#I FUCKING LOVE LI ZHAO YU

[leeneir]

im ok

Just you and me.

[exitvelocities]

2023-2024 cdramas year in review

i'm borrowing this idea from thai bl tumblr, but with less fun categories because i'm tired. i'm including shows from this year and last year since i mainly watched a mixture of the two in 2024.

tagging whoever wants to do it!

overall favorite show (2024): fangs of fortune it's gorgeous, i love the characters, and it's got one of the most shippable poly casts i've seen in basically ever.

overall favorite show (2023): mysterious lotus casebook i actually did watch this one last year and i liked it, but it wasn't until i rewatched it again in 2024 that i lost my mind over it.

favorite character: di feisheng from mysterious lotus casebook my love my darling my heart. i adore him with every fiber of my being. i honestly never really noticed xiao shunyao too much before this but he's sure got my attention now.

favorite character runner up: pei sijing from fangs of fortune sorry, you can't give me a badass kuudere archer and expect me to NOT be absolutely nuts about her. cheng xiao has also improved SO much from her early days acting and i think it's super neat that they incorporated her dancing background into her fight scenes.

favorite ship: dihua from mysterious lotus casebook see above about losing my mind. it's got everything i love in a ship: history, tension, longing, being totally obsessed with one another. i've written so much this year and most of it is for them.

favorite ship runner up: jingxiao from fangs of fortune GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS i love them and they love each other. i love how flirty wx is with psj and how sincere and open psj is with wx.

favorite canon ship: song mo/dou zhao in blossom this is still airing so i hope they don't fuck it up, but it's such a refreshing dynamic. they're really partners, and he's so gone for her.

favorite canon ship runner up: gu jiusi/li yuru in destined i'm not really a fan of straight romance dramas but the strongest arc of this show is undoubtedly the first one, where they unwillingly get married and slowly fall in love. bjt is particularly charming in this role and song yi is lovely per usual.

favorite fl: dou zhao in blossom i love that she's careful and meticulous but not omnipotent. she's working at changing what she can but she's not a miracle worker. she feels warm and human and fallible in the best way. also mzy is gorgeous and i love her, fuck the haters.

favorite fl runner up: xue fangfei in the double she's batshit overpowered and it's still contrived in some instances but wu jinyan sells it enough that i just eat it up hahah.

favorite ml: li lianhua in mysterious lotus casebook his burnt out gifted kid ass is captivating. he has so many complex layers; it's a role that really gives cheng yi a chance to stretch his muscles and i think he did a great job.

favorite ml runner up: pu yiyong in oh no! here comes trouble he's a dumbass delinquent with a hereditary power to see spirits and release them, what's not to love.

favorite female supporting role: yang ying in a journey to love one of the best character arcs i've seen in a long, long time. i love her journey and where she ends up and i hope she gets everything she ever wants. iconic role for helan dou imo.

favorite female supporting role runner up: feng baobao in am nobody she doesn't understand human interaction and she loves knives and is good at them. she was made for me.

favorite male supporting role: yu shishan in journey to love breakout role for fang yilun, suave playboy with a heart of gold, faithful brother in arms. i adore him.

favorite male supporting role runner up: wang ye in i am nobody lazy, lowkey, and the best in the world. a good look for hmh also.

favorite antagonist: shen yurong from the double what a thoroughly unhinged man. i particularly loved the middle section of the show and the back and forth between him and xff. i wanted him to take a different path, but he couldn't.

favorite antagonist runner up: li lun from fangs of fortune oh my beautiful, bitter, lovelorn tree demon. he's like catnip for me.

favorite antagonist honorable mention: gong shangjue from my journey to you so intense, so brooding, so murderous.

bonus 2023 thai show section

favorite overall show: moonlight chicken i just really loved this show. i like both gemfourth and earthmix and while i did not enjoy the bit of firstkhao pandering at the end, i thought it was a generally thoughtful exploration of human foibles.

favorite cast: my school president they're adorable and i love them. this is overall such a fun, feel good show with great music. tinngun are wonderful and so are the secondary couples. special shoutout to babygirl por's outfits.

most ridiculous sex scene: bed friend you know the one.

biggest disappointment: only friends i still haven't finished it. i'm just not invested in anything or anyone. i think part of it is that i don't really love the cast, out side of neo and mark. i do like first and khao but not really together, sadly.

[nodoubtinus]

Divergences in The Trust so far:

The first episode (past the modern-day segment, which I'll tackle in another post) starts with Xu Yu and her servant disguising as men and sneaking into court, because Xu Yu wants to see her father for the first time in three years. It's a fun change, and it establishes that Xu Yu is on very thin ice. It's a strange bit of characterisation, though- in the manhua and donghua she doesn't deliberately break the rules as she does here, and she isn't so assertive or argumentative in the aftermath as she is here.

The servants get a lot more personality. Xiao Jinyun's personal servant, Wudu, and Xu Yu's servant are both entirely new characters.

They've gotten rid of Consort Zhao? She's been replaced with Lady Pei, who... seems to be exactly the same so far. Maybe this one isn't the Emperor's cousin!

The harem seems about the same, but more fleshed out. Tao, Li, and Qin are all there. (Qin has a role in the manhua, but in the donghua she's just a name and a face.)

THEY'VE REPLACED HUNA????? MY WIFE??????? 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭

I love their clothes!! In the manhua and donghua you only get about three outfits between everyone, but here everyone has different outfits! And Xiao Jinyun isn't stuck in fucking. Butter colours any more XD

This time, what swaps their body is a protective bracelet General Xu (whose name we get! Xu Ding!) gives to Xu Yu, that he got from the northern border.

[pippin-pippout]

So I dragged myself kicking and screaming and, yes, mostly in denial, through the last episodes of A Journey to Love.

My thoughts can be summarized as follows:

Obviously this is mainly due to me being horrifically traumatized by Yuan Lu’s death. After all, they told us from the get go he wouldn’t live to 20. They made it clear he had a deadly heart disease. And then. They had the nerve. They had the audacity. They had the actual fucking bahoonga BALLS to follow through!?

But then I found myself sobbing at literally every good guy death scene, plus all of the mourning scenes. The latter was in large part thanks to Alen Fang's acting - deepest apologies to him for just referring to his character as 'the slutty one' for the majority of the show. Not that I was wrong. Also thanks to strong performances from He Lan Dou for Yuan Lu's death.

Anyway so I need to add this gif x4 for the Liudao Hall babies:

Qian Zhao, da ge, who made mistakes but always did right in the end

Sun Lang, who just wanted to hold something fluffy at the end, dying a hero

Yuan Lu, who died in his princess's arms after running to deliver a letter rendered useless by the Emperor of An's greed.

Yu Shisan, who lived as he lived and had such a happy moment with Chu Yue right before it all became irrevocable.

When they added Yu Shisan to the snowball fight, I just about lost it. Liu Yuning's acting there - having the realization about Shisan's death as he watched them play in real time was so well done. Really hurt.

Plus I'll make a couple of versions with edits.

For the Wu Emperor. I knew it was gonna happen from the spoilers but damn, him genuinely learning the value of friendship and brotherly love made me root for him. Dude did not deserve to go out like that. Thank goodness for the magic of CDramas where he lived just long enough to pass on his will to Ning Yuanzhou, and do one last act of good.

It also ensured Duke of Chu was able to pass on his command to his daughter, Chu Yue, before dying of the same (was not clear if her bro died or not, or if dad was always going to choose her).

And for Deng Hui. Started out thinking he was just a sexist bastard. Turns out he was one of the most principled characters in the show.

Their deaths didn't make me cry, but I respect them.

Also loved Chen Du Ling's (Empress of Wu) small part in this. I may not like all of her characters but she can deliver a scene and hold a room. It was a bit cathartic to see her put every man in their place, and basically decide the fate of two countries, even though her lament that she'd only ever have power through another held true.

Ah Ying, my baby girl. This is a character that could have turned people off from the beginning. Thanks to strong writing and stronger acting, it did not. I was super impressed with He Lan Dou. She can dial it up and dial it down in a single take, and can play big dramatic scenes with a subtlety that some older actors cannot grasp. This was the first thing I've seen her in, though for her and Chen You Wei (Yuan Lu) I might watch Tiger and Crane if someone tells me it's good.

I still think Li Tongguang is a perverted and creepy child, who never managed to learn (except in literally the last ep), but at least I trust that he will treat Ah Ying well. I don't hold it against him for screwing up the battle - he was trying to be benevolent but made a bad choice.

The main couple win it for me this year. What an inspired pairing. They beat out heavy hitters including Bai Lu x Everyone which was near impossible. Something to do with letting Liu Shi Shi use Liu Yuning's height against him at every possible moment. Also the 'if you die, I'll finish the job and then follow you' is my favorite dynamic. I swear when Ruyi threw those bombs, NOT NEEDING TO HAVING ALREADY SUCCEEDED AT KILLING THE KING AND PRINCE, just to join him, y'all I died. Good for whoever posthumously gave her the Marquis title on her own (not just furen) - couldn't tell if it was Li Tongguang acting as regent or Dayang (great shot of those two at the end).

The final episode was one of the best final cdrama episodes I've seen. I might have to make another post about that. In sum, despite losing a large portion of the well-loved cast, the remainder gave a world-class finale. The visuals were incredible (explosions are my favorite). The final scene was beautiful (though I'm a bit surprised they gave it to Chu Yue instead of Ah Ying who knew all 6 of them closely).

[habizuh-studios]

My first reaction to Guardian (Prelude-Chapter 1)

I just started reading Guardian! I have only read the prelude and the first chapter so far, and here are my impressions:

the back of the book does not mention guo changcheng at all, so i wonder why he was the introductory character? i feel like he will be an important side character + it gives us context for the "intern who just passed out," but yk. He does give off side character vibes, but he could be a main character! kind of like yin yu. his uncle must be either never explained or will be EXTREMELY important later down the line maybe as a traitor but idk. i haven't met shen wei yet, but i think he's the guy with the suit and glasses? he kind of reminds me of shen yuan, but it could just be the name and style. not suit tho, sy would never wear a suit. zhao yunlan likes to be called xiao-zhao, which is interesting to me because i think (THINK) it means little zhao? also they do the thing where the don't capitalize the prefix (so like: xiao-Zhao) and idk if it looks off to me because people capitalize stuff in fanfics or if im going insane. he seems like a pretty chill dude though. I love him and his cat. can't get over the fact that the cat can just talk like that. imagine ur walking down the street and you see this cute black cat and instead of hissing at you it opens its mouth and it says "fuck off" in the deepest most ford commercial voice ever. i'm assuming li qian was the victim in the crime scene? interesting to me. also oof girl, that brick has gotta hurt, how bad was that thing messing with you??? there were other names but i couldn't keep track. i remember a lot of lao prefixes and i think a werewolf, but idk. i'm assuming we're going to get more details on them, but they better be important bc why are there so many name drops omg. smoking cigarettes feels so aesthetic in art but not irl and i have no idea why. not to mention the art is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS, i love it! maybe i'll watch the drama after this..?

[atamascolily]

Lily liveblogs: Thunderbolt Fantasy 4x06

Demon realm home decor sure is something.

[Narrator voice] PREVIOUSLY ON THUNDERBOLT FANTASY, Lang Wu Yao was about to be ambushed by Spider's chains in Azibelpher's gothic castle!

Fortunately for Lang, he is well-equipped to hold his own against an invisible foe. RIP Azi's furniture, though.

Spider not only recognizes Lang from his time as the Court Virtuoso, he also recognizes him as a demon and Azi's kid thanks to the portrait on the wall

that portrait tho... OH MY GOD THAT PORTRAIT

Lang realizes Azi isn't there and fucks off, leaving Spider alone. Ba Wang Yu comes into gloat, but Spider believes Ansarto set them up.

meanwhile, Lin is disguised as Piao Miao again and is like, "oh, yeah, those demonic seals all the demon nobles have! you totally knew about those, right?"

... and Wasp and Spider end up believing whoever gathers the most seals gets the glory, so off they go.

Meanwhile, Azi calls a meeting to inform everybody that HUMANS ARMED WITH MAGIC HOLY SWORDS broke into his castle and everybody assumes they killed Jia Li and took her seal.

Ansarto: *sweats nervously*

Demon King: Y'ALL GOT ONE JOB, ELIMINATE THOSE FUCKERS ASAP OR ELSE

(crack thought: what if the demon king turns out to be the unseen Dong Li emperor in disguise, lololol. Okay, probably not, but you just gotta wonder what's going on back there, his silhouette looks like he's got a lot of feathers)

so Uraina (Covid Safety Protocols) appears in from of Spider... but instead of a fight, she proposes an alliance.

...at the same moment that Megamind (Hylas) is making a similar offer to Wasp.

A+ USE OF SPLIT SCREEN, I LAUGHED SO HARD

meanwhile, Ansarto, not to be outdone, finds Lang brooding and tells him he will train him using his special technique so Lang can kill Azi and do them both a favor, lolol

love that Lang literally cannot go anywhere without people recognizing his heritage, lololol POOR GUY

Parasol Lady is excellent, but Ansarto has the best design of all the new demons, Satoru Minamoto understood the assignment.

HIS SKITTERING LITTLE LEGS THO

considering that Ansarto's bio says he's skilled at dream manipulations, I foresee a scene paralleling Azi's temptation of Lang in S3 and also Lang journeying into his psyche and straight-up not having a good time--possibly connected, at least thematically, to the shot of him seeing an illusion of his mother in the OP (not to mention all those eyes)

Xing Hai, observing everything: uh, boss, should we be concerned?

