#Meng-Ke Wu

[luegootravez]

Meng-ke Wu by © Rahi Rezvani

[namjhyun]

DRAMA REVIEW | The Double (2024)

For starters, this was a great watch. The production value was outstanding, the clothing design beautiful and the performances exactly what you want from this kind of revenge story, which is subtle and over the top at the same time, somehow. The music and editing could be better but they didn't stop me from enjoying this drama.

The main characters are smart, deadly and flirty. Their friends and family members a perfect fold for their cunning ways.

Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xingyue have an explosive chemistry. It's unreal. Every scene they had together got me giddy with excitement.

The villains were not your typical and I found myself equally invested in the part they had to play in this story. Their ending was befitting to their respective arcs and retribution sweet.

It's my first time watching a drama where Li Meng stars in but I am damn impressed by her. She's a powerhouse and I will be looking forward to her future projects.

This is also the kind of drama where nobody is safe and I commend the script writer for going there when so many other don't. That said, if you are going to kill a major character, you can't have a lukewarm resolution.

I have spent the better part of the last hour reading and watching every interview the director, cast and crew gave about this drama because when I finished it watching I was pissed.

This might be controversial because I know this is a well loved drama, hell, I loved watching this drama but what was the director thinking changing the script of the final episode and leaving the story as an open ending? Viewers spent 40 episodes, invested in this characters, hoping for them to have a happy ending, only to be met with a final scene that can be interpreted as reality or wishful thinking. Leaning more on the latter.

A revenge story it's not something you leave open ended. And, yes, I know there's an epilogue and I think it should be part of the final episode not something you release just in case fans might be angry at what you did. This is so unserious, I am lacking words.

This drama was a solid 8 for entertainment and production value until that ghastly final scene, forcing me to drop a full number. They should have known better... and they did. Why release an epilogue if they didn't?

Rating: 7/10

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Double (2024)

Gifs of Ending of cdrama "The Double"

ENGSUB 【墨雨云间 The Double EP01】 木叶动，秋声起，墨雨中，云间明 | 古装 爱情 | 吴谨言 / 王星越 | YOUKU COSTUME

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMVTrm7F1eg

[wuxia-hero]

HELLO coming out of my cave to yell about how much I LOVE The Double (墨雨云间) bc I have no irl friends that love historical c-dramas :’) I’ve been hung up on this show for a few days after finishing it.

Overall 10/10 with a subjectively happy ending (I choose to believe the ending is happy) with really good acting. Wu Jinyan could never disappoint. The frontal camera angles threw me off quite a bit at first but I slowly started to appreciate this artistic choice.

Some spoilers ahead as usual!

Let’s dive into - the Plot. I read some of the original novel in the past but dropped it after a while. There are some differences - such as the novel using transmigration (Xue Fangfei entering Jiang Li’s body) as the main plot point, while the drama explicitly shows how Xue Fangfei’s journey with Jiang Li and how she eventually took over JL’s identity after her passing. Personally I prefer what the drama did as everything felt much more real and believable. This added a depth to the story that transmigration was unable to showcase. Plus, Wu Jinyan’s ability to showcase XFF’s pain and growth as she vows to exonerate JL (played by Yang Chaoyue) and herself was extremely captivating and I constantly wanted to root for her.

All the flashbacks with JL thanking XFF throughout the show had me sobbing in bed at 3am while watching.

Special mention to the king (played by Zeng Ke Liang) as well for not being a total fool - as seen in SO MANY other historical dramas. His friendship with Xiao Heng is rock solid, and seeing the ministers and other antagonists constantly underestimate it was sooo satisfying to watch. So if you hate cdramas with stupid monarchs, you'll be pleased to hear that there won't be any of that here.

Scenes of their friendship were really cute to watch too.

The romantic development between XFF and Xiao Heng (played by Wang Xingyue) was delightful to watch. I love couples that just understand each other. Without explicitly saying anything, without any grand confessions of love, both parties mutually knew each other’s feelings and constantly looked out for each other. The slow and gradual process of them falling for each other was paced out beautifully - XH’s gaze changes as he looks at her throughout the episodes, and XFF gets more and more playful around him. The script and their bantering ticks all the right boxes fkr me. He’s the only person that knows her real identity, she doesn’t need to hide in front of him. And this makes their relationship so much more special.

And I love that there was nothing like making stupid decisions in the name of love and protection while jeopardising the bigger picture. (eg. XH giving up the entire secret army the emperor trusted him with for XFF - turning out to be a hidden ploy) Both XFF and XH were on a quest for revenge and they are determined to get what they want without making any compromise. If at any point of the plot - they deviate from this and decide to do something foolish in order to protect the other, I would have seen it as out of character.

Bonus points for including an archery scene :D It’s one of my favourite overused tropes.

The overall camera work and style of The Double was shot so beautifully and in a rather interesting theatrical style. From JL’s death where she falls among the pear blossoms to Princess Wanning (played by Li Meng) ’s dancing and even the scenes where characters stare directly into the camera. The opening scenes were super dramatic and really set a heavy tone for the rest of the story.

