#li xiao ran

[movielosophy]

Joy of Life 2 | Wedding day.

[dangermousie]

Bet you ain't seen "sorry my beloved I need to marry someone else for her army" sex?!

Heeeeee

I realized I never finished Too Late To Say I Love You (made before censors defanged and communistified warlords) and it's drier than the Sahara in drama land so here we goooooo!

[kandadze]

FoF rewatch ep 5: ending sequence (ZYC vs Ran Yi and a Wild Li Lun appears) gifs

[thecasualfkfan]

The ones who don't know whether to laugh or cry(at any given situation):

Xie lian

Shen Qiao

Xiao Yu

Mo Ran

Chu wanning

Shen Wang

[yichens]

wow i never realized before that ep 3 is a speed run through all of zhao yuanzhou's past trauma and pain, this is delightful (said with a pained smile rivaling said man's/great demon's usual expression)

[lostinadrama]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 (2024)

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Double (2024)

吴谨言 墨雨云间 别眨眼，只需一秒即刻气场全开～

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jI86ujSBt-g

[swiftletinthecloud]

Pledge of Allegiance (2023) | a comedy

Episode 03

[namjhyun]

DRAMA REVIEW | You Are Desire (2023)

From the very start I was very impressed with this drama. The first episode felt grounded in reality and presented all the main characters as young adults behaving like such but also with a level of maturity that felt respectful. Sometimes youth dramas don't know how to balance the growing pains, friendship and romance but You Are Desire does it perfectly.

Xia Feng Yan created a story with solid development based on actual growing from well rounded characters that act and react in ways that feel natural. I am amazed this is her first project and I will keep an eye on her because she has a bright future.

Deng Ke (My Huckelberry Friends) also started in the industry as a screenwriter before transitioning into directing, so it was a perfect fold for Xia's story. He understood the assignment and complemented the script with beautiful cinematography, camera movements and choice of cast.

This drama could have died in the hands of a lesser cast but Zhou Yiran and Zhuang Dafei carried the drama flawlessly. Most of the story centers around them and how they interact with others when loneliness has been a part of their young lives for a long time. The supporting cast were also at their best, each with their own lives and struggles which made them well rounded individuals and not an artifact to push the leads's story.

All of these elements created a beautiful group of people dealing with different experiences. A slice of life drama where we understand the world is not always fair and parents make mistakes; where people need to learn to grieve in a healthy way. That families can all look very different from each other and that's okay as long there's love. That you don't always pass the university exam and your workplace might suck. A world where you fall in love and support one another as you grow together with a clear understanding of each other. That life can be sweeter when you are surrounded of good people who truly appreciate you.

Overall, You Are Desire it's a wonderful story that enjoyed from the very first episode to the last one. Criminally underrated, for sure, as I don't understand how more people are not talking about what is probably one of 2023's best cdramas.

[cowboy-robooty]

i go on novel updates i find something that fucking sucks i read 300 chapters of it and i quit before the ending that i read the entire thing for (it ends at chapter 304) then repeat. sisyphus grindset

[movielosophy]

Joy of Life 2 | Come here.

[dangermousie]

@aysekira has been sending me Youku press conference posters and some of them are aaaaa!!!

Liu Shi Shi and Shawn Dou in Kill My Sins:

Xiao Zhan looming Monte Cristo style in Zang Hai Zhuan:

Chen Feiyu and Wang Yinglu mutually moisturizing in Xian Yu:

The Double (and yup, FL is bleeding AGAIN! I think she and Sifeng from L&R should have a bleed-off at this rate.)

Tian Shu Li Ming:

The Grand Princess:

The Story of Pearl Girl (which is giving me ptsd vibes of TLB which is not a good thing or perhaps it is since despite my issues with that drama I adored LYN x ZLS in it.)

[kandadze]

FoF rewatch ep 6: the conclusion of ZYC vs Ran Yi fight (because LL couldn't be bothered this time) gifs

Fangs of Fortune, Ep 6

Let's appreciate the fact that if it wasn't for Ran Yi, ZYC would've skewered Miss Qi... And what a situation for that poor woman to come to. (One of the reasons why I have such complicated feels towards LL... for someone who valued freedom so much, he had remarkably little to no issue with taking others' - humans and demons alike - freedom away, repeatedly.)

