#Gu Xing He

[wheredostarsgowhenyoudie]

So I was looking for tags on the cdrama "The Mermaid's Pearl" but could not find one. I wonder why is that?

Admittedly, this one is not on par with most dramas I watch. The rating on the internet is also low. I think I know why.

But if you're looking for cuteness and fluff with scenes that make you smile like hot chocolate and if you don't care much about actresses crying without tears (aka not so great acting) and bad directing skills and cuts, this could be just it.

On to how I found this. So I was looking for a quick cdrama to binge. When too tired afterwork, I have this guilty pleasure of reading through plots, watching the first few eps. Then when I get the gist, I'll leisurely fast forward or move eps looking for cute or fun scenes. You know, like living leisurely through the characters (for the sake of feeling things and pretending you got a life outside work and home).

Plot wise, tbh, I skipped a lot on this one. The plot itself is pretty simple. Mermaid girl (FL) left water to look for her kidnapped father. The ML is a rich young man who is known as a detective. He is also sick and they believe finding a mermaid will help cure him. She agreed because he has a lot of food (being rich and all) and he also might be able to help her find her dad.

Suspecting she's a mermaid (kinda hard not to) when she literally threw her pearls at him when they first met, he decided to keep her by his side.

So murder mysteries happen along the way and the guy has a fangirl/fiancee who wants to marry him. The emperor is also looking for a way to live abnormally long and orders people to go on expeditions to look for mermaids to aid that quest.

That is basically the whole gist of it.

Cuteness wise, can I just say I love and adore how the ML cares for the FL? Like, she's like a fluffy bunny and he's the master who takes care of her. They are so cute together and he also is sensitive to his own feelings so there's not much waiting. Their scenes make me laugh and just smile, thinking I want to be loved the way he loves her. : ) 🩷 Plus, it's comedy XD

At first he was telling her to stay away from him because she has no boundaries. But all too soon, he just came to accept how trusting and comfortable she is with him. He also gets jealous easily lol.

In this scene for instance, she literally just fell asleep using his hand as a pillow (like a cat) and he lets her. #Fluff

Acting wise, the ML actor, Shi An, is actually pretty good. It's just that the cuts and the scenes they were acting in are really like you're watching students' made film where quality is not the focus. So tbh, I blame the director and writer and producers more than the actors. Or maybe, that is indeed their goal? Idk. If it is then they succeeded.

Watch it if you dare, but as I said, a lot of things about it are pretty crappy. So don't expect too much.

But bottomline, I still very much enjoyed the very short cute fluff scenes between the ML and FL. :) I even replay them (just the cute scenes) when I need a pick-me-up. So it isn't so bad. At least not for me.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Dawn Is Breaking (2024)

Gifs of Ending of cdrama "Dawn Is Breaking"

MULTISUB 【永夜长明Dawn is Breaking】 EP01 | 天罚 | 何宣林 / 李菲 / 王星玮 / 艾泓辰 | 爱情 古装 | 优酷 YOUKU

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_2fzu19mHQ

[chaos0pikachu]

so one of my favorite scenes in word of honor is after Zhou Zi Shu has bared his bosoms to the world like he spent time working at hooters revealing he's got eight nipples and a side dish of martial arts cancer leaving Wen Ke Xing to have Thee Only Gay Breakdown like it's raining (terminally ill men), the OST is going on in the background wkx is shaking and crying because his man, the love of his life, his soulmate, his moon and stars has eight nipples of cancer and eight nipples is totally something wkx could be down for he's from ghost valley he's seen weirder shit and more nips just means more to suck on and wkx loves to suck but NOOO the universe has to be against HIM SPECIFICALLY and how will he survive this pain, this torment, this agony????

meanwhile Gu Xiang shows up with an umbrella all like "master you're gonna die of martial arts pneumonia!!" and wkx is like "let me spit blood, let the streets be painted with the bloody bile of my broken soul!" and rips himself away from her b/c she wouldn't understand, no one understands!! and GX is like "is this an LGTV thing again???"

and just when GX thinks she's gotten through to her master BAM he smashes his flute against the bridge shattering it into thousands of pieces and everybody is like "not the phallic flute of metaphorical homosexuality!!!" and wkx is like "my dick is broken just like my heart!!" and GX watches him slink off like a raggedy ass wet cat in dramatic slow mo thinking "when he starts spitting up pneumonia blood I'm gonna have to clean it up fml"

[quietly-sleeping]

It hurt, the way the woman was telling them to dance. 

His feet hurt like he was young again, fresh off the streets and unused to the demanding rhythm they danced to. They bleed onto the floor, the woman didn’t bother to tell them to stop. He kept dancing. 

Shen Yuan could see the tears of pain streaking down the flushed face of Du Yun, his jaw gritted as he stumbled and fell. Every inch of Shen Yuan ached and throbbed in time to the beat of the music that the woman played, but he couldn’t stop. 

Du Yun wasn’t moving. He had crawled out of the way of his sibling's feet and legs and stopped close to the wall, his long hair draped limply over his face. Shen Yuan wanted to stop, to crawl over to his older brother and check on him, but he couldn’t, his feet betrayed him as they moved. 

Xing Yawen’s eyes were closed, and her face twisted as she bit her lip bloody. Sweat dripped from her chin as her body moved in time with the rest of them. Her eyes blinked open for a moment, staring directly into Shen Yuan’s. He knew that she was going to be the next to drop. 

She reminded him of a plucked flower, sprawled out and heaving, choking on every breath. The woman simply scoffed and dragged her out of the way with painted nails. He was so tired, he wanted to sprawl out on the floor. It wouldn’t be cold, warmed with the twisting energy in the air and the blood from his family. Jiang He stumbled, slipping slightly in a pool of it, before continuing. 

They couldn’t stop, one by one, Gu Ming, Bai Jiang, Jiang He, and soon it was just Huang Ya and Shen Yuan. The energy had begun to twist, no longer just funneling into the woman, Shen Yuan could feel small bits of it seep into his own body, trailing along his veins and swirling around his thumping heart. 

