#we all know they're super normal about lan

[hydrachea]

Do you think god lives in fear of what they've created.

[lookingforcactus]

Maybe this is a stretch driven by my hope for siuaraine, but I wonder if the final scene between Suian and Moiraine went the way it did because Suian thinks Moiraine might have turned to the dark

"You lied to me about being stilled."

My eyebrows shot up when I heard that line, bc that's a big deal accusation for an Aes Sedai. And parallels nicely with Alanna and co. accusing Lan of being a darkfriend last episode

Which I know some people hated, but the thing is, Lan and Moiraine have kind of been acting super sketchy, if you don't know the things we know

Like, from Siuan's pov: Lan shows up and tells her Moiraine has been stilled, which in MONTHS of letters, Moiraine never mentioned. Siuan is horrified that happened, has got to be terrified that Moiraine is going to kill herself, and is also lost and hurt and baffled that Moiraine would hide this from her

Like, that omission was a HUGE DEAL, relationship wise. Not a good move keeping something that important from your wife, especially when they were plotting together and it would be 100% reasonable and probably also a good move for Moiraine to turn to Siuan for help

And going back to Siuan's pov, she's dealing with ALL THAT, plus the Dragon, which is another thing she and Moiraine (seem to be?) at odds about

There's darkfriends in the Tower

Moiraine has been hiding something from her

Moiraine has been stilled

The town they're in is assaulted and set on fire

Someone has broken the Dragon out of the White Tower's custody

And when Siuan goes to try to, presumably, get him back, what happens?

She turns the corner and finds Moiraine, Lan, and Rand standing there, alone, in front of a waygate that MOIRAINE JUST OPENED

And I'm sure that normally, this wouldn't make Siuan worry about Moiraine's loyalties, but...she just found out the love of her life was stilled and then spent six months completely failing to tell her about it

Who wouldn't be shaken? Who wouldn't already be asking "If she hid something as big as THIS from me, what else could she be hiding?"

And then she shows up and Moiraine has just used the One Power to open a waygate

Earlier in the episode, when she finds out Moiraine has been stilled (well, close enough), what she says is something like "Six months of letters, and not a single word about that." The very common Aes Sedai route of lying by omission

When she shows up at the Waygate, she says "You lied to me about being stilled."

Siuan thinks Moiraine was able to break one of the oaths. Which Moiraine could only do if she'd sworn herself to the Dark.

And as Lan establishes, the idea of tying off a weave and leaving it in place is so not a thing anymore, it's barely even the stuff of legends. Why would Siuan think that's on the list of possibilities? Especially in such an overwhelming and emotionally fraught and literally things are on fire moment?

And all Moiraine says in response (in her defense there are a lot of things going on) is "I can't"

Which, yeah, Siuan knows that is (supposed to be) the case

And THEN, fucking Lanfear shows up, gets pretty easily talked into not killing Moiraine by Rand, and then Moiraine and Lan follow Lanfear and Rand through the waygate without a word

I think it would be 100% reasonable, actually, for Siuan to suspect that Moiraine is a darkfriend after all of that, and given what she knows

So much of Moiraine's life has been out of Siuan's view, for like 20 years now. So much could've happened

And now Moiraine is using the One Power even after she told everyone that she was stilled

Kind of a guilty look actually!!!

(If this is what they're doing though they definitely should've been more clear/explicit/developed with the setup, tho. But otherwise I think it's really interesting as a potential plot point!)

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Prompt idea: “Idiots. They are all idiots.”

1978

Julia giggles and rests her head on Ethan's shoulder. "They're your family."

Ethan blows out a breath and sits back in his chair, taking her hand. "One or both of my parents have ruined pretty much every family gathering since they divorced in 1958. I was four. I am now twenty-four. That is so many years of ruined holiday dinners, and birthday parties and anniversaries. Did you know that my there was one birthday where my father acted like such a complete fuck-up that my uncle brained him in the face with a serving tray?"

Julia laughs.

"And then there's the siblings. Esther will take any excuse for pot shots at Pop. Lan will invent drama just for the sake of attention. Lily straight up checks out if it gets to loud. Kitty is the only normal one."

"And what about you?" Julia asks, smiling at him.

"What about me?"

"If Kitty is the only normal one, what do you do to screw up family gatherings?"

