#fox reads po yun

[foxghost]

This/last week’s read: Po Yun, Breaking Through the Clouds 1 & 2

All 1.6 million words. Po Yun (Breaking Through the Clouds) and Po Yun 2 (Swallowing the sea), by Huai Shang (817k) On jjwxc. I started reading them because I missed SCI, but Po Yun is a much more serious book with serious plot twists and no hypnosis/split personalities/genetic modification magic. Oh, and more whump. I mean these characters are basically hurt all the time. Constantly. A bonus: all your main characters are in their 30’s.

There’s a summary on novelupdates, but I’m going to give you an alternative summary:

International drug-trafficker King of Spades and the Gongzhou Police Organised Crime/drug trafficking division chief Jiang Ting were once childhood friends and are now caught in a game of cops and robbers cat and mouse and their love story ends in inevitable BE …

Okay, it’s not that, go get the actual summary from NU that ends in a nobody (bad) dies HE ending between Jiang Ting and Yan Xie.

(Rambling that is as spoiler-free as possible after cut, but to summarise, I’d give Po Yun 1 a 7/10 and Po Yun 2 a 10/10 recommended with some caveats for plot holes and warning for graphic descriptions of violence and gore)

Po Yun1: If this book was actually about the first story, 10/10, a very well-told tragedy that ends in a near perfect circle. As is, I’m not sure how to feel because it just felt so much like it should end in 雙愛雙殺 / “mutual love, mutual killing”, that even though it has told me it’s HE since the beginning it doesn’t feel right. Despite Jiang Ting’s insistence that he never loved SpadesK, he did … in the before times, and considering how much he hated him afterwards, he loved him a lot. I think most what made this book less enjoyable for me though is Yan Xie, who is basically your definition of male chauvinist (his nickname in the book is literally “straight man cancer”), and he touched the one squick I have … terrible personal hygiene.

Point form entirely unorganised thoughts (吐槽) :V below, mostly of my very twisted opinion, you’ve been warned

Every time I heard about Yan Xie’s “male hormones” smell I gagged a little because I’m pretty sure he stinks

No, wait, I don’t have to be pretty sure. The first time he lent his jacket to Jiang Ting he had to cover his nose and ask “when was the last time you did the laundry”

also, “wash your feet first thing when you get home or I really will avoid you” omg

Yan Xie: do I look like i have time to change my clothes <- in 3 days

why do you even like him the only thing good about him is that he loves you a lot

most of the words that come out of his mouth (especially towards women) are toxic and just THE WORST

Literally no woman in the novel is surprised that he’s tall, handsome, rich, and is single in his 30’s

his mother: now that he’s this age all I ask is that he chooses someone younger than me

anyway that’s enough about Yan Xie I just had to tell someone after Jiang Ting (whom I love) chose to end up with makes face and points THAT

Meanwhile, the King of Spades is basically a more twisted Asami Ryuichi and how can I not love that fictionally

the king of spades gets a theme song (Young and Beautiful) and childhood episode with MC

Excuse me I have feels about the villain and the MC/villain ship way more than the canon ship orz

Half the plot is about antag trying to turn back time emotionally to see if things between Jiang Ting and himself could have turned out in any way differently

“all i wanted in his life was for you to kill me and then we die together” trope

He is well-dressed, cultured, polite, and utterly off his rocker, kills without blinking, but you know something

He leaves the torturing to Jiang Ting because he’s … probably better at it

Jiang Ting will pull off your fingernails and give you the death of 3000 cuts without batting an eyelash

I love Jiang Ting a regular amount

as mentions of Yan Xie’s lack of hygiene grew less frequent I admit he grew on me (and I guess I want a happy ending for Jiang Ting since he’s suffered enough) but only right up until Yan Xie SPEAKS AGAIN

on the mystery/drama/cases front, it’s good …

too much of the plotting of how convoluted the crimes are hinged on “antag is crazy you can’t explain the motivation of the crazy”

There are plenty of surprises, lots of side characters to get attached to, and come to think of it it’s the kind of happy ending that’s really 地道, nobody (on the good guy side) dies.

Onto Po Yun 2:

MC (Wu Yu) is a contradiction of a killer cinnamon bun (do we still say that? why don’t we still say that?) anyway he can go from polite and sweet and courteous and shy about speaking in public to killer hawk jumping out of the 8th floor window using obstacles to slow his descent to stab target in the throat in 5 seconds flat

Code name “The Painter”, as in “Painted Skin”, cross-border master undercover cop, but he’s pretty to the point of standing out (this is used as a plot point later)

ML (Bu Chonghua, everytime I see his name 蔥花 “chopped green onions” floats across my brain) seems pretty normal at first glance, but he’s “living for vengeance”

MC and ML have childhood background story while MC and villain does not (thank you)

the cases are all related, and they make sense for the most part

MC’s backstory and the final reveal is a bit of a stretch and the writer knows it (and apologises)

But overall, very well plotted cases that takes its time unwinding and doesn’t get explained all at once.

however, some tropes recycled wholesale from book 1 meant that they did not fool me for a single second.

