#here it is the qi ye timeline post

[geneticcatalyst]

physically at work but mentally face down on the floor chewing on the timeline of qi ye like a cat with an electrical cord. if you stop and think about any of this shit it gets even more off the wall than it already was. like the key here is that the protagonists of this dark political intrigue are, throughout the main plot in all its murderous glory, basically high school/early college age. so, okay, cool, kids are smart and vicious all the time, even when they don't have past life memories as cheat codes.

we can do a little math for most of the main cast and say that wu xi ahould be about 21 by the end of the book having been a hostage for ten years, and he's the youngest. jby is maybe 2 years older? the main plot gets going when he's about 15 and I think by the end he would be about 22-23. working backwards from the start of tyk which is said to be 4ish years post hly's ascension, an approximately 28yo zzs would have been 24ish by the end of qi ye, making him a bit older than jby. still cool, they are my favorite evil little frat boys, even if they have been doing crimes together since they were old enough to drive. theres less clues about the other members of the cohort, lu shen and he yunxing (only took me 2 reads to remember their names sorry guys). lu shen we know was the prime scorer, but I don't know off the top of my head how old people taking the exam had to be or typically were. I still figure they are a bit older than jby because it just underscores the comedy of being several centuries old but also the baby of the group but also the one calling all the plays. they could be older than zzs, also a bit of a prodigy, as well. however, I think they're still pretty young and inexperienced for all their promise (though a grain of salt is necessary for jby's narrative perspective because he thinks almost EVERYONE is young and inexperienced). I don't think they're older than hly.

now with the forewarning that i did not come here to worry about age gaps in fictional fantasy guys who don't even end up together or anything like that (there are WAY weirder things happening in this book ok), the part that kills me is, of course, hly. who is stated to be older from his first introduction, but like. the novel tells us outright he took the throne at 30. he was hanging around with the murder boys when they were probably like 16 and 18 and hly was like, 25. this like is a grown ass man with like a college degree and a job talking politics with his best advisors who are like. high school juniors. and not only is hly's little squad not batting an eye at doing the murders and the war crimes to advance his political career, it fucking. Works. like. imagine being the elder scions (who are in turn I think 5-10 years older than hly, so, definitely whole adults in at least their late 20s-30s here) with all your court advisors with decades of experience just getting absolutely and irrevocably wrecked by your kid half brother and his teenage war cabinet. i can't.

(which is my one final thought on the matter- if it seems weird that hly's best friends are years younger than he is- and it is a little weird- the simplest explanation for that is just that his two older brothers probably befriended the other noble kids in their approximate age range before he got the chance, and even those closer to him couldve easily preferred to suck up to the more power hungry older brothers. of course hly got whoever was left. rip.)

#cleaning out my drafts #here it is the qi ye timeline post #i have not done an annotated read yet though it is my fondest dream so if you see any inaccuracies you may well be right #i just think its tough to follow so I've laid it out the best i can for my own reference #this fucking book ok #qi ye #qy meta

[rarepears]

Here’s a quick au concept for you: post-PIDW SJ wakes up as a child again, and assumes he’s time travelled somehow. He decides to join Cang Qiong for just long enough to become a decent cultivator, and then he can fuck off. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t realise until too late that he hasn’t time travelled at all — he’s still at the same point in time, just in a different timeline. One where SQQ died of a qi deviation a few months after LBH became a disciple, and then after a decade-long official mourning period a new peak lord was chosen from his remaining students to replace him… and of course, it’s LBH

Why would Shen Jiu think he's time travelled? The moment he finds out what the year is or hears who the emperor is, he can figure out that he's alive in a pre-Emperor Luo Binghe era, yes. He's a crafty person who knows the right people to get information from. He's not going to march straight to Cang Qiong sect and join it - he's going to check things out. Moreover, he was only at Cang Qiong for Yue Qingyuan and the sect wasn't a happy place for him. Add in that inferiority complex / self hatred and he's going to think that staying away from Cang Qiong will protect Yue Qingyuan.

So Shen Jiu's much more likely to come to the (correct) conclusion that he's in another world/iteration where things went differently. In his memory, he remembers surviving that severe qi deviation, but evidently this life was another story. And the beast isn't some Demonic Emperor, being too busy managing Qing Jing Peak. It infuriates Shen Jiu of course that his peak was handed to the beast, but... the world isn't torn into war and chaos. It only goes to prove to himself that he was the root of all problems.

(More reason for him to avoid Cang Qiong at all cost.)

This AU is going to give so many knives to Shen Jiu's heart from all the "realizations" of how much better off everyone is if he died earlier.

(He doesn't see any of the Qing generation peak lords' grief or of Qing Jing disciples' struggle to cope without their strict shizun.)

#svsss #svsss ideas #svsss au #the scum villain's self saving system #shen qingqiu #mxtx #shen jiu #luo binghe #post-PIDW SJ wakes up as a child again in a world where SQQ died earlier and luo binghe becomes the next qing jing peak lord AU

[sunriseverse]

For the fic writer asks: 13, 14 and 15 if I may :)

And you know I'm always here for 37!

putting this all below the cut because it got long, oops!

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

hmm...................the only piece of writing advice i can think of that i would actually go "yeah, that's true" about is the fact that most of the time, you do not need to find alternatives to "said". "said" is not dead, but in fact a vital tool in any writer's repertoire, and oftentimes trying to cut it out for other, more "interesting" options can make a piece come across as clunky.

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

95% of all writing advice i've come across ranges from "this is only applicable in certain situations and trying to generalise it is nonsensical" to "that's just downright stupid and will hinder you". my "favourite" piece of writing advice is every piece that tells you to mercilessly cut out 90% of adjectives, adverbs, and other descriptors—most people do not want to aspire to ernest hemmingway's writing style, and many people, both readers and writers, enjoy descriptives because they help paint a mental scene of what's happening. you know—the very thing writing is meant to be doing? i for one love using many, many descriptives, because i find they help to set the emotional tone of the scenes i write, and i've been told by multiple people that my habit of describing things helps them to imagine my stories set in a more realistic, convincing world rather than just characters on a blank background.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

oh this is hard. this is very, very hard. i think......................oh god, i forget the title to this, but years ago (so in like.........2020), i wrote a pacrim fic that was vaguely set in the victorian era, featuring magical elements. it's at an even 20k, and i wrote it all in one sitting, and while i don't think it's the best thing i've ever written, i do think it's the most film adaptable of everything (that i can remember, at least). that said, while it wouldn't work with the film format, i have some very vicarious daydreams of the sunrise verse being adapted to live action.

37. Talk about your current wips.

it would be easier to talk about what aren't my current wips haha. well, let's see........................i'm not actively writing anything, but basically anything i've got more than a few sentences in concept of counts as a wip to me. in order from most important for me to get started on to "less important but i'd like to make a crack on them before 2024":

immortal ba ye au - what if instead of zhang rishan taking over as head of the jiumen association, it was an immortal ba ye, who has lost just about everyone he loves in his life (fo ye, qi yu, zhang rishan), and had to make himself in an entirely new man to survive the modern world and the position he's in? what if after the wang compound battle, he found out that zhang rishan hadn't died as he had thought, but actually been kept in a cursed sleep after being experimented on by the wang? what if—well, you know the rest. this is my big writing project i really need to plot out properly so i can work on it.

multiple sunrise verse fics. i'm putting these all together because they're too interconnected by being in the same verse to separate them. i want to write a heihua fic in this setting, plus the fuba fic, plus a much larger sunrise verse!version of the events of sha hai, and then a fic about xiaoge post changbaishan rift/when he returns from beyond the bronze gate. unfortunately i cannot write the heihua fic until i get through more of canon, but the others are all more doable. (i went and plotted out the sunrise verse timeline specifically so i could make all these fics work—even the fuba one, which required me to make the both of them significantly younger than in (show) canon (though funnily enough, fo ye got retcon'd to around his novelverse age rather than show canon age).)

the weird fucking vampire au that has far too strong of a hold over me for something that i am 90% sure will have to be tagged as "blood kink" if (when) it ever gets written. tl;dr: ba ye gets poisoned, they try and heal him with qilin blood, it............does not work and instead he winds up craving it (it being zhang rishan's blood). once he gets cured it doesn't go away. the inherent homoeroticism of blood drinking, having someone's teeth sunk into your neck knowing they could kill you but won't, you know how it goes.

lesbian luo fei/qin xiaoman fic. i have got to finish detective l before i can write this but the mental images for this in my head are very strong. country dyke xiaoman-jie representation. alas, this means i have to relegate luo fei/ben jieming to a platonic relationship, but i'll write them as canon gay people some day to even out the scales.

the iron triangle visiting baima's grave. that's it, that's the fic. (that's a lie—the concept has so many fucking feels attached for both personal and narrative reasons. taking the people you love to meet the person you lost. the acknowledgement of that loss and the love that still continues in you. you know how it goes.)

#ask meme #d slur #in one small affectionate line but better tagged than sorry #ask #c.txt

[threelivesthreeworlds]

Question

As someone who is just starting to watch the series and have yet to read the novel properly. Can i please have ab explanations on why feng jiu is somehow very special? Spoilers are fine

And love your small fics(?) And translations thank you very much for them.

(Sorry english isnt my first nor second language😓 so i dont really know how not to sound very demanding i am just genuinely curious😓)

     Ah yes, hello, it is me, The Resident Feng Jiu Stan Admin Ro that sprouts up on this blog once in a while to answer questions instead of put out translations - this is my division! For some reason the tag function Simply Would not Work so I'm going to answer this directly in this format for you.