Ethan huffs out a laugh. "I...bring up Vietnam and make my father feel like a complete waste of space for not serving, and I give my mother a panic attack and make her think I need more therapy."

Julia laughs too. "Ethan. Do you know what happens at my family's gatherings?"

"You eat dinner, talk about the weather and then go home?" Ethan offers.

She shakes her head. "Usually my uncles and my father get really close to a fist-fight, and when that doesn't happen, they have a dance-off."

Ethan blinks. "A-"

"Dance-off," Julia repeats. "It's the only way to work out their differences. And they are such bad dancers. And once they get going, my mother pulls out the cooking sherry and by the end of the night, she's singing Danny Boy in the corner and cries."

Ethan has to laugh again. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Julia nods. "Look, I get that part of your family is all show business or whatever, with your comedian mom and step-dad and your father owning a club, and that comes with some weird stuff. But my family is no picnic. I'm used to weirdness."

Ethan takes a breath and nods slowly. "You remember my grandfather passed away a few months ago. I think it's made everything a little raw. I'm worried they'll all eat each other alive. I'm worried my mother will finally snap and murder my father and then she'll feed him to us and tell us it's brisket."

"That is dark," Julia comments, taking his hand.

Ethan nods thoughtfully. "We all really loved Papa Abe. He was so smart, and super passionate about everything he cared about. A little severe sometimes. But he really loved us, you know? When I got back from Vietnam, he would notice when I would zone out, and he'd- he'd play piano and it would bring me back. It's not the same without him."

Julia squeezes his hand. "Maybe you're just afraid of what a family gathering looks like without him."

He shrugs. "You're not- you're not wrong. It's hard."

"I know," she tells him. "But as crazy as they are, you'll feel better with your family. And they'll feel better with you there."

Ethan gives her a grateful smile and takes a deep breath. "Okay. Time to go face the music. Or the comedy. Or the yelling. Or - whatever."

Julia smiles and heads into the brownstone with him.

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 48

Heist 3 is a success, but everything quickly falls apart.

Hawkeye shows off her marksman skills. She managed to shoot Scar while driving a vehicle to a skidding stop.

Lin nearly threw his back out lifting Gluttony.

If the fight with Scar had background music attached to it, Ed and Al's dramatic speech as they prepare to defeat Scar would be accompanied by a crescendo followed by off-tune tuba note when May interrupts everything and helps Scar escape.

Something seems off about Wrath's expression when he sees Hawkeye and Lin traveling together.

It's like he's excited to realize Roy has some connection to the foreigners who he caught hunting the Homunculi.

After it's first mention in chapter 32, we finally see a demonstration of Xingese Alchemy being used for healing purposes. May mentions that she can't heal where the "flow of power" in the human body can't reach, nor can she grow back limbs. So that means she can't give Ed a new arm nor heal Havoc's spine.

And now that everything's calmed down, Scar takes a moment to reflect on what happened with Winry.

Not really sure how Xiao Mei got separated from May Chang. She probably got lost in the smokescreen.

Al tosses Xiao Mei into his armor in the next scene.

Scenes like the one where Winry is sharing a drink with Bradley are so much better due to us knowing he's actually Wrath. We see Ed and Al walk into the room that Winry is in, then turn the page and see Wrath. If you didn't worry the first time you read it, then you've somehow skipped every scene every scene he's been in. We'd spent the last few chapters watching him hunt down Lin and Lan Fan like a monster. Then he suddenly appears in what is supposed to be a calm scene. And even though he takes his leave and tells Ed to take care of Winry, we're left with a sense of unease that Ed and Al are completely oblivious to.

Winry had Ed's jacket in her lap during that scene but when they're all traveling to the hotel, the jacket vanishes. No one is carrying it and Ed is never seen wearing it again.

Winry gets a call from Garfiel and all the clients she's helped since taking on an apprenticeship with him. They all reaffirm what Ed told her. She is someone who saves lives, just like her parents. And there are people waiting for her help.

Meanwhile, Havoc is doing what he can to stay fit despite his condition. He's accepted that he won't be able to stay in the military, and plans to find some other way to help support his team. They're waiting for him to catch up.

Ed promises that he won't make Winry cry again, except out of happiness. And she glimpses his back one last time before the train leaves.

Xiao Mei popped out of Al's armor when Roy picks them up. He's even petting her.

