#and ended up going back to reading qianqiu

[taihua]

Now that I'm back from Korea, I got caught up on TGCF donghua and I have so many thoughts from the recent two episodes

First of all, Fengqing are so divorced. But not from each other! They're Xie Lian's bitter exes fighting to get him back. The donghua is playing this angle so hard that I'm back to feeling like ah, MXTX always intended for them to be read this way but avoided saying it outright because she didn't want the drama of pitting ships against each other. Or maybe it just conflicted too hard with the Hualian-are-each-other's-everything message, which is valid, but Fengqing exes is just so funny and the donghua team get it

Next, Xie Lian being happy--he's happy to see Mu Qing! And he's happy that his sacrifice for Lang Qianqiu worked, because Qianqiu didn't turn into a vengeful repeat of Xie Lian, which is exactly what he hoped would be the result and it worked, he was a good teacher in the end... there's pain there, but he helped his boy!

And speaking of Lang Qianqiu, I'm wondering if the assistant friend is supposed to be An Le? Fangxin Guoshi kills him before the birthday party iirc, but I could see the donghua team changing the side plot a little bit to add some filler for the end of season 2 rather than cutting to Book 2 material after this arc is over

But I hope it is An Le and they expand on that relationship more, because honestly that should have been the Lang Qianqiu ship of choice for fandom rather than Qi Rong?? Same vibes as Shuangxuan--I'm pretending to be your friend even though I'm going to betray you, oh no I caught feelings for real--and An Le was someone that LQQ obviously cared about and respected (neither of which applies to Qi Rong).

[1unpaid-intern]

Ok so I'm kinda new to tumblr, but I just can't get this fanfic idea out of my head. So since I'll probably never write this/ lose motivation half way through, I might as well share it.

Soooo I've come across a really good ghost/calamity xie lian AU fic (Dark Sword, White Flower by Luna04 on ao3 if anyone's interested) and I've come up with my own take on that premise, because it's just so intriguing.

(English is not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes)

Also spoilers for tgcf (obviously)!

Almost all fics I've read make it so Xie Lian dies in the coffin Lang Qianqiu put him in, but even though that'd be pretty cruel (and would therefore make sense in universe xD) I just don't buy it. Jun Wu specifically wanted to make life as painfull as possible for him both psycologically and physically. Xie Lian getting stabed through the heart for decades would be a dream come true, so he definetly wouldn't let him die. Because if you ask me, he definetly knew. As white no-face he was stalking XL constantly and you're telling me he just stopped after his second banishment? XL was still suffering, since his luck got sealed away, so you bet that he's been watching him day after day while eating popcorn and going like: serves you right little sh*t (because we all know he's petty like that).

Instead I'd have XL die trying to stop the human face disease from raining down on Yong'an. In the original Wu Ming sacrifices himself, but what if no-face stops him by scattering his soul. XL then makes the ultimate sacrifice and even though all those resentfull spirits should kill him no matter what, in order to make it a little bit more poetic let's say that right before he gets hit, XL ascends for the second time since he regained his morals and tries to make up for it. (In the process he also breaks his shakle. And I know that you're supposed to also be imortal as a god, but Shi Wudu got killed by having his head ripped off and I just have this head canon that XL would be fine after that because JW just won't let him die.)

Now the "problem" that arises with this premis instead of the coffin-death is that JW absolutly knows about XLs death. If he lets the rest of heaven know that, it'd eventually reach Hua Cheng. Aaand oh booooyyyy. If he found out that his god not only died, but none of the other gods, not even the emperor himself, prevented it by helping him, the temples of those 33 gods wouldn't be the only thing on fire. Because think about it, the reason HC keeps on living is XL, but if he thinks he's gone, then the only thing that'd keep him going is revenge. HCs end goal would then be to become strong enough to even kill JW.

But I can also see this playing out differently. We know JW wants XL to follow in his foot steps and become a calamity, therefore needing to become a ghost (as he says when they're both trapped in the Kiln). So he'd definetly consider the posibility of XL becoming a ghost. Considering the guy has a sword for everything (looking at you virginity detecting sword) I could imagine that he also has one that can tell if somebody's soul is still wandering around even though they're dead. Obviously JW would want to find him and turn him into a calamity. But if he a) tells the other gods that XL is a ghost then atleast Feng Xin and Mu Qing would also be looking for him or b) only tells them that he died then somebody might get the idea to use the aforementioned sword and leading us back to a). So the most logical thing would be for JW to just lie about XL getting banished a second time (similar to how it originally went down).

While I like both scenarios, I'm kinda leaning towards the second one with JW lying, because as soon as XL ascendes for the third time he's gonna be hella confused why nobody is freaking out about him showing up in heaven, followed up by him becoming suspicious of JW.