     Anyway, to put it simply, Feng Jiu...isn’t very special, at least in the regard I think you mean. In the novel, which is what I’m basing this answer off of primarily as it is my preferred medium, there’s no plot device centering around her that makes her extra special or important or “the chosen one” or anything like that. However - she is titled, politically important, and excellent. She is Queen of Qingqiu at 30,000 years old and is currently sole future heir to the five wildernesses that belong to the powerful Bai Fox Clan. She’s decent at ruling and politics and is also brilliant in terms of martial ability for her age.

     In terms of "why is she special in relation to Donghua?” which, I suspect may be a question that could be attached to this one and am covering preemptively - he chose her, and it’s as simple as that, but you might also look to the translation tag for excerpts shed some further light on it. We got a good deal out of the Pillowbook Extra, honestly. My favorites are here, here, here and also this :

“ Donghua held his arm calmly and looked at Feng Jiu, standing with her sword. Ever since he came to life in Bi Hai Cang Ling, his path paved with the bones of the dead, those who sought his protection in the Realms came one wave after another and never seemed to end. However, in all of these years, he had yet to meet someone who had the whimsical idea to try to protect him. The word "protection," connected to his name, seemed like a joke. But at this time, in this realm, the little princess from Qingqiu was standing there in her frail body, with her small, thin sword, bravely preparing to fight and standing in front of an enemy who was many times stronger than her, with the intent of protecting him. Dijun thought this thing was very interesting, very new. “

     Now, in the Pillowbook Drama (that is, Eternal Love of Dream), there’s a subplot about how when Miaoluo (the primary villain of Pillowbook) was defeated by Donghua in battle years and years before the show timeline starts, 2 drops of red qi ended up falling into Feng Jiu, to be later retrieved in the Fanyin Valley arc. That...is a largely unnecessary subplot, according to both admins’ opinions on this blog, and as it’s not in the book we don’t really count it as a reason. 

     And finally, because I’m cheesy - SHE’S SPECIAL CAUSE I LOVE HER O K A Y - 

     Ahem, anyway, please don’t worry about it! We love getting questions (tm) even if we sound official in some answers and therefore a little intimidating. I’m glad you’re enjoying our content (and our small fics, even though w h e w you’d have had to d i g to find the ones Admin Lins posted All That Time Ago (tm))!! We have fun around here! 

#startouchedqueen1318 #bai feng jiu #admin ro answers #eternal love of dream #three lives three worlds the pillowbook #((long story short)) #((she doesn't have to be plot-special to be special already : ' D)) #((and i love her so much i could cry)) #((i'm sorry this is so long)) #((i just like)) #((cannot contain myself at all when it comes to feng jiu fjlkafj;lsdf))

[wedreamedlove]

Life History of the 4 Men

The Chinese character books provide timelines of everyone's lives, so I decided to translate them all (as part of my epic procrastination ritual).

There are spoilers in these up to Chapter 24. Okay, I'm afraid tables look hideous in Tumblr, so you're all going to have to deal with my terrible text version.

LI ZEYAN

Regarding the Evol he was born with || Li Zeyan was born with a time manipulation Evol but he never told anyone around him.

10 years old || Park meeting || He met a 4 years old you at the park. He made a pudding as an apology to make up for wrecking your sand castle, but he never thought that he'd get a tag along from that moment.

11 years old || Suspending time during a car accident || He used his Evol in public for the first time in order to save you when you disregarded danger to grab a small cat in the middle of the road.

Orphanage kidnapping incident || He was kidnapped with you to an orphanage. He used his Evol to bring the other kids out but wasn't careful enough and was discovered. He was saved by you at a critical moment but, in the end, was unable to bring you out with him.

Start of the endless search || Unwilling to believe that you were no longer in this world, he started his 17 year long search.

14 years old || Mother's death by illness || His mother died to an illness and the details of the cause are unknown.

18 years old || Starts university || He was accepted into the country's famous university with his outstanding grades.

20 years old || Creates Huarui || He created Huarui when he was finishing his third year and, in the second year of its creation, Wei Qian came around to interview.

26 years old || Starts his restaurant || He opened a restaurant called Souvenir and considered this place a "utopia". He met Mr. Cai here.

28 years old || Huarui becomes a business empire || Huarui gradually developed and became a business empire.

Meeting again || Using his Evol, he saved you when you were about to meet with a car accident.

HBS' plot || He was locked in one of HBS' secret rooms with you. That one scene from his childhood happened again and he realized that it turned out the person he strenuously searched for was at his side. His Evol fluctuated and he could use it to twist space and time.

Deep space travel || Obtained a pocket watch from Grandpa Chen and went to the future Lianyu City. He was in contact with you through the pocket watch and, in order to change the ending of fate, he continuously crossed through space and time.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you at the Black Cabin and obtained memories of several worlds— no matter the world, you two would end up meeting and he would end up being attracted to you.

XU MO

Known to all as a little genius || Being a little genius in the eyes of others, he obtained the love of adults but was alienated by those of the same age and his only friend was the neighboring older brother, Fan Zihang.

7 years old || Car accident || Encountering a car accident on his birthday, both his parents died, and he survived with great difficulty only to be taken by a member of the Black Swan organization.

Acquired Evol || Underwent Black Swan's reformation experiment and obtained Evol.

8 years old || First meeting || He met with the very first color in his life underneath a camphor tree and even obtained a single colorful origami crane.

9 years old || Orphanage kidnapping incident || He was one of the victims of the orphanage kidnapping incident and was rescued by the police.

Went overseas || Going along with Black Swan, he went overseas to study.

15 years old || England schooling || He entered an England all-boys high school to study and, using one year, he completed high school and a university undergraduate degree.

16 years old || Studying hard for a master's degree || He entered one of America's leading universities to pursue advanced studies, a master's degree and Ph.D.

20 years old || Obtained a Ph.D. || He obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience in America and started to work in a laboratory in America. He published many academic papers and laid the groundwork for neuroscience experts.

24 years old || Became a professor || Returning to the country, he founded the Xu Mo Life Laboratory and also held the post of being a guest professor at Lianyu University.

26 years old || Meeting again || He met with you again through the introduction of Professor Zhang Chengxi. He became your neighbor after moving in and also helped with the last episode of Miracle Finder.

The dream's passing || He brought you into a dream but, because he received the influence of your Evol, saw both of your pasts together and the car accident in his childhood. Afterward, he obtained a peace knot from your hands.

Breaking it off || His identity as Ares was revealed and he broke off relations with you. At a press conference about the development of an influenza vaccine, he had a debate about "evolution" with you.

Danger in the dream || In order to save you when you were being chased by radicals of the Black Swan organization, the two of you entered a dream. He used his Copy Evol to get out of danger and your memory of this time was also erased.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you in the Black Cabin and, obtaining the memories of several worlds, he takes you by the hand and hurries towards the next spring day.

BAI QI

Childhood || Although his father was always cold, under the care of his mother's warmth, Bai Qi had a relatively carefree childhood.

10 years old || Father took away his little brother || Bai Qi's Evol hadn't awakened yet. Bai Qi's father believed that Bai Qi didn't have the Evol genes and so he took away his little brother, whose Evol had already awakened.

15 years old || His mother passed away || His mother passed away in a fire and, after this time, "fire" became his weakness.

17 years old || Met you in the rain || He met you when you were foolishly blocking the rain for a cat and feeding it by the side of the road. He gave you his coat and then ran off into the rain.

Obtained Evol || He heard your piano when he fought a gang of people and was kicked off the rooftop. At the same time as he obtained his Evol he vowed to protect you forever.

18 years old || Goodbye || His Evol awakening was discovered by his father and he was threatened until he had no choice but to leave Lianyu High School. Before he left, he wrote a letter to give to you but, because of Han Ye's slip up, you thought it was a threatening letter.

19 years old || Hellish mission || His teammate Li Ye died during the "Hell Mission" and only Bai Qi and Gu Zheng survived. After this mission concluded, Bai Qi was made into the team captain.

20 years old || Training and missions || He actively participated in every country's training and missions and gradually became strong.

22 years old || Obtained an appointment || He obtained a formal appointment and joined the special forces.

24 years old || Meeting you again || In order to protect you, he voluntarily requested to be transferred back to Lianyu City to carry out missions and, at last, he met you again.

Broke off with the special forces || He discovered Commander Lian Ji's plot, questioned the special force's "justice", and broke off with them.

Participated in the NW Plan || Receiving his father's conditions, he participated in the NW Plan, and after the reformation obtained a stronger Evol.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you at the Black Cabin, obtained the memories of several worlds, and promised to be side by side with you in every different world.

ZHOU QILUO

Orphanage for those with autism || He suffered from autism when he was small, was a mixed blood orphan, had no friends, and spent every day curled up in the corner.

5 years old || First meeting || He was labeled as experimental subject 1562 and he met you during his escape. You two promised to eat doughnuts together after you both escaped.

Failure to escape || The escape failed and he became the valuable experimental subject 3684.

Obtained Evol || He underwent Black Swan's reformation experiment and obtained Evol. He is the only success of the orphanage's reformation experiments.

6 years old || Went overseas || Following Black Swan, he went overseas and was adopted by KEY. Afterward, he followed KEY and learned hacker techniques.

Launched his career || He launched his career as a child star in France.

14 years old || Attended high school in America || He finished junior high school in France and, listening to the suggestion of the middle-aged singer Eva Seidel, he went to America for high school.

18 years old || Admitted into a famous music school || He signed with a famous international music company and, after being successful, was admitted into a famous music school.