Roy picks up Ed, Al, and Dr. Knox in a new car since Scar destroyed the old one. I have no idea what happened to the one Hawkeye stole commandeered in chapter 45. She drove it into the fight to pick up Lin and Gluttony, but it's nowhere to be seen later.

Also not sure where Lin go the new shirt and jacket. Roy's wearing the same shirt and jacket so maybe Roy has some extra clothes lying around that house just in case.

Roy and Lin's discussion confirms this is the first time they've actually met despite working together for the Heist. I guess this means Roy didn't intend to involve Lin in the Super Heist and Lin decided to inform Al and join in for his own reasons.

There's a jacket laid over Lan Fan's bed. It appears to be the one Dr. Knox was wearing.

During their post-Heist 3 briefings, Lin reveals how he caught a WAY bigger fish than expected when he discovered Bradley was a Homunculus. Roy's eyes did that thing when he got that bit of info.

But things start to fall apart when everyone starts arguing over what to do next since they all have their own separate ideas of what to do with Gluttony. And then things literally fall apart when he breaks free and begins to rampage.

Poor Dr. Knox is another normal person being dragged into the shenanigans and uncovering grand conspiracies, just like Maria and Danny. He has nothing to do with any of this and now he's privy to the existence of the Homunculi and he gets to find out that the President is a Homunculus. And now the poor guy is caught up having to deal with Gluttony going on a rampage.

back

[twisted-wonderland-but-gayer]

VERY LONG ASK AJAJQBA BUT ALR ahem TW: Mentions of blood, rituals , murder, Cults and just a bunch of horrible things in general imagine this yuu: it's like Yuu from a horror world but it's based off an Brazilian RPG world called Ordem Paranormal.ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ Information about the Ordem Paranormal Universe : ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ In the universe where Ordem Paranormal happens there is two dimensions: The Normal, and The Paranormal, The normal dimension is just like the one we live in, The Paranormal dimension is totally different, everything there seems possible and all types of creatures live there. The dimensions are separated by something called The membrane, it keeps the paranormal dimension from coming to the normal dimension, however the membrane can be weakened by increasing the fear of the paranormal, which causes horrible monsters to break into the normal dimension, that phenomenon normally happens in place that causes fear in others, like Abandoned hospitals, old houses and abandoned sanatoriums, in a place where the membrane is weak there normally will be a lot of mist. Around the world multiple groups were formed with the intention of fully ending the membrane and letting the paranormal dimension take over, the members of those groups are called Occultists, to stop the Occultists and not let the two dimensions get fused a Secret Global Organization was created: The Ordo Realitas, common people that live a double life to stop the Occultists. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤInfo about Yuu: ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ Yuu was a normal person that lived an average life until a group of Occultists broke into their house and kidnapped yuu and their family, The Occultists brought them to their base and killed yuu's parents to make rituals to weaken the membrane, but they kept yuu alive, instead using yuu as a source of fear, they would use yuu's blood to make rituals, make them see multiple people getting killed and make them fight with monsters from the other side. Eventually Yuu joined The Occultists. (Btw to use rituals the Occultists need to see the symbol that represents the ritual they're using, they can draw it, see a picture or like in most cases, makes tattoos of the symbols) So imagine Yuu arriving in Twisted wonderland, full of tattoos of random symbols (in their whole body) and also a bunch of random words (horror stories and last words before death that the occultist use to cause fear) full of scars and all that. When Crowley tells yuu they will stay at ramshackle yuu starts to smile because ramshackle is the perfect place to weaken the membrane, Old dirty building haunted by ghosts?? All that Occultist Yuu could ever ask for, Ramshackle is super dark and full of very thick mist and there's a big ritual symbol that Yuu uses to transcend (transcending is kinda like a level up yk? if u take an cursed object with a ritual symbol into the transcend symbol and transcend with it u can gain a new ritual based on what element of the cursed object is, it can be Blood, Death, Knowledge, Energy or Fear) ritual in some part of the dorm, there's blood everywhere in the room where the symbol is and just by entering it you get an horrible feeling of dread, Yuu is weird asf and is constantly telling people horror stories to weaken the membrane and because of yuu multiple monsters break into Twisted wonderland, Yuu helps them fight the monsters with their rituals but not because they know it's their fault the monster manage to get into Twisted wonderland in the first place, but because Yuu loves to hear the creatures screams and feel the pain when the creatures harm them. Everyone is scared of yuu except maybe Lilia that would probably befriend Yuu

sorry for this bible of a ask that i wrote and sorry for my English its not my first language lmao anyways this not a request i just want to hear ur thoughts about this au, can i be🕴️ anon if it's not claimed yet 😳😳

Its fiiine

And it's a neat concept!! Yuu just getting vengeance in a totally healthy and normal way as people do <3

And yes u may!!!