One thing I've been thinking about a lot was what's special about XL as a ghost king, what differentiates him from the others. HC got his red robs, silver jewelry, blood rain, wraith butterflies, E-Ming and power over luck. He Xuan has his black robes, great acting skills (seriously give this man an oscar), never ending hunger, skeletton fish and power over the seas. Qi Rong (while only having the title of a calamity and not actually being a ghost king) has his green robes, green fire locks and his habit of trying to imitate the other calamities (e.g. hanging corpses & eating people). Bai Wuxiang has his simple white burial robs, the iconic half-crying half-smiling mask, a spirit calling cloth flag, Fangxin aka Zhu Xin, manipulation and the power of the human face disease. Things I've seen a lot in other fics and that I completly agree on are: XL can turn his nails into long claws (similar to Lady Dimitrescu I'd imagine), he doesn't want to be found so he shape shifts a lot and he helps out the common people, especially children and mothers (since trying to help others and making up for his past mistakes is basically all that keeps him going). While these characteristics are great, they aren't enough to make him stand out yet. One idea I'm really proud of is to make XL a puppet master. Because correct me if I'm wrong, but the only "ghost typs" we ever were introduced to were sentient weapons, possed objects, humanoid ghosts, ghost animals, water ghouls and puppet masters. And just imagine XL using threads and puppets to fight in addition to Ruoye. Like, imagine him fighting similar to Sasori from Naruto, the Spider Demons from Demon Slayer or ErrorSans from the Undertale AUs. I also think he should stick with the burial cloths he was wearing as white no-face (maybe with some blood on them to make it more creepy) but obviously adding his signitur bambu hat with some flowy long vails.

I wouldn't change to much about he whole XL posing as the Yong'an goushi backstory. I would only have it so Lang Qianqiu finds out that his goushi was actually a ghost king and XL fleeing so he isn't stuck in a coffin for decades. That way when LQQ finds out about XL being his goushi, it also serves as the big reveal.

I'm not so sure what to do with the Banyue kingdom backstory though. I would like for XL to take Ban Yue as his little adoptive daughter, but if he went back after the kingdom was destroyed, then woudn't he take care of Kemo and the other ghost soliders right there? That would lead to Little Pei never luring people in, therefore erasing the entire Banyue arc and I don't know how to feel about that. Yes, not much would change, were it to play out, but that's the first time XL meets the "earth" and wind master. Also JW led them to Banyue pass (and also to the ghost bride) in order to damage Pei Mings reputation, so he'd lose believers and therefore would be easier to beat later on and that's kinda important. Not to forget he used a puppet for that and with XL as a puppet master he'd definetly be able to get more info out of it, leading to raising his suspicions again.

Aaaaand that are all the ideas I have so far, also my fingers hurt from typing.

Maybe I'll continue this some day, since I probably won't stop obsessing over this AU any time soon. (Also if you know similar fics please let me know, I feel so starved rn)

[blogauroragloryme]

Xie Lian's Melancholy

Lately Xie lian is the only person revolving in my head and I'm really in the mood to rant some angsty thoughts. (Might contain spoilers)

Xie lian's first introduction painted a pic of him being a kind and sweet yet a clumsy and klutz at times person with a horrible luck. He has been portrayed to have an easy going personality and someone who doesn't get easily phased despite the taunts from the Heavenly officials during his third ascension. The remainder of the books which follows the present timeline has shown Xie lian to be a funny character with a hilarious sense of humour with hints of dropping snarky comments here and there .

Then when I read Book 2 and the remaining books that talks about the past ,it completely caught me by surprise to see a young Xie lian's personality.I never expected Xie lian to ever bear such kind of traits (don't get me wrong,I don't mean it in a negative way) ,it's just that it's so in contrast with his current temperament.

I won't go into detail about how the events of Book 2 and Book 4 shaped Xie lian's present self but I just wanna imagine the bits and pieces in between that nobody particularly talks about.

Xie lian become Lang Qianqiu's Guoshi and after the following events was sealed for 100 years ,then after escaping from his then predicament till his third ascension , that blur in between intrigues me, but in a bittersweet manner.

My first reaction to it is just how much pain he must have felt to have such a dramatic change in his personality? His core values are still the same ,but his presentation and demeanour has shifted to such an extreme extent. Many a times it's hinted in the novel about Xie lian's self depreciating tendencies which is heartbreaking to read.

I just try to imagine him trying to actively seek a job in his initial years, trying his very best but ultimately failing in the end to hold any kind of work. Many a times having a hand to mouth situation.Having no permanent place to rest after a tired day.Coming back to nothing but shadows as his only companion. After how many days did he stopped thinking about whether Feng Xin and Mu qing will ever come to search for him? From thoughts of meeting them,to only a small hope of seeing a glimpse. Would he have ever stumbled upon one of their temples? After how many days his hope would diminish and accepting Ruo Yue as his only solace.Wandering here and there with his meager belongings and helping people around to the best of his abilities. When did he accepted collecting trash as his only means of survival? Having to come in terms with his loneliness. When did his self confidence,self worth and self esteem shattered to the point of no return?

Did he shed tears with the moonlight night and shimmering stars as his only witnesses? Did he ever gave himself this mercy to reminisce the good old days? To remember the soft embrace and lullaby of his mother to the proud and warm gaze of his father? To recall the memory of his buddies by his side planning a new mischief? To remember Feng Xin 's overprotectiveness and Mu Qing's constant but concerned nagging.

Did he ever despaired when he realised that he cannot recall his parents faces and that now his beloved parents are nothing more than blurry shadows? Faint like phantoms of the past?After how many tries did he finally gave up on trying to paint a picture of them? After how many tries did he finally learnt to properly bandage himself . How many sleepless nights did he spent on self blaming and self loathing?