While the staring into the camera took some getting used to, there are certain portions where Wanning’s expressions gave me goose bumps. Li Meng’s performance took me out - her Wanning was repulsive in the way she treated others, yet so broken from her past that I felt so much pain for her towards the end of the story. It was amazing.

There were even comedic elements that made some parts feel like a stage play. Like her cousin and his lackeys’ coordinated walk as they try to help her out from her room. And one of the minister’s love for theatre which was super on the nose I laughed out loud while watching it all play out. The style in which important plot points are presented is so unique and really sets this show apart from other cdramas I’ve watched.

Everyone in the cast was amazing in their roles. While Wang Xingyue is one of the younger cast members, the emotional depth in his performance as Xiao Heng gave off maturity and a temperament beyond his years. Seeing him goof around behind the scenes, and then watching him as Xiao Heng gave me whiplash - but in the best way possible.

Liang Yongqi was a truly despicable Shen Yurong - it got to a point where seeing him on screen made my skin crawl. Liu Xiening as Jiang Ruoyan was perfectly annoying - and I can't wait to see more from her as I've really liked her since she was in Gugudan.

I could probably go on and on about how much I love Wu Jinyan as Xue Fangfei and I’m so happy that they casted her because she was perfect. (Admittedly, I’m biased). But I think you can watch the show to experience everyone's brilliance for yourself. The casting and script pacing was great and all the different pieces fit together into this story perfectly.

Now let's talk about the somewhat controversial ending of The Double. Did our beloved Duke Su die in battle? Did they ever reunite? I choose to believe that he came back to her in the end and they got their happy ending. But Wang Xingyue's performance in that last battle - with the iconic scene of XFF's pendant in his mouth was breathtaking. Regardless, I do think the show could have done without causing the audience pain with this added arc of him going back to his duties - but I felt that it made sense.

Xiao Heng is someone who is deadly loyal to his country and to his king. He and XFF are not the kind to simply escape from the capital and its intrigues to live a happy life on their own. Both value their family and their country, they would never leave the capital to pursue their own happiness.

Also something I noticed - that made this scene so much more painful. At the start after XFF retrieves the pendant, Tong'er (her servant) tells her not to pawn off this pendant anymore. She replies with "there's no one worth trading this pendant for". And then she gives this pendant to XH before he goes off to battle at the end. Cries.

Abrupt end but I think this is most of the feels I have to get out already - I took a lot of screenshots and recordings while watching The Double (haven't felt the urge to do so in such a long time tbh) so there may be more posts from me while I continue yapping about how much I love this show and story adaptation.

smol life update: I’ve been working FT after graduation two years ago - but I was in a pretty bad environment and have decided to resign this year. So now I’m funemployed and trying to work through some health issues. Hope everyone has been well and thank you for reading this! ❤️❤️

[lttawnymadison]

Danmei most highly rated/loved

This list is based on my poll of people's favorite danmei novels. They're also the ones I've heard about multiple times. Many are licensed for English, and more are being licensed all the time!

MXTX – Heaven Official's Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu) 

MXTX – The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Mo Dao Zu Shi)  

MXTX – The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong) 

Meatbun – The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun)

Meatbun - Remnants of Filth (Yu Wu)

Meatbun - Case File Compendium (Bing an Ben)

Meng Xishi - Thousand Autumns (Qian Qiu) 

Meng Xishi – Peerless (Wu Shuang) 

Priest - Stars of Chaos (Sha Po Lang)  

Priest – Lord Seventh (Qi Ye)

Priest - Faraway Wanderers (Tian Ya Ke), sequel to Lord Seventh

Priest – Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire 

Priest - Guardian (Zhen Hun) 

Shisi - Little Mushroom (Xiao Mogu) 

Feng Yu Nie - Mistakenly Saving the Villain 

FTYX - Dinghai Fusheng Records

FTYX - Legend of Exorcism (Tianbao Fuyao Lu) (loose sequel to DFR)

FTYX - To Rule in a Turbulent World (Luan Shi Wei Wang)  

Tang Jiu Qing - Qiang Jin Jiu 

Tang Jiu Qing - Nan Chan 

Cang Wu Bin Bai - Golden Terrace (Cang Wu Bin Bai) 

Cang Wu Bin Bai - Chun Feng Du Jian 

Qing Se Yu Yi - Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know  

Man Man He Qi Duo - Those Years In Quest Of Honour Mine 

Lu Ye Qian He - The Wife is First (Qi Wei Shang) 

Yi Yi Yi Yi - How to Survive As a Villain (Chuanyue Cheng Fanpai Yao Ruhe Huoming)  

Zhìchǔ - Fan Service Paradox (Ying Ye Bei Lun)  

Mu Su Li - Global Examination (Quanqiu Gaokao)  

Wei Feng Ji Xu - Mist (Bowu) 

Xue Shan Fei Hu - The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish 

Wu Zhe - Run Wild (Sa Ye) 

bafflinghaze - Dao Of The Salted Fish (Salted Fish Cultivator) 

Lin Qian - The Fallen Merman 

Feng Liu Shu Dai - Quickly wear the face of the devil 

Yin Ya - The Legendary Master’s Wife  

Wú Yì - The Killer of Killers (Sha Qing) 

Bing Kuai’er/ICE (冰块儿) - After Dawn/Dawning 黎明之后 

Jiang Weiji - How to Feed an Abyss! 

