#ratheralark

[blackjackkent]

ok but HOW DO YOU GET THE “FUN JAHEIRA” LINES

(Another reference to this gifset. :D )

Hee! This is one of her default dialogues after you have expended her main conversational tree during the epilogue. There are three different possible scenarios that determine what dialogue Jaheira repeats after her first conversational tree. In descending order of precedence:

If Jaheira kept the Timeless Body ritual scroll (ORI_Jaheira_State_Retired = False):

JAHEIRA: Why are you looking at me so? I'm enjoying myself. You look upon fun Jaheira. (devnote: Just about selling that she's having fun, but still ultimately quite serious.)

If Jaheira did not keep the scroll and the player has become a Harper (EPI_Epilogue_State_PlayerBecomesHarper):

JAHEIRA: Good evening again, young Harper. Ensure you ever-maintain balance between drink, water, and nourishment on a night like this. PLAYER: Try to make a Harper sign. [HISTORY DC 20] (Cinematic - devnote: player tries to make a Harper hand gesture) (on success) JAHEIRA: 'Safe place here', eh? Very good. That isn't one you learned from me. (on failure) JAHEIRA: Oh. You should not say that in polite company. (if player sided with the Zhents against Nine-Fingers and player talked to Minsc and learned that he was pulled by Withers to the epilogue party out of a Zhentarim prison cell) PLAYER: One thing - Minsc got himself into some trouble with the Zhentarim. JAHEIRA: The man just makes friends wherever he goes, no? Fine, then. I shall keep him from jumping back through a portal in the morning. Or perhaps follow him and give the Zhentarim a talking to, if my head is sore enough. (devnote: annoyed, through gritted teeth) PLAYER: Can we say my Harper responsibilities to maintain balance start tomorrow? JAHEIRA: Hmm. JAHEIRA: No. (devnote: Completely flat - she's joking, but shouldn't show it.)

Fallback state, if Jaheira is "retired" (did not keep the Timeless Body ritual scroll) AND the player is not a Harper:

JAHEIRA: I won't send too many letters back to the Gate while I'm away. I will try to enjoy solace. Though you look disbelieving.

Thanks for the ask! :D I always have fun digging through this dialogue, and Jaheira's in particular of course. XD

[fincalinde]

i would love your madam yu thoughts please

I have to admit this was not someone I was expecting to be asked about! But I actually do have thoughts on her, because even though I never talk about him JC is in my top 5. And you really cannot engage with JC without engaging with his mother.

What I think YZY exemplifies is the way that in MDZS the narrative depicts nuanced characters without falling into the tedious trap of either condemning or endorsing them. It's not particularly interested in telling us whether YZY is a bad person or a good person, because it doesn't consider that kind of sweeping judgement helpful or even necessarily relevant; but that also doesn't mean it's taking a mealy-mouthed neutral position on her either. Her parenting style is presented as unambiguously wrong, both morally and in the sense that it is not achieving her desired result.

YZY is selfish and domineering. She tears down both of her children, and neither of them will ever be good enough. She actively targets WWX. But this behaviour is firmly situated in context: she's from a clan where women hold a lot of power; she's frustrated with her husband's behaviour; she's frustrated that her son is outshone by WWX; she's concerned about WWX's power and attitude and how that could destabilise the Jiang. All of these are sensible and realistic motivations, and her concerns are presented as legitimate even as her way of dealing with them is highlighted as both harsh and counterproductive.

The text doesn't let YZY off the hook for her behaviour. She's not redeemed or 'good, actually' just because she does ultimately love her son and because she's in a frustrating position. But she also isn't condemned as an irredeemable abuser either. What should be taken from that is not that it's not worth discussing the good and the bad she does. It's just that it's vitally important to remember that morality is not the only metric by which a character should be analysed or responded to. What I like about YZY is that I have a very clear sense of who she is, why she is who she is, and why she does everything she does—all of which drives the plot forwards and enriches our understanding of more central characters such as JC and WWX.

