#luo qing yang

[purple-mushroom-cap]

one for the history books

[movielosophy]

The Blood Of Youth | Wow, Xiao Se!

[aoxue]

DJ IS BACK WITH ANOTHER AU IDEA! SL has inherited a ranch from his estranged relative and has absolutely no idea what to do with it OR how to tend to horses. include as many characters as you please >:)

Alright for this AU ask we're having a songxiao Hallmark movie because I've never actually done something like that before

Song Lan is a lawyer at a big city, high power law firm. He went into law hoping to further efforts for climate justice, conservation, etc., before repeatedly finding that most environmental law positions are about helping big actors find loopholes in environmental policy to keep getting away with things. So now he's in, like. Contract law, and it's fine, but not something he's very passionate about, and the firm he's at keeps him too busy to think too hard about it.

He inherits this ranch from some distant, distant relative he's never heard of? Song Lan thinks it's a scam at first, but the paperwork all looks legit. He's friends with Lan Xichen (from college, now a music professor) who tells him to take a much needed break after this most recent big case and check it out. Recurrent minor role as the supportive friend from home who encourages the main character to go out and live a little.

White Snow Ranch is a small operation in a space that once housed a much larger business. Luo Qingyang is the foreman who keeps things running, and she lives on site with her family. Xue Yang is an unreliable stablehand who hasn't been fired yet because he's got such a knack for fixing the machinery around the ranch. He has a side gig that pays him way more per hour doing survey work for Jin Oil, who have been trying to buy up land in the area.

White Snow has a handful of horses at any given time, breeding and selling to local buyers. Some of the other space in the stables gets rented for people to board their own horses. A-Qing is one such boarder. She's a teenage girl who wants to Win The Rodeo This Year. She's the one who does the most to teach city slicker Song Lan how to ride and laughs at him a lot.

Her older brother, Xiao Xingchen, is the kind and attractive large animal vet who makes calls to farms and ranches across the county. He's an environmental activist on the side. He's a pest to the oil companies and corporate farms that keep snatching up land in the area, and the office of Jin Oil's CEO have multiple numbers from him blocked. Romance arc naturally commences.

Song Lan is getting pressured to sell the ranch from pretty much the moment he arrives. Instead of folding (because what is he going to do with a ranch), he (with Xingchen's help) talks to the locals and looks into the sales of land to Jin Oil. And what do you know, the company has been doing subtle but illegal things with their contracts that have been shorting the landowners. Through Hallmark magic, they can press charges, beat the company, and get some kind of a win for he locals in about a month with no retaliation. Because love, hard work, and justice always win, forever (i.e., the 90-minute run time)

Seventh point because I've already accidentally gone over and that's that Song Lan transfers ownership of the ranch to Mianmian, since practically, this is already her gig, which gives her more freedom to make some more radical business decisions and rejuvenate White Snow. They start raising bison in addition to horses as a species restoration effort, for one thing. Maybe they use some of the space for solar panels or wind turbines as a clean energy thing, and maybe Xue Yang keeps that running smoothly. Song Lan keeps doing law stuff with a more environmental justice lean and he and Xiao Xingchen move in together. A-Qing achieves her rodeo dreams. Happily ever after, roll credits

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Love in the Desert (2024)

Gifs of Intro of cdrama "Love in the Desert"

[Multi-sub] 《漠风吟》 第 1 集丨哈妮克孜 方逸伦 高阳 关畅 纪凌尘 郁葱 罗成 Love in the Desert EP1 【捷成华视偶像剧场】

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyReY30RrzE

[kachawo]

YilingWei Sect AU

Click here ⬆️ for the original post.

___________

"Holy Shit!" Xiao Qing gasps, jumping up from the divan she'd lain on.

"Language, Shimei!" Deyao scolds her but is left ignored as the disciple scrambles to get her shoes and reaches for the door.

"Fuck my language-- I need to warn Wei-shushu!"

Worried by the behavior, the senior followed behind Xiao Qing as she made a mad dash through the corridors. "-Wait! Warn Wei-zhongzhu about what?!"

Blank pupils meet his for a spare second before they focus on the path forward.

"Cultivators! Gold, green, purple, blue-- many of them!"

The senior disciple makes a shocked gasp as he halts, Xiao Qing couldn't care less to look back at him. The Reverberant Hall was not a close distance from her junior quarters much to her dismay, and she couldn't waste her time!

They're walking through the streets of Yiling. A few of them booked buildings. Some golds are surrounding the forests around the Burial Mounds-

They were getting too close!

A strong pressure of wind shot past the junior disciple as her eyes caught sight of a crow in flight, heading towards the same destination.

The disciples stationed at the magistrate must have noticed them as well. It gets there only a few seconds before she does, only because she has the decency to knock first and announce her arrival before throwing her formalities out the window to kick the doors of the Hall open.

Her uncle sits in the middle of the hall, crow perched on his finger as it reports its findings to him.

"Wei-zhongzhu cultivators at bay, possibly seventy at arms. Further observations cannot be made, going into hiding." The crow squawks in its mocking tone, repeating what it's been told to say.

Wei Wuxian's expression is grave as he watches Xiao Qing enter panting with exhaustion.

"More than seventy, shushu.' she shakes her head, blank pupils shaking in anger.

"A hundred men at arms, Jins are scouting the graveyard forests. They're trying to find the entrance to the Burial Mounds."

He closed his eyes, feeling a headache forming at the edge of his skull. Rubbing the bridge between his eyes he hesitantly asks his niece,

"...which sects?"

Xiao Qing swallows fir air as she chases to calm herself, before she answered slowly. "...Qinghe Nie, Lanling Jin, Laoling Qin, Baling Ouyang, Yunmeng Jiang, Gusu Lan... and many more. Shushu." She visibly hesitated stating the last two.

His eyelids closed itself harder, burying his face deeper into his face as if it would hide him from the world.