Lei Xu - The Grave Robbers' Chronicles

[liberty-or-death]

“The mountains and the rivers aren’t important, what’s important is that to find someone who understands one’s self.” - Wen Kexing’s Romantic Poetry Episode 9 aka the soulmate 知己 meta (Warrior's March 壮士行 by Bao Rong 鲍溶)

To wrap up the soulmate meta, let’s analyse the second instance when the poem appears.  

“The Warrior’s March 壮士行” was written by the Tang Dynasty poet Bao Rong 鲍溶. n his early years, he lived in seclusion in the mountains of Jiangnan.  He later then traveled around the world, making friends with Han Yu, Li Zhengfeng and Meng Jiao. He was a scholar in the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), but his career was unpromising, and he died in his hometown after a life of poverty and uncertainty.

西方太白高，壮士羞病死。

Venus rises high in the west, the warrior dies filled with regret.  

心知报恩处，对酒歌易水。

His heart knows that kindness has been repaid.  Drinking his wine, the warrior sings the “Cold River Yi”

易水寒 Cold River Yi - This poem was written by the youxia Jing Ke 荆轲 written during the Waring States.  When he was on his way to assassinate the emperor, he sings his goodbyes to the King of Yan at the River Yi (located in Hubei.).  The same story has been referenced in the previous meta Singing for Jin Ke 咏荆轲.

砂鸿嗥天末，横剑别妻子。

The geese in the desert howl as though the world has ended.  Carrying his sword, he bids his wife and children goodbye. 

苏武执节归，班超束书起。

Su Wu holds the up the Tally and returns, Zhong Sheng puts his books down and rises.

苏武 Su Wu’s was a Han Dynasty minister who was was captured by the Xiongnu for 19 years.   Emperor Xuan of Han Dynasty listed him as one of the eleven meritorious ministers of the Qilin Pavilion 麒麟阁 for his integrity.  He’s often depicted in Chinese history as a symbol of loyalty despite hardship 

执节 The Tally was a form of military authorisation in ancient China.  One example would the the Tiger Tally, that was the inspiration behind MDZS’ Yin Tiger Tally/Yin Hufu.

班超:  Banchao was a famous literary figure, military man and diplomat during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was ordered to send an envoy to the Western Region and pacified more than fifty countries over thirty years, making great contributions to the return of the Western Region and promoting national integration.

山河不足重，重在遇知己。

The mountains and the rivers aren’t important, what’s important is that to find someone who understands one’s self.  (ie. Soulmate) 

Analysis 

This is a really interesting choice of poetry! 

Firstly, there are many ways 知己 Zhiji’s quoted in poetry.  It is a term used to refer to “someone who knows one’s self.”  On Baidu, it has been used at least 7 times in ancient poetry. But what’s really interesting is that both poems share the story of Jin Ke’s failed assassination attempt of Qin Shi Huang.  I felt this was a deliberate choice by SHL because 1) this line doesn’t appear in TYK and 2) it isn’t even a famous poem.  Chinese dictionaries use ancient poetries to define a term and this poem isn’t listed on it. (At least on Baidu dictionary.). In fact, I pieced the complete translation myself. LOL.  Famous works would usually have been fully interpreted and translated by Chinese literature fans, and this was only partially translated

Secondly, what’s really interesting is the vibe of this poem.   The line seems romantic at first glance when quoted on its own (The mountains and the rivers aren’t important, what’s important is that to find someone who understands one’s self.  (ie. Soulmate)), but when taken into the context of the entire line, it just simply reeks of loneliness.  Rather than proclaiming about how great their current soulmate is, the line’s actually about how one’s in anguish over their missing soulmate, and in this case, it’s over the death of their soulmate. (Ie. saying goodbye to their love ones while embarking on a doomed mission.) 

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[eyenaku]

Ji ji fu ji ji

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

[tentative-wanderer]

Popular and popular-ish danmei books I ditched due to ➡️personal⬅️ tastes:

(Been a while since I attempted reading these, so if there are minor inaccuracies below, that’s why.)

• First-Class Lawyer/Yi Ji Lǚ Shi 一级律师 by Mu Su Li: the trials in the book are not bound by the laws of our real-world countries, and that’s fine, but I doubt that any fair legal system will allow major surprise evidence/arguments to be sprung on a party during the trial. To address each side’s reasoning properly during the trial, parties have to receive and get to know each other’s general arguments before the trial. How can you prepare a proper defence if you don’t understand the reasons and evidence behind the accusation? How can the prosecution deal with the defendant’s counter-arguments if they don’t know what they are until the last minute? Everyone has to generally understand each other’s POV beforehand. Furthermore, evidence has to be submitted for approval by the court before the trial to filter out irrelevant, bias-inducing evidence.

—From what I remember from my law course, that’s roughly how it works in the U.K., and I think that’s a fair way of doing things so I’d bet most civilised societies do that. The surprise-evidence plot twist smelled too illegal to me, so I was put off from reading the rest of the book.