Huang Ya sobbed, a heaving gasp of breath as she clasped hands with him again, he was so dizzy. The energy made it harder to breathe, and he could see Huang Ya struggle as well. Tears were spilling down Huang Ya’s cheeks, her light brown eyes begging. Shen Yuan couldn’t think through the haze of the music, all he could do was notice the way her hair stuck to her neck, the way her hand tightened on his.

He was going to fall, he knew, he was going to join his siblings on the ground. Huang Ya shuddered, her eyes rolling as her grip slackened. Her hair fell from its tie, spilling onto the ground like ink, and then it was just him. 

He felt like a puppet on strings, balanced between the edge of consciousness as his body continued without him. The woman laughed, high and loud, and the energy flowed stronger in his body, he could feel it now, seeping into his muscles and joints, flowing around the cuts that littered his body. 

He was so tired, and yet, the dizziness faded, leaving only the slowly abating exhaustion. His feet tore on the ground, stepping over his siblings as he danced on, he could feel the skin slowly knitting together, healing faster than a mortal should be capable of. 

Awareness of what the energy was came slowly, he could only focus on the feeling of the music slowing down, the thumping rhythm coming to a halt. The woman clapped as his body stumbled, control coming back to him as she grinned. The jingle of her hair pieces ominous as she stood, stepping easily over the bodies of his siblings as she approached. 

“What a good sapling they’ve raised here.” Shen Yuan blinked slowly, everything was blurry, but the sight of her smile burned into his mind, “This master can work with this.” 

[web-novel-polls]

Favorite Web Novel Men Tournament

[Last Checked: February 5th, 2025 - Please check the original post for updated information]

Rules:

Must canonically be male or male-adjacent (includes canon trans men!)

Must be from a web novel or WN-adjacent

One character per response

Submit as many responses as you want 

Tournament Tag: #wn men tournament

No Propaganda

Bracket A: Non-Danmei

*Cédric Riester from When the Third Wheel Strikes Back

*Jesse Venetiaan from When the Third Wheel Strikes Back

*Park Moondae (Ryu Gunwoo) from Debut or Die

*Yoo Joonghyuk from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Bracket B: Danmei

A-Tai (Tengla Isai) from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Bai Sheng from Hui Tian

Bian Yanmei from Thousand Autumns

Cang Ji from Nan Chan

Chang Geng from Sha Po Lang

Cheng Qian from Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fuyao Sect

Chen Xing from Dinghai Fusheng Records

Cui Buqu from Peerless: Wushuang

Fang Juexia from Fanservice Paradox

Fei Du from Mo Du / Silent Reading

Feng Xiao from Peerless: Wushuang

Feng Xin from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Fu Shen from Golden Stage

Fu Wenduo from The Earth is Online

Gu Jianshen from Want to Ascend? Then Fall in Love

Gu Yun from Sha Po Lang

He Xuan from Heaven Official’s Blessing

He Yu from Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben

Jing Lin from Nan Chan

Jun Wu from Heaven Official’s Blessing 

Kong Hongjun from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Lan Sizhui from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Lan Wangji from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Li Jinglong from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Lin Jingheng from Can Ci Pin

Lu Bixing from Can Ci Pin

Lu Feng from Little Mushroom

Luo Binghe from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Lu Xu from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Mo Rigen from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Mo Xi from Remnants of Filth

Murong Lian from Remnants of Filth

Nie Huaisang from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Original Shen Qingqiu (Shen Jiu) from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Pei Tingsong from Fanservice Paradox

Peony from Unlucky Clover

Qin Jiu from Global Examination

Shen Qingxian from Want to Ascend? Then Fall in Love

Shen Wei from Guardian: Zhen Hun

Shen Zhuo from Hui Tian

Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Song Qingshi from Mistakenly Saving the Villain 

Tang Mo from The Earth is Online

Wei Wuxian from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Wenren È from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Wu Xingxue from Unseen Immortal of 300 Years

Xiang Shu from Dinghai Fusheng Records

Xiao Fuxuan from Unseen Immortal of 300 Years

Xie Qingcheng from Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben

Xue Meng from The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Yan Zhengming from Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fuyao Sect

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Yu Shengyan from Thousand Autumns

You Huo from Global Examination

Zhao Yunlan from Guardian: Zhen Hun

Zhou Zishu from Faraway Wanderers

^ Spoilers Warning!

*Dealer's Choice (Brackets are not final. I'm just dividing them as Danmei vs. Non-Danmei for right now. It'll probably be divided by popularity later)

[queerbrainrot]

A Very Subjective Show Recommendation

Basic Info:

Titles: Word of Honor

Main Leads: Zhang Zhe Han as Zhou Zi Shu and Gong Jun as Wen Ke Xing

Overall Tropes etc.: Morally Grey/Black Main Leads | Soulmates | Revenge Story | Childhood Friends to Lovers | Hidden Identity | WantedCriminal4WantedCriminal | Feral4Feral | Ride or Die | "I'm dying" vs "I won't let you" | Amnesia | Fake Identity | Found Family | Criminals adopting an orphan and being better parents | Villain(?) Fuckery | Non Traditional Husband-Wife dynamics | Playing House As Everyone Tries to Kill Them | "I WILL DIE FOR YOU" "no, I WILL DIE FOR YOU" | Villain Redemption Questionmark

How many episodes: 36

Trigger Warnings / Content Warnings: Non-graphic non-traditional self-harm, child abuse, child death, death of family members, death of loved ones, drugging, alcohol, torture, forced suicide via poison, non-graphic non-traditional suicide attempt, violence, brainwashing, hints of incest (between cousins), sexual harassment (background character perpetrator @ background characters, secondary femme character - perpetrator gets killed)

My plot description:

Zhou Zishu who is a former Wuxia-CIA leader gets so mentally unwell that he decides to leave his organization through a prolonged suicide to get at least few years of 'normal' life. He pretends to be a homeless alcoholic-beggar when a too pretty poetry-speaking Wen Kexing who sees Zishu's shoulder blades and decides 'that's my future husband'. Since that moment onward he stalks Zishu because yes he's that unwell. Zishu stumbled on a massacre and accidentally adopts an orphan in the process. The orphan has some very sought-after artefact so Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing try to keep him alive as the not-so metaphorical ghosts from their pasts try to kill them all.