He had expected this day to come, but he didn't think it would be so soon. They're not investigating that's for sure, Jins are scoping their domain, they have an army of cultivators in the town he protected. It's clear to anyone what their intentions were.

Of course they would get suspicious, Yiling Laozu and his criminal refuges have hidden away from the eyes of people, no news about them but a simple rumor that they've closed themselves off from the rest of the world.

Wei Wuxian sighs, stuck on a fork road of decisions. "What do you think, Wen Qing?"

The woman in red and white, who stood next to his dais was in deep thought.

"They're definitely not here to negotiate, with an army like that." She scoffs. "Neither are they willing to leave peacefully."

"Oh please, when do they ever." He snides.

The doctor sighs, "Either way. We don't want the innocent citizens outside getting involved in this. We should evacuate them."

Wei Wuxian nods, "Gather the chiefs and seniors." He ordered her, who immediately works.

"A-Qing, I need you to stay here. Your eyes will be needed"

His niece salutes, "Of course, shushu."

><

As soon as orders were given, everyone immediately set to work.

The senior disciples, those with more experience, were to descend the mountain stealthily and help the Yiling citizens evacuate in order to secure their safety.

Burial Mound residents were relocated to the Bamboo Dwellings deeper into the mountain and were not to leave the area until Wen Ning said otherwise.

Wen Qing and her students were in charge of stocking emergency rations, water, clothes, non-perishable items to hide away in case their supplies were cut off.

Junior disciples prepared emergency exits, secured hidden passage ways, and were tasked to guard the residents.

Heavy tension hung in the air as everyone moved with purpose, Xiao Qing could feel everything from the enclosed Red Room.

In a smaller room meant for more important meetings, stood the remaining chiefs and Wei-shushu.

They were discussing... something. Xiao Qing wasn't really focused on it, she was too busy keeping an eye on those Jin cultivators, making sure they didn't get too close to the gate of the mountains.

"They're scattered into five groups, shushu." She hisses.

"Any of them get close yet?" She shakes her head. "But I think it won't be long till they come across it.

The man clicks his tongue in irritance. Hearing this, Xiao Xingchen stands up from his seat, "Xue Yang, with me."

"I'll stall them for a few more hours, you need to be focused on this discussion A-Xian."

Wei-Shushu sighs, "Thank you Tang-ge."

"What are their true intentions?" Luo Qingyang mutters, placing tokens on the map to indicate which cultivators were where.

It's been 20 minutes since Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang had descended to stall time, during that period, some Yaos have entered the fray to help the Jins search.

Wei Wuxian sighs, "We'll have to let them in."

"And what?" Wen Qing growls, "Let them burn our home down?"

"It won't be long until they find the gate. And even if we don't let them in-- they'll resolve to cutting off our water supply. Hell they might rampage the town!" The man groans, rubbing his temple gently.

Wen Qing opens her mouth to argue back, but before she can do that his niece gasps.

"They've... they've found the gate... Shushu."

Heavens fuck all.

><

Wei Wuxian walks pass the empty houses slowly, unwilling to pace it up towards the entrance of his home.

It woulld be no lie if he said he didn't want to meet any of the sects. Sometimes he wishes he hadn't the patience nor the consideration for these men, he sometimes dreams of kicking their asses so hard they fly back into their homes.

He sighs wilfully, Wei Yuan by his side notices his mood and smiles pitifully.

"We can always do this another day, ba." His son says. Ahhh what a loving child.

"Unfortunately, I don't think the sects would like that." Mo Xuanyu muses, his arms are folded and his posture is rightened, making him seem upright and intimidating.

Xue Yang cackles, "But then again, when have we ever cared for their feelings? They never gave shitwad about us!"

His son sighs, taking in his fellowmen's words in consideration. Although Wei Yuan has never experienced the world of the cultivation soceity; being holed up in a mountain and by extension its only town, it's safe to say he doesn't like them either-- in light of his childhood.

"We're only here to listen to their intentions. Anything else I will not permit." He tells them.

By then, they've walked enough that they can see the silhouettes behind the barrier of the mounds.

"But," Wei Wuxian hums, "If they attack first, I wouldn't be so keen."

It was basically permission, even though he just said the opposite. And it formed smiles on his wards' faces, ones that weren't as sweet and joyful.

Once they've reached the gates Wen Ning bows his head at him. The cultivators have long noticed his presence and have resolved to shout louder at him.

Wei Wuxian inhales deeply, closing his eyes to savir his last moments of peace.

The sect leader smiles, the corner of his lips visibly twitching.

"Welcome to the Burial Mounds, dear cultivators." He greets them.

The silence that comes after is refreshing.

But not as aggravating as the curses and yells that come after.

[sngchngs]

Modern mdzs character headcanons part 2

Xiao Xingchen is a paranormal/monster movie buff. You name it he's probably watched it. He's a human rights and climate change activist. He always has the weirdest signs. E.g. "Fight climate change, or die frying."

Song Lan (outside of his Cultivator night job) is also a human rights and climate change activist. He's the one on the side handing out water bottles and flyers of information about how to protest safely and how not to get caught by authorities. It's how he met Xiao Xingchen.

More under cut ⬇️

A-Qing is a photographer. She takes candid shots of everyday life on the streets. And whenever there's a protest, she's there. Not to photograph the protesters (she got in trouble with Xiao Xingchen for that), but to take pictures of the authorities abusing their power. She's banned on Twitter for posting these pics but has nearly half a million followers on intsa.

In this world, Xue Yang has never killed anyone (he still has all his fingers). He's not an activist, per se. He just loves protesting because when things get volatile, he can be in the thick of it. He's the one punching the cops. Throwing back the smoke bombs. Getting arrested (Xiao Xingchen constantly has to bail him out) and spitting like a cat, hurling abusive words. He's in a lot of A-Qing's photos.

In his free time, Su Minshan likes to do gardening. He grows herbs, annuals, camellias, magnolias, peonies, and a few citrus trees like lemons, oranges, and mandarins.