Set up a band || Created a band, had the position of lead singer, and started touring around the world, setting the groundwork of being an international star.

His master KEY disappeared || His master, KEY, disappeared and, in order to search for his master, he hacked into America's Federal Bureau of Investigation and found a mysterious symbol, but he was unable to crack it.

20 years old || Returned to the country to develop || He returned to the country to expand and Shen Yuan became his manager.

21 years old || Entered the hacker world || He returned to the hacking world with KEY's identity and persistently searched for any clues connected to his master.

Took the entertainment world by the storm || He acted as the young Sun Ce in "Three Kingdoms" and, not only did this take Japan by the storm, this also let more people in his own country recognize him.

22 years old || Meeting you again || He met you again at a convenience store when you both saw the same bag of potato chips and from this moment you were his exclusive "Miss Chips".

Hacker conference || He met you at the hacker conference when you blundered in by mistake and the two of you fell into Black Swan's secret room. His mysterious identity as KEY was found out by you.

Returning home || After saying goodbye on the rooftop, he returned under the identity of Helios and reunited with you at the hospital. He gave you a knife for self-protection and used his Evol to erase your memories of this moment.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you again at the Black Cabin and obtained memories of several worlds. You both gripped tightly onto each other's hands and became each other's light.

#mlqc #mr love queen's choice #love and producer #mlqc gavin #mlqc victor #mlqc lucien #mlqc kiro #mlqc bai qi #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc xu mo #mlqc zhou qiluo #my translations

[wcrldliar]

interpretation notes.    ok,  so i watched every tvmcu content.   i’ll give an overview right here on where i stand with it,   and where maria generally operates.  i’ll have it updated on the general main timeline i have,   but for a more descriptive divergences / notes,  it’ll be written down here :

falcon and the winter soldier.

clearly still early in the post-blip era.  maria is still working to answer all fall out and handle damage control.  whatever natasha has done during infinity war - endgame,  maria continues it here.   she’s visiting the court a lot,  and playing nice with important people.  at the same time,  she’s keeping an eye out on new dangerous organisations,  particularly power broker’s status.

in my interpretation,  maria wouldn’t know power broker is sharon carter.  but she is keeping track on power broker’s movement nevertheless.  yes,  she is also aware of john walker as the new captain america;  she’s very neutral about it.  her full feeling towards it is written right here.  she keeps tabs on what barnes and wilson are up to,  especially after zemo broke out.  she’s also aware walker has been recruited by the contessa.

beyond that,  she’s occupied with her own work.

* extra note :   maria is the one responsible in making sure the rest of the avengers who returned post-blip are pardoned.  (  aka continuing natasha’s work,  as stated above.  )  she goes to almost all of their capitol hearing.  she’s very loyal,  and she has to make sure they’re free.  but she never sticks around to mingle.

 wandavision.

she knew tyler hayward was a little bitch,  and she doesn’t trust SWORD even a little bit.  however,  when SWORD was requesting for help about the disturbance in westview,  maria slyly  —   using connections  —   have made sure darcy lewis is nominated as top candidate to go in and see what happened.   personally,   whatever that’s happened in west view is not deemed a global threat to her and therefore did not require her attention.  but she was hoping that by dr lewis there,  there’d be someone on the avengers’ team that can perhaps watch out if things go south.

loki

inapplicable to her situation as the event happened outside of the pre-determined set of time.  either way,  she wouldn’t have known another version of loki had survived.

black widow

maria knew about the wreckage only after natasha was arrested and/or brought in when the whole operation fell down.  she was there throughout all of natasha’s hearing.  yes,  she brought along barton.  afterwards,  maria tries to track down the position of all black widows as best as she could remotely  —  not all of them are traceable nor identified,  as expected.  she only knows yelena by name;  maria would not have known the full extent of the story like barton did.  this included the whistle.

shang chi and the legend of the ten rings

only knew about him when banner brought him up as a potential avenger.  dug deep about shang qi from the video in the bus,  and the illegal fighting ring.  prior to that,  SHIELD does have records of the ten rings organisation.  they wouldn’t have the information that the organisation went way back,  but they have enough to determine that it’s a strong crime syndicate organisation.  the only time maria would personally cross path is if the ten rings dealt with child abduction and human trafficking,  which is a side job maria often works to unfold.  not often,  especially after the blip,  but before,  she was very active in dismantling any shipment.

eternals

she knows nothing about any celestials and eternals.  but SHIELD did and has kept a list of people they’ve suspected to have a longer lifespan for whatever reason — vampirism, super soldier longevity, immortals etc.  the list is merely a suspicion to make sure these individuals are not a threat,  but the list is incomplete and did not have a proper follow-through as the priority for them is not high.  if your muse has been known to be photographed throughout history,  chances are,  you’re on the list.  but most of the time,  many SHIELD agents merely treated it as a joke and did not take this list seriously.  fury has had them classified as a level-7 file regardless.

hawkeye

personally,  i think maria’s way coldhearted — clint will always be the more caring one out of the two —  about the whole situation.  if she’d known yelena was at clint’s heels,   the only person maria has left,  she would’ve sided with barton and would want to put a stop to yelena.   not necessarily to assassinate her;   but put her down enough that she won’t hurt clint at all.  she won’t give a shit if yelena’s natasha’s sister.  

and while clint is clearly more sympathetic and more lenient to letting himself be beaten up as a form of self-punishment,  maria would never admit so easily how much natasha meant to her to this person she considers a stranger.  (  no,  that’s a grief she only shares with clint.  )   she disapproves barton running around with bishop,  but she doesn’t care ultimately as long as barton’s safe.

oh and ...... yes i do think clint contacting her wife to research sensitive information ( even though it’s revealed later she’s connected to SHIELD ) while she was in the house with the kids is reckless and stupid and frankly,  as an experienced operative,  something he wouldn’t and shouldn’t have done.  in my interpretation,  the person clint would’ve contact would be maria  —  although that last call can be laura since it’s personal and intimate  —  but,  of course,  this can differ and be adapted with any interpretation that comes across my dashboard.

also,  maria’s mad that she now has to answer about the whole big christmas tree and its lights falling and how damn expensive it is.

she hates rogers the musical.

spider-man: no way home.

the fiasco with parker exploded.  maria didn’t contact the kid;  couldn’t.  she has more urgent business to go through on her end. [ i want to tie this in with secret invasion ] but she’s aware that strange is involved.  don’t know what exactly happened though.  however,  after the battle ended and all memories are wiped of parker’s identity,  maria merely have an incomplete record of the whole event.  all records with parker’s identity and relation to spider-man is also wiped.   she’s suspicious,  but she doesn’t pursue it.

***   also of course,  of course,  my roleplaying partner and i can always just... discuss more and talk about adapting the details if there are some things in your portrayal that doesn’t work with how mtvu has presented it or you disagree with the details i’ve put out.  i’m so open to work out the kinks and details,  always!

#spoilers tw // #im half asleep but ... i swear this makes sense #ajdksdhfksdh #details not in file.

[pumpkinpaix]

hello! i asked hunxi-guilai about this and they sent me here so i hope you can help me skjaksj i read this [post/615866150664962048/hi-loving-your-meta-on-suibian-just-wondering] but i'm still a little bit confused. i read the novel in portuguese and idk if it's a translation thing that went wrong but it's not clear for me the timeline of wwx's death. lwj saves and hide him in a cave, lan sect finds them, lwj fights with his seniors, and then what? (c)

(c) what i remember is that when wwx dies lwj is Very wounded. after i read your post i got a little bit more confused. after lwj fought with his seniors he ran away again to leave wwx at burial mounds? and then goes back to gusu? are we supposed to just... imagine what happend? i read the novel in december but i still think about this on a daily basis. sorry if this is a bother for you! i also wanted to say that i really like that long post you did, my respect for lxc just grew a lot

sldfkjsl you read the whole meta omg it’s so long. but I’m very glad i’ve managed to increase your respect for lxc. that’s my goal always. justice for lan-da etc. (ง •̀_•́)ง

I kind of answered you in one of the reblogs on @hunxi-guilai‘s post here, but I’ll copy the response and expand upon it for you!! :D

2. re: timeline of the massacre @ nightless city until first siege–three months pass between them. lwj saves wwx, returns him to yiling and then goes back to the cloud recesses for his punishment. three months later, the other clans regroup their forces and storm the mass graves in the first siege. (chapter 79)

so yes, you’ve basically got it:

1. lan wangji grabs wei wuxian at the massacre at nightless city and hides him away in a cave somewhere, passing him spiritual energy. wei wuxian, delirious, tells him repeatedly to fuck off/get lost.

2. the elders + lan xichen and lan qiren arrive to apprehend wei wuxian and demand lan wangji turn him in. lan wangji refuses and severely injures 33 of them, forcing them to retreat.

