a-sea-with-no-shores - Tumblr blog

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Performance issues 🌸

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since it's mlc anniversary (I did not know it was today (⚆ᴗ⚆) hence didn't have time to translate the song, but I'll definitely do it!) and I haven't seen this video here, I had to post it

it's just so good \(ಥ▿ಥ)/

you can find the video here

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Tang Lian | The Blood of Youth

for @suwuminshan​ Happy Birthday!

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“we were both created in chaos, we were both born to destroy. you were like death, and i was like war. and where we collided, darling, i loved you.” — born disasters || k.a. [inspo]

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The most wonderful time of the year is here - Yuletide Fic Exchange is open for nominations until 9am UTC 20 September!

Yuletide is an annual fic (1000+ words) exchange for rare and obscure fandoms run through this community and through the Archive of Our Own. Many Chinese dramas are eligible to be nominated for Yuletide, so go forth and start by nominating your favourite dramas for Yuletide. Who knows...someone might write a fic for it!

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I think about how "you're the savior who came to destroy my life" is actually the ultimate expression of the "enemies to lovers" trope for me.

From enemies to lovers isn't complete for me unless their lives are destroyed and saved by each other at the same time.

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240917 Cheng Yi weibo update // Cheng Yi vlog

Xiao Qiushui wishes everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival 🌕

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Event Status: Early Sign-Ups Open!

Did you want another event to add to your end-of-the-year roster? Well, look no further than the AO3 Favorite Tag Bingo! There are never too many Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies or Domestic Fluff pieces created or celebrated, so why not use this event as an excuse to do just that!

This is a no-pressure event designed to round up your favorite non-fandom-specific AO3 canon tags and challenge you to create or celebrate something using them. It’s just an added bonus that you get fun PDF badges when you complete certain milestones along the way!

Please see below and check out the links for more in-depth information!

*This is a multi-media creator event that is in no way connected to The Archive or the OTW

General Event Info

This is a multi-fandom, multi-media event. All kinds of fandoms and fanwork are allowed. The only thing that matters is you use the tags on your card!

Each card consists of 8 different tags (and 1 free square).

Only 1 square can be used per 1 creation/comment.

During sign-ups, you will select all prompts you'd like to possibly see on your bingo card(s) with a minimum of 30 tag selections required (that is approximately 10% of the submitted tags)

More Info! on minimums and what counts toward submissions.

Schedule

The event will run for 3 months and can be joined from October 1st to December 14th 23:59.

September 1st: Tag Nominations Open!

September 14th: Tag Noms close!

September 15th: Sign-Ups Open!

October 1st: Cards begin to go out!

December 14th: Sign-Ups Close!

January 1st: Last day to get your badges! [The collection will remain open indefinitely for those still wanting to work on their cards but aren’t bothered with getting badges]

Nominations Here!

Sign-up Form: Open

Collection

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this exchange, please feel free to send an Ask, a DM, an Email, or check out the FAQ!

This exchange is hosted by:

Alex (ReformedTsundere / @film-in-my-soul)

Bucky (WinterLadyy | @spacewinter)

Saturn (Saturn | @icemav86)

Jess (Lacerta | @blendinginthecrowd)

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"I want the storm inside you awoken now, I want your warm bright eyes to never look away"

~~

I made a dihua fanvid!

Song is "Never Look Away" by Vienna Teng

Edit 10/09/2024: Video got blocked on youtube, so I've changed the link to an uploaded video, but since tumblr doesn't let me add captions, I'll try to upload a separate version with those added when I get a chance

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When a dao isn't just a dao 笛飞声的刀不只是刀

A quick and dirty analysis of Di Feisheng's dao

Following up from my previous post speculating about Di Feisheng's dao 刀, I think the configuration of Di Feisheng's dao is quite clever and consistent with his character, despite looking like nonsense at first glance. I know more taiji and kung-fu 刀 dao forms than I do 劍 jian forms, and this is what I choose to do with my knowledge and time, I guess.

Before I launch into his dao in particular, I think it's important that you understand what a dao is, and how you are supposed to attack and defend with one.