Azi: lol, no, this is just starting to get good, let him cook

Xing Hai also tells him that the Order of the Divine Swarm broke into his castle, and Azi's like, "oh, yeah, you know their boss, can you introduce me?" so Xing Hai arranges a Zoom meeting, lolololol

Locust: you've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here after the stunt you pulled with Zhao Jun Lin.

Azi: Hello, handsome!

SO MUCH SCHEMING. SO, SO, SO MUCH SCHEMING.

also Azi/Locust is a legitimate ship now, I love it

meanwhile, Shang et al. climb a mountain in the Wasteland of Spirits and discover a rift spewing miasma below them, which Shang says leads to the demon realm.

it's unclear if we're still going to get the time travel plot I hoped for; that "surprised telenovela zoom" shot earlier may just have been Shang connecting the wasteland miasma with his brief time in the demon realm in S3, but there's still time!!

Chao Feng is STILL ranting about how Mu Tian Ming is the Worst (complete with flashbacks) but then they stumble across two low-level demons who are relatives of the guys Shang and Lang beat up last season and they square off for a fight, and I can't stop laughing because WOWOWOWOW those guys from last season turned out to be unexpectantly relevant after all, who knew.

(the preview for the next episode shows Shang leaping off the cliff with a flaming sword that is probably the lotus macguffin or whatever, so yeah, they're going to the demon realm next episode)

anyway, this episode was incredibly fucking hilarious, oh my god, so many balls in the air, where are they gonna all come down, and I'm living for it.

I hope Wasp ends up fighting Parasol Lady for the Butch vs. Femme ultimate showdown, lololol.

for the record, my money is on Lang getting the seals first because he is a Protagonist and also Powered By Rage, but I have no doubt there will be a lot of twists and turns before then

also jury's still out on whether Chao Feng will be attracted or repulsed by Lang's new look, but either way, she's going to tell him that now that he's a monster, no one will love him except for her, and he should go back to being her sheltered pet since there's no other place for him in the world. Blech.

Meanwhile, Tian Ming is blind, so she can't tell, and also she wants him to just be himself, and I just hope Lang will listen to her instead

how the FUCK do they puppet the mech anyway. Is there an actual guy in there + the one actually doing the external puppetry or what. cannot wait to find out in a behind the scenes video someday.

title of the next episode implies we are going to find out more about the connection between the heretical and demonic arts that Locust hinted at in the first episode and I cannot WAIT to see what big reveals are coming

also laughing because episode 8 of S3 was "Schemes and Conspiracies" but we have so, so leveled up from there, hahahahaha

[randomingoftherandomness]

If you could choose the cast for the next generation of My Journey To You which actors/actress would you pick for the heirs of the Gong family?

Ooo! I like this :)

Now, I'm not gonna pretend I am very much versed in the who's who of new Cdrama actors and actresses because frankly, I don't watch as much shows as I used to, but I'll give this a stab.

Ding Chengxin

I didn't even hesitate with this pick :DDD

He has actually done two project with GJM and so I may be biased here in picking him, but I really want to see him do a third project in GJM's style. There's a measure of elegance about him that he has shown in his roles in Wuliang and Painted Skin that deeply captivated me. I would like to see him in another wuxia/guzhuang, and I know I'm not the only one.

As for who he would play, I am thinking that he could be great as an heir to either the Xue family or the Jue family. The side eye game/resting bitch face would be phenomenal.

(side note: I'm picking up on GJM liking to give his MC some secret world breaking tattoo...)

2. Li Hongyi

Another actor I want to see more of, and by the looks of things, will be getting more of, so I think I'm gonna be good :) He was fantastic in The Blood of Youth, but it was his turn in the rom-com The Legendary Life of Queen Lau that really sold me on him. I've always believed it is harder to do comedies than it is to do serious stuff, and somehow he managed to not make it cheesy or over the top.

I think he'd be great as an heir to the Yu lineage -- perhaps taking on more of Yun Weishan's prim and proper reticence rather than Ziyu's more relaxed personality.

3. Wu Mingjing

I have been utterly enamoured with her since I saw her in What's Wrong With My Princess a couple of days ago. I think she's absolutely fantastic and could do with some meatier roles to sink her teeth into. Definitely someone I will be paying attention to from now on and I am looking forward to checking out more of her body of work.

I think she'd steal the show as someone from the Zhi residence. The amount of ice princess looks she could rock!! The quiet but vicious sass!!! Yes, I think she would be great.

4. Ao Ruipeng

Ao Ruipeng is someone I saw and immediately saw a puppy. No. But fr. He's got this very pleasant aura about him and gives off the vibe that he's super affable. It definitely helps that he and Li Hongyi played off each other with great aplomb in The Blood of Youth.

I can see him being an heir to the Shang lineage, inheriting all of Zishang's extroversions and Jin Fan's more measured decision making processes.

(sorry. I just wanted y'all to see them both being cute together)

5. Zhao Lusi

This one I know is a fantasy casting on my part, but since this is my list, I shall indulge in all the fantasy I want :DD

She's definitely one of the best actresses of her generation, hands down. It's not even a question at this point and she has the body of work to prove it. There's something so chameleon-like of her and she becomes the characters she plays and not just plays them. She's an absolute delight to watch and I still enjoy her roles in The Long Ballad and Love Like The Galaxy. I've seen bits of her in Hidden Love, but because I'm not much for modern dramas, that's in the back burner for now, but I'll get round to it eventually.

I would not hazard a guess as to which heir she should play because I think it would ultimately depend on the narrative. Give her the role with the most weight to it and I think she would not only hit it out of the park, but flourish. Lusi is a powerhouse and it would be a treat to watch her tackle any role.

(also she was in a previous project with Li Hongyi and his unfortunate cockroach antennas serious those antennas look dry as fuck)

(I have also realised that two of my choices were previous co-stars with LHY was this a conscious decision wow idk maybe?)

[the-archlich]

Dynasty Warriors: Who Is Xu Sheng

Although it wouldn't be correct to call Xu Sheng an obscure figure, he's certainly not one of Wu's most famous commanders. There are, however, a few interesting things to be said about him.

Xu Sheng doesn’t have an especially big footprint in 3K fiction. Like a lot of 3K figures he’s been an NPC in Dynasty Warriors for a long, long time and an officer in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. His stats in the latter are generally above average, so that’s nice for him.

He was never your first choice for something but it never hurt to have him along for the ride and he’s one of the better “late game” officers. He doesn’t really have a presence outside of these games, so there’s not much to talk about in this section.

All things considered, then, I was pretty surprised when they added him as a playable character in DW9. As is usually the case with Xu Sheng he wouldn’t have been my first choice but it’s not a decision I could really complain about, either. The most active part of his career overlaps nicely with the portion of Wu’s history DW cares about and he was certainly an accomplished individual, so it’s a solid choice.

I don’t really think I have anything to say about Xu Sheng in DW9, though. He gets the moments you’d expect if you have any familiarity with him, but outside of that he’s mostly a background figure. I can’t identify any particular personality traits he has or character motivations. I’d like to see him as a more dynamic figure but with what we got, I don’t have a lot to talk about.

Someone with more passion for Xu Shu wrote in anonymously and gave me their opinion. I’ll share it here because I don’t have any opinions of my own to give about his DW9 characterization.

Xu Sheng's DW9 Characterization: He doesn’t have much of a massive presence aside from the Guangling Fake Wall thing. But from some of his lines in 9 Vanilla and Empires, he feels more like a reverse Wang Yi. He developed PTSD from losing Xu Province, but instead of going all vengeance mode, he tries to be a better person and defend Wu as an atonement for losing his homeland. He does have moments of lapsed judgement like him doubting on Zhou Tai because pirate bad but made up in ZT's ending.

I think KT wants Xu Sheng to be more like Wu's version of Guan Xing and Li Dian where they wanted smarterish warriors? Though he also is heavy on Japan's love for "gap moe '' where he has lines where he likes sweets and he cries when he feels an extreme emotion worthy of it like accomplishment or gratefulness or loss. Also they fucked up the Fake Wall story in that everyone in Wu was on board with the tactic instead of being Sheng's "fuck you did it anyway" thing.

Make of that what you will. For now we’ll move on to Xu Sheng in the Yanyi. Xu Sheng is first mentioned in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as an officer who joins Sun Quan prior to Chibi.[1]

During the campaign, Zhou Yu sends him and Ding Feng to capture and kill Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang anticipated this and isready with a fast boat. When Xu Sheng’s ship draws near, Zhao Yun shoots the rope holding its sail, which allows Zhuge Liang’s to get away and intimidates Sun Quan’s officers into not following. Ding Feng shrugs it off saying,“Zhuge Liang is too clever for anyone; and Zhao Zilong is the bravest of the brave.” Later, Xu Sheng and Ding Feng serve as Zhou Yu’s guards during the fire attack.[2]

Xu Sheng next appears at the siege of Jiangling, acting as an assistant to the general Jiang Qin. Although bested in battle twice by Cao Ren, he plays a key role in eventually defeating his army in the field.[3] Later, he and Ding Feng are involved in an entirely fictitious attempt to capture Liu Bei at his wedding with Lady Sun but are shamed by the lady into letting the couple pass. They subsequently join up with Zhou Yu and pursue Liu Bei but are unsuccessful.[4]

Xu Sheng returns as a commander at Hefei. There, he plays a noteworthy role in extracting Sun Quan from danger.[5] He gets to have a significant moment of glory in the subsequent battle at Ruxu, where he leads a daring strike against Li Dian. Although initially successful he is soon surrounded and in danger of being killed. Fortunately, he is rescued by Zhou Tai and both emerge heavily wounded.[6]

Following this, Xu Sheng has a consistent presence in Sun Quan’s campaigns against Liu Bei. He plays a small role in Lü Meng’s operations against Guan Yu, where he is once again working with Ding Feng.[7] They serve as Lu Xun’s guards during the operations in Yidu. In one incident they are taunted by Wu Ban and want to fight him, but Lu Xun correctly predicts it is a trap and restrains them so they do not fall into an ambush.[8]

Xu Sheng’s biggest moment of glory comes in chapter 86, which is inspired by Cao Pi’s Guangling Expeditions. When word reaches Sun Quan that Cao Pi is invading in the east with a large army, Xu Sheng volunteers to meet them.[9] In an earlier chapter, he objects to Sun Quan accepting a title from Cao Pi, considering it a shameful humiliation.[10]

Xu Sheng immediately begins preparing to meet Cao Pi’s army but has some trouble with his subordinate Sun Shao. The latter objects to Xu Sheng’s decision to take a defensive position, to the point where Xu Sheng orders his execution. Sun Quan soon arrives and rescinds the order. Instead of apologizing for his disobedience, though, Sun Shao crosses the river to fight Cao Pi, completely disobeying all instructions. Xu Sheng is aware that Sun Quan has a fondness for Sun Shao, so he sends Ding Feng to rescue him.[11]

Once Cao Pi’s army arrives, Xu Sheng erects false walls in the night, manned by scarecrows. In the morning, Cao Pi thinks that Xu Sheng raised an entire fortress in one night and decides to retreat. During the retreat, he is ambushed first by Sun Shao and then by Ding Feng, as Xu Sheng planned. Cao Pi narrowly escapes but Zhang Liao is wounded by Ding Feng and dies shortly after.[12]

Xu Sheng gets one last bit of glory during the battle at Shi’ting, where Lu Xun has him lead the vanguard. He defeats Cao Xiu’s general Zhang Pu and almost captures Cao Xiu before being fended off by Jia Kui’s army.[13] His death is not mentioned in the novel, but that goes for most people.

On the whole, Xu Sheng is depicted as a relatively powerful warrior, though not quite on the same level as men like Zhao Yun or Cao Ren. His bravery is beyond criticism, though, and he’s also rather clever. Zhou Yu, Lü Meng, and Lu Xun all entrust him with vital tasks and he usually pulls them off. He is nearly always found with Ding Feng.

It’s that last part that strikes me as the strangest thing about the fictionalized Xu Sheng. I can find nothing to suggest that they shared any particular closeness. The two were not related, by blood or marriage, nor were they from the same homeland. While there are points where their careers overlapped, the same can be said for dozens of Sun Quan’s prominent officers. Linking the two of them together is kind of a random choice. It seems to come out of nowhere.

Honestly, though, I think that might be a good angle to lean into. Ding Feng doesn’t have too many other people in the Wu cast to really interact with so playing up a friendship between him and Xu Sheng might give them both a more emotional connection to the narrative.

The fictionalization of Xu Sheng’s life does hit most of the key points, though there are a few interesting bits that I think get lost in the background.

