#long time no dmbj

[extraordinarilyextreme]

When Hei Xiazi met Xie Yuchen… I think the logic is very simple. The answer that resides in their hearts is the same; for many things, they have the same answer. Hei Xiazi might use his long life and many experiences to achieve his final conclusion, whereas Xie Yuchen uses his own intelligence and reasoning to reach a final conclusion. This answer [that they come up with] is in a different direction; it’s not the same as what Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling, or Pangzi, might come up with. This answer is one in which only the two of them know; in fact, this answer is one in which only they can understand. The roads of the past cannot be chosen; Xie Yuchen has no way of [going back and] choosing the path that Wu Xie has taken. He has already walked onto the path that he must continue on. The answer on this path is the same as the path that Hei Yanjing originally chose [to walk on]—the final conclusion is shared. So that’s the reason why these two have a resonance within the whole story.

from NPSS's 20200817 Livestream (HeiHua Clip here)

old translation: any mistakes are my own.

[wangmiao]

An Incomplete History of Zhang Luyi & Chen Minghao's Friendship

Do you like Pangxie's chemistry in Tibetan Sea Flower? Do you feel that they are really old friends? Besides the fact that Zhang Luyi and Chen Minghao are very good actors, they are indeed old friends, and the earliest record that I can find of them working together dates back to 2006. However, CMH was in the 1996 class of acting at the The Central Academy of Drama, while ZLY was in the 1999 class of directing at the same university, so I figured they definitely got to know each other before 2006. So more or less, on Chinese social media, people usually assume that they've been friends for almost 20 years.

Before I dig into the history, I want to mention that some Pangxie scenes are actually improvised by ZLY and CMH on set. CHM has played Pangzi several times, and is insanely good at it, so he knows about Pangzi and the character dynamics inside out. While ZLY is new to the DMBJ universe, he did read all the DMBJ novels before the filming of Tibetan Sea Flower, so he has very insightful understanding of the characters and relationship dynamics as well.

For example, according to an interview of the director, this iconic & funny "拜��/new year's greeting" scene in episode 6 was improvised, and the director just decided to keep it in the final cut. In a BTS footage, Pangxie putting peanuts on Feng's very wrinkled test paper in episode 9 was also shown to be something that ZLY and CMH came up with during rehearsing.

The History

In the first paragraph, I mentioned that they went to the same undergraduate university. Another thing that connects them even more is that they went to the same graduate school - Peking University's School of Arts, and both have the master's degree in arts. ZLY fans sometimes just endearingly call CMH “师哥/shige" because of all of this.

In 2006, ZLY and CMH were in the stage play 琥珀/Amber. Here are some rare photos of 26-year old ZLY and 31 year old CMH LOL:

Both of them continued to do a lot of theatre works, some tv/film roles, and also attended grad school in the coming years. ZLY got his breakthrough leading role in 2014, and started to lead in shows/films.

In 2016, ZLY and South Korean actor Jang Hyuk starred in the drama 新海/New Sea, and CMH was seen sharing the following scene with ZLY. Unfortunately, due to China's ban on South Korean entertainment content in the same year, this drama will probably never see the light of day.

Then, I think some of you already know this, in late 2016, CMH directed the stage play Big D, and ZLY was his lead actor in this play. According to different news articles, the tickets of this play were sold out in either 5, 7, or 8 minutes (LOL no idea why there were such discrepancies, but they were sold out within 10 minutes for sure).

In 2018, they appeared in The Sound which is a very good variety show about dubbing. Celebrities were asked to dub domestic and international shows/films (sometimes in both Chinese and English) to show case their voice acting skills and language skills. What's really funny is that ZLY is one of the typical introverts who can be a clown when he's surrounded by people he's familiar with, but once you put him in an unfamiliar environment, he gets nervous and shy. So after he and CMH entered the room together, he just naturally and subconsciously stood right beside CMH, the one he was most comfortable with, even though he was supposed to team up with another actress (who was off screen). He got really confused for a minute when all the other guests and hosts were questioning why he didn't stand beside his teammate LOL.

Both ZLY and CMH are really very low key actors in c-ent, so you don't see them in public events a lot. The last time that they were spotted chatting in public was during the premiere of the movie Under the Light last September.

Anyways, thanks for reading! I hope this can bring some insight into their friendship. You can tell they are just so comfortable with each other, and shooting Tibetan Sea Flower seemed to be such a fun experience for them. I hope they get to work together again soon in the future!

Edit: if you noticed my tags and saw the reply of someone requesting to know why ZLY was picked as Wu Xie: I made a long post here.

[lotusflowerbreakingthesurface]

[𝐏𝐗 𝐅𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐜 𝟏𝟑𝟗] 山鬼不识字，西风不解情 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐲_𝐇𝐮𝐚𝐧

✧ 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Mountain Ghosts Cannot Read, and the West Wind Does Not Understand Love

✧ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: Zhang Qiling/Wu Xie

✧ 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞: PingXie (unverified)

✧ 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Not Rated (No 🚗)

✧ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Complete

✧ 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Chinese

✧ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 35,208

✧ 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: AU Setting—Ancient Style/Xianxia, Time Travel (alternate between ancient and modern setting)

✧ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜: Third Person POV, mildly references to the Main Story: The Zhang Family Ancient Building, Light Angst, Slight Mystery, Zhang Family Appearance

✧ 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲/𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜:

“I sent a love letter to the mountain ghost and told my feelings to the west wind,

but the mountain ghost could not read and the west wind could not understand my feelings.” (-mtl)

Wu Xie found an ancient artifact in his recent investigation. The information on this Ghost Seal led him to Changbai Mountain. There he met the Crown Prince of the Qilin Country, Zhang Qiling, who was supposed to die two thousand years ago.

