«Thank You For Giving Me A Family»

eng ver of endo and takiishi profiles (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

I wanted to make this post since a couple of months ago. As proper summer is coming, Song and Tang style might make a come back in another couple of months.

Charlos iceberg lore rated by how insane it makes me

They are canonically over 800 years old.

some soulmates have the red string tied around their wrists or fingers, a long thread that no matter where they are keeps them connected...

fengqing have it super short and tied around their ankles which makes their relationship a fucking three legged race

Do you think MNQ have actual feelings for JW?Even after everything he's done?

[WARNING: SPOILERS ON TGCF END]

me, outside: *calmly typing*me, inside: LISTEN UP ONE (1) BRAIN CELL OF MINE - WE FINALLY GET A JW AND MNQ AND JUNMEI ASK SO SQUEEZE IT UP

Haha okayokay, so first of all - I’m not sure what you mean by “actual feelings” like is it in a platonic loyalty way? romantic sense? So I’m just going to try to be very general as much as possible. 

MNQ DEFINITELY LOVES JW (take the “love” however you mean it). MNQ left JW once already and hid from him. But now, he’s back and took courage to return and stay this time around. 

It’s evident that MNQ still cares for JW that when he found out that there was someone who was born under the same stars/circumstances and the like as JW, he disguised himself as that child’s teacher. We can also see how much he still respects him that even though technically JW was their “enemy”, when HC was being disrespectful to him with his “Why do we have to attach importance to you?”, MNQ couldn’t help himself to berate HC who was technically on their side with “Youngster, when you speak, don’t be too arrogant!” Of course, this is also because MNQ knew that JW is strong af and if pushed to his limit will wreck them all haha He also got how this JW’s mind worked (hence the many scolding and words he gave XL before) and even in ch237 we get that confirmed with “The Guo Shi can be said to be the person who understands Bai Wuxiang the most in this world right now”. 

And we also see how despite MNQ technically being a very big foil to his plans, JW holds him dear in his own way. He could have killed MNQ any time but time and time again, he keeps him alive (their false pretenses on each other when MNQ was still Xian Le’s Guo Shi and when he dragged him up the heavens and locked him up instead). Another instance this was very evident was when HC and JW were fighting and MNQ kept giving his insight to help their side and JW just lightly reprimands him with the part: He glances at the Guo Shi, smiling, “To teach others how to deal with me in front of me, and I won’t to kill you, but you’re certainly becoming increasingly bolder.”

Point is - MNQ and JW are on opposing sides and despite the fight not literally technically between them, the pain and hurt they have on each other seeps through. This was most evident during that time when XL was getting smashed by JW that MNQ screamed at JW asking him to stop and appealing to his humanity with arguments on “XL is young! Let him go this once! He’ll be sensible one day!”. And then JW turns his attention to MNQ and basically states his own hurt against him with words like “The one you wish to be sensible is not him but me, right?” and he starts accusing him of bringing up and teaching XL in hopes that XL will show JW that he’s wrong and anyway that whole ordeal. 

And when JW was pinned down, MNQ kept calling for him to stop, to please forget it and he kneels and begs JW to see reason even though JW kept roaring “scram!” to him. *cries* Then JW starts strangling him in anger and MNQ waves XL’s help away and just quietly says, “Your Highness ah.” And JW could snap his neck then and there and we all know MNQ would let him. JW would have continued fighting XL but it was MNQ’s words that finally reached him when MNQ admitted how he missed him, how he missed their friends, how he missed the days when they haven’t ascended and finally with that “i am tired now, are you not tired as well?” AT THE END, BOTH OF THEM ARE TIRED - MNQ is tired of running away, of letting JW down, of all this destruction; JW himself is tired of pretending, of deceiving, of suffering alone. 

MNQ understood the Wu Yong emperor, his friend, the one person he was loyal to. But back then, he failed to understand the fallen emperor, this devastation who wore a mask - who was consumed by pain, grief, and suffering that he destroyed, murdered, and made others bleed. It was only during this present time that he finally understood that part of JW; hence, why he stayed instead of running away again. One of my favorite parts on the last scenes of the big fight (besides XL putting his bamboo hat on JW as a parallel to how bamboo hat man put it on XL aka this act of kindness that saves is being passed on) is that small scene after the XL vs JW fight. XL asks MNQ to come with them but MNQ responds with “I’ll accompany His Highness the Crowned Prince for a while. After all, in the past, I didn’t accompany him.” 