[cqlfeels]

Hope no one minds if I share a half-baked 3zun theory with the class 😊

It really is half-baked and is shared more like a drunk guy yelling in the subway than like a fandom scholar presenting a lecture 💖

So, sworn brotherhood is way more complicated than exchanging friendship bracelets and promising to be BFFs. It involves the families of all sworn brothers (and we know how important families are in the world of MDZS/CQL) and, for political leaders, it unavoidably gets tangled up in politics. Though speaking of modern-day rather than historical sworn brotherhood, this paper does a pretty good job outlining the functions of ritual kinship, and it's very readable, so I do think people who are Into Serious Meta would enjoy it:

Anyway, here's why WWX speculates 3zun swore brotherhood:

Ever since Meng Yao betrayed the QingheNie Sect, the relationship between Nie MingJue and him hadn’t been the same as before. Then why did they later become sworn brothers? From his observations, aside from how Lan XiChen brought it up, having always hoped that the two would reconcile, the most important factor was probably the gratitude of saving his life and writing the letters. To be precise, in his past battles, he had more-or-less depended on the information that Meng Yao sent over through Lan XiChen. He still thought that Jin GuangYao was a talented person whom one would rarely come upon, and intended on leading him back onto the right path. However, Jin GuangYao wasn’t his subordinate anymore. Only after they became sworn brothers would he have the status and the position to urge Jin GuangYao, like how he disciplined his younger brother, Nie HuaiSang.

Standard unreliable narrator disclaimers apply, etc.

But I always found this... Strange. I do think this is part of NMJ's motivation, but I think gratitude for JGY's role in the war is not nearly enough to swear brotherhood (WWX was also instrumental to winning Sunshot, and I just can't imagine NMJ saying "that's enough for him to become my brother"), and I... Don't think NMJ is so charitable as to swear brotherhood because he wants oh so much for JGY to be Good and not waste his talents. Yes I think he loves being able to have authority over JGY again, but enough to justify swearing brotherhood? Eh. I can see LXC suggesting both these things to pitch the idea to NMJ, but I don't think it's enough for NMJ to go from active distrust to ritual kinship. Of course these are important factors, yes, but not the whole picture. For all else you can say about NMJ, that he takes oaths lightly isn't an accusation you can make.

Interestingly, besides mutual affection, etc, LXC and JGY immediately gain material benefits by becoming brothers. JGY gains social capital by being held up as being close to two different sect leaders, and washes away his past work for the Wen by ritually aligning himself with the two heroes of Sunshot. LXC, on the other hand, can get financial help for his destroyed Sect without losing face - he's not begging for help, he's just gracefully accepting his brothers' generosity. For xiyao, sworn brotherhood brings some measure of stability to the power play they're entangled in the post-war world - JGY exchanges his sect's resources for the soft power of the Lan. (Note that JGY also gets a way to justify to his father why the Jin will lose face if they don't help the Lan, which, if you read JGY as genuinely wanting to help LXC, is also a perk for both of them.)

And NMJ......... Gets to scold JGY into virtue, I guess??? What benefit is he looking for? Just personal satisfaction??? Is he not Nie-zongzhu, isn't he considering his sect? I mean, the Nie as a sect gain nothing by their brotherhood...... Unless you remove NMJ out of the picture. When NHS gets to power, the Nie are poised to gain a lot.

Although both JGY and LXC clearly love NHS, if he outlived his political usefulness (and let's face it, NMJ is sure he will), there's no way they can justify to their sects why they're helping him indefinitely. If NHS is their sworn brother's heir, though? They don't even have to explain themselves - they're expected to help.

Even if NHS is a disastrous sect leader, he automatically inherits an unbreakable alliance with 2/3 of the major sects. The Jiang sure as hell won't go to war against all the other major sects put together, and LXC won't allow the Lan to be anything but nice to NHS as long as he can possibly help it. The Jin are more of a wildcard because NMJ has no reason to believe JGY will ever inherit leadership, but NHS - and by extension his sect - having a Jin on his side is better than no Jin at all. Plus if JGS were a normal father it'd be super awkward for him to go up against one of his son's sworn brothers' sect. There's always assassination and all, but hey, NMJ can't fix every thing in one fell swoop, can he?