✧ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧:

This fic has an interesting premise and the plot twist is a bit sad but very touching (´｡• ◡ •｡`) ♡ Even though, their interaction is a little bit cliche in the middle and Wu Xie is a little bit greedy here lol, overall is good :)

✧ 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: AO3

[pangzi]

I also think Hei Xiazi should carve Pangzi a beaded bracelet. He spends days maybe even weeks working on it. Choosing the right kind of wood and getting the beads just right. Maybe a few of them have some really intricate details carved into them as well. When Pangzi asks where he found such a bracelet, compliments the incredible craftsmanship, mentions how it must’ve cost a fortune. Hei Xiazi just shrugs it off, says he found it at some old man’s shop for cheap in some small village.

[thatlittlemouse]

There's a certain wistfulness and melancholy to yucun biji that just hits me really hard whenever passages like this happen

There's no big plot or mystery to keep you guessing, but it never feels boring. It can be both light and heavy, it can have silly bits and shenanigans or become introspective and contemplative; you know the characters and what they've been through so it's really nice to see them take a well deserved rest, heal and learn to enjoy the little things in life. It's a precious book that I enjoyed a lot ❤️

[lunanoc]

the more i read through the early dmbj books with the hindsight of things that are unveiled as far down the line as queen's banquet the more i'm floored by the sheer amount of details that have been there from the start explaining and tying everything together so seamlessly

w h a t

[katamaricule]

What is dmbj? I've googled it but idk if it's one of those 'I love it and recommend it' shows or a 'I love it - pls never watch it <3' kinda show yk lol

Is there an answer somewhere in the middle? Because that's where it should go.

DMBJ is a franchise based on a set of novels by an author we'll call NPSS. These are mostly first-person tales narrated by a spoiled little dipshit named Wu Xie, as he and his friends go on tomb-raiding adventures, encounter supernatural obstacles, and learn about all the ways snakes don't work. The series has several giant holes in it, as NPSS tends to get bored and wander off mid-story. Several dramas and movies have tried to adapt various pieces of this gap-ridden, wholly unresolved saga, to varying degrees of success.

So to answer your question: There are installments of DMBJ that are a hoot that you should watch, and then there are installments of DMBJ that are also a hoot but you shouldn't watch before you have an affection for the franchise as a whole, and then there are installments of DMBJ that you should not watch even if you are a fan of the franchise because they are just not worth your time.

The problem is, not everybody agrees on what goes in which category. But if you're interested and want to give it a go, these are my personal takes on what's what, in chronological order of events as they happen in the series:

The Mystic Nine

Good starting place: Yeah, actually!

Requires prior knowledge: Nope

Actual ending: No resolution whatsoever

Wu Xie: He's not in this one

Best part: Charming characters you love or love to hate

Warning: Very cheaply produced, with cuts that render significant parts of the story incoherent

Worth watching: Yes, if you're willing to accept the jankiness

The Lost Tomb

Good starting place: Weirdly, no, considering that it's the first series they made

Requires prior knowledge: Not really

Actual ending: Oh, heavens no

Wu Xie: Cardboard twerp, kinda cute

Best part: There's ... some antics, I guess?

Warning: Makes some bizarre additions, condenses several books, just ... isn't very good

Worth watching: Not especially

The Lost Tomb 2

Good starting place: You could do worse

Requires prior knowledge: Some, but who knows if it helps?

Actual ending: Ha ha ha you're funny

Wu Xie: Breathtaking idiot twink street-parking a Maserati

Best part: Wu Xie and Pangzi are in love

Warning: Interminable bronze tree plotline, incomprehensible timeline especially at the ending

Worth watching: Sure, but bring a book for the long stretches

The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note

Good starting place: It doesn't matter, because you're not going to watch this one

Requires prior knowledge: It can't save you

Actual ending: Nothing of the sort

Wu Xie: Shove that whiny nerd in a locker

Best part: There is no best part

Warning: Don't do this to yourself

Worth watching: What do you think

Ultimate Note

Good starting place: It seems like no at first, but it actually is!

Requires prior knowledge: It helps, but you can get by without it

Actual ending: Complete cliffhanger

Wu Xie: Precious muffin

Best part: Everyone is so cute, also heihua

Warning: Tonally way goofier than the other series

Worth watching: Yes! This one's so fun

Tomb of the Sea/Sand Sea

Good starting place: If you like things on Hard Mode

Requires prior knowledge: The main character doesn't have any, so why should you?

Actual ending: It thinks it does, but it's stupid and slapdash and leaves a million loose ends

Wu Xie: Mafia widow (also he's not the main character)

Best part: Seeing from the outside how fucked-up the whole Tomb Raiding Industrial Complex is

Warning: A hot mess, but occasionally a beautiful one

Worth watching: Yes, but maybe save it for later

Reunion: The Sound of the Providence

Good starting place: Shockingly, yes

Requires prior knowledge: No, though it recontextualizes everything once you know more

Actual ending: Yes! Holy shit! We got an ending here!

Wu Xie: Consumptive angel with a gun

Best part: Some truly impressive performances from Actual Actors, Wu Xie and Pangzi are married

Warning: Honestly, just watch this one first so you don't know what you're missing, because once you do, you can't unsee it

Worth watching: Definitely

I hope that ... helps? Or at least doesn't make your confusion worse?

