It's Not My Blood.

This was meant to be a quick warm up, but it turned into a comic that I’ve wanted to draw for a while. This is something that is extremely important to me, and I appreciate it if you read it.

A while ago, I heard a story that broke my heart. A family went a cat shelter to adopt. The daughter fell in love with a 3-legged cat. The father straight up said “absolutely not”. Because he was missing a leg. That cat was that close to having a family that loved him, but the missing leg held him back. Why?!

Many people have the initial instinct of “nope” when they see an imperfect animal. I get it, but less-adoptable does NOT mean less loveable. 9 out of 10 people will choose a kitten over an adult cat. And those 10% that would get an adult cat often overlook “different” animals.

All I want people to do is be open to the idea of having a “different” pet in their lives. Choose the pet that you fall in love with, but at least give all of them a fair shot at winning your heart.

Don’t dismiss them, they deserve a loving home just as much as any other cat. They still purr, they still love a warm lap, they still play, they still love you. Trust me, next time you are in the market for a new kitty, just go over to that one cat that’s missing an eye and see what he’s all about!

I usually don't fuck with the idea of Max being Silver's wife in TI. My primary reasoning for this is how intentionally the writers set up SilverMadi as a romantic pairing. Whether you like it or not, everything in BS leads to TI. Why Madi chose to stay with Silver post-BS (in both senses of the acronym), I don't know. But Silver canonically has a Black wife in TI. So she does.

BUT there is such a good and angsty reason that Max as Silver's wife (or "wife" for whatever non-romantic reason they have to take those titles) works. Also, the character parallels it gives... Pardon me if this has been discussed before. I just couldn't stop thinking about it once I came to the realization!

Shortly after the conclusion of BS, the real-life Jack Rackham and fellow pirates were arrested and killed; Mary/Mark Read dies in jail after having their sentence postponed due to alleged pregnancy. Anne Bonny is also allegedly pregnant and has her sentence commuted, then disappears. Let's presume that these events play out for BS' characters.

Anne and Max can't marry; Jack and Anne aren't by preference. Jack and Max coexist (with the addition of Mark/Mary, maybe). Silver cannot legally marry Madi (I think? Not entirely clear on that) but certainly they would face serious backlash, especially if people found out it was a loving marriage. Plus, like the whole (ex-)pirate and revolutionaries thing. Also, Madi wouldn't marry him, at least not immediately. In this AU, Madi leaves Silver's ass (as she should), and they never speak again.

So where does that leave Max and Silver? Essentially, as a divorcee and a widow, respectively (if you ignore the complications of their specific circumstances). If you disregard questions of legality, both Silver and Max had relationships that could be defined as marriage. Max (and Silver) would also need to get out of Dodge Nassau quickly after the cards fall (i.e., Jack and Anne's capture). They've worked together before and can compartmentalize well enough to work together now - plus they're tired and lonely and hey, even if we were enemies I respect your cleverness and you're a familiar face.

Civilization won't accept an unmarried couple running an inn, and Max needs the protection of marriage in England. They would get judged still but less than Silver and Madi would. Here's where the parallels kick in. Both Max and Silver were part of a trio of some kind of romantic nature. Both are similar in their approaches to life - they were each other's first allies for a reason - and both have gotten exactly what they wanted (on paper). Max got her safety and power AND got to keep Anne. Silver kept Madi alive and stopped the war, and that now has to be enough for him, or else Flint was right. They were both married - in the purest and idealistic sense. But no more. Silver is divorced, and Max is a widow.

So now, with their dreams shattered and no one to blame but themselves (with some caveats for Max, of course), they only have each other. So they get married. Now they have a 'real' marriage that is recognized by Civilization. But it isn't authentic.

Silver got what he wanted: stability and a life away from piracy. Max got stability, retained (some) of her dignity, and (a fraction of) power. Isn't that what they wanted? And so time flows onwards. Eventually Silver returns to Skeleton Island, leaving his wife behind.

Well, what graphic description could be more accurate for my own reaction to the last ep?

Thank you for reminding me how haunting that was (it threw me out of balance for days and I'm still thinking about it).

I'll brace myself to go through all of this once again now that I'm reaching the end of my rewatch😢

Not to be unhelpful, but try going through season 4 knowing how it is going to end. Painful experience.

just finished black sails…..

In the end, that's all I want - to walk away from the sea and find some peace.

Let the water wash away Everything that you’ve become On your knees, today is gone And tomorrow’s sure to come Tomorrow’s sure to come

Happy birthday Wei Wuxian!

I'm so happy to share my first playlist about this amazing character!

