#fei long zhan

[rose-tinted-vision]

Fic: 当你醒来 我已不再

relationships: Li Lianhua & Fang Duobing

(link to ao3 fic)

Li Lianhua looks at the wangchun flower, and ponders.

It is not for him.

It is not Li Lianhua that Di Feisheng and everyone else wanted to save, it is Li Xiangyi that they want returned from the grave. They want the selfless hero, the beacon of peace and hope for the jianghu.

But Li Lianhua is not Li Xiangyi anymore.

He cannot bring back the young hero everyone coveted. He has long since regarded Li Xiangyi as a separate entity, a skin he has shedded long ago.

If he takes the wangchun flower, it means taking on the mantle of Li Xiangyi once more, putting on the cape again, trying to fill in the too-large shoes that that spectre of the past left behind.

Li Xiangyi is better off left undisturbed, ten feet under the ground, he tells himself. He is not as good as the people paint him to be. Li Xiangyi was arrogant, too trusting, too idealistic. The world cannot be saved by one man alone, nor can he save everyone with his words alone.

He once trusted all the wrong people, naively thought that by reaching the peak of the martial world, he could save everyone. Now that he has traversed the jianghu, he knows. He knows that his shifu had been right all along.

"I don't want you to be some big shot, I just want you and your shixiong to eat well, drink well and live well."

"Li Lianhua, what are you thinking about?"

A gentle shake brings him out of his spiralling thoughts, a never ending cesspool that only grew worse with each passing minute. He relaxes his death grip on the wooden box minutely.

"You haven't taken the wangchun flower yet?" Fang Duobing asks, fighting to keep his voice level.

Fang Duobing. His Xiaobao. The only person who genuinely wanted to save Li Lianhua.

He considers shaking it off with another lighthearted lie, but finds that he cannot bring himself to. He can't lie in the face of such pure, undiluted concern again.

"This flower isn't for Li Lianhua," he says, knowing that Fang Xiaobao will understand what he means.

Even in death, he cannot go peacefully. He has been told to live. It is demanded of him to live.

The man who was once known as Li Xiangyi finds that he does not know whether he wants to live. And perhaps that is the most telling point that he is no longer Li Xiangyi. Could no longer be Li Xiangyi. He has given so much of himself, even at the expense of his own life, that there was nothing left to give.

Fang Xiaobao, observant as always, picks up on his hesitance. He moves to sit next to Li Lianhua, clasping a steady hand over his trembling ones.

"If you choose to leave, it's fine," Fang Xiaobao says, letting out a shaky exhale, "you're not letting anybody down. It's this world that let you down. They don't deserve Li Lianhua or Li Xiangyi."

Li Lianhua makes a tired grunt in protest, which is quickly shushed by Fang Xiaobao, "But it's not just me that wants Li Lianhua to live. Su-mei also knows you. Zhan-xiong would rather you live happily. The one Xiao-gu fancied was also Li Lianhua, not Li Xiangyi."

Quietly, after a beat or two, he adds, "A-Fei also just wants you to be alive."

Perhaps. He can't quite bring himself to believe that statement, not when all Di Feisheng talked about was curing Li Lianhua to fight Li Xiangyi again. He already knew Di Feisheng's opinion on the matter; he did not need a reminder.

Fang Xiaobao, however, was another thing entirely. He has hurt him too many times to count, telling one boldfaced lie after another in the face of Fang Xiaobao's sincerity, and yet the other still chased after him anyway. Showed him forgiveness and patience, accepting Li Lianhua for all his deceit and lies, even after being pushed away repeatedly.

Though he knows the answer to this- it's damningly clear through Fang Xiaobao's every action- a part of him needs to hear it straight from his mouth.

"What about you?" Is it Li Xiangyi or Li Lianhua that you want to save?

Fang Xiaobao reels back as if he were slapped, hurt so openly displayed on his face that Li Lianhua wished to retract his words and swallow them whole.

"Li Lianhua, you should know by now" Fang Xiaobao says, his eyes alight with cold fury, "I will only recognize one zhiji in this life, and that is Li Lianhua."

Perhaps it is the conviction in his tone, or the grief that spilled over into his anger, or simply the mink coat that Fang Duobing had wrapped him in a few hours prior- but Li Lianhua finds himself pulled back slightly from the precipice he had been tethering on.

The realisation that he does not want to die is gut wrenching, suddenly overcome with guilt that Fang Xiaobao chose a dying man to recognize as his zhiji. Li Lianhua mourns the future that he is unable to live out. He will not be able to grow old with Fang Xiaobao in his rickety old home as the hair on their heads turn white, will not be able to travel all over the jianghu to solve crimes with his zhiji.