[sunriseverse]

1. i’m so fucking glad you added this gif because it’s literally one of the biggest examples of what i was talking about and it makes me unhinged.

2. pardon me doing analysis on this scene but the whole exchange is thus:

hxz: 你真的变了很多。(you’ve truly changed a lot.)

wx: 你觉得你还和以前一样吗？有的时候我都会怀疑你是不是姓张。(do you think you’re still the same as in the past? sometimes i suspect your surname is zhang.)

hxz: 姓张的都不会痛。我不管怎么说，还会是痛一痛。(the zhang all don’t feel pain. no matter how you say it, i still feel pain.)

wx: 那我不如你。我的心早就不会痛了。(then you’re better than me. my heart stopped feeling pain long ago.)

the thing here that specifically get me every fucking time is that hei xiazi specifically says wu xie has changed—noticeably, in a way that’s very unlike who he is. he doesn’t say that wu xie is different from before (跟以前不一样), he says specifically 变了, which implies something happened to precipitate this change, and it’s not a normal course of life. wu xie’s response is also heart wrenching, because to me it feels like he’s trying to deflect, but that’s less important to me than his final line—specifically, he says 我的心, my heart—which would be perfectly normal if hei xiazi had mentioned hearts, since that’s the traditional centre of emotion, but he didn’t. that’s something wu xie adds—he specifically says his heart has not been able to hurt since a long time before (早就不会痛了). if you’re just watching sha hai, you get hints that something happened in the past, that wu xie used to be very different—from wang meng talking about how wu xie used to be when the iron triangle was whole, most notably, but once you branch out from sha hai and learn what actually happened, it’s impossible to not connect his change to xiaoge’s absence, and what he chose to do for wu xie—impossible to deny that he reacted this way because of xiaoge leaving, and this scene specifically is one of the most compelling pieces of evidence we get from sha hai, i think. it says that wu xie is grieving xiaoge, that he loved him, still loves him—so much that xiaoge’s absence has changed him, and made his heart unable to hurt anymore. i know that dmbj is not a danmei series, and its adaptations aren’t dangai either—but things like this make it impossible for me to believe that pingxie as a relationship is not one based in deep, deep love—the sort of love that is so all-consuming, wu xie was willing to destroy the man who he was to try and get xiaoge back and ensure he never had to go behind the bronze gate again.

genuinely xg as a lacunae in the narrative of sh. makes me fucking insane. he’s not there. he’s so not there that it’s obvious that he should be there and the wound of his absence is aching and bloodied. the narrative is not about him but in its avoidance of him it is centred around him. wx loves him and misses him so damn much he can’t even say his name and that silence paints the picture of the man who isn’t there. do you fucking understand me. hello.

[lunarriviera]

the huo daofu round-up post i have been threatening for a really long time now

Thinking about this man, I was just admitting to chat "honestly cannot believe how much life energy i have invested in such a minor character" but the truth of the matter is, I was mildly obsessed with Huo Daofu from Reboot alone; his odd unresolved backstory in Sha Hai just cemented my mental formation. Because let's be real, in a world of overly earnest tomb raiders, this man is a goddamn catty delight. The dainty bitterness! The barely concealed eye-rolling! So many impeccable That Bitch vibes. And his unimpressed snark is honestly such a refreshing antidote to Wu Xie's whole everyone-loves-him Marty Sue thing that even when you discover Huo Daofu secretly ALSO loves him, you don't mind, because by that point Dr. Youtiao is a savage queen who can do no wrong.

And He Longlong clearly made this guy up. In the novels he's just sort of a vaguely beardy guy who drives a truck, that's literally all I remember him ever doing. But someone cast this man, and they gave him some rubber bands and pizza coupons and chewed gum of a script to work with, and he promptly decided: I will make him extremely gay. And staggeringly bitchy. AND IT WORKS. He devours every frame he's in, he steals every scene. It's a performance worthy of Alan Rickman and yes I will die upon this hill.

We all know the bitchy-ex-boyfriend scenes in Reboot—"oh my god I literally can't wait for you to perish from lungs" and then Huo Daofu spends like every moment trying to keep Wu Xie alive, sheltering him uselessly from the rain with his hand, rubbing his back when he coughs, looking (when no one's watching but the camera) like he's maybe going to stop breathing himself, when Wu Xie does.

Apparently Huo Daofu's name sounds very silly in Chinese which I think is appropriate for someone who apparently (?) grew up in Germany (?) and went to the University of Heidelberg (?) (honestly don't waste time trying to figure out DMBJ canon, NPSS has thoughtfully ensured that will only be exhausting and futile). Spurious medical qualifications aside, he's super handy in fanfic, too, when you need a sketchy doctor, as all tomb-raiding mob families invariably do.

[someone once pointed out to me that this combination of degree topics basically translates into "how to dispose of bodies"]

I could also hold forth on him and Yang Hao—like, Su Wan alone makes it REAL clear that Huo Daofu's interest in the kid isn't just avuncular or entrepreneurial:

"Are you working for him, or are you working for him?" And Su Wan should be protective, because Yang Hao is honestly kind of an idiot, and probably doesn't realize he's being assiduously groomed not just as a mob boss but as a potential boy toy. (NB by the way that there are 44 fics in the Huo Daofu/Yang Hao tag, and disappointingly, not a single one of them is in English. Western fandom needs Jesus.)