MyDramaList plot description:

In order to leave the assassin organization The Window of Heaven, the leader Zhou Zi Shu performs an obligatory departure technique, leaving him with three years left to live. He disguises his face and tries to live the remainder of his days as a drunkard wandering the martial arts world. Three months later, he meets the mysterious Wen Ke Xing, who immediately notices Zhou Zi Shu’s façade. The two then grow closer when they get entangled in a conspiracy regarding the Glazed Armor, a protected legendary key to a powerful armory.

SCORING:

Chemistry between characters: Off the charts, convinced this show and the amount of the not subtle queerness in it is the reason why China did a temporary ban on queer romance adaptations. 1000000/10. Gong Jun made 'did you know i like men' into a facial expression.

Plot: 8.5/10, yes we have the artefact and armory thing but honestly the relationship of the leads and their relationships with others take the main chair. Overall though I liked the plot.

Ending: Cried. From two reasons. 10/10.

Did it drag aka did I feel the need to skip forward: Never, I rewatched it in full like 5 times by now I think. 10/10.

Was it easy to understand while going in blind: Honestly? Yes. It's more character driven than plot driven. 10/10.

Other characters: Honestly, loved everyone on screen. Obviously the villains were hate-able, but played well. Loved all of the supportive characters - especially Wen Kexing's and Zhou Zishu's little found family - so it was nice to watch even when main leads weren't on screen for X time. 10/10.

Other Big Pros:

Wen Kexing's costumes. His make up and wardrobe. Whoever was responsible - I hope your pillow is cool and you may never stub your toe. Chefs kiss.

Gu Xiang and her himbo husband - all they needed was her walking him on a literal leash along with the metaphorical they already have.

Zishu's wigs look amazing. Just wanted to say.

Everyone is so pretty I'm experiencing bisexual rage.

STRONG!!! WOMEN!! WHO ROCK!!! SHIT!!!! UPPPPPP!!!

Thoughts/Opinions with some spoilers:

I know this show gave a heart attack to few censors at least. I have no idea how they got away with so much - ZZS and WKX calling each other sOULMATES? Overall cannot recommend it enough. It's easily digestible, engaging and will have you crying, squeeing and fanning yourself. Sometimes all at the same time.

[freisende]

Heaven Official’s Blessing (天官赐福) Audio Drama Season 2 Theme Song - “Guilt” 《辜/Gu》 (Hanzi/Pinyin/English) Lyrics & English Translation

✲ Heaven Official’s Blessing (天官赐福/Tian Guan Ci Fu) Audio Drama Season 2 Theme Song

✲ Singer: Wumian Xiaosheng (无面小生)

✲ Scream: Yaozi Tongxue (腰子同学)

Youtube Music Lyric Video: here

•Original work: Heaven Official’s Blessing《天官赐福/Tian Guan Ci Fu》by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (墨香铜臭)

♫Production Group♫

📌Original Production Team ℗ 2024 猫耳FM:

•Planning: Gua Hao Jun (括号君)

•Composition/Arrangement: Li Dabai (李大白)

•Lyrics: Ming Huang (冥凰)

•Singer: Wumian Xiaosheng (无面小生)

•Backing Vocal: ciyo/王韩伊淋

•Fales cord（嘶吼）：Yaozi Tongxue (腰子同学)

•Suona (唢呐)：Piao Sanye (瓢三爷)

•Guitar: Da Niu (大牛)

•华阴老腔：国家级非物质文化遗产华阴老腔传承人张喜民

•Mixing: San Xing Dui Gongzuoshi (三星堆工作室)

✲ Released on: 2024-08-27

——————————————

Lyrics:

Verse 1:

幽幽夜沉沉 

yōuyōu yè chénchén 

语悄悄

yǔ qiāoqiāo 

听 何人行踽踽 

tīng hérén xíng jǔ jǔ 

登初宵

dēng chū xiāo 

游魂野客喧嚣 

yóu hún yě kè xuānxiāo 

高门重府烛摇

gāo mén zhòng fǔ zhú yáo 

问旦福夕祸 世间知多少

wèn dàn fú xì huò shìjiān zhī duōshǎo 

Pre-chorus 1:

忽而风起 似谁笑 良���吉时到

hū'ér fēng qǐ sì shéi xiào liángchén jí shí dào 

几家烹欢宴 肉骨喂邪妖 不足饱

jǐ jiā pēng huān yàn ròu gǔ wèi xié yāo bùzú bǎo 

他神色木然 既悲又喜 耳畔道

tā shén shǎi mùrán jì bēi yòu xǐ ěr pàn dào 

回头 却是恶言生寒 入髓窍

huítóu què shì è yán shēng hán rù suǐ qiào 

Verse 2:

迷迷雾漫漫 

mí míwù mànmàn 

哭渺渺

kū miǎomiǎo

提 昏灯过长街 

tí hūn dēngguò zhǎng jiē 

天不晓

tiān bù xiǎo 

花腔滚板未消 

huāqiāng gǔn bǎn wèi xiāo 

恶鬼怨伥又告

è guǐ yuàn chāng yòu gào 

问天公愚聩 善恶何以报

wèn tiāngōng yú kuì shàn è héyǐ bào

Pre-chorus 2:

社鼓阵阵 金铙厉 良辰吉时到

shè gǔ zhèn zhèn jīn náo lì liángchén jí shí dào 

造化如命数 欢恨谁借着 

zàohuà rú mìngshù huān hèn shéi jièzhe 

不相饶

bù xiāng ráo 

他神色木然 似悟非悟 举斧刀

tā shén shǎi mùrán sì wù fēi wù jǔ fǔ dāo 

回头 却是青衣扶摇 登仙道

huítóu què shì qīngyī fúyáo dēngxiān dào 

Scream:

休将奸狡昧神祗，

xiū jiāng jiān jiǎo mèi shén zhī, 

祸福如同逐影随

huò fú rútóng zhú yǐng suí 

善有善报，

shàn yǒu shàn bào,

恶有恶报

è yǒu è bào 

不是不报，

bùshì bù bào, 

时辰未到

shíchén wèi dào 

Bridge:

断足折颅 摧魄裂魂

duàn zú zhé lú cuī pò liè hún 

手起刀落 血飞肉滚

shǒu qǐ dāo luò xuè fēi ròu gǔn 

剜心剔骨 解我悲忿

wān xīn tī gǔ jiě wǒ bēi fèn 

易除厄罚 难偿苦恨

yì chú è fá nán cháng kǔ hèn 

断足折颅 摧魄裂魂

duàn zú zhé lú cuī pò liè hún 

有命还命 以待三更

yǒu mìng hái mìng yǐ dài sān gēng 

诸罪来受戮 见鬼神

zhū zuì lái shòu lù jiàn guǐshén

Last Chorus:

有头者超，

yǒu tóu zhě chāo, 

无头者升

wú tóu zhě shēng 

鬼魅一切，

guǐmèi yīqiè, 

四生沾恩

sì shēng zhān ēn 

太上敕令，

tài shàng chìlìng,

超汝孤魂

chāo rǔ gū hún 

脱离苦海，

tuōlí kǔhǎi, 

转世往生

zhuǎnshì wǎngshēng

——————————————

English Translation:

Verse 1:

The voices whispered in the dark night,

Listen; who is walking alone, ascending in the early night?

Wandering wild ghosts and guests are boisterous, candles are flickering in the high houses

Inquire about the blessings of the morning and the disasters of the evening, 

How many people in the world are aware?

Pre-chorus 1:

Abruptly the wind rises, as if a person is laughing as the auspicious time has arrived

Several families prepare a feast, meat and bones are fed to the evil spirits, yet they are still still not satisfied

He looked wooden, sad and happy at the same time, while whispering in the ear

Looking back, it was the evil words that made the person feel cold, penetrating through the bones and marrows.

Verse 2:

The foggy mist is thick, yet the crying voice is faint

The lights of the lanterns are dim, passing through the long street while the sky is still dark

The florid music is not yet over, with the hideous ghosts complaining

Ask the God of Heaven, how are good and evil rewarded?

Pre-chorus 2:

The drums are beating, the golden cymbals are loud, signing the auspicious time has come

Fate is like destiny, who unforgivably can mercilessly borrow joy and hate?

He looked wooden, he seemed to understand, yet not understand at the same time; as he raised the axe

Looking back, it was the blue-clothed man who is waving the road to immortality

Scream:

Do not be cunning and ignorant of gods, misfortune and fortune follow you back like a shadow

Good will be rewarded with virtue, evil will be punished with vice [1]

It is not that there will be no retribution; it is just that the time has not yet arrived!

Bridge:

Broken feet and skull, shattered soul and torn spirit

The knife slashed, blood flew and flesh rolled

Heart and bones removed to relieve the sorrow and animosity

It is easy to remove the heinous punishment, but it is hard to repay the bitter hatred

Broken feet and skull, shattered soul and torn spirit

Return back the life if you have it, and wait for the third hour!

All sins will be punished, take a look at the ghosts and gods

Last Chorus:

Those with heads will be saved, those without heads will ascend

All ghosts and spirits, all four lives will be blessed

Supreme Command, your lonely soul will be saved

Escape from this sea of ​​suffering, and reincarnate

——————————————

Notes:

[1]: What goes around comes around

——————————————

Don't forget to check the Youtube Music Lyric video: here.

Thank you for reading. Have a good day! ✨

Please feel free to tell me if you have any questions, or if you notice any mistakes-- whether they be the vocabulary, grammar or something else.

Navigation: ✤ Tian Guan Ci Fu (TGCF) Audio Drama Season 2 Theme Song: Unenlightened ✤ For translations, here. ✤ For more discussions and perspectives, here. ✤ For meme, here! If you like my writing, please consider giving me a tip through Ko-fi! 😊 ✤ More information (commission, messages, requests): Carrd

[aworldforastage]

Just finished: 三嫁咸鱼/Thrice Married to Salted Fish by 比卡比

Okay, not gonna lie, I'm a bit disappointed -- not to say the novel wasn't good, but my expectations might have been a bit too high due to its immense popularity, especially in the English-speaking fandom.

The story has some very interesting and refreshing ideas:

A transmigration novel told from the POV of an in-universe character rather than the transmigrator

Three separate transmigrations into the same universe

Main characters who unabashedly prioritizes their own interests

And it includes many popular tropes:

A genre-savvy transmigrator intentionally hijacks the plot from the original protagonist

A "feel-good" novel that mercilessly destroys the bad guys and other people standing in the main couple's way

Main characters are very smart and competent (if a bit OP)

The plot is action-packed and tightly-paced

The main couple has believable development and compatible personalities

But on the other hand [unmarked spoilers ahead]

I don't really like with the way the relationship arc has been handled. The gong transmigrates into three different bodies; even though it's the same spirit/personality that Lin Qingyu falls in love with, their dynamic is a bit different in each body and identity. A big part of Lin Qingyu's relationship with Lu Wancheng is them grappling with his declining health and inevitable death, and his relationship with Gu Fuzhou has a period of familiarizing with this new body. They are so distinct that I can't see it like one single relationship.

It is especially jarring to see Lin Qingyu "moving on" literally the night after Gu Fuzhou dies. Because he has been through this before, and this is meant to be Jiang Xing's "true body", there seems to be barely any adjustment. Qingyu becomes intimate with the new body before he is done processing Gu Fuzhou's death, and I feel like it was too abrupt given how deeply he has bonded with Jiang Xing-as-Gu Fuzhou.

The plot also feels more and more implausible as time goes on. The schemes Lin Qingyu and Lu Wancheng pull off in the Lu Household can be explained away by them being ballsy and smart, but as the scope of the story expands, their egregious interference of imperial politics just seems downright ridiculous. I really enjoyed the first part of the novel, where Lu Wancheng's poor health and Lin Qingyu's awkward political position give them more of an underdog-against-the-power kind of vibe. However, as they gain more political power and the "protagonist halo" , their progress becomes so smooth it can't even be called a conflict anymore.

Overall

I would summarize my impression of novel as "did not live up to the hype". It has many refreshing and enjoyable tropes, a sweet romantic arc and a feel-good kind of plot. It also has good and effective writing -- I was in tears reading about Lu Wancheng's death. Ironically, it starts in a way I really enjoyed, but shifts to a direction I enjoy less towards the end. Not a bad story, but I just hoped for something a bit more spectacular, or at least a bit different.