Ouyang Zizhen is constantly listening to eaudiobooks. Being a member of his local libraries, he has free access to thousands of them, and he takes full advantage of it. His favourite genre is science fiction.

Luo Qingyang is a defence lawyer working at Qin Su's firm. Twice a week, she runs free classes for people of all ages who want to learn cultivation but lack the money or aptitude to get into the big clans. Her husband and daughter are also students of these classes.

~~

[scorbleeo]

Drama Gossip: 19th Floor (19层)

Source: Google Images

Unconscious after a car accident, university student Chun Yu and her best friend Qing You mysteriously find themselves inside the dangerous world of a VR game. Several other people have also unwittingly ended up here, and they soon discover they were all involved in the accident - except for substitute teacher Gao Xuan, who claims to have simply fallen asleep. Seeing no other option than to play the game, they eventually beat the level and wake up … only to immediately return the next night.

Faced with deadly monsters, puzzles, and mind games, the players have to learn to cooperate despite being unsure if they can trust each other. The pressure increases when it turns out that people who die in the game fall into a coma in real life. And then several more students are dragged into the game! The group spends their nights trying to survive the next level and their days investigating who is doing this to them and why. As they grow closer, friendships and budding romances are repeatedly put to the test by the stress of the situation and the evil machinations of the people behind the game…

Source: MyDramaList (2024)

Actually Interesting

This drama was all over my Douyin FYP when it was showing. Imagine seeing people in modern-day clothes, in a slightly olden-day setting running from what seemed like zombies. Tell me that wouldn't pique your interest. Okay, maybe it wouldn't but it piqued mine. However, apart from that snippet, I went into this drama not knowing anything. Hell, I didn't even know who were the actors.

Anyhow. The premise of 19th Floor is not a new concept. It's the classic 'real life people entering a game with high stakes' plot. What was new was that them entering the game was not obvious initially. The how they entered was a mystery until quite a few episodes in too. Additionally, the games were different. Each time they entered it, the game, the rules and even the stakes were different.

Initially, this was an extremely fascinating drama. I was hooked and went through episodes like I had no other responsibilities. However, as the cast went on and began discovering the secrets and motives, the drama honestly, got predictable. In my opinion, 19th Floor could have had a darker tone to it. Keep the storyline but make things darker, bring in the 'unreliable narrator' trope, make the high stakes actually high stakes as in, more deaths or consequences that cannot be undone. You see, the beginning of this drama was action-filled but the end, not so much.

Don't get me wrong, 19th Floor is still interesting but it could have been way more interesting, considering the actual story from where this drama was adapted from? Yeah, 19th Floor could have done more.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

More productions from China here: The Romance of Tiger and Rose (传闻中的陈芊芊) | Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴)

[popqorn]

[morethanwonderful]

Introducing: The Which MXTX Character Was/Would Be Most Insufferable Online Tournament Bracket

Beginning the evening of August 23rd, 2024 (USA time), I’ll be running a tournament via tumblr polls to determine once and for all which Mo Xiang Tong Xiu web novel character was or would be most insufferable if given access to the internet.

FAQ:

Why this poll theme?

I thought it would be fun to run another big MXTX tournament bracket, since the bugpoll last year was a blast, and this was the funniest theme I could manage to think of.

Why isn't Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu in the bracket?

Given what we know about our dear Peerless Cucumber, I fear an SQQ sweep would be a foregone conclusion if I included him. Therefore, after the bracket finds a winner, I'll hold a bonus round and pit the winner against Shen Yuan to determine the true most internet-insufferable character.

What is wrong with you?

Yeah.

My goal is to hold one round per day every day for a week, but I'm contending with a full-time work schedule, so things may get slightly more stretched out than that. I'll also be splitting the first round into Round 1 Part 1 (the left side of the bracket) and Round 1 Part 2 (the right side of the bracket) to avoid spamming people's dashes with 32 separate polls in one day.

If you’d like to either search for or blacklist posts related to this event, all of mine will be tagged with “MXTX insufferapoll.”

The full list of matches is under the readmore here. Happy voting!

Round 1 Part 1:

Wen Chao vs Jin Guangshan

Quan Yizhen vs Mobei-jun

Mu Qingfang vs Ban Yue

Pei Xiu vs Jin Zixun

Xie Lian vs Jiang Yanli

Gongyi Xiao vs Lang Qianqiu

He Xuan vs Xue Yang

Lan Xichen vs Xiao Xingchen

Feng Xin vs Tianlang-jun

Wei Wuxian vs Liu Mingyan

Shi Qingxuan vs Nie Huaisang

Pei Ming vs Shang Qinghua

Jian Lan vs Qi Rong

Lan Wangji vs Song Lan

Nie Mingjue vs Liu Qingge

Mei Nianqing vs Lan Qiren

Round 1 Part 2:

Ling Wen vs Jin Guangyao

Sha Hualing vs Mo Xuanyu

Lang Ying (Present) vs Lan Sizhui

Bai Wuxiang vs Shen (Jiu) Qingqiu

Jiang Cheng vs Ning Yingying

Jin Ling vs Ming Fan

Mu Qing vs Luo "Mianmian" Qingyang

Yu Ziyuan vs Yue Qingyuan

Xuan Ji vs Qiu Haitang

A-Qing vs Yin Yu

Wen Ning vs Zhuzhi-lang

Luo Binghe vs Wang Lingjiao

Wen Qing vs Yushi Huang

Hua Cheng vs Su She

Jin Zixuan vs Shi Wudu

Ouyang Zizhen vs Lan Jingyi

Round 2:

Wen Chao vs Quan Yizhen

Mu Qingfang vs Jin Zixun

Xie Lian vs Lang Qianqiu

Xue Yang vs Xiao Xingchen

Tianlang-jun vs Wei Wuxian

Nie Huaisang vs Shang Qinghua

Qi Rong vs Lan Wangji

Nie Mingjue vs Lan Qiren

Jin Guangyao vs Sha Hualing

Lang Ying (Present) vs Shen (Jiu) Qingqiu

Jiang Cheng vs Jin Ling

Mu Qing vs Yu Ziyuan

Xuan Ji vs a-Qing

Zhuzhi-lang vs Luo Binghe

Wen Qing vs Su She

Shi Wudu vs Lan Jingyi

Round 3:

Wen Chao vs Jin Zixun

Lang Qianqiu vs Xue Yang

Tianlang-jun vs Shang Qinghua

Qi Rong vs Lan Qiren

Sha Hualing vs Shen (Jiu) Qingqiu

Jin Ling vs Mu Qing

Xuan Ji vs Luo Binghe

Su She vs Lan Jingyi

Quarterfinal:

Wen Chao vs Xue Yang

Tianlang-jun vs Qi Rong

Shen (Jiu) Qingqiu vs Jin Ling

Luo Binghe vs Su She

Semifinal:

Wen Chao vs Qi Rong

Shen (Jiu) Qingqiu vs Luo Binghe

Final:

Qi Rong vs Luo Binghe

Bonus:

Qi Rong vs Shen (Yuan) Qingqiu

[dangermousie]

Now, we all love noble and heroic good guys. But sometimes, in the safe confines of fiction, nothing is as fun as a really trash man. Here is a description of our trash contestants:

Shen Yurong, The Double

Pros: really good at exams, flute playing and being a murderous sub.

Cons: terrible at wife murder (tho perhaps that's a plus?), moral backbone of a sponge, sis and mom would make bad in laws.

Murong Xuanlie, Kill Me Love Me

Pros: looks really good with hair loose, big on women having careers outside the home, devoted to one woman only, great kisser.

Cons: murdered 100K+ people, wants to be a fratricide, gaslight girlboss gatekeep is his motto.

Second Prince, Joy of Life 2

Pros: swing in the middle of his house, likes chess and fruit, funny.

Cons: can't decide if he wants to fuck or fuck over Fan Xian; indecisiveness is not sexy in a man.

Di Lin, Eternal Brotherhood

Pros: loving husband, great friend, victorious general, makes toys for his unborn kids.

Cons: royal executioner who puts cities and armies and families to the sword, the soap and water bills for all that blood will be huge.

Hei Long, Burning Flames

Pros: a definite style trend setter, walks barefoot everywhere thus saving money on footwear, devoted to his lover.

Cons: like the way eviler version of Zeus; only hobby appears to be enslaving humans which can get boring after a while.

Wei Zhao, Love of Nirvana

Pros: Hot, sword dance skills, you will have no in-laws.

Cons: love language appears to be choking, poisoning and stabbing.

Ruo Wen, Love in the Desert

Pros: a really good time, very few shirts, knows what to do in bed, has his own banging theme song.

Cons: murdering bandit with limited notions of consent; plus his gf will prolly stab you.

Yang Kang, The Legend of Heroes

Pros: really sexy about his daddy and mommy issues, that hair!

Cons: his murder happy identity crisis requires serious therapy he can't afford

Lu Jiaxue, The Rise of Ning

Pros: he's already got your wedding chamber, jewelry, dolls and accessories ready - perfect for a lady who doesn't like housework

Cons: chokes women like he's in a mini.

Cang Xuan, Lost You Forever 2

Pros: smart, devoted, royal, breaks down beautifully

Cons: many other wives, can feed your hands to maggots or kill your boyfriend, serious cousin kink, character massacred by the writer.

Wang Jia Luo, Heroes (2024)

Pros: can recite reams of poetry, will protect you to the utmost if you are damsel

Cons: if you are not a damsel will murder you and not blink; in fact will murder you for jaywalking as Qing reincarnation of Javert.

Please be aware I excluded MLs from minis because otherwise I could never fit anyone into one poll.

[cum-villain]

I've been musing the ways that MXTX's novels handle systemic power and systems of oppression, and how it's possibly related to her own experiences.

(This ended up very long, so I'm putting it under a cut)

In her debut novel, Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (SVSSS), systemic powers aren't exactly a major motivator. As in, while systemic oppression certainly exists, it mostly serves as motivations for characters and part of their backstory. Who the characters are is, primarily, the choices they make. Even truly impenetrable systems (or Systems) allow leeway. There's an emphasis on people choosing to be who they are, choosing to help or hurt others. Regardless of who you are or where you come from, you always can choose to better yourself, or remain stuck where you are.

And, it's a nice theme, right? In part, yes. But in certain ways, it can be a touch naive. I think the character Shen Jiu is the best way to describe what I mean. Shen Jiu, as readers of SVSSS know, was a slave sold by child traffickers to an abusive master, who eventually killed his way out and to Cang Qiong Mountain. After reuniting with a childhood friend, Yue Qingyuan, who had become heir to the sect leader, he managed to get a position as heir to the second-ranking Peak Lord, and eventually was lord of Qing Jing Peak himself. However, he never recovered from his childhood, and was a highly abrasive character, and when he was a Peak Lord himself, he abused his disciples, even attempting to murder at least one (Luo Binghe) multiple times out of jealousy.

In certain ways, he made his own choices. He had the power to make a new life for himself, and yet he still chose to continue the cycle of abuse and hurt multiple children. It's undeniable he was a scummy person for this. However, one can also make the case that he wasn't entirely at fault. After all, when he murdered his way out of Qiu Manor, wasn't it because, as a slave, he had no other way to flee? For the events that followed, while he made his own choices, can he really be blamed for not being kind when he had very little kindness shown to him? Wasn't he pitiful? Certainly, it's something of a stretch to deny his fault in the abuse he perpetuated, but the fact that it's still a debate a decade after the book's release raises an interesting question: Is the way SVSSS handles systemic problems naive?

I would say, it is. Obviously, we all make our own choices in life, but what if the systems in place force us into situations where there are no good choices? What can we do when the world itself gives us no choice but to be evil or die?

