reunion will come

At the behest of @rozemynelovebot, I am subjecting y'all to this.

Now, I know a lot of people are Squicked by FerdiMyne. I get it! They're guardian and charge, teacher and student, there's a 14 year physical age gap (she's older than him but only on a literally outlandish technicality), adoptive-uncle and adoptive-niece.

But hear me out for a second.

Ferdinand is a bitch.

Like, I’m watching the new episodes and I noticed how when Sylvester and Freida are arguing over the “fluffy” bread, the anime frames Sylvester as the one who comes up with the idea of keeping the recipe from Freida to gain political advantage. Meanwhile Rozemyne hesitantly agrees, almost like she’s being pressured or even tricked by Sylvester.

Which LN!Rozemyne would never. She keeps the recipe from BOTH Sylvester and Freida because she wants to use it for herself. She lays down the plan of using it to cement her position in noble society - thing that she comes up with completely independently. It’s not even remotely Sylvester’s idea. In fact, Sylvester and Elvia only teach her that she must come up with new ‘trends’. And Rozemyne inmediatly launches to plan and do things on her own, which is very on brand.

And when the time comes to impress Sylvester, she plays him like a fiddle. Too well, even to Ferdinand’s standards. She designs the menu to ‘impress a child’ which works wonders for Sylvester.

It shows that Rozemyne isn’t just a kid. She’s capable of outsmarting even some extremely politically savvy people. Which the anime simply does not covey. In the anime, it really does feel like Rozemyne is this young naive girl who keeps getting pulled and pushed by people. LN!Rozemyne, on the other hand, seems more like someone who keeps getting a little bit too good at her job and accidentally causing problems because of it.

I know she’s like a horribly unreliable narrator, but LN!Rozemyne still was able to convey how scarily intelligent, calculating and cunning Rozemyne could truly be, when she wanted. In numerous occasions people go “thank god you only have books in your mind, if you had literally anything else, you would be a HUGE danger”. Her power was to only in her mana (in fact it wasn’t her power for the longest time) it was how fucking smart she is.

Which is why Ferdinand and Rozemyne work! They’re both extremely smart, eccentric people, who understand each other’s strange but practical approach. In the novel it truly does feel like the only person who truly understands what the other one is thinking - are each other. As much as Lutz was her arms and legs, Myne was a mystery to him. She could read him, but not really understand her train of thought. Ferdinand could - to a degree. And only because he’s Ferdinand. No other person in the entire series comes close to - not only comprehend the bizarre things she’s trying to come up with, but grasp their impact and act accordingly to be able to make it a reality and ensure no one dies in the process. That’s why in PART 3 they’re butting heads and trying to pull each other’s legs.

Has this been done 

SY WHO'S REINCARNATED INTO A STORY ABOUT A BOY AND HIS EVIL BROTHER. THEY FIGHT AND EVENTUALLY PEACE AND LOVE WINS OUT.

RIGHT WELL THE CREATOR RECENTLY RELEASED AN EXTRA ABOUT THE BROTHER THAT TURNS THE WHOLE STORY UPSIDE ITS HEAD.

AFTER READING IT SY FLIPS HIS SHIT BECAUSE THE VILLAIN DIDN'T DESERVE THAT STUPID BUTTFUCK ENDING.

So, there's three brothers in the story. There's Shen Jiu, the eldest; There's (idk I can't think of a name for this one so we call call him SD, for SUCKS DICK.) SD, the middle; and there's Shen Yuan, the youngest. The story basically follows SD as he is welcomed into the Shen family after being lost at birth (cliche plot, we already know).

Well he's a manipulative little shit that aims to take out Shen Jiu, the eldest with the most power, the heir. Shen Jiu isn't aware of this, he just assumes that being on the street's done SD roughly, and that SD's just as wary as he was upon getting back (Sj had a kidnapping incident when he was younger where he was living on the streets, but was eventually recovered and bla bla bla)

Right well so SD falls in love with YQ, SJ's "best friend" and does everything in his power to cause a rift (he doesn't manage to do it between SJ and YQ but he's able to get the shen family to make an arraneg marriage between YQ and SD.) Note, YQ only treats SD well because SD's SJ's brother.

anyways through SD's like manipulation SJ thinks that YQ is madly in love with SD and decides to back off for both of their sake, except SD isn't satisfied with this and continues his plan of running SJ out of the family.