3. lan wangji, after saving wei wuxian’s life, delivers him back to the wen remnants that are left at the mass graves (burial mounds). he willingly returns to gusu by himself to take his punishment for raising his hand against his elders

4. lan wangji is punished with 33 strokes of the discipline whip, which renders him essentially bedridden for the next three years. (points 1-4 explained by lxc in chapter 99)

5. due to the huge losses suffered at nightless city, it takes the great sects three months to recover. then, they all go back and besiege the mass graves. lan wangji, being severely wounded from his punishment, obviously is not there. they kill all the wen remnants and throw them into the blood pool. wei wuxian dies, possibly from the backlash of destroying the yin tiger seal at the siege. (i can’t remember if this is confirmed.) we do not witness his death. (this is all in the first few paragraphs of chapter 79. i’m a bit tired today, so here’s a link to exiled rebels) it’s mentioned in passing, and there’s several descriptions of it by other people.

in chapter one, we have lots of people speculating: one person says that Jiang Cheng stabbed him to death. one person says that he was killed by backlash. one person says that his own raised monsters turned on him and tore him to pieces. i think wei wuxian himself says that he died from backlash, but I don’t remember where in the book sorry!

it’s also mentioned in chapter one (my translation linked lol) that he destroyed the yin tiger seal, so I’ve always taken that to mean that wei wuxian died from the backlash of destroying it. in terms of my own headcanon, I think that he was extremely close to a fatal qi deviation, and in his weakened state, failed to protect the wen remnants during the siege and essentially committed suicide by destroying the seal. I could make arguments for why I think that, but that’s neither here nor there.

it definitely sounds like there was some missing information in your translation? but even if there wasn’t, mdzs does leave a lot of important information to passing mentions, which I think is very interesting narratively!! but it can be easily missed if you’re not paying close attention. there is definitely a lot of detail left to the imagination.

hope that answered your question!! <3 <3

#mdzs #mdzs meta #mymeta #mine #cyan help desk #long post #suicide mention #death mention #Anonymous #asks and replies

[paradife-loft]

1&2 for general, ships, characters & story

General

1. If you had to join a sect, which would you join?

Ahahaha oh, oh no, the difficult question!!! *covers face*

Tbh I would. join the Lan sect and then be like, the most problematic Lan ever to Lan XD (”But James, don’t you have a reflexive fight me!!! response to rules and authority....?” yes maybe so shush now that’s why I said problematic.)

Like the thing is. I DO like being a nerd, and I DO like the idea of cultivating with music certainly moreso than with swords look I do not enjoy physical exertion a lot of the time, and I semi-regularly become full of emotion and start wailing to whoever’s nearby about wanting to live in somewhere as beautiful as the Cloud Recesses??? It is SO lovely there. Also the only other option I was considering, the Jiang, tbh gives me the impression that I would die miserably of humidity in Yunmeng sooooo :/

But also for real I am... a lot more chill with following rules when I agree with them about their purpose being to better you ethically and also to form a cohesive community, and I’ve chosen to adhere to them by my own will? Uhh, demonstrably lmao. But yeah I’d definitely still be Arguing about things and eating hot peppers in Caiyi town and playing the “it’s not really drinking if you neutralise the alcohol” game ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2. Your three favorite characters?

*lies dramatically on the ground* How am I supposed to pick just threeeeee???

But ok, so, Jin Guangyao, and then *spins the roulette wheel for today’s picks* probably Lan Xichen and Wei Wuxian, averaged out?? But I have a lot of feelings about Everyone ;u;

Ships

1. What’s your OTP?

*chinhands* Surely we all know this by now :P

2. What’s your NOTP? Or any other ship you hate?

Uhhhhh hhhhhhh hahaha ngl I usually feel guilty talking about notps in public??? Probably bc often as not it’s more about “90% of the content I see in the fandom is relatively fluffy and/or mundane and/or lacking in meaty conflict and therefore bores me to tears” oops.

But I will say tbh that I have a pretty visceral unhappy NOPE reaction to LXC/NHS in. Probably 95% of contexts ever. Unless I feel particularly into reading, like, sex-as-self-harm fic on any given day, lmao.

Characters

1. If you could date any character from MDZS, who would you pick?

Lol, none of them.

2. If you had to kill a character, who would you kill?

Save a sex worker or POW, toss JGS off a cliff :) (predictable answer but hey) (I mean, this is distinct from an answer to “who would I kill at a point in the story prior to their actual death,” but. I would be remiss at existing if I didn’t take the opportunity to say I would kill JGS given the slightest excuse.)

Story

1. If you could make one major story change, what change would you make? Why?

Ahhhh, hell. Actually, you know what? I would slightly revamp Qin Su’s character to have her be aware of her parentage since roughly the same time as JGY is, and have them both separately keeping that a secret from one another for roughly the same reasons. She’s disturbed by the letter from Bicao simply because of the implications around someone wanting to make this knowledge public. (On the other hand: she DOES still ask JGY about how Rusong died, and IS still angry and horrified by the attitude he takes to that question and the implication that he was the one who orchestrated that death, because wtf just because his parents were siblings doesn’t mean he should have been anything other than a happy, perfectly loved, alive child??? Get a fucking grip!)

...And then I think. if she does still end up dying* then it’s probably gonna be directly NHS’s fault, in this context? Because “oh okay I was not expecting her to be chill with that, that’s an unpleasant surprise; well I still gotta ruin JGY’s marriage somehow SHRUG”. But on the other hand I really really don’t love all the women dying, so maybe instead he just reveals her complicity publicly and destroys her reputation and turns her into a pariah? :/ Which is still unpleasant but at least isn’t. death.

Anyway the reason why is like. Partially just aesthetic preferences!! I like “morally questionable power couple” much better than I like “evil dude and morally pure innocent victim wife”. (I in fact very much dislike the latter. Looking @ u, late Numenor.) And also partially - I very much like the additional resonance of “JGY underestimates he sweet and kind people around him and doesn’t notice that they can also have sneaky ruthless streaks” that this would add re: Huaisang? While also for that matter foreshadowing the Huaisang reveal?

And, yeah, a lot of other changes I would “like” to make, honestly fall more into the genre of “things I would like as fix-it fics” rather than changes I want to make to the base story, because so many of the pieces I’ve gone “augh but what if that were different!” are just. structurally important to MDZS’s tragic and other thematic elements. Messing with this aspect to Qin Su’s story doesn’t have to make the base plot non-tragic, but does improve on a few issues I have with e.g. morally polarised female characters who all die anyway.

2. Which character would you bring back to life?

!!???!!? when are we talking, here! in what fashion?

....okay, so for the sake of not making my head explode with potential options, I’m going to limit this to cases of characters who are 100% confirmed dead, being brought back either as a fierce corpse or via sacrifice-summon, generally within the main timeline of the story (i.e. not several decades post-canon).

And of that set under those conditions, I’m gonna pick Jiang Yanli. Look. I LOVE the possibilities of fierce corpse!Jiang Yanli. As a scenario it’s both incredibly fucked up but also the possibilities for really emotional reconciliation between all three Yunmeng siblings in the present timeline??? Logistically I think this would have to take place in a bookverse-style “LWJ carries WWX off to the burial mounds post-Nightless City battle” situation... so like, in a fit of practically qi-deviating rage-grief, WWX reanimates JYL’s corpse right as she dies, a la Wen Ning? and then part of what he’s doing, half out of his mind, during the missing time in the Burial Mounds is working on bringing her spiritual consciousness to put back in there.

........there’s definitely more logistics to be worked out, most notably “where is she during the intervening decade?” but. I love the idea of Jiang Cheng’s anger being not only “you killed my sister” but also “YOU TURNED MY SISTER INTO A FUCKING ZOMBIE”. I love the idea of, eventually, her being ACTUALLY PRESENT to express some of her own opinions and feelings on how WWX & JC fighting over her death (& fierce corpse status) is rly fucked up. make them deal with her as an actual person who’s inconvenient in her wants and needs and willingness to always extend a hand to others, not just a place to hang all their messy emotions on! give her eventually a chance to bond with Jin Ling, and the awkwardness and grief about how much of his life she missed, interspersed with “!!!!! I get to have this back! feelings!”

Because also just in general, I’d really love to have her around to interact with all the characters in their fucked-up “one timeskip later” iterations, and her perma-dying really just robs us of that chance and it’s very rude!

Bonus: holy fuck what would it be like for all her talents and skills and weaknesses to suddenly be completely reversed? Extremely physically strong and capable now! But more likely to scare people than charm them. Can she still, like, taste food properly? Who knows. But wouldn’t THAT be a juicy situation to explore for her! :O

#stripedroseandsketchpads #about me #ask meme responses #no good things for the poor sad cultivators #ask a James

[ibijau]

nillegible replied to your post: Oh, if you are still looking for prompts (sorry...

But WWX, as the only person to see through NHS’ plans the first time, might notice eventually and take revenge for his brother? ������ This just hurts way too much!

wwx saw through nhs’s plans the first time because they made sense. Here, the death of jc, to an outsider, would be only a weird act of violence and why would wwx suspect nhs when Wen Chao was there, who had both opportunity and motive?

but tbh I absolutely see nhs dying a violent death in that timeline. Either through someone’s revenge (such as wwx yes, although being now in the position of a sect leader will make it harder for him to just go after nhs) or through qi deviation because all the shit he did is going to have an effect on him.

it’s all fine by him though

the only two people he cares about are happy, after all, and nothing else matters.