In between the writing of SVSSS, and her second book, Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), multiple things occurred. For one, MXTX was only in high school when she wrote her first book, and she grew up. Additionally, danmei is a genre that commonly faces censorship. It's not unheard of for authors to be arrested for writing in the genre. And SVSSS is, famously, her least popular novel. The manhua only had a few chapters before it went on a permanent hiatus, the donghua only had one season before never being seen again, there was no live action or audio drama. To write in the genre is to face a system of persecution that cannot be penetrated.

And so, MDZS has a different tone when discussing systemic oppression. In fact, to contrast her first novel, it's a major theme. All of the characters are affected by systems of oppression, especially the class system. In MDZS, these systems causes much strife, and are never truly eliminated. The characters who oppose the system the most either leave larger society, or die. For this I'll bring up three characters, primarily: Xue Yang, Jin Guangyao, and Wei Wuxian.

Xue Yang, to start, is an orphan. He's a side character who doesn't get much screentime, but his existence offers a lot of insight into the larger systems of power, and how they affect people. He's largely a villain, a heartless murderer who takes joy in great acts of cruelty. However, it's not as though he has no reason for being like this; one of his childhood memories is of being tricked by a cruel adult, thinking he'll get candy as a reward, but in the end getting nothing but broken fingers as a reward, a child getting his hand run over by a cart. After learning demonic cultivation, of which he was a prodigy, he massacred the man who tricked him, who turned out to be a sect leader. Afterwards, he killed this man's entire clan.

Eventually, he was caught, and put to trial, but due to being seen as valuable by the Chief Cultivator at the time, he was held prisoner for life instead of the death sentence he was due. Due to reasons not particularly important to this essay, he later was cast out, injured, and was eventually taken in by a particular cultivator who had originally tried to prove his guilt, and who (for reasons indirectly but majorly related to Xue Yang) ended up blind: Xiao Xingchen. Because Xiao Xingchen did not recognize him, he treated Xue Yang with kindness. At first, Xue Yang used this to trick Xiao Xingchen into killing people, but at a certain point, stopped. It would seem that Xiao Xingchen's kindness affected him. However, when Xiao Xingchen's former partner, Song Lan, found them, Xue Yang tricked Xiao Xingchen into killing him. After realizing the truth of the situation, Xiao Xingchen killed himself, and Xue Yang started desperately trying to find a way to resurrect him.

There's a reason I took the time (and wordcount) to explain the situation in detail. In the story, we see a man who, like Shen Jiu in SVSSS, can be described with the meme, "cool motive, still murder." His past is sympathetic, but no excuse for his atrocities. However, after being shown kindness, he changes a bit. He stops killing people. But when there's a threat to that kindness, when he could lose what security and safety he has, he regresses back to his old behaviour, although he regrets it immediately. It's not as though he's innately evil, but that his history has taught him that being evil is the only way to survive, and he learned to enjoy his method of survival. The systems in place shaped a child who loved candy into a killer.

However, those at the bottom don't always end up so drastically terrible. Jin Guangyao also is of the dregs of society, the son of a prostitute, but he's something of a gentleman. After all, his mother wanted him to be a gentleman in terms of his character, and her final wish was for him to also be a gentleman in terms of his status, to be accepted by his father, sect leader of the Jin clan. But doing so requires terrible actions, as his status as a prostitute's son is very low. From being forced to shelter a known killer (Xue Yang) on his father's orders and against his sworn brother's wishes; to killing that sworn brother with the dual reasons of that sworn brother attempting to murder him multiple times (albeit under influence of a sort of curse), and because his father ordered him to kill the man; to being forced to choose between marrying his sister and losing everything, including possibly his life. In the end, he ends up killing his father after Jin Guangshan disrespects his mother one last time.

Despite this, however, one can argue that he is a gentleman. While cultivators in this setting hunt monsters for glory rather than to aid common people, he institutes a watchtower system that helps alleviate their plight. While there's no way to end his marriage, he both treats his wife (sister) kindly, while never having intimate conduct after he discovers the truth. After he takes power, he kicks out the murderer his father wanted to shelter. While he killed his oldest sworn brother, that was a person who would have kill him if he didn't act first, and he still treats that sworn brother's biological younger brother kindly, one may say spoiling him. In short, when he does not need to commit evil acts to survive, he usually acts virtuously, with the exception always involving honoring his mother.

However, in the end, he dies. Yet, not for something he did; he explicitly dies out of a false accusation of trying to kill someone he cared about, and dies an unjust death out of vengeance for killing his sworn brother. And when the jianghu learns of his evil, they're willing to accept that and more, because wasn't he always just an upstart, a son of a whore? Wasn't he born rotten, lower? Despite his best attempts, Jin Guangyao could never truly escape the shackles of the class system.

To end this (admittedly rather long) section, I'll discuss Wei Wuxian. Like Xue Yang, he's an orphan, but he was taken in by the leader of the Jiang Clan, who was a friend of his parents. Like Jin Guangyao, he was the son of someone lower class, in his case a servant, but he is treated kindly by his benefactor. His position is precarious, not quite a foster child and not quite a ward, but he still grows up among the gentry, accepted by sons of the gentry as one of them. However, even he is not immune from the systems in place. When the Wen clan, once the greatest clan, is deposed for being tyrannical, the members of the clan are unfairly persecuted for their leader's sins. When Wei Wuxian tries to go against the current and save them, he fails to go against all of the world on his own, and dies for his trouble, and all but one of the Wen clan are massacred.

When he is brought back to life, after getting involved again, he decides to leave, not get involved in fighting the cultivation world head on anymore, instead focusing on small change. The new generation can be taught to be kinder than their predecessors, and they are. The change is slow, but despite the grim tone of the book, it ends with hope that change will happen, the world will become kinder, just not fast enough that many of the cast will see it.