After all, the wangchun flower was not a guaranteed cure. Just one that held higher chances than any other cure.

He nearly says as much, clamping his mouth shut when his brain catches up. Fang Xiaobao might actually kill him for saying that, and then jump into hell to bring him back again.

Belately, he realises that he has not responded to Fang Xiaobao's declaration, and gives a stiff nod on response.

"Just…" Fang Xiaobao whispers, shifting to get up, "don't suddenly disappear without a word, okay?"

—

Li Lianhua stares at the wangchun flower. His legs are numb from having sat too long, and the mink coat is but a flimsy protection from the cold around him.

Behind him, dawn is breaking, varying shades of bright orange bleeding into the dusky blue, its rays of light illuminating the wangchun flower. In this light, it almost looks as glorious as the myths surrounding it make it out to be.

He hears Hulijing's barks growing closer, following the familiar cadence of Fang Xiaobao's footsteps, signalling that breakfast is ready.

Meeting Fang Xiaobao had disrupted his carefully laid plans to live out the rest of his limited lifespan, had brought forth several disturbing revelations, forcing him to bring back a dead man to resolve the many issues that sprang forth.

But Li Lianhua finds that he does not mind.

(In fact, when it comes to his closest friend, his zhiji, he finds that he can let quite a few things slide).

Maybe Li Lianhua would try to live, for the sake of one Fang Duobing, his Fang Xiaobao.

[reinaka42]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Playlist

多情岸 【Duo Qing An】 ➼ B link

洛阳怀 【Luo Yang Huai】 ➼ B link

易水诀 【Yi Shui Jue】 ➼ B link

山河令 【Shan He Ling】 ➼ B link

簪花人间 【Zhan Hua Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

栖凰 【Qi Huang】 ➼ B link

心上秋 【Xin Shang Qiu】 ➼ B link

祖龙吟 【Zu Long Yin】 ➼ B link

如见青山 【Ru Jian Qing Shan】 ➼ B link

竹林间 【Zhu Lin Jian】 ➼ B link

天下局 【Tian Xia Ju】 ➼ B link

青鸟衔风 【Qing Niao Xian Feng】 ➼ B link

木兰行 【Mu Lan Xing】 ➼ B link

好字唯之 【Hao Zi Wei Zhi】 ➼ B link

不可道 【Bu Ke Dao】 ➼ B link

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

是非 【Shi Fei】 ➼ B link

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

谓剑 【Wei Jian】 ➼ B link

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

千秋梦 【Qian Qiu Meng】 ➼ B link

易安难安 【Yi An Nan An】 ➼ B link

惊鹊 【Jing Que】 ➼ B link

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

不赴 【Bu Fu】 ➼ B link

西行 【Xi Xing】 ➼ B link

大航海家 【Da Hang Hai Jia】 ➼ B link

牡丹乱 【Mu Dan Luan】 (collab) ➼ B link

倾国 【Qing Guo】 (collab) ➼ B link

相虎 【Xiang Hu】 ➼ B link

补天裂 【Bu Tian Lie】 ➼ B link

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

破云来 【Po Yun Lai】 ➼ B link

归钓吟 【Gui Diao Yin】 ➼ B link

始见千秋 【Shi Jian Qian Qiu】 ➼ B link

临川浮梦 【Lin Chuan Fu Meng】 ➼ B link

将军行 【Jiang Jun Xing】 ➼ B link

妄语人间 【Wang Yu Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

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

问剑春秋 【Wen Jian Chun Qiu】 ➼ B link

起战令 【Qi Zhan Ling】 ➼ B link

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

旷古回响 【Kuang Gu Hui Xiang】 ➼ B link

墨隐侠声 【Mo Yin Xia Sheng】 ➼ B link

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

燕双归 【Yan Shuang Gui】 ➼ B link

拜云台 【Bai Yun Tai】 ➼ B link

思华年 【Si Hua Nian】 ➼ B link

承天 【Cheng Tian】 ➼ B link

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

Albums

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

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

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

Visual character guide:

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

[the-archlich]

Do you believe that Zhuge Liang indirectly contributed the downfall of Shu Han? Example: welcoming Jiang Wei's defection from Cao Wei, and relying on his colleagues from the Jing Political Faction etc. You dont have to answer in a long one, but rather short or maybe add top 3 or 5 reasons short based on your analysis.

