me, an elder fandom veteran, suddenly having anne rice flashbacks:

no.

NO.

starting to rock back and fourth.

you do not understand.

you were born into an age of peace. i was there Gandalf. i was there three thousand years ago. i remember the cease and desists. i remember authors hunting fanfic writers for sport. i remember when every fic opened with a disclaimer because we genuinely thought it might protect us.

we do not charge money for the copyrighted gay wizard stories.

do not tempt fate youngling.

step away from the paywall.

that is how you summon the ancient evils.

Also the further you move toward the poles the more pronounced the difference between the length of day and night is. Worst part of a far-north (or south) heatwave is it doesn’t get dark long enough for meaningful cooling.

So in case anyone needs it:

I mean, I get why it’s not as popular here on Tumblr dot com, given it’s kinda a jock/military adjacent thing, but like. Our ability to just. Pick up a small, firm object, judge its internal inertia and mass by holding it for a bit, and then flinging it with the kind of accuracy and speed Humans are capable of is.

Like there’s another post about how Humans in an alien zoo would probably be breaking out constantly, since we consider escape rooms to be a fun courtship ritual, but

Portaui lacrimis madidus te, nostra catella,

     Quod feci lustris laetior ante tribus.

Ergo mihi, Patrice, iam non dabis oscula mille

     Nec poteris collo grata cubare meo.

Tristis marmorea posui te sede merentem

     Et iunxi semper manib(us) ipse meis

Morib(us) argutis hominem simulare paratam,

     Perdidimus quales hei mihi delicias.

Tu, dulcis Patrice, nostras attingere mensas

    Consueras, gremio poscere blanda cibos,

Lambere tu calicem lingua rapiente solebas,

     Quem tibi saepe meae sustinuere manus,

Accipere et lassum cauda gaudente frequenter

And here’s my translation:

Wet with tears I have carried you, our little (female) dog, just as I did in happier times fifteen years earlier (lit. “three periods of five years).  For myself, Patrice, now you will not give me a thousand kisses nor will you be able to lie lovingly around/against my neck.  I have sorrowfully placed you, merit-worthy, in a marble tomb and I have joined you always to myself in death, as by your cleverness you matched a human.  Alas, we lost such pleasures for myself!  You, sweet Patrice, were accustomed to join us at our table, to beg charmingly for food (while sitting in our) laps.  You were in the habit of greedily licking our cups with your tongue, which my hands often held for you.  Frequently and joyfully (you) receive a weary one with your (wagging) tail...

They're doing this shit on AO3 too, putting the Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov ship tag on Actor RPF fic. Stop that shit!

Do you guys think it’s a bit too predictable if Haixia dies in the end? Throughout the whole series, from the very beginning, there’s been this constant anxiety that Haixia will die. On the other hand, in these recent episodes they introduced a concept called the “hidden sequence, (I'm not sure if I'm calling it right cause I watch the series wiyh my mother tongue sub and its not eng), which they explained as meaning that what we think is true actually isn’t—it’s all a trap. Haixia used this strategy himself when he faked his death. So what if the writers are using the same strategy on the audience?

Even though Haixia has come back to life, with the side effects of the drugs he took and the changes in his personality and all that, I think as viewers we all feel—at least instinctively—that there’s a high chance Haixia won’t survive by the end of the story. You know… it just feels very predictable otherwise. Different characters, including Haixia himself and Haichi, constantly hint that Haixia is heading toward a tragic ending and that he’s going to die. But what if all of that is just a trap set by the writers?

Another thing: some people, after watching the new episodes and seeing that Haixia killed those people, concluded that he’s completely losing control of himself and is turning fully toward evil. But I think we’re forgetting that this is the same Haixia who is the smartest and most selfless character in the entire series. Someone who has never hesitated for even a second when it comes to saving Hailou and has always been ready to give up his own life for the people he loves.

Haixia told his master that he wants to kill Mon Yungao and die in the process. So in his mind, Haixia has already drawn the ending for himself. He doesn’t see any way back for himself anymore. That’s why he let those soldiers die and then contacted Mon Yungao. I think this is how he’ll manage to get close to Mon Yungao and kill him.

But here’s the thing: even though these dark impulses won’t leave Haixia alone, we know that Haixia is extremely smart. Someone like him wouldn’t be incapable of using even those impulses as part of his plans. Seeing himself on an irreversible path has made those impulses stronger, but it’s still Haixia who is giving them power.

I don’t know what will happen in the end, but I hope Hailou can free Haixia from these thoughts and save him. Imagine if in the end they force Hailou to kill him. Can you imagine what that would feel like? Killing the person you love most in the world with your own hands. What kind of message would that even send?

In my opinion, the story gains much more meaning if Haixia is saved. Haixia is like a bird that has locked itself in a cage and believes it’s his fate to die, and he wants that death to happen while taking down Mon Yungao. But Hailou is like a snake that never lets go of its prey, and just as Haichi said, Hailou has an obsessive fixation on Haixia.

You're telling me the mail service is handing you this highly accessible Akira Toriyama-esque piece of gold and you're spitting in their faces?!?!

Not only that, they have more cargo space for mail, have a larger front front windshield so they'll be able to see better as they drive, and they're electric!

Plus, you know how old the previous trucks were? Half of em didn't have A/C.

I'm glad they're investing in the postal service, especially considering they've been trying to nerf it for years now and pushing us to use private delivery companies that are worse and for-profit.

In fact I want MORE cars that look like this! I hope every car in the future looks like this!

*they designed it for the extremes, not the averages.*