So like, I'm not saying it's canon or anything, but it is possible that NMJ - who may be a hot-headed dude but must be capable of some level of strategizing, if he's such a great military man - was counting on dying before his time and leaving behind a beloved but incompetent brother who needs every advantage NMJ can get him if the Nie are to not disappear in a generation. I don't believe he'd take such an oath solely to Turn JGY Into An Upstanding Citizen, but I definitely believe he'd take whatever oath he had to if it's to ensure the protection of both NHS and the Nie sect.

I still have to think things through (maybe this whole theory will fall apart if I remember some direct contradiction or another) but for now I'm inclined to headcanon that this was like, 50% of his motivation, the other 50% being divided among the other reasons WWX outlined.

[cqlfeels]

Hi! I really like your blog and your takes, they're so good!!! I've been wondering, why do you think jc didn't marry? Like I have some theories regarding his character and all, but mostly, it doesn't seem to make sense in a political way? Like... He's the last one of his clan, which is one of the major clans, and which also had to be rebuild from its ashes, like shouldn't one of his first priorities be to leave a clear heir from his lineage? And maybe even to ensure another alliance with another clan besides the Jin? Like with Zewu Jun I can at least say that sizhui could be the lan heir, but jc is in his thirties and has a dangerous job. Can't wait to hear your thoughts :)

First of all, you're super nice and I hope you're having a great day 🥺

Okay so my gut feeling is to go "MXTX didn't want to write that." Which I know is an evasive answer! But the thing is.... That's not just a JC problem. Nobody seems to care about heirs in this story, istg. LXC does everything for his sect except get married and get an heir (LWJ is his heir, but he's a bad option for lots of reasons.) NMJ knows he's going to die and still doesn't try and get a kid. NHS doesn't have a heir at all, I don't think, not even like a cousin or whatever? JGY is leaving the sect to his nephew, which we the audience know the true reasons for, but the other characters don't seem to find it weird. JC can't leave his sect to JL so why isn't he trying to get married?? It's just. Nobody wants heirs istg. MXTX didn't want to create characters who'd add nothing to the story besides being someone's wife, I think. Plus, this being danmei, even het males are frequently Hot And Single™️ because genre tropes.

Barring this Doylist reasoning, what can we do in the way of a Watsonian explanation?

In general, I try to read into a text what the text tells me to read into it. So even if my gut feeling is "Wth, this is super weird!!" given how widespread this seems to be and how the characters all seem to act like that's normal, I'm gonna guess that for whatever reason, that's not that big of a deal in this universe. Maybe although MDZS cultivators aren't immortal they do live longer and so it's become a trend in the Sunshot generation to settle down later than usual because they want to focus on politics for a while? That's not usually how wars work in the real world, but this isn't real life, so it might be possible.

Now as far as JC goes, I don't think he's going to marry for love - he's going to marry to advance his sect's interests. Perhaps he feels this is a card he wants up his sleeve for as long as he can keep it, so that he plays it at a time when it's actually crucial instead of a wasted move?

And there is also JL to consider - once he has a child of his own, he cannot afford to give JL the same attention he does now. I mean. He can. But I doubt he wants JL to be the WWX to his kid's JC - "No son I don't like A-Ling better, it's just that he reminds me of someone I've lost, and also because he's not my heir I can spoil him in a way I can't spoil you"........ is not a conversation I think JC wants to have. Nor does he want to neglect JL in favor of his kid, I think, so that's a situation that'd require some finesse JC probably doesn't wanna bother with right now.

I also don't think JC likes the idea of marriage in general, but I'm pretty sure he'd put aside his preferences for the good of the sect, so again: I just don't think there's been a marriage of convenience with enough perks for it to justify him going for it, you know? What would be perks good enough for him? I honestly have no idea. I enjoy reading about politics but I don't have a good head for this kind of thing lol

I do think he's most certainly going to get married in the future, though. He's very dutiful to his family, and part of traditional Chinese filial piety is to have sons to carry your own father's legacy, and I don't think JC would be too comfortable ignoring that, even if he technically has the possibility of naming a disciple his heir.