But the thing is, Huo Daofu SAVES his ass in Gutongjing. Everyone forgets that. There's easily half a dozen times where he grabs Yang Hao's shoulder and hauls him back from danger. And Huo Daofu is the one Jiumen member smart enough to get out ahead of disaster, and to take Yang Hao with him. Here he is looking fabulous in a completely unnecessary but dramatic scarf.

And, at the end, he lets Yang Hao go. Because he's secretly decent.

Sure, he has some vaguely sketchy take-over-the-Huos plans, plans that clearly go awry at some point no matter how dramatically and villainously he makes tea. Sure, he exudes a scurrilous sort of evil. But he's COMPELLING and that's all I care about. Look at his pretty little face here, sourly plotting things, in a windowpane-checked suit which should be ridiculous but just winds up looking snazzy as fuck compared to the rest of the Jiumen. This is a man who understands the value of a pocket square. Thank you so much, He Longlong, we didn't deserve you putting your entire snatch into this very minor performance but some of us are extremely grateful.

So here are seven ficrecs, with a podfic and a meta from AO3. Please let me know if I should add anything (Tumblr meta?)—this post WILL be updated, because I have too much time on my hands and care unreasonably about the mean-spirited little bastard.

‡

Remember how this used to be (3569 words) by achray Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Huo Daofu/Wu Xie (DMBJ Series) Characters: Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series), Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Angst, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Background Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie being a gremlin, Canon-typical references to illness Summary:

“That wasn’t a no,” Wu Xie said, his smile widening. “I thought you still wanted me.”

Notes: How is this both hot and sad? I don't know, that's the magic of fanfiction. This was the first Wu Xie/Huo Daofu fic I ever read and frankly the genre needs more entries, but this is a good one.

‡

the rime dictionary of Wu Xie (7433 words) by scherzanda Chapters: 6/6 Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling, Wang Pangzi/Ye Piaopiao, Wang Pangzi & Wu Xie & Zhang Qiling Characters: Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi, Zhang Qiling, Ye Piaopiao, Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series), Xiao Mei, Wu Erbai, Li Jiale (DMBJ Series) Additional Tags: Piaopiao lives, Post-Canon, Canon Flashbacks, canonical illness, fun with the common cold, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Handwaved SI Recovery, Canon-typical Ershu Infodump, Quasi-History-Compliant, Yuletide Treat Summary:

This is why (even now) Wu Xie shouldn’t be let out alone—one trip out to the provinces, and he comes home with a bad cold and an unsolved mystery.

Notes: this is one of my very favorite Huo Daofu writers and here's why—read this little excerpt. The angst. The PAIN. Wu Xie absolutely broke this man's heart at some point and honestly Huo Daofu is really only himself if he's suffering, love that for him:

“Easy,” he said, when Wu Xie couldn’t seem to stop coughing. “Here—” and reached for the rest of the tea, except that it wasn’t on the table any longer.

Zhang Qiling was holding the mug; he had somehow gone around to the other side of the bed, moving in that flowing now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t way that never seemed quite human, to sit down cross-legged on the bed by Wu Xie so that their shoulders touched. Huo Daofu snatched his hand away from Wu Xie’s back as if an electrical current might flow through the double contact.

“Wu Xie,” Zhang Qiling said, and then something else so quiet it was inaudible, holding the tea so Wu Xie could drink.

Looking at the open tenderness on that remote, beautiful face, utterly focused on Wu Xie, made Huo Daofu feel as if his flesh was trying to part ways with his bones. It was a pain his medical texts didn’t have a word for, deeper and more primitive than jealousy or resentment.

Wu Xie, getting his breath back, looked sideways at him with one of those sudden grins. “Sorry, Xiao Huo. You’re still out of luck when it comes to watching me die. Maybe next time.”

Huo Daofu’s voice would not quite leave his throat. Instead, Xiao Mei said crossly “Tianzhen-shu, that’s dumb.” Most of her attention was still on her phone screen. “Why would Dr. Huo want to watch you die.”

Wu Xie looked at him, still smiling.

“It’s a long story,” said Huo Daofu, “and it doesn’t matter now.”

‡

even through hesitation (10407 words) by naiwong_bao Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV), 沙海 | Tomb of the Sea (TV), 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Huo Daofu & Huo Xiuxiu, Hei Xia Zi/Huo Xiuxiu/Xie Yuchen Characters: Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series), Huo Xiuxiu, Yang Hao (DMBJ Series), Hei Xia Zi (DMBJ Series), Xie Yuchen, Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi Additional Tags: Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Character Study, Alternate Universe - Fantasy Series: Part 3 of this is where we live Summary:

He’s a boy so Huo Daofu knows from the beginning that there are no expectations for him, he can do as he likes. So he plays, he cries, he does what children do.

Then his parents die.

No one wants him, no one has time for him, so his family sends him to Germany for school. It’ll be a good opportunity, his family says. He can do whatever he wants, be free of the family business, they’ll take care of him over there. He doesn’t want to go, he doesn't know who they are, but he doesn’t get a say.

So he goes to Germany where the language is strange, the food is strange, the people are strange, and he wants to go home so badly that his teeth ache.

Huo Daofu builds a life for himself, but at the first sign of trouble, years and years and years later, he rents out his apartment to an acquaintance, and flies home.

But.

The language is strange, he doesn’t know the slang, the food is strange, the people are strange.