[moonlightobsessions]

Meowyuan scumcum au.

Shen yuan transmitigates as he does

Dumb fuck novel, of course he dies reading that piece of shit. But isnt death supposed to be nothingness? Why is he still thinking. Slowly opening his eyes hes surrounded by a forest filled with massive plants, he seemed to be in a small den between roots of one of these massive trees. He lies there contemplating what to do. Obviously he got isekaied but to where. He tried to get up and walk when he realized the problem. He was a cat, a kitten.

He doesn’t realize he is a spiritual beast, one sought after by cultivators to be companions. He does hate being a cat quickly, having to hunt and eat raw meat is not fun. Thankfully he stumbles across a village. There he meets two street kids, jiu and qi, and reasonably gets attached to them. Qi-ge feeds him and jiu-ge protects him.

Sadly the Qiu manor still happens. Shen yuan sees the last moments yue qi and shen jiu have before yue wi goes to join cang qiong. Yuan stays with jiu, hoping to help him escape but hes discovered by Qiu Jianlou and recognized as the rare and valuable beast he is. He’s captured to be sold to whatever cultivator passes by. Shen jiu helps him escape, and unknowingly to shen jiu, shen yuan bonds them due to his spiritual beast instincts. They wont see each other for many years.

Shen yuan looks back through the small hole in the wall, Jiu-ge pushing him to run. Reasonably he knows he should run, but he follows an instinct he never had before. He rubs his head against Shen jius hands, the small jewel in his forehead touching his skin. A small jolt of qi reach out. The qi cycles as he feels them connect and their qi becoming intertwined. He licks the hand one last time before he runs into the forest.

The manor burning and wan yanzu still happen. Though damage to shen jius cultivation base never become as bad from the demonic cultivation as the connection between the two rejected the demonic energies. Shen yuan runs around for a long time. He is searching for yue qi first, but got sidetracked a lot. Especially since he avoided most cultivators. Soon he have up on yue qi, years have past and finding a way into cang qiong as a beast is near impossible, if he was even there.

He felt exhausted and found a small area rich in qi to take a small nap. That small cat nap would last ten years, when he woke and headed to the village he heard whispers of the new qing generation of peak lords. He felt into the connection he had and decided to follow it, to reunite with shen jiu.

At this point many of the rumours around shen qingqiu had taken root, he ignored them too. Opting to focus on missions and his research. There had been many studies on spiritual beast companions but few on the one he was interested in. The Jeweled qi cat was extremely rare, as a kitten they form a bond forged with qi with a person or a place and rely on them for protection. They grow uniquely to the qi they absorb and many cultivators desire one for their bond that is said to prove a noble soul and improve cultivation.

He only realized he was bonded to the small kitten he saved when his shizun inspected his qi. Even if he knew that bond existed, he never could use it to find the cat. He only could venture out often to search. That bastard yue qingyuan never came and he wont do the same for xiao yuan.

When they reunite its in a large town. Shen yuan felt the bond resonate and ran towards shen jiu. Shen Qingqiu was on a mission to deal with a sighting of a moonscortched black viper when a tugging in his qi made him turn around.

Shen yuan had hardly grown, not having access to shen jiu’s qi. Still fluffy and small but with all his might he decided jumping right into shen jius arms. It was a sight to see as a peak lord was knocked to the ground by a kitten that looked no older then three months. Shen yuan refused to be put down, clinging to shen jius clothes.

Of course Cang Qiong was shocked when the notorious peak lord came back with the Jeweled Qi cat that refused to leave his arms (shen jiu tried but shen yuan would yowl everytime he was put down(shen yuan could not afford losing Jiu-ge)). Of course shen yuan realizes this is the scum villain and decides that cannon is for losers and shen qingqiu couldn’t have been that bad.

So here we get looks for the list of tropes i enjoy Shen jiu improved relations with his martial siblings, rumors proven false and people feel shame, shen yuan bullying shen jiu into a better person and teacher, qijiu reconciliation.