Originally from Langye in Xu province, he fled to Wu when everything fell apart in the north. There, he became known for his personal valor. Sometime after 200, Sun Quan gave Xu Sheng independent command over a small force and tasked him with protecting Chaisang from Huang Zu. During this time, he distinguished himself by defeating Huang Zu’s son Huang She in a battle at Chaisang despite being badly outnumbered. He was promoted to a colonel and rounded out his early career by suppressing some mountain bandits in Lincheng. After this he became one of Sun Quan’s personal generals, with some supervisory duties.[14]

For the next several years, Xu Sheng was highly active in the campaigns conducted between the Huai and Jiang rivers. In 213 he helped defend Ruxu from Cao Cao and remained with the garrison there. Xu Sheng was badly wounded in the fighting at Hefei and even lost his favorite spear (though it was later returned to him by He Qi). In 217 he was at Ruxu again. A storm found him stranded on the enemy side of the river, and Xu Sheng boldly led a sortie from the ships to protect them until the wind died down and allowed him to return to friendly shores.[15] This last incident appears to be the source of his heroics against Li Dian during the same battle in the Yanyi.[16]

As in the novel he did fight in the defense against Liu Bei in Yidu. In that chapter, as noted earlier, he is taunted by Wu Ban and almost falls into an ambush, though Lu Xun restrains him.[17] This is actually very close to the truth. Wu Ban did attempt to draw Wu officers into an ambush during the fighting at Yiling but Lu Xun restrained his men. Xu Sheng is not specifically mentioned but the dissatisfaction was widespread and it’s a fair bet that he was one of those who wanted to be more aggressive. Time, of course, proved Lu Xun’s caution wise.[18] Xu Sheng did, however, earn appreciable merit in the decisive battle that forced Liu Bei’s retreat.[19]

After Cao Pi took the throne, he sent an envoy to make Sun Quan King of Wu. Xu Sheng was outraged at seeing Sun Quan be given this title as though he were a mere underling and made a great show of his displeasure. The Wei envoy noted that with men like Xu Sheng, Wu would not remain subservient for long.[20] This is a scene that is repeated almost exactly in the Romance.[21] True to this prediction, Sun Quan soon revolted against Cao Pi and the two went to war. During the subsequent Great River Campaign (222–223), Xu Sheng gave distinguished service defending Dongpu from Cao Xiu. During this campaign he was shipwrecked by a storm for the second time, making him a man with remarkably bad luck.[22]

Xu Sheng is most famous for his exploits during Cao Pi’s Guangling Expeditions (224–225), and for good reason. The Yanyigives an exaggerated account of this (as it is wont to do) but it’s easy to recognize the truthful foundation upon which the fictionalization is based.

Cao Pi’s attack from Guangling in 224 was unexpected, since it was very difficult to cross the river there, as subsequent events proved. Sun Quan’s defenses were thus weak in the area. Although he was able to quickly assemble a fleet to intercept Cao Pi, the land-based defenses were still soft. Xu Sheng came up with the plan to erect false walls to make the defenses look stronger and deter an assault. His plan did fool Cao Pi’s scouts. Finding the defenses stronger than anticipated, Cao Pi withdrew.[23]

The Yanyi also adds in the story of the disobedient Sun Shao and his ambushing Cao Pi in retreat. The novel depicts Sun Shao as valiant but impetuous and young. In reality, Sun Shao was almost 40 years old at the time of the Guangling expeditions and had been defending the region south of Guangling for almost 20 years.[24]

During Cao Pi’s return in 225, Sun Shao dispatched a raiding party against Cao Pi’s headquarters under one Gao Shou. They were able to capture some of Cao Pi’s imperial regalia, which was a great humiliation to the Wei army.[25] There is, however, no indication that he was acting against orders, had conflict with Xu Sheng, or that the raid resulted in the heavy casualties mentioned in the novel. There is also no mention of Ding Feng.

Xu Sheng passed away sometime between 224 and 228, slightly before his disappearance form the novel.[26]

On the whole it’s a solid career. He gave distinguished service in most of the key battles during his lifetime. He was a skilled fighter with impressive bravery, and he has no record of any untoward personal conduct. While perhaps not Wu’s most dynamic commander, there’s nothing in his history anyone could fault him for.

It is hard to get a sense of who Xu Sheng was from his biography, though. Aside from listing his battles and achievements there isn’t much known. There aren’t any little anecdotes from his personal life or comments on his personality. I guess I can’t fault DW9 too badly, then. Even if they were looking at the same things I am, there isn’t much to be found.

Still, there are a couple threads I’d be interested to see future incarnations of Xu Sheng pull on. The fact that he was so unlucky as to be shipwrecked twice seems like something a writer could lean into. And while his friendship with Ding Feng and function as a guard for important commanders are both fictional aspects of Xu Sheng’s life, that’s no problem for Dynasty Warriors and they would serve well to give him a firmer place in the overall Wu army. It’s some food for thought anyway.

In a lot of ways, you could say Xu Sheng is the perfect example of the typical military officer. He fought frequently and fought well, displaying both courage and cunning. While not dazzling like some of his contemporaries, it’s hard to find someone more reliable. Men such as him are the foundation of any successful state.

Endnotes

SGYY 38

SGYY 49

SGYY 51

SGYY 55–56

SGYY 67

SGYY 68

SGYY 75–76

SGYY 83–84

SGYY 86

SGYY 82

SGYY 86

SGYY 86

SGYY 96

SGZ 55.10

For more on these incidents, see https://classicalamateur.wordpress.com/2020/10/31/the-huai-jiang-campaigns/

As seen in SGYY 68

SGYY 84

SGZ 58.1

SGZ 55.10

SGZ 55.10

SGYY 82

See https://classicalamateur.wordpress.com/2020/07/17/riverine-warfare-in-the-three-kingdoms/ for an account of this portion of the campaign.

SGZ 55.10; see also https://classicalamateur.wordpress.com/2019/04/27/the-guangling-expeditions/

SGZ 51.9

Wu Lu, SGZ 47

SGZ 55.10

[baoshan-sanren]

best dramas I’ve watched so far in 2021 (and some not so good ones) part 1 out of god knows how many

Word of Honor - based on danmei novel Faraway Wanderers by Priest. The gayest thing I’ve seen in my entire life. Exhilarating story line, excellent villains, tight fast pace with no screen time wasted. Superbly acted by the entire cast. Emotionally devastating and devastatingly rewarding. Budget of two pieces of string and duct tape. A drama I will be obsessed with for at least the next two years and then some. 11/10

Nirvana In Fire - based on historical novel Lang Ya Bang by Hai Yan. Every drama I’ve ever watched and rated 10/10 has been downgraded. This is, hands down, the best drama I’ve ever watched in my life. The plot, the acting, the characters, the goddamn ending, everything in this drama will ruin you. As someone else said, the only problem with Nirvana In Fire is that there are no other dramas like Nirvana In Fire. 10000/10

Dance of the Sky Empire - based on wuxia/xianxia novel of the same name by Bu Fei Yan. Short and entertaining. This drama is like a light, sweet snack. You can probably expect to be hungry an hour later. It starts off with excellent potential for complexity and growth, but then… nothing really happens. Mediocre budget. Good found family tropes. Xu Kai does a decent job, but hardly even stretches his acting muscles. 5/10

The Lost Tomb: Ultimate Note - based on Grave Robbers’ Chronicles by Xu Lei. Honestly, I put off watching this because I was sure it wouldn’t be as captivating as the Sound of Providence, so I didn’t wanna end up disappointed. I was wrong. It is amazing. At no point did the different cast throw me off; absolutely incredible job done by everyone involved. Visually stunning, intricate plot, excellent horror elements. Ends in a cliffhanger so be wary if it’s the only season you plan to consume. If Xiao Ge is your weak spot, this season will fuck you up hard. 9/10

The Lost Tomb (2015) - based on Grave Robbers’ Chronicles by Xu Lei. The first, and by many accounts, the most shoddily done season of the Lost Tomb. That said, I love it to pieces. Wu Xie wears a studded belt like it’s 2009, and Xiao Ge has peak emo hair. Prime pingxie fanfic material. Absolutely ridiculous and enormously entertaining. A an absolute gem of a drama that deserves a cult following. 8/10

The Legends - based on xianxia novel Ostentatious Zhao Yao by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang. This meandered to hades and back, multiple times, for the entirety of the 56 episodes. Beautiful visuals, set designs, and choreography. Depressing as fuck. An emotional rollercoaster that Love and Redemption can only dream about, without the bonus of the happy ending. I was mentally numb to every aspect of it by episode 40. However, Xu Kai is pretty amazing in this role, and this drama is the sole reason why I’m willing to fancast him as Hua Cheng, so take from that what you will. 6/10

Douluo Continent- based on xuanhuan novel Douluo Dalu by Tang Jia San Shao. Probably the most entertaining, fast paced drama I’ll watch this year. Interesting premise and a plot that doesn’t meander. Contains the first het couple I’ve been invested in so far this year. Immensely satisfying found family tropes, plethora of female characters, relatively satisfying ending, especially considering that season 2 is uncertain, and may not have the same cast. 9/10

Still in the process of watching:

My Roommate is a Detective

Detective L

The Lost Tomb 2

Looking forward to:

Immortality - based on danmei novel The Husky and His White Cat Shizun by 肉包不吃肉 starring Chen Feiyu and Luo Yunxi

Winner Is King - based on the danmei novel Sha Po Lang by Priest starring Tan Jianci and Chen Zheyuan

Step By Step Lotus - based on historical novel Return to Ming Dynasty as Prince by 月关 starring Zhang Binbin and Luo Yunxi

The Wind Blows From Longxi - based on historical novel of the same name by Ma Bo Yong starring Chen Kun and Bai Yu

Sword Snow Stride - based on the xuanhuan novel The Snowy Path of the Heroic Blade by 烽火戏诸侯 starring Zhang Ruoyun and Hu Jun

Heaven Official’s Blessing - based on danmei novel of the same name by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - cast unknown

Thousand Autumns - based on danmei novel of the same name by Meng Xi Shi - cast unknown

Joy Of Life Season 2 - based on wuxia novel of the same name by 猫腻 starring Zhang Ruoyun and Li Qin

A League of Nobleman - based on danmei novel The Society of Four Leaves by Da Feng Gua Guo starring Song Weilong and Jing Boran

Flying Phoenix - based on danmei novel of the same name by 風弄 starring Dai Jingyao and Shu Yaxin

The Long Ballad - based on wuxia manhua by 夏达 starring Dilraba Dilmurat and Wu Lei

Luoyang - based on a historical drama of the same name by Ma Bo Yong starring Wang Yibo and Huang Xuan

The Story of the Bat - based on danmei novel Bat by Feng Nong starring Mao Zijun and Zhang Yao

Jade Bone Ballad - based on xianxia novel Mirror: Zhu Yan by 沧月 starring Xiao Zhan, Ren Min, and Zhang Yunlong

[dangermousie]

2020 End of Year Post - cdrama edition

This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2020; if I had to make a post about all the cdramas I watched this year, I would still be doing it in three months...

Overall it’s been a fairly decent cdrama year (certainly better than the very lacklustre kdrama year.) It’s no miracle that 2019 was (so many excellent dramas!) but overall pretty solid.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

44 The Legend of Jing Yan - the worst cdrama I have seen this year, and possibly the worst drama of 2020, period. The hero and heroine were both uncharismatic, incapable of acting and saddled with such shrilly moronic characters, the only suspense was how they haven’t both perished long since from forgetting to breathe. Nor was anyone in the rest of the cast much better; the screenplay was written by a lower mammal and the cinematography was the best a third-rate wedding cinematographer could offer. Stay the HELL away from this one.

43 Unicorn Girl - the only unicorn about this bland yet irritating piece of pap was the fact that I was supposed to believe the leads are hockey players.

42 Autumn Cicada - I like spy stories, Allen Ren, and Republican Era settings. I can tune out Communist propaganda with the best of them. Yet, the propaganda ate the story to such a degree that there was nothing left; pre magic change Pinocchio was less wooden then this narrative.

41 You Complete Me - no you do not.

40 Skate into Love - the only positive thing I can say about this is that at least it’s better than Unicorn Girl, if for no other reason that only one of them is supposed to be a hockey player.

39 Irreplaceable Love - how do you make a story about fake siblings with a mad mother falling for each other boring? I don’t know, ask the makers of this.

38 Eternal Love Rain - I hate to rain on their parade, but these two actors cannot act, have about as much chemistry as a piece of bread, and are trapped in a story perfect for entertaining the mental abilities of the leads of Jin Yan.

37 For Married Doctoress - ummmm, you could do worse I guess. It only made me break out in mild hives. The sadistic ending did make me laugh though.

36 Dance of the Sky Empire - why you get Xu Kai and waste him in this insipid mess of a story is beyond me.

35 Love Designer - it’s inoffensive except to my sense of entertainment. There is nothing wrong with it but oh God is it bland.

34 Love a Lifetime - It felt like a lifetime watching this, but I didn’t love it. The story is incoherent, the actors have no chemistry and it’s all an epic waste of time.

33 Love is Sweet - so sweet it gave me diabetes. I like Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu, but there is literally no plot. I don’t need to sink into a plotless morass to watch pretty people engage in PG-rated make-outs. I am an adult with access to stronger stuff if I am thus inclined, though to be fair they could get x-rated and I still wouldn’t be able to sit through so many episodes of plotlessness for that.

32 Fake Princess - I love Zhao Yi Qin, but the guy needs to pick better projects. The female lead in this one has the voice and personality that can strip paint but the story is also doing nobody any favors.

31 The Changan Youth - I lost my brain checking this out. I had to go and read a dense treatise on medieval coinage or Mayan farming to try to recover it.

30 My Dear Destiny - kinda cheesy fun. It honestly shouldn’t be as low except it really feels like community theater.

29 Handsome Siblings - why is the Nic Tse version so good and this one so bad? True mystery for the ages. Chen Zhe Yuan is the sole reason this isn’t lower, because that kid tries SO HARD to make this drama bearable and almost succeeds. I can’t wait to see him in Sha Po Lang which actually will give him something to do.

28 In a Class of Her Own - see my comment on The Changan Youth. But at least Song Weilong is gorgeous to look at.

27 General’s Lady - inoffensive, pretty and so utterly pointless.

26 The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion - those two leading actors are a no go to me but at least they considerately acted with each other instead of ruining two dramas for me. It’s very pretty though.

25 Jiu Liu Overlord - it’s a mess and I bailed, but I placed it this high merely due to the fact that Lai Yi finally gets a leading role and he’s sexy as fuck and I am shallow. Whoever styled Bai Lu should never work again except at a circus, however.

24 Cross Fire - not my genre and Luhan will always look too much like my cousin for comfort, but it’s a surprisingly gripping and dark drama. I liked it!