With all of this context, one can determine the following about systems in MDZS: They are undefeatable. Maybe, slowly, they can be changed, but a person cannot go against them without paying the ultimate price. Change is possible, but it is slow, and in the meantime, people will be hurt by the system in place. Systemic persecution is a large part of many people's lives, and this is an inevitable fact. A far less hopeless tone than SVSSS's, but more realistic. The change is from naive optimism to a more mature realism.

Now, it is difficult to overstate the effect of MDZS on the world. This book was adapted into the cdrama, "The Untamed", which was a worldwide success. Chinese historical dramas were once a niche genre, but now are one of the most popular genres worldwide. This drama led many people around the world to have an appreciation for Chinese stories, and led a global audience to discover the book it was based on, leading to more books in the danmei genre finding an international audience, which led to the current danmei boom. It's very likely that MDZS is the most popular danmei novel to have ever been written. The novel has been adapted into the live action drama mentioned before, as well as a manhua, a donghua, an audio drama. I've also heard of a Japanese manga adaptation currently being done.

Of course, this attention led to the Chinese government now having more of an eye on MXTX's actions. At this point, while she's more popular than ever, she's also under heavy scrutiny. But, look at what happened: Danmei is a genre that has led authors to being persecuted, but now here she is, influencing people with her works at such a large, international scale. Certainly something, isn't it?

Now I'll turn to her third book, Tian Guan Ci Fu (TGCF), or Heaven Official's Blessing. Thankfully, I don't have to give as much context for this one as MDZS. While large systems are in place that influence people's lives, they aren't unbeatable. The final battle of the book is even a large-scale revolution against the current power structure. While the system is powerful, and causes much harm to people, it is still ultimately a system created by people, and it can be deposed by people. The system pushes people to do evil deeds, but with people working together, being kind to each other and helping each other, that system can be stopped. In short, if SVSSS is naive optimism about systems of power not stopping people from being their true selves, and MDZS is pessimistic realism about systems being unbreakable and barely bendable, TGCF is grounded optimism. Systems of power are very real, and very harmful to many people, but they aren't an all-powerful force, they can be fought against. One person can't do everything, just like Xie Lian could not save his people from a plague and civil war by himself, but if many people work together, like the heavenly officials rising up against Jun Wu, something can be done.

Now, MXTX is quite possibly the most popular danmei author on an international scale. The danmei boom is probably at its peak, I can't really see it growing much more. She's largely gone silent, with rumors of her possibly being arrested at one point. While TGCF is also very popular, due to censorship constraints, it was forced to be less explicit than her other works. With everything that's happened, I'm interested to know what her fourth book will say about systems of power.

[thegoldenavenger]

Mmmmm, thinking about Luo Binghe flying high on his sword when a magnificent bird veers close to him, flaring its wings and catching the buffet of wind around lbh and riding alongside him

The bird looks at him with steely, piercing eyes and delicately reaches its talons out to grip zheng yang's hilt. It settles carefully onto the sword, ruffling its feathers as it balances. Idly, it toys with the hem of lbh's robe, at the tie on his boot.

Lbh is heading to Qing Jing Peak, of course and this bird rides with him the whole way. Approaching the bamboo forest, the bird catches flight again, quickly looping around lbh before folding its wings and diving.

Not to be outclassed, lbh also tucks himself in and dives. Unerring, the bird and lbh are heading for the same figure.

LBH finally has to pull out of the dive, jumping off Zheng Yang and sweeping it back into its sheath in an elegant movement while the bird, like an arrow, drops almost directly onto Shen Qingqiu, who is waiting.

At the last moment the bird pulls up, it's talons reaching out and it's wings breaking its speed. It perches on sqq's arm, almost a third to half the size of sqq himself.

"Oh you brought home Binghe! How good!" Sqq scratches the bird's feathers around its face, and the bird floofs and twists its head appreciatively. It delicately nips at sqq's fingers and sqq let's out a little "Oh! Right!" And procures a little meat snack for it.

Lbh, totally not jealous of a bird, announces himself and sqq smiles at him, very gleeful.

"Shizun...?"

"Binghe, welcome back! You may not have noticed, but your Liu-Shishu had a little qi deviation and turned into a bird!"

The bird makes a trilling noise after it—he—snapped up the snack, and goes back to nibbling at sqq's hand, pulling softly at his sleeve. Lbh makes a face.

"How long is he going to be like that?" Lbh asks, edging into sqq's space, not so subtly planning how best to oust bird-lqg from sqq's arm.

"Mu Qingfang said that he would likely have to clear the resentment that caused the qi deviation, before his energy can rebalance and return to normal."

"And... he can do that?" Lbh looks VERY doubtfully at lqg, who is busy trying to fit his head back into sqq's palm, begging for more scritches.

"Ah, well. Probably?" Sqq says, "He has times where he seems more lucid. Yang Yixuan is, uh, dedicated, but I don't trust Bai Zhan to have the delicacy required to take care of Liu-Shidi while he's this indisposed..."

"They might still try to fight him..." Lbh agrees.

"Exactly! He's still so intimidating!" Sqq says this while cooing, dragging his hand down the bird's chest. Bird-lqg obligingly raises a talon, showing off wicked finger-length curving claws to Sqq's obvious delight.

Lbh starts, in reflex, as sqq holds his hand out and bird-lqg curves his talons around it, but bird-lqg is exceedingly delicate, exerting a control that normal birds wouldn't possess.

"And he can't stay on the beast mountain?" Lbh asks

"Well, they have so many other responsibilities..." sqq says, almost pouting at lbh.

Lbh thinks that is entirely unfair. He is the one who should be crying in this situation, seeing as his husband has, once again, done backflips in order to arrange lqg into their care.

"You just want to study him." Lbh accuses, finally burrowing his way into sqq's shoulder, leaning on it enough that it unbalanced bird-lqg. Lbh keeps an eye out, but as expected, bird-lqg launches off of sqq with a few powerful flaps of his wings instead of risking harming sqq to readjusting his perch.