And during this shen yuan is DESPERATE to cultivate a human form. Shen Jiu is hiding all the books in places he cant get to after one too many books had pages torn (some literature DESERVES to be destroyed).

He finally succeeded! Human hands! Thankfully he was still in the bamboo house as he made his way on wombly legs to Jiu-ge’s room. He might have seen Jiu-ge putting on those complicated robes many times but he never put any on before (He was a modern man! No where near as many layers). Just putting on one robe seemed enough. And Jiu-ge had a mirror! Seeing himself was a shock. Honestly he didn’t know what to expect, would he look like his old self or someone completely different. Long white hair, his cat ears and split tail, jade green eyes match the jade where a huadian would be, his face looks eight parts his old self, one part feline with his fangs and eyes, and one part shen jiu, sharpening his features (did bonding with Jiu-ge influence it?).

Shen jiu does find shen yuan scandalously clad reading yellow books in his bed. This does awaken something in him. (Shen jiu does trick shen yuan into marriage before shen yuan realizes his own attraction)

[haifoct]

Happy two months anniversary to Zhuo Yichen & Li Lun sex scene choke episode!

I wish I could say I was exaggerating or joking when I describe episode 23 of Fangs of Fortune as a sex scene between Zhuo Yichen and Li Lun.

And yet. 

No other moment in the series comes close to the sheer intimacy and strange sexual tension of the brutal, unapologetic beating Li Lun puts Zhuo Yichen through.

You’re filled with worry, awe, and guilty excitement as you watch it all unfold; they ensure that hurricane of conflicting emotions sets in motion inside your tight chest because they build it up almost the same way cdramas build up their kissing scenes sex scenes.

To truly appreciate the beauty of episode 23, we need to revisit episodes 6, 16, and 19. Each of these episodes offers an attempt at a fight just the tip and a promise.

"But first, I need to kill you, an even more evil thing."

"I choose for you to die."

Our precious rabid puppy Zhuo Yichen never misses a chance to jump Li Lun like his life depends on it (perhaps it does). He has so much tempter, especially when it comes to Li Lun. Meanwhile, our precious Li Lun meets that aggression with… well? 

In episode 6, Li Lun never truly fights Zhuo Yichen. Instead, he uses Ran Yi as both his blade and his shield before happily escaping, leaving everyone in shambles.

In episode 16, Li Lun mostly dodges Zhuo Yichen’s attacks. First, he stops Zhuo Yichen’s sword with just his fingers, then he seems determined to kill Pei Sijing right on the spot until Zhuo Yichen joins the fight to protect her. Li Lun’s usual cold and calm rage shifts into a cheeky smile, and another flirtatious promise leaps from his tongue.

"Zhuo Yichen, don’t forget. At the final moment, your Cloud Light Sword can kill him."

In episode 19… I have so much to say about this episode, actually, but almost none of it involves Zhuo Yichen and Li Lun. That said, I really enjoy Zhuo Yichen’s decision to stay after casting a glance at Li Lun’s domineering presence.

I just think they’re very pretty, look at them.

Zhu Yan and Zhuo Yichen barely let Li Lun breathe. Attack after attack, and yet none of the blades directed at him hurt as much as the words that pierce his heart. Zhu Yan sets Li Lun on fire again—normal people things—and the last words Li Lun utters before forever losing the human form he developed are a desperate promise and a plea.

"You will kill him one day. Kill Zhao Yuanzhou."

(Quick off topic, I love how troubled Zhuo Yichen looks when he learns about Li Lun literally burning alive, lol) 

All those beautiful moments leading up to episode 23 shows us that Li Lun never wanted to kill or hurt Zhuo Yichen. He wanted Zhuo Yichen. As his companion in revenge against the one person who hurt them both.

Then episode 23 happens.

For happy shippers like myself, it literally starts with Wen Xiao losing her shit over Li Lun possessing Zhuo Yichen, with Li Lun's theme playing during Zhuo Yichen's entrance, and with Tian Jiarui speaking in the voice that Yan An is using for Li Lun. Truly a feast! But that’s not what we’re discussing here.

That damn fight, that damn sex scene.

The only way for me to describe it, it's so personal, and they don’t even know each other long enough to be personal. 