23 God of Lost Fantasy - if you want to watch a mediocre wuxia/xianxia, this is not a bad choice. Probably better than Legend of Fei actually, because at least it doesn’t have an A-list cast to waste and gives us Sheng Yilun himbo and shirtless.

22 Renascence - the insane cuts (it went from 70 eps to 36!!!) made a fairly cheesy story into a total mess. But I had a good time until I finally bailed mainly because of the male lead (Chen Zhe Yuan yet again carrying a not-good 2020 drama on his shoulders; the guy should be nicknamed Atlas) and the insane but in a fun way story. The female lead (both the character and the actress) were not up to par but oh well.

21 Legend of Fei - only this high because objectively there is nothing I disliked it. But there is nothing I liked either. The most uninspired drama on the list. If you could eat cardboard, this is what it would taste like.

20 Ever Night 2 - compared to EN1, it’s a waste of film. On its own merits, it’s not very good (the cast replacements are uniformly inferior and Dylan Wang is so wrong for Ning Que I cannot even put it into words; the script is useless.) But it had some parts I loved so very VERY much (all the shippy stuff was perfection) so I don’t feel too bitter.

19 Castle in the Sky 2 - a lovely if not too complex fairy tale. It is inferior to its prequel because it doesn’t have Zhang Ruo Yun who elevated it, but it’s still a solid bit of fun.

18 The Great Ruler - it’s very high fantasy, very pretty, and surprisingly involving.

17 (tie) Legend of Two Sisters in the Chaos - the secondary couple steals the show but the rest is not too bad if not too involving.

17 Legend of Awakening - a solid bit of fun with a seriously BDSM streak (theme this year apparently - but come on, the lead’s powers only activate when he’s in extreme pain!) It’s a bit generic and the costuming is done by a blind person, not to mention the OTP is a NOTP, but the rest of relationships (romantic and platonic) are wonderful (I live for the found siblings story in this one) and I like most of the characters.

16 Consummation - a rare modern cdrama I liked; a sweet coming of age story (and love story) even if wrapped in a pretty weird virtual reality concept.

15 Oops the King is in Love - this is how you do a low budget, sweet, silly piece of fluff. Our heroine pretends to be a eunuch and crosses paths with a powerless young king and they are adorable, even more so than the drama.

14 Song of Glory - pretty solid, though draggy and I didn’t love the toothpaste filter. But A+ cast, excellent leading couple chemistry, Li Qin being a BAMF and a leading man (Qin Hao) who is actually an adult.

13 And the Winner is love - objectively kind of a mess (and the heroine has the brainpower of a gnat), but the OTP chemistry is excellent and Luo Yunxi fighting and flirting with a fan as finally a leading man is worth the price of admission.

12 Miss S - snazzy and snappy and stylish and whatever else starts with S.

11 Eternal Love of Dream - I don’t know if it would work for you as well if you weren’t a hardcore shipper for this OTP in Three Lives but I was and this was such a darling, wonderful, shippy delight; plus I love this type of high fantasy.

10 (tie) Maiden Holmes - solid and sweet and a wonderful OTP. Proves that functional doesn’t have to mean boring. If you watch one cross-dressing drama this year make it this one.

10 Qin Dynasty Epic - srs bsns history epic. I am not far into it but it’s so good and smart and visually stunning (if you love battles, this one is for you.)

9 Love Lasts Two Minds - I adored this so much more than I should objectively have, but it’s so beautiful (and no I am not just referring to Alan Yu’s face) and the OTP has wonderful chemistry and the story is solid, and the whole trope of her memory being wiped but falling for him all over again while he’s constantly and utterly devoted is a fave; plus he’s in pain and semi-dyng for most of it so sluuuurp (happy ending, don’t worry)

8 To Love - yes, a modern drama is this high! But it involves intensity, tragedy, genuine adults and sexiness that is Lin Gengxin. And there is an actual plot and darkness OMG!

7 Legend of Xiao Chuo - so beautiful, so fun, so full of gorgeousness of Shawn Dou. Plus, Liao is a rare setting for a cdrama and there are a lot of characters and stories I liked a LOT. Less ship content than I wanted but more than I expected.

6 The Romance of Tiger and Rose - so so delightful. I was literally laughing out loud. I have no idea if it will work as well if one isn’t a seasoned watcher of period cdrama/reader of web novels, with bonus for watching/reading Goodbye My Princess, but it was a complete delight for me (and yes, I shipped for real, as well. Best of both worlds.)

5 Twisted Fate of Love - Jin Han gets a leading period drama role! And he’s enjoying it to the hilt, excellent as a smart, twisty bastard who is also charming and so madly in love with heroine. Sun Yi is beautiful and tough and her chemistry with JH is on fire, the story never drags, and it’s so twisty and fun and just awesome.

4 Love In Between - the most underrated drama on this list. It has no big names or big budget, but it’s wuxia that’s clever, driven, tragic, hopeful and so beautifully shot. Three separate (amazing) OTPs, a leading man who is so not typical (a doctor who cannot fight and who never acquires this ability) and who is intense and smart and damaged, a heroine who puts her quest ahead of her emotions, an unhealthy degree of involvement by yours truly. This is a drama Fei should have been.

3 Love and Redemption - such a lovely, addictive, utterly romantic fairy tale. I was obsessed with it for a reason. All the tropes you love and some you didn’t know you did, a star-crossed OTP to the nth power (and a secondary OTP I hardcore love), a twisty yet coherent plot, some insane chemistry and so much whump and hurt/comfort they must have bought blood packets in bulk.

2 Go Ahead - yes, I can’t believe it either. A contemporary slice of life cdrama made it this high on my list. But the way it feels so real, the found family perfection, the characters I love and loathe, the perfect cherry of a wonderful OTP that hits my narrative kinks on top, and just a perfect storm of loveliness all around with this one.

1 The Wolf - is that any surprise to anyone who’s checked out this tumblr for the last couple of months? Tragic, intense and gorgeous; so romantic and angsty and passionate it made me lose my mind (though some of it was gone the moment the camera panned to Darren Wang) - all my favorite tropes and then some; this is a drama that may not be perfect but it is 100% and then beyond perfect for ME.

FAVORITE DRAMA

The Wolf - I have seen objectively better cdramas; even this year. But it has been literal years since I have been this hardcore obsessed, this utterly pleased, this emotionally catered to and devastated at once. A beautiful dark fairy tale that manages to own me despite the storytelling gaps due to censorship, it took me for one of the biggest emotional roller coaster rides of my drama watching career. Visually gorgeous, poetic, intense, and so romantic it took my breath away, this is not just my favorite cdrama of 2020, it’s my favorite drama this year period, and the one cdrama this year to make it into my permanent Top 10 cdramas list.

WORST DRAMA

Legend of Jin Yan - see my write up for it for why as I refuse to waste more time on this stupid mess.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Wolfie, The Wolf - he is such a haunted, tormented, complex, dark mess; loving and violent, severely damaged and with a hidden yearning softness, longing and aloof. And the amount of charisma and sheer masculine sex appeal Darren Wang brings to the role is insane and not something I see much of in a cdrama. Plus, that character arc with its rapid fall and slow painful redemption is A++++

Runner Up:  Sifeng, Love and Redemption - has a male lead ever loved more utterly and selflessly, suffered more thoroughly and beautifully, and managed to have such chemistry with both his leading lady and his leading man (that his leading lady temporarily turned into) at once? The answer is no.

Almost made the cut - Feng Xi, Twisted Fate of Love, Han Shuo, The Romance of Tiger and Rose, Qing Ci, Love in Between.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Xiao Qian, The Romance of Tiger and Rose - so funny, so much the reason this drama was such a delight. I adore her beyond words.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

Murder Daddy, The Wolf - I am sad the censors robbed us of seeing him die on screen. He was fully human but nonetheless managed to be the worst monster in a drama full of literal ones.

Ling Xiao’s Mom, Go Ahead - I hate her so much I don’t want to look up her name. She abused the kid, the disappeared and came back to abuse him some more. I mean she literally gave her child mental health issues. She is the WORST.

FAVORITE SHIP

Xing’er x Wolfie, The Wolf - are you kidding me? Who else could it ever be for me? They destroyed each other and saved each other, sworn enemies and childhood lovers, soulmates and epic messes, they couldn’t live with or without each other. The longing, the passion, the intensity, the angst, the epicness. LIKE THERE ARE NO WORDS!!!!

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Si Yuan, Shen Manqing, Love in Between - I loved them as much and often more than the main OTP. So much angst and passion and a happy ending! She is a seeming sect darling (except the sect is horrible and also sexist so her only worth is as a marriage candidate) and he’s an information broker who is actually one of the members of a destroyed sect that’s blamed for the massacre of her family. That chemistry and yearning is insane. The scene where she touches his face when he’s unconscious was in serious running for my favorite scene of 2020.

NOTP

Legend of Awakening - I have never seen a couple that didn’t just have no chemistry but exhibited actual revulsion towards each other before watching Chen Feiyu and Cheng Xiao try to act as lovers in this one. It was almost entertaining to be honest.

FAVORITE SCENE

It’s a tie and both are from The Wolf. One is a sequence where Wolfie marches to the walls alone, seeking death at Xing’er’s hands and the whole sequence with the battle and rescue follows. The other is the intercut between Xing’er going to her wedding and Wolfie going to his execution, and the auto-da-fe being intercut with her wedding.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Wolfie, The Wolf - Ummm have you seen this tumblr lately, it’s basically a drool shrine to the man.

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Yelü Yansage, The Legend of Xiao Chuo - I have loved this actor since The Myth and he continued to competently steal every scene he was in.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

To Love - come out of the coma, dammit!!!!!!!

NEEDS A DIRECTOR’S CUT

The Wolf - duh. It started out as 59 eps and got cut to 49. I reaiize some stuff is never gonna get put in due to censorship, but some of the stuff that got cut got for time reasons because they were deluded and hoping to get a TV broadcast so ep count had to be under 50. I mean I doubt the censors would care if they kept scenes of Wolfie building her a swing or whatever. I really really want a director’s cut the way Goodbye My Princess did even if like with GMP it’s only three extra eps. Hell, I will take extra three minutes, as long as those three minutes are Darren Wang shirtless or with a sword. Ahem.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

The Song of Glory - it’s a fairly solid drama but honestly it didn’t need to be as long as it was and kind of got draggy and I got lost interest. (I could have gotten snarky and said all the dramas I didn’t like needed scissors taken to them in their entirety but decided to play nice.)

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

There are a number of dramas I could complain about with regard to this (hi there, darling The Wolf!) but this award goes to Renascence - poor Renascence was never going to be a masterpiece, but it had the potential to be a bit of good cheesy fun until it had its run time cut by more than half and became an incoherent piece of insanity.

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Dumb shrill innocent heroine who can’t tie her shoes - see basically all the cdramas I didn’t like this year.

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Male lead torture - I mean it’s always open season on that in cdramas, but between Love and Redemption, The Wolf, Love Lasts Two Minds, Love in Between and so on, it was a banner year!

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Legend of Fei - what a waste of that cast; what a waste of our finite time on this Earth. What a waste of my intelligence to hope for something better and stick with it for a dozen eps. I have had stale wonderbread that had more personality than this drama.There is absolutely nothing that stands out about this drama in any way,  from half-dimensional characters, to actors who are sleepwalking, to a plot that moves at the speed of an arthritic snail, to uninspired cinematography and direction, to lack of any chemistry between anyone in the cast. If paint-by-numbers was done by a group of particularly linear robots, it might come across the same way as this drama.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

The Wolf - honestly, I did not expect it to come out AT ALL EVER let alone to become my favorite drama of 2020. I was not familiar with the leading man (hahah), I liked Li Qin but wasn’t yet obsessed with her, and Xiao Zhan was excellent in The Untamed but I was hardly going to follow him from drama to drama (and I don’t do SLS any way.) And the trailer was enjoyable but unlike seemingly everyone, I didn’t think it was going to be some epic masterpiece. And then it came out and while it wasn’t objectively an epic masterpiece, it pulled out all the favorite tropes, shippy and narrative kinks from the deepest darkest recesses of my id. And I fell harder than I have in years. 

2020 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

None. Covid Year gave me PLENTY of time

BEST NON-2020 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2020

Novoland Eagle Flag and Joy of Life - they are in my Top 10 dramas from anywhere now. They are quite different except being smart and giving me protagonists to obsess over.

ETA: Also The Untamed because @idlewilds3 pointed out I actually watched it in 2020 even though I didn’t think so because this hellyear has lasted about three decades.

MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2021

I am gonna limit it to dozen and leaving out ones that aren’t necesarily supposed to air next year (Joy of Life 2, Love in Flames of War, Novoland Princess from Plateau.)

Monarch Industry, Novoland Pearl Eclipse, Silk Washing Stream, Dream of Changan, Sword Snow Stride, Wu Xing Shi Jia, Ancient Love Poetry, Immortality, The Long Ballad, Mirror Twin Cities, The Imperial Age, Fall In Love

[lanonima]

First review of the new year! I also decided that once I hit twenty, I'll start a new graph because this one is getting pretty crowded. There's plenty of open space, but I'm not likely to read stuff in that open space so…

Anyway, my review of Copper Coins:

Romantic - Fucky is not how risque a work is but rather my opinion of the attitude/quality of the main relationship, the way the characters interact with respect to one another. I like a lot of stuff in fiction but if you’re easily made uncomfortable, stay towards the top half.

Easy reading - Plot-heavy is how I personally consider the plot’s intricacy and successful implementation, regardless of the author’s intention.