His family is cold and he still doesn’t get a say. --- Huo Daofu between the end of Tomb of the Sea and when he reappears in Reboot. AKA Huo Daofu learns to care a little.

‡

The Mark of a Man (2279 words) by JhanaMay Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 沙海 | Tomb of the Sea (TV), 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Huo Daofu & Yang Hao (DMBJ Series) Characters: Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series), Yang Hao (DMBJ Series) Additional Tags: Loneliness, Found Family even when it makes you want to scream, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Huo Daofu is a mediocre role model Series: Part 8 of The Art of Conversation, Part 7 of The Art of Conversation Side Stories Summary:

When Huo Daofu inducted Yang Hao into the Huo family business, he wasn't expecting to become the boy's de facto babysitter.

Notes: a poignant little vignette in which Huo Daofu has a heart.

‡

[META] Huo Daofu's Youtiao Stand (739 words) by Thimblerig Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei, 沙海 | Tomb of the Sea (TV), 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Huo Daofu & Huo Xiuxiu, Huo Daofu & Wu Xie (DMBJ Series) Characters: Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series) Additional Tags: Meta, Worldbuilding, Huo Daofu's Delicious Fried Snacks Series: Part 2 of DMBJ Meta Summary:

Huo Daofu is a supporting character in Sand Sea. Ambitious, wily, hungry, he’s far from one of the main villains of the story but he’s not nice, either. By the end of Sand Sea Huo Daofu has exploited the chaos caused by the ill-founded expedition to Gutongjing to take over various of the Huo Family operations.

When he appears in Reboot: Sound of Providence, he is a purveyor of delicious fried bread snacks. He’s clearly not hurting for money, so why…?

Notes: this is one of my favorite little HDF explorations, theorizing that Huo Xiuxiu busted him down a rank, and I think that's beautiful.

‡

starting in darkness, like a pure line of light (10167 words) by scherzanda Chapters: 5/5 Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Huo Daofu/Bai Haotian, Bai Haotian & Wu Xie, Liu Sang & Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Bai Haotian & Liu Sang Characters: Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series), Bai Haotian, Liu Sang (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi, Zhang Qiling Additional Tags: background pingxie, background Iron Triangle, past Wu Xie/Huo Daofu, Post-Canon, hurt/sarcasm, Fade to Black, Dialogue Heavy, meta-adjacent, Self-Indulgent Use of Chinese, Emotional Hurt/Comfort Summary:

Some emotional loose ends are never going to be tied up, but at least they can be recognized and shared. Or, a selection of the worst best only ways to comfort one another in the aftermath.

Notes: absolutely nothing makes me, a Huo Daofu stan, happier than scherzanda's fics featuring him. You would think this is an odd pairing, but it's really not—the two people who love Wu Xie most and are left behind by him? They have so much in common. Also, this fic has a podfic!

[PODFIC] starting in darkness, like a pure line of light, by scherzanda (701 words) by Thimblerig Chapters: 3/3 Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV), 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Huo Daofu/Bai Haotian, Bai Haotian & Wu Xie, Liu Sang & Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Bai Haotian & Liu Sang Characters: Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Huò Dàofū, Bai Haotian, Liu Sang (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi, Zhang Qiling Additional Tags: background pingxie, background Iron Triangle, past Wu Xie/Huo Daofu, Post-Canon, hurt/sarcasm, Fade to Black, Dialogue Heavy, Meta Adjacent, Self-Indulgent Use of Chinese, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Podfic, podficcer not a native chinese-speaker but is doing her best, Podfic Length: 1-1.5 Hours

‡

do the work, love the work (1616 words) by scherzanda Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series), Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi, Zhang Qiling, Liu Sang (DMBJ Series), Bai Haotian, Wu Erbai Additional Tags: Mid-Canon, Missing Scene, Character Study, Post-Canon, Yuletide Treat Summary:

It doesn't always look that way, but Huo Daofu is doing his best.

Notes: once again I just have to excerpt, so you'll GET IT:

The train had nearly reached Hangzhou by the time Wu Xie spoke to him beyond the commonplace. He was still sitting in the corridor, staring dreamily at the growing suburbs, while Zhang Qiling gave Wang Pangzi a hand in the cabin. He looked up as Huo Daofu came back from the hot water dispenser. “Xiao Huo, xinkule. Sorry you never got that chance to watch me die, eh?”

Huo Daofu closed his eyes and looked away from Wu Xie’s smile, unshadowed now with death, brilliant and painful. “I’m sorry too,” he said, eyes still closed, and did not say any of the things he was sorry for.

‡

not only the sugar, but the days (3000 words) by A Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV), 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bai Haotian/Huo Daofu Characters: Huo Daofu (DMBJ Series), Bai Haotian Additional Tags: Mentions of Death, Healing, Getting Together, Youtiao as a Metaphor, Also Actual Youtiao Summary:

His gaze meets Bai Haotian's, who's trying so hard to keep it together, and he knows that Wu Xie will break her heart when he dies, and it won't even be his fault. He never fucking means to.

Notes: another recent entry in the HDF/Bai Haotian post-canon and I love it unreasonably. They both love Wu Xie SO MUCH and it's just taking them OUT. Their subsequent connection is natural and it's funny as hell, the author loves them both and it shows:

"Are you really sure?" Bai Haotian says softly, and Huo Daofu looks up.

"What?"

"About the week."