When you say 刀 dao (in English, it's also been called a Chinese saber or broadsword), this is what it's supposed to look like (I've annotated the image below from the Wikipedia entry on dao). They are by definition single-edged, and the majority are slightly curved (though there are some variants such as the Nandao 南刀 which are straight). A dao should have a point, a sharp edge (in red), and a blunt edge (in blue). The blunt edge (short edge, or inner edge, since the thing is curved) is usually quite thick.

One of the main ways that a dao does damage is through slashing/chopping motions, either down, sideways, or upwards (which my sifu always called uppercuts). All upwards slashes with the dao require that you turn your wrist so that the sharp edge, which usually faces down, faces upward instead.

The other way that a dao does damage is via forward thrusts, where the point of the dao is supposed to pierce enemy flesh. The basic attacks I've mentioned above are in the beginning of this clip, and I've added text to the original video below to highlight what's what and what they're supposed to look like.

(n.b. I was just randomly searching for videos to show what I'm trying to describe, no endorsement intended).

One of the things you'll notice from the above video as well is that the master is putting his hand on the blunt edge. This helps stabilize and give more power to the dao through its various motions, and is a basic part of how dao forms are supposed to work.

The blunt edge is also important because it helps in defense. One of the cardinal rules of a dao is that when you are defending, the dao should be kept close to your body, with the blunt edge facing your body. This is what a basic block looks like:

Should you get hit, you can brace the blunt edge of the blade using a shoulder or upper arm. In certain positions you can also use your hand as a brace on the blunt edge to stop (or execute) a particularly strong attack.

These are the dao basics. Now you have enough background to know what makes Di Feisheng's dao so unusual: it is double-edged, and it has a blunt tip.

These two things must follow if you have a dao that has two edges and is blunt at the tip:

You are limited to slash and chop attacks as your main blade damage. Thrust attacks won't penetrate flesh unless you have a serious amount of qi behind it.

Your defense is limited, because you can't use your dao to defend in the usual way.

But wait, does Di Feisheng's dao really have two full edges?

If you're a details guy like me, and completely obsessed over Di Feisheng (guilty as charged), you'll notice that one the edges of his dao doesn't actually extend the full length of the blade:

From the way that light reflects off the edges of his dao, you can see a bit on the short (inner) edge of the dao where the blade seems to transition from sharp to blunt:

And this shot, it's confirmed that there is a short blunt area on the inner edge of his dao:

In this memorable scene, Di Feisheng uses his hand against the very short blunt part of his dao to press his attack into Li Xiangyi's cheek:

One of the upsides of his unusual dao is also that he can use the inner edge for attacking as well. Upward sweeps using the inner edge aren't possible with usual daos (because they are blunt), but are possible with Di Feisheng's dao. I think we see an example of that here in the way you see his arm sweeping upward. (He has also added a substantial amount of qi to this sweeping strike, most of us plebs don't have enough qi to do anything like this.)

You can see how he gains some flexibility to his attacking capabilities, when he flips his blade mid-block into an attack:

While a double-edge gives him more adaptability in terms of attack on along the slashing and chopping edges of his dao, what he is losing out on because of the blunt end is thrust. You almost never see Di Feisheng thrust his dao forward because his sword just doesn't work like that.

In this final scene in the episode one fight when they are charging at each other, Li Xiangyi thrusts the Shaoshi Jian forward, but Di Feisheng, due to the design of the dao, has to slash:

However, most of the power of a dao is in its slashing and chopping motions. This is where the weight of the blade and its curved design (plus gravity and force) result in the most damage. Unlike the jian, the dao's thrusts do less damage. My conclusion about this is that it's a purposeful trade-off that Di Feisheng has made. He would rather maximize his offensive capabilities where they are strongest.

In terms of blocking, the design of Di Feisheng's dao means he's at a defensive disadvantage, since there's no blunt area to brace his body against for blocking (he can use his hand on the bit that is blunt, but because he has an edge along the rest of it, he can't use a shoulder or upper arm). This is a key feature of the standard dao that Di Feisheng's dao is missing.

In this move in the Battle of the Eastern Sea in episode 1, we see Di Feisheng execute a block, but he's got both of his hands along the hilt instead:

At this point, it should be noted that the standard dao is typically a one-handed weapon. The hilt is slightly curved, so you can get a good downwards chop with your wrist. There are other daos that have straight hilts and can be two-handed like the Miaodao 苗刀 (which is more similar to the Japanese katana 刀 than most Chinese folks like to admit). Di Feisheng's dao being straight-hilted and two-handed isn't that unusual because it's a feature that can be present on certain types of dao (it's way less unusual than the two edges!), but I thought it was worth pointing out in case any eagle-eyed readers noticed the difference between the Wikipedia image and what Di Feisheng has.