Copper Coins

Author: Mu Su Li

Quality: 5

Enjoyment: 4

Comments: Oof. I hate, absolutely hate, saying the phrase "show don't tell" about novels because it has to do with screenwriting and doesn't really apply to novels all that much but damn. This book was so surface level. I did not feel a single emotion the entire time. It actually reminded me a little bit of Nan Chan, and retroactively made me like that book better because I would definitely rather reread that than this. Not saying it's a bad book, I'm sure it's fine, and if you liked Nan Chan and want a relationship with a similar dynamic and are less of a bitch than I am, you will probably like this one too. It just doesn't have enough emotional depth to be entertaining to me.

Would I read it again: No, and I won't read anything else by this author either.

The reviews of things I previously read are below the cut.

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Author: MXTX

Quality: 9.5

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I have a huge emotional connection to this novel. There are some weak parts, the tension isn’t quite even, she’s pretty terrible at erotic scenes and not great at fight scenes…but that being said, I love the characters and some of the plot points really ripped my heart out. This is a novel that’s really driven by the characters so if you’re a character-focused person like me, definitely look into it (as if we all don’t already know it lmao). I really, really love this story. Every single adaptation of it has also been great, but the novel is still my favorite. It was my introduction to xianxia novels too, so you can say it changed my life!

Would I read it again: I’ve already read it twice, and consumed every adaptation (sometimes also multiple times)

Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Author: MXTX

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 5

Comments: I’m not much of one for comedy and, as I discovered, not really into system novels either. Clearly weaker than MXTX’s later work, many of the characters are somewhat bland, she hasn’t quite found her groove yet. It’s not my style but the fandom is hilarious and the fans constantly produce content that I actually do find entertaining so overall I still have some fond feelings for this one, even if not for the source material.

Would I read it again: I found a different translation and am willing to try again in the future, I’m also willing to watch the donghua. But I can’t guarantee I’ll like it any more than previously.

Tian Guan Ci Fu

Author: MXTX

Quality: 10

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I love this book…but not as much as I love Mo Dao Zu Shi. I think the plot is somewhat typical, however the characters are great once again (though maybe slightly less deep than MDZS), and her use of thematic repetition and foreshadowing are killer. Actually, I liked this book more the second time around because it just hits differently. Definitely the best of MXTX’s couples, they are so soft and sweet. Very long, but worth it.

Would I read it again: I already have, was personally translating the manhua before I hurt my arms, and am eagerly awaiting the donghua this fall!

The Villain’s White Lotus Halo

Author: A Big Roll of Toilet Paper

Quality: 10

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: Fuck, I love this one so much…..even though it’s also a system novel. But that part is in it so rarely that it reads more like pure fantasy. I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the way the relationship is developing. Oh yeah, the translation isn’t even complete but I already purchased not only the original from JJWXC but also the print edition. I’ve even drawn fanart for it, which is so unlike me. Every time a chapter comes out, I’m ruined for the rest of the day, I can’t think about anything else. Good fight scenes, which is uncommon. My favorite danmei novel so far.

Would I read it again: I fully intend to once the translation is complete, and also plan to read it in Chinese later (I’ve already read certain parts in Chinese hahaha but not the whole thing)

2Ha (Husky and his White Cat Shizun)

Author: Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: 2Ha is not for the faint of heart, it’s very horny, and violent, and has a lot of questionable content. However I love it so much. The story and characters are great, Meatbun really has me by the heart. The writing is a little more on the casual side but it hardly matters because the story is so great. Good fight scenes. Chu Wanning is like, the ultimate Me™ character, I hate how much I adore him. If you read this, just go into it knowing that it’s a long emotional journey, the characters are very dynamic and there’s a lot of character development.

Would I read it again: Same as the above, I plan a reread when the translation is done and have read parts in Chinese and might read the whole thing again later. Cautiously eager about the up-coming live action and donghua.

Di Wang Gong Lue

Author: Yu Xiao Lanshan

Quality: 2

Enjoyment: 9

Comments: This is one of the most terribly written things I’ve ever read, but I’m a character girl and the characters and ways they interact fucking kill me. I’m constantly entertained….although I don’t think this is actually supposed to be a comedy. If I were going to treat myself and like, take a bubble bath and read something that made me laugh, this is exactly the sort of trashy romance I would want to read. Technically a political intrigue story but it’s so abrupt and full of holes, are any of us reading it for the actual plot? The donghua is on Youtube, I watched it first and recommend others to do the same. If you can handle that, you can handle the book because it’s exactly the same in quality, just gayer. I do love the main couple a lot, the set-up surrounding the relationship is great, and the side characters are also really fun.

Would I read it again: Probably not, but I’m still having fun with it. I watched the donghua and read a bit of the manhua as well, which has very cute art and is probably my favorite version of the story.

Liu Yao

Author: Priest

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 7.5

Comments: I really struggled getting into this one, it took me about 25 chapters to get invested. Initially I had rated it a 6 in enjoyment but after careful thought, I realized that even though it was so hard for me, it probably is my favorite Priest novel and I really do love the main couple so much. Her side characters also seem to be slightly stronger than usual in this one. Decent plot, not too much or too little. It seems really chill to me, doesn’t provoke much of an emotional reaction but I do think it’s very sweet, which is nice sometimes too.

Would I read it again: No, but I think (?) it’s supposed to get some kind of tv adaptation (drama or donghua, not sure), and if that happens, I’ll watch it.

Didn’t Know the General was Female

Author: Rong Qing

Quality: 4

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: Not the greatest thing I’ve ever read, but cute. It’s short, and a little lesbian fluff is never a bad thing. Writing is a bit weak and the plot is basic, but the characters are enjoyable and I liked it overall.

Would I read it again: No.

Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader

Author: Yi Zhi Dayan

Quality: 4

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: Again, not the greatest in writing or plot, it’s a bit shallow. But I found the idea of it to be entertaining, and actually liked it more than I would have assumed. It’s fairly short and cute, like a good summer beach read.

Would I read it again: Probably not, but possibly, if the stars align.

Female General and Eldest Princess

Author: Please Don’t Laugh

Quality: 7

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: A very good first effort, but the writing is a bit weak. It’s slow to start and I don’t think the political plotline is spectacularly strong. Some things were left unexplained, and her sense of battle tactics and fight-writing were very confusing, definitely room for improvement. I don’t think it’s as good as people say, but she writes with the air of someone who will continue to improve. And also, a lesbian author writing lesbian stories so that’s a plus. Overall I enjoyed the experience, this story is definitely worth a read.

Would I read it again: Maybe, but probably not.

Sha Po Lang

Author: Priest

Quality: 7

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: Originally I rated this one higher, but on later thought I realized that I actually enjoyed Liu Yao more. I personally have issues with the way Priest writes, and this book showed a lot of them. Characters were okay, I did like the main couple, but side characters were weak as usual. The plot is pretty good, though not great, and I think some of the pacing is off. Some descriptions were confusing, but that could be a translation issue. Overall, still a pretty good political drama, but I would say that of the three I read, this was the Priest novel with the least impact on me.

Would I read it again: No. But I will watch the live action if it ever gets made.

Guardian

Author: Priest

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 5

Comments: I love Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, thought the plot was interesting, and there were some enjoyable moments. But it has all the problems I usually have with Priest in addition to some choices that offend me as a queer reader. I spent about 75% of the time reading while pissed off. And actually the fact that it had a happy ending kinda bummed me out because I love a good tragedy. Overall, I can only give it an average score. If you like Priest, you’ll like this one too. I’m not a tv person but I binged the hell out of the live action, I really loved it, so I was sort of disappointed that the source material didn’t seem as strong as I had assumed.

Would I read it again: No, but I will happily watch the live action again some day.

Jing Wei Qing Shang

Author: Please Don’t Laugh

Quality: 9.8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I have to start off by saying: damn girl. The improvement evident in this book is absolutely insane. A few minor issues prevent me from giving it a 10 out of 10 – her transitions are still extremely abrupt, the ending is slightly weak and some plot points remain unresolved, and her use of narrative repetition is too heavy-handed for my taste. Other than that, this book leaves me almost speechless. Very similar to Female General and Eldest Princess, there are many similar themes and events. But while I thought FGEP was fairly cute, I like this one way better. If you like angst, political intrigue, and lesbians, you should definitely read this book. I have no doubt that Please Don’t Laugh will continue to improve in the future, and I really look forward to following her career.

Would I read it again: 100%, I absolutely intend to read this again sometime in the future. It’s very long and very dense but delightful and ultimately worth it.

Fox Demon Cultivation Manual

Author: Feng Ge Qie Xing

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: This was a delightful romp. I had expected it to be somewhat silly and was pleasantly surprised. It was heavy enough to be engaging but light enough to be an easy read, with multiple spots that made me literally laugh out loud which does not happen often. This is apparently just one book in a series of same universe novels, and a lighter-hearted one at that. I would be interested to read the others because I found the world pretty engaging, and I do want to know what became of the other characters. Overall I found it very fun and very cute, I read it in four days so that says something. On the downside, the link for chapter 9 is broken. But skipping a chapter doesn’t seem to have affected the experience of the novel as a whole.

Would I read it again: Yeah I think I would be willing to read this again someday. If it gets adapted I would also consume adaptations, in addition to being interested in the other connected works.

Golden Stage

Author: Cang Wu Bin Bai

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: This one has some Sha Po Lang vibes, but the characters have more depth and chemistry. The word ‘more’ here is extremely relative because it’s still pretty shallow. I honestly liked them both, I liked the relationship and the psuedo-rude way that they flirt entertained me. As for the plot…ehhhh. It tried. There were things that worked, but in general the plot seemed disjointed from the characters and there were a few things that had no business being there and just muddied the waters. It’s not bad necessarily, it’s just not very smooth. There are better political intrigues to read if that’s what you want. But if you just want some sugar-sweet fluff with a backdrop of drama, then this one is perfect. My favorite scene was probably the flashback to the first few times they met, absolutely fantastic.

Would I read it again: Nah.

Nan Chan

Author: Tang Jiuqing

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: This one is kind of weird because it’s definitely competent, it’s well-written and has a fairly in-depth plot, but I just didn’t really enjoy it all that much? I never got emotionally attached to any of the characters, and I didn’t even really get the relationship buildup. I understand what the author is going for with it of course, but it didn’t necessarily make a lot of sense… Or rather it seems like some bits in the middle were just missing, there’s good buildup in the beginning and in the end but how they got from point A to point B was kind of not explored to my satisfaction. I did really like the flashback to the past, I thought that storyline was all pretty interesting. The big bad was kind of disappointing to me as well though. In general, I think this is a really good book with a lot of skill behind it but it’s just not really my thing.

Would I read it again: No.

[sunshine304]

On to eps 25 + 26, my friends! It’s heating up!

Yang Jin was concerned because he saw Yu Wenzhi’s troups – but he definitely, absolutely was NOT concerned for Li Yan, no no! XD They keep on going together, but only... for 5 min or so? Until Li Yan tells him to go help A-Fei in town, since she can make the rest of the way herself (that worked so well before...). It’s cute how Yang Jin doesn’t want to go, but she makes puppy eyes at him and so he leaves.

I guess in the long run that isn’t such a bad decision to send him to A-Fei’s aid. 

Poor Li Yan of course meets an outpost that’s already infiltrated by Disha. At least the man helps her instead of selling her out. And then it turns out that Li Sheng didn’t even include a message, just sending her away from where the attack will happen. Oh Li Sheng... He could have thought about how the outpost might be in Disha’s pockets, though, since it wouldn’t be the first time. Anyway, Li Yan steals a horse and goes to find help.

So much stuff is happening at the same time! Yang Jin asks after the Intinerary Gang who surely will help him (good idea), while Chuchu listens in on the Elders talking about how Li Sheng is very likely dead. She is devastated. T_T

Yu Wenzhi starts distrusting Kou Dan, because she now mentions a rumoured hidden path to the 48 Strongholds. She’s all like, “What, it’s just a rumour.“ and even I side-eye her for that. He wants to set a trap for A-Fei and leaves.

Meanwhile, Xie Yun has already strongly hinted to A-Fei that it would be an advantage if they could get YWZ to distrust at least Kou Dan. A-Fei uses YWZ’s ruse for just that, basically telling Gu Tianxian that this was an assassination attempt lead by Mingfeng Sect. 

OMG the kiss by proxy!! I flailed!! Give me moooore! ♥

XY is off to distract GTX while A-Fei looks for YWZ's new hiding spot. But before that she stares into space, thrown by XY's proxy kiss. I swoon along with her. XD

Li Yan meets Li Jinrong, who was on her way back anyway since she missed her husband yet again. The army seems to have some problems, though General Wen is… perhaps downplaying? Anyway, LJR now knows that 48 Strongholds is under attack and hurries home.

Shen Tianshu has waited out the fire, it seems, and is now in front of the main gate to the 48 Strongholds. Also, YWZ’s private army has arrived. All in all, this huge combined army consists of about 30 people; 6 of them leave to find the secret path. I can’t get over the fact that the mean villains only have so few people! You really didn’t have a budget, huh? XD I mean srsly, there are definitely more people hiding at the 48 SH! XD

Look at his smug face! He always squints smugly at everyone, he’s so weird! XD

Love how XY is leading Disha around. Also happy that Wang Yibo could do lots of wirework in that scene, since he likes to do that stuff. XD Meanwhile, YWZ feels super threatened. Rightly so, asshole.

Aww the Elders Zhao and Zhang at the 48 SH want to go fighting! I actually enjoy that this show has many older characters as well.