"At best," he says, then winces. Fuck it. "It'll be three days," he says, loud enough to carry through the bedroom door, "if he keeps pulling these stunts!" There's a muffled noise and some very clear profanity from Pangzi, which Huo Daofu ignores. "See if I care!" he adds, but it's just not the same without Wu Xie there to grin at him, unrepentant.

He can feel Bai Haotian's hand covering his own, just loosely, where it's half curled into a fist against his thigh. He turns his head. The look she gives him is so full of unquestioning kindness, of understanding, he almost has to close his eyes against it.

"I'm sure," he says quietly, not really looking at her. "But he's proven me wrong before."

He can see her nod as she takes that in, and then they just sit there in silence, her hand over his, not moving.

‡

In conclusion, just because I can, from some of my favorite posts:

[ohyka]

[jeong-guwon]

[januaryisnotanartist]

Please also do not fail to check out the magnificent Dr Mal Practice post, as well as "it's not his fucking birthday" and "I'll fucking do it but christ alive." These users truly understand the essence of Huo Daofu.

PS also don't sleep on Huo Daofu and Liu Sang having a fabulous bitch-off in Hua Mei, a Sha Hai side story ft. haunted Wushanju. Another side story, Ran Gu, also has a swooning Kan Jian. Quality entertainment!

[forerussake]

Many-Coated Mayhem #3

In the wake of coat post #1 and #2 I promised I had more still, and I do, because lo and behold: Wu Xie is not the only one in TSF who wears nice coats. There are SO MANY nice coats in this show. Here's some of my personal favourites:

Coat 24

I've mentioned her before! One of the most glorious coats in this many-coated show: Pangzi's floofy, leather-and-fur wintercoat. He starts wearing this at the Retreat in episode 9, and he wears it for some time after that.

It's beautiful and amazing and gorgeous and it looks spectacular on him, and I WANT IT. (Or maybe I just want him to hug me?)

Coat 25

This is the robey coaty situation Xiaoge wears in the flashbacks of him visiting the Yinshaluo Shrine in episodes 20-21. It has furr lining the hood, and nice patches on the elbows and a red belt/sash to secure it around his waist.

It looks soft in a way his modern-day attire rarely does and it's an allround LOOK. Especially when paired with his fingerless gloves.

Coat 26

It's Yinshaluo and Second Bronze Door trip winter coat time!

First up: Zhang Haike. I grabbed this shot from episode 31, when he goes to the Spiritual Retreat to take on the position of Deren, because most of the other scenes it appears in were either too dark, too muted in colour, too snowy, or too fast-paced to get a decent screenshot at 720p, and maybe also because I only decided to include it at all when I realized by the end that I had nothing yet for ZHK for this post and I thought that was a little bit sad. He does have nice fashion, but rarely did this show allow me to screenshot it.

Anyway, it's grey and darker grey, and it's exactly the kind of coat you'd expect this brooding old man to wear on his secret missions into the mountains.

Coat 27

Zhang Haixing's white wintercoat! It's a white wintercoat. It looks good on her. She's ready to go skiing with the girls. Idk what else to say about it. It has furr and pockets!

She manages to keep it clean for a surprisingly long time... until she doesn't anymore.

Coat 28

THE MOMENT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! It's Feng's incredibly in character and on point bright orange wintercoat. Just look at it, isn't it amazing? (See also ZHK in the only other clear shot I managed to get of his grey coat.)

Anyway, Feng's fashion sense has been on point for the whole show, and he proves it again by pairing this orange monstrosity with a babyblue jumpsuit, which you can see here as he is standing there thinking 'well, damn, if it isn't the consequences to my own actions...' Can you tell I have come to love him deeply as the show went on?

Feng is also clearly the only person in this godforsaken party who wants to be saved should an avalanche occur, wearing a bright colour that will not camouflage him right into the backdrop of the mountain, a strategy that is almost undone in the first episode that all of these coats appear in, when they collectively decide to take them all off.

So, kids, what have we learned from episode 21? Keep your plot-relevant coats on!

Coat 29

This is baby!Zhang Haixing's incredible blue trenchcoat. She wears this in the sad flashback in episode 27.

Look, I don't have anything to say about this other than OMG LOOK AT HER SHE IS SO PRETTY. It deserves to be said okay.

"Coat" 30

Speaking of pretty, remember how I said I love Feng? Because I love him. He is ridiculous, a surprisingly compelling character despite also being this DMBJ installment's #1 resident white guy, and a walking model. Which brings me to: his blue robes from episode 28 at the Yinshaluo village.

"But Eru," you say, "none of these shots actually show his outfit." And yeah, I couldn't get a good shot of it, sorry, but it looks good okay. Trust me. These pictures of him being stupidly pretty and apparently a horse-whisperer will just have to suffice.

Coat 31

This is ridiculous leather coat Zhang Haixing wears when she goes to visit her big brother at the Spiritual Retreat in episode 31.

This monstrosity with its straps and lines and incredibly not functional off-the-shoulder slab of furr should not be allowed to look good on anyone and yet somehow she makes it work. Kudos ma'am. Also I am so sorry that your brother didn't hug you. He should've fucking hugged you, the absolute bastard. You deserved that much from him. Alas it wasn't meant to be.

Coat 32

Now we are getting towards the end. I've shown you in coat post #1 what Wu Xie wears on the trip to Yucun in episode 32. Now it's Pangzi's turn:

He wears something that is maybe technically also a shirt, but it's got a green pattern and I don't care I just wanted you to see him once more. Look at him. Isn't your heart healed now? I thought as much.