As critical as I can be of Zhuge Liang I can't blame him for things that happened 30 years after his death. Liu Shan was the one with his hands on the wheel, after all, and could have made any policy changes he wanted at any time. Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, Dong He, Chen Zhi, Jiang Wei, Zhuge Zhan, and Huang Hao all had a ton of influence after Zhuge Liang's death and bear more direct responsibility than their predecessors. By the time Wei invaded in 263, Zhuge Liang's policies were no longer relevant.

[silviakundera]

Empresses in the Palace

Ep 28

Team Nian can do nothing but win. lolololololol honestly it's hilarious because I hate the emperor and it must be excruciating to have to bite his tongue every time he wants to act against this family. They're just running absolutely wild, stepping up and down his back, and he has to say thank u dear may I have another? 😌

Need to give credit to chasingdramas.com - without whom I would have NO idea what the hell empress and Hua Fei are word-dueling about at the start of this episode.

Now General Nian is tearing down people's houses, making dozens of citizens homeless, to build fancier gardens. His residence is akin to a princes! AHAHAHAHA the emperor has to swallow it down and smile. I love this song.

He won't let uncle see his mom because he knows she would get the empress and empress doweger all fired up 🙈

The comedy continues as the empress is setting up a whole elaborate play as Zhen Huan watches on with, I think (I hope) dubious eyes. oh noe! woe is me!! i am in horrible agony but that dastardly general nian summoned away all the available doctors in the palace at noon for his sick wife! and then, in a COMPLETE COINCIDENCE, I suddenly fell ill myself! oh the agony that I suffer through, such that I must alert every concubine in the palace to witness my suffering attend to me! but don't notify the emperor, who happens to be having a night in with the general's sister! i will just suffer here IN SILENCE. LIKE A VICTIM. 😢

masterful gambit, madame.

The emperor blank-faced watching the glowing Hua Fei as she receives her Imperial Consort Robes was absolutely chilling. Sometimes this drama is so GOOD.

Hell is empty because all the devils are here.

They've pushed him to the point of having to caution Nian... but idk how the emperor feels about being backed into a corner like that. He'll get rid of that family when he's ready and not a moment sooner.

Zhan Huan doing some investigating with her doctor minion. That's right, girl! She's got the empresses' number (good); she thinks she and the empress are on the same team (bad).

Emperor still enjoys playing poli-sci nerds with Zhen Huan. We'll see how long that lasts.

He totally trolled Hua Fei with the garment (or allowed the trolling to happen)

Ling Long set up Consort Qi so well 👏. See baby, I told you to quit whining and be proactive. Now we're cooking.

[nemainofthewater]

Completed 'Surname' Polls

This is where I take several characters from different Chinese media (mostly cnovels and cdrama) and run a poll on which one is the 'best'. What does best mean? It's up to you! Whether you love them, are intrigued by their characters, love to hate them, or they're your '2 second blorbos whose personality you made up wholesale', these are all reasons for you to vote for your favs!

NB: the surnames are not exactly the same in all the cases, as often they will be a different character. I am, however, grouping them all together otherwise things got more complicated.

This post is for the polls which have finished running and can no longer be voted in (since I have realised that I'm quickly approaching the limit for hyperlinks in the original masterlist).

If you want to see the currently live polls, they can be found here

Finished polls: Cao/Wei/Guo/Chen/Ye/Qiao/Yu/Xue/Tang/Jiang/Su/Gao/Mei/Lin/Wu/Sun/Liu/Di/Zhang/Ying/Mo/Li/Song/Yan/Xiao/Pei/Hua/Xie/Mu/Qi/Shen/Lan/Fang/Luo /Huo/Xu/Wang/Ming/Fan/Yuan/Feng/Bai/Jin/Meng/Yun/Zhao/Wen/Zhou/Yang/Shang/Yue/Sheng/Ouyang/Lu/Ling/Hu/Gu/Ding

Shi/Hong/Zhu/Yi/Cheng/Zhan/Xia/Cui/Chu/Lei/Ma/Liang/Jing/Zhi/An/Nie/Hao/Qin/Han/Guan/Zhuge/Jia/Ning/Xiang/Huang/Fei/Ruan/Dong/He/Baili/Long/Duan/Zhen/Wan/Qiu/Dongfang/Du/Bi/Jiao/Zhong/

[frankencanon]

MDZS Fanfic AU Idea:

TL;DR: Lan Wangji and most other Lans regularly sneak around disguised as rogue cultivators so they can break Lan rules in secret — until the other sects find out...

Throwback to that one idea I had way back when of a Canon Divergent AU of The Untamed where it turns out that the Lan Sect actually *can't* follow all 3.5k rules all of the time... and so in desperation they were forced to come up with the idea (excuse) of establishing a spy network where they would be required to go undercover without the fancy headbands or the vibrant white clothes or, most importantly, the excessively rigid rules...