*breaking down* It took them sooooo many years of dealing with pain, grief, and feelings of betrayal ALONE SEPARATELY but now they can stop. MNQ finally takes the courage to stay with JW this time and JW finally has that one person he needed by his side. They took a long destructive path to get here but now, they can start healing TOGETHER and rest.

stanning fengqing is so useless bc 100% of their interactions are them canonically trying to off one another, but the way i need to interpret them are borderline delusional. like yes, look, they briefly glanced at each other in absolute loathing and abhorrence of each other's existence, and they do indeed strike at each other's most mortifying moments with the intention to hurt deeply. BUT if you look CLOSELY at how their gazes LINGER then you can tell that they actually very slightly in a very teeny tiny way yearn for each other in a way that transcends distance and time...no no wait come back i swear it's true—

I need someone to estimate the net casualties of junmei's divorce. It's in the millions for sure, the question is just how many.

汉服复兴之路 History of Hanfu Revival Movement

History of Hanfu:

“Hanfu" as a technical term refers to traditional clothing worn by the Han ethnic group in China （Han = Han ethnic group, Fu = clothing).

The last Dynasty of China, Qing, saw a ruling class of the Manchu ethnic group who had attacked the Ming Dynasty from the North and ultimately achieved victory. This resulted in a forceful change of attire from "Han" clothing to "Man" clothing and fashion:

This included men being forced to shave the front half of their heads, leaving a long braid in the back (those who refused were beheaded)(四爷，借用一下您的盛世美颜😂) :

Therefore, technically, "Hanfu" had not been worn in China since the end of the Ming Dynasty (1616 AD).

Following the establishment of the current People's Republic of China (1949 AD) the country busied itself with development and economic growth. By the early 2000's China had undergone 2 rounds of economic reform and saw an economy that was flourishing. This left people with more time and money to revisit the country's vast history and rich culture (it's difficult to think about culture or history when you're trying to put food on the table).

Hanfu revival movement:

On November 22, 2003, an electric engineer by the name of Wang Letian (王乐天) strode through the streets of Deng Zhou wearing a Quju robe . This was the first time someone wore Hanfu for a casual outing since almost 400 years ago. Although, looking back, the design wasn't historically accurate, and the clothing seemed ill-fitting, this robe had been hand-sewn by Wang Letian and his friends, all of whom had a passion for Hanfu.

At the time, people laughed when they saw him in the streets, it looked so odd and strange among the sweaters and jeans that had become the norm, but Wang Letian had started a snowball of Hanfu revival. The internet spread photos of him wearing Hanfu through the streets and by chance, a Singaporean reporter, Zhang Congxing (张从兴), came across the photos. He wrote an article in the newspaper Lianhe Morning Report (联合早报) which became the first news article recorded of the current movement to revive Hanfu.

Following that, interest in Hanfu grew. People (especially young people) dug through history books, visited museums, and broke out the sewing kits. Today, Hanfu can often be seen around sightseeing locations and in historic cities like Xi'an. Although most people still aren't wearing it out and about daily, it's not uncommon to see someone wearing a Mamian Skirt (from Ming dynasty) with a blouse heading to work.

There are still some who think it's odd and strange (including my dad 😑), but the revival in Hanfu indicates a confidence and pride many young people have in China's own history and culture, something that had been often neglected over the past 100 years due to continuous wars and political chaos.

As a kid, I loved period dramas and would drape a bed sheet around my shoulders pretending it's a cape. I'd admire the beautiful hair styles on TV, wondering how it was done. Never did I dream one day I'd be able to purchase my own Hanfu and have a suitcase of hair buns and accessories 🤣🤣

nothing has made me realize that joongdok are gay and canon more than this bingo and the fact that joongdok cross every single one

homoerotic fighting: divorce arc and theater dungeon

gay stare: this happens on every interaction. I cannot list them all in one post

Adopted a child together: Yoo Joonghyuk raised Biyoo. Yoo Joonghyuk trained Shin Yooseung hard to the point she has the story "Disciple of the Supreme King." Yoo Joonghyuk sparred with Lee Gilyoung and taught him lessons on regrets (Lee Gilyoung thought Yoo Joonghyuk can't be philosophical to save his life). All three of these kids consider Kim Dokja their father too.

"Let's run away together.": "Let's go back to Earth, Kim Dokja.

Lands in a homoerotic position: The only duo to have seen each other naked. Among other things.

Jokes about them being gay: "Hmm, maybe if your position changes..." "Wait, how did you give birth to a child?" "Are you two a couple?" "I heard you're interested in sodomy." "I know. I know. You don't like girls." "I think you're misinformed. Hyung likes a man." "I'M NOT INTERESTED IN MEN." "I think I know who spread that rumor but ignore her. I like women." etc

Gets mistaken for a couple: Read above but also the fact they got nominated for Star Stream's best chemistry award.

