tenthousandyearsx - Tumblr blog

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♫ when the end comes - andrew belle ♫

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For @ZhongChiweek_ 🔶💧

Day 2: emperor & knight / assassin AU

Childe, who caught the eye of Emperor Morax, gained knighthood in Liyue, but secretly he's also an assassin?? Though actually not so secret because Morax definitely knows, what's with Tartaglia's declaration to kill him every now and then, but he's certainly welcome to try ;)

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wooow rereading orv is wild bc everyone’s first impressions fucking suck compared to like. how we all think of them at the end. bihyung explodes a handful of people’s heads within the first chapters and kim namwoon tries to murder a grandma. kim dokja literally has everyone evacuate the train car because yjh is a natural disaster-scale psychopath denting the adjoining train car door trying to bust in. gong pildu is a landlord.

and all of these facts remain true at the end of the story! they did in fact do all of these things and more. but they change through out the course of the story, learning and growing to know the worth of people’s lives. and everyone’s relationships with each other become so DIFFERENT from how they started off, and usually better than the beginning. all of the arcs in orv really feel natural in this way because theyre not forced, they’re not exactly linear, and theyre not perfect. it just feels so fulfilling

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dangerous visuals 🪽

for @jkvjimin 🤍

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it took 17 days

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Happy Belated Birthday, Scribe Al-Haitham!

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i glance at my tumblr mutual reblogging from me again.. blushes and looks away..... my trasured mutual, you mysterious and charming being.....what are we? i hope... maybe someday, we could be something more... something like..discord friends

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"once the desires of the hive accumulate, beyond a certain threshold, they will kill their king."

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Alhaitham and Kaveh's dynamic is interesting, because I've seen a lot of people say either "oh my god Kaveh is so mean" or "oh my god Alhaitham treats Kaveh terribly". But, quite importantly imo, in this quest Paimon remarks that she "doesn't know which one of them is more problematic".

I think when considering their relationship you need to look at intention. Do Hoyo want to villainise one of their popular husnandoes as a toxic asshole? No. Even the "villain" playable characters like Childe and Wanderer are nice/funny on occasion. Kaveh and Alhaitham's interactions are intended to be humorous, to make you gasp and say "oh wow I can't believe he just said that!".

Like, during the most recent story quest, for example. Kaveh accusing Alhaitham of having no empathy when he's clearly pretty emotionally stunted and decently moral is mean. But saying "At least I'd be a fungus with empathy!" Undercuts that - it's clear neither Alhaitham nor the player are suppose to take those words seriously.

Alhaitham dismissing Kaveh's field of work with "you work yourself to death just for a smile" is so belittling, but it's a retort to Kaveh saying his scribe job is at "rock bottom" in the Akademiya. Alhaitham isn't lashing out or trying to demean Kaveh in front of others (this interaction happens after the player has "left"); he's just continuing their verbal sparring match. I think people take this jab so seriously because it can be seen as a jab at a lot of people working out of passion, but in the context of the dialogue we're not supposed to regard it so deeply.

It's also fairly clear that nobody in game takes them seriously either. Tighnari says Kaveh is "as pent up as an anemo slime" in his Alhaitham voiceline - another funny quip - and Collei details how hard it was to suppress her laughter when Kaveh was talking about Alhaitham. Nobody thinks they're genuinely bad for one another, or that getting them separated is all that crucial.

Even the interactions in this story quest are just so silly and domestic: Kaveh can't get the painting straight, Alhaitham buys ugly furniture, they're arguing about rent and drink tabs, Kaveh is doing an unfair amount of housework and Alhaitham fucks off without entertaining his own guests. it's funny, or at least it is clearly intended to be.

I've heard that in the other dubs the VAs tones are different and it makes the lightheartedness clearer. Personally I've thought since their first interaction in the AQ that Alhaitham is having fun during their quarrels, and Kaveh is just melodramatic enough to act traumatised even if he isn't truly offended.