Liu Haikuan (LXC) in 'The Long Ballad' & Wang Yibo (LWJ) in 'Legend of Fei'

---

(Not because they need a spy network or anything — the spy network is just an excuse. In reality, too many Lans were breaking too many rules and having to be punished all the time, and it was risking ruining their reputation.

Afterall, if even the Lans can't follow all of their rules, how can they expect the guest disciples to? Something had to change...

And so, instead of simply changing the rules or easing up on them a bit (the obvious, rational choice), they instead established a spy network where Lans under too much pressure from following so many rules would be allowed to roam free, virtually uninhibited, on the sole condition that when they returned they would bring with them some new information about what's going on in the world...)

---

Only the other main sects know vaguely of the Lan Spy Network, and even then only because the Lan Sect seemed to have an endless well of information that they definitely shouldn't have and no one for the life of them can figure out how or where they're getting all this information from...

So, obviously the Lans must have some sort of spies — though, considering their well-documented inability to blend in (what with their white clothing and headbands and strict rules that must be followed at all times without exception) the other sects were under the impression that their spies were animals or something, rather like the Wen birds.

If not animals, then civilians or rogue cultivators that were employed by or indebted to the Lan.

(Under no circumstances were they expecting the Lans themselves to be the spies.)

---

This AU was largely inspired by two things:

That scene in the library where Lan Wangji told Wei Wuxian to "piss off." —People don't typically slip up and just say a word or phrase that they've never even thought of or said before... More likely, LWJ has said it before, but was trying to restrain himself from doing so while in "Lan-mode".

A while ago, I watched this other historical drama that also starred Wang Yibo (LWJ's actor), except that I didn't realize at first that it was him because he looked so different... different clothes, different hairstyle, different behavior... They were both historical dramas, but he looked like two completely different people! To the point that I didn't even recognize him!

For reference, here's a side-by-side comparison of Wang Yibo in The Untamed vs Legend of Fei:

If you saw Guy-on-the-Right walking around town all smiley and smug you would NOT think, "Is that the great Hanguang Jun?! What is he wearing?!" No, you would instead think, "Wow, that rogue cultivator is pretty hot..."

I imagine they still keep their headbands on their person when in disguise, just hidden away so they're not visible... Most likely either wrapped around their wrist or their ankle and then hidden away under an arm cuff or a boot.

Little baby Lans are introduced to ~Undercover Work~ slowly, first by being brought out in pairs with an older, more experienced Lan while they're still young enough for their subdued behavior to be dismissed as just a "shy, well-behaved child" — but old enough that they won't slip up and say something they shouldn't, like, "Hi, I'm Lan Zhan."

Lan Wangji was of course first brought out by Lan Xichen, who reassured him that, "Yes, you can run if you want. Yes, you can shout and make noise. Yes, you can slouch. Yes, yes, yes..."

---

Whenever someone goes undercover, the other Lans will tell Outsiders that the reason they're unreachable is because they're "in seclusion".

While Lans do actually go into seclusion at times, it's not nearly as often as the other sects are led to believe. Far more likely, they're actually running around ~undercover~ and in-disguise, while seclusion is just being used as an excuse as for why no one can see them or get into contact with them.

---

Regular check-ins are of course required to keep track of everyone, much like a "Warm Body Count" in a college dorm.

Additionally, I forgot to mention this before but there are of course some rules that they are still expected to follow, namely the ones that everyone would be expected to follow — such as, for example, no murder.

No assault, no kidnapping, no destruction of public property... Just the stuff that most people would agree should never be allowed. (At least, not without good reason.)

---

Not all of the Lan disciples know about this. Su She, for example, has no idea.

It's only the inner disciples who are genuinely expected to follow all the rules all the time that are given this option of running away for a bit...

(They know that if they allowed everyone in the sect to be in on it, they would never be able to keep it a secret from the Outsiders.)

---

There are actually far, far more Lans than the other sects realize. This is because at any given time over half of all Lan disciples will be off premises either on official night hunts, wandering about in disguise, or on rotation keeping vigil at one of their many secret outposts.

Speaking of the Lan outposts, there are many all spread out throughout the cultivation world, including at least one in every single major sect's territory.

It's there that undercover Lans can check-in, pass along informative, get medical care, seek asylum, and so on and so forth.

These outposts are connected by secret tunnel systems that the Lans carved themselves, and only in extremely outstanding circumstances are Outsiders ever given any information at all whatsoever about the outposts — and even then, it is only the main family themselves that are permitted to deign to share that information.