Promises that sounds like vows: Having a story that's titled "Life and Death Companions" (aka marriage vows) isn't enough they had to make each other promises like "We can save the world. You know that right." "I'll finish your story for you." "I'll end your oldest dream." "You fool, you're not reading alone." "If you won't do it (won't open up to me), fool, then I will (force you to open up to me)." "If I choose you as my sponsor will I get to meet you?" "1864." "Tell me you fool if I continue to regress will I ever get to meet you?" "Let's make a promise. Never give up on life. As long as you don't give up on life, I will continue to write for you."

Referred to as a married couple: To this day Lee Jihye thought they were divorced and Yoo Joonghyuk hadn't paid child support.

Violence, cannibalism, or blood: some people might consider choking your soulmate upon first meeting to be violent. Also consuming stories (people are stories) as a metaphor for cannibalism. I don't need to talk about blood. Yoo Joonghyuk's blood was spilled 1864 times and none of it scarred him as much as him being forced to spill Kim Dokja's blood by his own hands.

Parallels or foils of each other: although not too... in your face, joongdok are foils of each other at times. Case in point the CEO interview where Kim Dokja says he doesn't plan to save anyone but his friends (he ends up saving everyone at the cost of his own) and Yoo Joonghyuk says he'll try his best to see this turn to its end (he ends up leaving everything for the chance to bring one person back). They're also parallels in very specific ways. Kim Dokja has chosen to parallel 999th Yoo Joonghyuk. Both self-sacrifice out of love for their companions and guilt over their own survival (thinking they're both the only person to actually "exist"). And Lee Hakhyun is a parallel to 1863rd Yoo Joonghyuk.

"You saved me.": "You saved me once. Now I'm going to save you." "He recognized that light. It was the light of the star that had protected him all this time."

If one was a girl, they'd end up together: so many people in the fandom have said this. Especially when they learn that Punisher is Yoo Joonghyuk.

Adopted a pet together: Breaking the Sky Sword Master kicked their asses and so they had no choice but to adopt her.

Both Single: See, this is what sets JoongDok apart from other yaoi. They do not have love interests. Lee Seolhwa doesn't care for Yoo Joonghyuk romantically in this round, and Yoo Joonghyuk hasn't had the time to even think about romance when his life and death companion is giving him a brand new regression depression every time he sacrifices himself. And as for Kim Dokja, the idea of dating him gets treated as a joke by the KimCom women who also make lighthearted fun about his size (Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung) and frankly speaking, all of them deserve better than these two.

Being the only ones able to understand each other: "Perhaps, Yoo Joonghyuk understood my heart better than anyone else." ALSO I have a take that many of you reading this might consider it controversial, but you will only take this away from me once I'm dead. Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja understand each other better than Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung do. Sure, Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja have a wall they need to break first before reaching the point of understanding each other without the need to speak words. But Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung have a wall too and they never once managed to actually break it (They know nothing about each other outside of fiction related matters, which I guess you could make the argument that in a story where fiction became reality other things wouldn't matter, however keep in mind that all the problems Kimcom faced during the epilogue come from the fact that these two do not, in fact, understand each other. Kim Dokja treated Han Sooyoung as a companion but Han Sooyoung saw Kim Dokja as only a reader.)

Lives together (and they were roommates): Singshong already said in their interview for the simplified chinese release that Kim Dokja's dream of 'Buying a big house and living together with everyone' is shared by Yoo Joonghyuk too.

Trauma bonded: *insert he's just like me fr image*

Codependent / Can't live without each other: there's no one in orv who embodies this as well and as catastrophically as these two do. being created for the sole purpose of saving one person. taking the chance to regress and doom the world over and over to save him. searching for this one person harder than anyone else.

Accidental kiss / hug / hand holding etc: Yes, I know. JoongDok do everything under the sun but hug. It's as shocking to you as it is to me. They have held hands however when they were announcing the name of their nebula and a biblical angel thought the perfect name for it would be 'forbidden fruit.' When in doubt, always turn to yaoi.

Breakup scene: Normal people when they break up: each go their own way. They block each other on social media etc. JoongDok when they broke up: Hundreds dead. Thousands injured. Friends not spared. Depression galore.

Practically on a date: Look me in the eye and tell me Murim arc and Journey to the West arc is not just JoongDok on a date.

Their happy ending MUST include both of them: yeah that's why 551 chapters weren't enough. Now we're 123 chapters away from chapter 1000.

"What did you do to them?" AKA protective: "Was it you who beat my companion to this state?" "I will find the person responsible for this mess and... kill them."

LOTS of physical touch: their first meeting starts with a physical touch. They constantly touch each other without fail.