Coat 33

Xiaoge's Blue Coat™️ Is it really THE blue coat? Is this the one Wu Xie nabs off the statue and wears in a thematically meaningful way for a couple episodes? Is it THE blue coat returned to its rightful owner??? I don't know. The show doesn't allow me to look at it too closely. But it may well be.

I'm choosing to interpret it as such. If you want a closer look: see the final screenshot in this post, and decide for yourself.

Coat 34

Another Xiaoge coat. This the black one he wears on the mountain hike where they find the fisherman, and also when he steals a chicken from their poor neighbour. Oopsie.

Is it a coat? Is it a vest? Does it really matter? He looks soft and warm and happy, and isn't that all we ever wanted for him? The black is a nice return to his roots, though I personally have LOVED the visual shift to blue as his primary coat colour since Reboot came out.

I know for a fact he wears multiple different blue coats during the show, and maybe one day I will piece together another post in which I try to figure out how many different blue Xiaoge coats show up in this show.

For now though, I am leaving you with the Iron Triangle in Yucun, alive and happy and together. Who knows what (coats) the future still has in stall for them? (Sssst, don't tell them yet.)

[qilingxiong]

first time spending new year's alone and uhhhhh we could be doing better over here, so listing some stuff i did in 2024 that was either an accomplishment for me or something that i enjoyed:

read (one volume of) a novel in simplified chinese! and started reading another novel in traditional chinese that i'm now halfway through. pretty good for roughly four years of chinese learning i think

got to travel outside the country again for the first time since the pandemic started, by going to hong kong and got to see a friend across the world (and i'm doing it again next year!!!)

switched my degree minor to asian studies so i can make the most of my current interests and available topics to study

went to my first con!!!! not the largest one by any means, but that was probably a good thing in the long run. cosplayed and amazingly ran into other dmbj cosplayers while i was at it too

picked up a new/long-set down hobby (archery!!!) and i'm excited to continue it into the new year

wrote some words. definitely not as much fic as in previous years but i'm being so brave and patient with myself about it

finally managed to talk to a psychologist about adhd-related things. we'll see how the assessment goes in the new year

[bean-in-dice]

P's Top 5 Favorite DMBJ Edits to Make

This is my baby. The timing and the clips and everything matched so beautifully with the lyrics and the thumbnail came out nicely too. Only gripe is that back then I didn't know how to make the lyrics fade so they appear bit too bluntly.

2. This one is slow and not very... uh interesting at first but I feel like it's hilarious in a very unassuming way. I had fun matching similar scenes from Ultimate Note and Grave in the Abyss, and I think the lyrics font and the size is very fitting for its overall vibe too.

3. I conceived this idea since D1 I saw the first trailer for ZHH, though this song actually has a completely different meaning, on a literal level it's so fitting for PIngxie in this era. I barely could wait for the show to start airing and when it finally did, I made the edit as the show went on, collecting material as I go. I just knew it will work even without having finished the show.

4. This one uh... it didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to BUT it was very difficult to make, the track wasn't easy to time to nor was sourcing all the bell and bell-adjacent Zanghaihua scenes. Plus it's an improvement from the TLT2 and TLT 2.5 Lighting Effects edit I made months ago.

5. The newest baby!! Making this made me realise just how SOFT Reboot Pingxie are, I didn't realise it for a long time and thought Xiaoge appeared too sparsely in it and had other complaints. Now I've seen the light! Credit goes to my shifu @missfangirll for her numerous lovely and inspiring Reboot edits, shoutout to Where Do Lovers Go? 💕

[wangmiao]

also another lead is played by li naiwen. he played the right hand man to both zly and yhw's characters before...that's such a bonus point to me LOL...i actually just saw an old zly interview the other day with zly and him in it. the host asked what zly's blood type was, and zly didn't know what to say xD...then li naiwen went "he didn't know, and he was too shy to go test for his blood type" LOLLOLLOL...you definitely need a costar who can save you from awkward silence lol...

Fuck yes!!! Qin Hao & Chen Minghao's crime drama The Lonely Warrior starts airing today!!! It's a part of Iqiyi's Light On Series.

[lotusflowerbreakingthesurface]

𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐗𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐬 𝟏𝟎𝟔-𝟏𝟎𝟗:

𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝑷𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒚 槐安国师/槐安鸽师/𝑯𝑨𝑮𝑺

Happy Lunar New Year 2024!! 🎊🐉

【麒麟从此年年常在，无邪无忧岁岁平安】

“From now on, Qilin will always be there every year. May you be innocent and safe every year.”

—(mtl)

Sorry, it's a bit late, but here are the fic recs no. 106 to 109 "Restart Window Paper Series". These fics are closely related to each other. There is a recommended reading order by the writer:

《悬崖》 "Cliff" → 《命蛊》 "Fate Gu" → 《深海以下》 "Below the Deep Sea" → 《敦伦之乐》 "The Joy of Dunlun*" (Bonus 🚗)

① [PX Fic Rec 106] 悬崖 "Cliff"

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: T | 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Complete | 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Chinese | 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡: 25 Chapters | 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Canon Setting—Restart, Window Paper (has not been pierced) | 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜: Wu Xie's First Person POV, Action/Adventure

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜: This fic fills the scene after NPSS's statement that he got drunk and changed the story. It starts from when Pangzi entered the calling spring from tulou, and Wu Xie met Liu Sang. There are some additional PingXie scenes and other necessary changes for the sake of the plot.