Aaaand A-Fei has found YWZ! And she fights! And then there’s Yang Jin and the IG to the rescue! I love how they’re all fighting, while YWZ just stands there and watches with Kou Dan protecting him. Kinda. I cheered for the IG just fighting with big sticks and whatever else was at hand against that trained (? I assume) private army with swords – and they win by brute force. XD

A-Fei is all confused and Yang Jin explains, “I met Li Yan on the road and she started crying. She’s so annoying, I can’t say no to her!” He is so whipped. XD

YWZ really is a totally useless fighter. A-Fei reaches him and overpowers him easily. What kind of position does that guy have in the government? Doesn’t seem to be an army position… Since they won they want to get Disha to stop the attack on the 48 SH.

Meanwhile I fucking knew it that Ma Jili would betray them! Did he actually kill that one Elder? Or did they really encounter Disha and the Elder got killed there? Hm.

Anyway, look at Chuchu grabbing a sword! That was cool, you go queen! Though she didn’t get to use it, I’m sure there will be another chance for her to fuck some shit up!

A-Fei is so devastated that Uncle Ma betrayed her. I feel you, A-Fei. And then Uncle Ma feels guilty (or… was also misled by Kou Dan?) and fights KD, which doesn’t end good for him. 

That fight between A-Fei and KD was really cool. Loved how they used the end credits song! I’m a sucker for that song! A-Fei gets her revenge and doesn’t even watch KD die.

Seriously, those poor kids will all be so traumatised. Yeah in CQL they all went to war at 19 or so, but they at least all had fighting experience in a real life situation against monsters, fierce corpses and whatnot. The kids from 48 SH grew up sheltered with this kind of fighting just a theoretical exercise. 

OH nooo Xie Yun uses the super power needle! O_O He sees that 48 SH will likely lose (how, against only 20 Disha ppl, IDK…) and decides on that, because he can’t lose A-Fei.

Look at his conflicted face!!!

He also throws some exposition in there, that Chuchu’s necklace is the main key for the HTYS which he is looking for. Okay. Whatever, now pls fuck Shen Tianshu up, my man.

He does. He also tells A-Fei that he wants to enjoy himself here. (Meaning he doesn’t have long afterwards anyway and wants to go out with a bang I guess. T_T) STS is shocked because it seems that Xie Yun has some SERIOUS FIGHTING SKILLZ.

This is getting really long... XD

Xie Yun fights and it's pretty cool! A-Fei also keeps fighting, but she gets weaker, and also seems overwhlemed by the situation. I can’t blame her.

And then Li Jinrong signals her arrival and Shen Tianshu kinda panics while A-Fei decides that this is a good moment to faint. She does a lot of fainting in this show.

Have this gif for the drama of it all. XD

Yay, Chuchu has found Li Sheng! She had to wade through some corpses for that at the river bank, but she is a badass and doesn’t care. MVP Chuchu! ♥

Excuuuse me!? STS punches (!!) Li Jinrong's horse. Seriously, asshole?! WTF?! LJR fucks him up anyway, destroys his metal hand (he later has a new one so I guess he just... has a lot of these things lying around?). Disha + YWZ’s troups finally retreat, and Chuchu immediately tells them where Li Sheng is. He is now safe, yay!

Okay this shot of LJR is really cool.

There LJR goes again with her tough mother routine. XD A-Fei is awake and happy to see her; she also aks after Xie Yun, and her mother is like, “Do you know who he is?” and A-Fei conveniently does not mention that she knows he's royalty and just tells her the important stuff like, “He does poetry and songs to make a living.” LJR just dismisses her with, “We'll talk about him later.” Oh oh.

Cute scene with A-Fei and Li Sheng, who tease each other good-naturedly. Li Sheng now can admit that A-Fei is better than him at martial arts, but he doesn't want to give up – perhaps he'll manage to be better than her one day anyway? ;D I like his growth so far.

Xie Yun comes over to flirt and invite himself into A-Fei's bedroom. XD But this time A-Fei flirts back! It's the, “I know I'm good looking, but you have to pay money to stare at me,” and A-Fei answers, “You can stare at me too and we'll call it even,” scene. XY is surprised and delighted. XD

That whole conversation between these two. ♥ T_T A-Fei knows XY so well by know that she sees through his act of putting on a happy face whenever he's worried. She wants to ask so many questions but doesn't because she thinks he won't answer them honestly anyway. T_T And she sincerely asks him if he's alright. T_T He's obviously thrown by all of this, and he talks around some things and yep, he isn't really honest. And then she asks too many questions anyway and he uses her accupoints to knock her out. My God, just talk to her!!

And there's the other ship that's shyly circling each other! Chuchu and Li Sheng have an awkward conversation, because now that it's not live or death they don't know how to act. XD He wants to look for Chuchu's brother and they perhaps could live at the 48 SH? *puppyeyes* I mean seriously, where is that kid?!

Shen Tianshu is pissed, Yu Wenzhi is too. He's going on about how Xie Yun (=Xiao Chuan) should be dead, damnit, since he was poisoned 10 years ago with that super rare and deadly Bone Piercing Blue poison (we remember, the one that 9th Madam Duan also suffered from until Li Zheng helped her). We get STS exposition that a master must've helped XY so that he survived (and the master should've died of it), but now that XY used the power needle his meridians are no longer blocked and the poison is free to circulate again = He only has a few months to live. OH NO! T_T They don't know if he's also looking for the HYTS but want to keep looking anyway; Disha masters are sent out after the two men yet again bitch at each other. XD

Sometimes it's nice to actually get some exposition here...

There's a funeral scene at 48 SH with cool music and all of them swearing their oath again to do their best with a clear conscience before Heaven, Earth, and themselves. That “clear conscience” idiom is really popular I think?

A talk between Xie Yun and Li Jinrong. She thanks him and seems sincere enough, but she also seems wary/distrustful of him (well, he fetched her ill husband to go to war again, sooo...). He yet again circumvents actually answering her questions about his former master (although I assume she at least has a hunch who he is), and he tells her she should perhaps be nicer to her daughter and compliment her from time to time. Well, I guess he's dying anyway and hasn't anything to lose. XD

She comments on his pale complexion, is he perhaps ill? Wow the passive-aggressiveness in this scene from LJR. XD Then she hands him a sigil to pass the guards and basically throws him out. Charming. Good start into that in-laws situation. XD

OMG Li Sheng sends pastries to Chuchu! ♥ And Li Yan is all excited, like, “Yes please fetch your little brother, I always wanted a little brother, that would be awesome!” XD

Xie Yun and A-Fei have a romantic stroll under the not-moonlight. ♥ They are holding hands, be still my heart! ♥  While they are hand holding we also get a MV of their best moments so far.

She tells him she's working on a gift for him, and she wants to help him look for the HYTS since it seems to be a shitty thing and she doesn't want it to fall into Disha's hands. Xie Yun would like to stay at 48 SH and of course doesn't tell A-Fei about his talk wit LRJ nor that he's, you know, dying. It's obvious that he will leave without her because he doesn't want to drag her into this (the trope of “I know what's best for you without giving you a real chance to make a decision yourself” ugh) and also because he's fucking dying. OMG. T_T

We end with A-Fei knocking on his door the next morning (where he very obviously isn't anymore) to give him her gift. Before she can actually see that he isn't there Chuchu intercepts her, so A-Fei tries to give her back the necklace. Chuchu is all like, “Nooo you keep it, it's far saver with you!” so there's that. This will surely be important later. The two girls leave for town to fetch medicine, while Xie Yun sits near the river and sadly plays his flute. T_T

[shijiujun]

If you have time, kiss 49 for Jack and zhao Zhi (lol is it any surprise I end up shipping the side couple)

[49] Out of Necessity

*This was a little difficult because I sadly, cannot for the love of god figure out when anyone would need to kiss out of necessity (CPR maybe?) but here, have a snippet of a fake dating AU for Jack and Zhao Zi, hope this is okay!

Zhao Zi cannot sit still, his hands twisting at the hem of his shirt nervously as his eyes rove over every person seated at this table right now. Two seats away from him, Shao Fei is chatting excitedly with some of their classmates from the police academy. 

He’s not sure why he’s here in the first place - it’s not like he was friends with anyone outside of Ah Fei back at the academy, and none of their classmates in the same cohort actually work with them right now. Worse still, everyone was required to bring a date with them to this dinner.

On Shao Fei’s left sits Tang Yi, his new boyfriend of three months. Zhao Zi can see the way some women at the table are eyeing Tang Yi with interest, and he can’t blame them. Speaking of which, the way that Tang Yi and Shao Fei came to become a couple is an odd one too.

Well, there aren’t that many people on this planet who would fall in love with the person who shot them, right? Shao Fei and his team assisted on a rescue mission to retrieve four wealthy to-be heirs who’d been kidnapped a day prior for ransom, and when Shao Fei was clearing the room he was assigned to, Tang Yi accidentally shot Shao Fei with a gun he took from one of the kidnappers he’d knocked out, mistaking him for the man’s partner.

Thankfully, the bullet caught Shao Fei in his shoulder only, and a guilty Tang Yi and enamoured Shao Fei just naturally fell in love through dates at the hospital while Shao Fei was recovering.

He digresses. Zhao Zi is going absolutely out of his mind right now because while Shao Fei has Tang Yi, who the fuck does he have? And Ming Xuan, the man who’d called for the class gathering today and made the stipulation, knew it.

“Of course, if you’re still single, you can turn up alone,” the fucker sneered a week back. “Don’t tell me you’re still a virgin, Zhao Li An?!”

“Shut up! Who said I don’t have a date?”

“Oh? Then I’ll look forward to you bringing your date to the class gathering next week then.”

Hence his current predicament.

As Zhao Zi tries not to glower at his plate, he startles suddenly as the person seated on his left leans in, and into his ear says, “If you glare any longer at the plate you’re going to burn a hole through it. Relax, shorty.”

Zhao Zi flushes, but forces himself to relax as Jack, Tang Yi’s secretary, puts an arm around his shoulders and tugs him close. Jack reaches for the steamed fish dish before them and scoops a portion for Zhao Zi with his free hand, playing the part of attentive, gentle and handsome boyfriend only too well.

When Shao Fei brought Jack to him earlier, presenting his ‘solution’ to Zhao Zi, Zhao Zi swore he would have rescinded Shao Fei’s position as his best friend on the spot for doing this to him.

“I get overtime for this,” Jack shrugged when Zhao Zi asked why he agreed to this farce. “And I owe Meng Shao Fei a favour.”

It was momentarily satisfying to see the gobsmacked look on Ming Xuan’s face earlier when Zhao Zi turned up with Jack in tow, but as the dinner proceeded, Ming Xuan’s eyes never leaving Zhao Zi and his new beau for too long, Zhao Zi wonders if he’s going to be exposed at any moment.

How embarrassing it will be if they found out he brought a fake boyfriend along just to show Ming Xuan up!

“Zhao Zi, how long have you guys been together?” asks Xiao Li from across the table. “We’ve never seen Jack before.”

She’s so loud that everyone stops conversing, all eyes turning to Zhao Zi and Jack.

Shit, Zhao Zi panics internally, they didn’t rehearse a story before this! 

“Two months,” Jack interjects on Zhao Zi’s behalf. “I’m sure you guys heard how Meng-duizhang and my boss met. I delivered something to Meng-duizhang while he was still recuperating in the hospital when my boss couldn’t make it once and happened to meet Zhao Zi there, who was visiting. And...”

Jack looks to Zhao Zi then, his eyes crinkling as he smiles, “How could I have resisted?”

Fuck, Zhao Zi thinks.

“Mnn,” he swallows, nodding as he turns back to face the rest.

“So you chased Zhao Zi?” Xiao Li presses, almost in disbelief.

“Of course I did,” Jack chuckles. “I worked very hard on it too. I wooed him for a few weeks with a lot of food and meals, and he only accepted my confession after I delivered lunch to him at the station.”

“That’s so romantic,” Yu Min comments dreamily from the side, totally not getting the challenging vibes between Xiao Li, Ming Xuan and Zhao Zi at the moment. “I told you guys. All the good men are either taken or play for the other team. I’m happy for you, Zhao Zi!”

Xiao Li is obviously not succeeding in making this a shitshow for Zhao Zi, thanks to how well Jack is pretending to be boyfriend. Just as Zhao Zi thinks he’s passed, Ming Xuan speaks.

“Well, that really is romantic. Zhao Zi, shouldn’t you give your outstanding boyfriend a kiss for all he’s done?”

Oohs and ahs sound in the room, and then suddenly everyone is chanting, “Kiss him! Kiss him! Kiss him!”

Zhao Zi’s first reaction is to ask why that is any of his business, but next to him, Jack agrees to Ming Xuan’s suggestion, “He really should!”

Turning to the side in confusion, Jack takes the opportunity and presses his lips against Zhao Zi’s.

Rambunctious cheers erupt around them. And as quickly as Jack swooped in for a kiss, he pulls back just as easily with a sly smile. 

All Zhao Zi hears is a buzzing in his ears, his mind going entirely blank. 

===

Jack pulls up in front of Zhao Zi’s house hours later, sending him home after the dinner. Zhao Zi has remained silent throughout the whole car ride, trying to think of what to say, but his mind keeps returning to the kiss Jack gave him earlier.

“Thanks,” he says, biting at his lips and looking at anything but Jack right this moment. “... I’m sorry, about today. And... thanks again, for your quick thinking. I couldn’t think of anything when they asked me earlier...”

“That’s because it wasn’t a lie,” Jack responds, turning to Zhao Zi. “Zhao Li An, are you really going to continue being this dense?”

Zhao Zi’s throat goes dry immediately.

“What... what do you mean-”

“Shorty, which part of anything I said at the dinner was a lie? Think about it. I didn’t lie about how we met. And how many lunches and dinners have I brought for you? You said you wanted to have croquettes one day and I drove 45 minutes to get the famous ones in the city for you. How many suppers have I delivered to the station when you’re pulling an all-nighter?”

