I Rewatched Nimona Today

Whumptober Day 19: “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.”

Jingyu is quiet. He’s been quiet ever since the news came back about Chiyan army’s betrayal and subsequent slaughter at the hands of Xie Yu. Since the death of his uncle and cousin and aunt.

Meng Zhi is normally the type of man who likes to lighten the mood, but there’s nothing he can say now that will make this better. They both know that Lin Xie was innocent. They both know there’s nothing that can be done about it.

They’re in a-Yu’s office, where they always meet. Meng Zhi is well-used to leaping over the walls of the Eastern Palace without getting caught. In better times, they would be sat drinking tea together, or perhaps they would already have moved next door. Today, though, they’re simply standing, holding each other close, shaken by loss.

If Meng Zhi had stayed with the Chiyan Army for any longer than he had, he would be dead.

“They’re going to implicate me in this.” A-Yu says, half muffled by Meng Zhi’s shoulder.

Meng Zhi tenses up, a thousand horrors flying in front of his eyes. “A-Yu! No. I won’t let them, I’ll –”

“Zhi’er. Da-ge.” A-Yu pulls back, looking Meng Zhi straight in the eye. “You have to promise me that you won’t… that you won’t let my father think that you are somehow involved. That you won’t let him know that you’ve ever spoken to me.”

Meng Zhi stares at his lover’s fervent expression. He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand how a-Yu can ask him to do this. “You want me to just pretend that I don’t know you, that I think you’re guilty?”

“Yes!” A-Yu’s hands tighten on his shoulders, almost painfully. “Yes, Zhi’er. Just leave it. It’ll be alright in the end, we just can’t afford to upset him.”

Meng Zhi doesn’t get angry easily. He certainly doesn't get angry at a-Yu, his a-Yu. But now… It’ll be alright? How can it be alright? “I’m not as stupid as you think I am, a-Yu. I’m not going to hear you say everything will be alright and just believe it.”

“Zhi’er, of course it will be fine, my father –”

“Your father just had his oldest friend killed! Your father is a paranoid –”

“The Emperor.” A-Yu’s voice is cold, blank. Regal. Meng Zhi knows this tone. He doesn’t know it turned towards him.

Meng Zhi’s heart stutters. “Jingyu –”

“My royal father is the Emperor, General Meng. Or did you forget?”

“A-Yu, I said the wrong thing, please –”

“I think it would be best if you leave.” A-Yu is looking steadily over Meng Zhi’s shoulder, refusing to meet his eyes. “Perhaps you should stay away from the palace for the next few days.”

Meng Zhi doesn't want to leave. But he knows a dismissal when he hears one. “Your Highness.” He sweeps into a bow, and he doesn’t let himself look back.

He never sees Xiao Jingyu again.

Crossposted here on ao3

ok, but that would make it my best birthday ever

⬆️ DO NOT INVITE THIS MAN TO YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY. HE WILL RUIN YOUR SPECIAL DAY FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES.

What do you do in your journey to become cultured?

Well I missed out on pretty much everything culture in my childhood :( then I got to uni and made friends so basically whatever culture they know I'll know (I watched a lot of films last year for example because two of my friends are film nerds), I want to watch atla and lok and toh, I am playing some games with friends when I can (they have switches, I don't and can't get one but I will play with them occasionally), I am just learning a lot of stuff in general that people know. Goodbye for now as I am about to watch mummy (with the film nerds yes) but ask away more if thou wish

Prince Jing with Mei Changsu VS. Prince Jing with Lin Chen [fanart] 蕭景琰, 梅長蘇, 藺晨 “琅琊榜” Nirvana in Fire | © stari1013i1310isj

Mysterious Lotus Casebook 5/?

MLC 1 | MLC 2 | MLC 3 LLH 1 | LLH 2 | LLH 3 FDB 1 DFS 1 | DFS 2 JLQ 1 JLQ 2 FEIHUA 1 | FEIHUA 2 | FEIHUA 3 | FEIHUA 4 | FEIHUA 5 | FEIHUA 6 OT3

Nirvana in Fire through the socioeconomic lens

How do you depict social class disparities on a personal level, rather than masses of people with very different means and lives and the unwritten rules that divide them? How do you tell a meaningful story staked on these differences?

There are a lot of reasons why Nirvana in Fire is compelling, one of which is the assured way the narrative knows when to be subtle and when to bring the angst and drama, and its exploration of how identity is deeply entwined with social class is a great example of this.

Historical background

Though NiF is a story with a fictional historical setting/架空, it is still grounded in real history, and the choice of the Northern and Southern Dynasties as a very loose background period is no accident. During this time, the ruling class’s stranglehold on society was especially strong. In canon, you see nobles such as Xie Yu/Marquis Ning and Marquis Huaiyi own large estates and their own private militia, which was very much the situation back then. There were a large number of rebellions and unrests led by these aristocrats during this time, and being Emperor was a delicate balancing act to keep them happy but not let them gain too much power.