② [PX Fic Rec 107] 命蛊 "Fate Gu"

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: T | 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Complete | 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Chinese | 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡: 30 Chapters | 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Canon Setting—Restart and Yucun (Notes in Rain Village), Clear Water, Window Paper, HE | 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜: Wu Xie's First Person POV, Action/Adventure, Ambiguous Relationship, Life Span

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜: This fic is a continuation from 《悬崖》 "Cliff". After their last adventure in Restart, Iron Triangle came back to Yucun. How𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜:𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜:ever, for some reason, Xiaoge and Fatty's wound couldn't heal for a long time. In order to find the cure, they once again embarked in a new adventure. The main topic of this fic is the life span matter and it is solved here.

③ [PX Fic Rec 108] 深海以下 "Below the Deep Sea"

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: T | 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Complete + Extra | 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Chinese | 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡: 22 Chapters + 8 Extras | 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Canon Setting—Ten Years, Restart, and Yucun (Notes in Rain Village), Pierce the Window Paper, Dual POV, HE | 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜: Wu Xie's First Person POV, Zhang Qiling's First Person POV

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜: After Zhang Qiling came back, he took it for granted that he and Wu Xie were already together, but Wu Xie mistakenly thought that the other party was straight and insists that he was actually straight too. To make it worse, Wu Xie didn’t dare to ask or say anything about it.

"Last question, what is the deepest place on the seabed?"

I thought for a while and said, "How do I know this? With the current modern technology, it is still impossible to explore such a deep place, and whether there is a deeper place is also an unknown field. It is estimated that only the sea itself knows."

"Do you understand?" The fat man looked at me and gestured upwards with his hands, "What can be measured and seen is the part that is exposed. The part that is most hidden..." He poked me with his finger, "Only the sea knows."

④ [PX Fic Rec 109] 敦伦之乐 "The Joy of Dunlun*"

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: M/R | 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Complete | 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Chinese | 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 2,886 | 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Canon Setting—Yucun (Notes in Rain Village), Zhang Qiling's First Person POV | 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜: First Time, Established Relationship

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜: This part is also the first extra story of 《深海以下》 "Below the Deep Sea".

Before having a relationship, I regarded sex as optional. Although I occasionally had thoughts, I was not sure whether both of us were ready.

Until one night, I had a s*xual impulse towards Wu Xie.

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞: PingXie Only

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧: It's really really worth to read! The overall story is great 💖 The plot is not too fast or too slow, and the whole thing makes sense. I think PingXie is a type of ship where everything needs to be taken slowly, it's easy to become greasy if you don't write it carefully... and the writer really did a good job, even Xiaoge's smut part doesn't feel out of place. The double perspective is also impressive, I can feel Xiaoge's strong and independent personality here. I mean that he always has his own thought, even in canon, he isn't the type of character who likes to follow along blindly without thinking. He comes to this point because he wants to do so, he always has his own reason to do something. It's just that Wu Xie's perspective make it difficult to know what Xiaoge is thinking. This is one of the best window paper fics I've ever read! (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: Dunlun means s*x between husband and wife, more info here.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:

Lofter (the search function doesn't work properly on web, so I give you the archive page link instead).

Or go to the writer's Weibo.

For the 🚗 part, AO3 is also available.

[hils79]

Hils Watches The Spirealm - Ep 4

Aww, look. He solved the game with empathy and kindness. He's a good boy.

Wibbly wobbly timey wimey. And, you know, if I thought their relationship was fast burn before it's even faster now. Found himself a boyfriend and got engaged in 15 minutes. Good for him!

I mean multiple people told him this would happen so I don't know why he's surprised. Excellent whump potential though.

Everyone: don't play the cursed game Ling Jiushi: I'm gonna play the cursed game

Dude. How many times do people have to tell you that this game can kill you?

Is it even a modern cdrama without a bit of anti-America propaganda thrown in

Oh FFS I only just learned his name and now I have to learn his new name 😂

Ruan Lanzhu and Shen Wei can bond over semi-creepily watching the boy they like sleeping

Oh is it time to meet the team? Are they going to become a family?

Of course she is

Oh. Hello.

Oh, I'm sure they'll be attached to him by the end

OMG there's twins! Is one of them evil?

I'm assuming this is some sort of pun or reference that I don't understand

Oh, excellent. More wound tending.

He literally looks one second away from grabbing him and kissing. Again, this is only episode 4/38

I'm pretty sure he doesn't want you to join his team for your skills as a gamer

Ooh is that the kaleidoscope of death?

He's like 'literally everyone told you that if you die in the game you die in real life'. I am surprised it took so long though. I kind of assumed that if you died in the game you'd just die in real life immediately but it's been a least a couple of days since they solved the game.

Ooh are they going to get trapped in an elevator together?

*sighs in DMBJ* It's always magnets

[thatlittlemouse]

the thing about dmbj for me is that canon goes so hard sometimes, not even 50 fanfictions put together can do to me what scenes like this do

People say that when you forget someone, the first thing you forget is their voice, but when he spoke, it wasn’t unfamiliar at all. “You’re old,” he said The music was still flowing in this place close to hell. Fatty came up, hooked his arm around Poker-Face’s shoulder, and caused him to stumble: “How can we compare with Little Brother? And you were willing to come out!!” Poker-Face swayed from all the jostling. I pulled down my sleeve, covered the scars on my arm, and stood up. He smiled at me and I lifted my bag. “Let’s go.” We just…haven’t seen you for a long time.