When did he finally accepted the way things are : when collecting trash no longer seems like a detached routine,but a part of himself? When did self loathing tuned itself into a lullaby? When did sorrow made an abode in his very being, no longer pouring into river water,nor evaporating in the sun and neither falling like the rain.

(I think this much angsty thoughts are enough for now😅)

Xie lian is a comfort character who I turn to both in joy and sorrow.

[beneaththebrim]

Opinion on the translation of 本座

I have a translation opinion that is just straining at the bit but since I’m just a beginner I’m gonna post it here rather than on twitter so I don’t get ‘Silence, HSK5-6′d about it (tbh idek what my hsk level is at this point bc my skills are so skewed toward reading/translating fantasy novels, like I can often read several straight paragraphs of shangxian without having to look anything up but if faced with, say, cooking instructions in chinese I’d probably still have trouble, and my speaking/writing/listening skills are probably still hsk3-4 at best, when faced with a font change I am rendered illiterate, etc).

But anyway I think it’s become really common to translate 本座 (benzuo) as ‘this venerable one’ and while things like self-appellations are just, so difficult to translate into english, I feel like ‘this venerable one’ is just not an effective translation, for a couple main reasons.

1) It takes a two-syllable phrase and turns it into six syllables. To borrow the words of another, it’s a bit like translating 师弟 (shidi) to ‘junior martial brother’, but if you’re in the moment, shouting “师弟！”, you’re not gonna have time to spit out that mouthful. Granted, 本座 is a self-appellation, which makes it more awkward to translate as anything other than ‘I’ in English--can’t just keep it in pinyin like you would do with 师弟, and moreover keeping it in pinyin would open up a big can of worms for a bunch of other non-我 self-addresses: 在下 (zaixia, humble self-address)，朕 (zhen, self-address for the emperor)，孤 (gu, self address for a prince)，贫道 (pindao, humble self-address for a Daoist)，etc.

2) 本座 tends to be a self-aggrandizing self-appellation, and the ‘this’ and ‘one’ in ‘this venerable one’ just automatically connote humility--they de-center the self, and ‘venerable’ can only do so much heavy lifting to make up for that. But 本座 doesn’t de-center the self, it reinforces it, it puts the self on a pedestal. Like, I’m not opposed to translating 在下 as ‘this one’ or even 贫道 as ‘this humble Daoist’ (sparingly, only at the beginning of paragraphs, see reason (1)), because in those cases, they do effectively convey humility. But the only way I could see ‘this venerable one’ being an effective translation of 本座 would be, say, a grandmaster/immortal/deity who is humble by nature, and only uses that appellation to be in keeping with their fellow grandmasters/immortals/deities.

So, what would I do? Well, I’m actually not in favor of just erasing the various context-laden self-appellations by turning them all into ‘I/me’, especially because it’s often important to characterization to see when a character switches between different self-appellations, how they’re modulating between formality and informality, pride and humility, distance and intimacy. In fact, I even distinguish between 你 (you, informal) and 您 (you, formal) by capitalizing the latter, despite that not being standard practice.

I can think of two main ways to go about it:

1) In the past, I’ve translated 本座 using the royal ‘We/Us’, much like I’ve done with 朕, and just put a footnote indicating it’s not quite the same. This, to me, seems like the best option short of changing typeface.

2) But actually, I’ve been thinking about it, and think maybe one could also convey the grandness of 本座 through ‘I/Me’, that is, capitalization and boldface (or maybe just ‘I/me’, just boldface). The eye pauses slightly on the word, but doesn’t get bogged down by a big mouthful.

[grrritz-ezra]

tgcf cast babysitting gu zi:

Hua Cheng: There is no babysitting being done. This kid is in the ghost city being watched by anyone other than Hua Cheng

Xie Lian: The best babysitter by far. He actually watches him and tries to do things but he always ends up back at the same “did my dad really save the kingdom?” and Xie Lian doesn’t want to say no

Fu Yao: It’s a competition of who is the best babysitter between him and Nan Feng. Gu Zi keeps saying it’s him but only because Fu Yao will take him to get ice cream if he does. Fu Yao manages to bring out the worst in him. They argue all the time.

Nan Feng: He also thinks he’s winning. He keeps coming up with cool games and took Gu Zi to the arcade for this “win”. Gu Zi is always stirring the pot and saying that Fu Yao was talking shit(Fu Yao was not talking shit).

He Xuan: He’s actually decent at it? He let Gu Zi play with the bone fish and that was that. He’s managed to convince the kid that he’s the little fish prince and it’s been going well ever since.

Shi Qingxuan: They suck. Like genuinely it’s terrible. Gu Zi ends up babysitting them more often than not. They were temporarily banned from ghost city for crashing into one of the stands and blaming it on Gu Zi.

General Pei, Ling Wen, and Shi Wudu: They have to babysit as a group and it’s actually hell. They’ve taught Gu Zi how to do all kinds of stuff and it’s getting hard to tell the kid what to do when Ling Wen has read him scrolls as a bedtime story and General Pei taught him to spar as a “play fight”. All Shi Wudu does is talk shit.

Lang Qianqiu: He’s really good at it. Possibly one of Gu Zi’s favorites. He’s the one that can just pick him up when he’s upset and it’ll be perfectly fine again. He’s the Gu Zi whisperer.