Then when it comes to whether their dynamic is supposed to be read platonically or romantically... Well Hoyo won't do anything canon, but it's hard to argue that there is no intentionality in how their relationship is portrayed. What other character(s) has an idle animation directly referencing their relationship with another character? How many other voicelines explicitly reference two characters as a pair? Nahida's Kaveh voiceline, Collei's, Tighnari's - I'm sure there are more. "Roommates" "senior & junior" "academic rivals" -> certainly there's a case to be made that they're just very close, but Kaveh and Alhaitham getting fifteen minutes of epilogue interaction in two different quests (where none of the content is related to either quest) says something. Fanservice, quite possibly.

Also Kaveh's line "We used to be friends, but not anymore"; I've seen plenty of people interpret this as "oh we're not friends, we're dating*". I think this is fun in fanon, but on a canon level it's basically a promise by Hoyo to fix (or explain) their current dynamic. Hoyo, for all their many faults, are detail orientated enough to follow up on such a line. Perhaps it will just be in Kaveh's voicelines/character stories, but I anticipate a future event or Kaveh hangout in relation to their bond. Nothing explicit, but more exploration. It's fairly clear Alhaitham and Kaveh are popular enough characters to warrant it.

All this to say: I have lots of thoughts. I have seen people call them toxic and (while idm the drama of that in fanon shipping) that isn't really the intended case in canon. Or, at the very least, the intention is not to to take their squabbling so seriously.

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Kaveh: Hmph, whatever, it doesn't take a genius to guess what you've been up to… You were investigating Sachin, weren't you? It was obvious from your notes. However, I don't believe his research alone would've been enough to pique your interest. His way of doing things is disturbing, while you… Well, to be fair, your philosophy disgusts me too, but you and Sachin are nothing alike. I don't imagine your views intersect at all. Egoism and nihilism are not the same thing. Alhaitham: My personal interest aside, Sachin's legacy is not entirely meaningless — he conducted experiments on a great scale, and left his findings behind. Also, thanks for the compliment. But I'm actually just passing through — I didn't come here for the conversation. Well, not this one at least. Kaveh: What do you mean? What topic of conversation could be more sacred among scholars than the exploration of differing philosophies? Alhaitham: Well, based on what I've learned, Sachin and his "disturbing way of doing things" — as you put it — is very likely to have met your father twenty years ago.

Kaveh: …What did you say? Wait, so… No, surely that doesn't mean… Hah. So that's why he thought I looked familiar. My father must've gone into the desert due to his influence… Alhaitham: I'm afraid so. Kaveh: … Good thing I shattered that diadem. From now on… nothing like that will ever have to happen again. Alhaitham: The boundaries of knowledge are ever-expanding. Someone else will inevitably pick up the same line of research one day, and Vahumana regards it as a reasonable research direction. Kaveh: Oh, not this again… Even if you're right, and people are bound to fall into the same intellectual traps, things won't necessarily go the same way again next time. You have to admit that the actions of one individual don't always predict the behavior of the group, and vice-versa. Take Sachin, for instance. He's quite an anomaly. Alhaitham: And so is the one who stopped him — you. Conflicts of this nature are indeed exceptional, but it will occur again in the future. You said it yourself — the actions of one individual cannot predict the behavior of a whole group. You know that not everyone would have chosen as you did. Kaveh: …Even so, I stand by my views. You can forget about trying to convince me. Alhaitham: That's fine. We've been arguing over this for years, and I don't hold any hope of you understanding. The issue we're debating has long since moved on from who's right and who's wrong. Kaveh: …Thanks for letting me know all this. Alhaitham: What? Kaveh: I said, thanks for letting me know. Hey! Stop acting like you didn't hear me! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!? Alhaitham: They say that earnest thanks should be given thrice, so… One more time, please. (x)

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Sunrise Strawberry Mimosa Recipe

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I feel like one of the best examples of joongdok's relationship dynamic is in chapter 148 at the banquet where yjh is about to murder kdj and then a 12 year old or w/e makes fun of kdj and he immediately stands between them, daring her to be mean again it's so funny

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This is beautiful. I've stared at this for hours now.

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underrated joongdok moment but i just find it hilarious that kim dokja's narration is always describing yjh as having an "emotionless face" or some variation on angry but whenver it shifts to anyone else its always yjh being the most tsun guy possible when kdj does anything