The only time a member of another major sect ever heard anything about them is when Lan Xichen himself told Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang that if they ever found themselves in an extreme emergency scenario where they desperately needed medical help or asylum but for whatever reason had no where else that they could safely go, to seek out a specific place...

The mark he drew on their arm would signal to their people that they are under their protection and they would be granted asylum.

However, if they ever dared to tell anyone anything about what Lan Xichen had told them... Then the marks on their arms would become corrupted and they would not only be blacklisted from the outposts, but any attempt to enter would be met with lethal force.

---

The outposts are hidden in brothels, btw.

Brothels are special in that they tend to operate under an unspoken agreement amongst both the staff and the customers to never speak of what or who they see behind closed doors.

A sort of, "you don't see me, I don't see you" kind of situation.

Thanks to this, they don't have to worry about any witnesses speaking up about what they see; Injured, bleeding cultivators can stumble in the doors and through the halls, and enter rooms that they never come out of, and the other patrons will say nothing.

---

Last updated: 04/04/2023.

[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 🫵

[vinelark]

1,5,7,11,12,34,41,49, 50 for the fic writer ask game? :)

hello!! 💖 okay very long post incoming so i'm putting most of it under a cut!

What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

i’d recommend either my latest fic buy back the secrets (especially for dc/batfam) because it’s a longfic with a lot of my fav tropes! my second rec would be my first mdzs/cql fic this river runs to you, because it’s a complete longfic that also has a lot of my fav tropes to write (misunderstandings! slow burn! self-sacrificing lonely characters!) in a self-contained story.

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about [insert fic]? Answer it now!

i wish someone would ask “is there actually something going on with superbat in the background of buy back the secrets” to which i would respond: yes, something’s Going On and has been for years and will be for eternity, yes, lois is there, yes, everyone’s currently happy with whatever arrangement they’ve arranged, and yes ghost-maker is an on-again-off-again presence in bruce’s life too. bruce has many hands. tim is aware of all of this and does NOT think about it unless he needs to use it against bruce to make a point.

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

in the second chapter of fey and my wangxian star trek au there’s a scene where wei ying and lan zhan chat at the academy as the lead-in to one of the flashbacks. “procyon crystals” are something i wholesale pulled out of my ass but i was really proud of this little exchange—its purpose was to get the characters from point a to point b (the chem lab ➡️ the bus stop, and also from not chatting ➡️ chatting about something), and not only did i ultimately like how this dialogue about rocks quickly illustrated both of their fields of study/interests in the academy days, it also ended up being a wink to the larger plot (misunderstanding via rock).

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying had called down the hall, delighted, and pretty much expected Lan Zhan to nod and keep walking. Instead Lan Zhan actually slowed to let Wei Ying catch up, tugging on a pair of soft-looking gloves as he waited. “It’s pretty late for you, isn’t it? Everything okay?”   Lan Zhan glanced up at him for a moment, expression placid. “Procyon crystals,” he said by way of explanation.   “Ahh,” We Ying said. “And they only grow at night, is that why? I’ve always wondered about that! Well, I’ve wondered since I read an article about them in one of those kiddie science journals Jiang Cheng used to get. How they know it’s night, no matter what planet they’re on. I remember the article said even if it’s pitch black, the crystals can’t be tricked.”   “They cannot,” Lan Zhan confirmed with what sounded like the tiniest edge of irritation, like the crystals’ refusal to be tricked was personally offensive. Wei Ying’s delight only grew, and he told himself not to laugh.   “Everyone thinks space is the greatest mystery in the universe, but clearly it’s rocks,” Wei Ying said, pushing through the door and into a blast of cold. He paused, holding the door open behind him so Lan Zhan could finish putting on his gloves. “But if you figure out their secret you have to tell me, okay? You have to promise.”

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?

for most fandoms i tend to have pairings i like and stick with reading. dc has actually been fun for me in that regard because i’m much more open to multiple pairings with the same character. like, i’m partial to timkon, but could totally be compelled by timber (timbern…?) and timsteph at the same time. i’m partial to superbat but also extremely here for ghostbat, which is fun because it’s a whole different flavor. i like dick/babs and dick/kory and dick/blue the OC bf. i think it’s because for the most part what compels me in the dc/batfam space are the found family dynamics so shipping is often secondary, or in conjunction with other relationships i care about, so i end up happy as long as the characters and their dynamics are written in a way i like.

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

i used to dislike established relationship fics, because i always want to read the getting together part—but now i find myself more compelled by the idea than i used to be! i’ll totally read established relationship fics, especially when they’re silly.