Qi Rong: It’s the other way around. The kid is babysitting him and he is having the time of his life. They go to prank Lang Qianqiu and end up basically kidnapping him and terrorizing everyone ever. Qi Rong tries and fails to keep thinking of him as just a “cheap son”. 

Ban Yue and Pei Xiu: He listens to Ban Yue without a second thought because he thinks she’s nice and pretty. He really has no reason not to listen and she’s patient with him. Even if he robbed Pei Ming. Pei Ming grabs him by the back of the shirt like you would grab a cat by the scruff. 

[curiosity-killed]

Lang Qianqiu deserves more love goddammit: a post, unfortunately

This brought to you by the wonderful @veliseraptor & @/yuer on Twitter but also mostly out of spite and the fact that it’s preventing me from writing a very dumb poke-the-bear post abt the entire weird social media culture around The Minors

As always ✨SPOILERS!! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE✨

So first off: when I hit the scene where lqq confronts xl and screams “I will never be like you” I sat up in bed, did a little shimmy of delight, and hissed “fuck yes” at like 2 AM so. Now you have a preview of wtf this train wreck will be

1 ) lqq is a good character

We don’t get a ton of time with lqq because tgcf is 87 side characters running across stage with The Most Interesting Concept constantly one-upping each other before vanishing. But what we do get is, I think, enough to make a pretty compelling story: Lang Qianqiu is a kind and generous prince who is also the sole survivor of the bloody massacre of his entire family, committed by the people dearest to him (both in his belief that Gusohi Fangxin did it and in the reality of An Le’s involvement), who goes on to peacefully lead his fractious nation into a peaceful reign before he ascends as a powerful enough (aka beloved and worshipped enough) god to be ranked among the top heavenly generals. That’s like. Pretty fucking classic protagonist vibes right there.

And, as usual with mxtx’s characters, we get a lot more than this lovely little backstory. In his interactions in canon, lqq is capable of great grief and anger; he is willing to sacrifice himself if it means avenging his murdered family; and he simultaneously holds both great hatred and great respect for his old teacher. And, of course, he winds up raising and taking care of his enemy’s son which shows a remarkable depth of compassion and emotional messiness that I find terribly compelling. He struggles with a simplistic view of justice that is supported by lies told to “protect” him and that is uprooted by the truth and forces him to try to make sense of the world without the guardrails that others installed around him (looking at you mister fangxin sir).

Also I’m stealing my own tweets bc I’m Right but:

*pulls up single barstool to lqq is a good character table* I think it’s interesting & Says Things abt the continued relationship btwn lqq & xl that lqq *didn’t* recognize xl, implying that he left fangxin’s mask in place even when he went to kill him

Like here is the man who killed his family & best friend, who left him abandoned in bloodshed on his 17th bday—& here is also the man who saved his life, who taught him, who lqq looked up to & wanted to be like

Even when lqq *does* recognize xl, he still has so much respect for him paired with that hatred that it’s honestly rlly tragic? Like man. There’s so much grief in lqq’s repeated demands for a duel & insisting it’s fine if xl kills him as long as he doesn’t hold back

*pats lqq pompom* this bb is so sad. And so much more like his teacher than either of them seem to realize or necessarily want

Despite being a pretty minor character, lqq gets a lot of complexity and nuance! Look at this child trying to be grown up while desperately turning to his old master for guidance and “the truth”! Look at him! Be sad!!

2 ) lqq is an excellent parallel to xl

Okay stealing my own tweet again don’t look at me I yell the same shit everywhere

Xl didn’t want lqq to become like him (self-sacrificing, vengeful, alone) but lqq not only became alone, chasing vengeance, & willing to sacrifice himself for revenge—he also became kind, open-minded, & remorseful!! & he still clearly respects xl @ novel end 🙃🙃

We all know hc’s “they’re not very alike at all” and yeah sure baby go support your man but narratively, there’s a lot of importance given to cycles, parallels, and foils in mxtx’s writing and most explicitly (compared to mdzs, haven’t read svss) in tgcf. For example, *gestures at beefleaf, gestures at Xianle Trio vs Wuyogn Crew, gestures at Xie Lian & Jun Wu’s whole uh. Deal.* And while I’d argue xl and lqq are part of a triumvirate rather than a pair, we’re not including mister three-face in this conversation so just looking at xl and lqq:

Both adored and sheltered crown princes

Both taught by a guoshi who was seeking to prevent the repetition of their own tragedies and in their efforts, lied/omitted information and failed to protect their charge from tragedy

Both were betrayed* by their closest friends

Both are the last living members of their respective royal families

Both caught the interest of supernatural beings from a young age

Etc etc I’m getting v bored and distracted writing this so moving on

Most importantly to me, we have their betrayal by a very close and adored mentor and how they react. The confrontation I mention at the start of this shitshow is really imo one of the most important scenes in the novel because it a) illustrates the differences in xl and Jun Wu and b) sort of gives you a preview of how xl ultimately wins

So a) Jun Wu and Xie Lian both take a talented, marked-for ascension young prince under their wing. Jun Wu sees himself in the boy and obsesses over shaping him into Jun Wu’s own image in the belief that this will make him the perfect heir. Jun Wu pushes his chosen heir into situations where Xie Lian is repeatedly harmed in an effort to show that the common people are fickle and cruel and don’t deserve his compassion and care.