Bla bla bla in the original story SJ's framed like a villain and the plan succeeds. Nobody's on his side (or well YQ, tried he really did. But SJ thought that YQ was playing with his feelings and whatever), not even the younger brother he'd spent the years of his life with after the whole kidnapping incident. The one he'd bonded with and somewhat spoiled.

And he dies, just like that.

Except not Shen Yuan's in the body of the Shen Yuan in the story, and he refuses to let his older brother die after reading about his injustice in the extras. The moment he realizes just what story he's in, he's picked what side to stand on. Because he's the doted on youngest it's easy to break SD's apart with that air of intentional stupidity.

SD trying to accuse SJ of throwing your treasured necklace thing away? Well actually he didn't because SY spent all day bothering him, when would he have the time to do that?

SD trying to sabotage their relationship this time? Well you can't because SY's barging in while SJ's reading the letters you've forged and pointing out the miniscule difference in the handwriting.

SD: heh this letter'll get him to back off.

SJ, reading what seems to be a secret letter meant for SD: ...

SY, barging in under the guise of wanting SJ's attention: Gege did you—Oh, is that a letter from QI-ge? Did he send me anything this time? Hey wait, doesn't Yue Qi dot his I's differently? Did he change the way he writes?

SJ, thoughtfully: No, I don't think he has.

-—

BONUS POINTS IF:

SJ is self aware and has his payback planned, only to be surprised when his normally indifferent (to the matters between SD and SJ) is sticking up for him.

or

SJ has lived through the story and is confused on why SY is acting different in this lifetime.

-

SD's trying to win SY over but SY keeps rejecting his attempts by playing the role of the airhead

SD: Hi SY, I know this is our first time meeting but I've prepared this gift for you, I'm going to be your brother from now on, okay? (holding out some expensive bracelet)

SY, using his spoiled richboy airhead aura: Oh... No thanks that looks cheaply made and I don't like wearing silver anyways.

watch me make 'em bow one by one by one one by one by

Everything is going well and Bingge's on track to hold hands with SY sometimes in the next five years- when suddenly Mobei Jun arrives like "I knew you weren't actually dead! You can't get away that easily, I am not handling this mess for you!"

So Bingge has to go back and pick an heir and divorce all his wives- mostly because Shen Yuan insisted he do that when he worked out what was going on.

Shen Yuan comes too, to see PIDW. Surely the partially collapsed harem won't be an issue. Surely. Why would it? He's a man and he and Binghe are just friends. He's just living in Bingge's rooms because he's only visiting. They're sharing the same bed because it's comfy! Bingge is just being a good host when he blows off his divorce/heir choosing plans to go show SY something neat.

I kinda want to moshang this too. Like XF and SY are friends IRL and XF stops by while MBJ is there and gets bridenapped.

XF is having a winter wonderland Beauty and the Beast hostage situation and SY is just stopping by for tea between day trips with LBH.

XF: you don't seem concerned for my wellbeing.

SY: I would be if you weren't into it you little freak.

XF: Bold words from a bonafide sugar baby. Is Daddy Binghe treating you right?

The thing about this exchange is that it’s one of those moments in the novel where Wen Kexing’s behaviour is meant to be hard to understand on the first read, as some of the relevant information will only be dropped much later. (Having finished the show is not necessarily helpful either, as some of the lines and events got changed, but I will reference things that you’ve already seen from the show.) Don’t worry though, it’s not just you who is confused – Zhou Zishu is also not entirely certain what Wen Kexing’s reaction is about:

Zhou Zishu [...] looked like he wanted to search deep inside Wen Kexing’s soul. (sparklingwatertranslations)

...But, of course, he at least was able to put his own two cents into the conversation, so clearly he has some idea what Wen Kexing is on about. Which means we should be able to figure it out too, even without reaching for finale spоilers.