“I thought- I thought you were keeping an eye on Ah Fei on Tang Yi’s behalf!”

Jack is finally unable to resist rolling his eyes at that. He leans in close abruptly, until he has Zhao Zi caged against the door.

“I honestly couldn’t care less,” he says. “All I care about is you. I’ve been wooing you with all the food you like for the past two months, shorty. Don’t you think you should reward me for feeding you so well?”

He can’t believe he’s gotten this so wrong. As everything sinks in, Zhao Zi finds his cheeks heating up. 

“What reward do you want?”

Jack grins.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask,” he says and dives in for another kiss.

--

From this list of kiss prompts!

[extraordinarilyextreme]

the twins (and Zhao Yunlan)

Warning: spoilers for the drama adaptation of Guardian (2018), some references to the novel, more mediocre translations between Chinese and English, some psychoanalysis, and more music analysis

first, props to the kings that are Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu for such astounding portrayals of their characters! the fact that Zhu Yilong has to shift between two characters—one of whom is in love with Yunlan and the other who thrives on hatred—is just... wow. and Bai Yu? like speaking from Yunlan’s perspective, imagine someone who wears the same face as your lover but holds all the wrong beliefs, all the contradicting beliefs, how heartbreaking that must be :(

the twins certainly break my heart (broke and continue to shatter relentlessly, which means i need to read more fix-it fics) because there’s just so much potential for them both??? this is why i’m such a sucker for fics where the twins work together (i.e., they share the burden of the Black Cloaked Envoy); they are equals, they should have been equals. they lost their parents at a young age; it was literally just the two of them against the world, and then the writers had the audacity to tear them apart and not just tear them apart, but make them enemies smh

(i just want me some brotherly teasing and shenanigans, is that so much to ask for? i want the twins to look out for each other but also irritate each other to no end, but they’d also never think twice about protecting each other)

anyway. right. equals. in the novel, these two are born as twin ghost kings with the same powers and same level in powers [if i’m not mistaken], but it was ultimately only Xiao Wei who caught the attention of the god Kun Lun. the drama mimics this as well with the powers the two Dixingren have: Shen Wei can learn other Dixingren’s powers, Ye Zun can consume other Dixingren and thus use their powers. their abilities are probably purposefully meant to be quite similar; this is just one of many instances where the twins, when stripped of all context, are virtually identical. but when you add in context, then the difference is of course that Ye Zun devours for himself whereas Shen Wei learns more in order to protect others. 

let’s look at how the way they interact with others provides more insight into their fundamental motivations. Professor Shen is polite, gentle, kind; Shen Wei has a near-obsession with the way he looks after Yunlan and the rest of the kids at the SID. (think about how after Ye Zun “devoured” Shen Wei and Shen Wei was mortally wounded when he saw Lin Jing... and his first instinct was to smile to provide reassurance and say how happy Yunlan would be if he knew Lin Jing hadn’t died.) Shen Wei lives to give and provide; he shares his life force with Yunlan to heal his eyesight, he does everything in his power to maintain the peace between Dixing and Haixing, he wants to uphold this hard-won peace because he knows what it’s like to lose everything, and he knows the cost of this peace and the treaty in place. his self-esteem is shot to hell—look at how many damn times he tries to sacrifice himself because he thinks he’s dispensable, because he believes this is all he’s good for. Shen Wei believes he HAS to provide for the people around them in order for them to stay. after all... wasn’t it his own fault, because he was too powerless, because he couldn’t do more, because he couldn’t give more, that he lost his younger brother and he lost Kun Lun?

now let’s shift gears to Ye Zun. Ye Zun focuses a lot on the desires of others in order to manipulate them (i.e., he asks Chief Zhao what he wants in one of the latter episodes, so that they may work together instead and is infuriated by the idea of a man who does not want anything). first, why this tactic? Ye Zun was captured by the Rebel Chieftain; his powers hadn’t awoken yet, so the only way he could be useful, could stay alive, was by pleasing the Chieftain. Ye Zun similarly feels he has to provide and again, like his brother, lives to provide and deliver. see? stripped of all context, both twins believe they need to give the people around them what they want in order to have meaning/live. second, in addition, Ye Zun knows first-hand what it’s like to be controlled and manipulated by others; he knows precisely what it feels like to have his mind, his thoughts, his feelings violated by someone else. it helps (?) that he also freaking devoured the Chieftain so that Ye Zun can literally use that mind control ability. he focuses on desires because he understands, perhaps too much, just how effective this manipulation tactic is. 

what about the way they talk? (another shoutout to Zhu Yilong for his phenomenal delivery of their lines again! i dont think i can credit a VA because, if i’m not misremembering, this show didn’t use much dubbing if at all, at least for two leads) Shen Wei is rather soft-spoken, patient, quiet and Ye Zun... Ye Zun is the same. Ye Zun usually does his whisper-rasp thing which 1) makes me incredibly anxious 2) might be because he’s been trapped in a pillar for 10 thousand years and hasn’t exactly had a corporeal body with tangible vocal cords to use 3) more importantly, sounds placating. Ye Zun speaks to tantalize because he seeks to manipulate. but why else would he want to placate? he grew up as a slave; it’s been ingrained in him that he shouldn’t raise his voice, it’s a survival tactic to not piss off his enemies/people with more power. Shen Wei also speaks to placate, but he speaks with no ulterior motive; if he approaches a spooked animal, he wants to help it. if Ye Zun approaches a spooked animal, he wants to ruin it. 

but wait, neither of them are always so placid you say, and well, of course, and Ye Zun definitely isn’t always so calm. Ye Zun has outbursts of excitement, anger (and you’ll find that the pissed off Envoy sounds very similar...); despite the mask he wears, Ye Zun is very childish. he wears his heart on his sleeve so to speak; he smiles when he’s delighted, frowns when he’s disappointed. he’s often more expressive than his brother even though Ye Zun tends to be the one who wears the literal mask when they appear in the same scenes. he never really grew up “normally” so to speak, which is why he’s so fucking furious that Shen Wei shared his life force with Yunlan. yet another grievance from the older brother! “it’s too boring!” Ye Zun complains, now that his brother is weakened and they aren’t equals anymore; it’s too boring, this game is too boring. Ye Zun is a child.

let’s also consider Ye Zun’s obsession with power. he went from slave to leader of the Rebels in a blink of an eye; what kind of freaking backlash must that have had on his psychological state? he’s hungry for power because it’s all he knows. “i am the master, you are the slave,” he taunts Shen Wei. “where is home? i’ve had no home since the day you abandoned me,” he tells Shen Wei.

“i’m your older brother,” Shen Wei reminds Ye Zun. “i never abandoned you,” Shen Wei explains softly to Ye Zun. if all Ye Zun knows is power (think survival of the fittest), then Shen Wei falls back on family, on love. he lost his blood family young, but then Kun Lun fell into his life and lit up his entire world. the Envoy protects his own people and Haixingren best as he can. Professor Shen has his students to look after. Shen Wei has Yunlan and the family at SID. Shen Wei didn’t grow up “normally” either, but he certainly grew up in a kinder world, and he definitely at least grew up knowing what it felt like to be loved.

Ye Zun: “I want to reform this world [...] This world is filthy.”

Ye Zun wants to destroy the world and recreate it; the “system” failed him. Shen Wei wants to protect the world by improving it; he knows the “system” isn’t perfect, but he also knows there are people living in the status quo and he has no right to strip them of that. Ye Zun sees the way his brother abandoned him, the way he himself was forced to survive; Shen Wei sees all the people he loves and needs to continue to protect.

now let’s turn to the respective relationships of the twins with Zhao Yunlan. i think i’ve mentioned this in my previous Guardian analysis textpost but one of the best things about WeiLan imo is that they’re both so fundamentally good. their ideals to uphold the peace and protect not just the people they love, but all people in need of protecting, are perfectly aligned. (this is also why i like WangXian from mdzs/the untamed)

Ye Zun, interestingly, comments that he and Yunlan are the same kind of person—someone who would stop at nothing for their goals. if Yunlan and Shen Wei match, then the younger twin is right. think of the Envoy’s solemn declaration that even the mountains would not stand in the way of him upholding his promise. WeiLan literally lose their lives for their shared goals. 

Ye Zun also mocks his brother that Shen Wei will be just like him, alone. but this condemnation doesn’t stem from the younger twin; the root of this lies with Kun Lun. i didn’t get why in the novel Kun Lun supposes it might have been better to kill Shen Wei at first... it’s because Kun Lun condemns him to thousands of years of loneliness both in drama and in novel. in the drama, when young Shen Wei brings up a what-if, Kun Lun (Yunlan) interrupts him and tells him that Shen Wei would still make this same choice, would still bear this same heavy burden. it is a condemnation, but it is also further proof of this understanding that ties WeiLan together. it is a condemnation, and yet it completes the string of fate and their infinite, cyclical love story.

Kun Lun (Yunlan) asks Shen Wei to forgive him if he has to disappear without warning one day. ten thousand years later, Shen Wei leads his little brother away, sparing just a few minutes to smile at Yunlan and return that lollipop wrapper to him. Shen Wei then walks away because he has complete faith that Yunlan will not blame him or curse him for it, no matter how heartbroken he will be. Shen Wei could forgive Kun Lun; Yunlan easily forgives Shen Wei.

(there’s also the parallel of betting between the twins. Ye Zun bets Yunlan on who will die first—the people Yunlan wants to protect, or Ye Zun. Shen Wei bets on whether or not he and Yunlan will find each other again. the younger twin bets with hatred and on death, the older bets with love and on life.)

i’ve said before that Yunlan brings out the human in Shen Wei. Yunlan brings out the human because they inspire love in each other; they are in love with each other. but Ye Zun, the dear little brother, also brings out the human in Shen Wei because this is truly the only blood family he has left. 

the last time we see Shen Wei’s glasses is before Ye Zun tortures his older brother; Shen Wei from then on is simply Shen Wei, no Professor, no Envoy. when he stands before them all, he is Ye Zun’s older brother, and he is Zhao Yunlan’s lover. when he blocks the blow, his theme begins to play—melancholic, calm, steady. his choice to protect Yunlan is fundamentally Shen Wei. ten thousand years prior, when the Envoy breaks the mask of the new leader of the Rebels, Shen Wei’s theme also plays. his little brother has been returned to him; Shen Wei is complete. his theme plays a final time when Shen Wei explains he never abandoned Ye Zun because again, his twin Ye Zun—like his lover Zhao Yunlan—completes Shen Wei as a character. Shen Wei is a character built entirely from love, from family. when he appears as a spirit to bring Ye Zun home, to offer family, Shen Wei is wearing the Envoy’s outfit of ten thousand years ago. the twins also complete a circle; the story begins with their wrongful separation, the story ends with their bittersweet reunion.

let’s continue with this music analysis! the Black Cloaked Envoy’s theme is 《万年不负》or “Have Not Failed/Disappointed for Ten Thousand Years”. he upholds his promise to Kun Lun/Yunlan to protect the peace between Haixing and Dixing for ten thousand years in the drama and five thousand years in the novel (he also protects the Great Seal in the novel that Kun Lun protected). Ye Zun’s theme is 《染灵》or “Dyed/Tainted Spirit”. Think about how dirty he believes this world to be, and how he proclaims “10 thousand years have passed. I can finally wipe off my disgrace!” (also how he’s a ghost king/hungry ghost in the novel from the Unclean Realm/Hell). 

Here’s a quote from the novel:  “我连魂魄都是黑的，唯独心尖上一点干干净净地放着你，血还是红的，用它护着你，我愿意。”

[Even my soul is black, only my heart where I’ve placed you is clean; there my blood is red, I’m willing to use it to protect you.]

i dont really remember the context of this quote but i think it’s the novel equivalent of where Shen Wei cuts his wrist for Yunlan. anyway it parallels the drama quote where Shen Wei says something like “my eyes are black, my hair is black, even my soul is black... but my blood is red.” it’s just another callback to the novel i think, that the twins are in fact twin ghost kings from the Unclean Realm. (and Kun Lun is a god. thinking about Xiao Wei curbing his bloodlust to become worthy of a god’s love and attention always makes me sob)

both pieces are commanding, lots of brass, but the Envoy’s is a quiet kind of commanding. an unnoticed protector, hovering just out of focus; perhaps a touch unsettling that he’s always there, but also a relief that his presence is a reliable constant. (think of when the SID first summons the envoy and he kind of melts out of the smoke like an unobtrusive shadow) Ye Zun’s is much louder; you cannot miss him, you will witness his triumph. consider how Ye Zun wears a gold mask and a white outfit, as if he were in the spotlight; the Envoy wears all black with only hints of silver. (perhaps the younger twin desperately wanted out from his brother’s long shadow.) 

the scene at the Dixing bar near the end when Yunlan retrieves the lantern. Ye Zun, dressed as the Envoy, enters and wow for a moment you can see all the hope and love in Yunlan’s face ;-; it’s Ye Zun’s theme that accompanies this false Envoy... and it almost lulls you into a false sense of victory. but it’s not the victory that Shen Wei has returned; it’s Ye Zun’s victory that he’s, in a sense, taken over/overpowered and “dethroned” his brother at last. (huge props to Bai Yu again; god i can’t even imagine... the love of your life dying to protect you but wait here he is but no it’s your worst enemy but they share the same face UGH)

the piece that plays when Kun Lun is sucked back by the wormhole is 《诀焰》or “Farewell Flame”. i think it also plays when he’s gonna sacrifice himself to light the Lantern. it sounds triumphant... but at what cost?

and the final piece i want to mention here is 《默守》or “Silently Guarding” and it’s kind of a rearrangement of WeiLan’s theme of 《时间飞行》or “Flying Across Time”. it plays when Shen Wei leaves his amber pendant behind for Yunlan to open. i always assumed this piece was from Shen Wei’s perspective but thinking again... this pendant, this lollipop wrapper, this memory of Kun Lun are what has kept Shen Wei going for so long. Zhao Yunlan is the one who has protected Shen Wei for so long. they will always protect each other. their love is a fated one.

anyway, listen to the soundtrack! rewatch and cry! if you’ve gotten this far, thank you for reading~

[theres-a-goldensky]

List of My Fic - 2020

Am I 17 days late? Why, yes. I am. But here is a list of all the fic I wrote in 2020, going chronologically, plus some superlatives as I look back on last year.