Meanwhile, Xie Lian is reluctantly roped into mentoring his prince due to his inability to stand aside when he feels he could do something to prevent hurt or injustice befalling another (simultaneously his great strength and great weakness! God I love him). Xie Lian tries to teach his student to believe in and care for the common people and not to sacrifice himself (see: flashback convo re:taking the force of the sword strike into his own body).

When Xie Lian refuses to bend in the shape Jun Wu demands, Jun Wu bashes his head into the wall. When Lang Qianqiu cries “I will never be like you!”, Xie Lian laughs and says “Good!”.

B) this of course feeds directly into foreshadowing! Like Lang Qianqiu’s bold words, xl ultimately refuses to become like his mentor and remains defiant even when it would stop him from being hurt. Xl beats lqq and says so what if I tricked you, so what if I lied, I still won. Naturally, xl beats Jun Wu not through standard swordplay but by using a trick he learned while forced to busk and wander the earth alone and unlucky for centuries.

…okay so I have fully forgotten what I was actually saying here! Anyway!

Like Xie Lian, Lang Qianqiu spends a time consumed with the need for vengeance, hunting his enemy and rejecting the heavens. And like Xie Lian, he winds up caring for his enemy’s “son” and trying to both comfort him and maintain what’s left of Qi Rong’s life force despite having previously been hellbent on destroying him—bc he sees the impact it has on another person. In the end, he even gives a gift to Xie Lian—his mentor, his role model, and the one who killed his father—that was once given to him as a symbol of unexpected kindness. Sound familiar?

But, importantly, and contradictory to what I have been yelling abt but whatever it’s 12:30 am, Lang Qianqiu is not a direct mirror of Xie Lian but a closing of a vital loop in the story. Lqq is very similar to xl (I will die on this hill!! Only I won’t bc I’m stronger than y’all and will keep swinging these pots and pans) but bc xl tries to do better and keep lqq from suffering the way xl has, lqq is able to have a gentler and more optimistic path forward. He’s proof that even a small act of kindness or even kindness to only one person still matters and has a ripple effect that can’t be seen when you’re in the middle of it—a thread started with xl giving the coral pearl to Lang Ying and closed with Lang Qianqiu returning the pearl to Xie Lian.

So I have no idea if any of this is coherent or compelling but I meant to be asleep two hours ago and the points are:

A) Lang Qianqiu is good actually

B) parallels!!!

C) look ive already started another wip about Lang Qianqiu and Xie Lian and I didn’t want this but no one else wrote it so now I have to so pls just accept this as a warning

*sort of air quotes around this for Xie Lian bc frankly Mu Qing was right & Xie Lian kicked feng xin out BUT on the other hand, it was experienced as a betrayal and we also again have all of Jun Wu’s shit so it evens out

[unforth]

A Non-Definitive and Certainly Incomplete List of the Differences Between the Qianqiu/Thousand Autumns Danmei Novel and the Donghua

@blacktigersprings commented on one of my Thousand Autumn Liveblog posts, asking about the differences between the donghua thus far, compared to the book - they'd seen the 16 episodes, but hadn't read it yet. After I wrote down what I could remember I was like...ya know what, I should just make all this into a post.

This is non-exhaustive. I am a tired person with a bad memory and a lot going on, so I am sure I forgot things. I'm gonna ping @baoshan-sanren since they're the main person I know who is in Thousand Autumns fandom also, and I'm willing to guarantee they will think of things I didn't, and also probably be able to correct me if I mixed anything up. I'll try to edit this based on new info, if I have the time, and I might post it as meta on AO3? I did that with my list of differences between CQL and MDZS and people found it helpful so...yeah. I'll add a link if a do.

Note that all posts like this rely to some extent on interpretation; what I write reflects my interpretation and understanding of events (...to the extent I remember them...) and others may have read/watched the same sequences and reached different conclusions. I've made specific notes where I think I'm raising a point that's more subjective than others.

This contains spoilers for all 16 episodes of the donghua, and for the equivalent parts of the novel. I did my best not to put in novel spoilers for past when the donghua ends, but there are allusions to subsequent events.

Anyway - vaguely in chronological order of when they happen?

(read more)

Overall, the basic premises of the donghua and the novel are pretty different. In the donghua, there are several primary conflicts - the intrusion of the Beimi/Tujue, the competition over access to the Solarity, the competition between different sects' top masters, and the search for that ring that Yan Wushi has. In the novel, these are all things that exist, but they're not the primary plot, and they're all at least somewhat difference. While the novel has multiple plotlines that focus on different things, looking at it as a whole, the main plot is a political one about control of the Empire, and how different sects are pulled into that conflict as a result of how the Emperor relates to Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist sects. Which tradition each sect follows is much more important and relevant in the novel. The Beimi/Tujue plot is still relevant and involved, but it's just one thread in the political milieu. The Solarity, which has different and long name in the novel that I never remember - it's like, "the complete works of (some master who's name isn't in my brain" - is in six volumes, and it's definitely still important, but it's importance kinda fades as the novel progresses (though it's still a main piece at the point where the donghua leaves off). The ring is basically non-existent in the novel - instead of it being in Yan Wushi's possession, it's in the possession of the woman who's birthday party Shen Qiao goes to (...Madam Su? Might be her name? I'm sorry, I'm not great with names, and I usually rely on fandom wikis but this one is sparse) - in the novel, she was a disciple of Hulugu, and then she stole the ring and returned to the Empire. That other Beimi/Tujue disciple (...Dong something??) takes it back and returns with it to his clan, if I recall correctly, so it can be used to unify those clans to make war against the Empire.