#nillegible #jau answers #bad timeline

[geneticcatalyst]

as promised, an exploration of my one pet problem in fandom, or: misinterpretation of jby's first death (ft. zzs)

heres the thing. i occasionally see people reference what seems to be a misconception of the (english translation) text in qi ye. both the fact that its a translation and the metaphorical phrasing make it pretty clear to see why they got the wrong idea, but i firmly believe its still the wrong idea. i am by no means calling the people who got this mixed up dumb or bad, i am simply leaning over their shoulders going 'wait no bestie pls read that again pls read that one more time!!' because this is one of my favorite books and this thing is a key piece of one of my favorite things about it.

i said i was gonna pull screenshots for this post but i think it will be a little while before i get to another reread and i can't ctrl+f the google doc so im just gonna whip this out from memory. if anyone does have this particular passage on hand feel free to pop it in here. the rest of the context/explanations are just from my cursory research, im not chinese or a historian.

cards on the table. the only thing i love more than unhinged gay romances is unhinged platonic soul mates. its catnip to me. i go feral every goddamn time. and i havent stopped losing my mind about zhou zishu and jing beiyuan since that first qi ye scene. what do those guys have going on? not even sure they know but it's A Lot. ive got like 18 other unpublished drafts trying to work that out slash losing my fucking mind at the lengths they go to about each other. that relationship is at the center of both novels even if the spotlight isnt on it. so I admit that my readings are colored a bit by how much i like that they like each other!

which is why im shocked baffled and, ok, lightly salted, to see a few people make the claim that zishu (personally) tortured/killed beiyuan in his first life.

so what the text says is that after helian yi stopped trusting beiyuan (after su qingluan's accidental death), he was basically put to death. but even the emperor has to have a half decent reason to execute someone. the text describes these reasons- ten of them- as zhou zishu's masterpieces. it also refers to them as great shames to beiyuan's standing. what's happening is that helian yi has zishu frame beiyuan for treason or other betrayals against the emperor/the country. it isn't specific as to what, but it doesn't really matter, because its all fake and zishu is really good at his job. so yes, it is fair to say that zishu is the INSTRUMENT of beiyuan's death, but he didn't kill him, he just laid the groundwork.

the text goes on to another slightly confusing line where it says something to the effect of that when each of these accusations were read out in court, each line drew blood from jing beiyuan. that's a metaphor! it's just saying that his reputation was torn apart and ultimately his fate is sealed, despite the phrasing there are no literal injuries happening.

also, i may not have the timeline perfect on this part, but in zishu's introduction in the beginning of the novel, the narration tells us outright that while zishu is partially responsible for beiyuan's death, he was like. cool about it. in what seems to be the first and only time he ever steps out of line or goes against helian yi's command (!), after setting all this up but- if im remembering right- before the news actually breaks in court the next day, zishu warns beiyuan. now this admittedly doesnt do a whole lot because the only other possible option (cut and run) isn't a very good one, but it's the only thing zishu can do. he doesnt have to, but he does it anyway (!). of course beiyuan doesnt even consider doing this, he's stubborn and heartbroken, but he really seems to 1. appreciate the risk zishu took here to try to give him a chance and 2. not hold the whole set up against zishu or take that bit personally.

so what actually happened at the end of beiyuan's first life? he was sent the 3 chi of white silk. the text does explicitly say this once, but if you're not familiar with the practice it may not click. receiving the white silk from the emperor is what happens when you're too high ranking to execute like a commoner but you've fallen from grace and are being politely asked to hang yourself in order to clear your name. and of course beiyuan, stubborn and heartbroken, does. yes, it's a forced suicide, but it isn't a murder.

anyway, its in that secret conversation, where zishu secretly meets with beiyuan seemingly to try to convince him to save himself and beiyuan outright refuses, that beiyuan promises that if theres a next life (ha), they'll get drunk together. and of course against all odds, there is and they do.

the thing about the idea that some people might think that zishu killed beiyuan is that after that nothing between them makes sense. even if it was at helian yi's request, i just cant see that not permanently damaging the friendship, i don't think beiyuan could immediately pick back up being best friends in the seventh life with that memory in the way. why would zishu go out of his way to warn beiyuan one day if he was perfectly capable and fine with killing him the next? why would beiyuan not only be happy to meet zishu again in the seventh life but also go out of his way trying to save zishu's? none of their other interactions really make sense if you believe there was a murder done there. idk. it clouds the whole throughline of the story which is that they have a bond!

i think maybe people think it is in character due to the other ruthless murders, and they're not wholly wrong, but that's the kicker for me. zishu will murder all kinds of innocents no questions asked, but he's suddenly trying to give an out to his coworker and drinking buddy? hello? thats insane, and that's the point.

furthermore, if you think maybe it would make sense for helian yi to have beiyuan violently killed (since it keeps fucking happening later), i actually have to become helian yi's lawyer for a moment here and say that that doesnt make sense either. helian yi is sitting on a throne gained by shadowy means but he's the Good Guy Ruler and that reputation is important. hes not a cruel person and he may have become paranoid but he still has a shared history with beiyuan. plus, even the emperor has to abide by a certain amount of decorum when he wants to have people killed, especially when that person is also a high ranking member of court. beiyuan's status is basically second only to the royal bloodline, he's essentially the prev emperor's godson, as well as a previously close confidante of helian yi himself. the white silk was regarded as a privileged, dignified means of offing someone. helian yi is perfectly within social acceptability to do this to beiyuan with the pretext of beiyuan's disgrace. but it would be pushing the boundaries for the good and just emperor to suddenly have one of his top advisors and members of high nobility brutally killed like a common criminal. he could probably do it, but it would reflect on him and his reputation too. he could do it in secret, but would have to cover up the disappearance of a prominent court figure. it just makes sense to use the white silk as the neatest, most acceptable legal justice channel here. maintain emotional detachment, be polite, everybody's honor gets honored and such.

so that's the ted talk. theres even some beautiful fanart on here of white-haired first life beiyuan holding the white silk! he wasn't tortured or outright executed, and he chose to obey rather than escape or fight the false claims of treason even though his friend tried to give him the only out he could manage. to interpret things differently really skews the character motivations and plot for everyone- beiyuan, zishu, helian yi- in a way that warps the story out of believability, imho.

#gently and lovingly nailing my opinions to the fandom's front door <3 #minor qi ye spoilers obv #i think i spent upwards of 3 hours on this draft so believe me this is 10 percent salt and 90 percent love #i wouldnt call this a common misconception either but every time i do see it i have to go walk around the room #i love to think about first life and i love to think about murderbros so. inbox open #qi ye #and thank u to my enablers u know who you are!! #qy meta

[asrarblog]

Dear Colleagues!  This is Pharma Veterans Blog Post #299. Pharma Veterans shares the wealth of knowledge and wisdom of Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on WordPress, the top blog site. If you wish to share your stories, ideas and thoughts, please email to [email protected] for publishing your contributions here.

Continued from Previous……

We have seen various aspects of the Seth and Professional employee relationship. Apparently, there is a lot of bad blood, negativity and disconnect between the two. We really do not need to discuss more in this direction; the point is made already. We may proceed to talk about solutions.

I suggest following ways to improve the situation. Yes, both parties have to work toward it, but I expect more coming from Professionals.

Transparency – this is a fundamental requirement. A relationship evolves and thrives on transparency. What exactly is transparency? It is a mix of openness and truthfulness, both components are critical. Openness is about doing public things publicly. Things like Vision and Mission come from the top management; Objectives and Strategy come from the functional team. Objectives and Strategy is not one-sided; it is prepared and proposed by the functional management to the top management. There is a discussion and then consensus is developed.

Openness demands that all factors interplaying for Objectives and Strategy should be put on the table; from both sides. The process towards the buildup, rationale for strategy, execution plan and monitoring metrics should be shown clearly. Timelines, responsibilities and required resources should be described. The discussion should be detailed but focused. Truthfulness demands that entrepreneur should be forthcoming about his confidence level and the available resources. At times, the Seth is not fully confident with what is being proposed. It may be due to general lack of trust, or previous experience with other Professionals, or prior experience with present team. There should be no hesitation in declaring the level of confidence on the plan; confidence in people is another subject. The question of resources should be addressed openly; how and when the financial demand can be met. In order to add to confidence, milestone can be set; means the availability of resources may be linked to achievement of certain targets.

Transparency is a key element in building trust. In everyday life, we build trust early if we can see things through. If we feel there is something behind a curtain and we are not getting full picture, trust does not build. Trust is definitely not built through swearing, taking an oath, repeatedly emphasizing or other such measures.

Empathy – despite the hype around the topic, empathy is less understood; much less practiced. The ability to look at the other person’s position and understand his or her viewpoint is not natural; it needs to be developed.

Historically, we were not a cultured people universally. Being Cultured and Civilized was limited to a small section of society, not the one shown in period movies. Generally, people were less aggressive with each other. Then changes started, including but not limited to partition. The social classes, social norms, values and traditions all got mixed up. Presently in Pakistan, aggression is built into our minds. Stand at an intersection on busy roads and watch traffic. Most bikers are biking as if they are possessed by a supernatural power and are unable to control their movement. They are moving in daze. Rickshaw and Qing Qi (pronounced ching chi) drivers are overloaded with thoughts and passengers. Motorbike loader is the new monster on the road. The driver drives with an expression as if he is driving the world, not his loader. Car drivers are lost in mobile phones and don’t look at the traffic. Road traffic is a reflection of our moods and behaviors; what we see is quite telling. Tempers run high and fights erupt on petty issues quickly.

For us to develop Empathy is a hard effort, but worth doing.

The Professional would do well to understand and appreciate the grueling effort that the Seth has put in to develop the business from scratch. For the largest majority, it is an extremely rough ride. Yes, he can be comfortable now that the business has developed and stabilized, but actually not. Medium sized businesses always have the threat of getting vanished, with changes in regulatory framework or technological changes. Just look at the Nutraceutical business. It was booming, rather raging, without any policy given by government. Entrepreneurs started and made millions quickly and kept doing so for some years. Then came the HOTC policy and killed many of these. It is not under discussion as to what was right or not right; the fact is that business stopped overnight. The Seth therefore mostly lives on the edge. Besides regulations, the regulators are a cause of fear, with their shenanigans. Along with money, the Seth collects hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, paranoia and OCD over the years. Empathy requires that allowance be given for these facts.