34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?

not a whole a lot, really! i have occasionally used bits of knowledge/insight from my current or past jobs to fill out some modern au scenes, but nothing that couldn’t be researched anyway. otherwise beyond some minor details i don’t tend to draw from my own life/relationships for fic. and considering what i sometimes put characters through, thank goodness for that.

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

i’m gonna cheat and link three

📧 send to all by @kerosceene

From: batman@batserver.com To: redhood@batserver.com Subject: Re: Please fill out this form You cannot have Diana on your list. Bruce   From: redhood@batserver.com To: batman@batserver.com Subject: Re: Please fill out this form you're going to regret inviting me to dinner so bad

—invented humor, cee makes me wish i could come up with these kind of laugh-out-loud lines across various mediums. they’re so good at finding the funniest most in-character way to achieve something.

📸 surveillance by @smilebackwards

"And who are you?" Luthor asks, voice dripping condescension.

"My name is Timothy Jackson Drake," Tim says bloodlessly, "and nobody's buying my company."

—i think about this scene all the time!! the way this is such a succinct, mic-drop moment that made me go “oh shit” out loud and fit perfectly in the scene even while tim’s pov has been doing the mental equivalent of spinning a dozen plates—it’s so good.

🌕 if they caught you by @feyburner

“Sorry, sorry,” says Xie Lian. “I’ll shut up, I promise. I just have one more question.”   “What,” spits White Dragon Devouring Moon.   “Why are you pretending to be a Wrath?”   Silence, except for the cicadas. Then White Dragon Devouring Moon rears back, hissing sharply through his teeth. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about! Shut your mouth!”

—obviously this is one of my Fics Of All Time but the thing that blows me away every time i read it is the setup and payoff of it all. how what seems like a little kidnap-and-rescue plot is actually slowly laying the detailwork foundation that will absolutely devastate you. how, when you reach the end and look back, a certain verb in the exchange above takes on extra meaning. how this isn’t the only instance like that and every single sentence is so intentionally crafted that it’s almost twice as good on the reread, and the initial read is already incredible. it’s a short fic that leaves you breathless both for the plot and for the craft of it. man. anyway. if they caught you by feyburner huh

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

now answered here!

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

i’ve been thinking about my friends’ OCBFEU (OC boyfriend extended universe) where dick has a tall gentle deadly ex-talon from another universe (blue) quietly following him around and jason is engaged in identity shenanigans with the schoolteacher-in-training (santi) who lives in jason’s apartment building and also keeps having run-ins with red hood. we have a whole general timeline/continuity in our heads and at one point jason and santi are out at a club and jason is trying to have a night off for fucking once and then they run into? tim?? who is definitely not old enough to be there, and jason is pissed thinking tim’s following him around (which, fair, tbh) until he and santi realize tim is in fact having a miserable time and there for miserable reasons. so jason and santi end up taking tim back to santi’s place and making tim drink water and santi gets tim to half-explain what he was doing and then jason gets to go beat someone up about it. this will get way too long if i keep going but i’ve been pondering this particular sequence in a continuity that only like six people are aware of soooooo much and i love it

fic writer ask meme

[darkfalcon-z]

And he said, “I am only laughing at the stupidity of Zhou Yu and the ignorance of Zhuge Liang. If they have only set an ambush there, as I would have done, why, there is no escape.” Cao Cao had scarcely finished his explanation when from both sides came a deafening roll of drums and flames sprang up to heaven. Cao Cao nearly fell off his horse---he was so startled.

This is so funny

CaoCao: those losers didn't even set up a trap

Zhao Yun with the trap set by Zuge Liang

edit:

His companions, remembering the sequel of his last laugh, said, “Not long since, Sir, you laughed at Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang. That resulted in the arrival of Zhao Yun and great loss of troops to us. Why do you now laugh?” “I am laughing again at the ignorance of the same two men. If I were in their place, and conducting their campaign, I should have had an ambush here, just to meet us when we were tired out. Then, even if we escaped with our lives, we should suffer very severely. They did not see this, and therefore I am laughing at them.”

You will never guess what happens next!

Yakety Sax starts playing

(this time it's Zhan Fei)

and the same thing happens for the third time and Guan Yu attacks

[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

[strawberrylollipop26-blog-blog]

The Untamed/Actors

Okay. I finally watched The Untamed and I really cannot stop watching the series.

A few weeks ago, I was bored enough to watch the show. First, let me say that it wasn't because I harbored any negative thoughts. See, I've heard of the show for awhile now. However, my version of remembering is someone telling me one of the mains dies. Well, I'm not a fan of sad endings so I refused to watch the series for the longest time. It's been sitting in my Netflix cue for awhile. Possibly a month before, I'd watched Word of Honor and before that Alchemy of Souls which meant I was pretty desperate for something new in the fantasy world (and besides I love a man with long hair). Ha.