I could wax on about Di Feisheng's dao and his fighting style forever, but I think this thread has gone on for long enough.

I believe that the design of Di Feisheng's dao is very clever. At first glance, it seems utterly silly (what kind of dao has two edges?), but on deeper inspection of his style and how he uses it, it is consistent with his character.

He is always playing on Hard Mode because he is trading defense for more flexibility in his offense. And he is maximizing his offense where it is strongest (slashes and chops), and choosing to forego the offensive capabilities where it is weaker (thrusts).

...And that really is Di Feisheng's martial arts style in a nutshell, isn't it?

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You used to be quite arrogant and very talented. You made a lot of friends, but few of them were true friends... Later something big happened and you ended up all alone.

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They've been deathly ill. Maybe they've died and come back from the dead. Maybe they were born like this.

Whichever it is, these characters have had their wigs tossed into a vat of bleach and there's no going back now!

*this poll is for a full head of white hair, there will be a separate poll for a white streak later

Write-ins, propaganda, and images are welcome!

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The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty notes for any other latecomers like me:

I liked the parts of it that I liked very much, including the main relationship. There are a handful of good female characters that rotate in and out. The fight scenes are mostly short and semi-realistic, light on the lightness skills (pun intended) and lacking anything more fanciful than that.

Women in armor, even if it's only a small amount of the time: A+++ (this is in the opening animation; that's not a spoiler).

You should have some tasty food on hand over the course of the series, including at least one bowl of noodles, or you will be Very Sad.

It's set in 1478 CE (the Chinese name is literally 成化十四年, 14th year of Chenghua*). Thus you get what you'd get in a show set in another region in a similar era: nasty attitudes about nations adjoining distant borders, deals made in fancy brothels, etc. etc., and I'm not going to write up all that because I expected it going in. Are there current political aspects involved? Yup. (Like, was that bit about exiling someone to Xinjiang historically accurate? I don't think the Ming actually had control of it well enough for that during this period!) But that all goes over there in the box marked General Historical and Modern Social/Political Problems With Everyone's (Quasi-) Historical Shows Everywhere.

(if you don't want to know ANYTHING more about the show before watching it, don't continue, although I've tried to avoid real spoilers.) *not everything in that article that's stated as fact is accepted as fact, though that should be a given with brief histories of any era whether on Wikipedia or anywhere.

Some things I was NOT expecting:

I was not expecting for Tang Fan to be such a cringey brat. I honestly wasn't sure I could deal with him at first. But underneath the (gestures) everything, as it turns out, he's remarkably strong even in a show full of steel-willed characters. I don't know exactly what caused all the (gestures) everything, but I have some guesses.

Holy shit, so many instances of people ending their own lives! I literally lost count. Generally for "I got caught and there's no way out" reasons but whew. Genre-appropriate but like. A lot. It wasn't triggery to me in the least but if you're bingeing it becomes a little ridiculous. (And there were two instances in which I was mad about it.)

ACAB: One main character is a judge/clerk/DA/public defender, kind of. One is an army veteran/cop/enforcer/investigator, kind of. One is a secret agent/spymaster, kind of. They are all deeply enmeshed in the machinery of power and have different relationships with it, which change over the course of the show. (Though they are all never more than one breath away from being crushed by it.) For the most part the overly idealistic/rigid pair change for the better, though there's a moment of what felt to me like real abuse of power over marginalized people that I think is mostly excused by the narrative as being done in the grip of panic (and love). But it also felt like it was written in a way that indicated there would probably be consequences? If so, they didn't come up. (I'd have to rewatch to really analyze it.)

I meant it about the food.

There are clearly good/evil characters, complex/morally grey/ambiguous characters, and then there's the third main character in this show, who's like ... a third, secret thing. Like, utterly amoral in pursuit of his own ethic? I would not want to live in the same time zone or decade as him.