The Seth would do well to understand and appreciate the difficulties of Professional. He has worked hard to make a career because it gives him status, money, and lifestyle. For reaching this stage, he has invested his best years and best efforts. He has not collected money, but has collected hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, generalized anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder. For senior professional, the most energetic, young years are gone past and he may be looking for somewhat less exertion. He has however, taken responsible, calculated risks and has proved his dependability. The Professional deserves to be judged on his skills, his wisdom and evidence of performance, not on extraneous factors.

Empathy will bring a lot of positive vibes, pleasant environment, will to work, engagement and high performance.

Patience – Patience is a virtue anywhere and in any situation. Wait a little, and see the scenario changing, may be totally opposite to previous one. The Professional may have a tendency to label the Seth as ‘that someone’ after a few encounters. He adjusts his behavior accordingly and keeps dealing in the same perspective. Every situation is different and should be handled individually. Seeking approvals and resources may take time. The Seth needs to exercise patience in getting things done.

Patience is not equal to negligence or compromise or lowering expectations. It is only about giving adequate time.

The entrepreneur Seth and the employee Professional are integral to business. The quality, congeniality and closeness of their working is directly proportional to the outcome. Let us make efforts to bring more positivity in this relationship.

Concluded.

Professional vs Seth Culture Debate IV – Blog Post #299 by Asrar Qureshi Dear Colleagues!  This is Pharma Veterans Blog Post #299. Pharma Veterans shares the wealth of knowledge and wisdom of Veterans for the benefit of Community at large.

[junker-town]

We imagined how an NBA expansion draft would look today

All 30 SB Nation NBA blogs joined in to imagine a future where the league adds to expansion teams. Here are the results.

The NBA is approaching a 14th season existing with 30 teams, the longest period of time that the league has gone without adding or losing teams. Ever since the Charlotte Bobcats — now Hornets — joined in 2004, the 30-team league has been a happy, if flawed, default.

The NBA is also experiencing a global boom. It’s making more money than ever before, highlighted by a record-breaking nine-year, $24 billion television deal that kicked in last season. It’s rapidly growing in popularity both in the United States, where 29 of the 30 teams are located, and globally, where more and more international players are introduced to the league. Given the way this world works, and how quickly the NBA is rising, it was no surprise when NBA commissioner Adam Silver said this about expanding to 31 or 32 teams:

“I don’t want to put a precise timeline on it, but it’s inevitable at some point,” he told C.J. McCollum. (Yes, that’s Blazers guard C.J. McCollum).

Inevitable. That’s a strong word, but that’s where the league is headed.

SB Nation’s Tom Ziller is all over the logistics. You can read this explainer about what would need to happen for the NBA to vote for expansion, and also 13 places where the NBA could expand to, including two international options. (Not London!)

All those things have to be worked out by the smart people in the NBA before any expansion could be approved. We at SB Nation don’t have those same limitations, and we also know that there’s one especially fun thing about the process: The Expansion draft.

So, we are doing one of our own.

The concept is simple: all 30 teams can protect eight players off their roster, and the two expansion teams (it might just be one, but we’re going with two because it’s more fun) can pick from the remaining pool. They’d also get a top draft pick, but that’s not a major factor for this exercise.

We asked all 30 of our SB Nation NBA team blogs which eight players they would hold back from the expansion draft, and had them answer why.

Here’s who they protected and why:

Peachtree Hoops (Atlanta Hawks): Dennis Schroder, Taurean Prince, DeAndre Bembry, John Collins, Dewayne Dedmon, Mike Muscala, Ersan Ilyasova, Kent Bazemore

Celtics Blog (Boston Celtics): Isaiah Thomas, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Ante Zizic

Nets Daily (Brooklyn Nets): D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert, Allen Crabbe, Jarrett Allen, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeMarre Carroll, Jeremy Lin

At the Hive (Charlotte Hornets): Kemba Walker, Dwight Howard, Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, Malik Monk, Marvin Williams

Blog a Bull (Chicago Bulls): Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, Denzel Valentine, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio, Paul Zipser, Jerian Grant

Fear the Sword (Cleveland Cavaliers): LeBron James, Kyrie Irving (for now), Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Cedi Osman, Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson

Mavs Moneyball (Dallas Mavericks): Harrison Barnes, Dennis Smith Jr., Seth Curry, Nerlens Noel (assuming he re-signs), Dirk Nowitzki, Yogi Ferrell, J.J. Barea, Salah Mejri

Denver Stiffs (Denver Nuggets): Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler, Juancho Hernangomez, Will Barton, Emmanuel Mudiay

Detroit Bad Boys (Detroit Pistons): Andre Drummond, Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson, Luke Kennard, Henry Ellenson, Ish Smith, Reggie Jackson

Golden State of Mind (Golden State Warriors): Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Patrick McCaw, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Bell

The Dream Shake (Houston Rockets): James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker, Trevor Ariza, Zhou Qi, Nene

Indy Cornrows (Indiana Pacers): Myles Turner, T.J. Leaf, Glenn Robinson III, Cory Joseph, Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo, Thaddeus Young, Lance Stephenson

Clips Nation (Los Angeles Clippers): Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers, Milos Teodosic, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell

Silver Screen & Roll (Los Angeles Lakers): Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Clarkson, Brook Lopez, Larry Nance Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Grizzly Bear Blues (Memphis Grizzlies): Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Ben McLemore, JaMychal Green (assuming he re-signs), Deyonte Davis, Wayne Selden, Tyreke Evans, Brandan Wright

Hot Hot Heat (Miami Heat): Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Bam Adebayo, Josh Richardson, Kelly Olynyk, Justise Winslow

Brew Hoop (Milwaukee Bucks): Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Thon Maker, Malcolm Brogdon, Tony Snell, D.J. Wilson, Sterling Brown

Canis Hoopus (Minnesota Timberwolves): Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Gorgui Dieng, Tyus Jones, Jeff Teague, Nemanja Bjelica, Justin Patton

The Bird Writes (New Orleans Pelicans): Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Jrue Holiday, Solomon Hill, Cheick Diallo, Frank Jackson, E’Twaun Moore, Rajon Rondo

Posting & Toasting (New York Knicks): Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, Frank Ntilikina, Carmelo Anthony, Damyean Dotson, Kyle O’Quinn, Courtney Lee, Ron Baker

Welcome to Loud City (Oklahoma City Thunder): Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, Patrick Patterson, Alex Abrines, Enes Kanter, Raymond Felton

Orlando Pinstriped Post (Orlando Magic): Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon, Arron Afflalo, Elfrid Payton, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, Jonathon Simmons, Marreese Speights

Liberty Ballers (Philadelphia 76ers): Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Robert Covington, Dario Saric, J.J. Redick, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarot, Richaun Holmes

Bright Side of the Sun (Phoenix Suns): Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Tyler Ulis, Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren, Alan Williams

Blazer’s Edge (Portland Trail Blazers): Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Al-Farouq Aminu, Zach Collins, Caleb Swanigan, Maurice Harkless, Noah Vonleh

Sactown Royalty (Sacramento Kings): De’Aaron Fox, Skal Labissiere, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Justin Jackson, Buddy Hield, Willie Cauley-Stein, Harry Giles, Malachi Richardson

Pounding the Rock (San Antonio Spurs): Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, DeJonte Murray, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge, Davis Bertans, Kyle Anderson

Raptors HQ (Toronto Raptors): Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell, Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl, O.G. Anunoby, Jonas Valanciunas

SLC Dunk (Utah Jazz): Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Donovan Mitchell, Derrick Favors, Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson

Bullets Forever (Washington Wizards): John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Markieff Morris, Marcin Gortat, Kelly Oubre, Tim Frazier, Mike Scott

Then there’s the actual draft.

Using the players our team communities left unprotected, SB Nation’s Kristian Winfield drafted one team, while our Seattle Supersonics blog Sonics Rising — a hopeful and extremely likely expansion team whenever it finally happens — selected the other. They will unveil their rosters at noon ET.

NOTE: Per expansion draft rules, each new expansion team is limited to one selection per NBA team. Hence, some of the picks.

Remember the time we last did this?

Tom Ziller will take a stroll down memory lane to 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) entered the league. There were some odd players left unprotected and some fascinating ripple effects.

Who would you pick?

Now it’s your turn. Here are the five most notable players left unprotected at each position.