"I could turn into a better animal for you to study." Lbh says, petulant, into sqq's hair.

"Ahhh, it will only be for awhile you sticky husband." Sqq says, but dutifully pets lbh's hair.

Lbh shuffles them back into the bamboo house, intending on visiting the kitchens then heading to bed, but he's stopped by the mess of straw and woodchips spread along the floor. A large, wickedly gnarled branch leans haphazardly across the home, almost wall to wall.

"Shizun......" lbh says in despair. "Shizun, he is not staying in the house, is he?"

As if in punctuation, a beautiful feather floats down lazily in front of lbh's face.

[higuchisora]

The idea of characters from other stories winding up in SVSSS has been stuck in my head for a while but I'm not gonna write abt it lmao so here's what's been rattling around in the ole noggin:

Toph:

Toph would be a genuine menace

Specifically on poor Liu Qingge, who hasn't the slightest clue how he wound up with yet another student

Earthbending should not be possible here. Earthbending is NOT possible here.

Toph invents earthbending here.

In fact, she only gets stronger. Because the cultivation aspects of the world means she's got even more qi and knows more about how to use it beyond earthbending.

She can now use qi itself to "see" (sensing others' qi, using it to sense movement, etc.) Not just earthbending

Lqg wants nothing to do with any more disciples. Especially not ones as annoying as yang yixuan

He gets a gremlin even more annoying than yang yixuan

He lies awake at night, regretting saving her life that one time on a hunt and kickstarting her path of being a Problem

Specifically, he saves her life one night while she's out trying to remaster earthbending, inspiring her to become a cultivator

She runs away from her noble family and their arranged marriage and stifling life that they've planned out for her and heads straight to Cang Qiong's Bai Zhan peak the first chance she gets

Refuses to take no for an answer, thus growing to become lqg's #1 menace

He both blesses and curses the day she was born

Lqg would sooner die than admit she's basically his other baby sister/daughter figure

Will outright refuse to fly on her sword When asked how she'll get around, the earth goddamn MOVES UNDER HER FEET and she causes several earthquake/mole monster sightings with these shenanigans

Is banned from this move

Begins to tunnel underground instead

She could arguably fly on her sword just fine, sensing the qi around her to navigate and shit, but it's harder and definitely uncomfortable and brings back bad memories of that one time in the volcano with Aang and Sokka

Luo Binghe wants her dead

She probably never gets strong enough to 1v1 him and win but she's definitely strong enough to become a genuine challenge

Especially when she reinvents metalbending

Rides for her shizun ong

Would probably fight lbh for lqg's honor after the SQQ corpse situation (he did not ask her to do this)

Aang:

The angel of Qing Jing peak fr

Or that monastery but we don't hear enough about them tbh

Has legitimately no idea how he got here, maybe too scared to question it actually

Like, did he really fuck up and end up getting ripped out of the avatar cycle orrrr????

Decides some things are better left unknown

The only struggle he really has is not being bald anymore

Honestly???? Might still shave his head and just stick to a wig

Would inevitably get caught or ALMOST caught and eventually gets used to growing it out (would probably become the inventor of extensions or wig glue though lmao)

Would make the spoiled qing jing disciples better just by being around them tbh

Star student probably, would be a menace in a cute way

One of the few men allowed on Xian Shu (for visits/messages)

Would probably befriend demons ngl

Loves flying on his sword

Prefers his staff though, and eventually figures out how to make/get someone to make one for him

No one knows how he does the air scooter. They are scared.

No one asks about the tattoos either.

Or how he's controlling all these fucking elements.

He doesn't have an avatar state anymore, but that doesn't seem to stop him from being wildly more dangerous than anyone expected

Possibly unlocks permanent cultivation-blocking? Like sealing off your core

Demons don't take note

Until he learns how to do the same for demonic cores

Exorcist Aang

Possibly becomes a rogue/wandering cultivator

Wandering rogue exorcist Aang????

He's either a god descended upon the earth or a heavenly demon in disguise, according to critics

He thinks it's all silly

Until he meditates too hard and communes with a god or something who tells him they may or may not have bargained to snatch his corner of the avatars soul for a reason

Uh oh

Sokka:

Does not know how he managed to get spiritual energy or cultivate

Actively chooses not to think too much about it

The head disciple of An Ding 😭

Absolutely salty about it

Shang Qinghua is endlessly grateful though

Does not know what to make of the long hair thing; probably tries to keep his hair in a half-pony still, as an ode to the water tribe

I've seen some fics where Qiong Ding is headcannoned as the bureaucratic peak; in this case, he might be able to sweet talk his way in if fate and Yue Qingyuan is kind enough

Either way he's grateful he gets to do sword stuff again

Especially now that he can FLY on them?!

He hasn't completely forgotten his skills, so he's got a whole different style no one's seen before and it's Weirdly Good Actually

He finally works his cultivation up enough to get his personal sword

Then he finally gets to summon his and he cries

It's space sword

No one knows what the fuck to make of this weird ass sword but he doesn't care, it's his and he loves it

Known as the best ever manager of An Ding peak

Katara:

Would have one (1) argument with her brother and march up to Xian Shu

Frequent visitor of Qing Jing and Qian Cao

Mu Qingfang mourns every day that she didn't choose the medicine peak

Katara maintains that she's too ready to beat some ass to ever be a full doctor and vow to do no harm

Never quite learns to be comfy with a sword but can still handle her own

During the demon invasion on Cang Qiong (assuming she's there at the time), she bloodbends Hualing right off the mountain

The demons do NOT stick around

The cultivators are too scared to ask her what the fuck that was but they're nicer to her than before

The xian shu peak gains a fearsome reputation of possibly teaching blood magic

No One gets how she does the waterbending stuff. Outsiders assume it's some Xian Shu ancient secret technique. Or she's related to Mobei Jun. Real members know Kataras just Like This.

Keeps the hair loopies. No matter what people say.