Total stories written: 18

Total words written: 100,130

SUPERLATIVES:

Favorite fic I wrote in 2020: Dream On (Win/Team)

Least favorite fic I wrote: Sorry A Thousand Times (Fighter/Tutor)

Story I think is the most underrated: Jumping Off the Deep End (Richie/Eddie)

Favorite moment that I wrote:  

“Fuck this,” Eddie said just as the elevator doors opened. He jumped in and pressed the button to close the doors again.

“Oh, no way,” Richie said and hopped in with him. When Eddie tried to get back out, Richie grabbed his suit jacket and held on. “Nope, not a chance.”

The others stood in the lobby staring at the two of them.

“Stanley, your friends,” Patty said as the doors slid shut.

“Believe me, honey, I know,” Stan answered.

- Fake it ‘Til You Make it

Favorite sex scene that I wrote: 

Kit’s first time giving a blowjob, By Myself With You

It turned out that watching Kit pace naked around his dorm room while he talked himself through giving Ming a blow job for the first time was so entertaining that actually getting his cock sucked was almost a secondary benefit.

Ming laid equally naked in the middle of Kit’s bed, his hands laced behind his head, and enjoyed the show. He could see his very smart boyfriend using his very big brain to come up with the best course of action. Knowing him the way he did, Ming had no doubt that when Kit said he’d done research, he meant both the fun porn type and the boring, informational type. Ming hoped there were flashcards involved.

Favorite pairing dynamic to write: Oblivious Meng Shao Fei and jealous, protective Tang Yi - I did some variation of that trope in all three of my HIStory3: Trapped fics.

Click through for a list of all 18 stories in 7 fandoms.

WAITING FOR A SIGN Fandom: IT the movies Pairing: Richie/Eddie Rating: Explicit Length: 6100 words Summary: Richie got tall. And broad. He had these wide shoulders and big hands that he’d gesture with emphatically when making some dumb joke about fucking Eddie’s dead mother. At one point, he poured Eddie a finger of Jameson and when Eddie tried to wave it off, Richie took hold of his wrist with one hand and pressed the glass into Eddie’s open palm with the other.

Eddie took a long sip as he had two equally shocking and mortifying thoughts in quick succession. The first was I want his hand around my dick, followed by holy fuck, I’m in love with this dirty asshole.

FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT  Fandom: IT the movies Pairing: Richie/Eddie Rating: Explicit  Length: ~21,000 words Summary: “Then that’s it? You staged some pictures and now it’s done?” Eddie asked. 

“I wish,” Richie sighed. “This was just a test balloon to see how it goes over. If people react well, then we’re gonna make it official.”

“Official?” Eddie said faintly.

“You know what I mean. An official fake relationship. Artificially in love in that grand Hollywood tradition.”

SORRY A THOUSAND TIMES

Fandom: Why R U? the series Pairing: Fighter/Tutor Rating: Explicit Length: 3200 words Summary: The ride down to the beach had been pleasant enough, even if Tutor’s heart twisted every time his two friends discreetly traded shy smiles during lulls in the conversation. But Tutor made his choice, and he would have to live with it from now on. Whenever it felt overwhelming, whenever Tutor felt his fingers itching to pick up his phone and text Fight to tell him everything, he reminded himself why he was doing this in the first place. Tutor knew how important family was, and he wouldn’t be able to stand it if he ruined Fight’s relationship with his father.

JUMPING OFF THE DEEP END

Fandom: IT the movies Pairing: Richie/Eddie Rating: Teen Length: 7500 words Summary: He didn’t know what he expected to see when he barged into the room, but Eddie hooked up to a thousand beeping machines and smiling brightly at him wasn’t it. Richie skidded to a stop in the doorway, nearly causing a pile up behind him. His breath caught inside his chest at the sight of Eddie, his hair a riotous mess and his doe eyes wide and glassy. 

“Hey, guys,” Eddie said when he saw them. There was a nurse tinkering with one of the machines beside him.

They ignored her and huddled around Eddie’s bed. Richie stood near the back corner and drank in the sight of him. He squeezed his hands together and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from crying. Again. Jesus.

DREAM ON SERIES

Fandom: Until We Meet Again Pairing: Win/Team Rating: Explicit Length: 13,000 words over 3 stories Summary: “Team and Win, you’re in room 355,” Dean said.

Team rolled his eyes. “Why did I get stuck with you?” he hissed.

“Because I’m your senior, and you have to do what I say,” Win replied. Dream On Dream Team Dream Life

BY MYSELF WITH YOU

Fandom: 2Moons the series Pairing: Ming/Kit Rating: Explicit Length: 6100 words Summary: Oh, Kit,' Ming thought, hopelessly fond. This boy was going to ruin him.

THE MISSING PIECE

Fandom: HIStory3: Trapped Pairing: Meng Shao Fei/Tang Yi Rating: Teen Length: 4000 words Summary: “Tang Yi, I thought you didn’t like Coke,” Shao Fei asked. He gestured with the bottle and took a long sip.

Tang Yi barely glanced up from his work. “I don’t,” he replied.

“Then why is your refrigerator full of it?” Shao Fei pressed. When Tang Yi didn’t respond, Shao Fei shook his head. “What a waste of money, to buy something that you won’t even drink. Good thing I’m here.”

WHO YOU WANT ME TO BE

Fandom: HIStory3: Trapped Pairing: Meng Shao Fei/Tang Yi and Jack/Zhao Zi Rating: Mature Length: 10,300 words Summary: “You’re finally getting your wish. I’m leaving you alone.” Shao Fei waved a finger in his face. “But don’t get too excited. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

“You’re going to help them look for whoever’s murdered those men,” Tang Yi surmised.

“A serial killer here in New Taipei City,” Shao Fei said. “It’s my duty.”

“Your duty,” Tang Yi replied mockingly. “They’re using you as bait.”

YOU CAN’T PLAY A PLAYER

Fandom: The Untamed Pairing: Jin Guangyao/Nie Huaisang Rating: Explicit Length: 1800 words Summary: If it wasn’t about his own amusement or pleasure, Nie Huaisang had no interest in it. Politics flew right over his head, waved away by the fluttering of one of his ever-present painted fans. That suited Meng Yao perfectly, as did the fact that he was obviously a cut-sleeve.

IN VINO VERITAS

Fandom: The Untamed Pairing: Lan Wangji / Wei Wuxian Rating: Teen Length: 5000 words Summary: Time stopped. Everything stopped. Wei Wuxian’s heart stopped. Slowly, he turned around to face Nie Huaisang.

“Lan Zhan is betrothed?” he asked carefully. 

Nie Huaisang paused with the bottle halfway to his lips. “Yes?” he said, sounding confused. “You must know that. Lan Qiren negotiated it himself.”

WEI WUXIAN VS. THE FEARSOME SUPER PANDA!!

Fandom: The Untamed Pairing: Gen Rating: Gen Length: 1300 words Summary: Wei Wuxian faces his most dangerous foe yet - the fearsome super panda.

MY BEST FRIEND Fandom: HIStory2: Right or Wrong Pairing: gen, Yijie/Shengzhe, Yijie + Shengzhe + YoYo Rating: gen Length: ~1700 words Summary: Even after over two years, Shengzhe is still uncomfortable around other parents.

FIVE YEARS LATER, THE WAY THINGS SHOULD HAVE BEEN

Fandom: HIStory3: Make Our Days Count Pairing: Xiang Haoting/Yu Xigu Rating: Mature Length: ~3400 words Summary: Yu Xigu isn’t at lecture, and the undergrads are worried. 

Yu Xigu rubbed his nose with the back of his hand sheepishly - so cute! How is he so cute?! - and said, “I wanted to get some work done.”

“You’re sick,” the guy replied. He placed one giant hand on Yu Xigu’s forehead and the corners of his mouth turned down. “You’ve got a fever.”

THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART

Fandom: HIStory3: Trapped Pairing:  Tang Yi/Shao Fei (Jack/Zhao Zi) Rating: Teen Length: ~2000 words Summary: A new food truck moves in near the police station.

Tang Yi grabbed the bun and took a bite. It was incredible. “Well?” Shao Fei asked. Tang Yi shrugged and passed back the half-eaten bun. “It’s ok,” he lied.

MISPLACE MY HEART

Fandom: Until We Meet Again Pairing: Win/Team Rating: Mature Length: ~4000 words Summary: Team turned back to face him, and Win curled both hands around either side of Team’s jaw, kissing him softly before pulling back and gazing at him with a small, satisfied grin.

“Hia,” Team began, just as Win said, “I’ve gotta go.”

Team closed his mouth on the rest of the words, swallowing them down along with his disappointment.

SO ANNOYING  Fandom: Until We Meet Again Pairing: Win/Team Rating: Mature Length: ~9700 words Summary: Team deals with some very unwanted attention at a swim meet and some very wanted attention from Win. (TW: brief, non-graphic sexual harassment)

[foxghost]

Read: Let Go of that Shou by Fei Tian Ye Xiang

So in between Yingnu (which I love) and Joyful Reunion (which I love) there was one more book in FTYX's  "Constellations" series called "Let Go of that Shou". I never got past the first 10 pages or so because it's ... odd, huge departure in mood from Yingnu odd. With FTYX serialising the 4th book in the series I thought I'd go back and finish it.

I finished it. That was not what I expected (⊙_⊙)

What I expected: pwp danmei NP (1 shou 6 gong) wuxia/xianxia adventure HE ending in 1v1

What I got: pwp danmei NP (1 shou 6 gong) wuxia/xianxia adventure HE and one of the gongs turns out to be the shou's dad 1v1

Details under cut.

WARNINGS: MC does end up with his dad as a romantic partner full stop. Also, while most of the sex scenes in this book happens because MC initiated things, there is one extended rape scene (with someone other than ending ML), and some of the sex initiated by MC is fuck or the other guy dies, which from the pov of the other party is totally dubcon at best, so now's your chance to nope out. Okay? Okay.

Summary: the young successor to the demon cult You Mengzhe has only ever trained in couple cultivation ever, and doesn't know any other martial arts. He runs away from home and tries to sleep with everyone he runs into (but only those who can fight, since that's how he gains any powers), and in the process it's basically mamma mia --- he finds out his dad(You Gutian)'s not really his dad, and then people keep claiming to be his dad until he's awfully confused. Takes place ~450 years after Yingnu.

But what this book feels like is ... is FTYX's own fanfic where he gets to write all the sex scenes with all the characters who didn't get much/any sex scenes before. There's not much character development since the story takes place over months, but there is a surprising amount of plot.

MC reminds me a lot of You Miao from To Rule in a Turbulent World / 亂世為王, but it's the You Miao from the first half of the first book. But in a departure from smart MC/ loyal pup ML that FTYX tend to favour, the MC ML here is more like dumb and dumber.

here's your six gongs in order of sex scenes (slightly spoilery):

Sun Bin: A master thief. About MC's age and even more immature, first love archetype

Yu Changqing: If you've read Yingnu, he's instantly recognisable as a stand-in for Fang Qingyu. Older brother archetype. Fang Qingyu has always wanted to be an upright gentleman, so this time he gets to be one. ;-;

Yuwen Hong: MC's shadow guard who's been protecting him secretly since MC was born. Very protective and kind of a copy of Li Zhifeng from To Rule in a Turbulent World. Innocent and straightforward and loyal (no principles, MC says jump off a cliff he'd jump off a cliff) puppy archetype.

Zhao Feihong: MC's mother's ex. Older uncle archetype, is basically Han Canghai from Yingnu? Ends up a general but not very good at it, which makes me think he must be Zhao Kui (Joyful Reunion)'s ancestor.

Zhang Yuanshan: A distant relative of Zhang Mu from Yingnu. He's mute, communicates by sign language, and he's PERFECT --- he's stylish, polite, good at martial arts, has integrity, protective, loves You Mengzhe like a son at first sight and spoils him in all the fatherly ways. My personal favourite. I wish he'd have turned out being real dad and the rest of the story remain as is ...

You Gutian: The leader of the demon cult, not actually MC's dad but MC doesn't know that (although it is very obvs to the audience). Your quiet and mysterious villain archetype.

Do I recommend this: It does avoid one of the serious pitfalls of NP文 in that You Mengzhe is not irresistible. Half the Gongs aren't even romantically/sexually attracted to him. There is a bit of lore to be had --- such as that one half of the Li imperial family's jade arc actually ended up with the Xianbei royal family in the extra! This totally (sort of) explains why Lang Junxia chose to follow Li Jianhong when he was something like 15 years old and why Li Jianhong has both halves of the jade arc.

/new ship crack ship ... orz

Ultimately I was only here hoping for more Zhang Mu and Fang Qingyu, and in a way I got more Zhang Mu (Zhang Yuanshan) and Fang Qinyu (Yu Changqing), they both lived to see the end of the book with all their limbs and fingers intact, so I can't complain. The sex scenes are ... okay. If you want smut go read Po Guan Zi Po Shuai or To Rule in a Turbulent World.

I would not read this again. Ok maybe just the bits with Yu Changqing or Zhang Yuanshan in it ...