However, the song from the audiodrama is a bop ~

[reinaka42]

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) Masterpost

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) is a Vocal synth (Vocaloid and SynthV) music project. It consists of songs themed around different figures throughout Chinese history. The project is a collaboration between different artists and creatives, with music and videos featuring prominent traditional Chinese elements. The project's title translates to "The Records of Magnificence of the Wangchuan" - In Chinese mythology, "Wangchuan" (or River of Forgetting) is a river in the Underworld that can rid one of their past life's memories, similar to the river Lethe.

A mobile game adaptation has also been developed by NetEast. Unfortunately, I haven't played it so I can't give much insight on it. However, I assume that its premise is similar to that of the idea behind the project as a whole: all these historical figures meeting each other in the Underworld after they died. Maybe.

You can find all the songs on Bilibili. The official Weibo can be found here. The game's website, which includes all characters appearing so far in the game, can be found here, and its Weibo can be found here.

(If you prefer YouTube, I've also put together a handy playlist. Please know that most of these videos are reposts though, so please watch the original Bilibili MVs if you can!)

This blog is where I will be posting everything I feel like I need to say about the songs in this project. A lot of it is lifted from my Twitter account but will be in much more detail. Note that I probably won't touch collab songs, or songs that don't focus solely on the project's own characters.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Chinese, nor am I an expert on Chinese history. Therefore, I cannot reliably translate the lyrics to these songs, nor my words should be taken as gospel. I am merely a nerd gushing about my hyperfixation.

Playlist

多情岸 【Duo Qing An】 ➼ B link

洛阳怀 【Luo Yang Huai】 ➼ B link

易水诀 【Yi Shui Jue】 ➼ B link

山河令 【Shan He Ling】 ➼ B link

簪花人间 【Zhan Hua Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

栖凰 【Qi Huang】 ➼ B link

心上秋 【Xin Shang Qiu】 ➼ B link

祖龙吟 【Zu Long Yin】 ➼ B link

如见青山 【Ru Jian Qing Shan】 ➼ B link

竹林间 【Zhu Lin Jian】 ➼ B link

天下局 【Tian Xia Ju】 ➼ B link

青鸟衔风 【Qing Niao Xian Feng】 ➼ B link

木兰行 【Mu Lan Xing】 ➼ B link

好字唯之 【Hao Zi Wei Zhi】 ➼ B link

不可道 【Bu Ke Dao】 ➼ B link

水叙湖风 【Shui Xu Hu Feng】 (collab) ➼ B link

是非 【Shi Fei】 ➼ B link

风起甘露 【Feng Qi Gan Lu】 (collab) ➼ B link

谓剑 【Wei Jian】 ➼ B link

万象霜天 【Wan Xiang Shuang Tian】 (New Year event song) ➼ B link

千秋梦 【Qian Qiu Meng】 ➼ B link

易安难安 【Yi An Nan An】 ➼ B link

惊鹊 【Jing Que】 ➼ B link

高歌破阵 【Gao Ge Po Zhen】 (collab) ➼ B link

不赴 【Bu Fu】 ➼ B link

西行 【Xi Xing】 ➼ B link

大航海家 【Da Hang Hai Jia】 ➼ B link

牡丹乱 【Mu Dan Luan】 (collab) ➼ B link

倾国 【Qing Guo】 (collab) ➼ B link

相虎 【Xiang Hu】 ➼ B link

补天裂 【Bu Tian Lie】 ➼ B link

此期盈期 【Ci Qi Ying Qi】 (1st anniversary song) ➼ B link

破云来 【Po Yun Lai】 ➼ B link

归钓吟 【Gui Diao Yin】 ➼ B link

始见千秋 【Shi Jian Qian Qiu】 ➼ B link

临川浮梦 【Lin Chuan Fu Meng】 ➼ B link

将军行 【Jiang Jun Xing】 ➼ B link

妄语人间 【Wang Yu Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 (2nd anniversary song) ➼ B link

问剑春秋 【Wen Jian Chun Qiu】 ➼ B link

起战令 【Qi Zhan Ling】 ➼ B link

人间应又雪 【Ren Jian Ying You Xue】 ➼ B link

旷古回响 【Kuang Gu Hui Xiang】 ➼ B link

墨隐侠声 【Mo Yin Xia Sheng】 ➼ B link

桃源故人 【Tao Yuan Gu Ren】 (3rd anniversary song) ➼ B link

燕双归 【Yan Shuang Gui】 ➼ B link

拜云台 【Bai Yun Tai】 ➼ B link

思华年 【Si Hua Nian】 ➼ B link

承天 【Cheng Tian】 ➼ B link

*Note: The anniversary songs are probably for the game's anniversaries, as the project itself is more than 5 years old.

Albums

Vol 1: 溯洄 【Su Hui】 Includes character songs from Duo Qing An to Zhu Lin Jian. Features human vocals.

Vol 2: 踏浪 【Ta Lang】 Includes character songs from Tian Xia Ju to Yi An Nan An + Shui Xu Hu Feng.

Vol 3: 数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 Includes character songs from Bu Fu to Yan Shuang Gui, and the two anniversary songs.

Visual character guide:

PRE-QIN | QIN | WESTERN CHU | HAN | THREE KINGDOMS | JIN | NORTH & SOUTHERN DYNASTIES | TANG | FIVE DYNASTIES & TEN KINGDOMS | SONG | YUAN | MING | QING | DREAM

[incineraryperiphery]

Danmei Rec Meme

(thank you for clearing up my misunderstanding and the tag @endless-season! Original post here)

-How long have you been into danmei, how did you get into it / what was your first danmei? It's been a year or two (or three? time is irrelevant) at this point, but TGCF was my first! Asked around on a forum for character dynamic recs when I wanted to read something different and this was the one that caught my eye. I've been voraciously devouring them since. (Reading novels is my main motivation for learning mandarin; there's far too few translated horror danmei for my tastes and even less officially done ones)

-Favourite danmei? ask me again in three months and I can guarantee i'll give you a different answer. right now, it's a three-way tie between fake slackers (low stakes modern high school identity porn), married thrice to salted fish (ancient transmigration from the pov of a villain), and i can keep you alive till the fifth watch (desperate to live young master enters an unlimited flow horror game), but MDZS occupies most of my fandom brainspace at the moment.