[grenanigans]

3, 4, and 20 for Lae’zel!

Love this! 💕

3. Least favorite canon thing about her

Why can't baby get a happy ending? 😭 Well, the one in which you convince her to stay in Faerûn and take a break is pretty optimistic and satisfying, I've heard. Only got to that one when I played as Gale, which was a while ago, so I don't remember it well.

I don't really like the fact that she pledges herself to Orpheus so quickly after rejecting and being rejected by Vlaakith. At the same time, though, I think it makes a lot of sense for her. She may be stubborn and bossy, but she's a follower more than anything and too naive for her own good.

I also tend to ignore the egg thing because baby is way too young and needs to live her life. Yes, I'm childfree and a bit of a kid hater, so it pisses me off that the same woman who shows happiness for her infertility is the only character in the game that ends up becoming a parent. Why do they have to steal our representation? 😭

4. If I could put her in other media...

Cobra Kai! She'd fit perfectly in a universe in which martial arts are Serious Business™️ I can imagine her being basically the Queen Cobra and then having an are-we-the-baddies-moment and switching sides.

20. Best friend

Karlach for sure! They respect each other from the very beginning and have a few things in common, not to mention that she's pretty much impossible to dislike. I think at first Lae'zel would see her as the only worthy ally, while the rest of the tadpole gang are basically a necessary evil to help her navigate unfamiliar territory.

[evilhasnever]

would love to know about "prince and pauper" for the fic meme!!!

(and yunping first time but i can sort of guess the gist of that one)

I answered yunping first time but yes, self explanatory :)

Prince and Pauper is my only idea that is pure CQL, though I haven’t really written much for it past chapter one… I really should go back to it soon for JGY&NHS in cahoots. It has Meng Yao and Nie Huaisang swapping places in CR during Huaisang’s first visit there, so the former can earnestly attend the lectures and the latter can laze around under the pretense of being his attendant. It works against all odds, but the complication is that Lan Xichen immediately falls for (not) “Nie Huaisang”.

Snippet:

Lan Xichen places the fan back in his hands, and their fingers brush and linger.

He is tall, he’s indescribably beautiful, and he is still touching the back of Meng Yao’s hand with two delicate fingers, a small smile gracing his face before he opens his mouth, and the world comes crashing down on Meng Yao:

“Are you… Nie Huaisang? I haven’t seen you since you were a child! Welcome to the Cloud Recesses,” Zewu-jun greets him warmly, his voice warm and his gaze warmer.

[layzeal]

FENGQING

JOIN US

LOOK I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S UP WITH THEM YET, BUT WHATEVER IS HAPPENING IS HILARIOUS

[needsmoreresearch]

they ARE

and now there are BIG PURRS happening from fuzz aldrin

[inappropriatewenning]

☕️ Jin Zixuan deserves credit for improving as a person

Damn right he does.

I mean...okay, devil's advocate. In some ways we see him being fairly consistent: he's kind of crap at personal interaction, even to the point of being hurtful, but courageous and Morally Solid when push comes to shove. Does that really change or does he just start liking Jiang Yanli, which turns his relationship with the audience from an antagonist to a goodguy?

IDK, I'm going to give him credit. He has to admit that he was wrong, and that sucks. And...if we don't give him credit then we're basically never giving ourselves credit. Like, his fuck-ups are on the level that's most comparable to what most of us have experienced in life: he didn't animate an army of the dead, he didn't betray his family's beliefs to aid a war criminal, he didn't murder his father. He was a jerk to someone in high school. I think we've all got shit we look back on from high school and college days that makes us want to run away and live alone in a swamp. Let's give JZX some compassion for being an imperfect teenager, and let's give ourselves some compassion too.

[guqin-and-flute]

It won't let me tag you (Tumblr is a functional website) but I used Blackburn!