And here’s the full list. Pick four from each category (but not two players from the same team) and let us know your 12-man rosters in the comments section:

GUARDS: Malcolm Delaney, Terry Rozier, Isaiah Whitehead, Langston Galloway, Lou Williams, D.J. Augustin, Derrick White, Derrick Rose, Joe Young, Jawun Evans, Troy Daniels, Jamal Crawford, Frank Mason III, Michael Carter-Williams, Kay Felder, Darren Collison, Wade Baldwin, Jerryd Bayless, Brandon Knight, Fred VanVleet, Cameron Payne, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Tyler Ennis, Andrew Harrison, Tyler Johnson, Matthew Dellavedova, Jordan Crawford, Shabazz Napier, Tomas Satoransky, Sean Kilpatrick, Briante Weber, Jose Calderon, Mario Chalmers, Shelvin Mack, T.J. McConnell, Pat Connaughton, Bobby Brown, Ian Clark, Semaj Christon, Randy Foye, Tony Parker, Archie Goodwin

WINGS: Jeremy Lamb, Dwyane Wade, Iman Shumpert, Corey Brewer, Chandler Parsons, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kyle Singler, Alec Burks, Dwayne Bacon, Dorian Finney-Smith, Luol Deng, Nik Stauskas, Evan Turner, C.J. Miles, Tyler Dorsey, David Nwaba, Malik Beasley, Nick Young, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Sindarius Thornwell, Josh Hart, Wayne Ellington, Quincy Pondexter, Lance Thomas, Doug McDermott, Evan Fournier, Brandon Paul, Thabo Sefolosha, Jodie Meeks, Luke Babbitt, Johnny O’Bryant, Reggie Bullock, Omri Casspi, Troy Williams, Bojan Bogdanovic, DeAndre Liggins, Mindaugis Kuzminskas, Michael Beasley, Jerami Grant, Garrett Temple, Bryn Forbes, Marco Belinelli, Abde Nader, Justin Holiday, Wesley Matthews, Wesley Johnson, Okaro White, Darius Miller, Jared Dudley, Bruno Caboclo, Nicolas Brussino, Marcus Morris, Joe Harris, Treveon Graham, Eric Moreland, Rodney McGruder, Rashad Vaughn, Furkan Korkmaz, Jake Layman, Vince Carter, Semi Ojeleye, Jeff Green, Justin Anderson, Derrick Jones Jr., Rudy Gay, Mario Hezonja, Terrance Ferguson,

BIGS: Dwight Powell, Kenneth Faried, David West, Ryan Anderson, Kevin Seraphin, A.J. Hammonds, Spencer Hawes, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik, Jahlil Okafor, Tyson Chandler, Meyers Leonard, Georgios Papagiannis, Pascal Siakam, Ian Mahinmi, Miles Plumlee, Jon Leuer, Gershon Yabusele, Quincy Acy, Robin Lopez, Trey Lyles, Jon Leuer, Zaza Pachulia, Chinanu Onuaku, Udonis Haslem, Greg Monroe, Alexis Ajinca, Joakim Noah, Nick Collison, Bismack Biyombo, Alex Len, Pau Gasol, Jonas Jerebko, Chris McCullough, Aron Baynes, Timofey Mozgov, Josh McRoberts, Boban Marjanovic, John Henson, Cole Aldrich, Amir Johnson, Ed Davis, Daniel Theis, Trevor Booker, Edy Tavares, Khem Birch, Lucas Nogueira, Ekpe Udoh, Mason Plumlee, Anthony Tolliver, Kevon Looney, Tarik Black, Ike Anigbogu, Ivica Zubac, Mirza Teletovic, Dakari Johnson, Kosta Koufos, Tony Bradley, Channing Frye, Darrell Arthur, Damian Jones, Brice Johnson, Thomas Bryant, Joffrey Lauvergne, Joel Bolomboy, Jason Smith, Tyler Lydon, JaVale McGee, Al Jefferson, Willie Reed, Zach Randolph

[wedreamedlove]

Into Your World [Xu Mo Character Study]

I'm back with another post that's been rattling around in my brain, except it's a bit disconnected. However, there's been a theme that I've wanted to focus in on with Xu Mo: each other's worlds, their dreams (goals and/or fancies), and water imagery.

Contains spoilers for Chapter 24 and unreleased dates in ENG.

First, I want to give a disclaimer that MC is pretty much the only person who can get into the mens' inner worlds, and that's why they're the romantic main characters; but there's just something a little poignant with Xu Mo because of his archetype.

Li Zeyan's archetype makes him belong to another world because of his wealthy background and social status. Zhou Qiluo's archetype makes him belong to another world because it's the dark side of humanity, and he actively tries to keep MC away from that. Bai Qi's archetype is how they're already in the same world and they just need to open up to each other LOL he's the guy next door.

However, Xu Mo's archetype is literally the alienated genius [Official Life History] since he was a child and, after he lost his parents, he just threw himself into his studies and goals and didn't bother making connections with anyone.

Xu Mo: Mm, I graduated early.

Xu Mo's tone was normal, as if it were a matter unrelated to him and there was no sense of pride at all. However, it still made people impressed.

MC: So, when you were in high school, you spent all your time studying?

Xu Mo: At that time, yes.

MC: Why?

Xu Mo: Silly, why are there so many why's? It's just like when you were going to take your entrance exams, there were things I also needed to do.

[Blossom Date - CN Translation]

Heck, even now, MC is the only one he replies to in his Moments [Official Character Profile].

Since the moment we meet him, he takes on the "mentor" role and teaches MC about things. She mentions this all the time, about how he teaches her the laws of the world, etc. Xu Mo is innately part of another world because the realm of geniuses is not supposed to be understood.

However, this isn't a one-way street. Just as we can't understand them, they can't understand us. So, as MC makes an effort to understand Xu Mo, he is also making an effort to understand her.

IMO this is what makes the following interactions extremely tender and romantic.

MC: The white noise you recommended last time was really effective! Lately, my work efficiency has gone up!

Xu Mo: That's good.

Xu Mo: But, instead of your work efficiency, I hope it was useful for your sleeping problem.

MC: Recently, I listen to the sound of rain before sleeping. It feels like everything around me gets quiet when I relax and listen to it.

Xu Mo: It seems like our preferences are the same. I also like to listen to the rain when I'm relaxing.

Xu Mo: The sound of rain droplets striking the roof is calming, isn't it?

MC: It's great collecting only the sounds you like and then completely entering your own world.

Xu Mo: Then, will you also let me hear those sounds?

Xu Mo: I'd like to hear your world.

By the way, given the timeline of this conversation, this is an incredible foreshadowing of his [Nightmare ASMR].

One time, when I was studying in England, I spent months finishing a particularly tricky piece of my dissertation. After I sent it through the mail, it was already nine in the morning. I was a bit tired and planned on sleeping. The weather in England is often rainy, so it was also raining that morning and it was dark. The sound of the rain striking the windowsill was clear and it sounded soothing too.

Then, there was the sound of a piano from below. It was Chopin’s Nocturne, and played very well. Every note mixed in with the sound of the rain… unhurried drops, pitter-pattering. All was quiet, as if I was separated from the world. I stared at the curtains that were being lifted by the wind and, before I knew it, I fell asleep.

[...]

Although I don’t remember it at all anymore, I dimly feel that when I was small I also experienced a night like this. The sound of the rain, the sound of the piano… Outside the window, it’s very, very cold. I can hear the sound of the wind striking the window. And in my half-awake and half-asleep state, I’m put into a warm embrace… Closing my eyes like this… I’m able to sink into a deep, deep sleep… Just like… this right now…

[Fastened Door to the Heart]

MC: From time to time, I just want to go to your world and take a look.

Caption: Actually, I'd rather go to your world and take a look.

So, anyway, going back to the theme of entering each other's inner worlds. You can see it explicitly said here in the Reading Date. They basically exchanged reading material because she wants to understand him, with his complicated science book, and he wants to understand her, with the comics she read when she was young.

Okay, now we're going to switch tracks for a bit and this might seem disconnected (I warned you!), but take my hand because I'm definitely trying to go somewhere with this.

Part of understanding someone's world is learning about their inner thoughts, their dreams, their wishes, their fantasies, however silly or childish or abstract all of these can be.

This is also an incredibly huge point with Xu Mo because, through MC, we're supposed to feel a sense of pressure from such an accomplished scholar character, but he always works hard to diminish that sense of intimidation and presence [Xu Mo's EQ Character Study] and he never demeans her interests or makes her feel lesser for her intelligence.

Xu Mo: Either way, there must be something that only you can create.

MC: Something only I can make... Ah, I know!

Getting an idea, I divided the batter in my hands into two and made a fish and a wing.

I tried combining the two, but something felt missing.

Xu Mo, who came to my side at some point, took a spoon and used it to make scales on the back of the fish.

Xu Mo: Don't you think it looks more like one with this?

Xu Mo: Can you tell me why you thought of this?

MC: ... You won't laugh when you hear it?

Xu Mo: I think it depends on what you tell me.

MC: Then I won't tell you!

Xu Mo: I'm kidding. Will you tell me?

I didn't have anywhere to run when he looked at me and so, cornered, I told him a childish thought that I had never told anyone up to now.

MC: When I was small and I heard the story of Qixi, I thought the Milky Way was a real river with water running through it.

MC: So I ended up worrying over whether the swallows would have an accident, fall into the water, and drown...

MC: I thought that'd be sad for the swallows and so I lied to myself the entire time.

MC: That the ones who made the bridge for the weaver girl and cowherd where flying fish.

I moved the flat fish with its wing in front of him while I spoke, making it fly clumsily.

Xu Mo burst out laughing, as if he wasn't able to hold it back. My face turned bright red from the embarrassment and I returned the fish to the desk.

MC: It's really stupid, isn't it...

Xu Mo: Silly girl, you have batter on your face.

He wiped my face with the pad of his finger. There was a smile that he couldn't suppress on his mouth.

MC revealed her inner child to him, which she had never told anyone else, and he doesn't judge her for it. Please tell me you can feel the tenderness radiating out of this interaction!

Now, although the above interaction was Qixi-themed, I still find it intriguing that she replaced the swallows with (flying) fish. Because Xu Mo is all about water imagery [Xu Mo Character Study] and this appears in their next interaction below.

[Sonnet In The Eyes] "It looks like I'll be inside your most beautiful dream for certain."

I'm not going to do line quotes here because it's too long LOL but in this date, Spring Morning, they end up having a conversation about dreams and, one time when Xu Mo dozed off in his lab, he dreamed that he was a fish.

His surroundings were dark and he couldn't see the state of the water but, with a thought, he could swim a long distance. When he opened his mouth, only bubbles would come out. When he raised his head, he would see the light filtering through the waves. Sometimes, he would hear the chirps of birds transmitted through surface of the lake.