• Priest’s books:

1. Sha Po Lang 杀破狼: stories with ancient yet non-xianxia/wuxia settings tend to bore me. Ancient yet non-xianxia/wuxia means the plot likely revolves around politicking and sometimes war, which I don’t like when they come in large (and male-dominated) spades because they’re too dry for me.

2 & 3. Tian Ya Ke 天涯客, Liu Yao 六爻: I love xianxia and wuxia so I thought I’d love these, but I just couldn’t keep reading far enough. Things were happening, but they weren’t riveting. I couldn’t get attached to the characters.

4. Zhen Hun 镇魂: I couldn’t get into it, partly because “modern + superpowers” isn’t a setting I usually like. (I do like it if it comes with a generous serving of humour, like in Depressed Husbands Want to Live a Peaceful Life by Cyan Wings.) Things were happening, but they weren’t riveting.

5. Mo Du 默读: one reason why I couldn’t get into it is because it’s a police story. Strangely, I love mysteries but not danmei police investigation novels, though I hope I’ll come to like them one day. (But I like police investigation fics! I guess I need to feel an attachment to characters first before they get involved in policing.) Another reason why I dropped it is that as I read many chapters into the book, there was still very little progress on solving a core mystery that the author periodically hinted it. It was kept very shadowy and vague, and while this can be acceptable in books, it was frustrating here because there weren’t other things along the way that made me feel “oh this is a fun journey”.

• Criminal Psychology/Fan Zui Xin Li 犯罪心理 by Chang Er: it’s a police story, so the first reason as the one for Mo Du applies

• Qiang Jin Jiu 将进酒 by Tang Jiu Qing: same reason as Sha Po Lang

• Golden Stage/Huang Jin Tai 黄金台 by Cang Wu Bin Bai: same reason as Sha Po Lang

• Thousand Autumns/Qian Qiu 千秋 by Meng Xi Shi: I found the protagonist, romantic relationship, and events (as far as I managed to read them) bland

• Little Mushroom/Xiao Mo Gu 小蘑菇 by Yi Shi Si Zhou: interesting setting, but there are three things preventing me from liking the book:

1. I usually don’t like danmei books that are wholly set in a futuristic dystopia. I don’t read danmei to enjoy imagining a world/society that’s similar to ours but more oppressive/painful.

2. The protagonist’s personality is too mild for me, and the love interest’s personality isn’t a type I like either.

3. Female suffering. I can’t forget that part of the book because it’s so realistic (kudos to the author), it feels like shit that would actually happen if our world were to face those conditions. Good for the story, but I read danmei to feel semi-free from gender inequality, so it’s not great for me personally.

• Tong Qian Kan Shi 铜钱龛世 by Mu Su Li: the plot and characters weren’t attractive enough

• Supernatural Movie Actor App 灵异片演员app by Xi Zi Ji Jiu: the horror wasn’t horrifying enough and the protagonist tried too hard to seem impressive

• Qi Zi 契子 by Yi Xiu Luo: the systemic inequality within spousal relationships in the book is too huge and oppressive for me to enjoy the story

• Ru Xi 入戏 by Tong Zi/Zhe Yi Mei Zhen: racist, and based on the part I read, it looks like it’s on track to treat its female characters badly too

• Welcome to the Nightmare Livestream 欢迎进入梦魇直播间 by Sang Wo: 1) it feels too video-game-like and unrealistic (some books, but not this one, have fantasy settings that feel viable, like they could actually exist); 2) I’m not attached to the protagonist, and 3) there is very little interaction between the protagonist and love interest.

• Pan Guan 判官 by Mu Su Li: I wasn’t attached to the characters

• Quan Qiu Gao Kao 全球高考 by Mu Su Li: I wasn’t attached to the characters

• 万诱引力 Law of Universal Enticement/Wan You Yin Li by 骑鲸南去 Qi Jing Nan Qu: great pun for the Mandarin title, but I don’t like settings that are too game-like; the two main characters were too perfect in some ways; and the method used by a character to successfully solve a problem in the very first arc was too unrealistic.

• 反派他过分美丽 The Villain, He’s Excessively Beautiful by 骑鲸南去 Qi Jing Nan Qu: I only remember that I gradually lost interest in the plot. I might try to read this book again, but actually probably not; I’ve given second chances to highly recommended books that I couldn’t manage to like in the past, and I’ve never once succeeded.

• Some books by Yang Su 杨溯: a bit like Priest’s books, they fall into the category of “things were happening but they were strangely not riveting enough”.

1. 渡厄 Du E (I won’t attempt to translate this title before finishing the book in case it doesn’t convey the right meaning): I tried reading this novel twice—that was how much I wanted to like it

2. 嫁魔 Marrying the Demon/Jia Mo

3. 督主有病 The Governer is Ill/Du Zhu You Bing

Among Yang Su’s books, I liked 深眠 Deep Sleep/Shen Mian and 凶祟 Creature of Malignance/Xiong Sui, the former more than the latter even though the love interest in the latter is one of my favourites. This is because the former is a shorter book with a brisker pace. Taking that factor into account alongside the books I dropped, it seems that I find Yang Su’s longer works draggy with too much space in between the hooks.