WHUMP and lots of hurt, not so much comfort. These people are wounded so often they really shouldn’t be walking around

I literally can’t tell you anything without giving half the story away, so I won’t — I’m just going to say “read it you won’t regret it”

2 is a better book than 1. Both use the same kind of ship dynamic — MC is evasive and hiding something, ML is full of love but know not to trust entirely because MC is evasive, eventually MC come to realise that “even if I’m evil this man will love me anyway” and then happily ever after. Whether the resulting relationship is healthy is … up for debate, but I’m here for all the car chases / explosions / jumping off buildings / dealing with life and death situations / nearly dying every chapter or two. Come for excitement, nobody dies, and happy wedding endings … ignore the plot holes and inconsistencies.

If Huai Shnag writes a third installment — likely, some ppl are left alive for reasons — I will drop all the points on them. This was totally worth my time. If you buy the jjwxc version, go hunt down the uncensored chapters, there is one smut scene each that got cut.

[wretchedspirit]

Halos lahat siguro ng kabataang Pilipino eh napanuod and Naruto. Kung hindi man, pamilyar sa palabas na 'to.

Nung bata pa ako, grade school days hobby ko na talaga ang manuod. Telenovelas, teleseryes, cartoons, animes, cooking show etc. Madali talaga akong ma-hook sa kung anu-anong palabas at isa na rito yung Naruto.

Di ko naman pinangarap maging ninja. Nung pinapanuod ko rin to nung bata pa ko di ko pa lubos na naiintindihan yung storyline. Basta makanuod oks na. Haha. Tapos eto lang (as in this July 2017) naisipan kong manuod ulit at tapusin hanggang sa latest episode niya at natapos ko! Imagine 700 episodes natapos ko. I feel so cool haha.

Anyways, dito ko napatunayan na nag-mature na ako. Haha. dati kasi sobrang gusto ko si Sasuke. Kahit na ang pangit-pangit ng ugali niya gusto ko siya. Syempre ang gwapo niya (kilig hahahaha) pero nung napanuod ko to ulit after almost 10 years (nahinto ako sa part na Team 7 na si Sai) na-realize ko na ang dami palang nangyari sa Naruto and ang dami kong na-miss na life lessons.

Ngayon, I'm going to list down things na natutunan na-miss out ko during childhood. Kumbaga na oversee ko kasi masyado pa akong bata at sobrang bulag pa ko sa kagwapuhan este katotohanan:

HARDWORK PAYS OFF. Yes. There are lots of geniuses sa Naruto: Neji, Sasuke, Orochimaru, Kakashi etc. pero pinakita ni Naruto, Lee, Jiraiya Sensei, Mighty Guy at marami pang iba na kapag pinaghusayan mo at binigay mo yung best mo maaari ka ring maging henyo. Gusto ko yung sinabi ni Guy sensei kay Lee. Sabi niya genius si Lee ng hardwork. Naiyak ako sa part na 'to actually haha. Tapos syempre yung bida na si Naruto. Ang bano niya nung una. Ang weak nga nung shadow clone niya eh pero nakita naman natin na along the way, dahil dun sa dedication at hardwork niya, he can now create thousands of clones.

EVERYONE HAS A STORY. Totoo to. Sa season 1 dati banas na banas ako kay Itachi kasi super labo nung reasoning niya na pinatay niya yung buong angkan niya (except Sasuke) just to test kung gaano na siya kalakas. Kaso along the way, na-uncover yung truth na there is more to tell about his clan and his actions. Ang gusto ko sa Naruto every character has a story to tell. May it be a protagonist or an antagonist. Minsan maaring di natin ma-grasp yung dahilan or prinsipiyo nila pero alam nating may depth yung mga pinapaniwalaan nila. Isa pang example yung Akatsuki. Lahat sila S-rank criminals na tinapon na ng kaniya-kaniyang village pero lahat sila may kaniya-kaniyang istorya.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BECOME SOMEONE GREATER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Ito. This is my motivation. Example ba? Iruka Sensei :) Yes haha. Si Iruka sensei ay di naman a-list na ninja pero sobrang remarkable nung ginawa niya sa buhay ng bida. Mas powerful siya sa ibang ninja kasi nakita niya si Naruto more than dun sa label na binato sa kaniya (good-for-nothing demon fox). Imagine, both of his parents died because of the demon fox attack pero he looked beyond that and accepted Naruto for who he is. May episode nga na nag-thank you si Naruto sa kaniya kasi kung hindi ni-recognize ni Iruka sensei si Naruto he could'nt become the person he is ayon kay Naruto.