Timestamps are on the way

She's so good! Wow!😍

The first of my black sails dolls is done!! Say hello to miss Eleanor Guthrie!

MXTX interview

This is a partial translation of an interview given by the author in March 2018, it can be found on her Weibo. There are actually 40 questions in the full interview about all three of her books, her upcoming fourth book and also about herself and her writing in general. I’ve only kept the parts pertaining to Mo Dao Zu Shi for the sake of clarity and because I doubt many people have finished reading all three books. Some parts were a bit confusing, hopefully I got it right…

Mild spoilers for the main story.

Original interview: https://www.weibo.com/6049110380/G7RfoEcj9

Where did Wangxian perform their third marriage bow? How did Lan Wangji call his rabbits?

The names of Lan Wangji’s little rabbits is a secret that only he knows, even I don’t know. 

Anyway, Wangxian’s third bow was done before their second time together.

Luo Binghe likes using Immortal-Binding Cable, Lan Wangji likes using his forehead ribbon, what about Hua Cheng? Can the skills of the three be scored? [1]

The most skilled of the three is without a doubt Hua Cheng. He is talented with his words and even more with his actions as well as extremely appealing. Even though Xie Lian is easily embarrassed, he will obediently do anything he is asked.

Lan Er is the hard-working and straightforward type, but that’s all right, Wei Wuxian can tell him himself how to play.

It goes without saying for Luo Binghe. Shen Laoshi, please be a little more patient with him.

What is Wei Wuxian like when he is drunk? Does he act any different than his normal self?

Not really, there’s no big difference between him drunk or sober. It’s not everyone that has a change of personality when drunk, it’s just really over-the-top in the case of the Gusu Lan Sect.

What did Wei Wuxian go through during the three months he spent in Burial Mound? Was there really a mysterious book artefact left there by a master? [2] When Lan Wangji healed Wei Wuxian after the massacre at Nightless City, what did he say to him? How did Wei Wuxian pass the time during the thirteen years he was dead?

Some things that were said were not to be taken seriously, there is no mysterious book from a master. I don’t really like the kind of plot where predecessors do the hard work and plant the trees and their successors can just cool off in the trees’ shade.

Please do your own research. 

He was in a confused and chaotic state [3], not quite conscious but not completely unable to feel anything either. It’s like being stuck in an unending nightmare.

When Wen Ning went berserk at Qiongqi Path and Koi Tower, was that an accident for both times? After changing into a fierce corpse, how long can he live?

When Wen Ning attacked at Qiongqi Path, it was Wei Wuxian losing control.

What happened at Koi Tower wasn’t an accident. 

It depends on the maintenance.

Is Jin Ling’s courtesy name the one chosen by Wei Wuxian, Rulan [4]?

That’s right. But he never ever uses it. Jin Ling dislikes it because it sounds sissy.

What was the relationship between Cangse Sanren and Lan Qiren and why did she cut off his goatee? Does Lan Qiren have prospects for elderly marriage? What are the criteria Lan Qiren looks for when choosing a spouse?

It was because Lan Qiren was not as understanding and sensible during his youth as compared to now. At some point it resulted in Jiang Fengmian and his servant Wei Changze running into trouble while night hunting and they almost lost their lives. But Lan Qiren deemed that he was only following the rules and that the fault was not his so he refused to apologise, angering everyone. Then Cangse cut off his beard to play a trick on him. To tell the truth, beardless Lan Qiren is still very handsome, there’s no one bad-looking in the Gusu Lan Sect! 

It’s unlikely to happen so there is no criterion.

PS. Why are there people asking for Lan Qiren’s spouse criteria…

What is the age difference between Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang and how is their relationship? Was the part of Nie Huaisang’s partner [5] that was mentioned before deleted from the book or was the design simply scrapped?

Five or six years. Although they are half-siblings with different mothers, they get on pretty well. 

Scrapped as I found out afterwards that the story remained consistent without adding this character. Adding the character would instead make things difficult and the final result might not have been satisfactory.

Translator’s Notes

[1] Skills in bed.

[2] That’s how Wei Wuxian explains his demonic powers to Jiang Cheng when he returns from Burial Mound.

[3] 混沌 (Hùndùn) means literally ‘muddled confusion’ and also refers to the primal chaos that existed prior to the formation of the world and in which nothing could be distinguished or perceived according to Chinese classic texts.

[4] Rulan (如兰) means literally 'like an orchid’.

[5] It’s mentioned in an older interview that the author had planned Nie Huaisang to have a subordinate helping him behind the scenes so the meaning was a partner in crime.

😏😏

"The sustained heat of an intense fire"

...and it's just Lestat's gaze.