In the donghua, Yan Wushi is just...generally portrayed as pretty nice, and the YanShen vibes start pretty early - there's an early sign of playful flirting from Yan Wushi that actually seems sincere? At least it did to me. As a result, the YanShen vibes feel a lot stronger than they do in the novel at a similar point in the narrative. In the novel...I'd personally say Yan Wushi has zero interest, romantically or sexually, until well after where the donghua left off, and their relationship isn't canon until nearly the very end, and is always left more implied than...outright. I would personally say that in the novel, Shen Qiao has some feels for Yan Wushi pre-Sang Jingxing, but Yan Wushi doesn't reciprocate (except maybe at a deep level he refuses to acknowledge). It's not until he's healing post-almost-dying (as in, during the time immediately after when the donghua leaves off - I'm trying to be vague to avoid giving spoilers to people who haven't read it) that there start to be some real clear signs that Yan Wushi may have caught some feels, and even then it's complicated. They're complicated. They're also complicated. It's part of what I love about them, lol.

In the donghua, the fight between Shen Qiao and Kunye is shown "on screen" instead of only being described afterwards, and it's revealed almost right away that Shen Qiao was poisoned. Also, a lot of people help Kunye and they all fight Shen Qiao together. In the novel, this fight is off-screen. It's strictly a one-on-one battle between Shen Qiao and Kunye, and the reader doesn't learn that Shen Qiao lost due to poisoning until Shen Qiao goes to Mount Xuandu to confront Yu Ai.

In both the donghua and the novel, when Yan Wushi is trying to turn Shen Qiao evil, he sets up a mission for Shen Qiao and Yu Shengyan, The object of this mission is to kill a family that serves the Hehuan Sect. Shen Qiao refuses to participate, and helps them escape. In the donghua, they don't actually escape, and the "they serve Hehuan" thing turns out to be a ruse; they actually serve Yan Wushi. In the novel, they're actually Hehuan spies, and Shen Qiao still helps them, and they actually escape.

(RAPE MENTION TRIGGER WARNING) In the donghua, Chen Gong betrays Shen Qiao when that jerk noble whose name I can't remember right now (and it's not in the wiki, god the wiki is so slim, I wish I had time to help with that) hunts him for sport, and he doesn't want to die. In the novel, Chen Gong betrays Shen Qiao when that same jerk noble, who as a reputation for using pretty boys as sex slaves, tries to kidnap Chen Gong as a sex slave, and Chen Gong is like, "no no you don't want to fuck me, I know someone WAY prettier for you to rape." (The fall out remains the same in both - Shen Qiao beats up the guy, nothing bad happens to him, and he and Chen Gong part ways).

In the donghua, Shen Qiao goes to confront Yu Ai at Mount Xuandu by like. Literally walking up to the front gate. And then all the disciples for some reason get mad that Yan Wushi comes, even though he...also walked up to their front gate. Why do they even have a gate??? In the novel, Shen Qiao uses a super sneaky back way, only known to disciples, and so it actually makes some kind of sense when Yu Ai et al are like SHEN QIAO WHY ARE YOU SHOWING THE EVIL GUY OUR BACK DOOR?

(NOTE this one relies more on subtext and thus is very open to interpretation. What's written here reflects my personal interpretation, and others may disagree). In the donghua, when Yan Wushi hands Shen Qiao over to Sang Jingxing, they have a chat that heavily implies that Yan Wushi is kinda-sorta-not-so-secretly thinking that Shen Qiao could win a fight (and is probably expecting Shen Qiao to do so by using the demonic core that has been implanted in him). Sang Jingxing also says things that indicate that he thinks that Yan Wushi is setting a trap for him. In the novel, while it's never all that clear what Yan Wushi's motivations are, it becomes pretty clear by the point of the Sang Jingxing fight that Yan Wushi was serious when he said he didn't care about Shen Qiao, didn't consider him worthy, and doesn't care what happens to him. He definitely handed over Shen Qiao with every intention of Shen Qiao getting tortured and raped, and had no interest in saving him. Shen Qiao only becomes interesting to Yan Wushi afterwards. Yan Wushi is never only playing one game, so he may have thought that being pushed into a corner would force Shen Qiao to use the demonic core, but it also seemed to me like he genuinely didn't care - he'd gotten bored, and was done playing with the "new toy" that was Shen Qiao.

In the donghua, there is a shot of someone - the clothing is pretty unmistakably Yan Wushi's purple robe of ultimate purpleness - pulling Shen Qiao out of a river after he plunges to his almost-demise in the fight with Sang Jingxing. In the novel, Yan Wushi doesn't pull Shen Qiao out of the water, after Shen Qiao destroys his meridians in the fight against Sang Jingxing. Instead, Shen Qiao collapses in the mountains, where he is found by Shiwu and brought back to the monastery for treatment.