Li Lun promises to Zhuo Yichen while also taunting him, so annoyed by this loud human screaming for Bai Jiu. Makes sure Zhuo Yichen knows it’s him, Li Lun who is s pinning him down into the ground, towering over his body, topping him, with hand on his throat.  

"So noisy. Look closely. I'm not your Xiao Jiu. I'm Li Lun."

What the hell do I know about whether it was a spiteful remark, mirroring Zhuo Yichen’s promises, mocking him, provoking him, or if it was Li Lun’s cold and calm rage speaking, a grievance and pain within him, because this human he had been nothing but kind to dared to help Zhu Yan set him on fire again. Perhaps it was both; perhaps he meant it; perhaps he changed his mind later in the episode and refused to kill unconscious Zhuo Yichen, walking off and letting fate decide whether Zhuo Yichen lives. Perhaps he didn't, simply wanted Zhuo Yichen alive. (*turns him into a demon <3 bc fate can go and fuck itself i guess, Li Lun is fate.*)

The second Truth Eyes hit Zhuo Yichen’s, round, big, and determined eyes, he jumps Li Lun again like a rabid puppy, not a single fuck given about the simplest of truths that if he hurt’s Li Lun, he will hurt Xiao Jiu. 

I cannot lie here. Despite my heart ripping itself apart for Zhuo Yichen, when his dearest friend, his dearest light, his dearest Cloud Light Sword gets broken—over and over again on each rewatch—there’s something so satisfying about watching Li Lun take this fight more seriously than in any of their previous encounters.

It is a gesture of goodwill to keep Zhuo Yichen alive. All those times before. This time? He will show this human his place, and make his pants creamy.

Li Lun not only physically tortures Zhuo Yichen but also psychologically when he breaks Cloud Light Sword in half with needles Bai Jiu carries around (Wouldn’t it be fun if those needles remained from the time when Bai Jiu was supposed to seal Zhu Yan’s touch?)

They're so gorgeous, what the hell?

What a fun human to toy with.

My thoughts get way too explicit after this, and I genuinely can’t find any heterosexual explanation for this.

I see your vision, insane director.

Make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face.

I guess Li Lun likes to take Zhuo Yichen from behind.

and watch him struggle at the mercy of his hands as Zhuo Yichen desperately grabs onto them, while Li Lun is unable to resist looking at that unfairly pretty face, luxuriating in every change of emotion he chokes out of him. How beautiful Zhuo Yichen looks then, fighting for his and his dearest friend's life?

What sound does that divine statue make being knocked down, trampled, and trapped in dust? This desperate, fun human, will he get himself up? For his friend that believes in him, trusts him?

"Don't waste your effort. My inner core has been inside Bai Jiu's body for many days. My soul has already solidified, making it much stronger than Bai Jiu's. His soul is nothing but a weak ant compared to mine, which can be easily crushed by me."

I guess Li Lun, then, likes to turn all of Zhuo Yichen to look at his face, again; to have Zhuo Yichen look at him. So Zhuo Yichen comes knowing exactly who fucked him, or whatever Li Lun promised him earlier. 

Listen.

There's a BTS clip of that iconic shot: of Li Lun hiding from those big, round, unyielding, and unafraid eyes by covering Zhuo Yichen's face with his giant hand, eclipsing the light; of Zhuo Yichen biting him, we all know it. And all I can do is wildly gesture at it, at their hands, and rest my case here.

I love Zhuo Yichen and Bai Jiu both biting into the wood to free themselves too much to not mention it again. 

That hopeless wish to save Bai Jiu is the only thing that keeps encouraging Zhuo Yichen to fight against that demonic strength, that so very human body.

"Give Xiao Jiu back to me!"

"No. <3"

Humans and ants and divine statues are so amusing when they try to stand up as you crush them.

Letting Zhuo Yichen pierce his heart wasn’t even remotely part of Li Lun’s plans. What’s really fun to me here is disbelief and shock on both their faces. One offended, confused, and "How dare you kick Miette? Jail!"; the other confused, unwavering, hopeful. 

By episode 23, have surely learned two things that cannot be argued with:

If you bite Li Lun, he will bite harder.

