#sprnigup

[bartletslesbians]

I literally love all your posts on cj bc you’re spot on. She’s always been my fave on the show & every time I rewatch, especially the early seasons, I’m struck by how casually dismissive the rest of the senior staff are towards her without even thinking about it. She’s the only female member of senior staff & having to work harder to show she Does have the skills required to be in her position, Actually. she Does know what she’s talking about. And the rest of her closest friends genuinely don’t even realize it. I know I am not articulating it well rn, but please believe every time you post meta abt cj I’m sitting here nodding along like yes! yes! more!

!!! Thank you so much and also YES exactly, oh this is precisely it. Every time.

The key really is that they don't realise it. CJ faces some type of misogyny and sexualised commentary or even lowkey harassment from almost every man on the show, that is a sad fact of it. (Even Jed Bartlet and his "you bet your ass, CJ, which, by the way, I can pat anytime I want" are no exception to this rule, as much as I adore his relationship with CJ.) And it really is quite important that the vast majority of the time, they don't recognise it as such.

They're not actually trying to hurt her, they're not trying to demean her, most of the time. (Sometimes they do, sure, but a lot of the time it just doesn't quite register to them that they treat her differently than they do each other.) And that will always put CJ in the uncomfortable position where she either has to take it and be silent and just quietly uncomfortable, or has to be the one to 'make a scene' and tell them what they're doing, making herself out to be this dramatic or god forbid hysterical person when she's already the only woman in the room most of the time. So many sexist jokes and comments she has to swallow because if she were to say something about even half of them, they would never take her seriously again.

And that's such a hard cycle and such a sad thing to keep recognising cause I am in NO way saying that these guys don't love her to death, or that she doesn't love them right back. Of course they do. Of course she does. And it's just the sad reality that a lot of men can love you so incredibly much without that changing the fact that they're still, without even realising it, struggle to see you as a person on the same level as them.

Leo loves CJ as much as he loves the President himself, there's a reason she is his "one name" to replace him. And he also, still, is quite the chauvinist about her. Jed Bartlet loves her like he loves his daughters but that has never stopped a father from treating his daughters as just so slightly Lesser. Toby and Josh and Sam are her guys, they'd die for her, but she's also never Quite going to be able to stop being The Woman on their team. And they don't see that. And she has to. And she has to choose how much she can care about that.

And I love her so incredibly much. Thank you so much, I am so very happy you like my thoughts on her. She deserves the entire world and then some.

[besanii]

If you’re doing the writing meme thing, then may I request nhs + lwj with “my hands are shaking”? If not though, then totally feel free to ignore this!!! I hope you’re having a good day 💕

When Lan Wangji first meets Nie Huaisang, he’s a scrawny little thirteen-year-old who somehow manages to look like he’s drowning in the robes that should have been made to fit. He’s the only one out of all the disciples in his sect who isn’t carrying a sabre, holding in his hands instead a beautifully painted fan that he clutches to his chest like a lifeline.

“Huaisang is Nie-dage’s younger brother,” his brother tells him.

That can’t be right, thirteen-year-old Lan Wangji thinks as he looks at Nie Mingjue’s imposing figure and then at Nie Huaisang cowering at his side. The two of them could not be more different. How can someone as strong and impressive as Nie Mingjue have a brother like Nie Huaisang?

Do not make assumptions about others, his uncle’s voice echoes in his mind. Do not insult others. 

“You should be friends with him,” his brother suggests. “It’s his first time coming to the Cloud Recesses, so he will need some guidance.”

As it turns out, ‘some guidance’ is a bit of an understatement. Nie Huaisang is absolutely hopeless at anything remotely related to cultivation—he has yet to form his golden core even though most people usually form one by their age, he cannot even lift a sword or a sabre, let alone wield one, and he doesn’t know any of Qinghe’s sabre forms even though he’s technically the sect heir. The only thing he shows some promise in is talisman drawing, but even then he frequently makes mistakes in the spells and the arrays—the errors he makes are consistent and wide-ranging, and he shows little to no improvement despite all attempts by both Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji to help. It’s almost like he doesn’t want to improve, or that he simply doesn’t care. 

It’s both baffling and infuriating, and this lackadaisical attitude gets him into trouble more often than not.

About a month into Nie Huaisang’s stay at the Cloud Recesses, he has copied the entirety of the Gusu Lan sect rules twice, and the books of Conduct and Virtue at least once. It is the least taxing of all the possible punishments he could have been given, all things considered, but he still visibly struggles through it.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whimpers, holding his wrist and wincing, the fifth time he drops his brush.

Lan Wangji frowns. “What’s wrong?”

Nie Huaisang cowers, shrinks in on himself as if expecting Lan Wangji to inflict more punishment on him.

“M-My hands are s-s-shaking,” he mumbles. He picks up the brush again. “Sorry, Lan-er-gongzi.”