He knew he was dreaming, because he's a light sleeper, but he still observed how the wind seemed to blow above the lake and that it was the height of summer. Maybe, when it got dark, he'd be able to see the stars and fireflies. He thought about asking another fish for directions but he couldn't find anyone around him. Then he woke up.

At that time, he had run into problems in his work and, even after half a year, there was no progress. In his dream, he rashly thought that if he really was a fish then he wouldn't need to work. But, after he woke up, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Later, he concluded that this dream was able to let him relax a little, set his mind blank, and that's when he could get back to work.

Look at him tell MC about his dreams, reveal his struggles, and reveal his inner thoughts. He's telling her about the time when, even someone like him, met with difficulties and felt the urge to just throw it all out and give up. He's letting her into his world and that's love, baby!

Psst, don't forget about the water imagery with him being a fish.

[Flowers on the Path] "I thought it over a thousand times, and then there came a reply."

Xu Mo: Are you home already? I saw the photo you sent me.

MC: Mhm, I just got home.

Xu Mo: Lately, you've been sending me photos of clouds. Is there any special meaning behind them?

MC: Not really. I just wanted to share with Professor Xu, who is always cooped up in his lab, a good way to reduce stress.

Xu Mo: Oh? What is it?

MC: First, look at the picture.

Xu Mo: Mm, I'm looking.

MC: Then close your eyes and imagine yourself as that cloud. Tell me, what do you see?

Xu Mo: I seem... to only see pitch darkness?

MC: Pfff, I mean you can use your imagination. For example... what sights you see and what you feel.

Xu Mo: Alright, I see... a clear sky and bright sunlight. Sometimes... birds will fly past.

MC: Will they say hello to you?

Xu Mo: They'll slow down and roll around on me, frolicking.

MC: Haha, and then?

Xu Mo: And then I'll drift around leisurely like this until I see another cloud. Although it's our first meeting, I'll feel like I've known her since a long time ago.

MC: Maybe she feels the same way.

Xu Mo: So we'll click immediately and slowly lean against each other.

MC: Hahaha, as expected of our Professor Xu! Your imagination is so rich.

Xu Mo: This method really is effective and it can let me clear out my mind. After resting for a while, even my feelings are much calmer.

MC: Oh! Then Professor Xu will have two methods of relieving stress now.

Xu Mo: Two?

MC: Yup, during the day, you can look at the sky and imagine yourself as a free floating "cloud"; at night, in your dreams, you can be a "fish" swimming in the great sea with no restraints. Like this, regardless of whether it's day or night, you can say goodbye to your worries.

Xu Mo: Haha, I have to go up into the sky and then down into the water. Why do I feel like I'm even busier?

MC: Hahaha, that's true.

Xu Mo: However, compared to these, I have another method which I like even more.

MC: Oh? What is it?

Xu Mo: It's staying beside "another cloud" or "another fish". Even if we don't do anything, it can get rid of an entire day's worth of exhaustion and I'll be able to get a good rest. May I ask what she thinks about this method?

[Reducing Stress - Call]

Callbacks. I love PG's callbacks so much.

But, linking this back to everything, they're both exercising their imagination together and it shows their inner world more to each other. Not to mention, they literally bring back how he once dreamed about being a fish to escape the stress of his work.

Now, I'm changing gears again, but this time I want to talk about the physical world they're both in and how their different philosophies set them on opposite sides. I wrote about the [Use of Horror in Ch19 Study] and how, in that chapter, you can see her greatest fears manifested in what Ares does there, but also what she resolves herself to do.

They literally walk away from each other because, according to Xu Mo, their "destinations" were different from the very beginning.

However, when we get to Chapter 24...

MC: ... What if the future we both want is different? I might become your obstacle.

Xu Mo: Right now isn't the time to come to a conclusion.

Xu Mo: Reality will inevitably have pain. However, to run away from reality because of that will just lead to more regret.

Xu Mo: I'm certain the future you wish for will be beautiful and it'll be able to touch anyone's heart.

Xu Mo: You're going to take me to that sort of future. Right?

MC: ... Yes!

MC: But after the worlds become one, even if I fail then I won't be able to do things over again. If that happens...

Xu Mo: Everything will end.

Xu Mo: But that's the path you chose, right? I believe in your choice.

Xu Mo: This time, I'll follow behind you.

He had always been walking in front of me, but now he was entrusting himself to the choice I believed in.

I made my decision.

MC: Follow me closely then.

Xu Mo grabbed my hand and lightly swung it.

Xu Mo: Is this good?

My cheeks burned and I spoke incoherently.

MC: Then... don't ever let go!

Xu Mo: Mm, I'm holding on tightly.

He showed a gentle smile that was like the sunlight of spring.

Before I knew it, our fingers intertwined and it was like we exchanged a quiet promise.

I looked at our joined hands and something hot suddenly welled up in my heart.

In this immense space-time, there were countless obstacles stretched ahead of us. For a long time, we both walked with our backs to each other.

There were still unsolved mysteries between us, but now I felt like I could face anything.

This time it was my turn to pull his hand and run towards that spring without stopping.

That's love! This is love! He loves her so much!

From the beginning, Xu Mo and MC were people in different worlds (their innate nature and their philosophies) but, throughout their relationship, they both keep making efforts to understand each other and enter each other's inner worlds.

It literally culminates here in Xu Mo willing to set down his beliefs and follow hers. He's trusting in her vision of the future and that's basically a proposal from someone like him.

I literally don't have anything else to say without devolving into sappy poetry or romantic lines or something, but these two have laid their souls bare to each other and accepted every side of the other person, regardless of how alien, childish, vicious, ugly, or weird it can be. Literally, "If we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known."

#love and producer #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #mlqc lucien #mlqc xu mo #love and produc(ing) meta

[geneticcatalyst]

Why No One Got Nailed In The First Timeline: (a Qi Ye post)

I was rereading some of @hunxi-after-hours incredible meta and got stuck on the part of this post ^ where it's mentioned that Priest stated in the first life wkx and zzs never met.

Which is making me lose it because that's what I had just assumed from the beginning- right up until the whole rest of the fandom was talking about how sad it would be that in the first life theyd have still fallen in love but zzs would have just died of the nails. That seems to be common fanon interpretation which is of course great if you like angst, and when I saw that I was just like oh ok that tracks I guess: in first life not only does zzs not have jby to show up and meddle in his affairs due to his execution, he also doesnt even have a relationship/debt with wu xi because in first life wu xi is never in the capital at all. So yeah, in first life a zzs who set out to die of the nails would not be able to be saved.

But the thing is in my initial read, I actually thought that in the first life zzs probably never left the city at all. I actually assumed that in first life, zzs and jby both stayed caught in the emperor's orbit and the morass of politics until it killed them. I figure it was only that in the seventh life, zzs saw jby get out, make it to freedom, and even though they can't have been in much if any contact, knowing that at least beiyuan made it out was enough for zzs until it wasn't, until he realized that he needed to do the same. I think seeing that it was possible, even at the cost of abandoning everything you knew, inspired him to find his own way out.

So I'm super validated actually that even though I love how much priest does leave to our imaginations there might be official word on this that actually supports the interpretation I thought I was crazy for having. Additionally, the post I'm referencing also talks about ljx as a catalyst, which we'd be remiss to forget. The altered events in the first life dont bring ljx to the capital with jby if at all, and without the crushing wakeup call of ljx paired with jby's narrow escape I think zzs could and did keep lying to himself for longer (it's a talent of his). I think jiuxiao stays out of it and jby dies and that actually cements zzs' belief that that's what they signed up for, to die in the service of the empire they built. I think he's equally moderately suicidal, just unable or unwilling to betray hly by leaving.

Remember, in first life jby's execution happens when he's I think either 30 or 32ish. According to my other timeline finagling post zzs is a couple of years older. Think about that- in seventh life jby skips town probably around 22 or 23, and zzs does the same four years later. They spent the better part of another decade at hly's side in the first life. No wonder zzs offers jby his life and jby is like, um, pass. That must have been demoralizing as hell for both of them but at least they had each other, until, well, you know.

After jby's death I do think zzs hits the same burnt out disillusioned stage of the seventh life and I do think he dies about it eventually, but I always figured it was more like working himself to death or taking on more and more wildly dangerous tasks until something finally worked. I don't think it was nails because the whole point of the nails is the brief freedom they afford, and the slightly longer freedom zzs knows the secret to. Seventh life zzs doesn't want to die so much as he wants to actually live a life, death is just the price hes willing to pay. I'm not even sure, again, that first life zzs ever really considered living his own life an option, and by then may have been too damaged to really want to.

Also- I'm veering into personal headcanon here but- are we so sure that the nails even exist in first life? Because remember one of the first key differences between first and seventh life zzs. Seventh life zzs, it is said, invented the nails himself. Seventh life zzs definitively had one thing he didnt in the first life: a business partner who was so extremely knowledgeable about physiology and medicine that he later removes those nails and gives zzs his life back. Do I think wu xi is where zzs got the basic knowledge for the nails? Why not, wu xi is already the lynchpin of so much of the plot. Best boy.

Which does of course leave room for interesting speculation about what a wkx who never meets zzs does in first life, but as much as I am Love WKX I've done what I came here to do, which is think about jby/zzs being best friends in many sad and evil and sweet ways, and appreciate wu xi (best boy), so that's it that's the post.

#cleaning out my drafts #qi ye #tian ya ke #with apologies to op for digging this up and writing god knows how many words of nonsense in agreement #im theorizing here not claiming to be absolutely right etc etc #qy meta