WE ARE THE MAKERS OF OUR FUTURE. Hindi tayo natatali sa tadhanang binigay sa atin ng mundo. Sitwasyon man yan o ano. Ang isa sa gusto kon linya ni Naruto ay nung time na naglaban sila ni Neji my loves so sweet haha. Si Neji sobrang nakaagkla siya sa destiny niya bilang parte ng branch family ng Hyuuga and he thinks that one's destiny is pre-determined. Na hindi na magbabago yung kalagayan ng isang tao. Remember the moment na sinabi niyang walang palag sa kaniya si Naruto? Kinain niya yung sinabi niya kasi natapos ang match na bugbog sarado siya (OA ko haha). Tapos isa pa, si Naruto he always dreamed of becoming the Hokage even though people labeled and called him names.

WE ARE THE PRODUCT OF OUR CHOICES. Napatunayan to ng maraming characters. Both good and evil.

LOVE IS THE STRONGEST WEAPON OF ALL. Akala ni Gaara he is strong because of his hate pero the moment Naruto defeated him, he questioned why and found out that Naruto's love for his friends defeated his hate. Ito rin yung makapangyarihang sandata ng mga magulang ni Naruto-Minato at Kushina. Nagsakripisyo sila, namatay pero their legacy lives on sa buhay ni Naruto at sa Konoha. Si Hinata pa. Alam niyo na kung anong ginawa ng pambansang heroine haha. Isa siya sa mga bet na bet kong characters kasi kahit gaano man siya kahina pinatunayan niya na yung love niya kay Naruto ang magbibigay ng lakas sa kaniya.

BONDS. Nung una di ko to gets. Gaano ba to kaimportante? Naiinis pa ako dati kay Naruto kasi pilit niyang niri-reach out si Sasuke kahit ayaw naman nung isa pero along the way naintindihan ko na. Naintindihan ko lang to nung malapit ko nang matapos yung series haha. Yung mga bonds na na-create natin habang nabubuhay tayo ay legacy natin at syempre nagiging part na ng pagkatao natin. Si Naruto lahat na nagkasundo na patayin si Sasuke kasi threat na siya pero di pa rin siya nag-give up kasi para sa kaniya yung bond na nabuo niya kay Sasuke ay kadahilanan para di niya sukuan si Sasuke. Gulo no? Basta yun na yun!

DREAMS DO COME TRUE. Of course. Ako rin naniniwala na dreams do come true pero syempre dapat may effort. Si Naruto di naman siya agad naging Hokage. Ang dami niya munang pinagdaanan bago niya naabot yung pangarap niya. Ganun din sa ibang mga characters. Nakakalungkot lang yung iba nakalimutan na nila yung pangarap nila kasi masyado silang consume ng ibang mga bagay (like Nagato and Tobi). Si Sakura rin. Pangarap niya dati maka-catch up kay Naruto at Sasuke and it happened. She worked hard until she finally reached her goal. Pati Sasuke sa kaniya na rin napunta (how to be u po?)

YOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY. Si Naruto man ang bida sa series pero maraming characters yung tumulong sa kaniya para maging magaling na ninja. Si Kakashi sensei, Iruka sensei, Jiraiya-sama, Konoha 11 etc. Maging yung mga villains may role na ginampanan sa tagumpay niya. Maaaring hindi tayo yung bida pero may mahalaga pa rin tayong role and we need to determine what role fits us (huwag naman sanang villain).

YOU DON'T NEED TO BE PERFECT. You read it right. Bawat character sa Naruto may mga strength at the same time may mga weaknesses. Kahit yung bidang si Naruto. We just need to be ourselves and do our best to become the person we are called to be. Do not aim perfection kasi you'll just end up disappointed. Sabi nga ni Itachi kay Kabuto na kapag inisip natin na wala na tayong weaknesses or sobrang galing na natin at di na kailangan yung tulong ng iba that's when our greates distraction comes.

Marami pa akong natutunan actually pero dahil ang haba nito hanggang dito na lang. Haha

[foxghost]

I'm more than 2/3 into 山河不夜天, 600k+, transmigration, imperial politics, the most meticulous world building I've ever seen in any genre, and the burn is so slow it's like watching grass grow

actually the first 30% of the book is just preparing for the imperial civil examinations while playing capitalism II in ancient China

I'm pretty sure I've read something like 400,000 words already, MC (Tang Shen) and ML (Wang Zhen/Wang Zifeng) have known each other 5 full years, and I just got to the point where MC has realised ML is gay (he's 29, unwed, and basically perfect in every way) and his thoughts to this is 「what does that have to do with me anyway, if Wang Zifeng is gay and won't have children I'll take care of him when he's old」

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┴─┴

ML saved his life once (then nothing happened) and they shared a bed there was only one bed in Zifeng's bedroom (nothing happened except for some flirting and Zifeng making fun of Tang Shen for using idioms wrongly)

... but the flirting is so subtle, i weep, after Tang Shen tells Wang Zifeng he reveres him, after getting his 20th bday present, Zifeng's reply was:

「不過以後還可以多敬仰點，又或是不僅僅是敬仰。」 “But you can revere me more from now on ... or perhaps you can do more than revere me.”

Tang Shen: what does he mean? does he want me to call him dad?