Ordinarily, Lan Wangji would not be affected by such displays of weakness. But Nie Huaisang looks outright miserable, near tears even, and he’s holding up his wrist with his left hand as he writes just so his arm doesn’t collapse and smudge the ink, thus ruining a whole shichen’s worth of work. Something tugs at Lan Wangji’s chest, but he quashes it down and turns back to his own work without another word.

Later that night, a vial of medicinal ointment appears outside Nie Huaisang’s door under mysterious circumstances. Lan Wangji says nothing about it the following day when Nie Huaisang turns up for his punishment, and Nie Huaisang doesn’t bring it up either, but he catches him shooting curious glances in his direction when he thinks Lan Wangji isn’t looking.

“Focus,” he tells him sternly, his ears heating despite himself.

He misses the tiny smile that flickers across Nie Huaisang’s face.

--

buy me a ko-fi: ko-fi.com/besanii

--

[puddingcatbeans]

I really, really like your return key au. There’s something to be said for the way wwx showcases his vulnerability around lwj and weaponizes misdirections at the same time. Even if the scenes aren’t chronological or are v clearly spaced out so that there is a lot we, as readers, aren’t seeing, there is still a lot of subtext in the text that we can gleam, like, why wwx didn’t go home over break & how he feels about it, or how wwx’s identities as a chinese diaspora (?) and lgbt person collide into his college experience and, further still, how all of it influences his friendship with lwj who is his best friend. I also personally really like the way you write emotional hurt/comfort in this au. Thank you for sharing it with us, I was excited to see the update, even if I’m a week or so late haha

hi omg i’m crying at your message jsdlfkjs thank you so much!

this au is sort of like. my way of trying to articulate my own feelings in regards to my identity as part of the asian diaspora, as well as a love letter to my uni experience and the city that raised me. i’m excited to dive deeper into the “lore,” so to speak, and to explore how wwx and lwj’s relationship develop in the au! i hope you’ll continue to like what’s next!!

[bartletslesbians]

I love that you’re rewatching tww cause I, too, am rewatching it but I’m on like season 2 or 3 or something. All your posts about s1 during your rewatch are so spot on

Ahh thank you!! I love this so much (and I love how many people here are just so often rewatching, it really is such a great show for that), I'm so happy the posts are fun!

[dahyun]

I’m gonna be honest I don’t know any Pokémon except gengar and I don’t know if he’s from the first 3 generations or not 😭

haha yes he is from the first generation!! n he is a good one to know lol he is one of my favs

[aurumacadicus]

Wait no now I’m curious. What IS the mormonism in twilight?? It’s been a few years since I’ve read the book

I'm not trying to be an asshole but *waves at whole series* ???? All of it? Some points off the top of my head:

Bella avoids caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco, the latter of which is normal(ish, I was not avoiding any of those things in high school lmao) but the former of which instantly made everyone in my community clock "Mormon." (I live in a community that has a large Mormon population so it wasn't a derogatory thing, just a 'oh that kid's Mormon, make sure we have Sprite and chamomile for gatherings).

Someone on TikTok drew every outfit Bella wore that Edward said made it difficult for him to control himself around. I only saw one, which was a sweater over a long-sleeved shirt and a skirt (denim?) that went down to her ankles. Like, my love. Control yourself better. Anyway I stopped after that first picture because I couldn't take it seriously lmao.

I ripped this one from a website because I could not explain it in my own words: "A crucial Mormon belief is that humans can become divine. In the Twilight series, the Cullen family of vampires was once human but now lives without death in a resurrected condition. Their immortality is a kind of probationary period for eternal life. Meyer describes the Cullens, particularly Edward, as "godlike" and "inhumanly beautiful." (Bella describes Edward as an angel whom she can't imagine "any more glorious.")

Mormons believe they share a common heritage with Native Americans through ancient Israel, which could explain why she wrote Jacob imprinting on Renesmee. (It is almost certainly a reason Meyer does not care that her writing has caused both Quileute people and the general population of La Push strife. She had never even fucking been to Washington. She googled a place where it rains a lot.)

The obvious of Bella marrying Edward young and neither of them having sex until after they were married. In addition to that, she turns eighteen and is upset that she is older than Edward, who is forever seventeen. I could go into the age gap between them and how it mirrors the large age gap between the teenage brides of the early LDS leaders (granted, not a 107 year age gap, but they spanned several decades). I could say the same about Jacob and Renesmee.

Like, I could probably come up with more (my aunt and cousins are Mormon so against my will I know a little more than the average non-Mormon) if I reread the series but I really don't want to lmao.

[imtheiliad]

My cat (baymax) also loves to take up residence under my bed as well. So much so that I got under my bed to pet him yesterday and accidentally fell asleep doing it 😭 I’m glad juniper is doing well!!

Fluffy baby !!! What a good name! 🥺

That’s a mood 😂😂