining how skilled you could be, that for a golden core being necessary for cultivation and other paths being unavailable, that of a tragic but complete story of someone killed for staying true to their moral code (instead, that character returns to life and has a happy ending) – to have its own narrative play a role in such an important and interesting way.

(Or, if an image would be preferable:)

Thank you for reading!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

--

*This strong relation to the present day circumstances is another reason I love the flashback placement so much (and why I think it’s such a loss both screen adaptions altered it so strongly)! 

[kacievvbbbb]

Hello, it's me again. Back on my bullshit. as per this post

This one is about to sound even more conspiracy theorist but hey we ride or we die 🤷🏿‍♀️

but yeah, I just learnt that Mihawk and Shanks are both Pisces. and Pisces are associated with Yin and Yang which you know famous for equal balance a good month to give two famously, equal rivals.

But also if we take Red as their main color my good people I ask what would you say their supporting colors are? 🤔

That's right Mihawk's is black Shanks' is white bing bang boom Yin and Yang ladies and gentlemen. Not to mention they have the dot Shank's coat is black while Mihawk has his pasty white skin, and oh his trousers are usually colored white in the manga(so is his kogatana apparently. Apparently Toei just likes the way gold looks on Mihawk)

also as @manofbeskar pointed out Shanks' jorts (spiritually) are flower patterned but not just any flower, Roses! guess who also likes roses. Also the coat Mihawk wear when he actually deigns to wear a shirt is eerily similar to Shanks' and the only other person I can remember that wears a coat like that besides Shanks is Luffy who is also tied to Shanks so do with that what you will

so yeah there we have it; I have no idea what any of this could mean but I'm having fun.

honestly I'm just spiraling at the idea that Oda might actually never reveal anything about their connection 😭 I would actually die if that happened.

[thedrotter]

witch mili + yuu doodles done in the last few weeks!!! www id like to thank them both for helping me survive this semester that was beating me up🔥🔥

[qoldenskies]

Do you have anything to say about cc Donnie and Splinter? Any crumbs? I need them🥺

I UNDERSTAND YOU THEY ARE THE SWEETEST.... im trying to think about what i could say hrmmmm. i love how endeared cc!splinter finds donnie when he's being like,, earnestly himself. i think he's always found him charming (he loves his baby so much!!!!) but he's not really laughing at him or anything anymore, when he kind of did before? in the kind of way someone would do so to a much younger child; i think it's a big reason he accidentally disregarded donnie's feelings, because he was out of their lives for so long once the depression hit and sometimes he's hit in the face with the fact that they're fully-formed individuals with serious emotional dilemmas and complexes and such (he didn't miss them developing, but he wasn't all there). he's not that way anymore with the curse said and done. he's learned his lesson.

honestly he's the one who respects donnie's autonomy the most out of anyone (behind mikey, who even then has to contend with a lot of trauma that can inhibit him). that's his sweet little baby boy but he's also going to be the first one to gently push him out of his comfort zone and encourage him to try new things, while the others are weak and will fold like a house of cards in most circumstances. this kind of adds a new flavor to their dynamic that im trying to put into words,,, it's like, splinter makes it so everything is an inside joke between them, in a way. he'll make an underhanded joke to one of the others and wink at donnie to make him laugh. he's always pushing him to take up more space, to assert himself and ask for a little more. he finds the way the other three will trip over themselves to accommodate him to be adorable, although he worries when it goes too far. he's gentle in a way that doesn't make donnie feel guilty. he's a breath of fresh air when donnie feels overwhelmed, because splinter makes it all feel so seamless sometimes.

there's a lot of silly jokes about how he doesn't have favorites, but also it's donnie (they all know its just him playing around but i dont even think they'd pretend to be upset for the sake of the joke, i think they'd just sagely nod like its the most understandable thing ever). he goes out of his way to make him feel loved without making it completely serious, because he understands that's relieving. he's really good at letting donnie in on the joke without being pushy about it. he's different than he was before but he lets donnie feel so normal in a lot of ways, and it's a breath of fresh air sometimes. i think more than anything splinter just wants to see him happy and smiling again, and he'll support pretty much anything that allows that. he can do whatever he wants forever 💖 the others have their limits because they care about his safety maybe a little too much but splinter will enable his deranged behavior now, he deserves to do a little more terrorism. as a treat

anyways donnie is going to be absolutely fucking devastated and inconsolable when he dies i hope you know that

[h0neyandthemoon]

Everybody praise me, please. I reached out to my therapist to book an appointment after being out of treatment for a while.

Send me gold stars, please. ⭐️ Send me praise. ✨Call me a good girl. 😇 Tell me I did a good job. 🥺 CAUSE I DID. 🥰

[r0semultiverse]

I’m just gonna say it, the newer generations (yes even that one other trans/nonbinary person you think would never hurt you) are way too comfortable pedojacketing their former friends/partners. Just because someone hurt you or you didn’t like the way they acted around you, doesn’t mean they’re a pedo or some shit. I’m tired of seeing this happen to other younger trans folks and I’m tired from having gone through it myself with younger nonbinary folks. It’s always the younger folks too it feels like. You need some reason to try to “cancel” someone even though you have no evidence and no case whatsoever because you would rather be in control and be angry than face your own sadness and sit with your discomfort at a situation that doesn’t require any public outcry!

[cozylittleartblog]

random note about king on that animation, i got really lucky with how simple his animation was and how clean my sketches were to begin with that i was able to do very minimal cleanup on what i had sketched (and add back. his horn. it's supposed to take place just after echoes of the past, Oops) and call it done that way instead of having to redraw the entire thing like i had to on his dad

first sketch > line cleanup > nearly final animation (i'd added slight eye movements last-second but otherwise that's the final)