Li Lun doesn't want Zhuo Yichen dead.

That punch in the throat made me audibly gasp the first time I watched this episode. Then I held my breath and released a relieved sigh. Li Lun was satisfied with simply toying with that awfully loyal and fascinating human. Perhaps all Li Lun ever wanted from that fight was a chance to touch that divine statue.

Obviously, I must remind you that the sex scene fight between Zhuo Yichen and Li Lun, unfolds as Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou share their own adorable almost-kiss scene, full of 300 years of yearning. Just saying, FoF is a perfect C-drama formula with a main couple and a second couple.

Cannot wait for insane director to make some bitter and hilarious references, much like how he ridiculed those supporting Gong Shangjue and Shangguan Qian by making a satire on them in Fangs of Fortune. But this time in Veil of Shadows.

GJM kicks his feet and giggles like Wang Xingyue as he makes Yan An and Tian Jiarui hold hands on the set of Veil of Shadows. His ship has sailed.

And so has mine.

Happy lunchen sex scene day, yay!

[sombredancer]

Asian dramas and Love tropes

There are my favorite characters and their love stories as a list. Enemies to lovers

Drama: Her Royal Highness/长公主在上 Characters: Gu Xuanqing x Li Yunzhen Screentime: Main A boy is sent to be a servant in the unruly princess`s palace in order to find some dirt about her and to help his master to overthrown her, but something goes wrong... The HE is attached.

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Li Chenlan x Lu ZhaoyaoScreentime: Main A leader of a demonic sect died trying to get demonic sword. Her soul returns to the world full of wish to get revenge on the current leader of her sect, who, as she thinks, killed her in the past. Found the way to be close to him, she learns that he wasn't the reason of her death and, moreover, desperately in love with her for many-many years. This is an adaptation of the novel "Ostentatious Zhaoyao", which I love more than a drama, but it's a good story in both variants. The HE is attached (although it`s a little bit obscure in the drama).

Drama: Till the End of the Moon/ 长月烬明Characters: Tantai Jin x Li Susu Screentime: Main A boy who is destined to become a Demon God and to destroy the World tries to fight his doom. In a process, he falls in love with a transmigrator, who was sent 500 years back in the past to prevent his transformation into a Demon God. The irony is,making him falling in love is the only way to kill him for good... It`s an adaptation of the novel "Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script", which I like way-way-way more than the drama, not the least because the drama has BE and the novel has HE. I just watched it as a visually beautiful fanfic to the novel.

Drama: Love Between Fairy and Devil /苍兰诀Characters: Dongfang Qingcang x Xiao Lanhua Screentime: Main My favorite drama of all times! Trying to save her love, a girl accidently falls into a secret prison for immortal criminals, revives the most fearsome demon of all times and heals his ability to feel. Later, forced to spend his time together with the girl from the enemy camp, the demon finds out that he actually likes her... The HE is attached. I wrote A LOT about them and made recap of the whole drama from the point of their relationship development in these posts: one, two, three, four, five and six.

Drama: My Journey to You /云之羽 Characters: Gong Shangjue x Shangguan Qian Screentime: Secondary In order to destroy the martial artist's clan, a female assassin was sent in there. While she is trying to seduce one of clan's young masters, he tries to expose her lies, but, eventually, falls in love with her. Unrequited. Maybe. This story has an open ending. My analysis of their relationship is here.

Drama: Butterflied lover /风月变Characters: Ling Changjin x Bao Zhu Screentime: Secondary A wicked nobleman marries a princess because of her miraculous blood: it`s able to bring his zombie sister back to life. The princess allows him to treat her bad because she has been in love with him for a long time and believes he is a good person. Bit by bit he starts believe in it himself and begins to cherish his wife more... The ending is obscure (in a traditional Chinese way).