Anyway, I somehow came across someone advertising the story on TikTok so I found the book and couldn't put it down. Took me a few days to read through (mostly because I have a person in my life who demands attention). No excuses left except to watch the series.

I was a bit sidetracked at first. I mean, there are some things that are the same and others completely different. I'm old enough to know the reason why they didn't include the actual couple coupling. I wasn't even upset about that and even though I was thrown off by the scenes of WWX with Qing. I understood where they were coming from too. I didn't understand why they changed the other elements of the story: the yin iron pieces, WWX genius, "the sword (they removed the body parts and I was really looking forward to a headless man chasing the junior disciples around). Sadly this meant removing a lot of the funny, jaw dropping parts too.

Either way, although some aspects took longer, I really liked this series. I'm really bummed it took me years to watch it. I feel like I missed all the hype, but then again I think Covid snuck up on this show too and they had to stop promotions afterward. I'm glad that of the research I've done the show did so well.

The relationship between LZ and WY in the book and show makes me want to scream. Honestly, both can be appreciated in different ways. Watching the show, again I wasn't disappointed with the character representation or their relationship.

A plus was I never gave JC a second thought while reading the book and even started to dislike him. The JC on the show gave me all the feels.

The Actors

I found out the main leads for WWX and LZ can actually sing. They're so good. The past week or so they did a show and I was able to hear them. I went down the rabbit hole after that. I didn't even know they sung the theme to The Untamed. I should've probably looked it up, but at the time I was too obsessed with the beautiful flute(?) playing to pay much attention to the singing.

Now, I'm in the process of discovering if I'm going to be a new fan.

Sidenote and complete digression. BTS it hasn't even been a full year and I'm already falling in love with new people. My heart was supposed to belong to them only. End of sidenote.

I've found other shows with the actors in them to try and discover if I actually like them or it's the hair and the story. I thought I liked actors before and then I just had a hard time being interested when I see them without hair. Sadly, I started watchin Xiao Zhan's new show and he unfortunately has hair so I'm still in love. Although, I found his other show Oath of Love and I'm going to check that out, but I think I should wait. I don't know if I should watch two shows at the same time with the same person. How will I ever know it's true?

His new show "The Longest Promise" is interesting, but I'm not sure how to feel about it right now. I'm taking my time so I'm only on episode five. Important note about me is I always choose streaming because I hate waiting for shows to come on. I know these are supposed to come out daily, but still. Normally, I'm the type of person to wait until everything's out to watch it.

I even found Legend of Fei with Wang Yibo, and he also has hair. I know he has another movie called Hidden Blade (I think), but I was unable to find that one.

Well, I will be digesting their other shows to see if I want to jump into new fandoms. Who am I kidding? I'm already in the shallow end.

[the-archlich]

Hello since I saw you were rating wish list for DW hope its oke for me to share mine and ask for your thoughts thanks a lot and feel free to ask me my reasoning for them.

Wei: Cao Hong, Cao Zhen (two very important commanders for cao cao), Zhang Xiu (another top cao commander would also help flesh out Jia xu as they were very close historically), Zhong Yao (Zhong Huis dad a very early supporter of cao cao eventually became a top minister extremely interesting guy)

For Wu:

Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Ke ( I don’t think I need to justify it lol), He Qi (very important and skilled general who really helped Sun Quan hold his southern territories also his dw blast design makes him look like wu’s version of Zhang He which i like), Zhang Zhao (was pretty much Sun Quans father figure and closest minister)

Shu (my favorite):

Honestly many, I would even consider removing some of the fictional characters because out of those the only one i like and feel contributes anything to the story is Guan Suo. Anyways

Liao Hua (do I even need to say why lol), Wang Ping (Top general was able to overcome a learning disability and rise to the top), Fei Yi (would really help add an interesting dynamic to Jiang Wei), Zhang Yi or Ma Zhong (either would help fill out with another disciplined warrior) maybe Zhuge Zhan but he comes in quite late.

My least favorite sorry Jin:

Another Sima (so many talented Sima’s lol) my personal choice would be Sima Yi’s brother, Sima Fu (very important minister I think he became imperial chancellor but more loyal to Wei than jin could provide some nice tension with his relatives)

Yang Hu (very important Jin figure although most of his achievements came late in the period, really this is my major beef with Jin) or maybe Hu Lie for similar reasons.

