I Wish It Could Be That Way Again

The Guanyin temple confession is maybe my favorite scene of any piece of media I've ever consumed because it's so unpredictable.

You got the villain just halting his evil plot, full stop, in the middle of his gloating speech, no less, because "What do you MEAN you guys aren't even together?! What?! No, no, no, there won't be any romantic misunderstanding in my hostage situation! Honey, tell him!"

And then the calmest, most polite character alive procceeds to go his version of apeshit on this punk like "my brother like-likes you, you fucking pinecone! You useless twink! We all thought you were a hoe but you are just an imbecile!" (Which is a nice parallel to the Jiang brothers' hatred for the peacock, but I digress)

And THEN, when it's the perfect moment for a climatic love confession, homeboy goes and screams for everyone to hear that he... really wanted that dick, Hanguang-jun! Where's love? Who cares? WWX wants to ride you like a carnival ride: sticky and filthy and multiple times.

It's a wonder that Xichen didn't yank that string from Jing GuangYao to strangle WWX himself.

This has been my favorite addition, I cackled like a seal irl lol

illustrative graphic of 'my dream is you / my hope is you'

not a day passes by where I don't think about the yunmeng brothers and their love, which despite its abundance haunts the other

Just had a horrible, terrible thought. Have you ever tried taking a child from their mother, like to hold them or whatnot? after a certain age kids understand that taking them from their mom isn't gonna be permanent and you're not gonna kill them, but before that they cry and cling. And so it occurred to me that lwj may once had been at such age, small enough to think that being taken from his mom is the end of the world and had at least once reacted accordingly.

Think about that. Actually envision that moment happening with a tiny baby a-zhan clinging with his life to his mom when they're trying to take him away.

Now your day is as ruined as mine.

After the whole of heavens witnesses HuaLian exchange spiritual energy by kissing, the phrase sort of enters the common vernacular like a meme

"Exchanging spiritual energy" becomes a sort of code word for, at first, close physical contact, kissing and then it evolves to mean sex

Everyone is aware of this except Xie Lian who doesnt spend nearly enough time in the heavens to notice and everyone makes it a point to avoid using the phrase around him so that they dont accidentally bully him and end up on Hua Cheng's hitlist

So one day on a mission of some sort, it just happens that Xie Lian was paired up to go with Quan Yizhen and he goes "could we exchange some spiritual energy?" ahead a very difficult battle

And Yizhen turns red as a tomato and says, flustered "sorry your highness i dont know you like that and you're already married to Crimson Rain Sought Flower right??"

Xie Lian is So confused because ??? What the hell is this kid on about

And when Yizhen explains it, Xie Lian doesn't know whether to laugh or cry

Goes home to Hua Cheng and asks him if he knew and Hua Cheng smiles like a liar

"bro i hate maomao shes such an awful protagonist and so annoying"

ur just a hater because if i had a face card so lethal i had to nerf my appearance everyday, a long lost father who is always trying to get closer to me, an adoptive father who i mean the world to, 3 big adoptive big sisters in a brothel (one of them being a mother figure to her), a grandmother figure who runs that brothel, the most beautiful person in the country down bad for me, all 4 concubines of the emperor love me, my coworkers love me, AND the emperor loves me and everyone regards me as an extremely talented and respectable person within my first year of working somewhere i never wanted to be in in the first place? yeah, i'd be annoying about it. jussayin

FINALLY someone sees the gender euphoria in Sherlock.

I mean, look at the man. Genuinely, look at him.

He has masculine features and a comfortable haircut going for him. His expressions give away whatever he thinks whenever he wants, and he's not ashamed of that fact. He has open body language the majority of the time. He looks comfortable in his skin. It makes me absolutely feral. He just sprawls anywhere he wants however he wants within or without reason, and he's having a grand ol' time. His way of dressing allows him to be carefree and relaxed. I've always wanted that, but I was trained to hide parts of myself. His character shows freedom to me. That will never be ruined by other people's opinions on appearance. (And I have no beef with superficiality or difference of opinions; I welcome it.) They are not me. They cannot see what I can.

Also, note his actions and movements. His expressions tell us alot about what he's thinking or what we as readers are to expect or know, buuuut in moments the expressions aren't clear or we don't really see his face his way of carrying himself speaks for him. He's attentive and caring when he's with Liam, Mycroft, or Watson, people who accept and understands him. He can bite his tongue when he's overpowered, like the Milverton situation. He tends to be an annoyance to people he's not as close with or just distanced, but that's the beauty! He's himself! He's Sherly! He's free! To be even more relatable, his way of moving is so awkward at times! Yeah, when he's fighting, he shows training and accuracy, but his general habits don't seem practiced/trained. His running lacks form. He slouches fairly often. His limbs flail. He's coordinated, sure; but it's funny to watch him be so natural in this manga. I have a similar way of moving as him, and it feels almost like representation. It gives me happiness.

Lastly, you cannot tell me this photo doesn't look like someone who you meet after their transition. He's fabulous and soaking in the fact. Pop-off, gorgeous. You deserve it. Part two Sherly makes you lose all sense of gender norms if Bonde didn't already make you do so. Yeah, he doesn't look too different/he only cut his hair. So why does he feel so differently him? Because his body language and mannerisms changed some in the time he was off screen (no doubt in coordination with caring for and worrying about Liam for months). He is still Sherlock. He just had a major character arc.

Summary of gender euphoria rant: Yuumori Sherlock Holmes means freedom to me, whether that be of gender expression or speaking my thoughts. I think he's a pretty boy, and I see him and wish to be a pretty boy (gn) the way he's a pretty boy.

P.S. These pictures were all taken from the final arc of part one of the manga.

P.P.S. Sorry, that was long and not very centralized sksksksks

had to make a mini zine for class so I made a scum villain hanbok series!

bonus, all the pages together and the full bingge piece because i like it

SOFIA, WATCH IT PLS

REEVE CARNEY and JONNY BEAUCHAMP Penny Dreadful 2.05 “Above the Vaulted Sky“