In the donghua, Yan Wushi is fighting the four masters who have it in for him, and before the end of the fight, Shen Qiao arrives and tries to help him; he fights the four masters solo to try to keep Yan Wushi from using his powers and harming himself, and when he's about to lose, Yan Wushi...uses his powers and harms himself. In the novel, Shen Qiao doesn't arrive until after Yan Wushi has been defeated; he finds Yan Wushi almost dead and brings him to a small village nearby, where he stays with a nice girl and her...grandfather, iirc...and tries to keep them safe while nursing Yan Wushi back to health.

In the donghua, it's kinda implied that Shen Qiao goes to rescue Yan Wushi because, like...he likes him? There's not really a reason given, just that he wants to, or maybe to keep the ring from going to the Beimi/Tujue? In the novel it's pretty explicit that Shen Qiao goes to save Yan Wushi because he believes Yan Wushi's position in the Empire is critical to the stability of the world - and he wants the world stable, so that there won't be more refugees, starvation, etc. That he also may like Yan Wushi is the case but is almost incidental; Shen Qiao is focused on doing the most good for the most people, and that means saving Yan Wushi, because Yan Wushi is critical to the Empire, and the Empire is critical to the common people. (this is a major part of the political themes that are more prominent in the book than in the donghua).

I can't actually remember when Bian Yanmei was introduced in the novel? But I was pretty sure it was around when Yan Wushi sends Shen Qiao to that birthday banquet? Anyway, Bian Yanmei isn't in the donghua at all thus far; in the donghua, Yan Wushi's only apparent disciple is Yu Shengyan.

[spockandawe]

Hi! I'm currently watching word of honor and I'm having a great time, would you recommend reading faraway wanderers?

Hello hello! I definitely do recommend faraway wanderers, but I have to do so with the caveat that some of my favorite parts of the show just... aren’t in the book, which can be a bit jarring if you’re expecting certain beats that never arrive. In particular, the scorpions are a LOT different, there are no notable sidekicks like pretty arhat in the book, and there’s no xie’er (DEEPLY TRAGIC), and the scorpion king is instead a weird gambling addict voyeur man, who is a lot of fun, but gives a VERY different flavor to proceedings than xie’er.

I want to say... Ghost Valley is also a lot more integrated into the show than it is into the book. Most of the ghosts are nonentities, and Luo Qianqiu isn’t affiliated with Ghost Valley at all, so you don’t get her fascinating dynamic with the tragicomic ghost or Gu Xiang. Sect Leader Yu is just kind of a one-dimensional scumbag who is using a woman who has feelings for him and has a talent for disguise. I want to say that ghosts in the book come up more by reputation than they do by actual appearance.

OH, and the biggest difference, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing don’t share any past, they meet for the first time when Zhou Zishu is sunbathing and Wen Kexing decides he’s a hottie. I... prefer this, fairly strongly. Their scenes in the show are intense and moving and all, but I like this from a plot-based perspective much more.

So when it comes to those side characters, the book is mildly a downgrade, but on the upside front, the flirting starts from a VERY early point, and goes strong. Wen Kexing is openly super into dudes and wrestles with his feelings not at all, which of course they couldn’t really make explicit in the show, but I find it really refreshing to see it on the page. And it’s a lot of fun, there was one line, something like ‘the man was glaring at wen kexing as if he’d stolen his wife. wen kexing felt very wronged, because as a rule, men did not have male wives.’ He’s having a GREAT time and I support him,

Also, the character notes you get for Wen Kexing in the book are a bit different from those in the show, where I guesssss in the show, they were switching things out for the shidi/shixiong backstory? But without spoilers, I am very, very into Wen Kexing’s personality in the book, the stories he tells, and the nature of his martial arts. OH. And without spoilers, again, I strongly prefer the end of the book to the end of the show. I like em both, but if I had to choose, the book would be my clear winner, for reasons I can’t fully explain without spoilers XD

Kind of long-winded, but yes! I definitely recommend the book. All three translators who did pieces of it did a fantastic job, and the extras are all lovely as well. And it’s much more manageably sized than some of these monsters. It comes in at 78+4 chapters and <200k, iirc. Some of the political maneuvering between sects kind of made my brain glaze over (so many NAMES), but watching the show and getting even VERY vague visuals for everyone involved is helping me follow along much better my second time through. I liked this book a lot!

BUT.

One more thing.

Slightly more hard mode, but something I recommend even more.

Lord Seventh is a book in continuity with this one, which takes place slightly earlier, chronologically. In the book verse, the Prince Jin isn’t still fighting for the throne, that character was already the emperor when Zhou Zishu turned in his letter of resignation, and that’s the central plot of Lord Seventh. This book follows a different character (Jing Beiyuan, who shows up in the show eventually, with his boyfrand Wu Xi), but features Zhou Zishu as a prominent side character, back in his teens, getting embroiled in succession politics. I’ve still got a little ways to go (zhou zishu just helped break his adoring, innocent shidi’s heart, and i need a tiny break), but it gives REALLY excellent context for the mental/emotional place he’s in when faraway wanderers/word of honor starts, and I absolutely LOVE it. Jing Beiyuan and Wu Xi play a fairly important role in the book, and idk what they do in the show, but even though I read it without knowing them the first time around, I’m enjoying it even more now. Even little unimportant details like knowing that their pet sable is WILDLY venomous, it just makes this all a very fun read. 