• 蝶变 Butterfly Metamorphosis/Die Bian by 麟潜 Lin Qian: I don’t like settings that feel like video games

• 桐花中路私立协济医院怪谈 Scary Stories About the Privately Funded Hospital at Tonghua Middle Road by 南琅要减肥 Nan Lang Yao Jian Fei: frequently recommended on Weibo when I looked up danmei horror novels, but I really don’t think it warrants such high praise. The writing quality is not high and up to the parts where I dropped it, it wasn’t very scary. I tried it twice.

• 我在惊悚游戏里封神 I Attained Godhood in a Horror Game by 壶鱼辣椒 Hu Yu La Jiao: not scary. Not riveting either.

• 南禅 Nan Chan by 唐酒卿 Tang Jiu Qing: the main characters’ personalities and plot weren’t interesting enough before I dropped it, though there was a mystery/adventure brewing

• 不见上仙三百年 The Immortal Unseen for Three Hundred Years by 木苏里 Musuli: see here

• 闲与仙人扫落花 by 归鸿落雪: the world is cruel, but far more damningly, the main characters are too cold-blooded

• The Consequences of Mistakenly Saving the Villain 论救错反派的下场 by Feng Yu Nie 凤羽涅: I can’t clearly remember all the reasons why I dropped it, but I didn’t like the protagonist enough—was it some vague (fake?) Gary Stu vibes? Can’t remember—and the writing quality was not very high.

*

Danmei books that fit my tastes:

[the-archlich]

Every now and then I post my future DW roster wishlist with slight changes and ask your opinion about it, so here it goes again. Tell me what you think: Wei: Jia Kui, Zang Ba, Cao Zhen, Wen Pin, Guoshi. Wu: Lü Fan, He Qi, Bu Zhi, Zhuge Ke, Sun Luban. Shu: Meng Da, Jian Yong, Zhang Yi, Zhang Ni, Wang Ping. Jin: Chen Tai, Yang Hu, Yang Huiyu. Other: Liu Biao, Gongsun Zan, Han Sui, Gao Shun

It's fun to make wishlists.

I think this is a decent enough list. A lot of these are characters I'd have liked to see too. I think the only character here I'd have any objections to is Meng Da. There are a lot of people who did much more than him and his whole narrative loses a lot of juice if Liu Feng is just a background character.

[drmikewatts]

IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, Volume 28, Number 5, October 2024

1) Particle Swarm Optimization for Efficiently Evolving Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Using an Autoencoder-Based Encoding Strategy

Author(s:); Gonglin Yuan, Bin Wang, Bing Xue, Mengjie Zhang

Pages: 1190 - 1204

2) Conditional Generative Adversarial Network-Based Bilevel Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization Algorithm

Author(s:); Weizhong Wang, Hai-Lin Liu

Pages: 1205 - 1219

3) Can Evolutionary Clustering Have Theoretical Guarantees?

Author(s:); Chao Qian

Pages: 1220 - 1234

4) Genetic Programming With Lexicase Selection for Large-Scale Dynamic Flexible Job Shop Scheduling

Author(s:); Meng Xu, Yi Mei, Fangfang Zhang, Mengjie Zhang

Pages: 1235 - 1249

5) Correlation-Based Dynamic Allocation Scheme of Fitness Evaluations for Constrained Evolutionary Optimization

Author(s:); Han Huang, Yueting Xu, Yi Xiang, Zhifeng Hao

Pages: 1250 - 1264

6) Robust Optimization Over Time: A Critical Review

Author(s:); Danial Yazdani, Mohammad Nabi Omidvar, Donya Yazdani, Jürgen Branke, Trung Thanh Nguyen, Amir H. Gandomi, Yaochu Jin, Xin Yao

Pages: 1265 - 1285

7) Balancing Objective Optimization and Constraint Satisfaction in Expensive Constrained Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization

Author(s:); Zhenshou Song, Handing Wang, Bing Xue, Mengjie Zhang, Yaochu Jin

Pages: 1286 - 1300

8) Estimation of Distribution Algorithms in Machine Learning: A Survey

Author(s:); Pedro Larrañaga, Concha Bielza

Pages: 1301 - 1321

9) Multiobjective Optimization-Based Network Control Principles for Identifying Personalized Drug Targets With Cancer

Author(s:); Jing Liang, Zhuo Hu, Zong-Wei Li, Kangjia Qiao, Wei-Feng Guo

Pages: 1322 - 1335

10) Privacy-Enhanced Multitasking Particle Swarm Optimization Based on Homomorphic Encryption

Author(s:); Hao Li, Fanggao Wan, Maoguo Gong, A. K. Qin, Yue Wu, Lining Xing

Pages: 1336 - 1350

11) Machine Learning-Based Prediction of New Pareto-Optimal Solutions From Pseudo-Weights

Author(s:); Anirudh Suresh, Kalyanmoy Deb

Pages: 1351 - 1365

12) A Genetic Programming Approach With Building Block Evolving and Reusing to Image Classification

Author(s:); Ying Bi, Jing Liang, Bing Xue, Mengjie Zhang

Pages: 1366 - 1380

13) Evolutionary Dynamic Constrained Multiobjective Optimization: Test Suite and Algorithm