-Favourite couples / characters? Man, there's so many. Off the top of my head for the couples that don't include my pet noncanon ships, chi ting and yue ren (please follow the rules of the game), ren yifei and saman (the days i clear escape games pretending to be an npc), xue qianshao and hui xing (where to find the remnants of spring), wei e and the creator (folklore's no. 1 boss), and song nanzhi and gu yanqing (穿成魔尊后与反派相爱相杀 - i'm not entirely confident in my own translation of the title) Character-wise outside of those boys up there, I love zhao yelan (after being forced to marry the evil star general), fu zhiyu (buddha-like rebirth), yu fan (wait for me after school), and san san (do you have any opinion on mechanical cat ears?). (Honorary mention to shenyuan svsss even without reading the novel yet, mostly because it feels like every post I see out of that fandom makes fun of him for reading a stallion novel for the plot but that's Thee most relatable-to-me character trait i've ever seen)

-Most recently read danmei? My most recently finished one is it's my turn to take the stage and fly/it's my turn to dominate (cryofrozen team captain gets defrosted and starts playing the vr version, meets his little cousin's shameless childhood friend in said game). I just started genius strategy theory (weak as hell little genius gets finally gets his hands on a holographic game he can actually play, i think the ML is the head of a research department?) and i'm very much enjoying it, but i'm juggling a few others in my open tabs for if the mood strikes.

-Any favourite authors? Qi jing nan qu and Nian zhong, no question. I love the way they both handle all the little details and really bring out the main couples relationships through them - the only downside is the emotional rollercoasters wear me out haha. My favorites from each are don't pick up boyfriends from the trash bin and sending the divine/sendoff. I also really enjoy the way mxtx structures her novels but it always takes me a few tries to really get into them.

-Any popular danmei you aren't particularly a fan of? Anything by priest, unfortunately - no fault on their part, all their concepts are fascinating but I just bounce off every one I try.

-Anything you've been meaning to read but still haven't? I've started both svsss and erha a couple times but the stars haven't been aligned properly or something for me to finish them yet (I already know i'm going to be terribly insufferable once i actually sit down and bang out the former, it has so many of my favorite tropes).

-Choose a random (the weirder and baitier, the better) memorable scene/danmei to describe! Okay so lets say you're some washed up magician who technically transmigrated into a novel, into the body of someone who was supposed to die in the first few pages doing something ridiculously stupid. You've already made it through an instance or two, made something of a name for yourself despite everything, and now you've got the big bad number one player trying to sabotage you inside another instance. everything is dealt with and you're this close to completing the instance when you're sucked into a coffin that you've just trapped someone in. said number one is in there instead, breathing your air and threatening you and being an irritating menace about all of it. it feels like there's no way to get out but, hey, you're a magician. you'll find a way even if it's a gamble. what do you do? You set the coffin on fire behind your back. (there's other really good scenes from thriller trainee but this one's my favorite and doesn't take fifty chapters of backstory to explain)

-Are there any particular genres/tropes you enjoy / don't enjoy? I mostly read unlimited flow/horror, xianxia/xuanhuan, and esports, (and wuxia, but there's not a lot of wuxia danmei floating around) but I'll read anything if the premise sounds interesting. For tropes, I enjoy omegaverse, court intrigue, pretending to be npcs, systems, and master/disciple - I like my protags cold, ruthless, and preferably some sort of sick or disabled. Even better if the main couple tries to murder each other a few times. As for dislikes, I'm not fond of cops/law enforcement main characters, anything dealing with suicide, or bully/victim ships (though, like I said, I'll read anything if it sounds interesting enough).

-Any recommendations to give? Badly describe them in a few sentences. A couple that I don't really see crossing my dash: Support is king (low stakes vr gaming about a poisonous healer, his pining dps, and a five-year misunderstanding. same author as please follow the rules of the game) Two Long Aotians' shura fields (scummy master completes his system quests but gets shunted to an alternate timeline where he can actually care for his little disciple instead of going home, protag from the original world discovers this and is not pleased. much stripping of vests and identity porn) PUBG online romance of the century (trashy voice-con livestreamer meets his terrible gamer boss and falls in love at first listen. same author as wait for me after school, i can do it is also really fucking cute too) Every day, the marshal is a love-struck fool for me (underground supposed-to-be-dead assassin ends up married to a war hero due to an error, terrible love advice abounds. short, sweet, plot-heavy and mecha-light - i heard my fiance is super fierce is also good) After marrying the lord of the underworld (wicked unlucky exorcist gets ghost-married as a kid to protect him, turns out his promised "beautiful female ghost" is a king of the underworld. feels like the author never misses, they also wrote how to feed an abyss and the dragon lord is weak and helpless but has a big appetite) His marriage partner is scheming (nominally-straight transmigrator can't bear to let the pretty minor villain meet his book-fate and marries him about it. Chi xueyan's family is so much fun.) Non-human seeking re-employment (lazy little ghost gets sucked into a horror game after two whole days of being human, proceeds to ruin the ambience by kicking everything he comes across. shen dongqing is not stuck there with the ghosts, the other ghosts are stuck there with him.)

(tagging anyone who'd like to do this, really, I don't think I know many people into danmei outside the big ones)

[wheredostarsgowhenyoudie]

Wooooh. Just finished The Last Immortal. :) :) :)

And since it is completed, I am now allowed to give spoilers from the novel Shen Yin or Hidden God by Xing Ling hahahhaa. Gosh, you don't know how much I wanted to fangirl with someone over this hahha!!

Thing is, I love the drama! I love the story and many more things about it.

But dang it, because the novel is even more heartbreaking.

WARNING: NOVEL SPOILERS BELOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. (Many things are not included/changed in the drama, so this may seem unfamiliar.)

.

.

.

Disclaimer: Let it be said that it was very, very hard to find good english translations for this novel. I had to endure reading robot and google translation. XD

The points below are spoilers I noted from what I understood of what I have read.

Low and behold...