Unexpectedly, there's a case that involves (sigh) an Autistic EngineerTM. I can't comment on this character or storyline in depth but over several episodes they managed to make the handling of the whole thing both better and worse multiple times. The ending made me mad but I don't know enough about the depiction of autism in Chinese media to say if even this kind of storyline was a positive or negative in that sense.

Actually, for both the above and the handling of Sui Zhou's PTSD, I can't say if the translation made things better or worse. That kind of vocabulary is pretty well beyond me. That said, I don't think "mental illness" is necessarily the best translation every time it showed up in the English subtitles.

Character ages make no goddamn sense. When I try to imagine that Wang Zhi is the age they claim he is, my brain just breaks. (I don't remember how old the real Wang Zhi was during this time period, though since the other two MCs are fictional it doesn't really matter.) I suppose it's a miracle that they let Consort Wan be played by someone who's 3 years older than the actor who played the emperor, even though in real life she was more like 15 years older (I forget exactly).

Gender/crossdressing: One male character wears a woman's clothes/makeup/etc. as a disguise and gets thoroughly laughed at by one other male character (others are surprised or matter-of-fact about it) but it's unclear whether the laughter is deliberate manipulation, mockery, delight, or a more complicated gender thing given who's doing the laughing. There are a couple instances of female or AFAB characters presenting as men as a disguise and/or as their daily life. I think in all of the cases these characters have some degree of agency when there's the inevitable (because it's a drama) revelation. Honestly in one case I was pleasantly surprised because the character continues to present as male. I honestly have no idea what the character's gender turns out to be, which is fine! The subtitles do change their pronouns to feminine but I can't remember from the spoken dialogue if there's any actual change in address.

I've only watched the show once and my memory is not that good so forgive me if I got anything wrong here. None of this is really criticism, just personal observations! I'd like to read the book eventually. (I've already begun to investigate the fanfic. I see that while the show forgot about Tang Fan's side hustle pretty quickly, fic writers certainly didn't lmao)

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Mysterious Lotus Casebook Week

(Nov. 3 - 9)

Please join us for a week of Mysterious Lotus Casebook works from Sunday, November 3 to Saturday, November 9.

All ships and works (SFW & NSFW) welcome! Please use #mlcweek24 to tag your works.

Feel free to join our general Discord server: https://discord.gg/7xraH8Wpng (not required for participation)

For any questions or feedback, please feel free to DM or send an ask.

Thanks,

Pri (@tunnelofdusk)

[Image descriptions available on graphics and below the read more.]

#mlcweek24 prompts

day 1 - sunday, november 3 huli jing, lotus, marriage

day 12- monday, november 4 role reversal, crossover, fluff

day 3 - tuesday, november 5 cultivation, alternate universe, soulmates

day 4 - wednesday, november 6 time travel, grief, li xiangxian

day 5 - thursday, november 7 love, reincarnation, wine

day 6 - friday, november 8 confession, nature, sword dance

day 7 - saturday, november 9 free day - create as you please!

Rules

All works in all settings will be accepted, including (but not limited to) art, fanfic, edits, playlists, and cosplays.

All ships & works welcomed, so long as the focus is Mysterious Lotus Casebook and the themes relate to the prompts.

Please tag all works with #mlcweek24.

All works must be exclusively created for the event (not reposts or previous creations).

Collaboration with and inspiration from other creators is welcome but please remember to offer credit and obtain permission.

NSFW fic must be properly tagged. NSFW images must have a SFW/censored preview or may be posted using Privatter or other means.

[Lotus graphic sourced from the public domain. "Temple hanging (noren) (19th century), lotus flower fabric textile. Original public domain image from The Minneapolis Institute of Art."]

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《又见红绸舞剑 to see the red silk sash sword-dance again 》

On the night of the mid-autumn festival, in the company of friends and fragrant wine, Li Lianhua drank to a state of blissful satisfaction. He pulled off a red sash that was at hand to tie it to his sword and began to dance with his sword while he drank. In his drunken stupor, Xiaobao declared that he had seen Chang'er. (A-Fei woke up the next day with a hangover and found that the belt from his red robe was missing.)

Artist: 呼葱觅蒜 on weibo; reposted with credit as requested.

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(consumed with lust voice) omg what a fucking weirdo

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As they say, the one who bets is the one who bites.