Author(s:); Guoyu Chen, Yinan Guo, Yong Wang, Jing Liang, Dunwei Gong, Shengxiang Yang

Pages: 1381 - 1395

14) A Data-Driven Evolutionary Transfer Optimization for Expensive Problems in Dynamic Environments

Author(s:); Ke Li, Renzhi Chen, Xin Yao

Pages: 1396 - 1411

15) Interactively Learning Rough Strategies That Dynamically Satisfy Investor’s Preferences in Multiobjective Index Tracking

Author(s:); Julio Cezar Soares Silva, Adiel Teixeira de Almeida Filho

Pages: 1412 - 1426

16) A Self-Adaptive Collaborative Differential Evolution Algorithm for Solving Energy Resource Management Problems in Smart Grids

Author(s:); Haoxiang Qin, Wenlei Bai, Yi Xiang, Fangqing Liu, Yuyan Han, Ling Wang

Pages: 1427 - 1441

17) Runtime Analysis for the NSGA-II: Proving, Quantifying, and Explaining the Inefficiency for Many Objectives

Author(s:); Weijie Zheng, Benjamin Doerr

Pages: 1442 - 1454

18) Modular Multitree Genetic Programming for Evolutionary Feature Construction for Regression

Author(s:); Hengzhe Zhang, Qi Chen, Bing Xue, Wolfgang Banzhaf, Mengjie Zhang

Pages: 1455 - 1469

19) Regularity Evolution for Multiobjective Optimization

Author(s:); Shuai Wang, Aimin Zhou

Pages: 1470 - 1483

20) SR-Forest: A Genetic Programming-Based Heterogeneous Ensemble Learning Method

Author(s:); Hengzhe Zhang, Aimin Zhou, Qi Chen, Bing Xue, Mengjie Zhang

Pages: 1484 - 1498

21) Evolutionary Multitasking With Centralized Learning for Large-Scale Combinatorial Multiobjective Optimization

Author(s:); Yuxiao Huang, Wei Zhou, Yu Wang, Min Li, Liang Feng, Kay Chen Tan

Pages: 1499 - 1513

22) VSG3A2: A Genetic Algorithm-Based Virtual Sample Generation Approach Using Information Gain and Acceptance-Rejection Sampling

Author(s:); Hong Yu, Xuekang Fan, Guoyin Wang, Yongfang Xie

Pages: 1514 - 1528

23) A Dynamic-Niching-Based Pareto Domination for Multimodal Multiobjective Optimization

Author(s:); Juan Zou, Qi Deng, Yuan Liu, Xinjie Yang, Shengxiang Yang, Jinhua Zheng

Pages: 1529 - 1543

[arwatchesandreads]

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love (在暴雪时分)

Yet another one. As you can see I love a fluffy, calm, feel-good romance show and here is another one that I can add to that list. Amidst a Snowstorm of Love made by the same showrunner as Love Me, Love My Voice, was another success in creating the sweetest meet cute and showing the most wonderful relationship between two people. This show was cute on top of cute on top of cute, and I was in love with the characters, with the romance, just every little bit. 

My Rating: 10/10

Episodes: 30

Country: China

Genre: Meet Cute Romance with Billiards

Aired: Feb 2nd, 2024- Feb 14th, 2024

Cast:

Leo Wu as Lin Yi Yang

Zhao Jin Mai as Yin Guo

Wang Xing Yue as Meng Xiao Dong

Ding Xiao Ying as Lin Lin

Chen Jing Ke as Jiang Yang 

Dong Zi Fan as Wu Wei

Wang Run Ze as Li Qing Yan

Han Dong Lin as Chen An An

Wang Jia Xuan as Meng Xiao Tian

Synopsis:

Yin Guo is a professional billiards player in nine- ball, and she has a tournament in Hel, however, she came a few months earlier to scope out the place as Meng Xiao Tian (her cousin) was planning to attend school there. 

Yin Guo meets Lin Yi Yang during a snowstorm where they are stranded at a bar. Lin Yi Yang fell in love at first sight. He tries to help out the cousins by getting them a cab, and thus starting their journey of getting to know each other. 

This drama was adapted from the web novel “Zai Bao Xue Shi Fen” (在暴雪时分) by Mo Bao Fei Bao (墨宝非宝), who is also the author of the novel “Really, Really Miss You” which inspired Love Me, Love My Voice. 

Beware of Spoilers Moving Forward!!!!!!

What Episode did the Main Couple Start Dating?

It’s kinda like alluded that they are essentially together after Episode 6, however, Yin Guo still questions if they are in a relationship in Episode 9 LOL which caught me off guard because the way she asks him is by asking if he has a girlfriend at school or something???? but I understand why she was asking. She was just clarifying what they were. He then clarifies that he’s serious about her and that’s I guess technically when they were official. 

Misunderstandings?

They have a minor dispute in Episode 18. This is it though LOL. They have no other misunderstandings other than this. This misunderstanding also only lasts less than an episode.

Episode 18 is when Yi Yang was trying to toast Yin Guo’s mom as a way to try to create amends for his prior actions as a child, however, Yin Guo’s mom still acted extremely cold towards him. 