1) Yuan Qi's sacrifice

🪷A thousand years ago, when Yuan Qi used the spirit sword to punish A Yin, Yuan Qi had already been dead.

See, the power of chaos can bring the immortal souls to life. So when Gu Jin became a god, he used his power to ensure the reborn of everyone they lost on Daze Mountain. He did it at the expense of his own life.

Feng Yin learned this too late.

2) The last battles

🪷Feng Yin joined the contest for the role of heavenly empress. Ajiu disguised himself to join it with her. They were together fighting Hua Shu and Hua Mo.

While this was happening, Yuan Qi was using all he has to seal the purgatory. Bibo was with him, his heart breaking at learning that Yuan Qi only had a body because of the Spirit Sword. All that he was seeing was nothing but a piece of a soul still fighting to save the three realms.

His friend Yuan Qi had long been gone. The power of chaos was no more.

Now, these next parts are from the epilogues.

3) Feng Yin's Dreams

🪷After Yuan Qi's death, Feng Yin keeps dreaming about him. In those dreams, Yuan Qi will tell her, "As long as you're here, I will always be by your side. Believe me, I will never leave you."

4) Ayin's forgotten lifetimes

Did you ever wonder what happened to Ayin in all those lifetimes she had lived in her tribulations?

Remember in the drama how Yuan Qi visited every reborn immortal from Daze Mountain but they couldn't seem to remember him?

🪷 In Shen Yin, that piece of Yuan Qi that clings with A Yin, the very part of him that saved himself in the drama, that piece had been with Ayin in every lifetime in all the tribulations that she had.

In every lifetime that she lived, there was a person who had been a constant, always with her, always looking after her, always trying to save her and failing no matter how hard he tried.

He always looked after her from one lifetime to another. But at every end, he took away her memories of him.

5) Feng Yin goes to the god realm

🪷Feng Yin forced her way into the god realm to plead Gu Jin's parents for help.

But Shang Gu just told her that Yuan Qi is her own flesh and blood. If she could save him, she would have done so already. She told Feng Yin to go back as it wasn't her time to enter the god realm yet.

6) Uncle Devil God

🪷 The devil god appeared before Feng Yin. He said he's there to sight see. Oh, and he also wants to save his eldest nephew, Yuan Qi, who doesn't even look at him.

Feng Yin had no qualms believing the devil god if he says he can really save Yuan Qi. It made the devil god very amused.

The devil god was kind enough to reveal the fact that long ago, when Feng Yin's souls were scattered into the world, Yuan Qi took a piece of his soul for her. And this soul has been with her all along. The power of chaos had been with her affecting her karma in every reincarnation. Yuan Qi's soul and Feng Yin's soul were intertwined. So if she lives, then he would not die.

When Feng Yin asked him why he's telling her all these, the devil god answered that many years ago, a man told him that a devil is a devil and will never be recognized by all spirit and is meant to temper the spirits. He believed all these and so he played his role. But Feng Yin showed him that fate can be changed, and so he wants to give it a try.

Feng Yin used that piece to revive Yuan Qi.

7) Scheming true god in-laws

🪷Meanwhile, in the god realm, Bai Jue is asking Sang gu why she didn't just tell Feng Yin that Yuan Qi could be saved when she came for them.

Shang Gu replied that the son (P.S. she actually calls Yuan Qi 'bastard' lol) is just like his father. He lives as he says and dies at he says. She also wanted to teach her daughter-in-law (aka Feng Yin).

They could not help teasing each other, as always. It was cute haha.

8) Yuan Qi and Feng Yin's married life

🪷In the novel, they had a daughter and Yuan Qi calls her princess. They banter about who she takes after, and Feng Yin asks him who is more important, her or their daughter? XD

When said daughter goes missing, the hint is for them to look where there are handsome immortals. Hahhahaa.

She totally took after them.

Shen Yin link:

Epilogue link:

NOTE: Before you freak out, those links are Chinese and Indonesian. YES, I KNOW. I did say I had to read robot and google translate lol. So to read it in your language, log in to google. Open the link in mobile. At the upper right of the google tab, click on the three consecutive dots and select 'Translate' (to English or whatever language you need it translated).

Enjoy! :)

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Miss The Dragon (2021) 

So cute Dragon King. 😆🐲 #遇龙 #MissTheDragon #shorts #王鹤棣 #祝绪丹 #邓为

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bUScn5PEezQ

[kungfuwushuworld]

Legendary Tsui Siu-Ming in Donnie Yen wuxia movie Sakra (2023)

Born in Hong Kong and a native of Guangdong, Hsu was once a recognized child star. Hsu had tried his hands in singing during the 1970s and 80s with such renowned tunes as "The New Chameleon", "Za Xiang Hu Shan Xing" and "Huei Sheng Gu Li Nian Li Qing". He has helmed various films in the 1980s and 90s, including "Gang Master", "The Fung-Shui Master", "The Holy Robe of Shaolin", "Mirage" and "Mistaken Identity". He was the martial arts choreographer in "Poison Rose and the Bodyguard", "Born to Defence", "Blood Ritual" and "The Revenge of Angel". He also produced drama serials for Rediffusion Television (RTV) such as the rating-topper "Chameleon". Hsu worked for ATV in 1998 and became CEO of Emperor Motion Picture in the subsequent year where he was responsible for film and TV business development.

[arwatchesandreads]

Love Me, Love My Voice (很想很想你) Review

I went into this drama not knowing anything about it. I didn’t know the actors nor the plot. However, after watching this drama filled with honey dripping sweetness, I was so glad I gave it a watch. 

My Rating: 9/10

Episodes: 33

Country: China

Genre: Pure Romance with good Music and too many scenes with food

Aired: Nov 30th, 2023 - Dec 16th, 2023

Cast:

Tan Jian Ci plays Mo Qing Cheng/ Qiang Qing Ci

Zhou Ye plays Gu Sheng/ Sheng Sheng Man

Hou Wen Yuan plays Zhou Zheng/ Jue Mei Sha Yi

Yang Xi Zi plays Geng Xiao Xing

Vincent Cao plays Feng Ya Song

Chen Hao Lan plays Dou Bing/ Mo Mo Er

Synopsis: 

Sheng Sheng (played by Zhou Ye) seems like a typical university student, however she has another identity online as “Sheng Sheng Man” where she makes music in the folk pop genre. One day, in a voice chat room while Sheng Sheng was talking to her friend, her idol, Qiang Qing Ci  who is a voice actor (played by Tan Jian Ci) enters the voice chat and speaks to her. Thus, Sheng Sheng’s world into professional music and love begins. 