1. So, the conversation starts with:

“Forgive me, but I feel like… Brother Wen’s motives behind going to Dongting are quite puzzling.” (sparklingwatertranslations)

Zhou Zishu is asking about the “Heroes Conference” that is going to take place in Dongting. Said Conference is assembled by Gao Chong, against the Ghost Valley, because of the Zhang family’s extermination. Thing is, Zhou Zishu at this point is pretty confident that, a) people who chased Zhang Chengling that day were not the Ghosts; b) Wen Kexing is the Ghost Valley Master. So he really can’t know for sure what Wen Kexing is trying to do: maybe quietly try to find out who framed the Ghosts, or maybe barge in and pick a fight with the whole jianghu. Which is why he fishes for info with this line!

2. Wen Kexing’s response is a lot of pretty words about doing good deeds and exterminating evildoers, which is a stated purpose of the Conference. This could fool someone like Cao Weining, but to Zhou Zishu, this sounds like Wen Kexing blоwing him off (or at the very least deflecting the question) – and he will react based on that.

(cont. under cut)

However, there is a grain of truth in Wen Kexing’s words – or two, to be exact. First is contained within the line “This is the mоrtal world, and in the mоrtal world, monsters shouldn’t exist.” This will pair neatly with a certain line much later in the novel, but you can probably guess the meaning with a knowledge of the show's canon too: just who does Wen Kexing consider to be a monster that doesn’t deserve to exist in the human world? Who is the evil Wen Kexing is planning to extinguish?

Suit WenZhou 🖤

An older piece with a slightly different mood.

so we beat on

The Four Seasons Manor Arc

Illustrations by @notoisstrange

Because lets recap: He was tricked, and used, and hungry, and beaten repeatedly, and treated as worthless and disposable, all by a man fully capable of paying him for his work. He was sent alone to deliver a taunt to a dangerous man. He was seven. He accepting the beating he received without complaint, and was further beaten for asking for the payment he'd been promised. He was whipped, and knocked in front of an ox cart.

Chang Ci'an didn't AIM the cart at his finger.

Chang Ci'an deliberately knocked a seven year old orphan child to the ground in front of an ox cart and ordered the driver to drive over the child.

And the driver did.

He manage to escape with ONLY one crushed finger (and, we can assume, many less permanent injuries). Crushing injuries are incredibly serious, and even one so small can be deadly. An orphaned child can't afford decent medical care. Adult Xue Yang has a SEVERED finger, which means that at best he managed to find a doctor who would amputate it for him, and at worst he cut it off himself. At age seven. Xue Yang is INSANELY lucky to have survived to age 8 after this incident.

This is why Xiao Xingchen's suggestion that Xue Yang should have merely cut off Chang Ci'an's finger, or hand, or arm, is so upsetting to Xue Yang. Yes, the revenge he did take was abhorrent and excessive, but Xingchen totally misses the point of the story (understandable in the moment, everything is happening SO MUCH at that point).

Xue Yang, at age seven, had done nothing wrong. He was a child, he was innocent, and he didn't deserve to be treated like his life was worthless by Chang Ci'an, or the cart driver, or the message recipient, or the restaurant owner, or every observer on the street who did nothing to help. And every person who tells him it's "just a finger" further treats the very real devaluing of and threat to his life as normal and fine.

If he, any time after age 7, had been able to exact revenge by cutting off Chang Ci'an's arm, there is nothing equivalent about that revenge. A severed arm is not a crushing injury, and is less likely to produce life-long chronic pain. Chang Ci'an would have good medical care-- a doctor, medicine, pain killers. His life would not meaningfully be in danger. Chang Ci'an had family (and money) to help him with whatever tasks being one-handed made difficult. Chang Ci'an was an adult, who's already lived a life without pain and disability, and who's prospects will not be impacted. Chang Ci'an was an ADULT and therefore better able to understand what was happening and why. And beyond all of that, Chang Ci'an would DESERVE IT.

To say that Xue Yang did everything he did to the Chang Clan in revenge over "losing his finger" is to betray an utter lack of willingness to empathize with Xue Yang. Even the 7yo version of him.