Yin Guo felt like Yi Yang was treating her more cold because of her mom and she walked away from him creating a rift between them. 

In Episode 19, they solve this misunderstanding. Yi Yang came to try to make up with her the next morning but she had already left for training for 2 months. He texts her that he’s there, and she calls him, and she wonders why he didn’t call the same night and because of that she got even more mad the next morning and left without saying anything. He basically gives in and says “I miss you, I’ll go now, bye” and let me tell you his response made me so sad and I felt bad like I stood him up * sobs *. 

Yin Guo talks to the driver who is taking everyone to training, and they have a sweet relatable moment, and he asks her why she didn’t stay at home an extra day to relax. She takes this as an opportunity to go back and make up with Yi Yang, and takes a cab back to him. 

Love Triangles?

There are no love triangles. hehe

There are love rivals but, are they really rivals? (the answer is no lol) We have Li Qing Yan who likes Yin Guo, he’s one of Meng Xiao Dong’s disciples (Meng Xiao Dong is Yin Guo’s cousin). Then, we have Cheng Yan who likes Lin Yi Yang, she is a member of Dongxin City, which is the club that Lin Yi Yang was a part of when he was young. 

Second Main Leads

Honestly, were they really the second main leads? LOL. I barely understood how it was listed as such. Their romance was subtle, and they were just there. I didn’t really care about them tbh ahahahaha. Yin Guo was very invested in it though, however, I wasn’t really bothered.

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love Ending

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love has a cute ending where they both find out that they had anonymous accounts where they only talked about each other. After the Asian Games, he takes the core friend group on a trip. During this trip, he proposes to her while singing the main song of the show jskjndfkjsfkjs (i’m not screaming you are). He did this sweet comparison where he compared his life to the Truman Show and said that the world he created around himself in Hel was fake, and this girl aka Yin Guo, shows up and breaks his reality. He proposes and she says yes right away and then they have a 3 year time skip and it’s just a massive reminiscing scene in Hel. 

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love Review- Meet Cute with that Shy, Awkwardness that evokes the feeling of falling in love

This show in my eyes is a 10/10. I enjoyed basically every second of this beautiful, charming, wholesome romance between two green forest characters. If I’m being completely honest, the majority of the characters in this show is a whole green forest. The romance was just romancing. From the meet-cute, to the awkwardness of getting to know each other, to the hand holding, kissing, communicating, long distance relationship, rejoicing of being physically together again, growing and succeeding together. Everything was just done so well, so elegantly, I was squealing like a highschool girl in my seat watching this show. 

The billiards plot was also extremely fun for me to watch, as I was not really well versed in billiards nor even knew there were multiple types. Lin Yi Yang’s plot with Dongxin City and his coach was really heartwarming to watch and just seeing him becoming more understanding and growing in character was just wonderful to watch. 

This show was the most perfect watch for me. I felt like I was falling in love at the same time as the characters. The cinematic scenes with the actors that had amazing chemistry and wonderful acting skill, just made the experience that much better. 

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love is a must-watch for romance watchers who love shows with supportive main leads, supportive friends, little misunderstandings, a lot of kissing and chemistry, and watching two people just fall in love.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Double (2024)

Gifs of Intro of cdrama "The Double"

ENGSUB 【墨雨云间 The Double EP01】 木叶动，秋声起，墨雨中，云间明 | 古装 爱情 | 吴谨言 / 王星越 | YOUKU COSTUME

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMVTrm7F1eg

[howlingmoonrise]

Howl's Spirealm/KoD frankencanon ref

a general reference for both myself and readers since apparently more fics for this fandom are coming. in my fics i'm mixing up novel canon, show canon, and headcanons and denial so it can be useful to know what i'm keeping of each.

will try to keep spoilers to a minimum and as vague as possible for those who haven't consumed both spirealm and kod

Characterizations are 90% show canon except for 1) Bai Ming, who I'll likely keep as a guy for most of my fics and didn't show up enough in the show to actually have an established characterization, and 2) Ruan Nanzhu, who is even more of an animated little shit in the novel so i'm doing a 50-50 split on him

Ways of address mostly based on the show (people like TZZ and CQL call LQS Linlin-ge outside the doors too and it's not only RNZ who calls him that)

Box Demon arc happened with the twins unless stated otherwise, but rule of denial says no one died

No death for my blorbos unless the fic needs it for past angst🙏 but if I DO include it for some reason, I'll use the show deaths as default

Xiao Ke and Xiong Qi follow the show characterization and replace Luo Qianshan and Luo Qianshui from the Mirror Hotel arc. Whether that second appearance happened on the Lady in the Rain arc or Mirror Hotel depends on the fic

The X organisation plot from the show doesn't exist

RNZ crossdresses as Zhu Meng and Ruan Baijie as per novel canon, though it happening on certain doors/arcs that also occurred on the show will depend on what's the most convenient/funny for the fic in question

Wu Qi stays as per show canon because the novel is just too damn tragic. also no girlfriend. rip wu qi. but also also he's not LQS's roommate, as per novel canon.