Drama: The Blue Whisper /与君初相识Characters: Li Shu x Xue Sanyue Screentime: Minor A cat demon prince infiltrates the valley of demon hunters in order to set free the great demoness, but falls in love with one of demon hunters. Mutually. The ending is traditionally Chinese - they met again in another life. Т_Т

Drama: Immortal Samsara / 沉香如屑Characters: Xuan Ye x Ran Qing Screentime: Minor An Asura king infiltrates the Heavenly Realm in order to steal the artifact that can help him conquering the world. The keeper of this artefact is a brave and honest goddess and he can't help but fall in love with her. After, he needs to choose: to be with his lover or to rule the world. He wants all at once, but there is no way to get it all. No HE for this pair. Pride and Prejudice

Drama: Lighter and Princess / 点燃我Characters: Li Xun x Zhu Yun Screentime: Main A girl from a rich family with an anxious type of attachment falls in love with her classmate from a poor family with an avoidant type of attachment and tries to win his heart. It`s a problematic ship in a full meaning of these words and I like it this way. Yummy! The HE is attached.

Drama: Derailment /脱轨Characters: Qi Lian x Jiang Xiaoyuan Screentime: Main A boy accidently meets his school sweetheart after many years of radio silence and understands that something is wrong with her. It turns out that her body is occupied by a transmigrator from a parallel world. At first he hates transmigrator for replacing his lover, but bit by bit he learns, that a transmigrator has not only the same appearance but the same habits and way of thinking, and falls in love with this new personality again... The story ends with HE but not in a way that you may think it would.

Drama: The Love by Hypnotic /明月照我心 Characters: Li Qian x Li Mingyue Screentime: Main In order to build relationship between two countries an emperor arranges marriage for his son. His fiancée is from a barbaric tribe: she is good at horse riding and archery, but knows nothing about palace etiquette and ladies stuff. It`s a light and sweet story about finding a path to each other's heart. The HE is attached.

Drama: The Long Ballad /长歌行 Characters: Hao Du x Li Leyan Screentime: Secondary A tsundere of a low background with a poker face does his ruthless job in a court, that's why a young princess thinks he is an awful man and is scared of him. But in reality he is a loyal servant and son and, moreover, secretly in love with the princess, who can't stand him... The HE is attached.

Drama: Miss the Dragon /遇龙 Characters: Xue Qianxun x Qingqing Screentime: Secondary A very naïve bird demon girl accidently meets a tsundere god of netherworld and turns his well ordered life into havoc. He starts liking it, though. The HE is attached. Forbidden love

Drama: A Frozen Flower /쌍화점 Characters: Hong Rim x No Guk Screentime: Main A gay king needs a heir, so he forces his lover to conceive a child with a queen. In a process, a boy, who was groomed as a king's lover from his childhood, finds out that he likes women much more than men. A traditional Korean tragedy. Very beautiful and full of feelings, though. (No GIFs because they all would be erotic ones).

Drama: 100 Days My Prince /백일의 낭군님 Characters: Moo-yeon x Kim So-hye Screentime: Secondary An assassin who is working for a wicked court official is secretly in love with a wife of a crown prince, who happens to be a daughter of the killer of his parents. Forbidden love doubles! But it's mutual, unfortunately for him. It's a very beautiful and full of desperation and feelings story. No HE, we die like Koreans. More detailed story of their relationship is available here, here and here.

Drama: The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity/晴雅集Characters: He Shouye x Zhang Ping Screentime: Secondary A woman, who is destined to restrain the undying evil within her body for eternity in solitude, falls in love with Yin-Yang master. Her love is mutual, but her lover can't be with her forever, so he leaves with her his guardian demon to brighten her loneliness. Protecting her for ever starts being the only goal of demon's life... A tragedy, but a beautiful one.

Drama: The Legends/招摇Characters: Gu Hanguang x Shen Qianjin Screentime: Minor "The Legends" once more! The main doctor of a demonic sect is in love with a leader of a righteous sect. A girl is not allowed to love anyone, otherwise she will suffer from the poison, so he anonymously sends her packages of medicinal herbs. She is curious about anonymous sender, too. But nothing can be kept in secret forever... Unfortunately, no HE for these two. In the novel he is safe and sound, but he has no love plotline at all. So is a price of love Т_Т.

I will talk about my other favorite characters and tropes in the next post.

Also you can see: Enemies to Rivals/Lovers recipe Asian dramas and relationship dynamics (Pt. 1) Asian dramas and relationship dynamics (Pt. 2) Asian dramas and my favorite types of characters