Other:

One of the Yuan Brothers either Shang or Tan would add a nice bit of drama and excitement to Cao Cao’s northern conquest

Liu Biao (super important figure of the period involved with nearly every important faction and character)

Han Sui (really interesting warlord and had a long life) if they decide to go the novel route a one handed moveset would be interesting as well

One of the bandit factions leaders; i like what total war did with the bandit Zhang yan and the bandit queen. It be cool if koei could try something similar good suggestions imo would be Zhang Yan, Yang Feng, or Zang Ba

Cao Hong was very important and might be a good foil for some of the established members of the family, presenting a new dimension to their interactions. Cao Zhen is also hugely important and could be a great foil for Cao Pi and Cao Xiu; showing how important he was also makes it easier for people to understand why his son was given so much authority after Cao Rui's death. Zhong Yao is one of the most important people of the era and while the Wei faction is pretty heavy with tacticians at this point, there's always room for someone of his accomplishments. Zhang Xiu is certainly one of the people I'd love to see. Great for Jia Xu as a character and he can add some muscle to some battles that are otherwise pretty lacking in significant enemies.

Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Ke don't need to be justified, you're absolutely right. That's all pretty obvious. He Qi is pretty significant (arguably one of the most significant people of the era since his efforts to settle the Han population in southern China and bring the region under Han control had long-lasting effects) and pretty unique. I wouldn't be upset about that. Zhang Zhao also goes without saying. He has every quality I'd look for in a new character; long career, close personal relationships to characters who need them, many historical accomplishments, unique personality, etc.

Liao Hua is a pretty common choice. He has longevity on his side (always good but especially for that faction since so many major people all died around the same time) and enough accomplishments to his credit to justify it. Yi is, of course, one of my favorites. It'd be great to have him to represent the leadership between Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei and their different styles, and his assassination is a huge narrative beat that can really set up Shu's final act. Wang Ping and Ma Zhong were commanders whose accomplishments alone justify their inclusion, in addition to their unique personality traits and history. Zhuge Zhan has potential to be a very intersting character, although I doubt they'd have the guts to go all out with it and have him be part of the court's corruption. Zhang Yi (Junsi) would be an unexpected choice but not totally useless. For Zhang Yi (Bogong), I'd say the same things I said about Liao Hua. And for Zhang Yi (Boqi; often called Zhang Ni), the same as Wang Ping and Ma Zhong.

There are alot of Sima family members who would be decend additions. I think Sima Fu is one of the best, since he was perhaps the most important and had such a lengthy career; he could also really bring out some aspects of his relatives we don't currently see. I think Yang Hu is highly overrated; Hu Lie is pretty great though. He and his brother Hu Fen, along with their father Hu Zun, are all good choices IMO.

The Yuan family could always use a bit more meat to it; I think which members are most useful to have depends on how you choose to expand their tale. I do think Yuan Tan is particularly important, though, given his achievements under his father.

Liu Biao needs no justification. Han Sui is an interesting choice but one that I like.

I can see the merit in including someone to represent one of the major bandit factions of the time, though I'm not sure exactly who I'd cuse. Of the ones you listed, probably Zang Ba since he has much more going on than the others.

[kaileech]

I posted 1,670 times in 2022

That's 1,234 more posts than 2021!

130 posts created (8%)

1,540 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@russiawave

@skladgifokagatopravda

@stupid-lemon-eater

@well-nobodys-perfect

@izzy-isme92

I tagged 757 of my posts in 2022

#агата кристи - 241 posts

#глеб самойлов - 211 posts

#вадим самойлов - 206 posts

#братья самойловы - 119 posts

#photo - 58 posts

#photo by me)) - 57 posts

#siberia - 56 posts

#cat - 50 posts

#cats - 50 posts

#my cat - 49 posts

Longest Tag: 89 characters

#просыпаешься утром а поезд стоит на ст��нции где-то в деревушке окутанной утренним туманом

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

My Xiao Zhan fanart from december 2021 🤫 💕

60 notes - Posted January 23, 2022

#4

Ahh after a long time finally Bai Yu as Luo Fei ('Detective L' ) 😏🎩🔎

60 notes - Posted July 9, 2022

#3

108 notes - Posted January 25, 2022

#2

He's so beautiful 🥺❤

130 notes - Posted March 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Little brother who has grown up 🥺💚

227 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[mariocki]

Fei long zhan (The Dragon Missile, 1976)

"His finger power is great..."

"It must be Iron Fingers!"

[brody75]

The Dragon Missile (1976)

[yibocheeks]

疾冲 x 谢允 

Ji Chong returns to find that Xie Yun has fallen asleep while waiting for him.