Gu Longming exists but the exact door(s) in which he shows up are wibbly-wobbly (since he was replaced by Li Dongyuan in one and I also love his appearances)

Zhang Rujiao and Li Dongyuan both participated in the Sachiko door with RNZ and LQS as per show canon

Doors can have an emotional component/resolution as per show canon (ie: the first door keeps the backstory of the ghost/door god and LQS got through to her)

Generally speaking, the VR game thing of the show does not exist and the doors are purely supernatural. except when i inevitably write a fic about how funny it is that RNZ's origin is... not unrelated to LQS being horny

RNZ's true/past nature is as per novel canon, not show canon

RNZ and LQS did not go on a twilight-style grief-induced sexcation for several months on a deserted tropical island. Actually, you can assume they didn't get together at any point because pre-relationship/getting together is my jam

The extra doors TZZ and LDY showed up in on the show stay with them in it because it was honestly great for adding depth/characterization

LQS was a game designer/programmer (not a general designer) as per the show because we love STEM gays

The rain doll arc happens as per the show (minus the X organization subplot)

RNZ giving LQS a ring/piercing on the first door will depend on the fic

Others to come as necessary

[clbbidatop]

Bích Trâm cùng chồng dự giải

Tham dự giải Wisconsin Open Pool có nhiều cơ thủ rất mạnh. Ở giiar nam, những người được đánh giá cao nhất là Joshua Fillier, Robbie Capito, Ferdor Gorst, Alex Kazakis. Cơ thủ nam Việt Nam duy nhất dự giải là Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, chồng của Nguyễn Bích Trâm. Trình độ của cơ thủ này không được đánh giá cao. Trong khi đó, gần như toàn bộ những cơ thủ nữ mạnh nhất thế giới đều tham ga giải, như Chen Chia Hua, Kelly Fisher, Allison Fisher, Yuki Hiraguchi, Seo Seoa, Kristina Tkach, Pia Filler. Cơ thủ nữ Việt Nam dự giải là Nguyễn Bích Trâm, đương kim vô địch Việt Nam năm 2022. Bích Trâm cùng chồng Tuấn Anh 64 cơ thủ nam Ibrahem Abduljabbar, Ilias Adamov, Donald Adams, Bader Alawadhi, Tyrel Blowers, Michael Bridges, LJ Briesath, Jeffrey Buna, Joven Bustamante, Robbie Capito, Sullivan Clark, Giovanni Del Angel, Jared Demalia, Jon Demet, Vince Didio, Ernesto Dominguez, Jesse Engel, Jeremy Fedkenheuer, Joshua Filler, Lukas Fracasso-Verner, Marcus Genson, FedorGorst, Nakia Guyton, Tarek Hamden, Sam Henderson, Kaden Hillman, Landon Hollingsworth, Murat Hraishawi, Mika Immonen, Jeffery Jandrt, Guido Joost, Dave Kasprzycki, Alex Kazakis, Mason Koch, Kang Lee, Michael Lee, Gerson Martinez Boza, Payne McBride, Tyler Meyer, Rick Miller, Faiyaz Mirza, Alex Montpellier, John Morra, Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, Dave O'Keefe, Vitaliy Patsura, Juan Rosa Mendez, Frankie Ruiz, Paul Scott, Jeremy Seaman, Ray Skenandore, Paul Song, Jeremy Sossei, Adam Staerkel, Tyler Styer, Joey Tate, Jan van Lierop, DJ Westrem, Marshall Williams, William Wolf, Brent Worth, Ke Wu, Michael Yednak. 64 cơ thủ nữ Alice Adams, Bonnie Arnold, Janet Atwell, Soledad Ayala, Laura  Bendikas, Ashley Benoit, Brittany Bryant, Chen Chia-Hua, Olivia Cheng, Chang Shui-Ching, Chieh Yu Chou, Margaret Fefilova, Pia Filler, Kelly Fisher, Allison Fisher, Yuki Hiraguchi, Meng-Hsia Hung, Seoa Seo, Kristina Tkach, Nguyễn Bích Trâm, Tzu-Chien Wei… và nhiều cơ thủ khác. Predator Pro Billiard Series và Box Sports đạt thỏa thuận sở hữu bản quyền truyền thông và phát sóng nhiều năm, độc quyền trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam, bắt đầu từ mùa giải 2023. Bida Top – nơi tập luyện bida chuyên nghiệp và thỏa mãn đam mê của các tay cơ. Với đội ngũ huấn luyện viên bida giàu kinh nghiệm, CLB Bida Top sẽ giúp bạn cải thiện kỹ năng đánh bida và rèn luyện sự kiên nhẫn, tập trung và sự kiểm soát tốt hơn. Tại chuyên mục Tin Tức Bida của Bida Top, bạn có thể đọc được những bài viết về cách chơi bida hiệu quả, các kỹ thuật đánh bida, cũng như những thông tin mới nhất về giải đấu bida trong nước và quốc tế. Source link Read the full article

[lemagcinema]

Absence

Un film de Wu Lang Avec Lee Kang-Sheng, Li Meng, Ren Ke, Liang Wanling Après dix ans de prison, Han Jiangyu retourne sur l’île de…

Retrouvez l'article complet ici https://is.gd/z9OzAk