This kind of background is what a work of fiction generally wants to avoid directly dumping on the audience as exposition; a good period-setting story should stake its narrative conflicts on its historical basis in a logical manner and make the audience feel the conflict. As an example, the nine-rank selection system/九品中正制, the official selection process in use during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, is exactly what’s being discussed in the scene where Xiao Jingyan brings Shen Zhui and Cai Quan over to Su Manor (and in my opinion a good change from book to screen).

In particular, they’re talking about how to choose the selection officials/中正官 who grade candidates to be selected and ranked into positions of the imperial bureaucracy. Instead of the imperial examinations/科举 that many later dynasties use, this system has these selection officials recommend people to become officials and was instituted to replace the previous system (察举制) which had been fully taken over by the aristocracy. At first, the selection criteria of the nine-rank system were the candidate’s family background, virtue, and talent, but this again became corrupted over time by the ruling class to essentially only depend on background and connections with the selection officials. There was a well-known saying back then: 上品无寒门，下品无士族, which means no commoners in the top ranks, no upper class in the lower ranks.

In canon, corruption of this process is specifically linked to the ex-Crown Prince and Prince Yu’s power struggle, each packing the government full of well-to-do officials sympathetic to their own factions. Shen Zhui lists the factors in the process of choosing selection officials, from family background to houses of marriage and mentors, from which it’s clear that ruling class influence is inextricably tied to this process. They discuss whether to go for bold reforms and possible conflict and bloodshed, or something more incremental, and decide on choosing the least corrupt candidate within the pool of eligibility that would not ruffle feathers, essentially trying their best while staying within the bounds of the system.

This scene is also narratively important as the first Jingsu reunion after Mei Changsu was imprisoned in the Xuanjing Bureau and Jingyan discovered painfully that he had accused him of things he didn’t do. Through the class angle, I think Jingyan interprets Su Manor turning him away when he tried to visit earlier as the way a subject would implicitly slap the hand of their lord by reminding them of their place. If Jingyan has no official business to be at Su Manor, if he is only there to make a personal visit and apologize, then he is not there as Mei Changsu’s lord, but as his friend, which Jingyan has no right to be, any longer. Of course, that’s not the real reason (at least, not the only one), but Jingyan doesn’t know that. With these boundary-enforcing interactions, Jingyan believes Mei Changsu wants to remind him that he had erred precisely because he was too emotionally invested in his relationship with Sir Su instead of thinking logically, that the boundaries are there for a reason and he should maintain them.

So what does he do instead of trying to make more personal visits? He brings Shen Zhui and Cai Quan with him on an official visit from lord to subject, one specifically designed to pave a path forward for Su Zhe’s advancement in government, showing that he knows he was wrong and wants to make amends in a useful way without making an explicit apology, which Mei Changsu neither wants nor needs. Mei Changsu receives them warmly yet professionally in return, showing in turn that he has no qualms about continuing to serve his lord and that the past is past.

All in all, I find this scene a good example of subtle layered storytelling that occurs a lot in NiF: this conversation that is about social class on the surface has its underlying structure and place in the narrative also reflecting class differences. It shows how the feudal hierarchy leads to rampant misconduct in government while also warns of the dangers of venturing too far from the rules that are in place.

Keep reading

Cover of 天若有情 by A-Lin on guzheng

oh 12.65 litres of blood clinging to the outside of my body, we're really in it now

Nine People I'd Like to Get to Know Better

Thanks for tagging me @thebansacredbanned! :))

Last Song: I don't remember but probably from the Arcane soundtrack, maybe What Could've Been? On second thought more contenders: possibly Taroko by August Greenwood or Charity's Letter (Two Maiden Ladies) by Nalah Aiden Palmer and August Greenwood. If all of these are wrong then it'll be a c drama ost song.

Favorite Color: Hmm it used to be blue but I don't have one anymore. Too many great colours to pick from

Currently Watching: About to finish a rewatch of Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Changlin. 5 eps into ATLA and 2 eps into Hikaru No Go (c drama adaptation). Also 10+ eps into the Untamed but I;m not sure whether I'm still watching it or not.

Last Movie/Show: Watched Little Women (2019) and Treasure Planet last week so I'm reading Little Women now! I love the Marches (and Laurie) so much :))

Spicy/Savory/Sweet: Probably sweet? Definitely not spicy (apologies to my ancestors) and I like sweet stuff but also I can't handle too much sweetness (and I seem to have a low bar)?

Last Thing You Googled: Christmas novels - making a quiz for a society at uni and I've decided I'll do my section on books, which made me realise I have not read many Christmassy books at all

I'm not sure I know nine people on here... anyways tagging (no obligation to actually do it, etc): @24cardpickup @thatsarealfuckinglegacy @itsyaboi-ray @thelackofsleep @loopslicydanmat @lovesickfolly

Friend and I are making our way slowly through the sagas and badly managing stardew addictions.

Here are Circe and Tiresais :)