Wears a blue necklace similar to her mother's heirloom; a gift from her shizun probably

Genuinely enjoys the sisterhood on Xian Shu. It reminds her of the better days of her home, before the southern raiders came back

Zuko:

Could've chosen from several peaks, but chooses Bai Zhan

Something about the bamboo on Qing Jing reminds him of his uncle though, so he likes to visit. But not for too long. It hurts.

Isn't really bothered by the long hair thing; while cutting hair isn't forbidden in the fire nation, long hair is common practice, especially for nobles

Keeps the standard topknot until Toph calls it ugly

And then he remembers toph cannot see his topknot

Starts doing ponytails anyway

Also a star student of Bai Zhan, especially after he busts out the firebending forms

Yet another nuisance for poor lqg

He and Toph are the only two that can keep up with each other

Known as the Twin Stars of Bai Zhan

Aka the Twin Headaches of Liu Qingge

Has a small red birthmark near his eye, on the side that used to be burned

The fact that there isn't a massive burn is mildly uncomfortable to him at first. Doesn't feel like himself

Again, No One knows how all these kids with weird qi abilities are coming from

They're beginning to suspect they're all part demon

Neither he nor Toph ever defeat the demon heritage allegations

Especially not with the way they fight. And allegedly have a Past that no one else knows about

Would also fight Binghe for his Shizuns honor

Weirdly chill for Bai Zhan actually

Has probably made leaps and bounds from his avatar hunting days already

Most expect him to have gone to a quieter peak, it's baffling

Until he beats the shit outta somebody

And then goes back to being gentle and chill and forgiving

He wonders if uncle Iroh is watching over him here too

He can only hope his uncle is still proud of him, wherever he might be

Lqg isn't his uncle, but he's still a kind presence that Zuko looks up to a little, even if the guy is a little too punchy

Thus takes it upon himself to ride or die for him

One of the few dual wielders around

His curved blades are also a source of curiosity for the others

But he's good with them so no one complains

In a bingliushen situation, Zuko, Toph, and YYX are feral protective gremlins that somehow make things better AND worse for the development of the bingliushen courtship process lmao

I'll probably make more at some point but that's all for now. If someone wants to make a fic of these PLEASE let me know, link me I'm desperate

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Princess, Make Way (2023)

Gifs of Intro of cdrama "Princess, Make Way"

ENG SUB 💞 让一让，公主/PrincessMakeWay EP01｜痴情相爷爱上腹黑小刺客，😍 又撩又欲细节满满。（30min版）#让一让公主 #dramaclips #cdramaTV

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ih_ngEqWqI

[starrywangxian]

how the mdzs characters would sign off emails

inspired by this post and this post

Wei Wuxian: Thanks - I'll see myself out, Wei Wuxian

Lan Wangji: Sincelery, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-Jun, Cloud Recesses, Gusu Lan Sect... (he would include full titles and addresses etc.)

Lan Xichen: Many thanks! Lan Xichen, Zewu-Jun. (it's passive aggressive to other sect leaders but to lwj he adds emojis - yes he emails his brother shh)

Lan Sizhui: Have a nice day, Lan Sizhui! :)

Lan Jingyi: Never stop the grind, Lan Jingyi - P.S. Plz don't fail me Hanguang-jun :(

Lan Qiren: Regrettably, Lan Qiren.

Qingheng-jun: That's all, Qingheng-jun.

Madam Lan: Talk soon! (i recognise this is ironic... but i feel like she'd write something really casual and nice :))

Lan Yi: Okay then. (i feel like she'd be very straight to the point lmao)

Ouyang Zizhen: Fare thee well, Ouyang Zizhen! :)

Jiang Cheng: Please stop reading the email.

Jiang Fengmian: Stay tuned, Jiang Fengmian.

Yu Ziyuan: May the lord forgive your sins, Yu Ziyuan.

Jiang Yanli: Thanks again, Jiang Yanli! :) ...Don't cross me.

Wei Changze: Sent via smoke signals. Best, Wei Changze. (i feel like he'd also write a joke but treat it like a fact lmao)

Cangse Sanren: Sent from the future ;) Cangse Sanren! (i feel like she'd write a jokey and fun sign off <3)

Jin Guangyao: You're the best boss ever (lol jk), Lianfang-zun.

Jin Ling: don't care + didn't ask + L + ratio. jin ling.

Jin Zixuan: Lukewarm regards, Jin Zixuan.

Jin Guangshan: Ciao! Jin Guangshan. (he tries to be friendly and cool because he thinks everyone likes him but he's just annoying and everyone hates him)

Madam Jin: Thank you. (P.S. Please send any important sect-related emails to me, my husband is useless and doesn't do anything).

Jin Zixun: The best, Jin Zixun.

Qin Su: See you in hell, Qin Su.

Mo Xuanyu: So long and thanks for all the fish! Mo Xuanyu.

Nie Huaisang: Stay hydrated, queens! Nie Huaisang <3

Nie Mingjue: Over and Out, Chifeng-zun.

Wen Ruohan: May the Night bless you, signed Overlord Wen Ruohan.

Wen Ning: Apologies for existing :') Wen Qionglin

Wen Qing: Please don't contact me for 3-5 business days - kindest regards, Wen Qing, Head Physician.

Wen Chao: Mic drop, Wen Chao.

Wen Xu: Thanks, enjoy the hours you have left. Wen Xu.

Wen Zhuliu: Regards, Wen Zhuliu.

Wang Lingjiao: Live, laugh, love! Wang Lingjiao xoxox

Luo Qingyang: At a loss for words, Mianmian.

Xiao Xingchen: Live long and prosper, Xiao Xingchen!

Song Lan: May God be with you in these trying times, Song Zichen.

A-Qing: God's favourite child, A-Qing.

Xue Yang: YOur FrIendly NEIghBOur... XuE ChEngmEI.

Su She: Remember the name: Su Minshan.

Baoshan Sanren: That's it. Baoshan Sanren. (i feel like she'd be straight to the point too)