This drama was adapted from the novel “Really, Really Miss You” (很想很想你) by Mo Bao Fei Bao (墨宝非宝). 

Beware of Spoilers Moving Forward!

What Episode did the Main Couple Start Dating?

Sheng Sheng and Mo Qing Cheng start dating as early as episode 8. She is reluctant to accept since they have only been together a handful of times, however, Mo Qing Cheng persuades her to start a relationship with him. 

Misunderstandings?

There are literally no misunderstandings, no break ups, no petty problems between the main couple as they talk about their feelings pretty straightforwardly. This show was genuinely a breath of fresh air between two green flagged characters. 

Love Triangles?

None. Nada. There was no second male lead or female lead there to squash the other person’s feelings. Purely feel good. 

Love Me, Love My Voice Ending

Love Me, Love My Voice has a cute typical happy ending, where they skip 2 years into the future and basically wrap up the story where they show that Sheng Sheng has finished her postgraduate studies and is beginning to work professionally as a composer. She is also preparing to get married to Mo Qing Cheng as he has already bought them a house. They go on a little vacation to their first retreat spot, and take wedding pictures and essentially reminisce about their time together. 

We also find out that Zhou Zheng and Geng Xiao Xing are also officially together. We also get a cute ending for Feng Ya Song and Dou Bing, where he finally takes the courage to try to confess to Dou Bing and she essentially accepts by telling him to stop talking, and takes his hand. 

Love Me, Love My Voice Review- Cute, Fluffy, Wholesome Romance

I give this show a wonderful 9/10. This show literally was the fluffiest, cutest, most wholesome romance for a girly who loves romance. It fulfilled every checkmark. The main characters have the healthiest relationship, the premise of voice acting and folk pop music was new and super fun to watch and listen to. I’ve never listened to any folk pop music before this show, but I was genuinely loving every song in this show (P.S. i have all the songs from this show added to a playlist on Spotify luls). They were massive foodies, which didn’t help me as I was watching the show. It made me always crave food when they described recipes or he was whipping up a dish. 

My review of this show lost a point only because I felt the character’s romance stayed very stagnant close to the end and not much was changing. Also, with the random time skip I felt like the ending was rushed. It felt like it was supposed to have a 40 episode run, but the show was cut short. 

This show, all in all, was just pure fluff with a new fun premise of voice acting and folk pop music, with a lot of food added in to create a unique wholesome romance. 

In my opinion, it's a must-watch if you love romance shows with little to no misunderstandings, no love triangles and pure fluff romance <3. 

[dailyasiandramas]

[cantalooprat]

Dinghai Fusheng Lu

What I Liked

the plot the character dynamics the romance the Pining and Yearning and Pain,,,,,, i thought i was gna get some fun kooky adventure abt saving the world not an Epic Adventure infused with Extensive Slow Burn and a generous helping of Angst

goddamn the nonconfession quotes this wn in general is so quotable and the tl is so beautiful to read

in general xiang shu/chen xing as a cp is so... sigh their dynamics, the way they banter and argue and get to know each other and eventually fall in love, ughhh the secret that chen xing kept abt his lifespan, how he was holding back from falling in love bc he couldn't just leave xiang shu behind, how xiang shu so desperately tried to keep chen xing alive, the i love you that's said in between the lines but never aloud, the moonshell bracelets... THE SLEDDING............ im so sad i love them shuxing invented love

the fact that this wn is literally one of those isekai style regression plot that goes "when chen xing woke up, he found himself 3 years before his death, on the journey to save the world... can he gather his companions and save all those he cared about? can he finally be lovey dovey with his martial god protector??" except it spends 2/3 of the story injecting the readers with Pain of the first cycle before the second cycle comes...

somewhere around the first half i was like, so this is what romantic joongdok is like huh. bc they rly gave that sort of vibe. the mc who puts the world above himself, who keeps running around? disappearing? and whenever he disappears it puts the ml in a frenzy lmao. and the ml, taciturn and tsundere but cares abt the mc beyond what words can describe. chen xing will light up the whole world with the heart lamp but chen xing himself is the light of xiang shu's world /crying

oh man the chars... tuoba yan my sweet eternal 2ml... xiao shan, shuxing's adopted son... xie an who i was rly sus abt but he lowkey became one of the best n most reliable team member, we stan an actual functioning adult... feng qianjun who rly impressed me when he chose gu qing over princess qinghe... everyone is so good!! characterized so well!!

i like that the main story basically ended w the implication that shuxing r undergoing their three-month long honeymoon in the middle of the wilderness which they will spend to bone for every. single. day.

What I Disliked

ok i do love happy endings but even i have to admit the regression was quite an asspull lmao

Quotes

"...It's truly a pity that thousands of years later, the seas have become mulberry fields, and though the land has not changed, the people have long since disappeared." (has big "osmanthus wine tastes the same as i remember but where are those who share the memories" vibes 💀 this is a sad quote but i cant help it...)

"...stay with me, and let's finish this journey, and I'll forever remember... in this world, there is someone who cares so much about me he would call in all of his friends and scatter away all of his family fortune... just so I can keep on living, and stay by my side." "I will also remember, that in this world, there was once someone... who was willing to burn up all of his mortal and immortal souls just to become a blazing lamp that shines gloriously upon this world." (ch 86)

"Let's go. Don't care about it anymore. Tomorrow, no matter what happens to the Central Plains, don't care about it anymore. Nod, and I'll take you away. Do you want to go?"

"The wind will still, and the snow will melt... Where you are is my place of solace." (ch 120)

Notes

have not had a quotes section in a long long while but i can't help it, some lines r just /chef's kiss

i should've screenshotted the quotes for easier archiving...

also keeping title as dinghai fusheng lu vs record bc tianbao is also lu n i like keeping things consistent lmao