So that’s where I’m at! I definitely recommend faraway wanderers, but I also recommend lord seventh. They’re both very manageably sized webnovels, and they’ve both been a whole lot of fun.

[mousehole5000]

okay another tgcf lb i powered through and finished book 1 this is kinda long its chapters 43-57

first off i love a lil spy mission. these things never go smooth

naughty unlucky trespassers get banished to the giant leech chamber

dont know that i care for the inclusion of “scary savage redskinned cannibal tribe” i mean i guess i dont know maybe its got a different cultural context but i just have a hard time with that one hmmmm at least its over quickly

this really seems to be a book of everyone already knows everyone but that makes sense considering how fucking old everyone is

dope. this whole little armory stand off was fun but also oh no!!! fire in ghost city!!!

awww i love him. king of not wanting anyone to die :’( also hey he did something cool!!! very competent!!! although it looks like he did get hurt from it god his bad luck never ends

yeah exactly!!!!! sword in one hand flower in the other!!! thats what its all about!!!!

mmmmmmm. MMMMMMMMMM. rich fuckers. but also feng xin was the first to show up either way.... im still care him. followed by mu qing who is talking trash but still here as well

also i might back what i said about lang qianqiu im not sure if he knows anything i think he is just like that. although theres still room for him to be involved something. im switching most of my suspicions to wind master qingxuan now because he is popular and rich

okay if im reading this right this seems pretty in character for lang qianqiu. “i dont like that your family is in power.” “haha what a silly guy :) i have no concerns about you”

but xie lian is admitting to this??? :O curious to find out more about if he did indeed do some slaughter or if he’s protecting someone else. if he is protecting someone i think it could be lang qianqiu himself in some way. genuinely unsure tho he may very well have just done this idk who am i to deny him complexity

theres that interesting little note that most officials have also committed similar crimes but never have to face it bc mortals just die

pei ming you’re half right but shut the fuck up no one asked you. i feel strong dislike towards him sorry to any potential pei ming stans reading this. maybe im sorry maybe not im not sure yet i feel strongly about this

i see this happen on cdramas all the time i love it. i point at you in lieu of words

i do think all the politics and gossip and the way that officials will change sides to gain favor/not lose it depending on which way the wind is blowing is pretty interesting i like that its in here

i love that xie lian is making sure that someone takes care of the people hes taken in and also i love everything about this sentence although i feel like we’re not going to see much of banyue which is a shame bc i liked her

oh is it flashback time? this is fun

hmm!!! interesting!!! i like this response!! i have nothing funny or smart to say about it i just like it

this is an understanding that only comes after living through great pain and/or loss. hmm.

hmmm!!!!!!!! questions!!! presumably thematic ones!!!

please let us dig into whatever is going on in this little trio. actions speak louder than words mu qing

okay here we go feng xin is here and im not going to screencap the whole thiing but wow these two see each other and half a page later start swinging okay

oh my god hua cheng giving us a jailbreak arc? instant chaos. amazing

scream everything about this is funny. maximum cunt behavior. everyones reaction fadsjflksdjlk;afsl

mxtx: all characters other than hualian are straight mxtx: the thing feng xin is most afraid of is a women’s bath also women in general he is afraid of them fajkdjskfslda i mean there could be other reasons for this but its very funny in that context

stop theyre too much faslfkjasdf im so glad we’re getting this

im not 100% sure how i feel about these swords that. moan? hmm.

xie lian king of speaking out against stan culture. for real tho i feel like this makes sense with how young he was when he ascended and how much favor he gained only to be banished, as well as with how gods have to be what the people say that they are. this is made interesting bc xie lian is quite literally a god but this is still an issue!!

this is more less what im currently envisioning on our little side trek except qi rong's vibes are so rancid im retching from behind the screen and im not getting to watch any little creatures dance so its objectively a worse time but at least xie lian is there

reading this book full of immortals beat the shit out of each other is like watching looney toons

hua cheng is relentless. also THE DRAMA. lang qianqiu youre back on the list!!! although i doubt any of this will be straightforward also i feel like im playing among us rn im dizzy

hes awful and probably irredeemably so but hes also funny. imagine being qi rong youre just vibing rancidly in your cave and some fucker shows up using the name of a prince from 800 years ago and turns out its hua cheng and he slams your head into the floor over and dribbles it like a basketball until you lay the blame for said princes death and turns out that fucker youre blaming is also here and just as youre getting into it with him this other fucker says that youre lying and turns out its your cousin. wyd

YES. CHOMPING AND VIOLENCE

bruh they melted qi rong

oh its a clone. okay. aww kind of sad that he once looked up to xie lian. maybe some sympathy for going mad. oh wait actually he was a spoiled and pampered prince? sympathy depleted again. tis a waste but. alas

wind master just told xie lian that he was lucky to have befriended hua cheng... and xie lian agreed.... interesting interesting

noting that those two are notorious for clashing and yet jun wun is making them work together

i actually got teary at xie lian talking to his parents coffins and wondering for a second if he heard his mom. god. 800 years... :(

QI RONG IM GOING TO FIND YOUR ASHES MYSELF WTF this whole situation with the child sucks :/

oh my god thats where it ends??? wowie. okay damn i was going to take a break after i finished book one but god thats tempting